Archive for April 15th, 2008

Apr 15

[LIVE BLOG] Rays Index Live Blog-A-Baloo Of The Week

Uncategorized Cork Gaines 1 Comment »

Just a quick reminder that we will be Live-Blogging tonight’s crucial tilt with the New York Spankees…only it won’t be here.

If you came here, listen very carefully…YOU ARE IN THE WRONG PLACE!!

Instead head over the RAYSHEADS Facebook Page.

It will be a little less formal than the Live Blog-A-Baloos held here, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still make fun of Joe Maddon.

Apr 15

[POWER RANKINGS] The Tampa Bay Rays Power Rankings: Week 3

Rays Power Rankings Cork Gaines 16 Comments »

It’s Tuesday so it is time to update the Tampa Bay Rays Power Rankings. These rankings are a combination of overall importance to the team and a general “who’s hot and who’s not”, mixed with how we currently feel about and perceive each member of the team. It is by far, the least scientific thing we do on this site…

Apr 15

[DOWN ON THE FARM] Mitch Talbot’s Ship Continues To Sink

Elijah Dukes, Glenn Gibson, Jonathon Barratt Cork Gaines 1 Comment »

Scranton WB 9, Durham 1. Mitch Talbot had a night he would prefer to forget. He lasted only 2 innings and gave up 8 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks. All 8 runs, 8 hits and 2 walks came in the second inning…The Bulls only managed 4 hits. Reid Brignac doubled in the first and Joel Guzman would later bring him home with a single.

Montgomery 10, Tennessee 3. Jake McGee only allowed 1 hit in 5 innings but was touched for 2 runs after walking 3. He struck out 5. One run came home in the first without allowing a hit. After the first two batters of the game reached, McGee retired the next 14 batters before walking a batter in the 5th. That runner would later score on a single…Erold Andrus had 2 hits including his 5th double and 3 RBI…

Vero Beach 10, Daytona 6. Heath Rollins had his first rough outing of the year, getting touched for 5 runs in 4 innings, on 8 hits and a walk. He did strike out 7…JT Hall drove in 4 on 3-5 hitting, while Garrett Groce was 2-4 with 2 RBI and a stolen base.

Columbus 7, Savannah 4. Alex Cobb picked up his 2nd win of the season with 1 run allowed in 5 innings. He struck out 3 but struggled with his control, walking 4…Greg Sexton had 3 hits including a double, while Omar Luna was 4-4 with 3 RBI…Henry Wrigley added 2 hits including a double and 2 RBI.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

  • Jonathon Barratt of Montgomery retired. Normally that would not be newsworthy, but what caught our attention was the headline, “Biscuits reliever voluntarily retires”. If a player can be classified as “voluntarily retired” than it goes without saying that there must be an “involuntarily retired” classification. Now it is not surprising to us that some players in the minors “involuntarily” retire, but we are surprised that teams would actually twist the knife with a label. [Montgomery Advertiser]
  • The Ledger-Enquirer talks to Glenn Gibson, whom the Rays received in the Elijah Dukes trade. So far Gibson is struggling in his first full-season action, just proving once again why it is silly to place a player on a “Top Prospects” list before they have accomplished something in at least High-A. [Ledger-Enquirer]
  • The Durham Bulls will once again be wearing pink jerseys for Breast Cancer Awareness. All of the jerseys will be auctioned off on MiLB.com. Bidding has already begun. [MiLB]
Apr 15

[THE HANGOVER] When Sonnanstine Is Hittable, He Is Very Hittable

Andrew Friedman, Barry Bonds, Brendan Harris, Carlos Pena, Cliff Floyd, Dioner Navarro, Jason Bartlett, Pedro Alvarez, Power Rankings, Scott Kazmir Cork Gaines 4 Comments »


THE GOOD: Not a god damned thing..OK…Evan Longoria’s first major league home run to tie up the game was a nice moment…And Joe Maddon actually sounding pieved in the post-game press conference was a refreshing change…Outside of that? Not a damn thing.

THE BAD: We don’t want to talk about it…wait..ok, We want to talk about it…Andy Sonnanstine. This is Andy Sonnanstine. If you want the good you are going to have to put up with the bad. We all love the underdog. The righty that tops out at 88 on a good day. The guy that overcomes all the scouts and naysayers. But when you can’t overpower major league hitters, there are going to be nights when you are VERY hittable. Sonny throws strikes. Yes. But his fastball is a batting practice fastball. If it doesn’t have movement or if he misses over the plate, it is sayanora, adios, arivaderce, ciao, auf wiedersehen, good fuckin’ night…Al Reyes? Just go back to the last part and substitute “Al Reyes” for “Andy Sonnanstine”…One stat on Sonnanstine: He faced 20 batters and threw only 17 balls. He walked 1 batter. That means to the other 19 batters he threw only 13 balls. Fine we fucking get it. You can throw strikes. But guess what? It is kinda hard to get a batter to swing at a bad pitch if you don’t occasionally throw one out of the strike zone.

THE TELLING: Until Cliff Floyd and Dioner Navarro come back, the Rays are going to struggle against right handers. As it is, the bottom of the order against righties now is Shawn Riggans, Nathan Haynes and Jason Bartlett. There is not a legit major league hitter in that group and is darn near a cruise-control inning, whenever the opposing pitcher gets the bottom of the order…At least on nights like this, we have an excuse to drink.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

  • Don’t forget, tonight will be the “Rays Index Live Blog-A-Baloo Of The Week” over the RAYSHEADS Facebook group. Crowd participation is encouraged, but not required. [RAYSHEADS]
  • Doeth our eyes deceive us? One writer has a Power Poll with your Tampa Bay Rays coming in at…drum roll please…#10. It’s true. We are even willing to forgive the Eva Longoria joke. [Yahoo! Sports]
  • Scott Kazmir pitched 2 innings in an extended spring training game. He will make the first of three scheduled rehab starts on Friday and is still on schedule to be back for the Rays on May 3 at Fenway Park…In addition, Dioner Navarro had the stitches from his hand removed and played catch. He could be back as early as Sunday. [Rays Report]
  • The Rays have the top pick in the draft (again) in June, and DRays Bay will take a closer look at four players from which the Rays are likely to make their selection, starting with Pedro Alvarez. [DRays Bay]
  • We thought we had put this whole “Rays need to sign Barry Bonds” crap? First they say that Jason Bartlett is a worse fielder than Brendan Harris now they are on to Bonds. Nevermind that he will want $10+ million. Nevermind the cancer-in-the-clubhouse thing and maybe a bad influence on all the young players. But how about the Rays already have 3 DH-types in the lineup and gave Cliff Floyd several million to be the most-days DH. Suppose the Rays should just throw that $3 million out the window? Tampa Bay Sports Blog is just trying to bait us. And it is almost working. But not yet. Now if they come back tomorrow and say Carlos Pena is overrated than we got a problem. [Tampa Bay Sports Blog]
  • Pitchers have begun to take batting practice in anticipation for interleague play. [MLB]
  • “The Sports Comedian” at FoxSports? Not so much. He makes a lame attempt to make fun of the Rays in relation to the entire “Red Sox jersey buried in the new Yankee stadium” mess. Let’s hope for his sake, he is actually funny sometimes. [Fox Sports]
  • Andrew Friedman does not make the cut in the poll to determine the “Worst GM”. [Bucs Dugout]