Jan 31
Buster Olney is reporting (via MLB Trade Rumors) that the Rays and Brian Shouse have agreed to a two-year deal pending a physical.
Shouse, 40, pitched in 69 games for the Brewers last season, mostly as a specialist against left-handed hitters. Lefties hit just .180 against him with a .192 on-base percentage and a .482 OPS. Shouse has pitched in more than 422 games in the big leagues over nine seasons with 216 strikeouts and 111 walks in 322.2 innings.
Two years seems like a lot for a 40-year old left specialist. This is the same issue that the Rays are facing right now with Chad Bradford, a double-play specialist they can’t trade because of his $3.5 million salary. Of course, it is unlikely that the Rays would have been able to land either pitcher without the second year on the contract. We will have to wait to see how much money the Rays have committed to Shouse.
Read the rest of this entry »
Jan 31
We had been wondering if the Rays would be willing to enter the 2009 season without a lefty-specialist. Now Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the Rays are making a strong push for Brian Shouse.
The Rays are making a strong run at free-agent left-hander Brian Shouse, whose performance against left-handed hitters last season was nothing short of spectacular. Shouse, 40, held left-handed hitters to a batting average/on-base/slugging line of .180/.196/.290 while pitching in relief for the Brewers, striking out 28 and issuing only two walks in 104 plate appearances against him …
Despite being 40 years old, Shouse has only been a full-time major leaguer for six seasons, playing for five different big league teams.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Big League Stew has yet another interview with Evan Longoria. This time Dirtbag talks about being recognized (he can skip to the front of the line at restaurants), who he would interview (Manny Ramirez), the lack of interest in the WBC (baseball less popular than rugby), the Yankees spending habits (who cares), “Entourage” (he has a Turtle in his group). his dating life (he isn’t struggling), Jonny Gomes (he’ll miss him) and his new instructional cartoon DVD. [Big League Stew]
- The interview yesterday we spoke about with Fernando Perez in which he revealed that James Shields and Coco Crisp no longer want to knock each other’s heads off…Now Bugs and Cranks has the video. [Bugs and Cranks]
- Rays Review takes a look at how Pat Burrell might impact the Rays lineup. [Rays Review]
- James Shields showed up at the Super Bowl to promote a new line of Reebok training shoes…The best part of the story is when the Herald-Tribune writer lost his seat to Andy Rooney. [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
- Bill Chastain discusses the Rays Payroll. [MLB]
- A while back we said that defense is the Rays’ “Moneyball” which is a bit simplistic, but it cannot be denied that defense is one area where the Rays have found value in both the trade and free agent markets. And in the end, value is what Moneyball is all about. Andrew Johnson of Fanhouse has a piece calling defense “the new on-base percentage.” [Fanhouse]
- The Rays purchased the contract of an infielder from an independent league team. Jake Gautreau was a former first round pick by the Padres in 2001. In the Cleveland organization in 2007 he hit .226/.250/.363 in 62 games at triple-A. [Ft. Worth Star-Telegram]
Jan 30
One year ago on Rays Index we witnessed the first-ever (semi) celebrity wearing Tampa Bay Rays gear…in public!
Peter King Jumps On The Tampa Bay Rays Bandwagon [Rays Index]
Jan 30
Here is a blogger that knows about as much about baseball as a hamster.
Throughout the season and into October, many baseball fans and media types waited for the [Rays] inevitable collapse, which never really came. I was one of them, never believing the Rays were for real. Honestly, I still don’t…How quickly I forgot about the Rockies making that run in 2007. I expect to just as quickly forget about the success the Rays had in 2008. In my mind, the 2008 season was a fluke, a perfect storm of pitching, defense and timely hits. I am already on record predicting a sub-.500 season for the Rays in 2009…
A typical Sox fan that doesn’t realize that the Rays are as similar to the Rockies as Julio Lugo is to Carl Yastrzemski.
A typical Sox fan that doesn’t realize there is actually baseball outside of the Northeast. A Sox fan that isn’t aware that the Rockies got hot late in the year in a weak division. On the other hand, the Rays were in first place every day of the second-half, in the toughest division in baseball.
Read the rest of World Series Not A Birthright For Red Sox Fans (378 words)
Jan 30
Rays Renegade wrote a piece wondering why bloggers do not receive any respect from the teams and leagues they write about. Rays Renegade is attempting to get credentialed by a “major league team”.
I wondered why there were not more credentialed bloggers with established sites or even talented new bloods with fresh outlooks in attendance. Now I am currently trying to find a way to get credentialed by a major league team, and I do have a journalism background, and at least 4 years in the industry, but I am also a blogger, and that has put me at a disadvantage…And with this fact comes the question, If I am qualified and able to produce a good article, or even submit a entry to get out another aspect of the team without bias or prejudice, shouldn’t I have the opportunity to showcase my talents too ?
This piece was later commented on by Ted Fleming at Examiner.com.
Even a blind squirrel finds a nut occasionally, so the saying goes, and any blogger is capable of writing a tremendous piece, however, for every great article there are hundreds that would tear it down because we are in this know-it-all age with no checks and balances. Opinions are like rear-ends, everybody has one, so who is going to regulate the good from the mean spirited or simply the unqualified?
Simple. The readers will regulate the blogs, just as they ultimately do in mainstream journalism.
Read the rest of this entry »
Jan 30
David Chalk of Bugs and Cranks recently attended a “sports-comedy variety talk show” in which Fernando Perez was a guest. Perez was apparently “funny as hell” according to Chalk, and Nando added an interesting twist to the Rays-Red Sox brawl when Coco Crisp charged the mound after being hit by James Shields…
Most enlightening was when Perez gave a behind-the-scenes look into the Red Sox-Devil Rays rivalry, saying that baseball teams routinely share weight rooms and mentioning that in September in Boston Coco Crisp and TMOTMCC James Shields were joking together about their altercation earlier in the season.
What the heck? You think Carlton Fisk and Lou Piniella would have been “joking together” in the weight room? We suppose the next thing is Chalk is going to tell us that pro wrestling isn’t real either.
Chalk also has a picture of himself with Perez. It is sad to see that neither person is still sporting a Mohawk.
Fernando Perez Is Awesome [Bugs and Cranks]
Jan 30
Happy 27th birthday to former Devil Ray Jorge Cantu, our favorite Jedi baseball player. His 69 extra-base hits in 2005 is the 44th most ever by a second baseman. Of course, calling Cantu a second baseman is an insult to most second basemen (-2.4 UZR* in ‘05 as a 2B). Still, it was nice to see a healthy (finally) Cantu hit 29 home runs in 2008 for the Marlins, with a 110 OPS+.
*Ultimate Zone Rating. Negative is bad. Negative is also the number of runs the player cost his team defensively as compared to an average defensive player at the same position.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Scratch Carlos Pena from the list of Rays that will play in the World Baseball Classic. Pena had minor surgery on an abdominal muscle. He will be ready for Spring Training, but the surgery will keep him off the Domincan Republic’s WBC roster. Lancaster spoke with Pena who said the problem began in August saying he played through “extreme pain toward the end of the year last year.” [Rays Report]
- Evan Longoria still is not sure if he will be on the USA roster for the World Baseball Classic, but he is preparing under the assumption that he will be. [The Heater]
- Wow. First it was “Team X will be the new Rays.” Now we have somebody saying Matt Weiters is the “New Evan Longoria“…Why? Because Weiters is going to move to third base and help the Orioles to their first winning season since 1997, shocking the baseball world, winning the AL East and going to the World Series? Good luck with that. [Fanhouse]
- Eric Hinske has agreed to terms with the Pirates. [Raise the Jolly Roger]
- The Rays will start a new marketing campaign next week and unlike years past, this one will be geared more towards businesses…Gotta admit. One downside to writing about a good team is that prior to last year, there would have been an endless supply of jokes we could insert here. Now? Nuthin’. [Tampa Tribune]
- The Rays Party wants to know when the Rays are going to trade Reid Brignac…We doubt they will. At worst, Brignac is a cheap version of Jason Bartlett and under team control for the next six years. [The Rays Party]
- And we have yet another new entry into the Rays Blogosphere. This one comes via the MVN network. [Rays Review]
- Bill Chastain spoke with James Shields about preparing for the 2009 season. [MLB]
Jan 29
First it was Peter King. Now Al Roker?
Ahh. The irony of Al Roker donning a cap for a team that plays in a dome.
No offense to Dick Vitale or Brian Knobbs, but when are we finally going to see a real celebrity sporting Rays gear in public?
Well. At least it wasn’t this guy.
‘Today’s Al Roker in Ybor this morning [St. Pete Times]
Jan 29
Bugs and Cranks has a video of BJ Upton answering questions during a radio interview. Upton discusses a number of topics including his golf tournament, Philly fans, Hoootie and the Blowfish, Martin St. Louis and how his shoulder rehab is progressing.
Which brings up a point we have discussed elsewhere…Upton tore the labrum in his shoulder taking a swing. This was not the first time he has injured his shoulder on a swing. In fact, Upton says he has done this each of the last six seasons. This suggests that there is something about Upton’s swing that occasionally irritates his shoulder.
Even if Upton’s shoulder is 100%, what is going to keep this injury from occurring again?
We see two possibilities for Upton:
- Upton can change his swing to fix the flaw. The risk is he could lose the quickness and power in his swing.
- Upton can keep his swing as is. The risk is reinjuring his shoulder.
Both scenarios scare the living bejeezus out of us.
VIDEO: BJ Upton Disses Philly In Radio Interview [Bugs and Cranks]
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Marc Topkin wrote something about the Super Bowl Media Day. We are not really sure, because we couldn’t get past the new POSTER-SIZED byline pic for Topkin. Sweet Fancy Moses that is big. Topkin has a new hairdo (here is his old byline pic), new glasses…and is he looking at anybody else like they just did something wrong, or is it just us? [St. Pete Times]
- Bill Chastain spoke with scouting director RJ Harrison about how the team’s approach to the draft will be different this year with the 30th pick. [MLB]
- Drays Bay spoke with Rob Neyer. [Drays Bay]
- Rays Digest takes a look back at the maturation of Matt Garza. Get it? MATTuration! [Rays Digest]
- There is a new entry into the Rays Blogosphere. [Tampa Bay Rays Fan]
Jan 28
Just the links today as we get back to the kitchen and celebrate National Blueberry Pancake Day. Yummy.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Dioner Navarro will have his arbitration hearing held on Feb 9. [The Heater]
- Jacob Wheatley-Schaller compares the rise of David Price to that of Joba Chamberlain the previous season…We would say the similarities are circumstantial at best. [Fanhouse]
- Better get used to it, everybody wants to be the “New Rays” and everybody wants to predict who will be the “New Rays”. [Big League Stew]
- BJ Upton hosted his first charity golf tournament on Tuesday. Upton could not play because of his surgically repaired shoulder, but several Rays and other major leaguers did participate. [MLB]
- The Rays will make their first appearance on Sunday Night Baseball since 2000 when they play the Red Sox on May 10 at Fenway. [The Heater]
- In fact the Rays will be on national TV at least six times this season (ESPN has only set April and May schedules). [Tampa Tribune]
- Eric Hinske may be about to join the Pirates. [MLB Trade Rumors]
