AVG .048
OBP .091
OPS .139

I’m guilty of getting too down on the Rays this week. I’m frustrated, and I apologize.

The incredible start we’ve had, culminating with the 3 game sweep of Boston, has raised expectations too high. We aren’t that good… There, I said it.

This is a 88-90 win team which has a strong shot at the wildcard, particularly with the underperformance of Detroit and the likelihood Oakland will fade. The team I most worry about is Minnesota (or Chicago, if Minnesota wins the Central).

Regression to Mean is taking place. Our defensive BABIP ranked us as one of the best defenses of all time. It was bound to correct.

Our bullpen is hugely improved. But is it really 3-4 runs per 9 better than last season? That’s hard to believe. Again, a correction was coming.

Kazmir was not going to have a sub 2 ERA all season, and Sonny and E-Jax were bound to stumble eventually. Sonny just did, E-Jax will. Our pitching cannot possibly win games on its own all season.

Navarro was not going to hit .330-.340. Another correction was coming. Navi has won me over, but he isn’t Joe Mauer.

Pena’s correction is from last season. His 2007 performance came from nowhere, and while it was possible we had stumbled upon a pot of gold, it was unlikely his previous MLB numbers were moot. You can blame it on injuries if you want, but Carlos is hitting more in-line with his career numbers. Great defense, great power, but poor contact. This is why so many teams passed on him. He isn’t good enough to carry a team to the playoffs. Until we have a legitimate cleanup man, we will continue to struggle offensively.

Boston passing us is not an “if,” but a “when.” The Red Sox are the most complete team in baseball – great pitching and great offense. We need to focus on us, and getting our confidence back. The Rays should be in the playoffs as a wild card in 2008, an incredible accomplishment!

The last thing we need to do is mortgage our future for a short term trade. We hold the cards. At some point we need to leverage our plethora of pitching prospects for a big bat, or 3. But panic is not necessary, and could destroy our long term plans.

Every team plays a similar schedule, so dont bitch and moan about how spent you are…Espacially when you have a manager that gives more off days then anyone in baseball. If Kazmir is correct, then where is all this supposed “veteran leadership”. There are some very scary quotes in that article. Sounds like people making excuses and having an awful perspective….Maddon helped fuel the fire with his idiotic quote. Can you imagine Leyland saying that? The pitching has been relatively good, outside a few performances, so are they not mentally tired? Just admit the team is going through a slump dammit!

We don’t have the talent to be able to withstand total suckage from two of our best