The question about the Rays shouldn't be why they suddenly stopped hitting. The question should be how they managed to score enough runs to go 21-7 in the month of August and put themselves in position to clinch a playoff spot relatively early.
Two of their three best players, left fielder
Carl Crawford and third baseman
Evan Longoria, went down with significant injuries in early August, and so Tampa Bay manager
Joe Maddon has been left to mix and match and platoon and try to find the right combinations with journeymen players like
Eric Hinske,
Gabe Gross and
Willy Aybar, and to the Rays' everlasting credit, they responded to the challenge.
Carlos Pena has been Tampa Bay's version of
Carlos Delgado: He struggled in the first months of the season, and just when the Rays needed him most, he hoisted the team with big hits in July and August.
So when the Rays went into a slump in the last week, scoring just 17 runs over seven games, it really shouldn't have been a surprise. They're not a dynamic team, particularly without Crawford and Longoria, and with
B.J. Upton playing with a torn labrum in his left shoulder that will require surgery at season's end (Upton missed Tuesday's game and may miss more days with a strained quad).
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Buster Olney
