Aug 11
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.
Here are the player leaders and the Sunburst rankings are after the jump…
Evan Longoria 15.5
Ben Zobrist 11.5
Carlos Pena 8
BJ Upton 7
Carl Crawford 6
Willy Aybar 6
James Shields 5
Gabe Kapler 4.5
Jeff Niemann 4
David Price 4
Jason Bartlett 4
Dioner Navarro 4
Scott Kazmir 3
Gabe Gross 2.5
Andy Sonnanstine 2
Matt Joyce 2
Pat Burrell 2
Matt Garza 1.5
Lance Cormier 1.5
Aki Iwamura 1
Grant Balfour 1
Winston Abreu 0.5
Read the rest of this entry »
Aug 11
Jonah Keri brings up the topic of Carl Crawford and just how good he has been this season.
Add up all of his talents and you have a player who deserves consideration for American League MVP honors this season. Crawford ranks sixth among AL position players with 4.1 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) level so far this season…
CC is on pace to set a career-high in batting average, obliterate his career-high in OBP, approach his career-high in home runs and steal a kazillion million bases. And at 28 he is also already a 3-time all-star. Unfortunately, as Keri mentions, this could be his last with the Rays.
Crawford’s playing like an MVP, but is this his last hurrah in Tampa? [SI.com]
Aug 11
T
he 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: Jason Bartlett. Hey BJ Upton, still not sure why you aren’t batting leadoff anymore? Bartlett had 3 hits, just missing a cycle, with a double, triple and a HR. The HR was his 11th, doubling his career total from before the season…Ben Zobrist. He was 2-3 with a walk. The one time he was retired, he was robbed of a game-tying HR with 2 outs in the 9th.
THE BAD: The Trifecta Of Craptastica. What’s the worse thing that can happen to a team in the playoff hunt? Have another pitcher throw a perfect game. What’s the next worst thing? Other team hits a 2-out, 2-strike 2-run walk-off HR. How about the third worst thing? Have the Rays hit a 9th inning two-out game tying HR only to have it robbed to end the game. Check, Check annnnddd Check…Matt Garza. A 2-run lead before he even takes the mound? No thanks. Offense bails him out by tying game at 3 in the 3rd? Nahhhh. 6 hits (2 HR), 4 walks and a hit batter. All for the low, low price of 3.1 innings and another game in the standings.
THE TELLING: The Rays are now 2.5 games behind the Red Sox in the Wild Card and 2 behind the Rangers. They trail both teams by 3 games in the ever-important loss column.
SUNBURST PLAYER OF THE GAME: Jason Bartlett
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Gary Shelton doesn’t understand why BJ Upton doesn’t understand why BJ Upton is hitting ninth. Shelton says Upton has hit a new low…Personally, we are not sure this is as low as the time Upton called up to the pressbox during a Durham game to yell at the PA guy for not playing his walk-up music. But it’s close. [St. Pete Times]
- This year, the Rays are in an advantageous position when it comes to the waiver-wire, but Marc Topkin points out that it can be “challenging” and that the Rays may end up with a player they don’t necessarily want. [St. Pete Times]
- Andrew Friedman says the additions of Russ Springer and Gregg Zaun filled the two needs the club had. Friedman suggests that the Rays don’t have any other areas that can be upgraded through the waiver-wire, but will continue to look. [Tampa Tribune]
- The Rays Party would like to see the Rays add some speed to the bench (when Dioner Navarro is the tying run on first base in the 9th inning and there isn’t a speed upgrade on the bench, that is a problem. Not last night, but it has happened). [The Rays Party]
- Marc Lancaster writes about how Evan Longoria got his groove back, just in the nick of time. [Tampa Tribune]
- Marc Topkin writes about the pressure Evan Longoria is putting on himself to carry the Rays to the playoffs. [St. Pete Times]
- Joey Johnston has a Q&A with the man Kent Hrbek should have bought a vowel from, Dewayne Staats. [Tampa Tribune]
Aug 11
Gwinnett 6, Durham 3. Jeremy Hellickson picked up his first triple-A loss, allowing 4 runs (2 earned) in 6.1 innings. He struck out 5 and walked none. He did retire the first 10 batters he faced, only to begin unraveling in the 5th…Desmond Jennings was 2-5 and Reid Brignac had 4 singles in 5 at bats…Matt joyce went 1-4 with a double and a walk…Elliot Johnson hit his 9th home run.
Mobile 7, Montgomery 1. Darin Downs allowed 3 runs in 7 innings in his first double-A start. The FSL ERA leader, struck out 4 and walked 2…Cody Cipriano was 1-4 with a triple, one of just 5 hits for the Biscuits.
Palm Beach @ Charlotte. (ppd. rain)
Bowling Green 8, Greenville 4. Juan Santana allowed just 1 run on 2 hits and 2 walks in 4 innings. He struck out 3 in his first start since being promoted from Hudson Valley…Tim Beckham went 1-5 with 2 strikeouts…Jake Jefferies was 2-4.
Hudson Valley. (no games scheduled)
Danville @ Princeton. (ppd. rain)
Notes from Down on the Farm…
- Darin Downs took the loss in his double-A debut, but Stacy Long says he looked impressive in defeat. [Montgomery Advertiser]
- Matt Joyce is hitting .272/.363/.473 overall with 12 HR and 49 RBI. Against lefties he is hitting .256/.310/.444 with 3 HR in 90 ABs.
