Archive for October, 2008

[LONG COLD WINTERS] We Miss Our Woobie

Nice little offseason 5 Comments »

You know that scene at the end of “Bull Durham” when Crash Davis returns to Durham after retiring. Crash is tired. He doesn’t want to think about baseball. He doesn’t want to think about Quantum Physics. He didn’t want to think about anything. He just wanted to be.

We feel a little like that right now only worse, because we are pretty sure we broke our liver during this postseason run. After being on edge for the last two months, the sudden disappearance of the baseball season has left us wondering around the house sober and actually getting work done. That’s not good for us. That’s not good for anybody.

So we are going to take a few days off. We have a pretty nice little weekend planned. We’re going to go to Home Depot. Yeah, buy some wallpaper, maybe get some flooring, stuff like that. Maybe Bed, Bath, & Beyond, We don’t know, we don’t know if we’ll have enough time. Oh yeah, and a little thing called The Second Best Holiday of the Year.

Next week we will be back on board. We have a few loose ends to tie up for the 2008 season and then we will start working on 2009. The first step will be to update our Trade Value Index and both the 40-man and 25-man roster projections for 2009.

So have a good weekend, don’t do anything we would do and when you drink, raise a glass to the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays, American League Champions.

[THE ARCHIVES] One Year Ago On Rays Index

The Archives 1 Comment »

One year ago on Rays Index some thought Joe Maddon was among the “Crappiest Baseball Managers.”

Joe Maddon Is Too Good For Rays [Rays Index]

[THE HANGOVER] Time To Start Looking At 2009

Adam Dunn, Ben Zobrist, Brad Lidge, Dave Wills, Eric Hinske, Fernando Perez, Gabe Gross, Gerry Hunsicker, Jason Bartlett, Mike Wlodarczyk, Reid Brignac, Rocco Baldelli, Stuart Sternberg, Willy Aybar 25 Comments »

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA

  • Another day, another feature piece on the Rays in the New York Times. This time they take a look at the staying power of the team in the AL East, noting that core of the team could be unchanged in 2009 and beyond. However, Gerry Hunsicker reiterated that due to financial limitations, the team is always “trying to trade people a year too soon than a year too late.”. The piece also speculates that Scott Kazmir could be traded along with one or more of the arbitration-eligible players (Edwin Jackson?)…In the piece it is indicated that the Rays likely turned a profit for the first time under Stuart Sternberg thanks to reaching the World Series. [New York Times]
  • Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald says the Rays have “started – and are winning – a war for supremacy with the Red Sox” in the AL East and that the rivalry between the Sox and Yankees has been put on ice for now. Silverman says the Rays are good for baseball and refreshing for the Red Sox. [Boston Herald]
  • Eric Hinske gets to face Brad Lidge again. They are in a Fantasy Football league together. Seriously. [Fanhouse]
  • There is a rally tentatively scheduled for 4:30pm on Friday at Straub Park in St. Pete. [MLB]
  • We wish we could have muted Tim McCarver and Joe Buck and instead listened to Sully’s wife. She had more insight…Speaking of which, did any of you watching on TV know that Jason Bartlett ran through a stop sign in the 7th inning? Us neither. We listened to Dave Wills call during the Rays’ radio broadcast and indicates that Bartlett indeed ran through a stop sign. Of course we never saw replay from FOX TV and McCarver and Buck never even bring the issue up. [Sully Baseball]
  • Jerry Crasnick of ESPN takes a look at what the World Series means for the Rays moving forward and how this is a team that could be better next year. [ESPN]
  • Jon Heyman says there was no disappointment, anger or bitterness in the Rays locker room following their game 5 loss…There is a part of us that wished the Rays had taken the World Series loss a little tougher. But then again, this is what has been great about the Rays all season. They are able to get over losses very quickly and move forward. [SI.com]
  • Jordi over at The Serious Tip opens up about what the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays meant to him. [The Serious Tip]
  • Will never happen. NEV-er. [Chicago Tribune]
  • A Joe Maddon pumpkin? Wow. That’s all we got. Wow. [The Heater]
  • Mike Wlodarczyk is blogging from the Arizona Fall League. [Rays Prospects]

[TAKING THE BAIT] Drays Bay Reminds Us Why Some Loathe Statheads

This bait tastes so good 13 Comments »

Drays Bay would like you to think that championships mean nothing.

Apparently, some people are saying this season possesses no positive aspect due to the World Series results. This is irrational and frankly embarrassing to the fan base. Few teams improve by 31 games and even fewer teams do it with the second lowest payroll in the league.

Being outstanding for 162 games is a far greater challenge than being outstanding for three five-to-seven game series. In any given set of ~20 games you’re going to have random variance play a huge role in the outcomes, much larger than during the regular season because usually random variance doesn’t even out in the post-season. Throw in awful umpiring; a typhoon, and a two-day half-inning and you have three variables that the Rays had zero control over.

The Phillies were better for five games than the Rays were, the Rays were better than most of the league for 162 games. Tell me the former eclipses the latter and I’m going to have to question your thinking. I’m going to write this up to some people trying to be radicals, but ending up as perfect squares.

We have yet to read a single item that says the Rays’ season has “no positive aspect”. Since Drays Bay failed to list any sources or tell us exactly who “some people” are, we can only assume they are referring to sentiments like our “Hangover” post from last night, in which we stated the following:

We don’t want to hear about what a great season it was. We don’t want to hear about how the Rays exceeded all expectations. None of that matters today. There are no excuses. There are no silver linings. Maybe in a couple of days we will be able to reflect on what happened in 2008, but not today.

Apparently we have to explain what “today” means. For the slower people, that means the day between yesterday and tomorrow. We never said that the regular season accomplishments were meaningless. Quite the opposite. But when the Rays are in the World Series, they mean squat.

We are well-aware that chance plays a role in small sample sizes. We have written papers on the subject. But if the Red Sox played the Nationals in a best-of-seven under the same conditions as the Phillies and Rays, the Red Sox would win that series 9 out of every 10 times. Why? Because they are a better team, weather be damned. However, if the gap between two teams is small, the significance of chance increases.

Either way, you can’t all of the sudden say winning the World Series means less than the regular season. Otherwise you are going to be “questioning the thinking” of a lot of people.

We beg Drays Bay to find a single Phillies fan that thinks the World Series title means less than being “better than most of the league for 162 games.”

We beg Drays Bay to find a single Red Sox fan that cares more about how many seasons the Red Sox were “better than most of the league for 162 games,” than the two World Championships they won in recent years.

A Yankees fan can tell you that the Bombers have won 26 world titles. Do you think they give a hoot how many times the Yankees were “better than most of the league for 162 games?”

Do you think the Mariners and their fans would trade some of the 116 regular season wins in 2001 for 7 more wins in the postseason?

To think the regular season somehow means more than the World Series is pure idiocy.

We appreciate what the Rays did the season. Nothing will ever take away what they accomplished. But that is little consolation the day after losing the World Series. Tomorrow? Now that is a different story. And if that makes somebody a “square”, then we guess the Phillies will be the biggest squares of them all next year when they raise the pennant and receive their rings.

Professing My Love of Probability [Drays Bay]

[THE HANGOVER] Not The World Series We Would Have Hoped For

Joe Maddon hates my liver 32 Comments »


Click on above images to be taken to full standings, box scores or schedule…

THE GOOD: After every game (well most games), we take a few moments to celebrate “the good”, to dwell on “the bad” and reflect on what we learned (“the telling”). Once that is done, that game is over and we move on to the next game. Now? There is no next game. There is no “good”. We don’t want to hear about what a great season it was. We don’t want to hear about how the Rays exceeded all expectations. None of that matters today. There are no excuses. There are no silver linings. Maybe in a couple of days we will be able to reflect on what happened in 2008, but not today. Today is about replaying that last pitch in our minds over and over until it is permanently burned into our synapses. We don’t want to forget that moment. For that is the moment that will drive the Rays to be better.

THE BAD: It would have been nice if the Rays had shown up for the World Series and not the Devil Rays. It would have been nice if the Rays got to play in a World Series with decent umpiring*. It would have been nice if the Rays would have been able to play game 3 before their bed time. It would have been nice if the Rays could have played 9 innings in game 5, uninterrupted and without a monsoon. We would have liked to see that series. We don’t know if the Rays would have won, but we would have liked their chances. The Phillies are a good team. They are not this good.

THE OTHER BAD: We don’t have a big problem with Jason Bartlett trying to score with 2 outs in the 7th in a tie game. He probably has a better chance of scoring on the single than waiting for the next batter to get a base hit. We do have a big problem with JP Howell hitting in the 7th with 1 out and a runner on first. Joe Maddon still has 5 pitchers available including David Price and Edwin Jackson both of whom could work more than one inning. (OK, Jackson is a giant turd, but he would have been available in a 12th or 13th inning). And why let Howell hit if Maddon is just going to pull Howell after one hit in the bottom of the 7th?…Speaking of “Why”. Why the hell is BJ Upton swinging at the first pitch in the 8th inning. A first pitch with no outs and a runner on first. A first pitch in the 8th inning down 1 run. A first pitch that was not in Upton’s power zone. A first pitch to a hitter that saw 4.1 pitches per plate appearances this season. Then again, Upton, one of the fastest players in baseball, grounded into 16 double plays this season. Of the 20 players that stole more than 25 bases this season, only Alex Rios (22) grounded into more.

THE TELLING: Clearly the answer is Deadspin. We will now set out to become the Editor of Deadspin prior to the 2010 season. During the last two even-numbered years, the World Series champion was the favorite team of the editor of Deadspin. 2010 World Series Champions: Tampa Bay Rays.

*We have no idea if more calls went for or against the Rays. Obviously the calls against the Rays stand out more to us, but at times it seemed that the umpires were having more of an impact than either team

[RIGO!] World Series Game 5.5: Random Thoughts Thread, Game On!

Rays Index Game On, RIGO 46 Comments »

No live blog…but let’s throw this up as a place to throw out some random thoughts, grumblings and poop jokes.

Until the game starts, let’s consider this…

Let’s assume Grant Balfour starts the bottom of the 6th inning and Charlie Manuel pinch-hits one of his lefty bats. Do you want Balfour to stay in knowing Jimmy Rollins (switch-hitter with fairly even splits) and Jayson Werth (righty) follow…OR do you immediately bring in David Price to face the lefty, knowing that the two big lefties (Chase Utley and Ryan Howard) will follow Werth?

[THE HANGOVER] Phillies Fans On Edge

BJ Upton, Bud Selig, Charlie Manuel, Joe Maddon, Jonny Gomes 16 Comments »



Click on above images to be taken to full standings, box scores or schedule…

Just the links this morning and we will be off the grid most of the day. We will be back this evening with a “RIGO!”, so we will see you then…

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA

  • We are having a hard time finding a link but we heard from several sources that Joe Maddon said after game 5 was suspended that he was well-aware of the rule that the World Series would not have ended had the game been suspended with the Phillies in the lead. However, Maddon made it clear that he did not inform the players of this because he wanted them playing with a sense of urgency.
  • Jonny Gomes when he was a paper boy. [Pearls of Wisdom] [via Bugs and Cranks]
  • Jorge Ortiz of USA Today breaks down how the rest of Game 5 will be managed. [USA Today]
  • Marc Lancaster reported that as of game time last night it was not raining and had not rained in a couple of hours. He does mention that the conditions (cold, wind) would have made last night an unpleasant time to try and play baseball. [Rays Report]
  • David Lennon of Newsday says the Phillies have every reason to be upset but that they won’t have any problem moving past it as the players follow the lead of their manager, Charlie Manuel. [Newsday]
  • Sam Donnellon of the Philadelphia Inquirer says Philadelphia is ready to lay all the blame at the feet of Bud Selig if the Phillies lose the World Series…Way to have confidence in your team guys. [Philadelphia Inquirer]
  • Or maybe they will just blame God. [Philadelphia Inquirer]
  • Or as Mike Lopresti of USA Today puts it, the “gods must be crazy” as Bud Selig’s no-win situation was just the latest in a very odd World Series. [USA Today]
  • John Romano wonders if destiny is indeed on the Rays’ side. [St. Pete Times]
  • Tyler Hissey says BJ Upton’s postseason has helped many to forget their criticisms from the regular season. [Rays Digest]
  • David Chalk of Bugs and Cranks has a plan to save the World Series. [Bugs and Cranks]
  • The World Series umpires chat-it-out in “The Dugout”. [Fanhouse]

[WORLD SERIES MONSOON] Phillies Fans Have Only Head Groundskeeper To Blame (And Maybe Karma)

Karma is a bitch, Mike Boekholder, World Series 29 Comments »

For all the complaints (and whining) we have heard today directed at FoxTV, Bud Selig and Major League Baseball, the one group that deserves the brunt of the fans’ wrath is the Phillies’ ground crew.

During the bottom of the 5th inning, Chris Myers reported from the field that he had just spoken with the head groundskeeper who claimed that the ground crew had the situation under control and that the field could handle the rain.

“I just spoke with the head groundskeeper Mike Boekholder just before this inning started. He walked out, checked the field. The forecast, a tenth of an inch of rain per hour. He says this field can hold that all night…He doesn’t think that this can stay all night but it should not worsen.”

This is the same person that Major League Baseball and the umpires are checking with and Boekholder is telling them that the field will not be a problem. The field did not appear to become a big problem until the top of the 6th inning. In the 5th inning water was only seen collecting along the warning track in foul territory. And while one could argue that the game should have been postponed during the top of the 6th, umpires always prefer to call rain delays in between innings. A delay during an inning is always the last resort.

The head groundskeeper had the umpires and MLB believing the field would be fine in the 6th inning and once it proved not to be, the umpires were just trying to finish the inning before calling for the tarp.

And for those that think MLB refused to suspend the game earlier just so the Rays could tie the game, that only makes sense if you think they would have kept playing if the Rays do not score in the top of the 6th. Major League Baseball was never going to award a win to a team in the World Series from a rain-shortened game. The score could have been 12-2 and MLB would still make the teams finish the game at a later date. That second run for the Rays had zero bearing on when the game was suspended.

Then again, maybe Phillies fans should not be planning the victory parade…or throwing mustard packs at a 7-year old girl…or pouring beer on a 9-year old boy…or screaming at babies…or, eh. You guys get the point.

Phillies fans, we would introduce you to Mr. Karma, but we have a feeling you guys already know each other pretty well.

Nothing Is Ever &@$#ing Easy [The Fightins]
Only in Philadelphia [Beerleaguer]
Phillies/Rays World Series Game Five Will Forever Be Remembered As Raingate, Unless [The Good Phight]
Game Five Postponed At 2-2 Tie [Phillies Nation]
Philles fans prematurely planning victory parade [Ump Bump]
Rays seek a bit more security [LA Times]
World Series: Phils’ fans live down to their reputation [St. Pete Times]
Rays fans complain of treatment at ballpark [Philadelphia Inquirer]
25-Year Championship Drought [Philadelphia Daily News]

[WORLD SERIES] Continuation Of Game 5 Postponed

Andy Sonnanstine, Charlie Manuel, Cole Hamels, David Price, Grant Balfour, James Shields, Joe Maddon, Matt Garza, Scott Kazmir, World Series 6 Comments »

The St. Pete Times is reporting that Major League Baseball has already postponed tonight’s continuation of game 5. According to the press release from MLB, the game is tentatively scheduled for 8:37pm tomorrow (Wednesday). Don’t think Fox TV’s desire to keep “House M.D.” from being postponed was not a factor in this decision.

As for the Rays, this postponement means very little for the pitching staff. Joe Maddon will still go with Grant Balfour (or David Price) to start the final three and a half innings of game 5. Maddon will also likely stay with James Shields and Matt Garza as his games 6 and 7 starters.

One change could be the availability of the other starters in a potential game 7. If game 5 is completed tomorrow, games 6 and 7 would be held on Thursday and Friday (Halloween). Andy Sonnanstine would certainly be available on Friday (4 days rest) but conceivably he could also throw on Thursday in game 6 out of the bullpen. Also, Scott Kazmir could be available out of the bullpen in a potential game 7 (not that we would recommend that).

As for the Phillies, Charlie Manuel could choose to bring Cole Hamels back on three days rest to start a potential game 7. Hamels only threw 75 pitches last night.

Game 5 postponed … again [St. Pete Times]

[CLIFF FLOYD] Cliff Floyd’s Injury Could Lead To Retirement

Cliff Floyd, Joe Maddon, Troy Percival, Willy Aybar 8 Comments »

Cliff Floyd was removed from the World Series roster with a suspected tear of the labrum in his right shoulder. Now Floyd says the injury could end his career.

“If I have any more surgeries, my career’s a wrap,” Floyd said. “If it’s something I can rehab from, we’ll see what happens.”

Floyd hinted early in the season that 2008 could be his last. Then, in September, Floyd said he was having second-thoughts, noting that this Rays squad had made baseball “so fun.” However, even then, Floyd admitted that “going through all the surgeries…has taken it’s toll.”

The Rays have a 2009 team option on Floyd that would pay him $2.75 million. The buyout is only $250K.

The Rays, who could already be in the market for a right-handed hitting right fielder, may now also need a left-handed hitting DH. Willy Aybar, a switch-hitter, could take over as the most-days DH. However, Joe Maddon may prefer another player in the role as he will likely continue to use Aybar as a backup at several positions.

In addition, we have stated previously that it would not surprise us if Troy Percival retires after the season. The numerous trips to the DL, as well as his decision to not be with the team during the playoffs leave us wondering if Percy still has a desire to play.

Floyd only appeared in 80 games this season hitting .268/.349/.455 with 11 home runs.

Maddon skeptical of explanation of Blanton’s cap stain [St. Pete Times]
Floyd To Retire After Season; Griffey To The Rays? [Rays Index]
Floyd Has Mixed Feelings About Retirement [Tampa Tribune]