Archive for August 12th, 2008

Aug 12

[THE HANGOVER] Crawford And Dirtbag To DL; Rays Magic Number Sits At 40

Andy Sonnanstine, Carl Crawford, Chad Bradford, Cliff Floyd, David Ortiz, David Price, Edwin Jackson, Evan Longoria, Grant Balfour, Joe Maddon, Scott Kazmir Cork Gaines 3 Comments »



THE GOOD: The loss of Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria to the DL was relieved a little on Sunday when Rocco Baldelli was activated from the DL and made the start in right field. He played the first 5 innings, before being replaced by Gabe Gross. It was Rocco’s first game since May of ’07 and he drove in a run, going 1-4…The Rays now have a 95.9% chance of making the playoffs. That is a big number folks. At the other end of the spectrum, the Yankees now have a 6.0% chance at a playoff slot. They have dropped 13.7% in the past week. We love a world in which the Rays are in the playoffs and the Yankees are not.

THE BAD: A Monday without “The Hangover”. You can file your complaints at JetBlue.com.

THE TELLING: Willy Aybar will be the starting third baseman tonight and Justin Ruggiano will get the start in left…Sunday’s win, the Rays’ 71st of the season, set the franchise record for wins in a season…The Rays magic number to clinch a playoff berth is 40.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

  • Carl Crawford, placed on the DL this weekend with an injured finger, had his finger examined by a hand-specialist. The Rays are expected to know more today. There are some concerns that he could be lost for the rest of the season. [MLB]
  • Evan Longoria was placed on the DL with a broken wrist after being hit bay a pitch last week. Initial x-rays were negative. A second-opinion revealed the break. He is expected to be out 2-3 weeks. [MLB]
  • Scott Kazmir made an adjustment to his mechanics that he hopes will help with his delivery tonight. [St. Pete Times]
  • The injuries to Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria certainly pose a challenge for the Rays, but trips to the DL are nothing knew for this squad and Andrew Friedman notes that the Rays did not get where they are this season because of any one player. [Bradenton Herald]
  • Martin Fennelly has a column about how tough the loss of Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria is going to be on the Rays…Does anybody else have a tough time reading Fennelly when he writes a column with 25 1-sentence paragraphs? We always get flashbacks to 9th grade English and bad poetry. [Tampa Tribune]
  • Last month David Ortiz predicted that the Rays lack of experience would catch up to them. This month he is singing a different tune. [Boston Herald]
  • Marc Topkin feels that a decision has already been made for David Price to be promoted to the Rays at some point this season. The question now is only whether he will be a starter or a reliever. Topkin notes that if Price is used as a starter (Price’s preference) it could anger players in the clubhouse if Edwin Jackson or Andy Sonnanstine need to be bumped from the rotation. [St. Pete Times]
  • Larry Stone of the Seattle Times compares the ’08 Rays to several other teams that enjoyed sudden success after years of losing. [Seattle Times]
  • Chad Bradford finally arrived to the Rays clubhouse in Seattle on Saturday afternoon after a whirlwind few days of cross-country flights. [Tampa Tribune]
  • Joe Maddon speaks about altering his approach this season to how he handles his players both behind the scenes and in the public eye. He notes that this year the team is in a position where he can make a difference with a more critical, disciplined approach. [Tampa Tribune]
  • A blogger interviews Cliff Floyd. [Eli's MLB Rumors]
  • Baseball Digest Daily calls the Rays one of “10 Things To Watch for the Remainder of the 2008 MLB Season.” They are the only team on the list. [Baseball Digest Daily]
  • Marc Topkin has some notes about the ’09 schedule (opening day, interleague, etc.). [St. Pete Times]
  • Mike Francesa of “Mike and the Mad Dog” in New York City, has been dismissive of the Rays all season, saying that he wouldn’t acknowledge the Rays until August. One blogger wonders why Mike is still not talking about the Rays. [Mike and the Mad Blog]
  • Brittany Ghiroli tells how Grant Balfour only stumbled upon baseball as a child in Australia and says his fire and emotion come from his homeland and his father. [MLB]

Aug 12

[DOWN ON THE FARM] David Price Will Make Triple-A Debut On Wednesday

Austin Hinkle, Chris Nowak, David Price, Heath Rollins, Jeremy Beckham, Tim Beckham Cork Gaines No Comments »

Richmond 4, Durham 2. Ben Hendrickson allowed only 2 runs in 6 innings…Fernando Perez hit his 4th home run.

Montgomery (off-day)

Vero Beach 6, Brevard Co. 0. Wilton Noel allowed only 1 hit in 6 shutout innings. He struck out 5 and walked 3. Noel had a no-hitter through 6 innings, but was pulled after the leadoff hitter in the 7th singled…Ryan Royster was 2-5 and Nevin Ashley drove in a pair.

Lake Co. 11, Columbus 8. Alex Cobb struggled with his control, walking 5 and hitting another batter, allowing 4 runs in 6 innings. He struck out 4…Maiko Loyola and Greg Sexton were each 3-6. Sexton hit his 6th home run and drove in 3…Chase Fontaine was 2-3 with a double and 2 walks. He added his 2nd stolen base.

Hudson Valley 14, Lowell 10 (10).

Burlington 5, Princeton 2. Tim Beckham went 1-4 with a single and a walk. He struck out twice…We usually only comment on Beckham’s performance at Princeton, but we couldn’t pass up a chance to point out that Burt Reynolds committed his 26th error. That is in 44 games. Yikes. On the positive side, the third baseman is hitting .295/.355/.460.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

  • David Price was promoted to triple-A Durham, and is scheduled to make his first start for the Bulls on Wednesday. [Tennessean]

“I guess I’m a little anxious (about reaching the Major Leagues),” Price said Monday. “It’s like a kid getting ready for Christmas and you count down to Christmas Day. The anticipation is building up, but I’m enjoying myself…I haven’t talked to anyone from the (Rays’) front office all year,” Price said. “ … I’m just going to keep doing what I’ve been doing. My last start wasn’t as good as I would have liked, but the two before that I threw really well.”

  • Chris Nowak and David Price were named the Rays’ minor league player and pitcher of the month. [Montgomery Advertiser]
  • Austin Hinkle of Columbus was named the SAL pitcher of the week. [MiLB]
  • Despite only being 5-11, Heath Rollins and his 3.30 ERA were promoted to double-A Montgomery to take David Price’s vacant spot.
  • Jeremy Beckham recently got to play in Fenway Park and spoke to Mark Remme about being able to pave the way for his younger brother, Tim Beckham. [MiLB]