Let me take you back to last night....
To reset: Rays vs Twins, 8th inning, tie game, 5-5...
With one out and former-Ray Delmon Young on first base, fellow
former-Ray Brendan Harris bloops a fly ball down the right field line.
Rays rightfielder, Eric Hinske, charges and then pulls up at the last
second, letting the ball drop in from of him. That's not too bad. It
would have been a tough play to make. Young advances to second base.
Then, instead of rocketing the ball back to the infield to keep Young,
a good baserunner, at second base, Hinske holds the ball....holds it
some more....and finally tosses it weakly back in. Delmon Young can
jet...and he takes off for third base.
HELLO!!!
Why are you holding on to the baseball?! One of the first things we
learn in little league is to get the ball back to the infield quickly. Boneheaded Mistake #1.
The next batter, still one out, lofts a high fly ball down the
leftfield line. Speedy Carl Crawford gives chase and makes an amazing
catch....in FOUL TERRITORY!
CARL!!!!!
While C.C. was sliding to make the catch, Young tagged and walked to
the plate to score the go-ahead and eventual game winning run. A tough
call, since your first instinct as an outfielder is to make that
catch...but nevertheless, that's Boneheaded Mistake #2.
If Carl is down on the ground, how can he throw out Young? Give your
bullpen a chance to get that batter out without giving up the free run.
Carl knows that. And Carlos Pena reminded him of it in the dugout after
the third out. Still, that mistake can't happen in that situation.
The Rays have been making a ton of these mental errors lately. And it's
gotta be driving Joe Maddon bonkers. The Rays have tried to establish
themselves as a franchise on the upswing...a new wave of talent and
expectations. The fastest way to kill that feeling is mental errors.
They need to stop.
This isn't just a one game thing. B.J Upton has been thrown out trying
to steal a handful of times this season when he had no business
running. Down 6-0 in the 5th inning with nobody out is NOT the time to
try to swipe second. B.J. also bolted for third on a grounder to the
shortstop while the Rays visited Baltimore. He slid under the tag...but
you can't take that chance on the basepaths.
How many times have we seen guys get picked off first base or get
caught in a rundown this season so far? The Rays need to clean up these
mental blunders and FAST!
In a season with so much upside, it's a shame to think that this group
of talented ball players might be playing themselves right out of easy
wins because of silly mistakes.
>Bobby Lewis
*Check out what Joe Maddon thinks this Sunday night at 11:30 p.m. when he and Tom Korun chat about all things baseball on SportsZone.