Congratulations to Edwin Jackson on his no-hitter. It was one of the more unusual no-hitters in history. He walked eight batters and hit a batter and the D-Backs made an error behind him. But with the Rays getting ten base runners including the bases loaded with no outs in the third inning, the game really provided a glaring view of the weakness of the Bay Rays.
Let's start with the most glaring weakness. Hank Blalock offers the Bay Rays nothing. He came up several times with men on base including that earlier stated bases loaded situation. He grounded out weakly on the first pitch he saw (after Jackson walked the bases loaded!). He later popped out to shallow left on the first pitch with more men on base. The Designated Hitter has been a gigantic problem and Blalock is not the answer.
The other weakness is that using cheap, young players is a double-edged sword. Their talent is unbelievable, but in tight situations, their youth and inexperience keep them from being patient and getting the job done in high leverage situations. Sean Rodriguez and Matt Joyce repeatedly chased bad sliders in the dirt when the Rays had men on base and killed rallies. Well, they were walk rallies anyway.
1 comment:
It's kind of crazy that the Rays have gotten no-hit 3 times now in the last 2 years. Must have been extra sweet for Jackson to do it against his former team.
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