May 03
Two years ago on Rays Index we we noted that James Shields had surpassed Scott Kazmir as the Rays ace.
James “The Greater” Quietly Surpasses Kazmir As Rays Ace [Rays Index]
Archive for May 3rd, 2009
May 03
May 03
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.
May 03
[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Joe’s Maddoning Overthinkability
Brian Shouse, Carlos Pena, Joe Maddon No Comments »
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: Carlos Pena. Pena hit his league-leading 11th home run of the season…Carl Crawford’s arm. We have long been hard on Crawford’s arm noting that CC was gold glove from bat to glove, but spaghetti armed after that. Last night on a flyball to left, Dustin Pedroia tagged up. CC didn’t throw The Hobbit out, but he did the next best thing.
THE BAD: Maddoning Genius. Brian Shouse has allowed a career OPS split of .858 against righties and .587 against lefties. He is the epitome of a lefty specialist. A LOOGY, if you will. So, of course, Joe Maddon would never bring Shouse in to face the righty Kevin Youkilis with the bases loaded and the game still in doubt at 7-5. Wrong. Double. 2 runs scored. Game over. For a manager that preaches so much about percentages and trends and charts. The dude sure can overthink things sometimes and end up doing the exact opposite….Dioner Navarro. We honestly think Navi has completely forgotten how to be a catcher. Last night with Gabe Kapler trying to throw a runner out at home, rather than step in front of plate, Navi tried to field the ball in foul territory behind the base runner. Of course, the ball hit the base runner and was kicked towards the dugout…Carl Crawford’s arm. Seriously though. We don’t care if Crawford fell into the stands making the catch. Nobody should ever be able to tag up to third on a flyball to left.
THE TELLING: Michel Hernandez will get his second start of the series today…The Rays still have a shot to win this 4-game series with James Shields on the mound.
SUNBURST PLAYER OF THE GAME: Carlos Pena. He now leads the league in home runs and was on base 4 times last night.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- James Shields watched video of Matt Garza’s last start and hopes to use that today against the Red Sox. [Tampa Tribune]
- Marc Lancaster takes a look at the crowded situation that may soon be the Rays bullpen. [Tampa Tribune]
- Marc Topkin says we have learned a lot about the 2009 Rays in one month, most importantly may be that Joe Maddon and Andrew Friedman will remain patient. [St. Pete Times]
- Gary Shelton takes a look at the struggles of all-star catcher Dioner Navarro. My, what a difference a year makes. [St. Pete Times]
May 03
Down On The Farm: Rough Nights For Price, Beckham And Hughes
David Price, Rhyne Hughes, Tim Beckham 4 Comments »Columbus 10, Durham 6. The first batter of the game reached on a Reid Brignac throwing error and the second batter reached on a Ray Olmedo throwing error and it was all downhill from there. David Price would allow 4 unearned runs that inning and 2 more of the normal variety in the 4th when he left with 2 runners on and Julio DePaula let them score. Price lasted only 3.2 innings, and gave up 4 hits and 3 walks. He only struck out 1…Matt Joyce was 3-5 with a solo home run off of former big leaguer Tomo Ohka…Adam Kennedy was 3-4 with a pair of doubles and is now hitting .269…Reid Brignac finished 1-5 with 2 strikeouts.
Montgomery 3, Mississippi 2. Heath Rollins picked up his 2nd win, allowing only 2 runs in 7 innings. He struck out 2 and walked 1…Eddie Morlan and Calvin Medlock combined for 2 scoreless innings of relief…Desmond Jennings added 3 more hits including a double to raise his average to .368 and his OPS to 1.020…Rhyne Hughes was 0-5 with 5 strike outs. Yes. Five strike outs. Is that the platinum sombrero?
Charlotte 6, Charlotte 4. Jesse Darcy gave up 5 runs on 10 hits in 6 innings…Matt Fields hit his 4th home run.
Bowling Green 7, Rome 1. Matt Moore rebounded from a couple of shaky starts in which he walked 8 batters to throw 5 innings of 1-run ball. He struck out 7 and walked only 1…Tim Beckham was 1-5 with a strike out. He drove in 1 run on a ground out and another on a fielder’s choice. He also committed his 4th and 5th errors when he booted a pair of ground balls in the 9th inning.
Notes from Down on the Farm…
- The Charlotte Stone Crabs wore pink jerseys on Friday night for Breast Cancer awareness and auctioned the jerseys off following the game. They raised $2,400.
- Montgomery Riverwalk Stadium was rated the best stadium in the Southern League. [Baseball America]
