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Struggles Continue For Rays

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By MARC LANCASTER

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 13, 2008

Updated: 07/13/2008 12:12 am

CLEVELAND - Whatever happens today in the Rays' final game of the first half, they will have assembled the best run of play in franchise history. And they also will know that the way they have sputtered into the All-Star break will only renew doubts among those who still can't quite believe they have come so far so fast.

There were at least some late signs of life Saturday in their sixth consecutive loss, 8-4 to the Indians, as their moribund offense found a way to manufacture some runs for the first time in nearly a week. No matter how much the players and Manager Joe Maddon protest that six games isn't a large enough sample size to spur concern, though, that season-long positive vibe has ebbed a bit on a lost road trip.

"Which is OK," said resident sage Cliff Floyd. "All the hype is great. It's a great thing to be a part of, and no matter how you look at it, it's a great turnaround for this club and this organization. We're taking the high side of this and saying, 'You know what - we've played a good half.'

"It's unfortunate that we're losing a little bit right now, but if you had to ask anybody in this locker room, I think they would tell you that I'd rather this happen right now, before the break, and hopefully the second half we come out on fire just like we did to start this thing off."

A little regrouping surely is in order first. The Rays took a step in that direction Saturday by calling a pregame meeting of the position players. Hitting coach Steve Henderson implored his charges to just relax and have fun like they had earlier in the season and try not to put excess pressure on themselves.

Henderson held a similar gathering following an ugly loss last August, and the Rays responded the following day by scoring 12 runs to kick-start a nice offensive stretch. They had no such immediate reaction Saturday, going down quietly against an Indians starter who embodies the term "journeyman."

Before Saturday, Matt Ginter's most recent big-league victory had come on May 21, 2004, for the Mets against the Rockies, and he hadn't pitched in the majors at all since 2005. No matter, he became the latest in a string of stars and scrubs to have his way with the Rays' lineup this week by spinning five shutout innings.

Ginter no doubt was able to draw a bit of confidence from the cushion his teammates provided in the second and third innings after an out-of-nowhere explosion against Matt Garza.

The Indians strung together eight consecutive hits across the second and third innings (the end of the second came when Jamey Carroll foolishly ran into an out at the plate), highlighted by two-run Ryan Garko and Grady Sizemore homers in the second. Garko added a bases-clearing double in the third to make it 7-0.

"These guys were hitting everything," Garza said. "It felt like they knew what was coming before I even threw it."

There was, at least, a flicker of hope late for the Rays. They loaded the bases after two were out in the eighth and Floyd's lined single off Juan Rincon brought home two - the Rays' first runs on anything but a homer in 53 innings. Dioner Navarro followed with a two-run double, the Rays' first extra-base hit of the evening, and some life was breathed into the proceedings.

"We came in after the game and some heads were higher than they have been," Floyd noted.

The wounds remain fresh, however.

"We've lost six straight, and it's a big deal to us," Garza said. "Things like this, in the past, have happened quite a bit, and we're not too happy with it."

Reporter Marc Lancaster can be reached at (813) 259-7227 or mlancaster@tampatrib.com.

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