Archive for May 4th, 2008

May 04

[JEFF NIEMANN] Jeff Niemann Has Not Pitched In 16 Days And The Rays Won’t Say Why

Jeff Niemann Cork Gaines 3 Comments »

[Update 2:14 PM] (See Comments) Either the Tampa Tribune or the Rays can’t decide what is wrong with Niemann. On April 28, Marc Lancaster reported that Niemann had “Minor soreness in his upper back”. In the link below, Lancaster says Niemann has “arm soreness”.

[Update 12:56 PM] (See Comments: Thanks Kevin!) Not sure how we missed it. Niemann is apparently having back problems. [HERE is the link: The part on Niemann is buried below a fluff piece. He was scheduled to start last night, but did not. So the extent of the injury is still unknown]

Jeff Niemann was demoted to AAA Durham on April 20. He has yet to make an appearance for the Bulls since his demotion. His last start was with the Tampa Bay Rays on April 18. That is a span of sixteen days.

Is Jeff Niemann injured?

Is Jeff Niemann refusing to report to Durham?

May 04

[TWO STEPS OR DIE] Looking More And More Like Joe Maddon Will Be Back In 2009

Two Steps Or Die admin No Comments »

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: 16-14, 2 games behind Boston and tied for 2nd in AL East, 1 game ahead of the Yankees and 1 game behind Oakland in the Wild Card race.
  • Fundamentals on the field: Offensively, the Rays are only tied for 8th in AL with 106 walks. While they are 4th in steals in the AL, they have been caught stealing a league leading 14 times. Not to mention the 437 times BJ Upton has been thrown out at third base. On the mound they are only 9th in Ks, and they are starting to walk batters, moving up to the 8th most walks in the AL. Defensively the Rays are 2nd in the AL in Defensive Efficiency Rating but catchers have thrown out only 5 of 25 base stealers.
  • Consistently competitive: At one point the Rays won 10 of 13 and possesed first place all by themselves.
  • Avoid prolonged slumps: Have lost at least 3 in a row twice this season, but in the last 16 games, they have only once have they lost back-to-back games.
  • Control the clubhouse: No reports of problems.
  • Summary: There are problems. The team seems to still make several mental mistakes every night, but I can’t ignore the record. If the season ended today, Papa Joe would be given an extension.
May 04

THE SUNDAY MORNING REVOLUTION: Scot Kazmir To Make 2008 Debut Today

Al Reyes, Andy Sonnanstine, BJ Upton, Justin Ruggiano, Scott Kazmir admin No Comments »



DRG here again. I can be reached here.
  • The Good: Lot’s o’ alcohol during a game like that.
  • The Bad: James Shields outing was only 1 out longer than his shortest ever, a 3.1 inning performance last July against the Yankees in which he gave up 10 runs…JP Howell’s first 7 pitches in which he walked a batter to load the bases and then got ahead of a batter 0-2 before hitting him to drive in a run.
  • The Telling: Prof mentioned that Aki Iwamura was bailing out on most pitches. Well, he hit an opposite-field home run yesterday which is a good sign.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • Scott Kazmir is set to make his major league debut today and will have a 100-pitch limit. [MLB]
  • BJ Upton was out of the lineup again last night, but should be ready to go today. [Rays Report]
  • Al Reyes suffered a minor set-back and the Rays bullpen is better for it. Reyes will be out at least two more weeks, after an MRI revealed Tendinitis in his elbow. [MLB]
  • Joe Henderson says the Rays are not overachieving noting that injuries have hampered the Rays and several players are yet to start hitting. [Tampa Tribune]
  • Buster Olney points out that Andy Sonnanstine is one of the best in the league at avoiding hitters counts. In fact, only 10.9% of batters faced have been in a hitters count at any given point. That is the third best rate. [ESPN]

Giving up base on balls was something that nagged at Andy Sonnanstine and in spring training, the Rays’ right-hander began having conversations about the mentality of hitters with a couple of teammates — veteran Eric Hinske, and first-base coach George Hendrick, who accumulated 1,980 hits and 267 homers during his career.

What those lengthy conversations reinforced to Sonnanstine was the peril of pitching into ball-strike counts that greatly favor the hitter — two balls and no strikes or 3-1. “I was telling [Hinske] of how much better I felt if I threw a first-pitch strike,” said Sonnanstine, from Fenway Park, “and he was letting me know how amped he’s getting when there’s a 2-0 count, or 3-1. He gets excited because he knows that statistically, the chances are he’s going to get a base knock.”

  • Justin Ruggiano is obviously unhappy about his demotion to Durham, but would rather play everyday in AAA than sit on the bench for the Rays if he isn’t given at least occasional playing time. [MLB]
  • A blog lists the Rays among “The Failure Dynasties”. If you are interested in what they have to say, check the link. Just don’t ask me. The piece is about 64,000 words long and I really don’t feel like reading another piece about how much the Rays have sucked. [Ara Sports]
May 04

[DOWN ON THE FARM] Jeremy Hellickson Picks Up Third Win

Uncategorized admin 2 Comments »

Scranton 15, Durham 8. Mike Prochaska was knocked out after 3 innings, after giving up 6 runs including 4 in the first. Fernando Perez was 0-5. Reid Brignac was 2-4 and had a double. Dan Johnson, Jon Weber, John Rodriguez and Mike DiFelice added homers.

Montgomery 6, Huntsville 1. Richard de los Santos worked 7+ shutout innings for his 3rd win. Every starter had a hit and John Jaso had 2 with an RBI.

Vero Beach 10, Dunedin 6. Jeremy Hellickson had his worst outing of the year and still improved to 3-0. He worked 6 innings and gave up 3 runs. He did strike out 5 and walk 0 improving his K-to-walk ratio to a ridiculous 46-to-2. Ryan Royster and Matt Fields hit home runs.

Greenville 3, Columbus 2.Josh Johnson struck out 5 and walked 5 in 5 innings. He was only touched for 2 runs but got a no-decision. Henry Wrigley was 3-4 and had 2 RBI, including an RBI single in the top of the 9th that tied the score. Maiko Loyola stole his 13th base.