Jun 26
Marc Topkin has the news…
Rays send down Andy Sonnanstine, designate Winston Abreu. Scott Kazmir will start on Saturday. Jeff Niemann will be bumped back to Monday. The Rays had to make room for Kazmir and RHP Chad Bradford to be activated. The decision on who to drop from the rotation was between Niemann, David Price and Sonnanstine.
We never believed it would happen even though it was the most logical solution.
Rays send down Sonnanstine, add Kazmir, Bradford [The Heater]
Jun 26
Bunch of links starting to pile up today so let’s dust off the “Happy Hour” feature…
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Evan Longoria is back in the lineup tonight. [Rays Report]
- The Group looking for a new home for the Rays, A Baseball Community, is now looking at potential sites in Tampa and Hillsborough for the first time. [Tampa Tribune]
- John Romano discusses where it would be best to build a new stadium, narrowing the field to three possibilities. [The Point After]
- Ballpark Frankness has poll looking for the most popular proposed site for a new stadium. [Ballpark Frankness]
- For those wondering why the Rays waited so long to have Aki Iwamura’s knee surgery, Will Carroll has the answer. Turns out they could have done the surgery earlier, but the rehab would have taken longer (thanks Bob). [Baseball Prospectus]
- You are kidding me right? Pat Burrell’s dog is walking around the Rays clubhouse with a World Series Championship medallion around his fat neck? *Serenity Now!* [The Fightins]
- The Rays Party has some thoughts on the roster moves the Rays can make with the return of Scott Kazmir and Chad Bradford. [The Rays Party]
- Remembering Michael Jackson…Rays style? [Rays Revolutionary]
- Trop It Like It’s Hot also put a Rays spin to Michael Jackson. [Trop It Like It's Hot]
Jun 26
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 26
Yesterday we linked to a story by Jon Heyman of SI.com that said the Rays were looking for a closer, but do not want to add payroll. Something he called a “tough task.”
Now Jayson Stark of ESPN.com is spinning a different tune. One that makes a heck of a lot more sense. Stark says the Rays are not looking for a closer.
Contrary to what we (and others) have been reporting, we’re now hearing that the Rays aren’t necessarily shopping for bullpen help. Clubs that have talked to them say they’re shopping for “upgrades.” And those upgrades aren’t exclusively bullpen upgrades or even big-league upgrades. They’d also prefer long-term upgrades over short-term upgrades. So what they’re looking for in the bullpen, in other words, is the next J.P. Howell, not the next Eric Gagne. And they’ve been asking about the potential availability of young corner outfielders, as opposed to the Jermaine Dyes of the world, an indication they clearly think they can live, for now, with the .805 OPS and excellent defense they’ve been getting from their Gabe Gross/Gabe Kapler/Ben Zobrist rotation in right.
The first part does not surprise us at all. The Rays have always been about long-term value as opposed to short-term fixes.
The second part is a little more telling. With the recent addition of Matt Joyce as the future right fielder, Stark’s report suggests that the Rays are now looking for somebody to play left field for the next 5-6 years. If true, it suggests that the Rays are looking to a future without Carl Crawford, who is due $10 million if the Rays pick up his option.
It also suggests that the Rays are not completely enamored with some of the in-house options they have in the minors to replace Crawford (Fernando Perez, Justin Ruggiano) and maybe this means that Desmond Jennings is not as close to the majors as some might want to believe.
Focusing on baseball’s many mysteries [ESPN]
Jun 26
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: The Duke’s Comeback. After his horrible first inning, we saw the Andy Sonnanstine we know and love when he retired 14 of the final 16 batters he faced. But was it enough?…Quick Bounce Back. When a pitcher gives up 4 runs in the first inning, it is so important to get at least a couple back right away and the Rays 3 runs in the first inning may have saved the game…Big Bats. Three innings with crooked numbers. 5 batters with at least 2 hits and every starter with a hit except BJ Upton, who walked twice…Big Slide. Amazing slide at second base by Gabe Kapler to pull the rope-a-dope and avoid the tag.
THE BAD: Duke’s Days As A Starter. Strong the rest of the way? Yes. But can the Rays look past the 1st inning in which Andy Sonnanstine gave up 4 runs on 5 hits? Probably not. Would it have made a difference if Sonny was great the first 4 innings and then got pounded in the 5th?…Jason Bartlett. JB is a great shortstop, but he was thinking what exactly, when he flipped the ball into right field?…BJ Being BJ. It gets old having to mention every time BJ Upton is thrown out on the bases or is picked off. How about we just start including it in the good when he doesn’t.
THE TELLING: Congrats to Jason Bartlett for his 19-game hitting streak and breaking the Rays record. But it is just 19 games and it has taken more than a month. Get to 30 and we will start to get excited…With Evan Longoria nursing his sore hamstring, Pat Burrell batted 3rd with Jason Bartlett moving up to 6th.
SUNBURST PLAYER OF THE GAME: Willy Aybar
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Scott Kazmir will start either Saturday or Sunday. Still no word on whether he will be replacing one of the starters scheduled for one of those days (Jeff Niemann and David Price) or if they will just be moved back a day. [Tampa Tribune]
- Here is a video clip of Ben Zobrist signing a Zorilla t-shirt a young girl made. During the clip, Zobrist briefly mentions the Zorilla t-shirt found in the Rays Index Store (thanks Michael). [Sun Sports/Fox Sports]
- Anybody want to go back through the schedule and figure out the Rays record in their different uniforms this season? Like the Mets have done here. [Flickr]
- So Carlos Pena didn’t vomit on a bar owner and get beat up by 10 bouncers. But it is a strange thing for a writer to write. If his point was just to show that trouble can happen when hanging out with athletes, couldn’t he have made the same point without using specific names? [Bugs and Cranks]
- Jason Bartlett’s hitting streak began on May 15th. Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hit streak began on May 15th…On a side note Bartlett once gave a dollar to a homeless guy named DiMaggio and DiMaggio had a dog named Bartlett. [Bugs and Cranks]
- Are you or somebody you know worthy of the title, “Hottest Rays Girl”? Contest has commenced. [Trop It Like It's Hot]
- The latest installment of “Give Me One Reason…” over at Rays the Stakes, where they discuss sweeping the Marlins, hitting Carl Crawford leadoff and moving Andy Sonnanstine to the bullpen. [Rays the Stakes]
- Unbelievable. Remember those replica AL Championship rings the Rays gave away earlier this season? Somebody is selling fakes on eBay. Fakes of fakes. [St. Pete Times]
Jun 26
Toledo 4, Durham 2. After a good 2-3 week stretch, Carlos Hernandez posted his second straight rough outing. In 5 innings, he allowed 4 runs on 6 hits and 4 walks. He struck out 3…Reid Brignac went 1-5 and is hitting .288 while Justin Ruggiano was 1-4 and John Jaso was 1-2 with 2 walks…Rhyne Hughes had a double in 3 at bats and is hitting .323 since his promotion…Matt Joyce went 0-2 with 2 walks, but was ejected in the 7th inning after being called out on strikes.
Montgomery 8, Tennessee 4. Aneury Rodriguez picked up his 4th win, giving up 4 runs (3 earned) in 6 innings. He struck out 6 and walked 3…Cesar Suarez and Matt Spring homered for the Biscuits…Desmond Jennings was late inning defensive replacement and did not have a plate appearance.
Dunedin 6, Charlotte 3. Darin Downs struck out 10 in 5.2 innings, but also gave up 10 hits and 6 runs, all unearned…Cody Cipriano was 0-3 with a walk…Shawn O’Malley was 2-5 and stole his 26th and 27th bases.
Bowling Green @ Lexington. (ppd. rain)
Hudson Valley 3, Staten Island 1.
Princeton 4, Burlington 3 (12).
Notes from Down on the Farm…
- Was unaware that the Durham Bulls recently played a game in Negro League uniforms. Click through for a cool photo gallery. [Flickr]
- Montgomery will go to a 6-man rotation, for at least their next series. [Montgomery Advertiser]
- Two of the Rays top prospects, Desmond Jennings and Keyong Kang have been chosen to play in the Futures Game during All-Star break. [Biscuit Crumbs]
- Charlie Montoyo has been selected to coach the World Team in the upcoming Futures Game during the All-Star break. [Durham Bulls]
