Crisis avoided....for now...Matt Garza had just finished 6 2/3 of quality pitching leaving the Rays in position to take a much needed split on the heels of the surging Yankees and Red Sox (who by the way swept the 1st place Toronto Blue Jays) leaving Rays fans optimistic they would salvage the rubber game from their 2nd consecutive 4-game series. And with that fleeting thought of optimism came the not-so-impressive Rays bullpen.

After Dan Wheeler initially let the A's back into the game surrendering a game-tying double, from the likes of Grant Balfour-hater Orlando Cabrera, the rag-tag closing duo of Troy Percival and Joe Nelson nearly let another opportunity slip through the cracks. Entering the game tied 3-3 in the ninth Percival and Nelson surrendered walks and hits alike allowing Oakland to put 2 more runs across the plate. The signs were leading to the daunting possibility of a third straight loss in "oh-so-close!" fashion. Without the miracle work of the man-child, Ben "Zorilla" Zobrist, and the clutch hitting of Carl Crawford the Rays would be left asking themselves "how did we let this one get away?".

And while we don't have to ask that question this time most of  Ray's nation has to be wondering what it will take to re-vamp this pitching staff. The combination of shaky-to-poor starting pitching from Scott Kazmir, Andy Sonnenstine, and Jeff Niemann along with the gut-wretching folly of releivers Dan Wheeler, Joe Nelson, and Troy Percival has got to be addressed in the near future. The reality is the rest of the AL East (minus Baltimore) has the potential to take their playoff hopes deep into the regular season and if the Rays want to be a part of that equation they will have to act now.

Let's see Joe Maddon show us why he was the 2008 AL Manager of the year, the manager who just got a 3-year deal to continue to lead this ballclub. Let's see him let Izzy get more set-up/closing opportunites, allow Matt Joyce to show us why we traded new Detroit favorite Edwin Jackson (instead of Niemann or Sonnenstine), have a heart-to-heart with Percy to let him know that he will be on a leash, and finally confront Scott Kazmir about the "mental" mechanics that have plagued his last several starts. Don't get me wrong...these are important issues...but they are also issues that can be resolved...don't count out these Rays...not yet.