Archive for August 5th, 2008

Aug 05

[THE HANGOVER] Jonny Gomes Demoted, Rocco Will Have To Wait

Ben Zobrist, BJ Upton, Carl Crawford, Jason Bartlett, Joe Maddon, Jonny Gomes, Rocco Baldelli Cork Gaines 6 Comments »


THE BAD: We were orignally planning to bring back the Live Blog-A-Baloo of the week on Wednesday. We are long overdue for an installment and Wednesday could be the ’08 debut of Rocco Baldelli. But, when the casting director for a very popular NBC drama calls and asks if you are available on Wednesday to film a scene, you guys get shafted…Sorry.

THE TELLING: With Jason Bartlett limited to pinch-runner availability, Willy Aybar made his first major-league start at SS. Eric Hinske started in LF in place of Carl Crawford. Shawn Riggans made his first professional appearance in the OF after pinch-hitting, and replacing Hinske in LF…

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

  • In a move that could have a big impact on how soon Rocco Baldelli is activated, Jonny Gomes has been demoted to Durham and Ben Zobrist has been recalled. Clearly, Joe Maddon was not happy with Willy Aybar starting at SS. Gomes was expected to be demoted when Rocco was ready. Now Rocco will have to wait until Jason Bartlett is ready to be inserted back in the lineup. At that point, we expect Zobrist will be demoted and Baldelli will be activated. [SI.com]
  • Sixty Feet, Six Inches recaps an interview with Rocco Baldelli in which he addresses various topics including the fate of his beard. [Sixty Feet, Six Inches]
  • Carl Crawford missed last night’s game with a sore hamstring and could be out again tonight. [The Heater]
  • Tom Verducci of SI.com tells us why the Rays are here to stay…Of course, you would think a 3-game lead in August is enough evidence to show that the Rays “have what it takes to stay in AL East race.” Just shows you how little people outside of the Bay Area think of the Rays. Even if the Rays took a nose-dive over the next 3 weeks, they would at worst be 2-3 games out of the division lead with a month to go. And that alone is “still in the race.”[SI.com]
  • Not the first time we have heard this one…Buster Olney compares the ’08 Rays to the ’69 Mets…Olney is hidden behind the evil password wall called “Insider” at ESPN, but Marc Topkin has the details. [ESPN via The Heater]
  • BJ Upton may or may not have met the president of his fan club. [Her Rays]
Aug 05

[DOWN ON THE FARM] Brignac In Major Slump Since Being Demoted

David Price, Greg Sexton, Reid Brignac Cork Gaines No Comments »

Durham 5, Richmond 0. Wade Davis improved to 3-0 in triple-A with 6 shutout innings. He allowed 5 hits and 2 walks while striking out 5…Fernando Perez, Ben Zobrist and Chris Richard had 3 hits apiece while Reid Brignac finished 0-4. Brignac is 10-60 (.167) since being demoted to Durham with 21 Ks and only 3 walks.

West Tenn 9, Montgomery 5. Jino Gonzalez gave up 6 runs in 4 innings and Ryan Reid gave up 3 more in 2 innings of relief…Gaby Martinez was 3-5 and Chris Nowak finished 2-5 with a double, triple and an RBI.

St. Lucie 2, Vero Beach 1.

Columbus 2, Asheville 1. Jesse Darcy gave up 1 run in 6 innings, striing out 5.

Hudson Valley 3, Aberdeen 2.

Bluefield 5, Princeton 1 (gm 1). Tim Beckham went 1-3 and was picked off first.

Bluefield 7, Princeton 4 (gm 2). Tim Beckham went 0-3 with 2 Ks.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

  • David Price won the SL pitcher-of-the-week award. [Biscuits' Batter]
  • Greg Sexton was named the SALY player-of-the-week. [MiLB]