Archive for April 10th, 2008

Apr 10

[THE TROP IS CURSED] The Curse Of The New Kids On The Block Has Befallen The Rays

New Kids On The Block, The Curse Of The New Kids, The Trop Cork Gaines 4 Comments »


The Cubs are said to be cursed even though they have been to the playoffs recently…The Red Sox were said to be cursed even though they had intermittent periods of success…

The Tampa Bay Rays on the other hand have never won more than 70 games. The Tampa Bay Rays have finished last in the AL East in nine of their 10 years of existence. Meanwhile all three of their contemporary expansion brethren have been to the World Series with 3 titles among them.

If any franchise is cursed…it is the Tampa Bay Rays.

When the new ownership group exorcised the “Devil” the curse was supposed to be lifted…They gave the team new uniforms…They even spent money on free agents and gave long-term deals to some of their young talent. This was supposed to be the year the Rays broke out of the cellar and finally started to build respectability.

And yet, here we are almost two weeks into the season and the Tampa Bay Rays are still in last place. Worse, the team that the Rays everybody picked to finish ahead of, the Baltimore Orioles, are 6-1 and in first place.

The Rays have been beset by a number of injuries early on. After the recent injuries to Matt Garza and Cliff Floyd, the Rays now have eight players on the DL, including five (Garza, Floyd, Rocco Baldelli, Scott Kazmir, Dioner Navarro) that were slated to be starters prior to the season.

So if the Tampa Bay Rays are indeed cursed…what is the source of “The Curse”?

The New Kids On The Block.

It’s True. On March 31 (Opening Day), we learned that The New Kids On The Block were reuniting and would make an appearance on the “Today Show”.

And what do The New Kids On The Block have to do with the Tampa Bay Rays?

The largest crowd ever at the Tropicana Dome was a concert featuring The New Kids On The Block. On August 11, 1990, only months after the dome was opened, 47,150 screaming teens packed the then ThunderDomeThe Florida Suncoast Dome. How many other venues can stake claim to such a dubious distinction?

Of course, as part of the overhaul of the franchise, the Tampa Bay Rays have also announced plans to demolish Tropicana Field and build a new open-air ballpark along the St. Pete waterfront. If the Rays do indeed move, Tropicana Field will be redeveloped into a shopping and residential mecca. And the New Kids will no longer hold the record at any venues, nor are they likely to break any in the future.

Clearly the Tampa Bay Rays have angered the gods (Danny, Donnie, Jordan, Joey and Jonathon). If the Rays play terrible in 2008, there is a good chance the new stadium will not be approved and The Trop will live.

Of course, The New Kids also happen to be from Boston…and well, you already know how we feel about Boston.

The Curse Of THE NEW KIDS…Oh my. We would prefer a goat.

New Kids are back [Boston Herald]
At least Rays’ funny bone isn’t injured [Bradenton Herald]
Tropicana Field History [MLB]

Apr 10

[MATT GARZA] Rays Could Seek Compensation If Twins Hid Garza’s Injury

Delmon Young, Gary Majewski, Matt Garza, Minnesota Twins, Ron Gardenhire Cork Gaines 12 Comments »

On Monday night, during the Tampa Bay Rays’ home opener, Matt Garza pulled himself from the game in the 3rd inning with an injury to the radial nerve in this throwing arm. Following the game, Garza was placed on the 15-day DL. He will rest the arm for two weeks and then be reevaluated. He will be out a minimum of four weeks.

According to Garza, this is a problem that he has experienced since his time with the Minnesota Twins.

Garza said it surfaced late last season, with him typically “pitching through it.” But after his hand started going numb, forcing him to lose grip on his pitches, he signaled to the dugout for help…”This time it was just real bad,” Garza said. “I knew something was up.”

The Rays apparently knew that Garza suffered from a similar condition in college, but were unaware the condition still existed when they sent former top pick Delmon Young to the Twins, along with Brendan Harris and Jason Pridie for Garza, Jason Bartlett and Eduardo Morlan. If the Rays can prove the Twins knew of the preexisting injury, they could file a grievance with Major League Baseball and seek compensation from Minnesota.

This would not be unprecedented. A year ago, the Cincinnati Reds filed a grievance with MLB after they learned that the Washington Nationals did not reveal that Gary Majewski had received a cortisone shot prior to being traded to the Reds. Majewski, a relief pitcher, was part of the six-player deal that sent Austin Kearns and Felipe Lopez to the Nationals. Majewski subsequently went on the DL.

MLB never made a public announcement concerning the resolution, if any, to the grievance. We contacted John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. According to Fay, no ruling has been given by MLB and he does not expect one. However, he notes that the Reds say that the issue is still being considered by Major League Baseball.

When asked about Garza’s injury, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire, claims that Garza never mentioned the injury to the team.

“He never missed a bullpen [session] or a start [here]. I don’t know what he’s saying. I haven’t read it and don’t plan on reading it, just based on what you said. Everything was documented on Matt Garza and there were no injuries here…If he said he was hurt, I’m not going to call him a liar or anything like that,” Gardenhire said. “But he should have let us know that he might have had an injury. Normally, it’s good when the team you are pitching for knows that. But I doubt that he had any injuries here.”

It would be very difficult for the Rays to prove that the Twins hid the condition, so it is conceivable they could forgo the grievance and just hope that Garza is ok. On the other hand…no offense to Majewski…but Matt Garza is not Gary Majewski. Garza was one of the top pitching prospects in baseball and the Rays were forced to give up a potential all-star and former #1 overall pick, Delmon Young, in order to secure his services.

If Garza’s injury requires a stay on the DL longer than a few weeks, the Rays will almost certainly seek compensation from the Twins.

But what kind of compensation would be fair? Certainly the length of time Garza is on the DL will be considered as well as any long-term ramifications of the injury. It could be another prospect, a compensatory draft pick, cash, Joe Mauer*??

This story is flying a bit under the radar at this point, but considering the names of the players involved in the trade, the story will gain a national audience if the Rays do feel the need to file a grievance. And if the Rays do ask MLB to intervene, MLB won’t be able to sweep it under the rug as they did with Gary Majewski.

*Wishful thinking

Rays starter Garza goes on DL with nerve injury [St. Pete Times]
Rays DH Floyd out 4-6 weeks with knee injury [St. Pete Times]
Reds File Grievance Over Majewski Deal [Washington Post]
Red Send Kearns, Lopez To Nats In Blockbuster [MLB Trade Rumors]
Garza’s injury admission new to Twins [MLB]

Apr 10

[RI CONFIDENCE GRAPH] The Rays Index Confidence Graph: Week 2

Confidence graph Cork Gaines No Comments »

The Rays Confidence Graph will appear every Wednesday and is a look at how much confidence Rays fans have in the Tampa Bay Rays. The graph is designed to give us a look at how our emotional bias as Rays fans fluctuates through time. The “confidence” in the team is an inexact measure of how fans feel about the team’s current strength as well as how much confidence fans have in the franchise for the next 3-4 years. Notes on this weeks agida-level can be found after the graph..

Notes on the RI Confidence Graph…

  • The most common response for “Confidence in 2008 Rays” was 6 (Winning record? Likely. Playoffs? No chance in Hades) with 32.1%. This is the first time in 2008 that number fell below 7 (If things break right, they could be in race for playoffs).
  • The most common response for “Confidence in future of franchise” was 8 with 38.0%.
  • Confidence in the 2008 Rays ranged from 2 (Good shot at having top pick in draft for 3rd straight year) to 8 (They will be in playoff contention all season).
  • Confidence in the future ranged from 4-10.
  • 37.7% of respondents feel the Rays have a shot at the playoffs in 2008. That number is down from 49.2% a week ago.
  • 86.8% of respondents feel the Rays should be at least a .500 team in 2008. Last week that number was 86.2%.
Apr 10

[THE ARCHIVES] Two Years Ago On Rays Index

The Archives Cork Gaines No Comments »

Two years ago on Rays Index, we learned that Julio Lugo is not so good at math.

Julio Lugo On 15-Day DL With A Sore Brain [Rays Index]

Apr 10

[DOWN ON THE FARM] Wade Townsend Moved To Bullpen

Wade Townsend Cork Gaines No Comments »

Durham 10, Columbus 4 (11 inn). The Bulls scored 6 in the top of the 11th after there were 2 outs, to break a 4-4 tie. Alex Cannizaro had the big blow, a bases-loaded double that scored 2 to put the Bulls up for good. Chris Richard capped the inning with a 2-run home run…Reid Brignac was 1-4 with 2 walks…Evan Longoria was given the night off…Mitch Talbot started the game. He cruised through the first 5 frames allowing only 1 run, but the wheels fell off in the 6th. He gave up 3 hits to the first four batters in the 6th before being pulled. All 3 runners would eventually score.

Carolina 7, Montgomery 1. Jake McGee had trouble finding the strike zone. He was removed after only 2 innings, after 3 hits and 4 walks. He did strike out 4…The Biscuits had 13 baserunners (5 hits, 8 walks) but could only manage 1 run.

Jupiter 3, Vero Beach 2. Jeremy Hellickson had his second straight strong start throwing 6 innings of 1-run ball. His only rough patch was in the 2nd when 2 singles and a walk led to a run. He retired 9 of the last 11 faced…An RBI single by Ryan Royster in the 8th tied the game, but Brian Baker gave up a game-winning RBI double in the bottom of the 9th…The Devil Rays (still) managed only 4 hits.

Rome 10, Columbus 5. Glenn Gibson, who came over from the Nationals for Elijah Dukes, got roughed up for the second time in two starts this year. He gave up 7 runs (6 earned) in 3.2 innings on 7 hits and 4 walks…Three Catfish had 2 hits apiece including Emeel Salem who stole his 4th base and Mike McCormick who is now 9-20 in the first 6 games.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

  • Former first-round pick Wade Townsend has made three appearances this year, all out of the bullpen. Townsend is currently changing his mechanics to avoid further injury to his elbow. It is unclear if the switch to relief pitcher is a permament move or temporary.
Apr 10

[THE HANGOVER] Floyd And Garza Both To Miss At Least 4 Weeks

Cliff Floyd, Jeff Niemann, JK Ryu, JP Howell, Justin Ruggiano, Matt Garza, Mitch Talbot Cork Gaines No Comments »

THE GOOD: Willy Aybar collected 3 of the Rays 8 hits while Jason Bartlett was 2-2…With 1 run in already in the 6th, the O’s had 1st and 3rd with no outs. Andy Sonnanstine got out of the jam with a pop up to Aki Iwamura and then an inning-ending double play started by Willy Aybar who had a great night with the glove. The double play showed how quickly Aki has adapted to his new position as he was taking a throw from third rather short, so there was a different angle to the bag, he had to wait longer on the bag and made the necessary strong relay throw…The O’s were rained out last night and will play a double-header today. While the Rays should be done with their day by 4:00, the O’s won’t even arrive in Tampa for another 12 hours.

THE BAD: The Rays 1-5 hitters were a combined 1-18. This just in. That’s not good…Which led to the Rays 4th straight loss after starting the year 1-3…Justin Ruggiano in his first game since being recalled from Durham, misplayed a ball to right field that got over his head and instead of sprinting after the ball that should have already been in his glove, he decided to turn and look back and make sure everybody in the stadium new he lost the ball in the lights. If it wasn’t so painful, it might have actually been funny. Like when somebody trips over a crack in the sidewalk and they immediately turn back to look at what could have possibly reached up and grabbed the foot…With the game still in reach in the 7th, the Rays got a leadoff double from Willy Aybar and he failed to score…The 3-run homer in the 8th was the lady-killer…0 stolen base attempts. Like a wise man once said, You can’t steal first base, and the Rays could not get any of their speedsters on first.

THE TELLING: Yesterday there was some speculation that JP Howell could still get the open starters slot on Sunday with Matt Garza on the DL. Howell faced 9 batters last night indicating that he is not a candidate afterall…With Cliff Floyd now on the DL, Eric Hinske and Nathan Haynes will share the RF/DH duties against righties, while Jonny Gomes and Justin Ruggiano will get the starts against lefties.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

  • Haha. Cliff Floyd to the DL. Alright. Knock it off guys. This isn’t funny anymore…He is scheduled to have surgery for a torn meniscus in his knee and will be on the shelf for 4-6 weeks. [Fox Sports]
  • Matt Garza is going to rest his arm for 2 weeks and then be reevlauated. If all goes well, he could be back in 4 weeks. [Tampa Tribune]
  • With all the injuries, Brittany Ghiroli notes that the Rays are depending more on their veteran bullpen than they would prefer. [MLB]

“Going through a full season you’re going to have a lot of injuries, especially in your starting rotation, you just deal with it,” Percival said.”Usually it doesn’t happen this early in the season, but these guys have been around a long time [in the bullpen],” he said. “We just have got to suck it up until we get everybody healthy and they go out there and start going seven, eight innings at a time.”

  • Nice pick up by Outs Per Swing…MLB.com already has Jeff Niemann listed as the probable starter for Sunday’s matchup with the Orioles. [Outs Per Swing]
  • Marc Topkin relates an awkward story about the call-up of JK Ryu and Justin Ruggiano. Both were having dinner with Jeff Niemann and Mitch Talbot. Niemann could not have been happy that he did not call when a starting pitcher went down, even if it is just a temporary promotion. [St. Pete Times]
  • In the Rays first 8 games, 5 different players have started in right field…The Rays have commmitted 7 errors in 8 games. None by infielders. [Bradenton Herald]
  • On April 15, every member of the Tampa Bay Rays will wear #42. [MLB]
  • There is yet another public hearing tonight on the proposed redevelopment of Tropicana Field and a new open-air stadium for the Rays along the St. Pete waterfront. [Suncoast News]