Archive for December 3rd, 2007

Dec 03

[ELIJAH DUKES] Elijah Dukes Has Been Traded To The Nationals

Elijah Dukes, Glenn Gibson, Josh Wilson Cork Gaines No Comments »

[Update 6:22pm] The Rays traded Elijah Dukes for one of the pitchers that they coveted from the Nationals. The player acquired by the Rays is Glenn Gibson. According to earlier reports, Gibson was one of the pitchers that the Nationals were refusing to part with. Gibson, a tall lanky (6’4″ 195) left hander, was a 4th round selection by the Nationals out of high school in the 2006 draft. After only 6 innings of work in 2006, Gibson appeared in 12 games this past season (all starts) for Vermont of the New York-Penn League. He posted a 3.10 ERA and struck out 58 in 58 innings, while walking 15.

FoxSports is reporting that Elijah Dukes has been traded to the Washington Nationals for a minor leaguer. The minor league player has not been identified, but is not believed to be a member of the Nationals’ 40-man roster.

A press conference has been scheduled for 6 pm

In other news, Josh Wilson was placed on waivers and claimed by the Pirates.

We will update this post as more details become available.

Rays trade outfielder Elijah Dukes to Nationals [Yahoo! Sports]
Nats acquire Dukes from Tampa Bay [Fox Sports]
Dukes traded to Nationals [TampaBay.com]

Dec 03

[ELIJAH DUKES] Elijah Dukes Really Doesn’t Want To Play For The Tampa Bay Rays

Delmon Young Cork Gaines 5 Comments »

Last Wednesday, The Rays traded Delmon Young to the Minnesota Twins leaving the Rays without an obvious choice to play right field in 2008.

Elijah Dukes could have potentially been the Rays opening-day right fielder…If only he could have kept out of trouble. After his latest incident, we have a sneaky suspicion that the Delmon Young trade scared Dukes in which we suspect a phone conversation with his agent went something like this…

Dukes Agent: (upon hearing about Delmon Young trade, calls Dukes)
Dukes: what up Dawg
Dukes Agent: The Rays just traded DY.
Dukes: That lucky shit. What else I gotta do to get outta that shit?
Dukes Agent: Are you sure Elijah?
Dukes: How many times I gotta tell ya. You are to address me as “Big Dawg”
Dukes Agent: sorry. Big Dawg…are you sure you want out of Tampa? You could be a starting major leaguer this season again.
Dukes: I’m gonna send that Andy Freedude a picture of my nine. I aint even bullshittin.
Dukes Agent: No. No Big Dawg. We have to be careful. We can’t do anything too big. We need you to just do something a little crazy. Not bat-shit crazy. More like, you-haven’t-gotten-any-good-weed-in-a-week crazy.
Dukes: What if I charge the mound and pummel the pitcher tonight?
Dukes Agent: No. Still too much.
Dukes: Aite. I got it. I’ll pretend like I’m gonna go all bat shit-crazy, but I won’t really. Maybe grab my crotch at the fans. They always throwin shit at me anyway. And then I will get in the umpires face and scare him real good.
Dukes Agent: Yeah. *seeing it in his head* Yeah! That’s perfect Elij…er…Big Dawg.
Dukes: It’s good as done.
Dukes Agent: Is there anything else you need while you are down there?
Dukes: Yeah dawg. I forgot my iPod that has all the Mozart and Schubert on it. And there is nobody down here that likes this wine that I brought with me. We should get some 2000 Chateau Margeaux. And I really miss our late night talks over a game of chess. Maybe you could come down this weekend.
Dukes Agent: You got it. Just remember. Don’t do anything too crazy. We just want the Rays to trade you, but we don’t want other teams to get scared.
Dukes: You know me Dawg.

On Thursday, the dark horse candidate to replace Young, and may be the most talented potential right fielder reminded everybody that he is still Elijah Dukes. In his first game back after short break back in the States, Dukes made an obscene gesture to the fans in the Dominican Winter League, got into a heated argument with an umpire after being ejected, had to be restrained by several teammates that sensed that Dukes was about to do something crazy and generally reminded everybody that he has no desire to play for the Rays ever again….

(Dukes) objected to a strike call in his first at-bat. He was hit by a pitch in his next at-bat, flung his bat to the ground and on his way to first made a suggestive gesture to the crowd, which had been jeering him. He also had words with the catcher when he shook his head after taking a pitch.

Dukes, 23, reacted emotionally and angrily to a third-strike call, going chest-to-chest with an umpire after he was ejected in the ninth inning. He had to be restrained by several teammates at different times.”It got a little ugly,” said Jesus Campos, baseball operations vice president of the host Gigantes team. “If it wasn’t for (teammate) Andy Tracy holding him back, things could have gotten a lot worse. … It definitely wasn’t a safe situation for the umpire because (Dukes, 6-2, 250) is a big guy.”

We have been unable to confirm but we have heard that the “suggestive gesture” was Dukes grabbing his crotch towards the crowd.

The Rays will spend the rest of the off-season looking for a player to play right field. That player could come via free agency or more likely through a trade. In addition, there are several in-house candidates that may be able to fill the void, but they all come with large question marks whether it be Rocco Baldelli (health concerns), Jonny Gomes (defensive concerns, prone to deep slumps at plate) or Justin Ruggiano (minor league numbers suggest mediocre major leaguer at best).

And then there is our own mischievous little badger, Elijah Dukes.

From a purely baseball point-of-view, Dukes is the best solution in right field. Before off-field problems set in, ending his season, Dukes proved that he is a major league talent. Despite only hitting .190, Dukes hit 10 home runs and posted a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 44 to 33 in only 52 games.

Bugs & Cranks has been chronicling the “Redemption of Elijah Dukes” all off-season and his success and behavior in the Dominican Winter League indicated that Dukes was starting to get back to just being a baseball player and he was doing that very well. In doing so, Dukes may have been inching his way back into favor with the Rays.

Recent comments by Andrew Friedman seemed to back this notion.

“Elijah continues to make great strides,” said Andrew Friedman, Devil Rays executive vice president of baseball operation. “We’re still at the point in the process where it would be premature to elaborate much more, but we feel like he is at the stage where it’s appropriate for him to go out and play some in the Winter League and take it from there.”

With the Rays trading Young and with no obvious in-house replacement, Dukes could have potentially been the Rays opening-day right fielder…If only he could have kept out of trouble.

Rays Trade Delmon Young And Two Others To The Twins For Matt Garza, Jason Bartlett And A Minor Leaguer [Rays Index]
Elijah Dukes Blends Right Into Dominican Baseball [Deadspin]
Dukes Erupts Yet Again [TampaBay.com]
The Redemption of Elijah Dukes – First YouTubes [Bugs & Cranks]
Dukes to Play in Winter League [Devil Rays]

Dec 03

[DEVIL RAYS BLOGS] New Rays Blogger Looks At The Raysiverse Through Pinstripe-Tinted Glasses

Rays Anatomy Cork Gaines 2 Comments »

That new Rays blogger over at MVN and Rays Anatomy that we mentioned last week? He is a Yankees fan.

Sweet Fancy Moses!

Eric SanInocencio was actually born in the Bronx. Having lived in the Bronx ourselves for a time, we can tell you…this is going to be fun…Well, it will be fun if you are the sort of person that thinks pissing in your own bed is “fun”.

And the bed-pissing has already begun. He hasn’t been on duty for a month yet, and he has already written a post about payroll. If you have been with us for a while we NEV-ER bitch about payroll, but the last thing in the world we need is for a Yankees fan to preach to us about the Rays payroll.

While most major league team’s salaries range from 50-100 million, there are some that are resemble a fine wine (Yanks 189 million) and others that look like a case of Milwaukee’s Best (Rays 24 million).

Of course that fine wine must be a little sour as it has earned the Yankees fewer championships in the last seven years than two expansion franchises (1 each from the D-Backs and the Marlins) and the same number as the Devil Rays. Then again we do like Milwaukee’s Best better than a few fine wines that we have tasted in our day…especially when cost is factored in.

Tampa on the other hand has to compete with not only the “Evil Empire” but “Red Sox Nation” which checks in at number two in the payroll scale with a total salary collection of 143 million. Talk about unfair. You’ll never hear the players or ownership say it, but this is definitely a Mount Everest type of climb to respectability.

Really? There is payroll disparity in the AL East? We had no idea. Thank goodness there was a Yankees fan there to keep us informed.

The Rays may not be able to climb Mt Everest as often as the Yankees can climb Mt. Ant Hill…but when the Rays reach the top, the Ray will achieve respectability the Yankees can only dream of.

In fairness, Mr. SanInocencio appears to be a good writer, albeit a long-winded one, and on the surface he appears to know his stuff and the model for his blog is unique and refreshing. Still we are withholding our final judgment until we can know for certain whether Rays Anatomy can separate their pinstripes from their writing. It is a whole new ballgame with the Rays. A typical Yankees fan sees a hole in their lineup and thinks the rest of baseball is their own personal minor league system, and asks “which future hall-of-famer, perennial all-star, is now obligated to come fill our hole?”

We hope that Mr. SanInocencio realizes that things don’t work that way in the Raysiverse. Andrew Friedman and Co. are trying to build a winning baseball team, not a Tiffany’s display case.

Jonny Gomes Never Saw A Pitch He Didn’t Like [Rays Index]
Hey Fellas, Can You Spare A Dollar? Maybe 170 Million? (Payroll Fun) [Rays Anatomy]

Dec 03

[THE HANGOVER] Winter Meetings Are Underway In Nashville

Al Reyes, Brian Barton, Carl Crawford, Dale Thayer, Delmon Young, Dioner Navarro, Jason Bartlett, Joe Maddon, Juan Salas, Marc Topkin, Nick DeBarr, Troy Percival Cork Gaines 5 Comments »

Tampa Bay Rays (66-96)
Correction: On Friday we mentioned that Saturday was the deadline for offering arbitration to all players that are arbitration eligible. In fact, the deadline was only for teams to offer arbitration to their free agents. Players with at least three years, but less than six years of major league experience, are also eligible for arbitration, but there is a separate deadline for teams to offer those players arbitration. That would be the non-tender deadline of December 12…Trying to understand baseball’s contract rules is often like trying to understand the tax code or Joe Maddon’s starting lineups.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

  • We have yet another new Tampa Bay Rays website in the blogosphere, The Rays Way. The new blogger is younger, but he is a diehard Rays fan, which is not always the case with some of these sites. We are not saying a site cannot be good if it is not run by fans, but there is something that is added to the mix when the writer(s) have an emotional attachment to the team they are covering. So if you have a moment, stop by and welcome The Rays Way to the neighborhood. [The Rays Way]
  • We think Marc Topkin is in Nashville for the winter meetings. We say “think” because there is no by-line on the blog post. We also assume it is Topkin (and not Eduardo Encina) because the writer announces that he will not report on every rumor because “so many of them are made up”. And we already know that Topkin is the one person that always just knows what rumors are true, and which are not. [tampabay.com]
  • Marc Lancaster thinks the Rays will not be very active at the winter meetings (despite still needing a left bat, a lefty reliever, a backup catcher and a right fielder, not to mention possibly adding a veteran starting pitcher). [TBO]

But when the Tampa Bay contingent rolls into the Opryland Hotel this morning for four days of non-stop talk, if not necessarily much action, the group can take comfort in knowing most of its frontline needs already have been addressed.

  • On the other hand, Roger Mooney believes the Rays may actually open up their wallet. This seems to be a bit far in the other direction. Based on the moves already made and speculating on arbitration values, the Rays 2008 Payroll is in the neighborhood of $38 million already, which is already a couple of million over their projected payroll increase of 20%. More likely the additions will come via trade [Bradenton Herald]
  • The St. Pete Times has a story that shows the Rays have a lot of hoops to jump through before they get approval to build a new stadium. IF they can successfully maneuver the gauntlet, they will break ground in less than 500 days. [St. Pete Times]
  • The Rule 5 Draft is on Thursday and the Rays have the first pick, should they decide to use it. MLB Trade Rumors has a source that the Rays may select outfielder Brian Barton, and outfielder in AA for the Indians. He is a speedster that has posted strong OPS numbers throughout the minors, but some worry that the numbers may be skewed because he has always been older than most of his competition and may not be a major league talent. It would cost the Rays $50,000 to select Barton and would have to keep him on the 25-man roster all season long or offer him back to the Indians for $25,000. In addition there are several Rays players that may be selected by other teams, including Dale Thayer and Nick DeBarr. [MLB Trade Rumors]
  • A statistical look at Brian Barton and the other top prospects that are available in the Rule 5 draft. [Beyond the Boxscore]
  • The Rays have already had one of their busiest off-seasons in team history, but there is still plenty of work to do. All of the sudden there is a glaring hole in right field that may or may not be able to be filled by some combination of Rocco Baldelli, Jonny Gomes and Justin Ruggiano, none of whom screams huge 2008 numbers. The team also needs a left-handed bat, a veteran catcher to back up Dioner Navarro, and a lefty in the bullpen. [Devil Rays]
  • If the goal of the Tampa Bay Rays brass was to get more people to pay attention to the Rays, it looks like it is working. The Tampa Bay Bucs are now 8-4, following a game that I am fairly certain took a couple of days off of my life, and are playing their best ball since the Super Bowl season…yet Best Bucs Blog took time to write a post about the Tampa Bay Rays and all the changes that have occurred or have been proposed, entitled “Cautiously Optimistic”. The title is an apt one. There is still a lot of work to do. [Best Bucs Blog]
  • Before last season we called for people to jump on board the Devil Rays Bandwagon, so as to enjoy the ride to the top. With all the recent changes others are starting to take notice and are ready to jump on board. [New University]
  • It was no surprise, but on Friday, Joe Maddon named Troy Percival the team’s 2008 closer. While Al Reyes is the most directly affected, Juan Salas will also have a considerably different role in 2008. If Reyes were to be the closer in 2008, the Rays would have likely given Salas occasional save opportunities with the purpose of auditioning as well as training Salas to be the closer for 2009 and beyond. With Percy on board for the next two seasons, Salas, who has options remaining, may now begin the season in Durham as the Bulls’ closer. [TBO]
  • We have no doubt that Troy Percival is great in the clubhouse, and he may be a great presence for the other relievers, but lets ease up on all the talk of the “leadership” effect from a player that spends at least 8 innings of every game sitting in the bullpen. [TBO]
  • Dennis Maffezzoli thinks that the Rays added a couple of big pieces in Matt Garza and Jason Bartlett, in addition he believes trading Delmon Young might have been addition-by-subtraction. [Herald-Tribune]
  • With the loss of Delmon Young, the price for Carl Crawford just went up. We wouldn’t go so far as to say he is “untouchable” as the Chicago Tribune suggests, but the bounty would be great. [Chicago Tribune]
  • Oh, It’s THOSE Girls wrote an open letter to new Rays shortstop Jason Bartlett. Apparently they are going to miss his baseball skills and his cuteness, and have named him an “honorary boyfriend”. [Oh, It's THOSE Girls]