Is Jim Hickey the problem?

[Matt]

have you been watching recently?  care to revisit this?

rays staff is doing an outstanding job.

[Bullpride08]

what is it, 5 runs total given up in the past 4 games.  The pitchers that did this were David Price, Kazmir, Neimann, and Garza.  The bullpen has given up one run if I recollect.  That's against two very fiesty teams in the Marlins and Blue Jays.  You come to expect it from Garza, but seeing Kazmir, Neimann, and Price all rebound like that says a lot about the staff and their abilities. 

[Matt]

there are little things too....like tonight when garza walked scutaro and was visable upset and hickey went out there....talked to him...calmed him down and garza got out of the inning.

and how about randy chote...this guy has been all over the place in like a 12 year career but he is having his best year ever as a ray.

for probably the lowest salary he has pitched for in 10 years.

great job.  but i guess some people listen to duemig and believe everything he says.

[Held_AccountaBull]

jim hickey is the reason the staff has been performing great the past two years

[Bullpride08]

there are little things too....like tonight when garza walked scutaro and was visable upset and hickey went out there....talked to him...calmed him down and garza got out of the inning.

and how about randy chote...this guy has been all over the place in like a 12 year career but he is having his best year ever as a ray.

for probably the lowest salary he has pitched for in 10 years.

great job.  but i guess some people listen to duemig and believe everything he says.

Randy Choate lives around the corner from me, or rather his wife and kids do now, they're getting divorced I hear, I met him a few times when he was with the Rays and D-backs.  Anyway, I've met Randy a few times and this guy unfortunately has been a journeyman, battling injuries, and being called up and down.  He was with the Rays previously, and others before that, which is what brought him here first to buy the home, then the Diamondbacks, and a few other stops before back at the Rays.  What he's done is amazing, and what's amazing isn't that they made him better but how they instilled confidence in his ability.  That's half the battle with many of these guys.  They gave him a chance to save some games, and get some easy opportunities to get saves which built his confidence.  Now he's pitching with a real high confidence level, and that makes him a better pitcher.  That's in itself shows Maddon and Hickey's ability to manage players. 

A lot of people complain about them pulling starters to early, and worry about pitch count to much.  But we have so many young starters and letting a guy go 6 innings of 2 run ball many may say, 'keep him in and let him finish the game'....but get the starter out, it keeps the pitch count low and the pitcher fresh, and it keeps his confidence high.  If he stays in, and gives up another 2-3 runs and loses the game on his own his confidence wanes, and they question their ability.  Pulling them at the right time keeps the confidence up, and shows confidence in the bullpen a 'win-win' on all accounts.  They know when to let a guy go further, and they do it on occasion but not at the detriment of the player's ability or confidence.  Another fine example of their ability to know when to pull and when to keep them in was a week ago when Price got rocked for 10 runs in the first three innings against Philly.  At first I was screaming at them to pull him, but later in the game Price shutout the Philly's for 3 straight innings before they pulled him.  The damage was already done, and we lost the game 10-1, but keeping Price in and letting him work through his issues might have given him the confidence to come back and pitch 7+ innings of 1 run ball against the Marlins in his next start.  That's good coaching knowing how to manage their pitchers, and sometimes it takes a while to see what they're doing to get an idea of their intentions but there is a genuine method to the madness.