Archive for January, 2009

Jan 27

The Hardball Times Season Preview 2009 Is Now Available

The Hardball Times No Comments »

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.

(…)
Read the rest of The Hardball Times Season Preview 2009 Is Now Available (74 words)

Jan 27

Morlan Not Impressive In Winter Ball

Eduardo Morlan No Comments »

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

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss King David’s Engagement, Bullpen Depth And A Mystery Celebrity

David Price No Comments »

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]
Jan 26

Rays Sent Cash To O’s For Bradford

Chad Bradford No Comments »


Chad Bradford

[Update 2:04pm] We just spoke with the Rays front office and they confirmed that the Rays paid the O’s the standard $20K waiver claim fee for Bradford.

This means that even though the Orioles pulled Bradford back from waivers and traded him to the Rays for a player to be named later, that has since been changed.

In other words, the “trade” never happened.

Our guess is that the Orioles did not like any of the players offered by the Rays (likely very low-level prospects) and have since rescinded the “trade” making the original deal a simple waiver-claim.

[1:42pm] The last time we heard about the enduring Chad Bradford-deal was in early November when Orioles GM Andy MacPhail announced that the “player to be named later” would be announced some time between the end of the World Series and the beginning of the Winter Meetings. Bradford was originally traded to the Rays in early August.

Nearly six months later and we are still waiting for an official announcement from the O’s and Rays on who or what the Rays sent to the Orioles to complete the deal.

But buried deep in a piece at the Baltimore Sun about the Orioles payroll, one writer may have the answer.

On December 27, while responding to comments on his blog, Peter Schmuck wrote the following:

Pete’s reply: …I’ve gotten the Bradford question dozens and dozens of times and I have asked Andy [MacPhail] about it. It started out to be a PTNL, but apparently turned out to be a cash payment, though they have never officially announced anything. Andy has conceded that the deal turned out to be a mistake, because nobody stepped up to take over that role.

So why are we still skeptical? Because that comment was written at 5:30pm. Four hours earlier, at 1:10pm, Schmuck wrote something a little different:

Pete’s reply: I’ve answered the Chad Bradford question about a hundred times. They almost certainly will get a cash payment, if they aren’t already. The alternative would be a player you’ve never heard of.

Read the rest of this entry »

Jan 26

To Our Favorite Ausie: Happy Australia Day!

Grant Balfour No Comments »

We don’t know if we have readers in Australia but we do know that our nickname for Grant Balfour has reached the land of Koalas and Kangaroos. So in honor of Australia Day we present this video about our favorite Ausie, The Mad Australian.

Here is hoping that that the forecast for the 2009 bullpen is crazy with a chance of SIT THE **** DOWN!

Ausie! Ausie! Ausie!

Jan 26

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Longoria’s Golf Habbits, Burrell’s Hero Habits And Kazmir’s Diminishing WBC Chances

Evan Longoria No Comments »

EVAN LONGORIA AT BOB HOPE CLASSIC (we are pulling the video until we can figure out how to disable the annoying as H-E-DOUBLE HOCKEY STICKS autoplay)

Above is Evan Longoria being interviewed following his first round 78 at the Bob Hope Classic. An interview in which he admits he has never seen the show on which his partner (Jeffery Donovan, Burn Notice) stars, and that he is jumping on the Steelers bandwagon in the Super Bowl. We also learn that Dirtbag is either a lot taller than we thought or the cameraman was a Hobbit.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • Marc Topkin feels the Rays may be able to keep Scott Kazmir from participating in the World Baseball Classic. Topkin cites the Angels, who are vetoing John Lackey’s participation, who like Kazmir, missed the first six weeks of the 2008 season with an arm injury. [St. Pete Times]
  • Evan Longoria was not the only Tampa Bay Ray in attendance at the Bob Hope Classic…Pat Perez won the tournament, which is significant because his buddy Pat Burrell was on hand to cheer him on. And Pat the Bat came in handy.  On the sixth hole, Perez hit an errant shot that struck a lady in the leg. Burrell came to the rescue providing a bag of ice to the lady. [The Press-Enterprise]
  • Evan Longoria was in New York to receive his Rookie of the Year award from the BBWAA. [MLB]
  • Lisa Winston has a “getting to know you” Q and A with Matt Joyce…Obviously we will be on the lookout for a good nickname for Joyce, and right now, based on the boring answers, Vanilla has the early lead. Vanilla Joyce Joyce baby. [MLB]
  • The Gus Stavros Institute celebrated its 20th anniversary last Wednesday. Why are we telling you this? Gus Stavros is a minority owner of the Rays. [St. Pete Times]
  • The Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority is proposing the construction of an elevated road above Gandy Boulevard that would potentially cut 15 minutes off the commute from southern Tampa to Tropicana Field. [Tampa Tribune]
  • The Rays Party of America has a list of veteran players that they feel the Rays should try to get into camp on a minor league contract. [The Rays Party of America]
  • All of the sudden it is cool to be like the Rays. [The Nationals Enquirer]
  • One of the Bowling Green Hot Rods’ upcoming promotions made the list of top promotions for 2009. [Ben's Biz Blog]

Jan 25

One Year Ago On Rays Index

The Archives No Comments »

One year ago on Rays Index we clarified the purpose of RI and the distinction between our site and those written by journalists and wannabe journalists.

Please Do Not Accuse Us Of Trying To Be Journalists [Rays Index]

Jan 24

One Year Ago On Rays Index

The Archives No Comments »

One year ago on Rays Index we learned that the Rays gave James Shields a seven-year contract extension.

Six Or Seven Years For James Shields Is A Risk Worth Taking [Rays Index]

Jan 24

[THE HANGOVER] Beef-K! Happy Birthday Scott Kazmir

Scott Kazmir No Comments »

On this day 25 years ago, Scott Kazmir was born. Still the youngest pitcher in the Rays rotation during the 2008 season, Kazmir already has 124 career starts and 47 career wins.

After missing the first month of the season with a sore elbow and struggling with his mechanics most of the year, Kazmir has added nearly 20 pounds of muscle this off-season, leading to his new nickname…Beef K.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • For most of the off-season we have speculated that the most likely position player to be traded is Willy Aybar. This is because many teams may see Aybar as an everyday player, even though he is only a utility player with the Rays. If so, it may be more valuable for the Rays to trade Aybar. Fangraphs corroborates this and speculates on why the Rays have not traded Aybar. [Fangraphs]

In many ways, Aybar is being punished for the fact that the Rays have done such a great job of building a roster around him. Not only do they not have a regular job for him, but they don’t have any glaring needs that they should be trying to fill via trade.

Jan 23

[THE HANGOVER] Five Rays Among ESPN’s Top 50 Prospects

David Price, Prospects No Comments »

A few days ago we learned that Keith Law of ESPN ranked the Rays as the second best minor league system despite the graduation of Evan Longoria and the loss of Jake McGee for a year. Now we know why. Six of Keith Law’s top 100 prospects are players in the Rays organization, including #2 David Price and two others in the top 25 (Tim Beckham #11, Desmond Jennings #25). Wade Davis (33), Jeremy Hellickson (47) and Reid Brignac (78) round out the Rays on the list.

2. David Price: Price, like Wieters, is ready to play in the majors right now, although he has a little more development ahead of him that may have to come at the big league level… He’ll need to continue to develop [his changeup] and improve his fastball command to reach his ceiling as a No. 1 starter, and his workload may be somewhat limited since he threw only140 innings in total in 2008…Given more development time, whether in Durham or in St. Petersburg, he will become a workhorse at the top of the Rays’ rotation who racks up strikeouts and shuts down hitters on both sides of the plate.

11. Tim Beckham: Beckham has average or better tools across the board, with the potential to be plus in every tool if his power develops fully. He was better on defense than at the plate last summer; he’s athletic and fast with an above-average arm, but his footwork needs improvement. At the plate, he has some mechanical issues to work through as he transitions to the wood bat.

25. Desmond Jennings: The lost year of development hurts [due to injury], but Jennings remains a top prospect due to his tool set and tremendous feel for the game. Jennings is a great athlete, a plus-plus runner who’s well-built and has a compact stroke geared toward contact. He is strong enough and should be big enough to hit 20-25 homers a year (if not more), but his power hasn’t shown up in games yet, and it’s not likely to do so until he’s 100 percent physically. He also has outstanding baseball instincts in the field, on the bases, and even at the plate, where he shows good pitch recognition.

33. Wade Davis: Like a lot of young power guys, his command and control lag behind his stuff, and he wasn’t challenged enough at lower levels to have to improve them. A good half-year or more in Triple-A should help, and the Rays are fortunate enough to have the depth to allow Davis to develop on his own schedule.

47. Jeremy Hellickson: Hellickson needed to improve one of his offspeed pitches to raise his ceiling beyond that of a No. 4 or No. 5 starter, and he did, as his changeup was significantly better this year…A pitcher needs to do two of three things to be successful in the majors: miss bats, avoid walks and keep the ball in the park. Hellickson looks like he’ll be able to do the first two, so even if he ends up a 30-plus homer per year pitcher, he’ll be valuable.

78. Reid Brignac: That’s two disappointing years in a row for Brignac, this one more disappointing than the last, and 2009 is a make-or-break year for him as a prospect…Another bad year will probably doom Brignac to utility-infielder status.

The Rays and the Rangers are the only organizations with five players in the top 50. San Francisco (4) is the only other organization with more than three in the top 50.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • Dioner Navarro visited a local elementary school to help start a program funded by the Rays Baseball Foundation to use baseball statistics as a means for making math more fun. [Bradenton Herald]
  • While at the elementary school, Dioner Navarro spoke about his impending arbitration case saying there would be “no hard feelings.” [Tampa Bay's 10]
  • The Rays Party of America argues that the Rays have the best catcher in the AL East. [Rays Party of America]
  • Doug Miller looks at the 2007 Rockies and the 2008 Rays and sees some stark differences. [MLB]
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