The Rays Tank: Another loss, but at least we have Hickey

Well, another day, another loss. The Rays have sunk to the second wild card slot, two games ahead of the Orioles. We're not at our bottom dollar yet, but we're getting there. Luckily, if you're a season ticket holder and have become disgusted with this team, you can do something good by not attending games. The Seats of Dreams charity has partnered with the Rays, so that season ticket holders can sign away their unused tickets (tax deductible), to give disadvantaged, disabled, or sick kids the chance to attend a game.

To remind us of better times, though, there's a feature in ESPN the Magazine about Jim Hickey, and his methods and success as a pitching coach. We've known we had something special for awhile, but he's been due for some national recognition.

In a couple weeks, the Rays will have a roster jam, with Matt Moore, Alex Cobb, Desmond Jennings, and Jesse Crain all set to be activated. R.J. Anderson explains what the Rays might do to sort it all out.

Baseball America answers questions about where to rank Taylor Guerrieri after his Tommy John surgery.

Around the AL East

One bit of good news is that the Orioles lost last night as well, to the Arizona Diamond Backs. Jim Johnson blew the save (see, it's not just Fernando Rodney), and Paul Goldschmidt hit both the tying and winning home runs.

Also around the AL East, Pinstriped Bible has an article asking whether Ivan Nova is lucky or good. As always, the answer is somewhere in the middle, but I tend to lean a bit toward the "good" side, and have for years, which would be unfortunate for Rays fans.

Other Links

Neil Weinberg at Beyond the Box Score noticed that Doug Fister is hitting batters at a historic rate. He did some digging, and found that hit batsman may be a hidden cost of the sinker. Roberto Hernandez features prominently.

Jeff Moore, at The Hardball Times, discusses age in the minors and how important it is as context. But no, Tim Beckham is no longer all that young.