In a rare display of raw emotion, Brandon Lowe snapped at an umpire's strike call during Friday's eighth inning. The outburst showed fans a side of Tampa Bay's players they don't often witness.
"Just because you don't see somebody snap a bat over their knee or whatnot, it doesn't mean they don't care," said Lowe to the Tampa Bay Times.
At the plate, the team fights through a tough stretch. Behind closed doors, players grapple with their feelings while staying composed during games. Short fuses spark in dugouts.
Stats paint a grim picture. Fangraphs sees a 78-84 finish ahead, giving the team just a 15.7% chance to reach October baseball.
Minor league stats look just as bleak. Carson Williams sank from 10th to 21st in Baseball America's rankings after hitting .179 for Triple-A Durham. At Double-A, Brayden Taylor slid to 80th with a .152 average.
"I don't know that there's a negative thing that people could say about you that you probably haven't already said to yourself in the mirror at times," Lowe said. "There's no one harder on a player than themselves."
At their makeshift home in Steinbrenner Field, fans pack the stands. The 10,046-seat venue sold out 25 of 26 games: a stark shift from last year's thin crowds of 16,515 at the Trop.
After blowing a save on Thursday, Pete Fairbanks found his own fix: He went straight to the batting cage to swing away stress.
Off the field, staff wait anxiously for the NFL's schedule, hoping to dodge Bucs games set for September 7 and 21.
"Every single guy has a drive and the aspirations to be better and play to a higher standard, and each guy is working to get there," Lowe stated.
