Niemann deserves better support

Jeff Niemann, the best pitcher on the Rays staff, will have nothing to show for this season except maybe a bump to the fourth or third spot in the rotation next season.

He leads the staff in wins (12), complete games (2) and shutouts (2), and should be among the league leader in wins if not for a bullpen that continues to let him down.

In his last five games in which he received a no-decision, Niemann turned a lead over to the bullpen four times. The other game was a 1-1 tie.

You can argue manager Joe Maddon should let Niemann pitch deeper. You can also argue the bullpen has been particularly horrible when following Niemann to the mound. Take away three of the blown saves and Niemann is 15 wins.

That would make Niemann the leader in the AL Rookie of the Year race.

Grant Balfour is usually the culprit, getting the loss or letting the trying run score in four of Niemann's last five no decisions.

Nothing cause Rays fans to wince more than seeing Maddon walk to the mound to pull Niemann when the big righty has the lead.

Niemann has a 3.24 ERA in his last five no-decisions. Take away the inherited runners the bullpen allowed to score that were charged to Big Jeff, and his ERA is 1.01.

Can a pitcher sue his bullpen for lack of support?

DiMaggio, Williams, Pujols, Longoria

Evan Longoria homered off former Ray Edwin Jackson in the second inning Sunday for his 28th home run of the season and his 100th RBI.

For a guy that has struggled this season, Longoria is putting up some pretty good numbers. He will finish the year with at least 30 home runs and around 110 RBIs. Not bad for someone who hit 27 homers and drove in 85 runs as a rookie in 2008.

Longoria has a nine game hitting streak, which means his bat has perked up during this crucial stretch of the season. It looks as if the Rays won't be heading to the playoffs, but don't blame Longoria.

With his home run Sunday, Longoria became the 14th player in major league history, and ninth in the American League to have 40 doubles, 25 home runs and 100 RBI in a season before his 24th birthday.

He joins Hank Greenberg, Hal Trosky, Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Cal Ripken, Alex Rodriguez, Scott Rolen, Albert Pujols, Eric Chavez, Aramis Ramirez, Jorge Cantu, Miguel Cabrera and David Wright.

That's a pretty impressive list.

What will be the snapshot of 2009?

The above photo was the snapshot of 2008: celebrations.

Celebrations at home plate after walk-off wins. Celebrations on the mound after clinching something - a playoff berth, the ALDS, the American League pennant.

What will be the snapshot of 2008?

How about Joe Maddon changing pitchers?

Or B.J. Upton looking at another called strike three?

Or Pat Burrell swinging and missing?

Or another soft pop up from Dioner Navarro?

Or ... you get the picture.

The Rays are cooked.

They are hitting now. Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria are back, and Jason Bartlett and Carl Crawford haven't cooled off.

The starting pitching is still far from a sure thing.

But what has ultimately decided the Rays fate is the bullpen.

There is not one arm out there that you can trust now that J.P Howell can't get anyone out.

Too many innings over the last two seasons has caught up to Howell and Grant Balfour, too.

Not having a closer has caught up to the Rays, as well.

Most of this doesn't really matter, thought. The Red Sox are not going to give up the lead in the Wild Card.

Buzzed in the box

I've heard of pitchers being wild, but Fernando Rodney's last offering Friday was a tad high.

The Tigers reliever almost chocked away a three-run ninth inning lead, but managed to hold on to what became a 4-3 win over the Rays when he got Willy Aybar to bounce out to first base with the tying run at third and the winning run at second.

Detroit first baseman Miguel Cabrera handed the ball to Rodney, and the hard-throwing right-hander threw it into the Tropicana Field press box, where it came close to hitting an unsuspecting writer who was busy trying to make deadline.

That writer was me. So I'm told.

I was pounding away on the keyboard of my laptop, paying the least bit of attention to what was going on down on the field.

Why should I?

What happens after a game that can hurt someone sitting four floors above the field?

Now, it is a different story during the game. Foul balls sail back here all the time, so you find yourself writing with one eye on your screen and one eye on the game.

In fact, I caught a foul ball off Ben Grieve's bat on Opening Day 2003. Gave it to a kid, too.

Anyway ... back to Friday.

I heard several people yell, "Watch out!" And I heard what sounded like a ball smacking something in the booth, a sound I've heard many times.

By the time I realized what had happened, the ball bounced off the desktop about 10 feet to my right and was pin-balling around the back of the press box.

Soon after, Rodney was confronted by a reporter - not me, I was still on deadline.

Rodney said this: "I know we're not supposed to throw the ball, but I did. I was celebrating the moment."

Good for you, Rodney. Getting save No. 32 is a big occasion for anyone.

Next time hand it to a Detroit fan. You know, the ones who sit behind the third base dugout at the Trop.

You should be able to reach them with ease, unless your control was as wild in the ninth inning Friday.

How about dressing as playoff contenders?

Another road trip looms for the Rays, and you know what that means? Another theme.

I would suggest dressing like a playoff contender, but, so far, no one has asked me.

Rays manager Joe Maddon held a meeting before Thursday's game with the Red Sox to discuss a few ideas. His big one: Herb Tarlek (above) from WKRP in Cincinnati, the old 1970s sitcom about a radio station in Cincinnati.

Tarlek was known for his checkered suits.

"That got a few scowls," Maddon said. "So I left it up to the guys."

Some suggestions:

Camouflage, which probably came from the boys in the bullpen. The Russ Springer, Chad Bradford crowd.

Some players suggested "business." The old suit and tie, dress for success-look, which would actually work since the Rays have to be all business if they hope to catch the Red Sox.

Still, I like my idea.

One step up and two steps back

You watch the way the Rays beat the Red Sox on Wednesday night and you think there is hope.

But you remember how they played Tuesday and you look down at the bullpen, and you think, no, no October to remember this year.

They lost Tuesday when the Red Sox took an early lead against Andy Sonnanstine, and Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon turned in the first six-out save of his career.

They won Wednesday because the offense, led by Carlos Pena, came alive after the bullpen blew the lead.

The Rays lose one day and you think they're done. They win the next night, and you think, "OK. Here they go."

The players talk of running off a string of victories. Their longest winning streak this season is five, which they've done twice.

They had two five game winning streaks last year. They also had two six game winning streaks and one that went seven games.

They Rays need to run off a string of wins now. They have to catch the Red Sox for the Wild Card lead as soon as possible, because the Sox close the season with 17 games against teams who are a combined 80 games under .500. It will be tough to catch the Red Sox when they hit that soft spot in their schedule.

This win one, lose one is going to get it done.

It's like Bruce Springsteen sang,

"We're the same sad story that's a fact,
One step up and two steps back."

Effort is great, wins are better

There was Joe Maddon late Tuesday night praising the effort after another loss, as if they keep count of effort in the standings.

No, the "E" in Tuesday's 8-4 loss to the Red Sox were the three errors the Rays made, which lead directly to two earned runs and aided another.

Starter Andy Sonnanstine, who pitched fairly well in some big games last season, said he could take some "positives" out of his outing, never mind his outing lasted two batters into the fifth inning.

Shame on you Andy. You know better than to say that when you pitched your team a step farther from a playoff spot.

Tuesday was the start of a crucial three-game, do-or-die series with the Wild Card-leading Red Sox, who also brought some effort of their own to the less-than-half-filled Trop. The Red Sox entered the game with a five-game lead over the Rays and left with a six-game lead.

Now, folks, that's effort.

At this point of the season, the Rays do not need "positives," they need wins. And if the effort doesn't end in victory, what's the point?

The old "E for effort" thing grew stale during Maddon's first two years at the helm, but actually was accurate, especially when you consider what the effort meant least season - a title in the toughest division in baseball and a trip to the World Series.

Sorry, Joe, you and the lads set the bar awfully high last season. No one is buying the "effort" line anymore.

How about showing a little frustration that the season is slipping away.