Apr 24
Up until first pitch, use the comments section to predict who you think will be the Sunburst Player of the Game. (be sure to use a valid email address while leaving the comment). The commenter that correctly predicts who we will name the Sunburst Player of the Game the most times prior to the all-star game, will win two tickets to a second-half game. Runners-up get their choice of a t-shirt. [Click HERE for rules]
Check Marc Topkin’s blog for the starting lineups.
Here is the updated leaderboard. We are giving an honorary +1 to “Shoop” for having the cajones to pick Troy Percival yesterday. Read the rest of this entry »
Apr 24
40-Man Roster and Payroll (notes on the roster can be found below the table)…
Notes on the 40-man roster projection
- Ages are as of today.
- Desmond Jennings, Jeremy Hellickson and Aneury Rodriguez need to be added to the 40-man roster after the season to protect them from the Rule 5 draft. Is there anybody else the Rays need to protect? Can you make an argument for Ryan Reid, Eddie Morlan or Matt Fields?
- We know this is not a very realistic projection, because Stuart Sternberg has already made it clear that the payroll will most likely go down next season. And as we can see, if all options are exercised, the Rays are already committed to $75-80 million, depending on how the arbitration-eligible players are handled. And that is after lopping off the contracts of Troy Percival and Chad Bradford, both of whom will be free agents after the season.
- So where can the Rays save money? The obvious answers are Carl Crawford and Aki Iwamura, both of whom have team options for the 2010 season. Trading those players or just declining the options would bring the payroll closer to the number that the Rays opened the 2009 season with (~$63 million).
- The other possibility would be trade Scott Kazmir, who is due $8 million next season. But we find it hard to believe that the Rays would trade a young lefty before his prime, and who is signed to a reasonable deal through 2012.
- So let’s hear it in the comments…your task: How do the Rays bring their payroll down to $55-60 million for the 2010 season?
Apr 24
Last week during the Rays “Dig Me” celebration, Carlos Pena received his Gold Glove award. How did Pena celebrate? He went to The Cheesecake Factory. Duh.
We received this curious photo yesterday from Kaley at The Cheesecake Factory, along with the note below…
I thought you might be interested in the following information for your “Rays Index” blog. Recent Golden Glove winner Carlos Pena celebrated his win of the coveted award with his wife, friends and family at The Cheesecake Factory in Tampa on Sunday night (Carlos had the Hibachi Steak).
It is kinda cute how she refers to it as the “Golden Glove.” And letting us know what Carlos ordered was a nice touch.
As for the photo. Pena played well to win the Gold Glove. And for the wife, we can only say…Well played, sir. Well played.
Apr 24
One year ago on Rays Index it appeared to us that Andrew Friedman was running the Rays like a fantasy baseball team.
Andrew Friedman Running Rays Like A Fantasy Baseball Team [Rays Index]
Apr 24
Two years ago on Rays Index we told you about a blogger, live-blogging from The Trop.
ManRay Goes Where No Blogger Has Gone Before [Rays Index]
Apr 24
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.
click above image for boxscore
THE GOOD: James Shields. Wasn’t Shields’ fault. The Rays owe him one at some point. Maybe one of those nights when he gives up 3 home runs. The offense owes Shields a 10-spot…More Golden D: There was another running grab by BJ Upton and there was the play Jason Bartlett made in the hole and somehow got rid of the ball quick enough and strong enough to get Ichiro. And there were the two plays Evan Longoria made in the sixth. The first was stopping a ground ball and making the throw from foul ground. Then he ended the same inning with a diving snag to his left…Pat Burrell. He hasn’t flashed the big bat yet, but it is a good sign that Burrell is still showing mastery of the strike zone. Yesterday he singled and walked 3 times. That tells us that The Bat is not slumping and the bombs aren’t far behind.
THE BAD: No Momentum. The offense learned the hard way that momentum is only as good as the next game’s starting pitcher. one day after scoring 9 runs and seemingly breaking out of their collective slump, the Rays were shutout…Pat Burrell tagging up. Burrell tagged up from second base on a ball in deep right-center. Watching Burrell “sprint” to third base was one of the more painful things we have seen in a while. Look at that pic above. Is he running or doing the “Truffle Shuffle”?…No O-Swing%. The Rays may be one of the best teams in baseball when it comes to not swinging at pitches out of the strike zone, but that didn’t stop Ben Zobrist from popping up ball-4 with 1 out in the 9th and the tying run on second.
THE TELLING: Ben Zobrist started his third straight game in right field…The Rays were only shutout 7 times in 2008. They have been shutout twice in 16 games this season…We watched a lot of Edwin Jackson last night, and that sure looked an awful lot like the Jackson we remember. He looked great for 3 innings and then had two bases loaded walks in the fourth. Maybe we can all simmer down about the “new” EJax.
SUNBURST PLAYER OF THE GAME: James Shields. Hold a team to 1 run on 4 hits and a walk, that should be a ‘W’.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Rays the Stakes has added a couple of new writers, and one of them has their first post up calling for Ben Zobrist to be the everyday right fielder. [Rays the Stakes]
- Fernando Perez has his latest blog post up for the New York Times. and t includes one of the best lines we have read in a while. [New York Times]
When asked about helping to carry the Rays championship banners: If it was really a big deal, you’d imagine the Rays would have gotten someone iconic or wise. Someone other than me. Maybe Bob Barker or Bono or something.
- For only the 22nd time in big league history, a 1-0 game was decided by a leadoff home run. [The Heater]
- Somebody at the St. Pete Times calls The Trop, one of “10 things that suck (but are secretly awesome) about life in Tampa Bay.”…We don’t even know what that means. [St. Pete Times]
- The Rays dropped to 7th in Tim Brown’s latest Power Rankings. [Yahoo! Sports]
Apr 24
Norfolk 4, Durham 3. Carlos Hernandez struck out 4 in 5 innings, but gave up 3 runs on 8 hits and 3 walks…Matt Joyce was 2-4 with a double and drove in 3 runs…Reid Brignac had the night off.
Mobile 6, Montgomery 1. Ryan Morse gave up 2 runs in 4 innings and dropped to 0-3…Jason Isringhausen pitched 1 inning, and allowed only a walk…Desmond Jennings was 0-3 with a walk and is hitting .357.
Charlotte 2, Sarasota 1. David Newmann gave up 1 run and struck out 5 in 6 innings…The Stone Crabs managed only 4 hits.
Bowling Green 5, West Virginia 1. Frank de los Santos pitched 5 shutout innings, giving up 5 hits and a walk. He struck out 3…Tim Beckham was 2-4 with a double and is hitting .320…Jake Jefferies was also 2-4.
Notes from Down on the Farm…
