Jake's Take: Seth McClung is the Rodney Dangerfield of the NDRO

Sometimes when I read articles about the Rays, be it national, local or fan-made, I can't believe what people write about certain players. I don't know how many times I see Seth McClung get slammed and thrown into oncoming traffic by articles, message board posts and even rotowire blurbs. I try my hardest to fend off all nay-sayers, but sometimes I get overwhelmed by idiot comments or people who still fail to listen.

It gets unnerving sometimes, trying to look for positive Rays articles, but once in awhile I find some that give some positive spin towards our future.

Reaction:Out of those 9 from Lou, how many do you think were thrown by Seth McClung?

If you guessed 5, you'd be correct.

Seth McClung pitched an average of 93.9 pitches per game.

What do you think his record as a starter in games where he pitched 90 or more pitches in a game? Looking at his Gamelog on his ESPN Player card, Seth compiled a 7-5 record in games that he threw at least 90 pitches. So if you think about it, Seth was a winning pitcher in games where he pitched around or over his average amount of pitches per game. He's a workhorse-type of pitcher, he's better when his manager puts him in the game and keeps him in for the long-haul. Most baseball people see him as a "thrower", but they're probably not watching many Rays games from their lofty offices at the Boston Globe or at the ESPN in Connecticut. So their opinions really shouldn't be taken seriously.

Final Take:So my question is, if Seth would've been given a starting rotation spot at the beginning of the season....do you think he would've had at least 10 wins? I do, it's only 3 more wins from the total he compiled in the 17 starts for the season. Seth had 34 appearances for the season, 17 starts. In some of those 13 games where he pitched 90+ pitches, he was the hard-luck pitcher. He kept the Rays in the game, but the offense didn't put up the runs needed to win.