Archive for May 22nd, 2009

May 22

Price To Be Called Up Monday; Percival To Retire?

David Price, Scott Kazmir, Troy Percival Cork Gaines 21 Comments »

[Update 6:21pm] Joe Maddon on Troy Percival: ““I wouldn’t be surprised if he chooses not to come back.”

[UPDATE 5:25pm] Marc Lancaster is now reporting that David Price will be the starting pitcher on Monday.

ESPN.com believes that David Price will be called up on Monday to take Scott Kazmir’s spot in the rotation. (thanks, Joe).

The Tampa Bay Rays have placed pitcher Scott Kazmir on the disabled list with a right quadriceps strain. The team is expected to call up David Price to take his place in the rotation when it comes up Monday.

Also, via Marc Lancaster’s Twitter page, Troy Percival may be ready to call it a career.

Percival has gone home to clear mind, ponder future – which could be in doubt

Rays put Kazmir, Percival on DL [ESPN]

May 22

The Sunburst Player Of The Game Pick ‘Em

Sunburst of the Game Cork Gaines 22 Comments »

Prof: The Sunburst is going to take the holiday weekend off and will resume again on Tuesday.

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.

  • Evan Longoria 7.5 (he and Garza tied in one game)
  • Carlos Pena 7
  • Carl Crawford 5
  • Ben Zobrist 5
  • James Shields 3
  • Jason Bartlett 3
  • Andy Sonnanstine 2
  • BJ Upton 2
  • Matt Garza 1.5
  • Lance Cormier 1
  • Aki Iwamura 1
  • Dioner Navarro 1
  • Scott Kazmir 1

Read the rest of this entry »

May 22

Roster Changes For Interleague Series?

Dale Thayer, Justin Ruggiano, Matt Joyce, Scott Kazmir Cork Gaines 15 Comments »

phpCGNYR5[UPDATE 3:05pm] Marc Topkin says Troy Percival and Scott Kazmir to the DL. No surprises there. Again, keep an eye on Durham’s rotation the next couple of days to see how it is handled. That will tell us who is being called up on Monday to replace Dale Thayer.

[UPDATE 2:30pm] Marc Lancaster is reporting that Reid Brignac and Dale Thayer will be joining Rays tonight. Still no word on who is out, but we assume it would have to be two pitchers. Most likely two of Scott Kazmir, Joe Nelson and Troy Percival. If one is Kazmir, it would mean that Thayer’s stay is only temporary as somebody would be needed to start on Tuesday in Cleveland.

Last night, the Durham Bulls Twitter account made the following posting…

+@#” and *#@+;! just got called up to the bigs.

We have been following this account for a while, and while we don’t know who is behind it, we can tell you that it is most likely somebody in their front office and they are not prone to joking around.

Read the rest of this entry »

May 22

Behold The Beast…ZORILLA!

Zorilla Cork Gaines 8 Comments »

Ladies and Gentlemen…We give you…ZORILLA! The Eighth Wonder of the World!

The masses have spoken and and now Zorilla makes his debut on the back of an official “Rayshead” t-shirt.

May 22

Is Scott Kazmir On Way Out Of Rotation?

Andy Sonnanstine, David Price, Scott Kazmir, Wade Davis Cork Gaines 7 Comments »

php4qjxTfScott Kazmir is having a bad season. Correction, Kazmir is having an awful season: 45.2 innings, 60 hits, 29 walks, 35 strikeouts, 7.69 ERA.

That translates to a -9.7 VORP. Only Ricky Nolasco is worse (-10.9) of all pitchers with at least 40 innings pitched (Andy Sonnanstine has the 6th worst VORP, -6.4).

When Joe Maddon was asked whether Kazmir’s job was on the line…well, let’s just say it wasn’t exactly a ringing endorsement.

“We’re evaluating everything,” Maddon said. “Yesterday with [Kazmir], it was just unfortunate. We’ve been trying so many things to help him out, whether it’s physical, conversational, whatever you want to call it. It’s been very difficult. We’re just evaluating everything right now.”

We aren’t sure where Maddon can go. David Price is still limited to about 80 pitches. Wade Davis was strong in his last start, but mediocre prior to that. Carlos Hernandez also had a good outing last time through, but that was the exception more than the rule.

We honestly have no idea where Maddon is going to turn, but we do know, this team is not contending with two of the 10 worst starting pitchers in baseball.

Maddon to stick with Kazmir [MLB]

May 22

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Percivillian Moments And ZORILLA!

Ben Zobrist, Edwin Jackson, Jason Bartlett, JP Howell, Scott Kazmir Cork Gaines 29 Comments »

Athletics Rays Baseball

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: Ben Zobrist. Think Troy Percival, only like the *exact* opposite, and that is Zorilla…Matt Garza. He was in danger of losing control early when he loaded the bases in the 2nd, but a strikeout got him out of that jam. He did allow 2 in the 4th and was visibly going through a mini meltdown on the mound. A year ago, he wouldn’t have survived that state of emotion. But yesterday Garza settled down and didn’t allow another run, working into the 7th…Dioner Navarro. Navi managed to score all the way from second base without hurting anybody, especially himself…Jason Bartlett. It has got to be the ball, right? 6 home runs? already a career high? We have long whispered privately that the best way for baseball to get past the steroid era is to tighten the stitching on the baseballs and create another home run era devoid of steroids…Pat Who? Willy Aybar was 1-2 and walked twice and has been doing a pretty decent impersonation of what Pat Burrell should be doing.

THE BAD: Troy Percival. My dog took a dump on a baseball field the other day. It was a truly Percivilian act…From the ‘Can’t Make It Up Department”. BJ Upton made a rare “good” on the basepaths when he beat out a 2-out infield single to drive in the second run of the game. We were all set to sing his praises, when he proceeds to get picked off first base.

THE TELLING: The game was delayed early on by a power outage at the Trop that lasted 19 minutes.

SUNBURST PLAYER OF THE GAME: Ben Zobrist. Between Ben and Julianna, it truly is Beauty and the Beast.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • Rays the Stakes has joined the cause and will now only refer to the team as the “Devil Rays” ($27). [Rays the Stakes]
  • Edwin Jackson threw 132 pitches yesterday. ONE. HUNDRED. THIRTY. TWO. [MLB]
  • Joe Maddon couldn’t properly fill out a lineup card and of course this earns him a return to “The Dugout.” [Fanhouse]

Maddon2009: Okay, how does the designated hitter work again?
NotOzzieGuillen: It means that a player bats in place of a pitcher.
Maddon2009: What? That’s not baseball!
NotOzzieGuillen: I know it’s not baseball. It’s the American League.

  • For our female friends, and even some of the males (we don’t judge), Her Rays sees one list of “Hottest Men in Baseball”, and raises with one of her own. A couple of Devil Rays ($28)make the cut, not that she is biased or anything…We do have to wonder why no Dirtbag or more importanly, why no Vulcan Tripod? [Her Rays]
  • The Rays Party examines JP Howell’s recent dominance. [The Rays Party]
  • John Romano predicts a change to the rotation and feels it could be a matter of days. [The Point After]
  • Rays the Stakes weighs the different options for Scott Kazmir. [Rays the Stakes]
  • Four more from the Top 177 Devil Rays ($29) Ever. [Bugs and Cranks]
  • Bleeding Blue and Teal would like to see Ben Zobrist playing shortstop for the Mariners. [Bleeding Blue and Teal]
  • Tampa Bay Sports Blog assesses the Devil Rays ($30) at the quarter-mark of the season. [Tampa Bay Sports Blog]
  • Statistician Magician examines why Jason Bartlett is hitting so well and what can be expected the rest of the season. [Statistician Magician]
May 22

Down On The Farm: Matt Joyce Continues To Hit Triple-A Pitchers

Matt Joyce Cork Gaines No Comments »

Durham 6, Lehigh Valley 2. James Houser struck out 7, but walked 4 in 5 innings, allowing 2 runs…Reid Brignac was 3-3 with a walk to raise his average to .291…Matt Joyce added 3 hits in 5 at bats with 2 RBI…Joe Dillon hit a 2-run home run, his first since being acquired for Adam Kennedy.

Jacksonville 8, Montgomery 0. Brandon Mann walked 5 and allowed 4 runs (2 earned) in 5.1 innings…The Biscuits managed only 3 hits, in large part because Desmond Jennings was not in the lineup.

Palm Beach 10, Charlotte 4. Jesse Darcy allowed 5 runs in 5.1 innings…Cody Cirpiano was 3-5 with 2 doubles.

Bowling Green @ Savannah (ppd. rain).

Notes from Down on the Farm…

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