Rays comeback falls short; Indians win 12-10

Forget Jason Hammel it should be Jason Hammered. Hammel was absolutely lit up today by the Indians to the tune of NINE earned runs in 3.1 Innings. The Rays have their first losing streak of the spring after todays 12-10 loss to the Indians. They also have another streak going. For the second straight day a rotation candidate(Jackson yesterday)struggled leaving me to believe that Andy Sonnastine and Jeff Niemann should be the favorites for spots four and five in the rotation. The complex part of the equation is Hammel and Jackson are both out of options and aren't reliable now, but you'd hate to give them up for nothing in return. Al Reyes and Trever Miller pitched perfect innings. Grant Balfour gave up a run in his inning. And Finally Wade Davis and Jake "Jack" McGee finally had a scoreless appearances, going one inning a piece.

Eric Hinske is proving his value at the plate ripping an RBI double. Hinske may be the odds on favorite to stick with the team if Rocco goes on the DL. Hinske is hitting .462 this spring compared to John Rodriguez who is hitting 0.53. Hinske can also play more positions than Rodriguez and has a better track record in the Majors. My other favorite in the "Rocco Roster Spot Race", Justin Ruggiano, is hitting .231.

Evan "Encore" Longoria was 2-5 putting his average at .375, but that still may not be enough after Joe Maddon was quoted in the St. Petersburg Times as saying Longoria has had some "not so good" ABs this spring. It's seems more likely that even if Evan hits .500 he won't be making the team out of spring. B.J. Upton added a 3 run home run to his spring stat line. John Jaso had a 2-run double.

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