May 07
Archive for May 7th, 2009
May 07
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 07
A Closer Look At Matt Joyce And Desmond Jennings
BJ Upton, Carl Crawford, Desmond Jennings, Fernando Perez, Gabe Gross, Gabe Kapler, Matt Joyce 11 Comments »We have been providing snippets of the statlines for Matt Joyce and Desmond Jennings in the morning “Down the Farm” report. But let’s draw them out a little more. And in the comments, let’s hear what you think the Rays should do with these prospects.
Notes on the stats after the table…
Notes on Joyce and Jennings
- The biggest question mark for Joyce heading into the season was whether he was ready to handle lefties on a regular basis. Certainly it is a small sample size, but you have to like what you see so far. And many of the at bats against lefties have been late-inning relievers brought in to specifically face Joyce. That is exactly the type of situation you hope that Joyce can handle once he is promoted.
- Overall, Joyce is smoking the ball to the tune of a 32.1% line drive rate (20.0% is very good). Certainly the Rays have to feel that Joyce is pretty much ready right now. The only question is how do they make room for him on the roster. Either Gabe Gross or Gabe Kapler will have to be traded or released. Kapler’s salary would be easier to swallow, but he offers more positional flexibility off the bench.
- As for Jennings…we always said we needed to see him do it above the single-A level. He has not disappointed and we are officially sold. There is nothing not to like. Strong numbers across the board against lefties and righties. The only knock might be that his numbers against lefties might be a little bloated with a .609 BABIP. Based on his LD% that should be closer to .350. Either way, we have seen players promoted to the majors from double-A with less impressive stats.
- What this ultimately presents is a very interesting situation for the Rays next spring. Carl Crawford has a $10 million team option. BJ Upton is the center fielder. That leaves Joyce, Jennings and Fernando Perez possibly all looking for a big league job.
May 07
One year ago on Rays Index we saw that Joe Maddon had changed his managerial style from the “eternal optimist” of his first two years as a manager.
Joe Maddon No Longer Thinks The Titanic Put Up A Good Fight [Rays Index]
May 07
The Rays Confidence Graph will appear every Thursday and is a look at how much confidence Rays fans have in the Tampa Bay Rays. The graph is designed to give us a look at how our emotional bias as Rays fans fluctuates through time. The “confidence” in the team is an inexact measure of how fans feel about the team’s current strength as well as how much confidence fans have in the franchise for the next 3-4 years. Notes on this week’s agida-level can be found after the graph..
Notes on the RI Confidence Graph…
- The most common response for “Confidence in 2009 Rays” was 7 with 27.6%.
- The most common response for “Confidence in future of franchise” was 9 with 38.4%.
May 07
[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss The Return Of The Duke, CC’s Streak And Longo Being Longo
Andy Sonnanstine, Carl Crawford, Joe Maddon, Troy Percival 10 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: Andy Sonnanstine. That was vintage Sonnanstine. The Duke worked into the 8th, left the game with a 3-0 lead, struck out 4 and more importantly, he did not walk a batter…Carlos Pena. His major league leading 12th home run in the top of the 10th was the game-winner. And Yankee fans can scream all they want about a “wind tunnel” to right field, El Gato don’t need no stinkin’ wind tunnel…Carl Crawford. He has now stolen a base in 9 straight games and is 20-20 on the season. We never knew you could be in a zone when it comes to steals, but that is where CC is right now. And last night he also flashed the leather. A diving grab ended the 3rd and even bigger was the play he made on Hideki Matsui’s double in the 4th. With 2 outs and a man on first, Matsui doubled into the corner. The ball took a big bounce off the wall and over CC’s head. He leaped and grabbed the ball bare-handed, holding the runner at third, and saving a run…Evan Longoria. Another night, another double and another RBI. His 14th double leads the big leagues and his 35th RBI does also.
THE BAD: The Rain. Who knows what would have happened, but we have to at least feel that the Mark Teixeira double would have been different if the umps called for the tarp a batter earlier. Based on the previous pitches, JP Howell did not have his usual control in the monsoon…BJ Upton. His swing looked good on the single, but in the other 4 plate appearances he struck out 3 times and nearly got ejected in the top of the 9th for arguing a called third strike…Plate Discipline. Don’t expect the Rays to win too many games when they strike out 14 times and walk only twice…Pat Burrell. C’mon. Give us something. Anything. The .343 OBP is nice but we were, you know, expecting a little more.
THE TELLING: Joe Maddon used every reliever except Lance Cormier…9 straight games with a steal for Carl Crawford. That streak will be severely tested tonight with Andy Pettitte on the mound, who possesses one of the game’s best pickoff moves.
SUNBURST PLAYER OF THE GAME: Andy Sonnanstine. Without the downpour, there is no 3-run double and there are no extra innings. We would only be talking about how great The Duke was.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Goodness. We have been linked a lot of places in the past, but yesterday was the first time that our server crashed. We were actually down for about 5-10 minutes. But thankfully, we called somebody. They did something.
- Great article in the New York Times yesterday about Carl Crawford and his ability to steal bases. (thanks Connie) [New York Times]
- Stuart Sternberg was on hand in the Bronx last night and answered questions about new Yankee Stadium and what it means for the Rays new stadium. [Rays Report]
“If it were up to me we’d be in a different building today. We tried, we felt we’d be somewhat along the road to getting something done, but right now I’m not thinking about it, really.
- David Chalk comes to the defense of Troy Percival in a way that only Chalk can do (warning: Percivilian language ahead). [Bugs and Cranks]
- Jim Caple has 10 questions for Joe Maddon, about Joe Maddon. [ESPN]
- John Romano and Gary Shelton have a new blog at the Times that looks like it could be entertaining. Up first is a discussion about the Rays reaction to Sunday’s fan “interference.” [The Point After]
- If you love “Family Guy,” you will love this post at Rays the Stakes. [Rays the Stakes]
- John Heyman ranks Joe Maddon as the 9th best manager. Of course, we knew the list was flawed as soon as we saw Tony LaRussa at the top. LaRussa is a very good manager, but he is severely flawed. He is the classic “overthinker.” [SI.com]
- Former Rays pitcher Juan Salas was released by the Indians. [Biscuit Crumbs]
May 07
Durham 8, Charlotte 7. Mitch Talbot struggled but picked up the win after giving up 4 runs in 5 innings on 5 hits and 4 walks…Reid Brignac was 3-4 and now has his average over .300 (.302). He hit his 9th double and stole his first base…Matt Joyce was 2-4 with a 2-run home run, his third, and 4 RBI…Justin Ruggiano was 0-4 with a walk.
Birmingham 13, Montgomery 4. Aneury Rodriguez dropped to 0-5 after giving up 5 runs (4 earned) on 4 hits and 4 walks in 5 innings…Eddie Morlan pitched a perfect inning of relief…Desmond Jennings was 0-3.
Charlotte 5, Jupiter 1. Alex Cobb picked up his first win, allowing only 1 run in 6 innings. He struck out 3 and walked 1…Greg Sexton drove in 3.
Bowling Green 9, Augusta 3. Michael Jarman picked up his second win with 7 innings of 3-run ball…Tim Beckham was 0-5…Mike McCormick hit his second home run and drove in 2.
Notes from Down on the Farm…
- Reid Brignac has teamed up with “We Play Green,” a group of athletes that are “committed to raising awareness about recycling and waste production.” [Durham Bulls]
