Rays At Bay In East

I was in the middle of typing a blog entry Tuesday night with Gabe Kapler at the plate, blogging that he needed to take a permanent seat on the bench–Durham’s bench–when he blasts his first RBI of the season. It was only a SAC fly to left, but it was good wood and almost warning track depth, so I hesitated at the keyboard. Then in the following inning, he guns down the runner at home plate with a great throw! So much for that rant. Wait a minute, Troy Percival almost lost a 8-2 lead last night. Check some dated blogs and you’ll see, this guy has not been “closer” potential for some time and Joe Maddon better make the executive decision to close by committe before he gives up more games. J.P. Howell saved the potential disaster in this case, but if you go back in the stats, Percival gives up more home runs per batter than anyone I’ve ever seen (OK, I didn’t check the stats, but it may be a record). And while I’m on it, I said early on that B.J. Upton cannot be the lead-off hitter on this club. His attitude and style just don’t create what a team like the Rays need at the top of their lineup. Joe, everything fell into place last year with great bullpen work and timely hitting, and you took home the trophy for Manager of the Year, but this year you may need to up your game even more to get them to overachieve again.

Popularity: 56% [?]