Archive for May 16th, 2006

May 16

D-Rays vs. Chicago White Sox Tidbits

Uncategorized Cork Gaines No Comments »
  • The Rays are batting .199 in their last 24 games and are last in the majors (.230)
  • Tampa has scored less than 2 runs in 7 of last 24 games and 3 of last 5. The lack of run production is not a result of failing to drive runners in. Against the Blue Jays, the Rays left 3 runners on base TOTAL in the 3 game series.
  • 8-17 since sweeping Kansas City Royals.
  • Jonny Gomes is 2nd in the AL with 13 HR.
  • Ty Wiggington is 2nd in the majors with 15 game-tying or go-ahead RBI.
  • The Rays starting pitchers have the 2nd best ERA in the AL since Mark Hendrickson rejoined the rotation (17 games).
  • The bullpen has allowed at least one run in 14 of last 17 games and batters are hitting .314 against them on the season.
  • The D-Rays have score 4+ runs in an inning 3 times (last in majors) and have allowed 4+ runs in an inning 17 times (most in the majors).
  • D-Rays were 2-4 against the defending world series champs last season.
  • Doug Waechter will be skipped in the rotaion this time through so that Kazmir can pitch on his normal 4 days rest. Waechter will be available out of the bullpen.
  • Tonight’s starter Scott Kazmir has 3 of Rays’ last 5 wins. Since opening day loss to O’s he is 5-1 with a 2.00 ERA.
  • White Sox own the best record in baseball (25-12) but only lead the Tigers by 1 game in AL Central. They have won 11 of 16 and 24 of 32.
  • Chicago is led by their starting pitchers who lead the AL in quality starts, innings pitched, 2nd in wins and 3rd in ERA. However, the Rays will miss their top three starters, Mark Buehrle, Jose Contreras and Freddy Garcia. In addition Brandon McCarthy will be making his first start of the season tonight.
  • The Sox have the best road record in baseball since the beginngng of the 2005 season.
  • Former Devil Ray outfielder is in his first season as a radio broadcaster for the White Sox.

Probable Pitchers
Tuesday, 7:15 et
Chicago Brandon McCarthy, RHP (2-1, 5.21)
Devil Rays Scott Kazmir, LHP (5-2, 2.94)

Wednesday, 7:15 et
Chicago Jon Garland, RHP (2-2, 6.75)
Devil Rays Seth McClung, RHP (2-4, 5.91)

Thursday, 7:15 et
Chicago Javier Vazquez, RHP (4-2, 3.88)
Devil Rays Mark Hendrickson, LHP (2-3, 3.24)

May 16

D-Rays vs. Chicago White Sox Tidbits

Uncategorized Cork Gaines No Comments »
  • The Rays are batting .199 in their last 24 games and are last in the majors (.230)
  • Tampa has scored less than 2 runs in 7 of last 24 games and 3 of last 5. The lack of run production is not a result of failing to drive runners in. Against the Blue Jays, the Rays left 3 runners on base TOTAL in the 3 game series.
  • 8-17 since sweeping Kansas City Royals.
  • Jonny Gomes is 2nd in the AL with 13 HR.
  • Ty Wiggington is 2nd in the majors with 15 game-tying or go-ahead RBI.
  • The Rays starting pitchers have the 2nd best ERA in the AL since Mark Hendrickson rejoined the rotation (17 games).
  • The bullpen has allowed at least one run in 14 of last 17 games and batters are hitting .314 against them on the season.
  • The D-Rays have score 4+ runs in an inning 3 times (last in majors) and have allowed 4+ runs in an inning 17 times (most in the majors).
  • D-Rays were 2-4 against the defending world series champs last season.
  • Doug Waechter will be skipped in the rotaion this time through so that Kazmir can pitch on his normal 4 days rest. Waechter will be available out of the bullpen.
  • Tonight’s starter Scott Kazmir has 3 of Rays’ last 5 wins. Since opening day loss to O’s he is 5-1 with a 2.00 ERA.
  • White Sox own the best record in baseball (25-12) but only lead the Tigers by 1 game in AL Central. They have won 11 of 16 and 24 of 32.
  • Chicago is led by their starting pitchers who lead the AL in quality starts, innings pitched, 2nd in wins and 3rd in ERA. However, the Rays will miss their top three starters, Mark Buehrle, Jose Contreras and Freddy Garcia. In addition Brandon McCarthy will be making his first start of the season tonight.
  • The Sox have the best road record in baseball since the beginngng of the 2005 season.
  • Former Devil Ray outfielder is in his first season as a radio broadcaster for the White Sox.

Probable Pitchers
Tuesday, 7:15 et
Chicago Brandon McCarthy, RHP (2-1, 5.21)
Devil Rays Scott Kazmir, LHP (5-2, 2.94)

Wednesday, 7:15 et
Chicago Jon Garland, RHP (2-2, 6.75)
Devil Rays Seth McClung, RHP (2-4, 5.91)

Thursday, 7:15 et
Chicago Javier Vazquez, RHP (4-2, 3.88)
Devil Rays Mark Hendrickson, LHP (2-3, 3.24)

May 16

A Look At The Future: The Past Few Days On The Farm

Uncategorized Cork Gaines No Comments »

Durham Bulls (20-17, 9 gb). 1B Kevin Witt is tied for the International League lead with 8 home runs, while batting .287. The biggest surprise for the Bulls must be CF Darnell McDonald. He is 6th in batting (.331) and 5th in slugging (.541) with 6 home runs, 28 RBI and 8 stolen bases. Elijah Dukes has also put up strong numbers the first 37 games (.309-4-18). SS B. J. Upton continues to lead the league in stolen bases with 18. He has also raised his average to .292 with 4 home runs and 19 RBI. Oh by the way…he has committed a couple of errors. The pitching staff has been incredible for the most part. Jamie Shields (2-2, 2.91, 1.20) has been the beacon of control with a 40:4 strikeout to walk ratio. Brian Stokes (2-1, 2.06, 1.14) is among the league leaders in ERA. Chris Seddon, Edwin Jackson and Jason Hammel, have all shown signs of brilliance but have been inconsistent.

Montgomery Biscuits (22-16, 0.5 gb). 2B Elliot Johnson has been a pleasant surprise for the Biscuits. He is 5th in the Southern League in home runs (7) and batting average (.322). Wes Bankston who is trying to make the conversion to 3B has missed half the season with an injury, but was hitting .333 on the shelf but has committed 333 errors (actually 11). 1B Gabriel Martinez has slowed down considerably after a hot start (.273-5-15). Jason Pridie is only hitting .221 with 1 home run, but is 8 for 8 in stolen bases. In the starting rotation, Tony Paguero (4-3, 1.97, 0.91) and Jim Magrane (6-2, 2.61, 1.16) have been the lone bright spots. In the bullpen, Juan Salas has yet to allow an earned run in 18.2 innings and has struck out 28.

Visalia Oaks (14-23, 11.5 gb). C Jahn Jaso and SS Reid Brignac continue to splinter the ball. They are tied for 7th in the California League with .343 batting averages. Brignac is tied for 6th with 6 home runs, while Shaun Cumberland leads the league in dingers (9) and Patrick Breen is 3rd (7). Cumberland is also 2nd in RBI 29, but is only hitting .231. From the mound, Christopher Mason (2-2, 2.50, 1.21) is the lone starting pitcher that has been consistently good.

SW Michigan Devil Rays (20-17, 3.5 gb). There haven’t been any early season standouts at the plate for the D-Rays. James Hall is batting .320 with 3 home runs, but is 2-8 in stolen bases. Garrett Groce is batting .291 and leads the league with 13 stolen bases. On the other hand, the pitching staff continues to be solid with several members that could be seen in Tampa in the years to come. Wade Davis (3-0, 1.23, 1.15) has a big league arm, but is still struggling with his control. He has only surrendered 19 hits in 36.2 innings but has also allowed 23 walks. He is 4th in the league with 46 Ks. Jacob McGee (3-5, 3.12, 1.27) has been nearly as impressive with a league leading 55 strikeouts. The most impressive in the rotation might be Michael Wlodarczyk. In 48 innings, he is 4-1, with a 0.94 ERA and a 44 to 15 strikeout to walk ratio. In the bullpen, Greg Dupas has 9 saves in 15 appearances, with a 0.95 ERA.

May 16

A Look At The Future: The Past Few Days On The Farm

Uncategorized Cork Gaines No Comments »

Durham Bulls (20-17, 9 gb). 1B Kevin Witt is tied for the International League lead with 8 home runs, while batting .287. The biggest surprise for the Bulls must be CF Darnell McDonald. He is 6th in batting (.331) and 5th in slugging (.541) with 6 home runs, 28 RBI and 8 stolen bases. Elijah Dukes has also put up strong numbers the first 37 games (.309-4-18). SS B. J. Upton continues to lead the league in stolen bases with 18. He has also raised his average to .292 with 4 home runs and 19 RBI. Oh by the way…he has committed a couple of errors. The pitching staff has been incredible for the most part. Jamie Shields (2-2, 2.91, 1.20) has been the beacon of control with a 40:4 strikeout to walk ratio. Brian Stokes (2-1, 2.06, 1.14) is among the league leaders in ERA. Chris Seddon, Edwin Jackson and Jason Hammel, have all shown signs of brilliance but have been inconsistent.

Montgomery Biscuits (22-16, 0.5 gb). 2B Elliot Johnson has been a pleasant surprise for the Biscuits. He is 5th in the Southern League in home runs (7) and batting average (.322). Wes Bankston who is trying to make the conversion to 3B has missed half the season with an injury, but was hitting .333 on the shelf but has committed 333 errors (actually 11). 1B Gabriel Martinez has slowed down considerably after a hot start (.273-5-15). Jason Pridie is only hitting .221 with 1 home run, but is 8 for 8 in stolen bases. In the starting rotation, Tony Paguero (4-3, 1.97, 0.91) and Jim Magrane (6-2, 2.61, 1.16) have been the lone bright spots. In the bullpen, Juan Salas has yet to allow an earned run in 18.2 innings and has struck out 28.

Visalia Oaks (14-23, 11.5 gb). C Jahn Jaso and SS Reid Brignac continue to splinter the ball. They are tied for 7th in the California League with .343 batting averages. Brignac is tied for 6th with 6 home runs, while Shaun Cumberland leads the league in dingers (9) and Patrick Breen is 3rd (7). Cumberland is also 2nd in RBI 29, but is only hitting .231. From the mound, Christopher Mason (2-2, 2.50, 1.21) is the lone starting pitcher that has been consistently good.

SW Michigan Devil Rays (20-17, 3.5 gb). There haven’t been any early season standouts at the plate for the D-Rays. James Hall is batting .320 with 3 home runs, but is 2-8 in stolen bases. Garrett Groce is batting .291 and leads the league with 13 stolen bases. On the other hand, the pitching staff continues to be solid with several members that could be seen in Tampa in the years to come. Wade Davis (3-0, 1.23, 1.15) has a big league arm, but is still struggling with his control. He has only surrendered 19 hits in 36.2 innings but has also allowed 23 walks. He is 4th in the league with 46 Ks. Jacob McGee (3-5, 3.12, 1.27) has been nearly as impressive with a league leading 55 strikeouts. The most impressive in the rotation might be Michael Wlodarczyk. In 48 innings, he is 4-1, with a 0.94 ERA and a 44 to 15 strikeout to walk ratio. In the bullpen, Greg Dupas has 9 saves in 15 appearances, with a 0.95 ERA.

May 16

The Hangover: This Past Weekend In The AL East

Uncategorized Cork Gaines No Comments »

We apologize for the delay in posts. Today’s “Hangover” is both literally and well, ok it is literally. A member of the Rays Index family got married this past weekend in sunny southern California. We originally proposed to have a drink for every run the Rays scored while we were in San Diego, but then we realized we would be sober the entire trip. Needless to say, we came up with some other Devil Ray drinking rules…look for the D-Rays drinking game in the near future…we are back so, ON TO THE POSTS!

Boston Red Sox (22-14). The Idiots took 2 of 3 from the Evil Empire, and then played a total of 6 innings and lost all 3 games over the weekend, 1 to the Rangers and 2 to the gods who were angry for letting Jimmy Fallon from New York play a diehard member of Red Sox nation. Rumor has it Theo Epstein sacrificed a virgin to appease the gods. He must have gotten to the girl before her prom as the Sox rebounded to win their 12th straight against Baltimore despite threats of rain during the game.

New York Yankees (21-15). “Richard, who’s your favorite little rascal? Alfalfa? Or is it The Spankees?” The Bronx Roiders lost 2 of 3 to the Red Sox (again) but rebounded to take 2 of 3 from the A’s, who they always beat. Last night, the surprising Rangers took the opener of the 4 game set 4-2. The Yanks have been beset by injuries and age. This just in…Randy Johnson is 42 years old and is pitching like it. Jason Giambi left last night’s game with a needle stuck in his ass, Gary Sheffield has missed several games with a bruised ego, and Hideki Matsui will miss several months after losing his battle with Rodan. We feel awful.

Toronto Blue Jays (21-16). The Jays continue to hang in there, thanks in large part to the Rays. They took 2 of 3 from both the A’s and Tampa and are 1.5 games behind Boston. The team continues to score in bunches as they have scored at least 7 runs, 7 times in the past 2 weeks.

Baltimore Orioles (18-21). Kansas City can make a bad team look good and that was this case this past weekend as the O’s swept the lowly Royals. The joy was short-lived as the Red Sox brought them back down to earth with an 11-1 drubbing last night nd O’s fans are not the least bit happy about it. Maybe they should just forfeit all games against Boston.

Tampa Bay Devil Rays (15-23). You wanna see what it is like to have the Rays in first place? Turn your monitor upside down. Alas, it is not worth breaking a perfectly nice monitor over this team. Things were bad…they have gotten worse. The Rays now have the worst batting average in the majors (.230), last in the AL in OBP (.302), next to last in the AL in slugging (.384) and have only scored more runs than one AL team (Kansas City). What the heck is going on around here! The offense was supposed to be the lone bright spot for this team.

May 16

The Hangover: This Past Weekend In The AL East

Uncategorized Cork Gaines No Comments »

We apologize for the delay in posts. Today’s “Hangover” is both literally and well, ok it is literally. A member of the Rays Index family got married this past weekend in sunny southern California. We originally proposed to have a drink for every run the Rays scored while we were in San Diego, but then we realized we would be sober the entire trip. Needless to say, we came up with some other Devil Ray drinking rules…look for the D-Rays drinking game in the near future…we are back so, ON TO THE POSTS!

Boston Red Sox (22-14). The Idiots took 2 of 3 from the Evil Empire, and then played a total of 6 innings and lost all 3 games over the weekend, 1 to the Rangers and 2 to the gods who were angry for letting Jimmy Fallon from New York play a diehard member of Red Sox nation. Rumor has it Theo Epstein sacrificed a virgin to appease the gods. He must have gotten to the girl before her prom as the Sox rebounded to win their 12th straight against Baltimore despite threats of rain during the game.

New York Yankees (21-15). “Richard, who’s your favorite little rascal? Alfalfa? Or is it The Spankees?” The Bronx Roiders lost 2 of 3 to the Red Sox (again) but rebounded to take 2 of 3 from the A’s, who they always beat. Last night, the surprising Rangers took the opener of the 4 game set 4-2. The Yanks have been beset by injuries and age. This just in…Randy Johnson is 42 years old and is pitching like it. Jason Giambi left last night’s game with a needle stuck in his ass, Gary Sheffield has missed several games with a bruised ego, and Hideki Matsui will miss several months after losing his battle with Rodan. We feel awful.

Toronto Blue Jays (21-16). The Jays continue to hang in there, thanks in large part to the Rays. They took 2 of 3 from both the A’s and Tampa and are 1.5 games behind Boston. The team continues to score in bunches as they have scored at least 7 runs, 7 times in the past 2 weeks.

Baltimore Orioles (18-21). Kansas City can make a bad team look good and that was this case this past weekend as the O’s swept the lowly Royals. The joy was short-lived as the Red Sox brought them back down to earth with an 11-1 drubbing last night nd O’s fans are not the least bit happy about it. Maybe they should just forfeit all games against Boston.

Tampa Bay Devil Rays (15-23). You wanna see what it is like to have the Rays in first place? Turn your monitor upside down. Alas, it is not worth breaking a perfectly nice monitor over this team. Things were bad…they have gotten worse. The Rays now have the worst batting average in the majors (.230), last in the AL in OBP (.302), next to last in the AL in slugging (.384) and have only scored more runs than one AL team (Kansas City). What the heck is going on around here! The offense was supposed to be the lone bright spot for this team.