Feb 06
Archive for February 6th, 2009
Feb 06
Talk about hedging one’s bets…
Tony DeMarco of NBC Sports spends most of his latest column, “Don’t expect Rays to rise again in 2009,” comparing the Rays to the ‘08 Rockies..
[The Rays] won with a smattering of veterans among an overwhelmingly young and inexperienced roster…At least on those levels, the 2008-2009 Rays most closely parallel the 2007-08 Rockies, which of course, isn’t a good thing.
the ‘06 Tigers…
…quality young pitching that appears set for a long run of success rarely pans out. Injuries, lack of consistency and underachieving too often get in the way…Just ask the Tigers, the last example.
reminding us what division the Rays play in…
But you also know where the Rays reside — and we’re not talking about The Trop. That would be in the AL East, where they still are dwarfed payroll-wise by the Yankees and Red Sox, and where repeating doesn’t get any more difficult.
and finally warns of an emotional letdown, again comparing the Rays to the Rockies…
And, the Rays will have to figure out how to cope with the inevitable emotional letdown that follows pulling off the miraculous. Just ask the Rockies about that one.
At this point we are about to throw up on our pancakes waiting for DeMarco to project the Rays to win 60-70 games.
So how does DeMarco feel the Rays will do in 2009?
No, the Rays aren’t the Rockies. But they aren’t likely to get back to the World Series, either. Something in between seems most logical — something around 90 wins, and only a ‘maybe’ on another postseason appearance.
Fudge the heck?!? After riping the Rays apart for 21 paragraphs, calling them a paper tiger, comparing them to two teams that averaged 81 wins, reminding us how the Yankees and Red Sox are so much awesomer than the Rays and telling us that the Rays won’t be able to handle the emotional letdown, DeMarco now says the Rays will win 90 games in the toughest division in baseball and “maybe” make the playoffs.
Of course, we expect nothing less from somebody that was once referred to as a “moron” at Fire Joe Morgan.
Don’t expect Rays to rise again in 2009 [NBC Sports]
Good News! Found a New Moron. [Fire Joe Morgan]
Feb 06
Drays Bay has a graph showing us that unlike other two-strike situations, Scott Kazmir rarely threw a slider on a 3-2 count in 2008. This is followed by a satirical (we assume) recount of conversations between Kazmir and Dioner Navarro about pizza (get it? Kaz is not fat!).
Let’s compare Kazmir’s use of breaking balls in 2-strike counts to another pitcher…
Like Kazmir, Cliff Lee did not have confidence in his breaking pitches in 3-ball counts. So, did Lee continually shake-off his catcher and dream of pizza while on the mound? Nope. He won the Cy Young Award.
Also keep in mind that 3-2 pitches accounted for only 5.8% of Kazmir’s pitches in 2008. So maybe his fear of throwing sliders in 3-2 counts wasn’t his only problem last season.
In fact, we would rank it fifth, behind (1) his elbow problems before the season, (2) no spring training, (3) his struggles with mechanics most of the season and (4) baby mama drama*. And it is just ahead of (6) the gum that may or may not still be stuck to his cap.
In general, Kazmir was afraid to throw his slider in 2008. This was not just a 3-2 problem. His use of the slider dropped from 16.1% in 2007 to 11.2% in 2008.
What troubles us more than the 3-2 count is the 0-2 counts and 1-2 counts…
0-2 and 1-2 are pitcher’s counts, and a great time to throw a slider out of the zone. Kazmir was clearly struggling with his slider in 2008.
A healthy Kazmir early in the year, will go a long way towards Kazmir regaining his confidence in his slider and a return to form on the mound.
*we might have made that up
I’m Having a Scott Kazmir Related Relapse [Drays Bay]
Feb 06
[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Shouse’s Contract, King David’s Charitable Work And The Duke’s ‘08 Pitch Total
Andy Sonnanstine, Brian Shouse, David Price No Comments »
Lots o’ linketty goodness on Babe Ruth’s eleventy-fourth birthday.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Brian Shouse had his physical yesterday but still no official announcement from the team, nor do we know how much he will make, whether it is a 2-year or 1-plus-an-option or who will be dropped from the 40-man roster (Juan Salas or Elliot Johnson). [The Heater]
- Tomorrow will be the David Price Project 14 Benefit, an autograph session and bowling tournament organized by David Price in honor of his late friend Nate Stephens. All proceeds will go to a college endowment set up at Price’s high school in Stephen’s name. [Montgomery Advertiser]
- Rays of Light will be previewing the Rays position-by-position. Up first is catcher. [Rays of Light]
- Razzball takes a look at 20 pitchers that are “risky” (in terms of fantasy value) for 2009. Andy Sonnanstine comes in at #6 because he throws 39% breaking balls and he threw over a thousand more pitches in 2008 as compared to 2007. The Duke doesn’t worry us, because he doesn’t throw hard enough to put a lot of stress on his elbow and his pitch total was actually down in 2008 if you include his minor league numbers from 2007. On the other hand, Matt Garza threw 452 more pitches in 2008 and he is #17 on their list. We have already expressed our concern about Garza heading into the ‘09 season. [Razzball]
- Rays of Light gives us their roster projection. [Rays of Light]
- A large number of Tampa Bay Rays will participate in the “Welcome to Charlotte County” parade on Feb. 19 at 3pm in Punta Gorda. Of course it might be a bit awkward if the parade introduces the team as the “2008 World Series champions” as the Cape Coral Daily Breeze does in this column. [Cape Coral Daily Breeze]
- The Bluefield Daily Telegraph spoke with new Princeton Rays manager Jared Sandberg, who still owns three team records in Princeton. [Bluefield Daily Telegraph]
