Archive for March 14th, 2008

Mar 14

[HAPPY HOUR] All-Star Game Could Come To St. Pete As Early As 2014

David Price, Joe Girardi, Joe Maddon, Jonny Gomes, Kenny Lofton, Melky Cabrera is too, New Stadium, Rocco Baldelli, Shelley Duncan is a lil' bitch, Troy Percival Cork Gaines 5 Comments »

Tampa Bay Rays (17 days until Opening Day)

With the Rays proposed stadium starting to feel like it could become a reality, we got to wondering when the new stadium might host a Major League All-Star game. The Rays are one of only three franchises that have never hosted the mid-summer classic, with the other two being the D-Back and the Marlins.

There have been 10 new stadiums opened in MLB since 1999. Of those stadiums, seven have already hosted an all-star game. Of the three new fields not to have hosted an all-star game yet, all three cities (Philly, San Diego, Cincinnati) have hosted the game in the last 20 years.

Including the Nats’ new stadium this year and the Rays’ new park in 2012, there are seven new stadiums scheduled to be opened in the next five years. The Yankees will host the game this year in the final year of Yankee Stadium so it will be a while for their new park. That leaves six parks that appear to be in line to host the all-star game.

According to the Biz of Baseball, the Angels will host in 2010, with the D-Backs following in 2011 and the Royals renovated stadium in 2012. Biz of Baseball is predicting the Mets new park to host in 2013. If this is true, 2014 will be the earliest the other five stadiums can host the game. 2026 seems like a logical year for the Nationals’ which would coincide with the 250th birthday of our nation.

Therefore if the Rays do indeed land a new stadium along the St. Pete waterfront, we can most likely expect the Major League Baseball all-star game to come to St. Pete for the first time as early as 2014 and no later than 2017.

2008-2013: Here’s the locations for the All-Star Game [Biz of Baseball]

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

  • Jonny Gomes, Shirley Duncan and Melky Cabrera were each suspended for their roles in the rest bench-clearing incident. Gomes was hit with a 2-game suspension, while Duncan and Cabrera will sit out the first three games of teh regular season. Cabrera’s suspension comes as a surprise as he was not mentioned in any reports immediately after the incident. Word on the street is that Cabrera hit or punched Evan Longoria in the back of the head. [Fox Sports]
  • Because of the recent bad blood between the Rays and the Yankees, Joe Maddon has altered the team’s travel schedule. Maddon was originally schedule to attend the team’s split-squad game on Saturday in Orlando, but will now go to Tampa where the rest of the squad is facing the Yankees. Jonny Gomes will no longer be part of the group going to Tampa. [Tampa Bay Rays]
  • John Romanoof the St. Pete Times comes down pretty hard on Joe Girardi for being a hypocrite. [St. Pete Times]

The New York manager continues to tap dance his way around questions concerning Shelley Duncan’s spikes-high slide into Rays second baseman Akinori Iwamura…Girardi tried to avoid the topic after Wednesday’s game, and then again 24 hours later. He said he still hasn’t seen a replay, despite video on ESPN, numerous newspaper Web sites and several YouTube posts….What’s disturbing here is that Girardi didn’t feel the need to wait before criticizing Johnson and Rays manager Joe Maddon last week. Back then, he used words like “disheartening” and “scary” and “uncalled for.”

  • Rays of Light debates the merits of signing Kenny Lofton to replace Rocco Baldelli. [Rays of Light]
  • Jayson Stark of ESPN.com looks at how Troy Percival went from semi-retired to signing a 2-year contract with the Rays and becoming their clubhouse leader and mentor to David Price. [ESPN]

…first, you need to understand that this isn’t only a story about Troy Percival, the pitcher. This is just as much about Troy Percival, as unique a member of the human species as you’ll ever run across in this life.

  • St. Pete Times’ writers look closer at a sponsorship agreement the Rays had with a local financier that went bankrupt. The Rays are now suing the group. [St. Pete Times]
Mar 14

[2008 ROSTER] 2008 25-Man Roster And Starting Lineup Projections Redux

25-man Roster Cork Gaines 5 Comments »

The 2008 25-man roster prediction is based only on players currently within the organization and will be updated when trades are consummated and free agents are signed.

We are half-way through spring training, let’s update our 25-man roster projections with a couple of changes. We are now also going to include a most-days lineup projection.

Notes on the projection can be found after the roster…

A FEW NOTES ON THE 25-MAN ROSTER…

  • Lineup: Spots 1-4 and 8-9 appear to be set. 5-7 are a bit up in the air. This is all dependent on who is named the third baseman. We should start getting a better idea in the next few days.
  • Bench: The Rays will need a 4th outfielder. Jon Weber and John Rodriguez are the only real candidates and whomever can handle center will get the edge. Ben Zobrist is a lock…if he is ready to go on opening day. If Evan Longoria is in the lineup, Willy Aybar is on the bench. If Aybar is in the lineup, Joel Guzman or Eric Hinske will be on the bench as a utility player. Elliot Johnson is playing lights out and can handle shotstop, so we see him on the bench of Zobrist is a no-go. The only backup catcher getting a serious look is Shawn Riggans, so we have to assume he is the guy.
  • Rotation: Edwin Jackson pooped on the mound last time out. Can he get back to throwing strikes? If yes, 4th spot is his. If not, look for a trade and either Jeff Niemann or JP Howell in the rotation. Andy Sonnanstine finally got a start and looked good in three innings. One more of those and he will be a lock.
  • Bullpen: Five spots spoken for. That leaves long reliever that will come from the rotation left-overs and one mop-up role. With no Juan Salas and the career-ending injury to Brian Anderson it now looks like the only challenge to Scott Dohmann is Grant Balfour. Dohmann can breathe easy.
Mar 14

[EVAN LONGORIA] Dirtbag-O-Meter: 17 Days Until Opening Day

Dirtbag-O-Meter, Evan Longoria, Willy Aybar Cork Gaines 1 Comment »

We call him The Dirtbag because of how he plays and because he played college ball at Long Beach State whose baseball team has the coolest mascot in sports…The Dirtbags.

The biggest question mark for the Tampa Bay Rays in Spring Training is whether or not Evan Longoria will be named the opening day third baseman. Manager Joe Maddon has repeatedly stated that the decision will be based less on his stats, and more on how the 22-year old handles himself on a day-to-day basis and how well The Dirtbag adjusts to everyday life as a major leaguer. From now until the Rays announce a decision on Longoria’s fate, we will track The Dirtbag’s progress through his numbers, our own observations and quotes from Maddon and Andrew Friedman…

Notes on the Dirtbag-O-Meter…

Yesterday at the plate: Evan Longoria went 0-3, playing the first 6 innings. In the second inning, he grounded out to shortstop leading off the inning. In the fourth he struck out swinging. In the seventh he popped out to the first baseman in foul territory for the first out. In the field, he handled two ground balls and one pop up.

Quotes:None reported

Summary: We expect that we will start seeing a shift in playing time in the next few days. With a little over two weeks remaining before the season starts that starting third baseman for the Rays will either be The Dirtbag who will be making his major league debut or Willy Aybar who missed all of 2007. Whomever the Rays decide to be the thirdbaseman, Joe Maddon will want that person to be playing the first 5 innings on most days against the other team’s A-team in preparation for the regular season. As it stands right now, both players have seen almost equal playing time. Longoria has recently pulled ahead of Aybar in terms of playing time logged at third base, 44 innings to 38. Defensively, Longoria has a much stronger range factor, 2.66 compared to 1.42. Offensively, both have been strong. Longoria is 7-22 (.318) with 5 walks (.464) and 2 strike outs. Aybar is 6-21 (.286) with 4 walks (.414) and 4 strike outs…If the team really wanted The Dirtbag to start the season in the minors they probably should have just stuck to their original plan and made that announcement prior to the spring, because at this point…the stats, the defense, the way he has handled himself in the press and on the field, and from what we have heard from coaches and teammates…the kid sure sounds ready to us.

Mar 14

[THE HANGOVER] Matt Garza Continues To Improve

Uncategorized Cork Gaines 1 Comment »

Tampa Bay Rays (17 days until Opening Day)

Yesterday: Tampa Bay Rays 3, Red Sox 3. Matt Garza looks stronger everytime out. Yesterday he went 4.2 scoreless innings, giving up 4 hits and 1 walk while striking out 2. JP Howell relieved and went 2.1 innings giving up only 1 unearned run. Howell has yet to make a start and right now it appears as he is getting a longer look to be the Rays long reliever and may be a backup plan for the rotation. Elliot Johnson came on in the 6th to play second base and switched to shortstop for the final 3 innings. He handled his only ground ball and also caught a pop up. He also had a double and a walk at the plate and is now 10-19 (.526) in the spring with 4 walks and 2 strikeouts. We have to think that Johnson is now the favorite to be the backup middle infielder when the Rays break camp. Not bad for a guy that had the 5th worst OPS in AAA in 2007. Joel Guzman played 5 innings in left field trying to prove he can be a utility player, but he is only 3-18 (.167). John Rodriguez played right field going 2-5 and Jon Weber spent time in center and left going 1-4 with an RBI. At thirdbase, Evan Longoria started and went 0-3. Willy Aybar played the last four innings, going 0-1.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

  • In case you missed it, yesterday we asked Chone Smith of Anaheim Angels all the way, to adjust he CHONE projection system to remove Rocco Baldelli and include Barry Bonds as part of the 2008 Rays. Having Bonds in the lineup increases the Rays projected win total from 89 to 92 wins. [Rays Index]
  • Joe Maddon was especially impressed with Matt Garza and JP Howell’s performances yesterday. Garza has now made three strarts against the Tiger, Yankees and Red Sox, which has allowed Maddon to get a good look at Garza versus strong competition. [Tampa Bay Rays]

“I think it’s a good thing for us to see,” Maddon said. “Every start is a competitive situation, but I think every time out, he’s gotten better, and you can see where he can compete against this very good [Sox] lineup. I like the steady improvement from what we’ve seen the first time out.”

  • Ken Rosenthal lists a few names that could match the Rays criteria for a replacement for Rocco Baldelli including Kenny Lofton, the Brewers Gabe Gross and the Blue Jays Reed Johnson. [Fox Sports]
  • DRays Bay takes a closer look at one potential replacement for Rocco Baldelli…Jon Weber. They note that his minor league numbers might be a bit inflated and that the Rays should be able to find a better option. [DRays Bay]
  • Rays of Light looks at some defensive statistics and their own POV and argue that Jonny Gomes is underrated defensively and while he may look a bit awkward at times in the field, he usually makes the play. [Rays of Light]
  • Brian Anderson’s career with the Rays is over before it began and his career is now appears to be over also. Anderson who came out of semi-retirement after two Tommy John surgeries tore a ligament and a muscle in his elbow. This is the third time Anderson has torn his UCL. [Bradenton Herald]
  • David Price will begin the season in high-A with the Vero Beach Rays. [Rays Report]
  • Julio Lugo was distraught over the news that Rocco Baldelli would begin the season on the DL. [Providence Journal]


“I read it in the newspaper and my heart dropped…I feel sorry for him,” said Lugo. “He’s a young guy and a good human being. He’s a hard-working guy, and this is frustrating. … Sometimes you’ve got to thank God for everything that happens. You don’t know what God is saving for you. It’s tough to see a guy like that going through these things and not being able to do what he loves.

  • We vowed to be done including links about the Shirley Duncan incident, but then we saw that Manny Stiles weighed in. He is always worth 5 minutes. [Armchair GM]
  • Joe Maddon feels MLB should suspend Shirley Duncan but not Jonny Gomes…We would love that, but Gomes is going to miss the opening of the regular season along with Duncan. Our guess is that Duncan will get 8-10 games while Gomes will get 3-5. Duncan’s action alone might have only cost him 2-3 games but the fact that he basically followed through on a threat made in the press, means that it was premeditated, and the league will come down hard on him for that. [The Heater]
  • The Bradenton Herald profiles Jason Hammel who is a “lego fanatic”. [Bradenton Herald]
  • Real GM has their 2008 Tampa Bay Rays preview up, predicting 84 wins. [Real GM]
  • We have featured The Dugout on here before. They run the “online chat room” baseball cartoons. They are currently visiting each team in spring training, and yesterday was the Twins “chat session” featuring a conversation between Delmon Young and Carl Crawford with some not-so-subtle references to Adventure Island and Fargo (the movie). [The Dugout]
  • Remember the letter the Rays send out to media outlets that use the Rays old moniker? So far Matt Silverman has sent out apprxomitely 50, with 30 in the backlog. He thinks another 50 will be needed after the recent brouhaha with the Yankees. [ESPN]