Jan 27
The fine group over at The Hardball Times have just released their 2009 Season Preview.
The bulk of the Season Preview consists of team essays, player comments, and projections. In all, we have 1,050 player projections and comments in the book, meaning that we’ve covered just about anyone who might have an impact on the 2009 baseball season. In addition, purchasers of the Season Preview will have access to a spreadsheet with over 2,600 projections.
The writers featured in the Season Preview are not just some random schmucks we pulled off the street (well, except for John Brattain), but some of the best bloggers on the internet writing about the teams they follow every day. Who better to tell you about the Arizona Diamondbacks than Jim McLennan? And who knows more about the Seattle Mariners than Jeff Sullivan?
For some reason, the editors have once again asked us to write the preview for the Tampa Bay Rays. While we do a fair bit of writing in our day jobs, we have never fancied ourselves as professional writers. We are just Rays fans with something to say and a computer. As for the book…we can only hope we have not embarrassed ourselves.
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Read the rest of The Hardball Times Season Preview 2009 Is Now Available (74 words)
Jan 27
There have been a lot of rumblings that the Rays made a mistake leaving Eddie Morlan unprotected in the Rule 5 draft. Surprise, surprise, maybe the Rays knew what they were doing…
“He was a power pitcher in high school, throwing 94-96, but he doesn’t have the power like he had then. Now he’s 88-91,” an AL scout said. “The slider, it’s inconsistent but when it’s good, it’s good.”
Unfortunately, this is a lose-lose situation for the Rays. If he is a great player, the Brewers will keep him. If he sucks, he will be the Rays’ problem. But yeah, we think the Rays have earned the benefit of the doubt at this point.
Jan 27
King David has selected his Queen.
Congratulations to David Price who recently became engaged. We have seen his fiance, Heather. You would approve.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Yesterday we told you about Pat Burrell’s appearance (and save) at the Bob Hope Classic. The Fightins have come through with the pictorial evidence. [The Fightins]
- Benjamin Hill interviews Princeton Rays GM Jim Holland. Of the topics discussed is the “celebrity” that was invited to the park in 2004 that did not draw any fans. Anybody know who that might have been? [MiLB]
- Marc Topkin reports that the Rays are close to hiring their new TV analyst to replace Joe Magrane. Topkin says it sounds like half of the gig is already assigned to Brian Anderson, who filled in last year while Magrane was working the Olympics. The new analyst will split time with Anderson. One person it won’t be is Eduardo Perez, the former Devil Ray, who pulled his name from consideration. [The Heater]
- In Peter Gammons’ latest column, he states that Joe Maddon feels Jeff Niemann could be a late-inning guy for the Rays this season. Maddon said: “He has the velocity, the angle…He could be very good in that role.”…This just proves that the Rays still have incredible depth in the bullpen, maybe even more so than last season. Niemann is a guy that isn’t even guaranteed a spot at this point and yet Maddon thinks he could be used in the seventh or eighth inning. [ESPN]
- Speaking of bullpen depth, Bill Chastain talked with Jason Hammel about his time with the Rays and the upcoming season. He still longs to be a starter and he may get his chance in April if the Rays start the season with David Price in the minors and Jeff Niemann in the back of the bullpen…After a full season in the big leagues, another year of maturation and knowing that Hammel has great stuff, it would not surprise us if he performed well in the role. [MLB]
- Bless You Boys is having a hard time quitting Matt Joyce. [Bless You Boys]
- Baseball Think Factory has released their ZiPS projections for the Tampa Bay Rays noting that the team has every indication of being able to repeat their success in 2009. [Baseball Think Factory]
- Gordon Edes of Yahoo! Sports remembers Dan Johnson’s pinch-home run against the Red Sox in September as the greatest home run of the 2008 season. [Yahoo! Sports]
- Andrew Johnson of Fanhouse says the Rangers “are the new Rays,” in that they could be the surprise team of 2009…While Johnson does say the Rays are a once-in-a-generation team, the Rays are not in the same boat as the 2006 Tigers or the 2007 Rockies. In fact, the Rays are still the Rays, and will be for some time. Is it possible the Rays miss the playoffs this season? Sure. But it won’t be because they only won 75 games. [thanks Jim] [Fanhouse]
- Ed Valentine at Bugs and Cranks compares the starting rotations of the Big 3 in the AL East. [Bugs and Cranks]
- What is amazing about David Chalk counting down the Top 177 Devil Rays ever is not that he is counting down the Top 177 Devil Rays ever. It is that he is actually able to find pictures of players like David Lamb wearing a Devil Rays uniform. [Bugs and Cranks]
- The Rays Party rates the Rays in several categories. [The Rays Party]
- BJ Upton will not abandon his Steelers fandom for Joe Maddon’s Cardinals. [St. Pete Times]
