Huh? — you're saying. Big game? In Cleveland? The 48th game of a 162-game season. Yes. Here's why:

The Rays managed to go a game over. 500 last week and things were looking damn near rosy. Here's what happened since. They lost to the Florida Marlins in 11 innings; then came The Collapse, an 11-10 loss to the Cleveland Indians, followed by last night's lethargic 5-1 loss to Cleveland.

In the process, the team lost second baseman Akinori Iwamura for the season when he tore knee ligaments trying to turn a double play, lost shorstop Jason Bartlett, who was leading the American League in batting average, to a  sprained ankle. He's on the 15-day Disabled List. Starting pitcher Scott Kazmir was also put on the DL to fix his ever-vexing mechanics (and probably get see a shrink as well). Alleged closer Troy Percival left the team with shoulder soreness, and returned to California to contemplate retirement.

Less obvious, but still having an effect:Third baseman Evan Longoria has cooled off at the plate (down to .324 and not knocking in as many runs). First baseman Carlos Pena has misplaced his homerun stroke for the time being. The bullpen continues to struggle. Matt Garza, the most dependable starter, took a loss and gave up three homeruns last night.

This article appears in May 27 – Jun 2, 2009.

Eric Snider is the dean of Bay area music critics. He started in the early 1980s as one of the founding members of Music magazine, a free bi-monthly. He was the pop music critic for the then-St. Petersburg...