Steinbrenner Field Anything But Friendly For Tampa Bay Rays

“I’m sure everybody thinks that it’s just like Yankee Stadium, and it’s not. The wind blows in almost every single game. It’s hard to see at night. And it’s kind of proven to be a little more difficult than people were originally thinking.”

What are some of the mitigating factors when looking at the Rays' home offense? Long fly balls to left and center field are getting knocked down by stiff breezes. The home-run numbers are better to right field, although the distance to right is 314 feet — just like at Yankee Stadium.

Tampa Bay's offense out of touch at home

The Rays have been shutout at home a lot this season, too. Their offense seems to lose its punch at the most inopportune times. This matter is not lost on Rays manager Kevin Cash's coaching staff, either.

“The park has been a big factor,” bench coach Rodney Linares said. “A lot of guys talk about going the other way (to right field) because the ball travels that way, and a lot of guys, they go away from their strengths sometimes. You can see the difference (when we play on the road). It has been a little challenging.” 

Even Cash admits that watching his lineup struggle at home is, well, baffling. 

“It’s puzzling, but that’s baseball at times,” he said. “I don’t have an explanation. It’s frustrating and it’s irritating.”

Tampa Bay, heading into a Thursday night series finale against the Philadelphia Phillies, suffered their sixth shutout this season on Wednesday, 7-0. Yes, another home-field setback for the Rays. Lowe doesn't need a microscope to identify his team's problems.

“Obviously, we’ve got to be better,” Lowe said. “We can’t just blame the (ballpark) for not scoring runs, but we’re going to have to figure it out here soon.”

The team called up phenom Chandler Simpson to give them some oomph in the lineup. 

After the Phillies, the Milwaukee Brewers will visit the Rays for a three-game weekend series. This will give Tampa Bay another shot at redemption for its losing ways.