Jun 02
One year ago on Rays Index we told you that two-thirds of the “Axis of Evil” had finally been removed from the rotation.
Seo Long, Don’t Let The Door Hit You In The Ass [Rays Index]
Archive for June 2nd, 2008
Jun 02
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…
- The Rays are 35-22 and have the best record in the AL, one game ahead of the Red Sox in the AL East and and 5 games ahead of the A’s and the Jays in the wild card race.
- David Price outdueled Pedro Martinez and has yet to allow a run as a pro.
- Matt Garza had his best start as a Ray and seems to be peaking.
- 7 members of the Vero Beach D-Rays were named to the FSL All-Star team.
- Troy Percival went on the DL, Grant Balfour was called up and Ben Zobrist was replaced by Willy Aybar, leaving the Rays without a backup shortstop.
- Might the Rays go against their MO and draft for need with the top pick in the draft?
Jun 02
[THE HANGOVER] Rays Magic Number For Playoffs Now Sits At 100
Andy Sonnanstine, Gabe Gross 7 Comments »
THE GOOD: In the top of the 5th Andy Sonnanstine somehow survived to only allow 1 run to score. After the 1 run scored, the Sox had 1st and 3rd with no outs and could not put another run on the board. Gabe Gross would tie the game in the bottom half of that same inning with a triple…We have pounded Jonny Gomes and his defensive struggles, so it is only fair that we acknowledge the sliding grab to retire the leadoff hitter in the 7th with the score tied. Not only did he make the catch, but with Gomes running straight in, he slid for the ball with his body perpindicular to the path of the ball instead of diving head-first for the ball. By sliding in the manner that he did, Gomes was positioned to block the ball with his body had he missed the catch. That would have kept the hit to a single. If he dives and the ball gets by him, the best-case scenario is a man on third with no outs…JP Howell in the 10th inning. After a bit of bad luck led to a broken bat double to lead off the inning, Howell battled back and got the next 3 batters, including the final out on a full count, called 3rd strike.
THE BAD: We really hate the day-before-an-off-day lineup. No Carl Crawford. No Dioner Navarro. No Cliff Floyd...The double by Jim Thome to lead off the 10th was all BJ Upton’s fault and he is lucky it did not cost the Rays the game. He lolligagged in on the blooper, assuming Aki Iwamura was going to either catch the ball or field it and then probably assumed Thome would just stop at first…Gabe Gross’ home run celebration helmet toss in which the helmet came down right on the scrum at home plate nearly concussing one or more of his teammates.
THE TELLING: Well, it wasn’t a sellout and it wasn’t 28,000, but the Rays did draw 25,000 yesterday, we feel that Marc Lancaster should still eat a little crow for suggesting that the only reason the Rays drew 30,000 on Saturday night was due to the concert and the free trucker hats. Lancaster said “[Saturday's attendance] does not constitute a sudden uptick in support for the first-place Rays…Now, if they get 28,000 in here Sunday, I’ll stand corrected. But I’ll also believe it when I see it.” 25,000 for a non-divisional opponent is a good draw for the Rays. The Rays are now 5-1 in extra inning games…While the Rays magic number for the division is 104, the magic number for the Wild Card is only 100…The Rays are now 8-4 in Andy Sonnanstine’s 12 starts. The Rays are 5-1 in Scott Kazmir’s 6 starts, 5-4 in Matt Garza’s starts, 6-5 in Edwin Jackson’s starts and 8-4 in James Shields starts.
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]
- Joe Maddon will not skip any pitchers with the off-day today. That means Scott Kazmir will not get a start in Boston. [Tampa Tribune]
- Thursday’s series finale in Boston will begin at 6:05 PM due to the Celtics playoff game. [St. Pete Times]
Jun 02
Pawtucket 5, Durham 3. Mitch Talbot only allowed 1 hit in 4 scoreless innings, but was pulled after a rain-delay…Steve Andrade make his first appearance for the Bulls since being promoted from Montgomery, gave up 5 runs in 1 inning after the delay…Reid Brignac has been moved up to the 5th spot in the lineup and went 0-3 with a walk…Joel Guzman was 1-4. Elliot Johnson had a double and an RBI…Ben Zobrist has yet to play for the Bulls since being demoted. Of course the Bulls have a pretty decent shortstop already.
Carolina 5, Montgomery 3. This was the Biscuits’ 5th straight loss. Jake McGee went 7 innings and gave up 4 runs to drop to 5-3. He allowed to solo home runs to Cameron Maybin. McGee struck out 7 and walked 1…Rhyne Hughes finished 3-5 with 2 doubles and 2 RBI.
Brevard Co. 5, Vero Beach 4. Desmond Jennings made his first start of the year and homered in his first at bat. He finished 1-4…Ryan Morse started for the D-Rays and gave up 5 runs in 4 innings…Wade Townsend pitched 2 innings in relief, giving up 2 hits and no runs. He struck out 1.
Greenville 7, Columbus 6. This was the Catfish’ 10th straight loss…Brian Flores started and gave up 11 hits and a walk in 4 innings which led to 5 runs (4 earned)…Mike McCormick was 2-4 and hit his 3rd home run, a solo shot.
NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…
- Ryan Reid, dominated the FSL with 45 strikeouts and only 3 walks with a 0.29 ERA in 21 appearances, has been promoted to AA Montgomery. [Biscuits Crumbs]
- The Vero Beach mascot, “Squeeze”, had his bobblehead make an appearance on the Mike and Mike show on ESPN2. [MiLB]
