Major League Baseball

History says turning the page will be tough

Published Oct. 18, 2010 10:13 p.m. ET

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By Martin Fennelly

mfennelly@tampatrib.com

ARLINGTON, Texas - They think it can still happen, even if we don't. The first two games of the division series could pass for the abyss. They were horrible at anything they did.

"It wasn't us, for sure," Rays second baseman Sean Rodriguez said.

They lost the first two at home to the surging Texas Rangers, and history says, more often than not, when that happens, you lose the first game on the road, too, and you go home.

Who says?

"Let's just go out there and win three games," Rays reliever Grant Balfour said.

Sounds simple enough in Game 3 today, doesn't it?

"We've got to try and turn the page and do what they did to us and try to win one in a row," Rays third baseman Evan Longoria said after the Rays were blanked in Game 2.

Win one game in a row.

That might be too long-range, given how embarrassed the Rays have been.

Win one inning in a row.

Win one at-bat in a row.

Win one pitch in a row.

When you have a 5.00 ERA and .125 batting average, when you've done nothing and the other guys have done everything, you need to start small.

"Of course it can be done," Rays manager Joe Maddon said.

It's complicated by the fact that the Rangers were a far better team at home this season than they were on the road. Spooky, huh? It's also complicated because the Rays have done hardly anything right at the plate, on the mound or in the field. That AL East flag hangs limply.

Who says? The Rays, Maddon included, ran around in shorts for Friday's workout at Rangers Ballpark. They insist they had a marvelous flight here after the embarrassment at home. Carlos Pe?a, a Rays ambassador if nothing else at this point, said, "Everyone is loose." I mean, what are they going to say, lots of guys threw up on the bus on the way over?

"We didn't win 96 games and the AL East as a fluke," Balfour said.

"We won 96 games, whatever it was, for a reason," Longoria said.

"There's no doubt we can do it." Ben Zobrist said.

But ?

"We have to play great to beat them right now."

Maybe an influx of left-handed bats will help. But a better approach at the plate has to go with it. Forget this game plan stuff today. These Rays have been watching games go by, sitting back, falling behind in the count. This team has been atrocious all season at hitting behind in the count, more than most teams. See Upton, B.J.

Cut down on 0-1s, 1-2s or this series is going to finish 0-3.

One thing the Rays might have going for them is their starting pitcher. Nutty Matt Garza, also king of the thousand-yard stare, who talks to himself so often that no one thinks it's unusual, gets the ball in Game 3. Maddon talks about not overthinking, keeping "the cerebral end out of it." Matty G is your man.

"There's no instruction manual for him," Zobrist said with a grin.

There isn't much of one for what they're about to try to do, either.

They've been holding five-game playoff series in baseball for 41 years. In all that time, only the 2001 Yankees lost the first two games of such a series at home and came back to win it.

"Once it happens once, it's got to happen again, right?" Sean Rodriguez said. "Name me one thing that's only happened once besides God coming to Earth and going back up."

Joe, you did talk to them about not thinking too much, right?

Copyright ? 2010, The Tampa Tribune and may not be republished without permission. E-mail library@tampatrib.com

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