Mar 17
Last week’s Rays Confidence Graph results.
Below you will see two polls that ask about your confidence in the Tampa Bay Rays. Please take a moment to answer each question. We will present these same polls every Monday. The results will be presented in graphical form on Wednesday, and will be displayed permanently in the sidebar. The goal of the Confidence Graph is to get a feeling of how Rays fans feel about the team and the franchise and track how that level of confidence changes through time. Thanks!
Raysiverse events of the past week that could impact confidence levels…
Mar 17
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 started at third base and played 6 innings. He was 0-1 with a walk and an RBI. He drew a 1-out walk in the second. In the fourth Longoria struck out looking. In the 6th, he hit a 1-out sac fly to left field. In the field, Longoria retired two base runners on ground balls and a third on an attempted steal at third base.
Quotes: According to Rays of Light, Andrew Friedman stated during yesterday’s game that the a decision would be made by the end of this week.
Summary: Willy Aybar pinch-hit in the 8th inning and hit a soft single to left field in his only at bat. He did not play in the field…If a decision has already been made, we would be seeing Aybar for the first 6 innings everyday. Keep in mind, he did not play at all last year and is coming back from a wrist injury. He needs plenty of playing time to get in game shape. Since this is not happening yet, Longoria still has a shot and it makes us believe that there are still people in the organization on both sides of the fence. So the pressure is on. Longoria has the next 3-4 days to sway opinion, and we just have a feeling that pressure is something The Dirtbag thrives on.
Mar 17
Tampa Bay Rays (14 days until Opening Day)
Yesterday: Tampa Bay Rays 7, Tigers 2.
The Good: James Shields was..well…he was James Shields. 2 hits, no runs in 4.2 innings. Andy Sonnanstine continues to lay claim to one of the final two spots in the rotation striking out 5 in 3 innings allowing 4 hits, no walks and 1 run.
The Bad: Actually James Shields was a little off allowing an uncharacteristic 3 walks while striking out 4. He also hit a batter. The only error was committed by Ronnie Merrill who is not even a member of the Rays organization.
The Telling: Elliot Johnson once again saw action in center field trying to earn a spot as Joe Maddon’s utility player and backup center fielder. While in the field he made a highlight reel diving catch that certainly earned him some bonus points and some ribbing from teammates about not being able to stay on his feet.
DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…
- In what must be encouraging news for the Rays front office, yesterday’s game drew 6,755 fans. That is a franchise record for a spring training game. It is only spring training. And yes, it is still only 6,755. But positive trends are still positive trends. We would have expected a record on the first day of spring training, not the middle of spring.[Tampa Tribune]
- With Scott Kazmir now likely to miss opening day, the team appears to be leaning towards placing Kid K on the disabled list. Joe Maddon said the team was being overly cautious and made it clear that there is nothing wrong with Kazmir, rather he just wants the young ace to build strength back in his arm. Kazmir agreed stating he would rather miss two starts at the beginning of the season rather than two months later. [The Heater]
- James Shields will now get the opening day nod with announcement likely to be made on Tuesday. [Tampa Bay Rays]
- X-Rays on Shawn Riggans hand cam back negative and he should be back in the lineup in a few days. Andy Cannizaro is still a few days away from returning. The more time he misses, the better chance there is for Elliot Johnson to be on the opening day roster. [Rays Report]
- Bugs & Cranks is still cranking out their team previews in which each team is compared to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, in their “”Your Team Ain’t $#!T Compared To The Devil Rays” series (The are up to #22, The Mets). We had wondered aloud previously how long it would take before the comparisons were no longer believable (David Chalk started with the worst teams and will finish with the best). What really surprises us is that it took so long for another site to get offended. It comes from the site All Dodgers and they don’t seem to happy. It is humorous to read how serious they think this is. And does anybody have any idea why they keep using the word “remotely” (or some variation) and highlight the word? [All Dodgers]
- Martin Fennelly says the Rays have never had a player like Troy Percival. [Tampa Tribune]
This clubhouse brims with young talent. That doesn’t make it a team. That’s where a chemistry professor like Percival comes in. He knows situations, he knows hitters, he knows teaching.
An All-Star? (“Hands down if he didn’t get hurt last year,” pitcher Scott Kazmir said.)…A Gold Glove winner? (“There’s capabilities,” manager Joe Maddon said…A 30-30 man? (“Hell yes,” leftfielder Carl Crawford said.)…”He’s definitely all the above,” pitcher James Shields said. “He can do everything. He hits for power, he moves guys over, he steals bags, he does it all. And he gets great jumps in the outfield. He’s just an athlete. I definitely think he’s going to be one of the best in the game.”
- The Redbird Blog thinks the Cardinals and Rays match-up well as potential trading partners as the Cradinals have a surplus of outfielders and need starting pitching. [The Redbird Blog]
- We actually found a blog that still thinks it is a good idea to contract the Rays. Seriously. A) Why would baseball contract any teams when they set revenue records last year? B) Why would you contract the Rays, a team that is the media darlings of 2008 and a team most think will breakthrough in 2008? On the other hand, if the internet is really headed for a slow down, then there might be a good reason to contract some blogs. This one is named Vitamin Z. The name alone should be enough reason to contract the blog. Just goes to show you that we don’t discriminate. We will even include links to ignorant bloggers. [Vitamin Z]
