Archive for January 11th, 2008

Jan 11

[FRIDAY HAPPY HOUR] Joe Maddon Considers Mediocrity A ‘Reasonable Goal’

Joe Maddon hates my liver Cork Gaines 6 Comments »

We love Joe Maddon. We really do (Actually, not all of us love Papa Joe. DRG hates Maddon and and threatens to punch me in the face every time I write something that even remotely supports him). Even though we love Papa Joe, we admit that we can be hard on him from time to time and THIS is the number one reason…

At least 81 (wins), from what manager Joe Maddon envisions. “I think it’s a reasonable goal,” Maddon said.

Actually Joe. It is not a “reasonable goal”. It is not a reasonable goal when you have three stud starting pitchers, a solid 8th and 9th inning duo and at least five players in the everyday lineup with all-star potential.

You wanna know what a “reasonable goal” is? THE F#@%ING PLAYOFFS! That is a reasonable goal. Will it happen? Maybe not. But that should be your god damned “reasonable goal”.

81-81 should be the bare minimum with this collection of talent. I don’t give a rats-ass how young they are. This team has talent. The core of the team are VETERANS. They may not all be old, but Kazmir, Shields, Crawford, Pena, Iwamura, Floyd, Navi, Reyes, Wheeler and Percy have all been through the fire. It is time to start performing or get the hell out of the way for somebody that will.

And that goes for you too Joe. I know you are still learning as a manager and you are not the sort to EVER put pressure on your players in public, but if you can’t win 81 games with this group, I will gladly drive you back to Anaheim myself.

2006? Sure why not. 2007? Got a little stale, but we understood. 2008? No. Stop. Just stop. Stop low-balling the players and the fans. Stop being afraid to bruise their fragile little egos, and tell us that the goal for 2008 is the playoffs. We won’t hold it against you or them if you don’t make it. But we will hold it against them and especially you if you don’t win 81 games.

This is not what we needed heading into the weekend. If anybody needs us, we will be the drunkards trying out how to hack firejoemaddon.com, and making a game plan for starting FirePapaJoe.com.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

  • I think I had a couple of afternoon links for you, but I am too frustrated. It’s gotta be 5 ‘o clock somewhere…
Jan 11

[THE HANGOVER] Five To Compete For Final Two Spots In Rotation

Andy Sonnanstine, Carlos Pena, Chris Mason, Dan Wheeler, Edwin Jackson, Evan Longoria, Jake McGee, Jeff Niemann, Joe Maddon, Jonny Gomes, Reid Brignac, Scott Kazmir, Wade Davis Cork Gaines 1 Comment »

Tampa Bay Rays (34 days until pitchers and catchers report)

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

  • With three spots in the rotation spoken for (Scott Kazmir, James Shields, Matt Garza), Joe Maddon stated that five pitchers will compete for the final two spots including Edwin Jackson, Andy Sonnanstine, Jeff Niemann, Jason Hammel and JP Howell. Obviously Jackson, Sonnanstine and Hammel have the edge as the imcumbants and Howell has experience, but don’t rule out Jeff Niemann. He will be 25 and he has 239 innings under his belt as a minor leaguer. He and Jackson have the biggest upside and Jackson so far has been crap-tastic. If he was 22 the team may worry about feeding him to the lions. And he is far enough removed from his shoulder problems that arm strength should no longer be a factor. Now it is just a matter of whether or not the team thinks he can get the job done. If not, it won’t be long before we see him in the bullpen. [TampaBay.com]
  • The Tampa Bay Rays have until January 18 to work out contracts with Scott Kazmir, Carlos Pena, Jonny Gomes and Dan Wheeler. All four players are arbitration eligible and next Friday is the deadline for both sides to submit offers for the arbitration hearing. As an organization, the Rays have a policy of “File-and-go”, meaning they will negotiate with a player once the figures have been submitted to the arbitrator. That policy seems sound when dealing with a player like Josh Paul last season or Dan Wheeler this season, but it is a big gamble when dealing with young super-duper-stars like Kazmir and Pena. The Rays risk alienating their young stars as teams are forced to present an argument to the arbitrator based on all the reasons why that player is not worth the money he is asking for. That being said, Andrew Friedman stated on Thusday that he would be surprised if the team did not reach deals with all four players. [The Ledger]

“We would prefer to avoid a hearing,” Friedman said. “It’s in place to resolve differences, and it’s there in the event we can’t. But we hope to be able to avoid it and reach a resolution. If we get to Friday and file numbers, we’re going to a hearing. It’s our policy.”

  • The Rays are expected to make a decision on whether or not Evan Longoria will be the opening day starter prior to Spring Training, which gives the team about one month to come to a conclusion. Interestingly, Joe Maddon who has repeatedly stated in the past that he makes few roster decisions based on Spring Training performance and that he prefers to judge a player based on what he did the previous season, does not approve of the team’s choice to make a decision prior to Spring Training. [TBO]

“I’m into seeing it play out,” Maddon said. “I’ve often said it and I’ll say it again: I’m really not a big proponent of evaluating players during spring training, but when you have so many close calls, sometimes you have to rely upon that.”

  • In addition to Evan Longoria, other players not on the 40-man roster that will be invited to Spring Training include Reid Brignac, Wade Davis, Jake McGee and Chris Mason. I predict blue hair for Mason. [TBO]
  • On Wednesday night, over 300 people gathered at Tropicana Field to hold a public discussion about the Tampa Bay Rays proposal to build a new stadium along the St. Pete waterfront and redevelop the land that is currently home to the Trop. Two people protested outside the stadium. [TampaBay.com]
  • The Rays announced a number of changes to their coaching, training and scouting staffs. [DevilRays.com]
  • 365 Days of Dough, Rays, and Me breaks down one set of statistical projections for the Rays. [365 Days of Dough, Rays and Me]
  • Spring Training tickets went on sale this morning. [Tampa Bay 10]