Gary Sheffield, who was released earlier today by the Detroit Tigers, told Jon Paul Morosi of the Detroit Free Press (via MLB Trade Rumors), that his first choice would be to join the Tampa Bay Rays.

Once he clears waivers, Sheffield will be able to sign with another team. He said he’d give preference to the Tampa Bay Rays, who play close to his home.

If the Rays had not been able to sign Pat Burrell, this off-season, picking up Sheffield might be a no-brainer. As it stands now, the Rays just don’t have any room for Sheffield unless the team were suddenly find a way to move Gabe Gross, release Gabe Kapler and deem Matt Joyce not read to play at all in 2009. That, and take a significant step backwards defensively, which goes against just about everything the Rays have tried to accomplish in the last few years.

Tigers Release Gary Sheffield [MLB Trade Rumors]
Tigers release DH Gary Sheffield [Detroit Free Press]
Tigers release Gary Sheffield [Detroit News]

[UPDATE: 11:00am] Ken Rosenthal says  the Rays are in a “position of strenth,” noting that the Rays could choose to cut Lance Cormier and keep both Niemann and Hammel. Rosenthal is reporting that six teams, including the two listed below, have shown interest in either Niemann or Hammel or both.

The Rays would like to move right-hander Jason Hammel or Jeff Niemann, both of whom are out of options. But the team could keep both pitchers and cut right-hander Lance Cormier if it does not receive an attractive trade offer…A number of clubs have shown interest in Hammel and/or Niemann, including the Rangers, Nationals and Indians; published reports indicate that the Padres, Pirates and Rockies also are in the mix, and the Brewers are yet another possibility.

[10:45am] Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune is reporting that the Padres have inquired with the Rays about Jeff Niemann, but so far the asking price has been too high. Read the rest of this entry »

Recently we wondered aloud if Wade Davis might actually be closer to being ready for the majors than David Price. Buster Olney spoke with one AL official who makes it sound as if Davis is ready for the big leagues right now.

Wade Davis of the Rays was the most impressive young minor leaguer I saw this spring. He throws 95 mph, and one of the days I saw him, he was unhittable. And right now, all of the Rays’ young players look pretty good.”

At this point Davis has more experience, is more polished and will be able to throw more innings in 2009. Obviously a lot can change if Price establishes better command of his fastball in the next month or two, but we still feel Davis will get the first call when and if the Rays make a change to the rotation.

Is Wade Davis Closer To The Majors Than David Price? [Rays Index]

Time to bring back the GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.

THE GOOD: Matt Garza. The Garza Complex rebounded from his dead arm issues to throw 6 strong innings, giving up 3 runs, striking out 5 and walking only 1…Troy Percival. Another day, another perfect inning from Percy…Carlos Pena. Pena hit his first home run of the spring and finished 2-3.

THE BAD: Ben Zobrist. Zorilla can occasionally be feast-or-famine. Yesterday it was all famine as he went 0-4 with 3 Ks.

THE TELLING: For the first time this spring, most of the regulars worked the entire game as Joe Maddon moves to get everybody into game shape…Akinori Iwamura continues to lead off since his return from Japan. When BJ Upton returns, we expect Aki to drop to the bottom of the order, but to start the season, he will lead off.

The GBT’s for the rest of the weekend games can be found below the Webtopia, after the jump.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

• This should come as no surprise, but Joe Maddon reiterated that he will not skip the fifth starter early in the season. With the number of off-days in April, some managers choose to skip their fifth starter occasionally to keep the rest of the staff on normal rest, something Maddon has never done. In year’s past he has always made it clear that does not like skipping starters and prefers to give the rotation an extra day of rest. [MLB]
• John Romano takes a look at the four pitchers (Jeff Niemann, Jason Hammel, Jason Isringhausen, Lance Cormier) vying for the final two spots of the pitching staff. Romano feels it will be Niemann and Cormier that win the jobs, meaning Hammel has to be traded and Izzy either has to be patient in the minors or be released. [St. Pete Times]
• Jeff Niemann pitched well in a minor league game, throwing 6 shutout innings, striking out 6 and walking none. He only needed 68 pitches. [The Heater]
• Joe Maddon called the competition for the final spot “damn close.” Also, Matt Garza said his arm felt “live again” in his latest outing. [St. Pete Times]
• Jason Hammel says that the competition for the final rotation spot won’t strain the friendship between him and Jeff Niemann, noting that they “will always love each other.” [Montgomery Advertiser]
• Stuart Sternberg does not see the payroll remaining in the $60 million range next season stating that the team “borrowed from the next couple years,” to get it that high this season. He also notes that the Red Sox comeback in the ALCS, forcing games 6 and 7 at the Trop increased revenue significantly and that “there’s probably a middle reliever or two that wouldn’t be here, or we’d have a different bat.” [St. Pete Times]
• In another unsurprising move, the Rays have released Morgan Ensberg who now goes the way of Hee Seop Choi, and Roberto Alomar as big-named signees that never played a regular season game with the Rays. And let’s not forget Shinji Mori. The Rays gave that tool a lot of money. [MLB]
• In an effort to find more playing time for Willy Aybar, Joe Maddon had Pat Burrell take reps at first base and indicated he will play there during the season. Burrell played 58 games at first as a rookie in 2000, but hasn’t appeared there since.  [The Heater]
• Joe Maddon spoke highly of Matt Joyce’s potential, saying he sees him as a middle-of-the-order hitter in the future, but that he would hit 6th or 7th now. Maddon said, “But, I mean, this guy has some kind of potential with the bat.” [Tampa Tribune]
• We now know that the opening day pitching matchup will be James Shields against Josh Beckett. [Providence Journal]
• Rocco Baldelli still hasn’t played back-to-back days but so far he has done everything that has been asked of him. [Boston Herald]
• Around the Majors takes a look back at the Delmon Young-Matt Garza/Jason Bartlett trade. [Around the Majors]
• #129 on the list of “The Top 177 Devil Rays Ever.”…For the first time, we don’t have a clue. [Bugs and Cranks]
• Jeff Ridgway, the left-handed pitcher the Rays traded for Willy Aybar, has been released by the Braves. [Biscuit Crumbs] Read the rest of this entry »

One year ago on Rays Index we relayed a quote from Grant Balfour in which he admitted that the pressure of trying to make the team was getting to him. Later that day Balfour would be designated for assignment. Luckily for the Rays, Balfour cleared waivers and accepted his demotion to Durham.

Grant Balfour Admits Pressure Is Tough On Him [Rays Index]

With the baseball season right around the corner, many believe that the three best teams in baseball reside in the AL East, and only two of those teams can make the playoffs. So for a Bostonian point-of-view we went to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. So follow along as Cafardo talks to us about the Red Sox off-season moves, what he has seen from Rocco early on and Manny being Manny.

AN INTERVIEW WITH NICK CAFARDO OF THE BOSTON GLOBE

RI: The Yankees and the Red Sox took very different approaches in the off-season, with the Yankees spending a kazillion dollars and the Sox signing some high-risk, high-reward types. Do you feel the Red Sox did enough this offseason to keep pace? And which acquisition do you see having the biggest impact for the Sox this season?

NC: For the Red Sox it’s all about the post-season so acquiring a proven post-season competitor like John Smoltz, providing he can still pitch at a high level, was a stroke of genius. In Smoltz the Red sox are trying to replicate what Curt Schilling gave them in ’04 and ’07. If he can win a big game in the playoffs and World Series the signing was brilliant.

RI: What has been your impression of Rocco Baldelli so far and what is the general feeling of what he can contribute to the Red Sox this season?

NC: There aren’t many five-tool players out there and he’s one of them. Of course the channelopathy disease really limits some of those tools, but through spring training you see flashes of all of them. He probably doesn’t run as fast as he did when he first came up, but he’s still fast. He has a great arm, runs the bases well, has power and the ball jumps off his bat. So far, it appears he can play in the field more than he did with Tampa. The Sox would love to see Rocco be a co-third outfielder rather than just a fourth outfielder. The huge boost for the Red Sox would be if he could play centerfield against tough lefties so you wouldn’t have to expose Jacoby Ellsbury to tough left-handed pitching. Here’s the other thing to watch for: if he can play more and prove he can be everyday player again he could replace Jason Bay next year if the Red Sox determine Bay’s free-agent price tag is too high.

RI: Of course it is too much to ever expect the Rays to challenge as a rival to the Red Sox the equal of the Yankees, but considering what happened in 2008, how are the Rays perceived by the Red Sox players and the organization?  And outside of Jonathon Papelbon, I expect most of the Red Sox players to say the politically correct things about respecting the Rays, but deep down do you think they believe that or do the players still think the Yankees are the team to beat in the East?

NC: I remember Theo Epstein saying two years that the Rays were going to be a major force for years to come starting this year. He admits he was a year off. But now they’re here and I know that the Red Sox don’t like facing that pitching staff. This isn’t about being politically correct. Red Sox players have felt this was a legitimate threat to them going back two years ago.

RI: Along the same lines, what do you feel is the perception of Red Sox Nation towards the Rays? One-hit wonders or a team to be reckoned with for years to come?

NC: It’s always going to be about the Yankees. That will always be the major rival, but the Rays are going to be like the Orioles back when they were good. There were tremendous games and matchups like Tiant vs. Palmer and now there are great matchups like Beckett vs. Shields or Lester vs. Kazmir. So I think Red Sox Nation eats that up. There isn’t the same passion or hate of the Rays as there is for all things New York, but this is a pretty solid rivalry that fans look forward to watching. And now it’s also become a competition of who’s got the best young players? So Red Sox fans know that the Rays are in this for the long run.

RI: From what you know and what you have seen and read, compare and contrast the front offices of the Sox and Rays as well as Theo Epstein and Andrew Friedman.

NC: I think they’re pretty similar. They both use the new-wave statistical analysis as well as old fashion scouting to find their players. Obviously Boston has a lot more money to work with so they’re probably able to gamble more and are not as afraid to make a mistake on a player because they can either eat the contract or hide the player and find another one. Tampa has to be very precise in all of their player signings so Friedman has to really be perfect in finding a low-budget alternative that he feels will fill a role. The Rays have had to build their team with an emphasis on player development and the Red Sox are going about it the same way but with the added bonus of being able to spend a lot of money on a position if they feel they don’t have it ready in their minor league systsem.

RI: The Red Sox and Manny Ramirez seem to be like the couple that went through a nasty divorce and still can’t stop saying nasty things about the other parent to the kids. Does this risk being a distraction during the season? And does Manny being Manny make life easier for Jason Bay or is there still pressure to replace Manny’s production at a position that is very special in the history of the organization?

NC: The only one who said anything was Papelbon and he made those comments over the winter when the Manny story was still fresh for Esquire’s April edition. This is over for the Red Sox and to Manny’s credit he didn’t react to Papelbon’s comments. So the answer is, no there’s no distraction. As for Bay, a consistent 30-homer, 100-RBI guy, I think he handles this very well. Even he knows he’s not Manny. Only Albert Pujols is Manny. But Bay is really the anti-Manny in that he’s a good left-fielder, who plays every play hard and Boston fans appreciate the effort and the production even though he’s not the feared hitter Manny is.

RI: Have Red Sox fans universally turned against Manny? Or is there still a lot of love for him in Red Sox nation? Take it a step further, if Manny ever steps foot in Fenway Park again wearing a baseball uniform, would we hear more cheers or boos?

NC: I think Manny will always have his hard-core followers who will always look the other way on his indescretions, but I know a lot of people who were fans who turned after he shot his way out of Dodge.

RI: Tell us a great Manny story that has never been portrayed in the media or is not well known.

NC: I think I’ve written all of them. There are some funny stories I’ve heard but can’t verify them so I can’t put them in print.

RI: Who was/is your favorite Red Sox player to cover? And was there a player that gave you an especially hard time? Any memorable encounters?

NC: Been a baseball writer since 1983 so lots of players, lots of stories and a few verbal scuffles. I think Oil Can Boyd was the most memorable character. Everyday brought a new story and a new chapter to one amazingly bizarre career. You always remember the characters – the guys who were a little bit different like Roger Clemens, Wade Boggs, Jack Clark, Mike Marshall, Matt Stairs, Tony Pena, Lee Smith, Mike Greenwell, Mo Vaughn, Ivan Calderon, Matt Young, Jose Canseco, Jim Rice, Dwight Evans. From a personal point of view, Marty Barrett was tremendous because of the way he was to able break down the game. He had a great mind for baseball. My favorite coach was always Tommy Harper – off the charts incredible baseball mind.  I remember Jack Clark threatened me once over something I wrote and then he got the team to stop talking to me for a few days. I had to meet with team leaders Clemens, Greenwell and Vaughn to straighten things out. Clark and I got along fine after that.

RI: Boston has always been to sports journalists what Pennsylvania has been to quarterbacks. You are working in the presence of a who’s who of baseball and sports writing with Peter Gammons, Dan Shaughnessy and Bob Ryan to name a few. How does that impact your writing? And give us a good story about one (or more) of those guys.

NC: Gammons was my idol and I learned everything about baseball writing from him. We worked at the Globe together for a while. He opened doors for me and introduced me to so many people. We would have hour-long phone calls about baseball almost on a daily basis after Peter had gone to ESPN but was still doing our Sunday notes column. He’s the Babe Ruth of  baseball writing. I’ll never forget some of the call-waitings: “Ah, Nick, gotta go….Bush is on the other line.” Dan is the most courageous baseball writer and columnist I’ve ever been around. He was never afraid to write the tough story and he was always there the next day to face the music and he never backed down. He’s also a great writer and tremendous human being who has helped so many young journalists. Ryan is the most passionate columnist I’ve ever been around. He’s never lost that. He has a great sports mind and always full of opinions. I have so much respect for him.

RI: The Rays are exploring the possibility of installing a retractable roof at The Trop…As a visiting journalist, what is your perception of The Trop? Is the public perception accurate or is it underrated? And would a retractable roof improve the atmosphere and perception?

NC: I like the Trop the way it is. For a reporter, excellent working conditions. I’ve never heard a complaint from people I know who attend the games there.

Now let’s play a little pepper with some quick Q-and-A’s…

RI: Your AL East prediction for 2008?

NC: Yankees, Red Sox, Rays, Jays, Orioles..

RI: Your favorite baseball writer(s)?

NC: Gammons, Jon Heyman, Jayson Stark, Ken Rosenthal, Joel Sherman, Bob Nightengale, Scott Miller, Tim Kurkjian, John Lowe, Tracy Ringolsby, Kevin Kernan, Jack Curry. I’m leaving out a thousand names.

RI: Your favorite non-baseball writer(s)?

NC: Bob Duffy.

RI: Favorite place to eat in Boston?

NC: Grille 23

RI: Favorite baseball stadium?

NC: Camden Yards

RI: What is one place you always make sure you visit in Tampa/St.Pete?

NC: International Plaza

RI: Fight between Theo Epstein or Andrew Friedman, who are you betting on?

NC: Epstein has the reach advantage.

No GBT today, but we do have a couple of programming notes…

We have another interview coming later today.

It is Mancation weekend with the boys, so we are actually on the road and will be attending the Rays game against the Twins today. But thanks to Twitter, we will still be on the Grid. So check in from time to time. As for the site, expect updates to be sparse this weekend, and poorly edited. Well…more sparse and more poorly edited than normal. Geez, tough crowd.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

• Remember that Carlos Pena interview from earlier this week? Turns out this interview was actually conducted on behalf of and originally published by Big League Stew. We originally gave credit to another website that stole the piece. Unfortunately that happens a lot in the internets. We see our pieces copy-and-pasted to other websites all the time, usually by some frauds trying to sell Rays gear or tickets and pretending to be a legit Rays blog. Our apologies to ‘Duk and the rest of the crew over at the always entertaining Big League Stew.
• Dioner Navarro had a big game yesterday but Andy Sonnanstine was a little off his game. [MLB]
• A couple of weeks ago a commenter convinced us that Matt Joyce still had a shot at the opening day roster, albeit a small one. We were skeptical but we played along with our 25-man roster projection. Now Joe Maddon is laying down quotes everyday that make it sound like Joyce has a very good chance of being on the roster in place of BJ Upton. [Tampa Tribune]
• Matt Joyce’s former teammates had some very strong compliments for the former Tiger. [St. Pete Times]
• If you were to ask us to guess who was the one local columnist that wouldn’t be able to see the logic in having David Price start the season in the minors, our first three guesses would have been Martin Fennelly. We would have only needed the first guess. But as we were reading the column, one thing made us smile. We noticed that Martin seemed to be cutting way back on his Fennellyisms (one sentence paragraphs that are often not even a complete sentence). But then we got to the end of the story and Fennellyisms reigned supreme once again. [Tampa Tribune]
• BJ Upton stole 2 bases in a minor league game yesterday. [St. Pete Times]
• Troy Percival pitched in back-to-back games for the first time this spring and said he had “no problems.” [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]

Earlier this week, Miami approved a $634 million stadium (right) for the Florida Marlins. While St. Pete Mayoral candidates are sparring over where to build a new stadium for the Rays,  John Romano takes a look at how that deal does and does not affect the Rays quest for a new stadium.

Some of the key points…

• Romano says there is no direct impact but now that the Marlins have a stadium, the Rays’ and A’s quests for new stadiums will become priority A for the league.
• There have now been 22 stadiums planned and/or built since Tropicana Field was built in 1990.
• Romano gives us a none-too-subtle quote from Matt Silverman: “[Miami's] willingness to invest $500 million in a baseball stadium and parking facilities are a strong indication of how much they value the Marlins, and baseball, in their community.”…In other words, how much does St. Pete value a major league team in theirs?
• About three-fourths of the Marlins deal comes from public funding which is an increase over recent stadium deals.
• The Rays have yet to make a threat of leaving, but Romano believes that if Pinellas County does not offer the Rays a strong solution, the team will start looking in Hillsborough County.
• Romano feels that if the Rays can’t secure a new stadium, Stuart Sternberg will sell the team.

The Biz of Baseball also tackles this issue, feeling that eventually the city will cave and give the Rays what they want…

I think it’s nearly a given. It’s a matter of timing…The Marlins took 15 years to land stadium funding. The Twins took over a decade, and the A’s are still looking after a considerable period of time. Call it water on rock, but over time – either through wearing out host cities, or undue fear of relocation – cities buckle under the constant pressure from multi-millionaire owners.

The Biz of Baseball also notes that the situation is not as dire for the Rays as it was for the Marlins who were losing out on revenue in their current stadium deal. They also say that ultimately it will come down to winning, and increasing the fan base.

Miami stadium deal for Marlins sends bay area up to bat [St. Pete Times]
1 Fish, 2 Fish: How the Marlins Stadium Deal Impacts the Rays [The Biz of Baseball]
Scott Wagman: New Rays stadium might not be in St. Pete [St. Pete Times]

Time to bring back the GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.

THE GOOD: Adam Kennedy. Kennedy may have put an exclamation point on making the opening day roster after Reid Brignac was demoted. Kennedy hit his first home run of the spring. He also has his spring line up to a very solid .293/.370/.372…Jeff Niemann. If we were going to play oddsmakers with the final job in the rotation. We’d say it was 90% for Hammel a week ago and now it is about 60% after Niemann’s latest start. He worked 4 strong innings, giving up 1 run. He did not walk a batter a struck out 2. He did give up 2 well-hit doubles…Troy Percival. Another inning, and more zeros across the board. He has allowed only 1 baserunner (hit batter) in 5 spring innings…Matt Joyce. Joyce saw his first spring action in the field, playing the 9th inning in right field.

THE BAD: Jason Isringhausen. Not terrible, but he did give up a run on 2 singles in an inning of work. From what little we have seen, it just seems like he is close, but not quite ready…Gabe Kapler. It is time for Kapler to start picking up the pace.He was 0-1 and is now hitting .105/.209/.184 this spring.

THE TELLING: Jason Bartlett continues to get the bulk of the leadoff duties in the absence of BJ Upton and Aki Iwamura, and Ben Zobrist started in center…Does it seem like the Rays have played about 20 games against the Pirates this spring?…Matt Joyce will start in center field today…Matt Garza pitched 5.2 innings in an intrasquad game…Jason Hammel will get his next start on Saturday…Akinori Iwamura will play his first spring game on Friday…BJ Upton played 5 innings in a minor league game.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

• The Rays demoted a who’s who of top prospects yesterday, with the biggest name being David Price. He will joined in Durham’s spring camp by Reid Brignac, John Jaso, Justin Ruggiano and Elliot Johnson. Price’s demotion means the final spot in the rotation will indeed be between Jason Hammel and Jeff Niemann. And with Brignac gone, the final bench spot will likely go to Adam Kennedy. [Rays Report]
• Joe Maddon defended the decision to demote Price. Maddon also indicated that Kennedy has not yet won the final bench spot, saying that Matt Joyce still has a shot at making the roster. Maddon spoke very highly about Joyce’s swing (he is 0-6 thus far) but said he needs to see him play the field. [Tampa Tribune]
• Marc Topkin says the Rays traded April innings for August, September and October innings by demoting David Price. He also says the Rays two biggest reasons for demoting Price were the innings totals and fastball command, noting that he met their wishes of improving his changeup. [St. Pete Times]
• Evan Longoria and JP Howell have returned to the Rays. We can only assume that Aki Iwamura’s absence indicates he is still drunk. [The Heater]
• Jordi Scrubbings previews the Tampa Bay Rays over at his other home. Worth the read. [Thunder Matt's Saloon]
• In an endeavor that likely required therapy once finished, Sully Baseball compares the Rays’ all-time home-grown and all-time acquired teams. Good read. [Sully Baseball]
• Wow. Just wow. He hasn’t even played a game yet for the Rays. The possibilities are endless. [The Fightins]
• A porn star bought herself some Rays gear…Well. At least it will look better on her than Peter King. [Bugs and Cranks]