Rays minutiae
By George Christian Pappas, ESPN Radio
If the first 10 games of the Tampa Bay Rays’ 2012 campaign are an indicator for what the rest of the season looks likes …
The middle-infield tandem of Reid Brignac and Sean Rodriguez hits for a humble .139 batting clip.
Evan Longoria would finish the year with about 16 home runs and 81 runs batted in.
And the ball club would finish out the regular season at 81-81, good for a fourth-place finish in the American League East.
But then again … Carlos Pena would slug a career-best 49 homers and hit for an uncharacteristic .351 average.
James Shields would win 23 games and hurl more than 232 frames.
Okay, so extrapolating stats one-to-one for the entire stretch of the season might not be the best method of assessing Joe Maddon’s club two weeks into April, but it is very suggestive about how the Rays have faired at this early juncture in the schedule.
The highlights thus far conjure up recurring themes from last season. The offense goes hot and cold. There have been dominant displays of starting pitching, particularly from Shields and Jeremy Hellickson. The bullpen has been spotty. Even Fernando Rodney has had momentary control issues, despite notching a win and four saves over six games in the wake of closer Kyle Farnsworth’s injury.
To be fair, the Rays have labored through the start of the campaign plagued by an ailing roster and a string of opening series with the New York Yankees (SWEEP), a retooled Detroit Tigers team and the Boston Red Sox.
They’ll look to bounce back as the road trip continues Tuesday in Toronto.
