The Morning After: Rays beat Twins 7-1

Rays 7 (8-3), Twins 1

The Rays faced the Twins for the second time this spring. Carl Crawford did not make the trip, so there were no fireworks between CC and Delmon. I doubt anything will happen when they do meet for the first time. I don't expect a handshake, but neither do I expect a confrontation. Ex-Hillsborough and Tampa Catholic star Denard Span played again for the Twins. I wonder what would have happened if Span had gone to Florida and played wide out instead of signing with the Twins? He was a ridiculous talent at wide receiver and he could have done great things under Spurrier. Would he be in the NFL? I'm guessing not, but you never know. Nice beard Denard.




Highlights

• James Shields pitched five scoreless innings giving up 4 hits and a walk while striking out one. Shields appears to be rounding into form as we get closer to the start of the season.
  

• David Price pitched a scoreless inning in the ninth, allowing no hits or walks. Unfortunately, he didn't strike out the side this time.
  

• Birkins and Munter also pitched scoreless innings, while Ryu (who aspires to be Chan Ho Park) gave up one run in his inning of work.
  

• Longoria went 1-2 with a pinch hit solo homerun. He is now batting .391 for the spring.
  

• Navarro had a solo homerun as well; it was his first of the spring.
  

• Not to be outdone by Evan, Willy Aybar had a double which drove in two runs.
  

• Elliot Johnson had three hits. If he is nervous about facing the Yankees tomorrow it has not shown yet.
  

Lowlights

• None. It was a good performance all around. I guess you could call out Ruggiano and Rodriguez for there 0 for performances at the plate. They certainly aren't doing much to win a spot on the roster if Rocco starts the season on the DL. Ruggiano is batting .091 and Rodriguez is batting .045. Awesome. Fernando Perez checks in at a solid .125.
  

Analysis

It was nice to see the Rays win before they got into a "real" losing streak. More importantly, Shields pitched well and the bullpen held the lead. Not too many of the regulars played in the field, but it is nice to see the younger (relatively) players perform well.

Tomorrow the Rays face the Yankees. A lot of people are wondering if there will be any retaliation for the Elliot Johnson incident. I have serious doubts that anything out of the ordinary will occur during this game. I think the story has died down and I doubt the players themselves on the Yankees really think that Johnson was in the wrong, but who knows. Anything can happen.

Sonny gets his first start of the spring. I was beginning to wonder why they had not given him a start all season. I guess they just didn't have enough to go around. My prediction about him being in the bullpen will go down in flames tomorrow if Sonny pitches a good game. Here is hoping he does.

PA