Regular Rays but no Big Papi ...
The Rays will trot out their somewhat regular lineup tonight against Boston and knuckleballing nemesis Tim Wakefield, but the Sox unveiled something of a surprise, with David Ortiz getting the night off against Rays ace Scott Kazmir. Instead, they'll have Bobby Kielty hitting third and playing leftfield, with Manny Ramirez as the DH.
The Rays will probably be without closer Al Reyes tonight, since he threw two innings Sunday, but have Dan Wheeler to close if needed.
Not much else new for the Rays, as manager Joe Maddon and executive VP Andrew Friedman spent lots of time talking Monday in driving to and from Port Charlotte for groundbreaking ceremonies for the new spring facility. Among the topics were possible September callups (Maddon said there won't be more than five or six) and going to a six-man rotation (to provide extra rest for Kazmir and James Shields).
Also, former Ray Jorge Cantu got called up to the big leagues by the Reds.
The Rays lineup:
Iwamura, 3b
Crawford, lf
Upton, cf
Pena, 1B
Young, rf
Harris, 2b
Gomes, dh
Wilson, ss
Paul,c
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It's amazing Wakefield's lost 10 games this year. Has he played the Rays that many times already?
How can he have lost that many and have an ERA of over 4, and yet the Rays can't do anything against him?
Can we please find some veterans to teach these kids how to win, because the coaches sure aren't doing it.
Posted by: Ray | August 21, 2007 at 01:00 AM
For the second start in a row, the Rays make Wakefield look like a Hall of Fame pitcher.
Posted by: jd | August 20, 2007 at 09:45 PM