Friday, March 29. Game 2: Rotating the assets, a potential problem?

Rays 4, Astros 2

 

Record:   1-1

Attendance:   13,059 

            
This is the team and the result we expected for 2019:  strong pitching, good defense, and a timely offense just good enough to pull out the W.  Free agent Charlie Morton, who had spent the previous two years with the Astros, including the championship year of 2017, pitched five emotional innings tipping his cap to his very close friends in the Astros’ dugout, who were rooting for and against him at the same time.  When it was announced that Morton, who had struck out eight had reached 1,000 career strikeouts, the Astros to a man applauded their old friend. 

José Alvarado fireballed his way to his first save of the year.  The Rays have avoided anointing Alvarado their official closer, but it seems all but inevitable.

Morton gave up two runs in the third after hitting a man, walking a man, and giving up a double to Michael Brantley, but the Rays came back in the bottom of the third with three two-out runs on singles by Tommy Pham and Ji-Man Choi.  The Rays’ last run was a sixth inning laser to straightaway center by Yandy Diaz, a ball that had an exit velocity of 112.2 mph, but was so low that it grazed the top of the center field wall.  This man may be fun to watch.  If he keeps it up, we may forget how much we loved Jake Bauers, who was shipped off to Cleveland to get him.

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            We’re two days into the season and it is already apparent that the Rays’ vaunted versatility is going to be a problem, at least from one point of view.  Avisail Garcia is too good to sit on the bench, but when he is in right field, the young phenom Austin Meadow is on the bench.  And the infield is so talent rich that it’s a shame only four can play at once.  There has to be a rotation between Joey Wendle, Brandon Lowe, Daniel Robertson Matt Duffy, Willy Adames, and Ji-Man Choi.  They are all capable major leaguers at this point and they must all give up at-bats so that the other guys get a share of the action.  Matchups will determine some lefty-righty decisions, but each of these guys would be better if he could play full time.  And each will be worse as a part-timer. 

            It’s very early of course, but it’s going to take some pretty sharp managing by Kevin Cash to keep this team’s versatility as a positive and not allow it to become a negative.