Mar 16
Kevin Hench is a friggin’ idiot. He thinks he is funny by making fun of Rocco Baldelli. He is not.
Rocco Baldelli is a five-tool player: and those tools are scalpel, knee brace, cane, sling and Ace bandage…Baldelli has appeared in 127 of a possible 486 games the last three seasons. And — surprise! — he will begin this season on the disabled list. His latest DL-inducing “injury” is exhaustion. Who does he think he is, Mariah Carey? And what is he exhausted from, the off-season?…He may be only 26, but after four seasons he has proven two things definitely: he can’t stay healthy and he doesn’t know the strike zone. He has a career .324 OBP and strikes out four times as much as he walks. In 1,656 career at bats he has drawn only 83 walks. He’s exhausted, and he’s exhausted the patience of Rays fans, tired of watching him strike out on balls in the dirt.
The fine guys at Fire Joe Morgan have already done a far better job of ripping Hench to shreds in a way that we could not do it justice. They sum up this idiocy best in their final sentence.
Again, there is nothing funny about this. Kevin Hench owes Rocco Baldelli an apology. Simple as that.
Don’t get me wrong. We have made our fair share of jokes at Rocco’s expense. However, we would like to think that those were more like playful ribbing, kinda like how we tease Mrs. Professor about her driving. However, in Rocco’s case, it took us about 0.3 seconds to decide that we would no longer do that once we learned that there was a physiological and probable genetic basis to his injuries. And despite the occasional punchlines in the past, we are now miserable about the thought that Rocco’s career might be over and there is nothing that anybody can do about it.
As one Rays fan, I can tell you that I am “so tired” of watching Rocco Baldelli that I would seriously consider giving him one of my hamstrings if I thought it could help him play for another 12-15 years. And I am willing to bet I am not the only Rays fan that would stand in that line.
I really wish I could kick Hench in his balls.
Hit List: Daly’s career in the rough [Fox Sports]
You Just Don’t Say Things Like That About The Woonsocket Rocket [Fire Joe Morgan]
Mar 16
Last year the Tampa Bay Rays picked up Joe Maddon‘s two-year option. In reality it was a one-year deal as few teams are willing to enter a season with a manager that only has one year left on his contract. In 2008, Papa Joe and the Rays will either take Two Steps forward, earning Maddon an extension…or he will be fired.
I do not want to place a number on how many wins Papa Joe needed in order to earn an extension. Obviously Stuart Sternberg and Andrew Friedman will judge a number of factors before making a decision. Each week I will take a look at how Maddon is performing in each of five categories. While this list is likely not complete, I do believe these are the most important factors in determining whether or not Joe Maddon can be a winning baseball manager.
- Wins: 12-3 in spring training, the best record in baseball. In the past 5 years, 9 teams have won 20 games in spring training. 6 of those teams went on to win at least 88 games in the regular season.
- Fundamentals on the field: In 2007 the Rays led the AL in strikeouts by hitters with 8.2 per game and had a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.4-to-1. In spring training, the Rays have cut their strikeout rate to 6.3 per game and the ratio is down to 1.4-to-1. This has been reflected in the teams ability to get on base also. The Rays posted a .336 OBP in 2007. That number is .386 in spring training, which trails only the A’s. Unfortunately, the pitching staff is still struggling to throw strikes. The staff as a whole allowed 3.6 walks per 9 innings in 2007. That number is 3.8 in spring training. Granted, this includes a number of pitchers that won’t see the light of day after march. The Rays ranked 4th in baseball in errors. In the spring the Rays have committed only 14 in 15 games. Only 5 teams have committed fewer. The Rays are 22-28 in steals. Opponents are only 9-14 in steals.
- Consistently competetive: N/A
- Avoid prolonged slumps: N/A
- Control the clubhouse: Ask the Yankees if Joe Maddon is in control of his clubhouse.
- Summary: It is only spring training, but the Andrew Friedman filled most of the holes in the off-season and the Rays are making all the necessary changes on the field. This will all mean nothing if the Rays don’t win more regular season games, but if this keeps up in the spring training, we will probably hear about a contract extension sooner rather than later.
Mar 16
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: Played all 9 innings of one split-squad game. Went 1-3 with 2 walks and 2 runs scored. In the second he popped out to second base. He walked to leadoff the 5th. In the 6th he hit a line drive to left field for a single. He led off the 8th with another walk. Later in the inning he lined out to the center fielder to end the inning. He handled his both groundballs he faced cleanly forcing a runner at second to end the seventh and getting another hitter in the 8th. He also caught a pop up.
Quotes: NA
Summary: Willy Aybar played all 9 innings in the other spit-squad action, going 1-4 with a double and a strike out. He also committed his second error of the spring trying to start a double play. If the team had already made up their mind on Longoria to go to the minors, we would be seeing a shift in playing time towards Aybar and that has not been the case. If it is just Longoria OR Aybar, Longoria is the obvious choice as he has clearly outplayed Aybar. But it is still a case of whether or not he is ready. But as we get closer to opening day and Longoria is still receiving considerable playing time and he continues to play well both at the plate and in the field, I have to think that his chances are growing.
Mar 16
Tampa Bay Devil Dogs (15 days until opening day)
DRG here again to get you through the weekend…
Yesterday: Tampa Bay Rays 11, Braves 10.
- The Good: Jason Hammel finally had a good start, throwing 5 scoreless. Is it enough to get his name back in the mix? Elliot Johnson continues his hot spring going 3-5 with 3 RBI. Evan Longoria started at third going 1-3 with 2 walks.
- The Bad: Scott Dohmann struggled giving up 4 hits and 3 runs in 2 innings in his bid for the last bullpen spot. Reid Brignac committed his second error of the spring.
- The Telling: Elliot Johnson saw playing time in center field indicating that Joe Maddon may be considering Johnson for the super-utility role in the absence of Ben Zobrist.
Tampa Bay Rays 7, Yankees 2.
- The Good:Jeff Niemann allowed only 1 run on 6 hits in 4 innings to a stacked Yankees lineup. He struck out 1 and did not walk a batter, getting out of a bases-loaded one-out jam with a ground ball double play. Gary Glover and Dan Wheeler combined for 1 unearned run in 3 innings. Eric Hinske played right field and went 2-4. He is now hitting .480 in the spring. Akinori Iwamura turned two double plays.
- The Bad: Willy Aybar started at third and committed his second error of the spring. Josh Paul was 0-1 on base stealers.
- The Telling: Josh Paul started at catcher with Mike DiFelice coming on late. With Shawn Riggans being hit by a pitch in the hand, if he misses any significant time, this may indicate that Paul has the edge to make the team.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- The New York Times has their AL East preview up and I absolutely LOVE this quote…”Teams that don’t take Tampa Bay seriously will get their butts kicked.” That was Bill Bavasi, the Mariners GM. [New York Times]
- Yesterday may have been Jeff Niemann’s best start yet and with Edwin Jackson struggling, Niemann has to start getting some consideration for the 5th spot. The biggest stat: Of 64 pitches, 48 were for strikes. [Tampa Bay Rays]
“I like what he did today because we’ve been talking specifically about keeping the ball down,” Maddon said. “Even the one A-Rod hit over the center fielder’s head, that ball was down low.”
- Joe Maddon hinted what we were all starting to wonder, that JP Howell may not really be in consideration for the rotation but has a very real shot at being the long-man in the bullpen. [Herald-Tribune]
“He’s come out this spring. He’s pitched extremely well,” Maddon said. “There’s a confidence he has about this role. When you get him one time through the batting order, he can be very effective.”
- Deep breath. Deep breath…Scott Kazmir won’t pitch today after all. Joe Maddon is holding Kaz back so that he can reestablish his arm strength. I have to assume that there is no way Kazmir is pitching opening day now. [The Heater]
- Kurt Birkins and Shawn Riggans were both removed from yesterday’s games due to injuries. It is unclear how much time either will miss. [The Heater]
- The Rays are more likely to make a trade for a 4th outfielder, rather than sign a free agent such as Kenny Lofton. With Jeff Niemann and Andy Sonnanstine pitching well and Edwin Jackson and Jason Hammel out of options, one of the latter two is likely to be included in any deal. [Tampa Tribune]
- Here is an AL East preview in which the Rays are compared to the movie “Juno”. [The Grand National Championships]
They seem revolutionary, but they’re really not. Although dropping the Devil is like dropping the fact that the screenwriter is a stripper, being a “surprising indie coming of age tale” is a lot like being “the new bandwagon” in baseball.
