[Cannon Shell]

James Shields pondered the questions for a moment, then boomeranged it right back at the person making the query.

"How good do you think our starting rotation is?" said the man who has been the starting pitcher in each of the Rays' last three openers.

It was a fair enough request, considering I had asked "Big Game James" for some of his time to answer questions, and he has always been unfailing cooperative over the years. Plus, it was an easy enough question to answer: of course I like the Rays' rotation. In fact, the only people who probably don't like the Rays' starting pitchers are the opposing hitters who must face Shields, Matt Garza, Jeff Niemann, Wade Davis, and left-hander David Price. The Rays lead the American League in starters' ERA (2.58), overall ERA, and quality start percentage (.744, 29-of-39).

Garza has been the staff leader with 1.9 SNLVAR, while Niemann (1.8), Price (1.7), Shields (1.2) and Davis (1.0) have also made major contributions. All are either just entering or haven't yet reached the primes of their career as Shields is the elder statesman at 28, Niemann is 27, Garza is 26 and Price and Davis are both 24. Because of their relative youth, the five starters have become a close-knit group, and Rays manager Joe Maddon believes that has helped spark their success.

"You have five guys who are continually rooting for each other, continually supporting each other," Maddon said. "That's important, especially with a young group. They are always encouraging each other and on the day each individual is pitching, he doesn't have four bigger supporters than the other guys in the rotation and on the days when James Shields and David Price aren't pitching, the starting pitcher doesn't have a more vocal supporter in the ballpark."

The old baseball adage says that hitting is contagious. However, not hitting seems to be contagious when teams face the Rays and Shields says it is because the rotation has put a new spin on an old saw.

"This is a situation where good pitching is contagious," Shields said. "Everyone is trying to one-up the next guy. Someone will go out and throw a good game one night and the next guy in the rotation will want to prove he is even better the next night. It's a competition among the five of us and it's been a very healthy competition. We're all pushing each other to be the best pitcher possible and it's been a fun thing to watch and be a part of this season."

The Rays have parlayed the good starting pitching into the best record in the major leagues at 28-11, which also represents the best start in franchise history. Furthermore, the starters have helped reduce the use of the bullpen, which is seen by many analysts to be the Rays' potential fatal flaw, by averaging 6.6 innings an outing. The underexposed relievers have also been very good to this point as the Rays' 2.98 bullpen ERA is second in the AL to only the Tigers, who have a 2.49 mark.

And the Rays have put up those kinds of numbers despite having left-hander J.P. Howell, their saves leader last year, out all season with a shoulder injury that will likely require surgery. Maddon is fundamentally a believer in the Bill James' theory that a manager should deploy his best relievers in the most high-leverage late-inning situations rather than having specific roles. However, he also realizes that pitchers want to have a specific idea of when they are going to pitch, which is why the Rays traded with the Braves for closer Rafael Soriano in the offseason and have a more traditional bullpen setup this season. Soriano has contributed 1.7 WXRL and Dan Wheeler has added 0.7 in a set-up role.

The Rays have needed the strong pitching as their offense has cooled after a strong start. The Rays are second in the league in scoring with an average of 5.31 runs a game but have been held to four runs or less in 11 of their last 17 games. Center fielder B.J. Upton (.255 TAv), first baseman Carlos Pena (.239), and shortstop Jason Bartlett (.235) are all off to slow starts.

"We're going to start hitting again, I have no doubt about that because we have some of the best players in the league in our lineup," Shields said. "It's our job as a pitching staff to pick up the slack until the offense comes back around. It's no problem. We're all in this together and the only thing we're worried about is winning ballgames."

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/ar...rticleid=10912