Tampa Bay Rays news and links: The starting pitching is heating up

Nothing quite as nice as a win over Boston. Smyly dealing straight filthy stuff, and Kiermaier coming through with heroics would be fun any time, but against the Red Sox, in Fenway? All the sweeter!

Links!

- While Chris Archer has been far from terrible to start the season, he also hasn't been his normal filthy self. Maybe it has something to do with Archer not having his "'A' slider yet".

- Who doesn't love some talk about the defensive shift? Joe Vasile of Beyond the Boxscore breaks down some numbers using wBABIP as a possible more effective way to determine shift effectiveness.

-Russell Carleton dives into the best ways to use exit velocity numbers.

- Shane Tourtellotte at The Hardball Times discusses the 3,000 hit club, Ichiro as #30, and the possible future members joining soon.

- Rockies SS Trevor Story just keeps hitting homeruns. It's an incredible start to his season, and now with his league leading 8th HR, Story has set a new Major League record for fewest games to eight career homers.

- On the topic of Trevor Story, Dave Cameron at Fangraphs took a look into if Story's HR surge is a matter of small sample size or if the power is indeed legit.

- One last link, and it's a humorous one (if you enjoy the embarrassment of others). The other night in San Fran, a fan reached out and grabbed a ball hit fair down the line, much to the great displeasure of his date. This should just be another reminder to be a smart fan when you go to the ballpark.