The Rays came up swinging against Shields and had him on the ropes right from the onset. Desmond Jennings singled to begin the game before Matt Joyce took an errant fastball from Shields into the seats for a 2-run home run. Two batters later, Evan Longoria walked and a James Loney double gave the Rays 2nd and 3rd with just 1 out. But Shields bore down from there, striking out Yunel Escobar and Luke Scott to end the inning, and that was the turning point of his outing. Shields retired 20 of the last 22 batters he faced including 13 in a row from the 3rd to the 7th, and his final line was quite impressive. He went 7 innings allowing just 2 runs on 5 hits, striking out 7 while walking 1. But if the Rays had their way, he would have thrown that exact line but come away with a loss. In this game, though, it was not to be.

Through 5 innings, Alex Cobb had been rolling, allowing no runs on 4 hits, striking out 5 while walking none. A major part of that was his curveball. He was able to use it to continuously to keep hitters off-balance, using it 6 times in the first 5 innings to get called strikes, all on the first pitch or second pitch of at-bats. Then Cobb started Alcides Escobar with a curveball for a strike in the 6th on his way to forcing him to groundout. At that point, the Royals had seen enough. Cobb was keeping Kansas City hitters off-balance with his curveball, but it really was not that great of a pitch, being left in hittable zones far too often. They only couldn’t hit it because they weren’t expecting it. But they had a trick in their back pocket to counteract that–sitting curveball on first pitches and on 0-1.

According to Brooks Baseball, Cobb threw his curveball 40% of the time on the first pitch and 36% of the time on 0-1, both more than any of his other pitches. And the Royals were not going to let him get away with getting ahead in the count against them on a mediocre offering. With 2 outs and nobody on in the 6th, Eric Hosmer saw Cobb’s first-pitch curveball coming and smacked it to left field for a double. Lorenzo Cain wasn’t fooled either when Cobb went to the curve on 0-1 against him and laced a single to left field to make it a 2-1 game. And with Cobb forsaking his curveball knowing that it wasn’t fooling anyone, he threw first-pitch fastballs to each of the next three hitters, missing each time, and on 1-0 was forced to resort to the pitch he used the least in that count, his split-change. The results were disastrous. Mike Moustakas drilled a homer to make it 3-2 before Jeff Francoeur doubled and Salvador Perez singled to make it 4-2. Jamey Wright came in to finally escape the jam. The message here is simple: Cobb has to change his approach or hitters will take advantage. He had been dominant entering this outing, but the league adjusted to him and he has to find a way to adjust back to remain successful.

Cobb’s collapse was only the start for Rays pitching as Brandon Gomes allowed 3 more runs in the 8th before Cesar Ramos allowed one in the 9th. All of Gomes’ runs were earned, but his defense did him no favors at all. Ryan Roberts called Desmond Jennings and Matt Joyce off on a popup to shallow right-center and the ball dropped in for a single that loaded the bases. And after a Moustakas sac fly, a Jose Molina throwing error brought home another run before Gomes allowed a Francoeur RBI triple to complete the damage. On the offensive side for the Rays, Joyce and Loney did have great games, with Joyce going 2 for 5 and Loney going 3 for 4, but the two accounted for 5 of the Rays’ 8 hits and that just won’t do it. If Cobb had stayed untouchable and the bullpen did its job behind him, maybe Joyce’s 2-run homer in the first inning could have been enough. But as the pitching floundered, the Rays’ hitters could do nothing but watch helplessly, making a bad situation even worse.

The Rays look to get the taste of this one out of their mouths as they take on Kansas City again on Wednesday night at 8:10 PM, with Jeremy Hellickson opposing Luis Mendoza. Hellickson was anointed the Rays’ number two starter for a reason–he has the talent and the poise to pick up Cobb and get this team right back on track–and the Rays offense has to do their part to support him. Kansas City has been a house of horrors for the Rays the past few years, but it’s time to change that over the next two games.

This isn’t a Scott Kazmir situation where he departed only after following apart. This isn’t even a Carl Crawford situation where he became a free agent and the Rays simply couldn’t afford him. The Rays had Shields under contract for two more years and traded him away. What did they receive? A top outfield prospect in Wil Myers who has a chance to team with Evan Longoria and Ben Zobrist to give them the strongest offense they have ever had for years to come. But was it worth it? It isn’t just the dollars and cents. It isn’t just the performance Shields gave the Rays and could continue to give. Isn’t it humiliating as a Rays fan to know that the most reliable pitcher you have ever seen is wearing another uniform not because he lost effectiveness, not out of necessity, but because the Rays made a choice? Is this going to haunt the Rays forever?

Tom Seaver put the New York Mets on the map, playing a major role in turning them from a laughingstock throughout baseball to the champions of baseball in 1969 and a perennial contender for years thereafter, including a return to the World Series in 1973. James Shields is no Tom Seaver, but the role he’s playing is exactly the same. Seaver went 5-3 with a 2.28 ERA in 11 starts against the Mets as a member of the Cincinnati Reds and tossed a no-hitter in a Reds uniform in 1978, his first full season in Cincinnati. The Mets franchise would not get a no-hitter until Johan Santana in 2012. It was in Seaver’s final season as a professional in 1986, though, the Mets won the World Series again, with Seaver closing out his career as a member of the AL champion Red Sox. Just because Seaver was such an integral part of the Mets’ past didn’t mean he had to be a part of their future and didn’t mean they could not overcome his loss. And the Mets only traded Seaver because they were losing, going just 64-98 in 1977, and they wouldn’t finish above .500 again until 1984. That isn’t the case with this Rays team. Shields is gone, but the Rays’ pitching staff is as talented as ever and their team has a chance to make the postseason and do damage once they get there. The only thing left is the psychological hurdle of losing Shields, of knowing that when there’s a big game, there won’t be Big Game James taking the mound. Can they overcome that? It’s going to be an undergoing process, but their matchup with Shields tonight gives them a chance to get the ball rolling and  build confidence even with their security blanket gone. Can the Rays demonstrate that as crucial that Shields was to their success, they can reach even loftier heights without him?

Robbie Knopf: Last year, the Royals went 6-15 in April and everyone knew they were dead in the water from the start. This year, Kansas City is 13-q-, down in the AL Central by just half a game, and has certainly looked formidable so far. How exciting has it been to watch the Royals start like this and do you think this team is good enough to push for a postseason berth?

Mike Vamosi: As a life long Royals fan I’ve been tried to remain cautiously optimistic with this start and who they’ve beat. But you’re right compared to previous starts to the season. Being above .500 after this month is encouraging for sure especially given how much this fan base wants to win.

If the first month is any indication I think that Kansas City can push Detroit for the AL Central title which hopefully means the record is good enough to be in the wildcard conversation. The Royals have the pitching, it’s just can the offense come around to support that staff during the course of the season. Something that should help the team is that near midseason, Felipe Paulino and Danny Duffy will be back from the DL which will only help. And if they are still in the race I’d hope the front office will address the offense if it’s still scuffling along.

RK: James Shields has come into Kansas City and certainly been ace-caliber so far, managing a 3.09 ERA and a 21-9 strikeout to walk ratio in 35 IP, but he’s from alone is the Royals’ top four starters all have ERAs 3.20 or below. What are your thoughts on that? Is Shields a real ace? Has Ervin Santana returned to form? Can Davis continue to be effective in his return to the rotation?

MV: Shields has been an ace both on and off the field which I think has changed the clubhouse so far this season. Seeing the comments from Royals players and fans it’s been worth it so far. Other guys in the rotation have been equally as good which has resulted in the team’s record so far in 2013. Santana has been a pleasant surprise as he’s piling up the innings while not allowing opponents to hit the long ball on him. One of the local radio guys in KC has called Davis “Wildcard” but for the most part I think most fans have liked what they’ve especially the gem in Atlanta. Jeremy Guthrie also needs to be given credit as he’s been beyond surprising since coming over last summer.

RK: Much has been made of the development of Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas as a major reason why the Royals were going to improve significantly this season. But to begin the year, the two still have not hit a home run. How worried are you about them moving forward? Do you think they will right themselves by the time the season is through?

MV: I’d be lying if I told you the two are disappointing right now on offense in terms of power and production, but for the most part they continue to play good defense to keep them on the field. If the next few weeks and months they are at the same point, something has to be done even if that’s sending them to Omaha like the organization did for Alex Gordon and even Billy Butler. Long-term both should be good to go but in the present both are HUGE cogs for where this team wants to go.

RK: Plenty of people laughed when the Royals decided to tender Luke Hochevar a contract, but he’s been excellent to begin the season out of the bullpen, managing a 1.23 ERA and a 10-3 K-BB in 7.1 IP. Bruce Chen is another starter-turned-reliever who has been money, not allowing a run in 7.2 innings, striking out 8 while walking none. Hochevar and Chen won’t keep this up, but do you think they can be effective parts of the Royals bullpen?

MV: With Dayton Moore going out and revamping the rotation having Chen and Hoch in the ‘pen has worked out so far. I think both have deceiving stats given how little they’ve been needed with the starters being so good so far this year. I’ve got more trust in Chen during the season as he has been better statistically when he enters at the start of an inning over coming in with inheriting runners. We’ll see but the team is no doubt better with each coming in out of the bullpen.

RK: Jeff Francoeur is struggling again, managing just a .247/.282/.333 line (70 OPS+) in 85 PA’s to begin the year. Is it time to cut him? How much do you miss Wil Myers?

MV: Frenchy moves around the outfield like he’s got a piano on his back if the ball isn’t hit to him. Any other team would’ve got rid of him but GMDM (Dayton Moore) signed him out of high school in Atlanta so I think it’s sentimental. Yost also seems to love penciling him in over putting Jarrod Dyson in center and Lorenzo Cain in right to see if that work. But yes, each mistake brings up Wil Myers name but if he’s in the OF the rotation takes a hit as you’d still have Shields so yeah…

Thanks to Mike for answering my questions. Should be an exciting series between the Rays and Royals and we’ll have to see who will come out on top.