Tampa Bay Rays' tale in 2015: Arm trouble
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The story in Tampa Bay always has been about pitching. Under GM Andrew Friedman, manager Joe Maddon and pitching coach Jim Hickey, the Rays built up a reputation -- almost an aura -- of invincibility.
Opposing teams often mused about "the secret sauce" that kept the Rays' system producing durable power arms from David Price to Chris Archer.
Starting in 2008, the Rays reeled off six consecutive winning seasons, despite having the lowest payroll in the league in many of those years. Other teams envied their ability to keep all those great young arms healthy.
But that ended in 2014 and spilled over into 2015 as, one after another, Rays pitchers succumbed to one injury after another. This year alone, at least six of Tampa Bay's starters have spent lengthy periods on the disabled list: Drew Smyly, Matt Moore, Alex Cobb, Alex Colome, Jake Odorizzi and Nate Karns have all been sidelined, some of them -- like Cobb -- for the entire season.
It is a testament to first-year manager Kevin Cash that the team has been able to stay within four games of a .500 record in a season where so many key players were unavailable for lengthy periods. Moore, who will pitch the season finale against the Jays, is just getting his feet under him after nearly two full seasons recovering from Tommy John surgery. Cobb, projected as the team's ace in 2015, suffered from forearm tightness in spring training, then gave in to the knife in May and has not thrown a pitch for the Rays. He is expected back in mid-2016.
This season, the Rays have used nine starting pitchers and only Archer has made at least 30 starts. In 2014, they used 11 starters and only Archer and Odorizzi hit the 30-start plateau. In 2013, six pitchers accounted for 154 of Tampa's starts and in 2012, five starters accounted for 149 of the team's starts.
If nothing else, the Rays have identified some potential in this lost season, potential that might have gone unnoticed without all the injuries.
Erasmo Ramirez came over in a trade from Seattle in March and has won 11 games, with a 3.65 ERA, in 26 starts. Karns, who was shut down earlier in September with a mild forearm injury, showed promise in his rookie season, as did Matt Andriese.
In any event, maybe the Rays never had some kind of proprietary approach to young arms after all. Perhaps the law of averages simply caught up to them.
TORONTO BLUE JAYS at TAMPA BAY RAYS
Starting pitchers
FRIDAY 7:10 p.m.
LHP Mark Buehrle vs. RHP Erasmo Ramirez
SATURDAY 6:10 p.m.
RHP Marco Estrada vs. RHP Chris Archer
SUNDAY 3:10 p.m.
TBA vs. LHP Matt Moore
RAYS WHO'S HOT
(Thursday's game not included)
- Ex-Jay J.P. Arencibia has been on fire. In 18 Sept. games he had 6 HR, 15 RBIs, a .310 average and a .994 OPS.
- OF Mikie Mahtook is hitting .356 (21-of-59) since Sept. 1, with an OPS of 1.067.
- LHP Drew Smyly went 4-0 in six Sept. starts, with a 2.50 ERA and an opponents' batting average of .208.
RAYS WHO'S COLD
(Thursday's game not included)
- RHP Chris Archer, once a Cy Young candidate, struggled in September, going 0-3 in five starts, with a 6.58 ERA and a WHIP of 1.81.
- 3B Richie Shaffer had just four hits in 48 September at-bats for a .146 batting average and an OPS of .588.
- Closer Brad Boxberger blew two of his nine September save opportunities, with a 7.20 ERA.
FIDLIN'S TAKE
The Blue Jays would like to clinch the best record in the American League, but they're not going to obsess about it. Making sure their stars get some rest, but not too much rest, is a priority. The Rays always have played the Jays tough at Tropicana Field but, at the end of a lost season, it's doubtful their resistance level is too high.
PREDICTION
Given manager John Gibbons' determined attitude on the subject, Mark Buehrle will get his 200 innings for a 15th consecutive season and the Jays somehow will find two wins this weekend to hold onto the home field hammer throughout the playoffs and World Series.
