Shaky bullpen could cause problems for talented Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays found the solution Monday night to solve their early-season bullpen problems.

They simply need to send Matt Garza to the mound and tell most of the relief pitchers to take the night off.

Garza gave up a home run to the first batter he faced - Baltimore's Felix Pie - but was otherwise flawless over eight innings as the Rays beat the Orioles 5-1 at Camden Yards. It was the second time he has beaten the O's this young season and the second time he has gone eight strong innings.

That's good for a couple of reasons.

First, it means Garza is pitching like everyone knows he can and the Rays certainly need that.

Second, it allows manager Joe Maddon to largely stay out of the bullpen, a place of great adventure through this season's first week.

Lost in the noise Saturday over CC Sabathia's near no-hitter against the Rays was the fact the Rays' bullpen crumbled in the last two innings, allowing six runs to turn a manageable deficit into a 10-0 blowout.

The same thing happened Sunday when the Yankees came from behind against the bullpen to beat the Rays 7-3.

It's an admittedly small sampling, but the numbers after the home stand should send a shiver down the Rays' collective back. Andy Sonnanstine, Lance Cormier, Randy Choate and Mike Ekstrom combined to allow 15 earned runs in 12 2/3 innings - a 10.65 ERA.

You can read too much into that just yet, but you don't want to read too little, either. The memory of going 9-14 last April is still fresh and if the Rays have a major question mark this season it is the bullpen.

J.P. Howell says he is getting better but still, it likely will be the end of May before he can pitch for the Rays. Joaquin Benoit, who had success in Texas before coming to the Rays on a minor-league deal this spring, is in Durham trying to build up his arm strength.

He should hurry.

You know what you're going to get with veteran Dan Wheeler and it's generally solid. Grant Balfour is always going to be a high-wire act, but we saw in 2008 how good he can be (and in 2009, just the opposite). But the middle of that bullpen, without Howell providing the critical bridge to closer Rafael Soriano, is a concern.

There is so much riding on how these guys perform, too.

People forget that even through the Rays won 97 games in 2008, they still only had a 2-game cushion in the American League East.

Put it this way: If Dan Johnson didn't appear straight out of central casting to hit the key September home run off Jonathan Papelbon, leading to an extra-innings win by the Rays at Boston, both the Rays and Red Sox might have finished with 96 wins.

I say might have because we'll never know how things would have played out had Boston won that game. What's not in dispute is how thin the margin is in the division the Rays occupy.

To be fair, the Rays wouldn't have beaten Sabathia on Saturday even if the relievers hadn't let the game get completely out of hand, but Choate, Cormier and Sonnanstine combined to allow five runs in the final 3 2/3 innings of Sunday's 7-3 loss as the Yankees came from behind.

It's not like executive vice president Andrew Friedman can go to "Relief R Us" at this point and pick out some effective help. This will be his bullpen for at least the time being, and it's not like there's no talent here.

Choate and Cormier were generally solid out of the bullpen last year for the Rays and I've always believed Sonnanstine's pitching style was more suited to relief than starting. I look for Benoit to be here (probably for Ekstrom) before too much longer, assuming he has no relapse of the shoulder problems that have plagued him for the last couple of years.

Everything else about this team looks good.

The Rays have terrific starting pitching and defense and they're going to score runs. Everything is in place for a strong run this season - provided the bullpen holds up its end.

After all, tempting as it may be to wish for, Garza really can't pitch every night.