Today (Friday) I had the pleasure of speaking with Jason Thornbury about the Rays among other fantasy topics on blogtalkradio.com.  Jason asked me about my opinion of the Rays-their rotation, certain players (Upton, Burrell) and the outlook as a team.  I predicted to Jason that not only would the Rays reach the mid-90s in wins; they'd keep the Yankees or Red Sox out of the playoffs.  I'm very high on all of the Rays (sans Pat Burrell) but after tonight, I'm a little more pessimistic.  Why?  Joe Maddon.

One of the questions Jason asked was which starter 1-3 I'd want to have on my fantasy team this year.  Without hesitation I answered Matt Garza.  He's the complete package; sometimes the mental makeup is lacking but I expect that to improve with his age/maturity.  I cited that I thought we've seen James Shields' ceiling-2006 or 2007 and that we haven't seen the best from Garza yet, who has the potential to be a true #1 starter.

I also quoted (without anything in front of me, honest my dog who is a beagle was barking outside to come in at the time) that Shields threw 129 innings before the All-Star break last season, which I was correct on (blind squirrel theory there).  In fact let's look at his numbers before and after the All-Star break:

Before: ERA-3.42, 1.25 WHIP over 129 innings

After:  ERA-5.16, 1.43 WHIP over 90.2 innings

So why does this matter?  Maddon allowed sophomore David Price to throw 111 pitches in his first outing Friday, despite having a 9-2 lead entering the eighth inning.  Point to the fact the bullpen was taxed after Jeff Niemann (who will be fine) took a line drive off his shoulder on Thursday night against Baltimore.  I don't buy it.  Price should have never entered the eighth inning at all.  There's enough of a bullpen there, especially with a seven run lead.

So let's go back to Matt Garza, who I recommended above all of the other starters on the Rays this year.  Maddon allowed him to throw eight innings-114 pitches in his first start on Wednesday night.  Granted, it was a closer game but who outside of Dusty Baker does this, the bullpen wasn't taxed then?  I'm a little more wary of the Rays now; they have a great rotation front to back despite lacking a solid #1 starter (i.e. Timmy, Roy, C.C.) but this overuse could cost them come September. 

Two years ago they made a great run to the World Series and ran out of gas.  The same will happen this year if Maddon keeps up his Baker-like tendencies.  This is a team who in poker-terms is "all-in" this year and will cut payroll by tens of millions of dollars next year (adios Carl Crawford).  If they expect to get into the playoffs, Maddon better use his starters with the postseason in mind.