Jun 09
[Update 8:05pm] Andrew Friedman was interviewed by Todd Kalas during tonight’s game and spoke about what position the Rays will have Washington play:
We are going to run him out there as a center fielder but we’ll probably experiment a little bit in the infield…One thing we are confident in, is that he is going to play in the middle of the diamond, whether it is at second, short or center field and really impact the baseball game from the top of the order.
[7:32pm] With the 30th pick of the draft, the Rays selected middle infielder LeVon Washington, from Buchholz High School in Gainesville, Florida. Washington is a guy with a ton of speed.
And he shall be LeVon
And he shall be a good man
And he shall be LeVon
In tradition with the Rays plan
On a side note, there was a lot of chatter in recent days about how the Rays were drafting in “unfamiliar territory” with the 30th pick…Don’t these people know that the Rays had other picks in all of those drafts? It is not like this is the first time the Rays had to draft player outside of the top 5 picks. We are fairly certain they know how to scout players that are not drafted at the top of the first round. Are they familiar with a guy named Carl Crawford who was drafted in the second round?
Jun 09
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.
Jun 09
Joe Maddon worked in the Angels organization for 31 years, so it should not be surprising that he gets a bit emotional whenever his former team is across the diamond in the opposing dugout.
How emotional? When facing tonight’s opponent, the Angels, it is not uncommon for Maddon to already be in the clubhouse at the end of the game. Nearly half of his 11 career ejections have come against Los Angeles.
26 times Maddon has been the manager of the Rays when they faced the Angels. In 5 of those games, Maddon was ejected, or once every 5.2 games. In the other 543 games of Maddon’s managerial career, he has 6 ejections, or once every 90.5 games. Maddon does have one ejection so far this season, back on April 16th against the White Sox.
In Maddon’s defense, the two ejections against the Angels last season, were two of the more memorable games of the year. The first was June 11th, which was the infamous Derryl Cousins “shoebox” game and the second came on August 19th after BJ Upton was called out for for supposedly making a move towards second after he passed first base.
Still, based on his track record, the clubhouse manager might want to have the towels ready a little earlier the next three nights.
Jun 09
If you are looking for a small consolation after losing two of three to the Yankees, we have this…
So far this season, the Tampa Bay Rays have twice knocked Mariano Rivera out of a game mid-inning. The first came on May 7 at Replica Yankee Stadium when Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria both took Mo deep. The second came this past Saturday when both Joe Dillon and BJ Upton hit run-scoring singles.
How rare is it to see Rivera hand the ball to his manager from the mound?
Prior to these two games, it had not happened since April 27, 2007, when Rivera allowed 4 runs against the Red Sox and only recorded 1 out.
Of course, Rivera came back and recorded the save in each of the last two games, so we wouldn’t dare say the Rays own Rivera. But at least the Rays will be able to lean on these two games later in the season, as they now know that the Great Mariano is no longer invincible.
Jun 09
On May 10th Carlos Pena was hitting .252 with 13 home runs and 32 RBI in 32 games. That also happened to be the last game the featured Pat Burrell hitting behind Pena in the lineup.
Since then, Burrell has been sidelined with some sort of neck ailment, the source of which is still a mystery *wink, wink*.
In that span, Pena has played 25 games, hitting .174 with 4 home runs and 10 RBI.
Pena’s home run rate with Burrell’s smiling face scaring the opposing pitcher: Once every 10.6 plate appearances.
Pena’s home run rate with somebody less attractive in the 5-hole *cough* Gabe Gross *cough*: Once every 28.0 plate appearances.
Pena’s intentional walks with Burrell winking at opposing pitcher’s wife from the on-deck circle: 1
Pena’s intentional walks without Burrell in the lineup: 5
Pat the Bat hasn’t done squat to earn his paycheck, but when he is in the lineup, he sure makes it easier for Pena to earn his.
*Pat Burrell
Jun 09
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: Evan Longoria. Took long enough, but Dirtbag was finally back in the lineup, although he was a bit rusty with a walk and 3 strikeouts…Carl Crawford was the only player with more than 1 hit going 2-4…Do Our Eyes Deceive Us? Gabe Kapler homered.
THE BAD: Andy Sonnanstine. The Duke still has time to save his job in the rotation, but the leash is getting shorter, and one has to wonder if the Rays are at least considering a change even before Scott Kazmir returns from the DL. Carlos Hernandez perhaps? Yes, the Yankees have some good hitters. And yes, Replica Yankee Stadium is like Coors Field on steroids. But you can’t give up 4 home runs in one start. It can’t happen…Carlos Pena continues to struggle, going 0-3 with 3 strikeouts and a HBP…No Thievery. Whenever the Rays play the Yankees and Jorge Posada is behind the plate, the Rays should have 3 stolen bases minimum.
THE TELLING: Willy Aybar was originally to play second base, but was not given a chance to boot any grounders or drop any pop ups as he came down with a migraine. Ben Zobrist started at second and Reid Brignac was back in the lineup at short…According to CoolStandings.com, the Rays still have a 33.6% shot at making the playoffs. PECOTA says it is only 25.3%.
SUNBURST PLAYER OF THE GAME: Gabe Kapler. Sorry. They gave us no choice.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Injury updates via Marc Lancaster: Pat Burrell began a rehab assignment last night with Montgomery and is expected back with the Rays on Friday. Jason Bartlett is eligible to come off the DL Wednesday but won’t, and will go on a rehab assignment before he returns. Scott Kazmir is expected to have a rehab schedule by the end of the week as he will likely make several starts in the minors before a return. [Tampa Tribune]
- Marc Topkin has a list of the Rays 5 best and 5 worst draft picks. [St. Pete Times]
- Of players in the major leagues that were drafted, Gabe Kapler is the lowest-drafted, selected in the 57th round of the 1995 draft by Detroit. [San Diego Union-Tribune]
- Rays Revolutionary has 10 things they would like to see this week from the Rays. We guess it is 9 now, since the Rays pissed away #1. [Rays Revolutionary]
- The Rays shaved bullpen coach Bobby Ramos’ back prior to yesterday’s game. Sadly, no pictures have surfaced. [The Heater]
Jun 09
Durham 3, Pawtucket 2. Wade Davis pitched 6 scoreless innings with 7 Ks and 3 walks…Dale Thayer picked up his 8th save with 2 innings, allowing 1 run…Justin Ruggiano and John Jaso were a combined 0-5.
Birmingham 14, Montgomery 8. Pat Burrell DH’d and batted third, going 0-5 with 3 Ks in his first rehab game…Another rough outing for Aneury Rodriguez who allowed 8 runs on 8 hits and a walk in 2 innings…Desmond Jennings was 1-5 with 2 Ks and his 20th stolen base.
Charlotte @ Brevard Co. (gm 1; ppd. rain).
Charlotte @ Brevard Co. (gm 2; ppd. rain).
Bowling Green 6, Greenville 1. Chris Andujar improved to 7-2 with a 2.84 ERA after allowing 1 run on 1 hit and 3 walks in 6 innings…Tim Beckham was 0-2 with a walk and his second stolen base.
Notes from Down on the Farm…
- Rhyne Hughes has been promoted to triple-A and Matt Fields moves to Montgomery from Charlotte. [Biscuit Crumbs]
- Matt Moore was named the SAL pitcher of the week. [MILB.com]
- Tim Beckham and Chris Andujar were named to the SAL South All-Star team. Yes, the “South” Atlantic League does have a “South Division.” [Biscuit Crumbs]
