Jun 29
Archive for June, 2009
Jun 29
[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss A Citrus Sweep, Kevin Kennedy’s Work Schedule And Adjusting The Rotation
BJ Upton, David Price, JC Romero, Jeff Niemann, Kenny Diekroeger 6 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: David Price. Not great for certain. Walking 5 batters, including 2 batters leading off an inning, never is good. But after the first 2 batters of the game got on base, he retired 8 in a row. Later he retired 8 of the final 9 batters he faced…Joe Nelson. With 1 out in the 7th and the tying run at the plate, Nelson replaced David Price. One pitch later, the Rays were out of the jam thanks to a 6-4-3…Gabe Kapler. Kapler was 11-22 in interleague play. There has been some chatter in the comments that his recent hot streak coincides directly with the arrival of his wife after their children finished the school year. In other words, Rays should look to move Kapler prior to Labor Day…Carlos Pena. A week ago, Pena bunted against the shift with the bases empty and 2 outs. That is not good because he is no threat to steal and get into scoring position. Yesterday, he bunted for a single leading off an inning. That is the ideal time.
THE BAD: Bradford And Howell. They sure tried to make things interesting in the 9th before JP Howell finally struck out Ross Gload with the bases loaded to end the game…Kevin Kennedy. Does he ever work? And is that a bad thing?.
THE TELLING: The Rays became the fastest team ever to reach 100 home runs and 100 steals…The Rays are 20-5 in their last 25 home games after starting the season 6-8 at The Trop…The Rays will play 18 of their remaining 85 games against the Blue Jays (21.2%).
SUNBURST PLAYER OF THE GAME: BJ Upton. He led off the 3rd with his 6th home run and then in the next half-inning, with the tying runs on base, he ran down a flyball to deep center to end the threat.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Joe Maddon chose to push Jeff Niemann back to tonight’s game because he wanted to “go all righties” against the Blue Jays. He also noted that he may adjust the rotation again to separate the rookies Niemann and David Price, the next time through. With the a day off on Thursday, Matt Garza will probably go on Sunday on his normal rest, which would push Niemann back to Tuesday (July 7) on 7 days rest. [Tampa Tribune]
- David Chalk of Bugs and Cranks has an exclusive photo of JC Romero attacking a Rays fan that looks an awful lot like Edward Norton. [Bugs and Cranks]
- The Rays played host to their second-round pick, Kenny Diekroeger, a shortstop who is trying to decide between Stanford and the Rays. [MLB]
- 4 of the top 5 teams in Baseball Prospectus’ power rankings reside in the AL East (thanks Scot). [Baseball Prospectus]
- Remember when some people were preaching what a steal Eric Hinske would be for a team this year? Yeah, not so much. [North Side Notch]
- Martin Fennelly notes that the Scott Kazmir of old has returned, but wonders if it will last. [Tampa Tribune]
Jun 29
Durham 8, Columbus 7 (13). The Bulls plated the game-winner in the top of the 13th on a Justin Ruggiano single…Matt DeSalvo started and gave up 5 runs in 6 innings…Reid Brignac went 3-7 with a double and 2 RBI…Matt Joyce was 1-6 but his lone hit was his 7th home run…John Jaso went 2-6 and Rhyne Hughes finished 3-5 and hit his 4th home run.
Montgomery 6, Jacksonville 5. The Butter and Blue scored 3 in the top of the 9th, the final 2 coming in on a double from Rashad Eldridge…Chris Mason started and gave up 5 runs (4 earned) in 5.2 innings…Desmond Jennings went 2-4 with a walk. and scored 2 runs. He also stole his 28th base.
Charlotte 9, Dunedin 8 (11). Jeremy Hall gave up 2 runs in 6 innings on 5 hits and no walks. He struck out 6…Henry Wrigley was 4-6 with his 3rd home run…Shawn O’Malley went 0-3 but walked 3 times and stole 2 bases. He now has 29…Cody Cipriano was 1-5 with a walk and Ryan Royster had 2 doubles and 2 walks in 6 plate appearances.
Lexington 9, Bowling Green 1. Shane Dyer allowed 6 runs on 10 hits and 2 walks in 5.2 innings…Tim Beckham had the day off.
Brooklyn 13, Hudson Valley 3. Glenn Gibson gave up 9 runs (6 earned) in 3.1 innings.
Notes from Down on the Farm…
- No links today.
Jun 28
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 28
[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Strike-One For Kazmir, The Duke’s Demotion And Dirtbag’s Defense
Andy Sonnanstine, Chad Bradford, Scott Kazmir 3 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: Scott Kazmir. The velocity was better (91-93) on his fastball. He threw strikes (61 of 92 pitches). However, he did struggle with strike-one early on. Of the first 11 batters, Kazmir only threw strike-one 3 times. If the final 9 batters he faced, he was strike-one 6 times. Of the first 11 batters, 4 got on base. Only 1 of the final 9 batters reached…Chad Bradford. Bradford allowed 2 baserunners in his 1 inning of work (single, error), but otherwise looked good in his first action of the season…Jason Bartlett. Yes, Willy Aybar had the game-winning sac fly, but it was the steal of second base by Jason Bartlett with 1 out that put himself in scoring position and able to move to third on the subsequent wild pitch…Carlos Pena. We absolutely love when El Gato hits home runs to the opposite field. Because when he does, it keeps pitchers honest.
THE BAD: Evan Longoria’s glove. We are nitpicking here a little. But Dirtbag committed his second error this week and just hasn’t looked right defensively since having his hamstring issues.
THE TELLING: The Rays are once again tied with the Jays for 3rd place in the East, 6 games behind the Sox and 2 games behind the Yankees (3 in the loss column)…According to CoolStandings.com, the Rays now have a better chance of making the playoffs (46.6%) than the Yankees (46.1%). The Jays are only 16.4%. However, PECOTA is less bullish on the Rays, giving them just a 23.1% shot. They have the Yankees at 72.9%.
SUNBURST PLAYER OF THE GAME: Scott Kazmir. It took a couple of innings to get the rust off, but after the home run to lead off the 3rd, it was vintage Kid K.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- A bald fish eagle (above) was released during the national anthem, and landed on the restaurant rooftop in center field rather than return to the trainer. It remained there until the middle of the first inning.
- Marc Topkin reports that the decision to demote Andy Sonnanstine was actually an easy one. [St. Pete Times]
- The Rays Party breaks down Scott Kazmir’s start through Pitch f/x. [The Rays Party]
- No surprise here. St. Pete residents do not want tax money spent on a new stadium for the Rays. [St. Pete Times]
- Joe Smith points to a couple of recent hustle plays by Ben Zobrist and Jason Bartlett that helped the Rays to their current win streak. [St. Pete Times]
Jun 28
Durham 12, Columbus 5. James Houser overcame 3 straight bad outings to throw 6 shutout innings. He allowed 3 hits, 2 walks and 1 hit batter. He struck out 3…The Bulls leadoff hitter, Henry Mateo hit 2 home runs and drove in 3…Reid Brignac added his 4th home run and was 3-5. He is now hitting .287…Justin Ruggiano went 3-5 with 2 RBI and his 13th steal…Matt Joyce had 2 doubles in 5 at bats, scoring twice.
Tennessee 6, Montgomery 5. Jeremy Hellickson started for the second time since coming off the DL and was limited to 66 pitches (45 strikes). He allowed 2 runs in 5 innings on 4 hits and a walk. He struck out 6. He now has a 2.08 ERA in 39 innings with 48 strikeouts and just 9 walks…
Dunedin 3, Charlotte 1 (gm 1). David Newmann allowed only 1 run in 5 innings but did not factor in the decision. He allowed 3 hits and 3 walks with 6 strikeouts…Cody Cipriano had 2 of the Stone Crabs 5 hits.
Dunedin 3, Charlotte 1 (gm 2). Brian Flores dropped to 0-3 after allowing a pair of runs in 5 innings. He struck out 5 and walked 2…Cody Cirpiano had 2 more hits and finished the day 4-7 to raise his average to .314…Henry Wrigley was 2-3 and drove in the only run.
Bowling Green 4, Lexington 1. Matt Moore improved to 4-3 with 5 shutout innings. He allowed 4 hits and a 2 walks with 7 Ks and now has a 3.14 ERA and 93 strikeouts in 63 innings…Tim Beckham went 0-3 with a walk…Jake Jefferies was 1-4 and Mike Sheridan was 2-4 with his 9th home run.
Staten Island 8, Hudson Valley 5.
Notes from Down on the Farm…
- Matt Spring started at first base for the first time in his professional career, but he did get to use his own glove. [Montgomery Advertiser]
Jun 27
This morning we told you that a fan had been assaulted by an unnamed Phillies pitcher following Thursday’s game. To nobody’s surprise, that player turned out to be JC Romero, who only recently returned from a 50-game suspension for using Performance Enhancing Drugs. The St. Pete Times has the details.
Eaton said he was attempting to get autographs from Phillies players when the incident happened…After players brushed him off, Eaton said he called out to Romero, something to the effect of, “How about you get me some juice?”…Romero snapped, Eaton said, telling him to “shut the f—- up” and that he didn’t know what he was talking about…Eaton said he replied that Romero was the one who’d been suspended recently…”He reared back and kinda grazed my chin and grabbed me by the neck and threw me back,” Eaton said. “I was in shock.”
Yes, we know Romero wasn’t specifically suspended by steroids. But a cheat, is a cheat. Does that make it ok to speculate that Romero also used steroids or HGH? Seems ok to us. But only if you have media credentials.
Fan says Phillies pitcher assaulted him over steroids remark [St. Pete Times]
Jun 27
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 27
One year ago on Rays Index we learned that Jake McGee was going to need Tommy John surgery.
McGee To Have Tommy John Surgery; Price And Beckham Make Debuts [Rays Index]
Jun 27
[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss The Bullpen, CC’s Slow Wheels And A Phillie Fighting With A Fan
BJ Upton, Carl Crawford, Rick Baker 20 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: Top O’ The Order. 1-2-3 is really starting to cook. Last night they were a combined 6-13 with 5 RBI and 4 runs scored…The Bullpen. We haven’t crunched the numbers yet, but for the past month, this bullpen has been on fire and is as good, if not better than the ’08 version. Last night, 4 pitchers combined to shutout the Marlins over the final 7 outs…James Shields. It wasn’t his best night, but good pitchers overcome nights without their best stuff and despite 9 hits and 2 walks, Shields kept the Rays in the game…BJ Upton. It was a huge double that put the Rays up for good, so we won’t mention how he stood at the plate for a moment to watch the majestic flight of his double nor will we mention how he dogged it for a few steps before turning on the speed. Nope. Won’t mention it.
THE BAD: Uh Oh. Remember when Carl Crawford had like 800 straight steals without being caught? Last night he was caught stealing for the 6th time. Granted a couple came on pickoffs. But one has to worry a bit that all this running and the Field Turf are starting to take their tole on CC’s legs…Dioner Navarro. For those that have been here a while, you know we have long been supporters of Dioner Navarro. Mainly, because even when he couldn’t hit, he played good D. We don’t know what happened this year. He has been horrible behind the plate. Last night’s attempt to block the plate on the throw from center looked like something a high schooler would do, one-handing the ball. Horrible.
THE TELLING: Evan Longoria was back in the lineup after missing a game with a sore hamstring…There are only 3 teams in MLB right now with 40 wins who are not in first place. All 3 of those teams reside in the AL East.
SUNBURST PLAYER OF THE GAME: BJ Upton
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- We ran a “Happy Hour” post last night with a bunch of links in case you missed it. [Rays Index]
- In case you missed our post late last night, Andy Sonnanstine has been demoted to Durham and Winston Abreu has been designated for assignment to make room for Scott Kazmir and Chad Bradford. [The Heater]
- Marc Topkin has some quotes from Joe Maddon and Scott Kazmir [St. Pete Times]
- In the same piece is a blurb about an apparent fight between a Phillies player and a fan after the game Thursday. Police were called. No word on which player was involved. [St. Pete Times]
- Not surprising, St. Pete Mayor Rick Baker had some choice words about the possibility of the Rays moving to Tampa, even threatening to go to court if needed. [Tampa Tribune]
- On Thursday night, the umpires used video to review whether a ground-rule double was actually fan interference. Yesterday, MLB said the umpires erred in using video for that purpose. [SI.com]
- And the Phillies are apparently pissed off…We are not sure why. It’s not like the league caught one of the Rays juicing and still let him play in the series. [Daily News]
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/baseball/mlb/06/26/umpires.replay.ap/index.html
