Man, can you believe this. The Dodgers have blown a 6-0 lead in the 8th. Beckett was cruising with a 2-hitter through 7, only about 70 pitches. Then he goes home run, single, home run. Then A-Gon makes an error. Unbelievable. 6-6 after 8.
.700 OPS, seriously? Career is .794, last year was .928. This year is .700 but last 9 games he has 4 multi-hit games and his OPS has gone up 50 points.
Rodriguez is a good example of the Rays lack of depth in positional players. The guy is hitting .214 and butchering it in the field and here he is starting in an important game.
The Rays' organization is constantly touted as one of the best and it may be. They continue to produce good young pitchers. But they are not producing any hitters at all. They are a classic good pitch/no hit team, and this year's version looks like it will miss the playoffs.
The lack of hitting also makes this Rays team a bore to watch. The Tampa fans have never been the best, but when the team is like watching paint dry it makes matters worse.
Gasparino says one of the things that convinced him the story was solid was the trade with the Dodgers, that whenever a team unloads that much payroll it's a sign of financial trouble. He thereby excludes the possibility that it was merely a smart baseball and financial move that should be instrumental in rebuilding the team.