Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Carlos Pena is hitting just .217 during the Rays' run of six losses in seven games to start September.

ROUGH MONTH FOR RAYS

By Mark Simon, ESPN Research

There are several pennant contenders currently reeling -- the Cubs, the Brewers, the D-backs -- but none is having as much trouble as the Rays, who have lost six out of seven after a 3-0 loss to the Red Sox on Monday at Fenway Park. The loss cut the Rays' lead to a half-game over the Red Sox in the American League East.

Tampa Bay has struggled to score the past two days, getting shut out in consecutive games for the first time since 2004, a reminder of bad times for a franchise thought to be past them.

The Rays seem to be missing the lineup presence brought by Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria. Their lack of offensive punch, particularly against left-handed pitchers like Jon Lester who shut down the Rays on Monday, is apparent.

Rays in September
W-L	1-6
BA	.268
BA with RISP	.210
Runs per game	3
Runs allowed per game	5.3
Home runs	3
Carlos Pena's BA	.217
Pena's RBIs	1

METS FACE CHALLENGES WITHOUT WAGNER

By Buck Showalter, ESPN

The loss of Billy Wagner is obviously going to be an issue for the Mets. I think all these young pitchers -- who are pitching in situations they haven't been in before -- were always thinking in the back of their minds that the cavalry was coming. There hadn't been as much pressure on them, therefore, as there is going to be now that they know for sure that Wagner is not coming back. They'll be forced to confront that fact, finally. In some ways, though, that could be a positive, now that they know what they'll have to deal with the rest of the way.

Since the Mets are in such a tight race, general manager Omar Minaya could consider going out and trading for a closer by giving up a quality prospect, but the problem with that idea is that any player traded for from this point forward is not going to be eligible for the postseason. So do you give up a quality prospect for a closer that won't be able to help your club in October, just to try to get to the postseason and then go from there? Or do you try to find success with the people you have already? Without a doubt, Minaya has some tough calls to make. As the manager, Jerry Manuel can certainly offer his reassurance to the clubhouse but, ultimately, reassurance comes from what takes place on the field.

Manuel can give the speech of his life and tell the team that everything will be fine even with the loss of Wagner, but if they go out and blow a game in the ninth inning he might lose a bit of his credibility. One mistake a manager can make is not giving the players enough credit for knowing what situation they're in. You can have a team meeting and get this response: No kidding, you think we didn't know that?

Past Baseball Tonight Clubhouses: Sept. 7 | Sept. 4 | Sept. 3 | Sept. 2 | Sept. 1 | Aug. 31

TOUCH 'EM ALL

Who went deep? Keep track of all the home runs hit each day on "Baseball Tonight" and on the Baseball Tonight Clubhouse page.

Click here to find out who hit the longest home run. For more, check out the Home Run Tracker page.

Home Run Tracker
NAME	HR	OPP	PITCHER	SITUATION
J. Bay, Bos	6	TB	Jackson	Bot 1: 2-1, 2 Outs. None on.
M. Ordonez, Det	19	Oak	Gonzalez	Bot 1: 3-2, 1 Outs. 1 on.
G. Sheffield, Det	15	Oak	Gonzalez	Bot 1: 3-2, 2 Outs. None on.
G. Sheffield, Det	16	Oak	Gonzalez	Bot 2: 3-1, 2 Outs. Gr. Slam.
M. Jacobs, Fla	31	Phi	Blanton	Top 3: 2-1, 2 Outs. 1 on.
L. Scott, Bal	22	Cle	Carmona	Bot 4: 0-1, 1 Outs. None on.
M. Cabrera, Det	33	Oak	Outman	Bot 3: 3-1, 2 Outs. 1 on.
J. Kendall, Mil	2	Cin	Volquez	Bot 2: 1-1, 1 Outs. 1 on.
A. Huff, Bal	31	Cle	Rincon	Bot 6: 2-0, 2 Outs. Gr. Slam.
M. Saccomanno, Hou	1	Pit	Snell	Bot 5: 0-0, 2 Outs. None on.
J. Werth, Phi	22	Fla	Nelson	Bot 7: 0-0, 2 Outs. 2 on.
J. Hardy, Mil	23	Cin	Volquez	Bot 5: 3-1, 2 Outs. None on.
C. Ross, Fla	20	Phi	Romero	Top 8: 2-1, 1 Outs. 1 on.
A. Jones, Bal	9	Cle	Donnelly	Bot 8: 0-0, 0 Outs. 2 on.
R. Hernandez, Bal	15	Cle	Donnelly	Bot 8: 1-2, 1 Outs. 1 on.
A. Gonzalez, SD	29	LAD	Maddux	Bot 1: 0-1, 2 Outs. 1 on.
M. Hessman, Det	2	Oak	Gray	Bot 8: 1-1, 2 Outs. None on.
J. Votto, Cin	19	Mil	Bush	Top 8: 1-0, 2 Outs. None on.
B. Wood, LAA	3	NYY	Pavano	Bot 3: 0-1, 0 Outs. None on.
B. Molina, SF	12	Ari	Petit	Bot 3: 0-0, 0 Outs. 2 on.
S. Rodriguez, LAA	2	NYY	Pavano	Bot 6: 0-1, 0 Outs. None on.
V. Guerrero, LAA	24	NYY	Giese	Bot 6: 3-2, 1 Outs. 1 on.
B. Wood, LAA	4	NYY	Britton	Bot 8: 3-1, 0 Outs. None on.