B4B Headin’ to Tampa Bay!

Biking for Baseball has completed the longest leg of their summer-long tour to each MLB stadium by bicycle. Houston to Tampa Bay. 1,100 miles. Rainy. Humid. Hot. Now it’s in the books.

It was all worth it because B4B will get to see one of the best teams in baseball, the Tampa Bay Rays. They currently sit one game out of first in the powerhouse AL East after falling to the Mets last night 11-2. They play the Mets again tonight before B4B sees the same two teams play tomorrow afternoon.

The pitching match-up for Thursday’s game is Jeremy Hellickson for the Rays against Johan Santana for the Mets, one game after surrendering 4 home runs in his first game back after his 134 pitch no-hitter. It will be interesting to see how Santana rebounds or if he still has any lingering issues from the high pitch count 12 days ago. The Rays have an average MLB offense that would love for Santana to not be in top form.

All Star third baseman Evan Longoria is still on the DL and should begin his rehab assignment within the next few days. They sorely need his bat in the lineup, as they are batting .238 for the season with a .388 slugging percentage as a team. Despite a mediocre offense, the Rays have been successful not by doing any one thing great, but doing everything else very well. They are wise on the base paths, play good defense, pitch the ball well, and have the best manager in baseball.

The Rays manager, Joe Maddon, preaches fundamentals and takes a very forward-looking approach at defensive positioning. Maddon studies opposing hitter’s spray charts and positions his defense accordingly. Some of the shifts he uses are unique and many baseball men would not dare to change the status quo with positioning. Maddon is truly the King of Shifts.

The Rays are more than just Joe Maddon and his tinkering. They have a solid core of young pitchers who know how to get outs. The starting staff of David Price, Jeremy Hellickson, Alex Cobb, James Shields, and Matt Moore have combined for a 3.51 ERA this season. Wade Davis would be a starter on just about any other team in baseball, but he can’t crack the Rays rotation. That tells you how good this staff is.

The Rays are also a B4B favorite because their front office knows baseball and knows how to develop players within their system. It’s refreshing to see a small market team with the sixth lowest payroll have sustained success like the Rays. They draft and spend very wisely, and that has allowed them to sign some of their young players to extensions because they want to be a part of the team. Evan Longoria’s contract is a prime example. Well done Rays! One of our favorite teams for sure.