Archive for May, 2008

May 29

[THE HANGOVER] Garza Discovers Strikezone, Dominates Rangers

Carl Crawford, Grant Balfour, Joe Maddon, Matt Garza, Troy Percival 8 Comments »



THE GOOD: Matt Garza finally discovered the strikezone. He had shown improvement in his last start, but yesterday he was dominating. 10 strikeouts. 2 walks. 77 of 114 pitches for strikes (67.5%). He was also 23-30 (77%) in getting strike-one on the batter, and two of the batters in which he fell behind 1-0, were the final two batters he faced, when it was questionable that Garza should still be in the game. Garza was 60% strike-one in his last start and that was a huge improvement over the start before that in which he was ahead of the batter only 40% of the time. Also, one of the big knocks on Garza is that he relies too much on his fastball. Prior to yesterday’s game he had thrown his fastball 75% of the time. Yesterday, he did a better job of mixing in his other pitches, as fastballs accounted for only 64% of his pitches.

THE BAD: Seeing Troy Percival crumple to the ground after a pitch. We have been wondering aloud since the spring whether we could get an entire season out of Percy. The injury does not appear serious, but we would be surprised if Percival does not get a cursory trip to the DL just to be safe…Jason Bartlett batting 6th? Yes. It was a left-handed starter and Bartlett is hitting near .300 this season against lefties, but is this the guy we want protecting Evan Longoria in the lineup? Apparently it is the batter the Rangers wanted “protecting” Dirtbag as they intentionally walked Longoria in the first inning with 2 outs and got Bartlett to ground out to kill the rally.

THE TELLING: If Troy Percival does go on the DL (we have to think that Percy will have to talk his way out of a 2-week vacation), the Rays appear to have three options to replace him on the roster. Juan Salas and Kurt Birkins are already on the 40-man roster and Grant Balfour who is not. Balfour has dominated the IL this season. He has 39 strikeouts and only 5 hits allowed and 10 walks in 23.2 innings. He has given up only 1 earned run. Salas has 15 strikeouts in 11.2 innings, but has been touched for 6 runs on 10 hits and 4 walks. However, 5 of those runs came in his first appearance of the season…The Rays have three players on the roster that can be listed as “right fielders”, and yet Ben Zobrist got the start in right yesterday. This tells us that the Rays are leaning towards dropping one of their regular (too many) right fielders when Willy Aybar comes off the DL…The Rangers entered this series red hot with an 8-0-1 record in their last 9 series. The Rays are now 6-1 in their last 7 series…Stuart Sternberg wanted 50 home wins and we chuckled a little. After all, he wanted 50 home wins last year and the Rays finished 37-44. After yesterday’s win the Rays are now 21-9 at home, on pace to finish with a 57-24 home record in ’08…

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

  • Don’t forget to VOTE for Carl Crawford to start the all-star game. If you haven’t voted yet today, go NOW! [MLB All-Star Voting]
  • Troy Percival underwent an MRI on his hamstring. [Rays Report]
  • Marc Lancaster speculates that Grant Balfour could be promoted from Durham if Troy Percival needs a trip to the DL. Balfour is not on the 40-man roster, but there is an open slot on the roster at this time. [Rays Report]
  • If you want to get on the attendance at the Trop, fine. But yesterday should not be cited as evidence the area won’t support baseball. It was a Wednesday afternoon game that started at 12:30. Schools are still in session and most importantly it was the TEXAS RANGERS. Not exactly a team that Rays fans are going to skip work for. [Fox Sports]
  • For the first time in the history of the Rays franchise, we present to you a Power Rankings with the Tampa Bay Rays, as the #1 team in baseball. Great Googly Moogly. [Bugs and Cranks]
  • Beyond the Boxscore takes a look at why Carl Crawford’s numbers are down this season. [Beyond the Boxscore]
  • Tampa Bay Sports Blog feels that the Rays are winning in spite of Joe Maddon. They list several pieces of evidence, most notably from yesterday’s game…Our only objection is the notion that Maddon doesn’t utilize the bunt enough. This is a personal preference, but we are of the school that a team only gets 3 outs per inning, why waste one. That doesn’t mean Maddon should never bunt. Just be selective. [Tampa Bay Sports Blog]
  • Poor Raymond. Comes in at #4, on the Maxim list of “5 MLB Mascots That Deserve a Groin-Punching”. [Maxim]
  • DRays Bay counters a couple of claims by Protect Our Wallets and our Waterfront (POWW), who oppose the new waterfront stadium. [DRays Bay]
May 29

[DOWN ON THE FARM] David Price Strikes Out 9 In 6 Shutout Innings

David Price 1 Comment »

Durham 7, Norfolk 1. Jeremy Cummings improved to 4-0 in 4 starts since signing with the Rays organization. The only hit he allowed in 7 innings, was a 2-out single in the 6th. He walked 2 and struck out 5. In those 4 starts, Cummings has allowed only 10 hits and 7 walks in 25 innings to go with his 1.08 ERA. He has struck out 18…Fernando Perez was 2-4 with a walk and is hitting .272, with a .344 OBP…Reid Brignac was 1-3 with his 19th double and 2 RBI…Joel Guzman finished 1-5 with 2 RBI. He has driven in 35 on the season.

Chattanooga 4, Montgomery 1. Kevin Lynnallowed 1 run in 5 innings…Montgomery managed only 3 hits. One hit was a solo home run by Gabby Martinez, his 7th.

Vero Beach 2, St. Lucie 0. David Price threw 6 shutout innings in his second professional start. He struck out 9 and walked none, allowing only 2 singles. He faced one over the minimum. In 2 starts, Price has given up 5 hits and 1 walk in 11 innings. He has yet to allow a run and he has struck out 13…Wade Townsend relieved Price, striking out 6 in 2 innings. He walked 1 batter and gave up a double…Chase Fontaine was 2-4 and drove in a run.

Columbus (off day)

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

  • No links today
May 28

[RI CONFIDENCE GRAPH] The Rays Index Confidence Graph: Week 9

Confidence graph 1 Comment »

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 8 (They will be in playoff contention all season) with 46.5%.
  • The most common response for “Confidence in future of franchise” was 10 with 49.1%.
  • 97.3% of respondents feel the Rays have a shot at the playoffs in 2008. That number is up from 95.2% a week ago.
  • 100% of respondents feel the Rays should be at least a .500 team in 2008. Last week that number was 100%.
May 28

[LIVE BLOG-A-BALOO] Rays Index Live Blog-A-Baloo Of The Week: Gm 53 v Texas

Uncategorized No Comments »

May 28

[WHY RAYS COLUMNISTS SUCK] Oh Marc Lancaster, It Has Been Too Long

Ben Zobrist, Eric Hinske, Evan Longoria, Gabe Gross, Marc Lancaster, Willy Aybar 2 Comments »

Marc Lancaster. You picked the wrong day to try and unload this garbage on us.

Willy Aybar is set to come off the DL in the next day or two. Aybar is being prepped on his rehab assignment to be a utility player upon his return, receiving playing time at first base, second base and third base.

As we have mentioned on this site, this will create quite a problem for Andrew Friedman, as he must decide who Aybar will replace on the roster. The only two bench players with options are Ben Zobrist and Shawn Riggans. As the backup shortstop and catcher, on the surface, it appears both will be staying put. On the other hand, the Rays have four players playing right field and DH. Cliff Floyd and Jonny Gomes are safe as the starting DHs.

That leaves either Gabe Gross or Eric Hinske as the odd-man out. Gross is the better defensive option while Hinske provides more offense and a bit of position flexibility (can play third, first). Without minor league options, if one of those players is moved, they would have to be traded or placed on waivers.

Lancaster provides two scenarios that would allow the Rays to keep everybody.

  1. Send Zobrist to the minors and let Evan Longoria serve as the backup shortstop.
  2. Drop a relief pitcher and keep an 11-man pitching staff.

Do these scenarios sound familiar? They should if you read the comments section on any Rays blog.

The problem with Lancaster’s presentation is that he presents the first scenario as if the move is a real possibility. He even seems to be hinting that the team is considering this option.

Sorting through the possibilities, an interesting scenario is beginning to emerge as an avenue to clear space for Aybar.

Where exactly is this emerging from? Lancaster’s mind? The thoughts of commenters on this or another site? Because it sure isn’t emerging from the team.

On Tuesday, Longoria said the Rays haven’t asked him about playing shortstop in a pinch, but he said he thinks he could handle the job.

So. Because Lancaster brought it up to Longoria, and he said he could handle it, then it is “emerging as an avenue”? In fact, Longoria admits that it would take “some work”. Not exactly the sort of thing that is easy to work on in the regular season, when he has not played the position since college.

Marc Lancaster: Evan, you took Spanish in college right? Well, the Rays get tour groups from Spanish speaking countries all the time. Do you think you could handle showing them around if the regular tour guide ever calls in sick?
Evan Longoria: I guess I could probably handle it, but I would need to spend some time brushing up on my Spanish.
Marc Lancaster: *typing on typewriter* An interesting scenario is beginning to emerge as an avenue to help the Rays out if their Spanish speaking tour guide ever calls in sick.

Shortstop is the most demanding position on the field. You can’t throw a guy out there cold-turkey. Yes, Dirtbag is a great defensive player. And yes he has played there before. This just in: Almost every player on the team has played shortstop at some point in the past. Alex Rodriguez was a gold glove shortstop. Yet, whenever Derek Jeter is injured, A-Rod does not shift over and play short. Why change two positions when the manager only has to change one?

Maddon loves positional flexibility. With only four guys on the bench, it is a necessity. Right now, he has 4 guys playing two positions. Keeping Hinske and Gross makes the team less flexible. Not more.

And what does Joe Maddon think of the possibility of going with an 11-man pitching staff?

the moment you think you can, you can’t.

Let us translate that for Mr. Lancaster: “No. Nope. Not going to happen. Don’t even bring it up.” And yet, Lancaster still brings it up as a possibility.

Marc Lancaster: Joe, Percy has pitched the last 3 days and Wheeler went 2 innings yesterday. With only 5.5 relievers (Miller only gets credit for 0.5), it seems like the bullpen is pretty thin. Have you thought about just letting Kazmir go all 9 innings tonight. That’s what they did in the old days.
Joe Maddon: *punches Lancaster in the nose*

Yes. As recently as 3-4 years ago, some teams were still using 11-man pitching staffs. However, with pitchers rarely working past the 7th inning, and the advent of lefty-specialists, the 12-man staff has become the norm. With the Rays starters pitching well, certainly it is possible. But as Maddon said, you never know when you will need that extra guy. Whether it is a pitcher getting knocked out in the 3rd inning, or an extra-inning game. With the 12-man staffs we are no longer subjected to seeing a positional player come in to pitch in the 14th inning because a manager is out of pitchers.

Also, baseball no longer schedules double-headers. The beauty of double-headers is that there were more off-days during the regular season in which pitchers could rest their arms. The Rays are in the midst of a stretch in which they will play 20 games in 21 days. Not exactly the time to have fewer pitchers.

Could the Rays implement one of the above strategies? Sure they could. But there is no indication they will, and even if they do, it will only be a band-aid move until a better solution presents itself.

We would love to applaud Marc Lancaster “for the effort”, but we can’t. He obviously did not think this through.

May 28

[THE HANGOVER] Andy Sonnanstine Deserves All The Blame He Receives

Andy Sonnanstine, BJ Upton, Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, Eric Hinske, Joe Maddon, Rocco Baldelli, Willy Aybar 7 Comments »



THE GOOD: The Rays deserved 3 losses for last night. Thank goodness they only get one in the standings. And because everybody else in the division lost except for the O’s, the Rays maintain their half-game lead in the division.

THE BAD: DO NOT try to feed us this pile of crap that Andy Sonnanstine was “better than score indicates”. That’s you Roger Mooney (by the way, we are still waiting for you to explain why the Rays did not like the Sports Illustrated cover). Just because 5 of the runs were unearned DOES NOT mean that Sonnanstine has no responsibility. It is not as if Evan Longoria committed 5 errors. Longoria did not give up the 2 hits before the error, or the 3 hits after the error. And as the Rangers broadcast crew mentioned last night, that error could have very easily been ruled a base hit. The ball had a wicked side-spin on it and took an angled hop. In fact the only player that deserves any blame close to what Sonny deserves is Eric Hinske. In the first inning, he played a single into a double by taking a crappy, slow angle and letting a ball get by to the wall. The next batter followed with an RBI double. In the second inning, Hinske once again played a single into a double by letting a ball get by him to the wall. Later in the game, while a valiant effort, Hinske dove for a ball that went off his glove. Hinske is giving the opposition extra bases on an almost nightly basis. How much more of this can Joe Maddon take?…And of course, then there was the bottom of the 3rd inning, with 2 runners on in a 5-run game, Carlos Pena got ahead 3-0 only to end up striking out…And of course, there was the 2-on, no outs, double play from Eric Hinske that killed a rally in the 6th, and the no outs double play from Carl Crawford that killed another one in the 7th inning.

THE TELLING: Her Rays has a much more insightful recap, if you are a masochist.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

  • Don’t forget to VOTE for Carl Crawford to start the all-star game. If you haven’t voted yet today, go NOW! [MLB All-Star Voting]
  • The first vote totals were released and only Carl Crawford, BJ Upton and Carlos Pena are listed among the leaders. C’mon people. If we don’t vote for CC, nobody will! [Rays Report]
  • Joe Maddon says that Willy Aybar will rejoin the Rays when he comes off the DL. Marc Lancaster indicates that could happen in time for the White Sox series tomorrow…We will get to the rest of the garbage in this piece later. [Tampa Tribune]
  • The Rays Index Live Blog-A-Baloo of the Week will be this afternoon with game 3 of the Rangers series and will be held right here.
  • Rocco Baldelli stated once again that he once to play for the Rays this season. Joe Maddon says the team is “cautiously optimistic”. In other words, nothing new here. [MLB]
  • How bad is it right now for the Mets? One of the more popular Mets blogs is now following the Rays…maybe. [Mets Geek aka Rays Geek]
May 28

[DOWN ON THE FARM] David Price To Face-Off Against Pedro Martinez In Second Pro Start; Guzman Homers Again

Brian Matusz, David Price, Joel Guzman, Pedro Martinez No Comments »

Norfolk 5, Durham 4. Joel Guzman hit his 12th home run and finished 3-4. In his last 8 games, Guzman is now 13-32 with 6 home runs and 10 RBI…Mitch Talbot allowed 4 runs in 6.1 innings. Juan Salas pitched the final 2.1 innings but picked up the loss after allowing a 2-strike, 2-out solo home run in the 9th inning…Reid Brignac was 1-3, while Elliot Johnson and Mike DiFelice added 2 hits and an RBI apiece.

Montgomery 3, Chattanooga 1. Wade Davis picked up his 5th win with 5 strike outs and only 1 walk and 2 hits in 7 innings. He gave up 1 run. He retired 15 of the last 17 batters he faced…Rashad Eldridge and Gabby Martinez were 2-4 each. Eldrige added his 10th stolen base and Martinez drove in his 31st RBI.

Vero Beach 3, St. Lucie 2. Ryan Morse struck out 5 and gave up 2 runs in 6 innings…Ryan Reid picked up his 8th save with 2 strikeouts in 1.1 innings. He now has 44 strike outs to only 3 walks….Vero Beach managed only 3 hits, but managed 3 runs for the win.

Asheville 2, Columbus 1. Alex Cobb gave up only 1 hit and 1 walk in 7 shutout innings, but was saddled with a no-decision as the bullpen could not hold the 1-0 lead. Cobb did not allow a baserunner until one out in the 5th when he hit a batter. The no-hitter was broken up with 2 outs in the 6th with an infield single.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

  • David Price will make his second professional start tonight for Vero Beach. He will be opposed by Pedro Martinez of the Mets, who is on a rehab assignment. [Biscuits Batter]
  • Baseball-Intellect has started a video breakdown of the top prospects in the upcoming Rule 4 draft. Up first is lefty Brian Matusz. Not very likely to go to the Rays, as most mock drafts have him falling to the Orioles at #5. Our concern, and this report seems to confirm this, is whether Matusz would even be a first-rounder if he weren’t a left-hander. Probably not. [Baseball-Intellect]
May 27

[POWER RANKINGS] The Tampa Bay Rays Power Rankings: Week 9

Rays Power Rankings 5 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…

May 27

[RI CONFIDENCE GRAPH] The Tampa Bay Rays Confidence Survey

Confidence graph No Comments »

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…


May 27

[THE HANGOVER] Scott Kazmir Is 5-6 MPH From Being Most Dominant Pitcher In Baseball

Andrew Friedman, BJ Upton, Dioner Navarro, Eric Hinske, Gabe Gross, Gary Glover, Jeff Niemann, Joe Maddon, Jonny Gomes, Scott Kazmir, Willy Aybar 9 Comments »



THE GOOD: The Tampa Bay Rays have the best record in baseball and Scott Kazmir is just getting warmed up. Last night, the game was over in the first inning. He struck out all three batters in the first inning, with 2 coming on sliders in the dirt. He was also consistently hitting 93-94 on the gun with his fastball. He had 7 Ks in the first 3 innings, and 9 after 5. He would finish with 10 in 7 innings of work, with no walks…The Catwalks. Nobody loves those catwalks more than Carlos Pena who hit another one last night for a double on what would have been a routine flyball…Evan Longoria made yet another diving stop on a ground ball and kept the leadoff hitter off base in a one-run game in the 4th…Dioner Navarro helped kill a rally in the 6th with a perfect throw to third base to gun down a would-be base stealer.

THE BAD: Gary Glover. Can somebody gives us a good reason why a pitcher with 11 walks to only 10 strikeouts and 27 baserunners in 14.1 innings, still has a job? Is there one good reason why Glover is still in the bullpen and Grant Balfour, who is tearing up AAA, is not? Or better yet, is there a good reason Glover is still in the bullpen and Jeff Niemann is not? Nobody can tell us that the Rays’ bullpen, although great so far, wouldn’t be better with Niemann in place of Glover. Clearly, nobody in the rotation is going to pitch themselves out of a job anytime soon and if somebody gets hurt, the Rays then could go with Jason Hammel or JK Ryu or JP Howell or Ben Hendrickson. And if it were to be a long-term injury, they could just re-stretch out Niemann and go that route…Cliff Floyd beat out an infiield single in the 5th inning, and our knees started hurting just watching him run to first base…

THE TELLING: Scott Kazmir is 5-6 mph from possibly becoming the best pitcher in baseball. No. We are not talking about a 99 mph fastball, although that would certainly help. On his good days, Kid K’s fastball sits about 93-94. Ideally, a pitcher’s changeup would be thrown 8-9 mph slower. Kazmir’s change is usually 78-79, for a difference of 14-16 mph. It would be a much more effective pitch if he was throwing it 84-85. Compare to James Shields who throws a 91-92 mph fastball and an 82-83 mph changeup. That is a difference of 8-10 mph. Perfect. And one reason he has one of the most dominating changeups in baseball. Kaz throws a harder fastball, but a slower changup. The problem with throwing a changeup too slow, as Kazmir does, is that it gives the batters a chance to reload even if they are fooled. With a difference of 14-15 mph, it is much easier for the batter to recognize that the pitch is not a fastball and lay off if they are geared for the hard stuff. If Kazmir could find a couple of extra inches on his changeup, he would then have three plus-pitches, and the power of Grayskull would be his…

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

  • Don’t forget to VOTE for Carl Crawford to start the all-star game. If you haven’t voted yet today, go NOW! [MLB All-Star Voting]
  • This week’s Rays Index Live Blog-A-Baloo will be held tomorrow afternoon for the final game of the Rangers series. Seeing as how we are in Texas this week, the game will be an AM start for us. That means live blogging and drinking while still in our PJs. Yummy!
  • Marc Lancaster suggests that Willy Aybar may be the player that is without a job when he is ready to return from the DL. Ben Zobrist and Shawn Riggans’ jobs are safe. That means the final two bench spots go to Gabe Gross, Eric Hinske and Aybar. With Aybar’s better defense and OPS and the ability to also play second base, we have been speculating that Andrew Friedman would try and trade Hinske. Lancaster suggests that Aybar’s inability to play the outfield gives Hinske the edge. Of course the Rays do have Jonny Gomes and Zobrist, who got work in the OF in spring training, as backup outfielders. We are not sure how many backup OF the Rays need. [Tampa Tribune]
  • Joe Maddon wants to start giving his starters regular days off so that the linup is fresh down the stretch. He specifically mentioned BJ Upton, who seemed to tire down the stretch last season and Dioner Navarro who has had a few passed balls recently. [MLB]

“Because I do believe this, I believe you have to rest your guys during the season,” Maddon said. “You have to. It’s a long year and you want to play well in September. If you play well in September you’ll do fine in October. You’ve got to keep them fresh for that good September. … You just have to rest people at the right time and you’ve got to keep an eye on them. And it does matter at the end of the season.”

  • Baseball Musings takes a look at the Rays and Red Sox and compares their home/road splits. [Baseball Musings]
  • DRays Bay takes a look at BJ Upton’s lack of power and wonders if we should be concerned…The Rays are in first place in the AL East and have the best record in baseball and Upton is only 23. He’ll be fine, and we don’t need to worry. [DRays Bay]
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