Pitching Staff and April in Ybor City

It didn't dawn on me that there was no baseball on tonight and after finding out through a random misnomer at the bar on 7th, there weren't many games that interested me for the evening. It was so hot that everything melted, including the heat itself and slowly...my sanity. That doesn't make sense when all is delirious. What people tend to overlook (whom are not from Florida) is that the pre-summer/summer weather is almost unbearable for the not so faint at heart. It's not the heat, it's the humidity.
I found myself crouched over a little bowl of soup as Strawberry was laid out and relaxing. She'd been in the grind for the last couple of days and was no doubt the bread winner in this house. How to say this? I was a bum on all fronts and for some odd reason that still perplexes me beyond normal human rationale, she elected me to father her children. Every time when looking around the crumbling apartment that we resided in with dishes mounting in the sink and a creaking fan overhead and barely enough light to keep the rooms lit up, she still stuck by my side.
What did I have to offer such a beautiful woman like Strawberry?
"So what do you wanna eat tonight baby?" she asked softly.
"Er..."
"Oo! I know! Let's go get some wings! There is a special for sixty nine cent wings tonight! I know just the spot!" she yelped.
Fuck if I ever had the choice in the matter.
We wound up back on 7th at Buffalo Wild Wings where the clean and needy stuffed their faces with grease and starch. Why not begin with a carbonized alcoholic beverage?
Strawberry just loved being out in the lights and I liked being inside the confines of my mind and there was the screen showing highlights from various games throughout Major League Baseball. I saw The Braves beat The Mets and Miami lost again. Seems like nothing good can happen in Florida.
"So anyways, I was thinking..." Strawberry began.
My mind began thinking about the Rays' starting rotation thus far for the month of April.
"And she thinks..." Strawberry continued.
Let's break it down:

Chris Archer 2 W 1 L 3.94 ERA 5 G 32. IP 32 SO 1.38 WHIP
Jake Odorizzi 1 W 1 L 4.15 ERA 3 G 13 IP 8 K 1.00 WHIP
Alex Cobb 1 W 2 L 4.66 ERA 5 G 29 IP 21 SO 1.52 WHIP
Blake Snell 0 W 2 L 3.38 ERA 4 G 21.1 IP 15 K 1.41 WHIP
Matt Andriese 1 W 0 L 3.86 ERA 4 G 21 IP 18 SO 1.38 WHIP

Collectively they are pitching not very great but not very awful either. Obviously with the tight hamstring, Odo gets less emphasis. What's alarming is Snell and Cobb. These two really need to pitch better in order for The Rays to remain relevant in a very hard AL East. What's different about Cobb (than say in 12' or 13', 14') is he nibbles more around the zone than previously. He's never been a huge strike out dude to begin with and is one that needs to pitch for contact. I guess in theory Archer is still our best pitcher for the time being but Andriese has really held his own just needs to go a little deeper but then again, it's not even May yet. Cob still has been tallying more K's but has also been hit around quite a bit too (hence the ERA). Snell is odd in that he'll show flashes of how great he CAN be but has a mental breakdown when something goes awry behind him or to him. Gotta learn from those mishaps sucka.

"So maybe we can..." Strawberry continued.

I would like to focus a little bit more on Brad Miller. He has 80 AB thus far with 18 hits 15 BB and 26 K and is batting .225 so what gives? He seems to be chasing a lot more and his strike zone seems to be a tad bit bigger this year that opposing pitchers exploit. Is this an umpire or unlucky factor? If he is to remain in the 4-hole, he needs to be disciplined enough to wait for THE pitch instead of striking out and taking a walk (not to say walks are bad). I really like B-Miller and would like to see him cut down on his strike outs. What's up with Weeks Jr? 33 AB 6 H 4 BB 17 K and batting .182. That aint the dude I saw at Spring Training.

"Do you want some..." Strawberry cries.

Then the catching...D-Norris has looked OK behind the plate. There have been some plays that have cost us a couple of runs and the bat is barely awake. He has 61 AB 10 H 6 RBI with a .164 batting average. Ouch. Praise Jesus though (Sucre that is)! Jesus has 22 AB 6 H 6 RBI 1 HR and batting .275. Okay okay, very lopsided in terms of who is getting more play time but you kinda see the gist of things.  All in all though, it beats watching Curt Casali or Luke Maile behind the plate.

"Are you listening to me?!" Strawberry roared.
"Yes, darling, of course,"

So in conclusion, if The Rays are going to want to be relevant and sustain winning, they need Colby Rasmus, Shawn Tolleson, Boxy, Kevin Gadea, Tommy Hunter, Mallex Smith, Wilson Ramos, Cedeno (if he can throw strikes) and the most important one of all...Matt Duffy to return healthy and legit. It goes without saying the starters need to go deeper and that Austin Pruitt can spit in my face for never believing in him. Good for you bubba. I am excited to see how Hu works out. Afterall we did trade for him in 15' (the last time we were good). Corey Dickerson and Steven Souza Jr. have been really great to watch and KK shows he is streaky behind the plate. That loopy swing. Best minor league signing? SHANE PETERSON SUCKERS! Erasmo has been solid too. Pounds the zone fool.

"You want another beer baby?"
"Yes, why yes of course!" she concured.
Strawberry and I got drunk and merry then fornicated in the bathroom at Buffalo Wild Wings. As she rode me on the toilet, I could see engraved on the door poop.