RaysBaseball.com:Rays hope jet lag doesn’t derail them

The Rays have some great momentum running into this West Coast road trip that will last 6 games. Bill Chastain put together this piece for MLB.com about the Rays hopes to avoid jet lag, and continue their winning ways.

ST. PETERSBURG — Taking a trip to the West Coast might provide a great opportunity for one to “find one’s head.” But for the Rays — and a lot of teams located in the East — heading West is not a great way to gain ground in the standings.

Tampa Bay will head to Seattle on Thursday to begin a six-game road trip Friday night in which it’ll play three against the Mariners before heading to Anaheim to play the Angels.

Given the Rays’ history against the Mariners and Angels — a combined mark of 38-68 against them on the road — this will indeed be a treacherous trip for a team hoping to remain in a pennant race.

Last season, the August trip to the West Coast proved particularly costly, as Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria were injured in Seattle. Then the team lost Troy Percival to an injury in Oakland.

Simply stated, the West Coast is a different animal and sleep is the factor that needs to be dealt with to find success.

“Oh yeah, it’s absolutely different,” Dan Wheeler said. “The most important thing for me is to get my sleep, because dealing with the time change can throw you in circles every now and then.”

On the bright side for this particular trip, the Rays have an off-day prior to heading West.

“We’re leaving mid-afternoon on [Thursday],” Wheeler said. “That will help, too. We’ll be able to get into the city, maybe have a bite to eat and try to settle into our routine. Then we have a day off coming back from the West Coast.

“I think the toughest part is coming back. When we get back from the West Coast, it takes a day or two to get back to East Coast time. So you do whatever you have to do to try and get yourself back to East Coast time. I try to stay as close to [East Coast time] as possible.”

Jason Bartlett has learned from personal experience that a Left Coast trip can be unsettling.

“The time difference is definitely a factor,” Bartlett said. “And there are good teams out there. I’d say the biggest thing is to try to get your rest on that plane, because when you get out there, the time difference is going to mess you up. You’re going to wake up early. You kind of have all day to sit around the hotel, and that kind of messes up your routine.”

The Rays shortstop pointed out that he’s had teammates who can “sleep no matter what.”

“I kind of have a routine,” Bartlett said. “I was getting up at 7 in the morning out there and not knowing what to do. I usually have family on the West Coast. Sometimes that works in my favor; I can get up and spend time with them.”

Carlos Pena has thought about the situation after many West Coast trips and now tries to regulate his sleep while operating away from Eastern Daylight Time.

“When you actually go out there, you gain some hours,” Pena said. “And I think it’s a great time to take advantage of that.

“I think when I go on a trip to the West Coast, what I’m trying to do is monitor my sleep — make sure that I make the adjustment. And that will make it a little more normal for me than if I didn’t pay attention to it, and the next thing you know, you’re all out of whack, because it will throw you off.”

Crawford likes to be well rested, so he takes advantage of the odd hours to get additional sleep.

“Thing is, you get more time, you get to rest up more,” Crawford said. “You get in, get a bite to eat. Me personally, I just go straight to sleep after that. I try to get as much sleep as I can. It’s nice to get those extra hours.”

One thing Rays players agree upon is that having a West Coast trip in the rearview mirror will be a plus.

“Not having to make that trip in September is huge,” Wheeler said. “We’re already pretty tired, because it’s a long season. This will be a short trip.”

Added Crawford: “It’s best to have it in August [rather] than September, so you can go ahead and get it out of the way because of the travel. That’s probably the only bad thing about it, the travel. But I’m asleep most of the time, so I never really notice it.”