Jul 29
Just want to let you know that we added an item to the Rays Index Store, based on requests.
No poem to mark the occasion today…but just know that if we had a daughter, we would buy this shirt for her and make it happen. Is there a bigger compliment that one man could ever give to another?
Click on the image to be taken directly to the Rays Index store.
RAYSHEAD by
C. A. Gaines is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.
Jul 29
Durham 4, Louisville 3. Mitch Talbot picked up his 10th win, striking out 9 in 6 innings and allowing only 1 run on a solo home run. He gave up 5 hits and 3 walks…Scott Dohmann saved his 15th game…Juan Salas pitched 1 inning, striking out the side, but giving up a hit and a walk…Joel Guzman provided all the offense, with 3 hits in 4 at bats, including a pair of 2-run home runs. He has 19 on the year.
Montgomery 9, Huntsville 2. David Price improved to 5-0 in double-A with 8 innings in which he allowed only 2 runs. He struck out 7 and walked none, but was once again touched by the longball. Both hits allowed were solo home runs. After allowing one home run in the first inning, he retired the next 14 batters before allowing his second home run in the 6th inning. He then retired the final 8 batters he faced. Price is now 9-0 in 13 professional starts with a 2.03 ERA and a 38:12 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 45 innings…Rocco Baldelli did not start, but did come on in the 6th as a pinch-hitter. He stayed in the game and played right field for 3 innings, before being pulled for a pinch-hitter in the 9th. He finished 1-2 with a single and did not have any fielding chances in the field…Gaby Martinez and Rhyne Hughes each homered and drove in 3.
Vero Beach 2, Jupiter 0. Wade Townsend made just his second start since being demoted to Vero Beach and tossed 3 shutout innings, striking out 4 and allowing 4 hits and 2 walks…Matt Fields and Christian Lopez were each 3-4, with Lopez driving in both runs.
Greenville @ Columbus (ppd. rain)
Hudson Valley 3, Aberdeen 2.
Princeton 6, Pulaski 1. Tim Beckham had his second straight day off.
NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…
- David Price will not fill the opening in the Durham rotation left by the departure of Jeremy Cummings to the US Olympic team. Rather, the Rays have signed Heath Phillips, most recently of the Yankees’ organization. Phillips made 6 appearances in relief last year for the White Sox. If Phillips’ name sounds familiar, it is because Phillips was the pitcher that hit Evan Longoria and got ejected after Elliot Johnson ran over a Yankees’ catcher in spring training. [Biscuits' Batter]
Jul 28
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 61-43, 1 game up in the AL East over the Red Sox and 3 games ahead of the Yankees…In the past week three Rays won 2 of 3 from the A’s at home and split a 4-game series in Kansas City.
- The Rays are 6-11 in their last 17 games, but are 6-4 since the All-Star break.
- It appears as though Gary Glover is going to be DFA’d.
- There are lots of rumors concerning whether the Rays will or won’t make any trades before Thursdays deadline.
- The Rays are closing in on the franchise record for wins in a season.
- Some are not very happy with BJ Upton’s recent play. Ok, many are unhappy.
- Could Rocco Baldelli be the right-handed bat the Rays need?
- The Rays are making it clear that their top prospects are not available in any trades.
- Jason Bartlett came off the DL, Ben Zobrist was sent back to Durham.
- One writer says that the Rays have a better than 50% shot at making the playoffs.
Jul 28
THE GOOD: Got nothin’
THE BAD: Using the batting practice jerseys during a game. We have made our feelings known about this in the past. And we are not the only ones that hate the idea…Yet another GIDP for Carl Crawford…Anytime Jason Hammel is in a game. Not just because it is Hammel, but because he is like the Grim Reaper of the Rays. He only comes into games when death is imminent.
THE TELLING: Got Nothin’
DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…
- Gary Glover is ready to come off the DL, but did not go with the team to Toronto, even though he was in Kansas City. Marc Lancaster feels that this is a sign that Glover will be Designated for Assignment in the next day or two. That means the Rays will have 10 days to trade him. If they don’t, the Rays will release him or try to send him to Durham. He can then opt to become a free agent. [Rays Report]
- Following Saturday’s game in which Aki Iwamura failed to score from first on a 2-out bloop double, Joe Maddon ripped into the team, with one player describing him as “borderline irate”. [St. Pete Times]
- Joe Maddon made it clear that Troy Percival is the Rays’ closer…The quote below is exactly why we believe that Percival should give up the 9th inning, if just for a week or two. If his mechanics are not 100%, we do not understand why Percival is closing games. [MLB]
“His arm feels good, but I still think he’s working his way through the body mechanics of coming off a leg injury,” Maddon said. “As he becomes more comfortable with that, I think you’ll see more strikes on a more consistent basis.”
- Troy Percival is not the only reliever struggling recently. Add Al Reyes to that list. [Tampa Tribune]
- Well, the Rays are still in first place, but (no surprise here) they are not getting any respect. The New York Post says that the weekend series between the Yankees and the Red Sox apparently proves that the Rays will be the team without a chair when the music stops at the end of September. [New York Post]
- As the Rays head to Toronto, Joe Maddon says their last game above the border was the day the Rays proved they were a playoff contender. [Bradenton Herald]
“That night meant a lot to me because we could easily have caved in,” Maddon said. “We could have caved in the ninth, and we did not. We came back. And when you’re on the road playing so many extra innings you have so many ways in which you can lose that game, and we did not. We had the mental resolve to battle through that.”
- The Ledger takes a look at the unorthodox style of Joe Maddon. [Lakeland Ledger]
Jul 28
Durham 2, Louisville 0. Ben Hendrickson pitched 6.1 scoreless innings, allowing only 3 hits and 3 walks. He struck out 4 and hit a batter…Scott Dohmann pitched the 9th for his 14th save…All of the offense came in the first inning on back-to-back home runs by Justin Ruggiano and Dan Johnson…John Jaso finished 1-3 and Reid Brignac was 0-3 with a pair of strikeouts.
Montgomery (off-day)
Vero Beach (off-day)
Greenville 5, Columbus 3. Greenville scored 3 in the top of the 9th off of Austin Hinkle for the win…Brian Flores started and allowed 2 runs in 6 innings…Chase Fontaine went 2-4 and hit his 2nd home run…Greg Sexton was 2-4 with a double and an RBI.
Hudson Valley 9, Aberdeen 2. Even though he was demoted to Hudson Valley, Glenn Gibson will apparently still work out of the bullpen, as he did yesterday pitching only two-thirds of an inning, striking out 1 and allowing 1 hit.
Pulaski 4, Princeton 2. Tim Beckham did not play.
NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…
- Despite his recent improvements, the Rays will not accelerate the return of Rocco Baldelli and will keep with their original plan, which is just to see how it goes. [Tampa Tribune]
- The New York Sun calls David Price, one of two top prospects in baseball that should be called up soon. [New York Sun]
- Rays Digest takes a look at the recent struggles of Vero Beach. [Rays Digest]
Jul 27
THE GOOD:
Carl Crawford and the Royals defense. With 2 outs and
Aki Iwamura on first,
BJ Upton hit a lazy bloop to shallow right field that fell in for a double. Aki should have scored, but was held up at third. CC then hit a flyball in foul territory down the left field line that was dropped before hitting his 2nd triple of the game to drive in 2 and give the Rays the lead…
Carlos Pena homered for the second straight night.
THE BAD: Troy Percival was shaky again, allowing 2 hits and a run. But he did seem to have a little more life on his fastball and he was finding the strikezone. In his previous 2 starts, he threw 29 pitches, only 14 were strikes. Last night it was 14 of 22.
THE TELLING: If there is still any lingering doubt that Joe Maddon has not turned the corner this season, then take this quote from last night in reference to the bloop double from BJ Upton:
“We should have scored on the bloop,” Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. “That was the wrong part about it. We got a break, and then Carl had to come up with a triple to take advantage of the break that should have been taken advantage of prior to that. If we are going to win this thing, we can’t make plays like that. We have to beat everybody to the punch. We just got lucky tonight.”
Keep in mind that both Aki Iwamura and BJ Upton would later score on a triple by Carl Crawford. And yet, Papa Joe takes either Aki or third-base coach Tom Foley to task for not scoring earlier. And Maddon is right. With two outs Aki has to try and score in that situation.
DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…
- As usual, Outs Per Swing has a nice roundup of the recent trade rumblings involving the Rays. [Outs Per Swing]
- Did he? Yes. Yes he did…This should be exhibit one when people ask why writers don’t write their own headlines. *shaking head in shame* [Rays Report]
- Not to be outdone by Marc Lancaster’s headline writing skills, Marc Topkin wonders what the Rays would look like as a football team…RAYSHEADS…This is your PAID Tampa Bay Rays media coverage. [St. Pete Times]
- Cliff Floyd’s wife gave birth to a daughter on Saturday…Our congrats and best wishes. [MLB]
- The Rays are now just 10 wins shy of breaking the franchise record for wins in a season. Bugs and Cranks will be counting down, and in doing, will compare this season’s 61st win with every 61st win in franchise history. [Bugs and Cranks]
- To say that TBSB is unhappy with BJ Upton would be an understatement. [Tampa Bay Sports Blog]
Jul 27
Louisville 5, Durham 3. John Jaso was 3-4 with 2 doubles and an RBI. This was his 3rd 3-hit game since being promoted to triple-A a week ago.
Montgomery 8, Tennessee 1. Rocco Baldelli played 5 innings in the outfield. He committed an error on his only fielding chance. At the plate, he went 2-3 with 3 RBI including a 2-run home run in the first inning…Chris Nowak homered twice and finished 3-5. He is hitting .303 with 12 home runs.
Daytona 7, Vero Beach 4.
Greenville 15, Columbus 9.
Hudson Valley 4, Aberdeen 0.
Pulaski 14, Princeton 6. Tim Beckham went 1-5 with a single, his 2nd stolen base. He also committed his 6th error on a throw.
NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…
- It is a fantasy baseball report, but one blogger is not convinced that Jeremy Hellickson deserves recognition as a top prospect. [Baseball Handyman]
- Mike DiFelice talks about Wade Davis…audio link. [Durham Bulls]
- The Rays traded for a minor league pitcher. [Biscuits' Batter]
Jul 26
A quick reminder that I will be joining Sean Duade on “The Sports Cafe” radio show today at 3:20pm on 1220 WSRQ. Tune in on your radio or listen live by going to their website.
Jul 26
THE GOOD: Even more important than
Carlos Pena’s 2-run home run in the top of the 9th with 2 outs that gave the Rays a 3-run cushion, was
Akinori Iwamura handling the bad-hop ground ball in the 7th inning. With
JP Howell relieving
Grant Balfour with 1 on and 2 outs, Howell gave up a single, threw a wild pitch and walked a batter. He then ran the count to 2-2, before getting
Esteban German hit a hard ground ball just to the right of the mound. Aki somehow handled the hop into his chest cleanly, stumbled a bit and made the flip to
Jason Bartlett to save at least 1 run and end the inning with the Rays still in the lead.
THE BAD: Troy Percival. Show of hands: Who else wonders if Grant Balfour should be closing with Percy taking the 7th or 8th inning until he finds his groove again. Percival picked up his 21st save, but once again made it interesting, In addition to the home run by Ross Gload with 2 outs, Alex Gordon just missed a home run to the right of the foulpoul to lead off the inning. If Carlos Pena had not homered in the top of the 9th, the game might have ended very differently.
THE TELLING: This win ended the Rays’ 7-game losing streak on the road.
DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…
- Joe Maddon said that the chances of the Rays making a deal before the deadling are “50-50 at best”…Meanwhile, one player rumored to be on the Rays’ radar, Xavier Nady of the Pirates, was traded to the Yankees last night. [St. Pete Times]
