Jan 20
Last week’s Rays Confidence Graph results.
Below you will see two polls that ask about your confidence in the Tampa Bay Rays. We will present these same polls every Tuesday. The results will be presented in graphical form on Thursday, 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.
Raysiverse events of the past week that could impact confidence levels…
Jan 20
[Update 12:49pm] Marc Topkin is reporting that the Rays did not reach an agreement with Willy Aybar or Dioner Navarro prior to the team-imposed noon deadline. Each side will now submit figures for a 2009 salary and an independent arbitrator will hear arguments and select the most deserving amount.
[11:55am] The Rays avoided arbitration with Jason Bartlett, agreeing to a one-year, $1.98 million contract. We had originally projected Bartlett to receive $2 million.
And despite assertions last night that they were done talking, Dioner Navarro’s agent is now saying that “significant progress” has been made this morning.
Bartlett gets $1.98-million [The Heater]
Rays still talking to avoid arbitration [The Heater]
Jan 20
Threaded comments now appear to be working. You can see them in action HERE.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- The commission assigned by St. Pete Mayor Rick Baker, to recommend sites for the new Rays stadium, has recommended several sites, including two that are outside the city limits. And the city of St. Pete is not taking it well. The City Attorney sent a letter to ABC warning that moving the Rays outside of the city limits would be breaking a contract between the city and the team, more than just the lease…Why do we have a feeling that this is going to get uglier before it gets better? [St. Pete Times]
- The deadline for the Rays to reach agreements with their three remaining arbitration-eligible players is noon today. Dioner Navarro’s agent told Marc Topkin that he thinks that Navi and the Rays are done talking and will submit numbers for arbitration. During Andrew Friedman’s tenure, only twice have the Rays gone to arbitration, both times with Josh Paul, and both times the Rays won. [St. Pete Times]
- Jonny Gomes has signed a minor league deal with the Cincinnati Reds. Gomes, who will make $600K ($800K if in the big leagues), said he turned down more money from other teams. The Reds have an opening in left field. [The Heater]
- Curiously, baseball card companies seem to prefer featuring Evan Longoria doing anything but swinging a bat. [Wax Heaven]
- Jayson Stark takes a look at the provisional rosters submitted for the upcoming World Baseball Classic. [ESPN]
- Bugs and Cranks continues their countdown of the top 177 Devil Rays of all time. They are up to #169, Pete La Forest…Admit it. A few of you are surprised The Forest is so low. C’mon, remember when you thought he was the next Mike Piazza? [Bugs and Cranks]
Jan 20
[Update: 8:45pm] Never mind. Marc Topkin brings us back from the ledge by reminding us that Garza is ineligible for the WBC because of his off-season foot surgery. And Navarro had already informed Venezuelan officials that he is not interested in playing this year.
[8:38pm] We already knew Scott Kazmir, JP Howell and Aki Iwamura would be participating in the World Baseball Classic. We had a good hunch that Grant Balfour, Carlos Pena and Dioner Navarro would be on the rosters of their respective homelands. And we already knew that Evan Longoria wanted to play. But none of that prepared us for what was just thrown in our collective laps.
In addition to the above seven players, Matt Garza has been added to the roster for Mexico.
The following Rays are on the provisional rosters for their respective countries: Grant Balfour, Australia; Matt Garza, Mexico; Akinori Iwamura, Japan; Dioner Navarro, Venezuela; Carlos Pena, Dominican Republic; and J.P. Howell, Scott Kazmir and Evan Longoria, USA.
If there we could have picked two players to not play in the WBC, it would have been Kazmir and Garza. Kazmir was never right in 2008, suffering an elbow injury and new looking comfortable with his mechanics. And Garza was the one starting pitcher who showed the largest increase in workload in 2008. His 21.8% increase in innings pitched over the previous season, along with a shortened off-season, already had us concerned that Garza is at risk of pitching with a tired arm (at best) or injury (at worst).
Eight players in the WBC? Including four (!) of the Rays 12 pitchers? If you guys have any good luck charms, make sure they are in proper working order this March.
Now if you will excuse us, we are going to bang our heads on the wall. Ugh.
