Aug 24
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.
Players that have been named Sunburst Pimp Daddy PoG and leaderboard after the jump…
| Evan Longoria |
15.5 |
| Ben Zobrist |
12.5 |
| Carlos Pena |
9 |
| Carl Crawford |
8 |
| BJ Upton |
8 |
| Willy Aybar |
6 |
| David Price |
6 |
| James Shields |
5 |
| Jeff Niemann |
5 |
| Gabe Kapler |
4.5 |
| Jason Bartlett |
4 |
| Dioner Navarro |
4 |
| Scott Kazmir |
4 |
| Gabe Gross |
2.5 |
| Andy Sonnanstine |
2 |
| Matt Joyce |
2 |
| Pat Burrell |
2 |
| Matt Garza |
1.5 |
| Lance Cormier |
1.5 |
| Gregg Zaun |
1 |
| Aki Iwamura |
1 |
| Grant Balfour |
1 |
| Winston Abreu |
0.5 |
Read the rest of this entry »
Aug 24
Gordon Edes of Yahoo! Sports was surprised the Rays (and others) passed on Billy Wagner when the Mets exposed him to waivers (the Red Sox claimed him).
Whiffing on Wagner? It surprised no one that the Mets placed Billy Wagner(notes) on waivers, and made sense that the Red Sox, with just one lefty in the bullpen, would have interest in claiming him. More puzzling is that the contenders in more obvious need of relief help – the Phillies, Cubs, Rays and Angels – would have passed.
Money – Wagner is owed about $2.65 million for the rest of the season and has a $1 million buyout next year – could have been a factor.
Gee, ya think? $3.65 million for one month of a relief pitcher that has one appearance since Tommy John surgery? For a pitcher that likely still can’t pitch back-to-back games? JP Howell has been great all year and he has only been worth $5.8 million or about $1.2 million per month. The Rays may have given Wagner $3.65 million for an entire season, but they certainly won’t do that for just one month and what might have ammounted to about 10-12 appearances.
Martinez reduces Varitek’s workload [Yahoo! Sports]
http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=8245&position=P#value
Aug 24
There are a number of visual cues that can hint at how well or how poorly a professional athlete handles pressure situations. For example, a urine stain on the front of a player’s uniform can indicate a player doesn’t much like clutch situations. On the other hand, if one were to list the traits of those that remain relaxed under pressure, blowing a bubble 15 feet from home plate while trying to outrun the cannon also known as Josh Hamilton’s left arm, all in an effort to score the game-winning run, would be near the top.
Aug 24
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. Other than the 3 walks, Price once again showed that he can be a very good big league pitcher on a consistent basis. He worked deep (7 innings) and allowed just 3 hits…Pat Burrell. He continues to be Pat the Good. 2 more hits and a walk. He is not carrying the team yet, but he is no longer dragging them down either.
THE BAD: K Parade. 15 strikeouts by Rays hitters. The Rays are second in the AL in strikeouts. Yep. They are just one out. But when a batter is retired without putting the ball in play, runners don’t have a chance to advance, which leads to…Coming Up Empty. The Rays went 3-up, 3-down in 4 different innings. And in the other 5 innings they were 0-8 with runners in scoring position…It’s Not The Heat. We keep harping on walks, but you can’t ignore them. Price only walked 3, but 2 of them came around to score, including the leadoff walk in the 3rd.
THE TELLING: The Rays finished the homestand at 6-3. Before the series, we suggested the Rays needed 7 wins to thrust themselves back in the thick of the race. And as this team has done all season, they played just well enough to tease and to not fall off the pace….The Rays now trail Boston in the Wild Card standings by 3 games and are 2 behind the Rangers…CoolStandings.com gives the Rays a 15.2% shot at making the playoffs. Meanwhile Baseball Prospectus says it is 25.2% and their PECOTA version is only 11.3%.
SUNBURST PLAYER OF THE GAME: David Price. (Scott Kazmir and Carlos Pena took home the honors on Friday and Splayaturday)
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Joe Henderson wonders if the Rays have what it takes, and wonders if they can be consistent enough to make the playoffs. [Tampa Tribune]
- John Romano has the visual evidence of the Rays in their “Ring of Fire” attire for the upcoming roadtrip. [St. Pete Times]
- Joe Smith writes about the decision to have David Price start the season in the minors and what it means for Price and the Rays now. Also, Smith looks at what Gregg Zaun has meant for the pitching staff since he arrived. [St. Pete Times]
- Apparently Joe Maddon has already been able to put the perfect game by Mark Buehrle out his mind as he referred to yesterday’s performance by Scott Feldman as “the best pitched game against [The Rays] all year.” [St. Pete Times]
- Joey Johnston says the key to the Rays playoff hopes is Jason Bartlett. [Tampa Tribune]
- Larry Williams is the only one of 10 mayoral candidates in St. Pete that has committed to doing whatever it takes to keep the Rays in St. Pete, saying the Rays are good for the local economy. [St. Pete Times]
- Area fashion experts weighed in on Joe Maddon’s new look. [St. Pete Times]
- LeVon Washington will attend Chipola College in north Florida and reenter the draft next June. [Rays Report]
Aug 24
Syracuse 3, Durham 2. Joe Bateman came into the game in the 9th with the score tied. He hit 2 batters, allowed a stolen base and then gave up a walk-off single…Wade Davis started, giving up 2 runs (1 earned). He struck out 3 and walked none. He did give up a solo home run…Desmond Jennings went 1-4 and Reid Brignac was 1-3 with an RBI…Aki Iwamura played the field and went 1-4.
Montgomery 8, Huntsville 3. Ryan Morse worked 6 innings and allowed just 1 run on 5 hits and a walk. He struck out 2…Cody Cipriano went 1-5…Chris Nowak was 3-5 with 2 doubles and a pair of RBI.
Ft. Myers 5, Charlotte 3. Brian Flores allowed 3 runs in 5.1 innings…Drew Anderson had 2 singles and a triple and drove in a run…Reid Fronk hit his 4th home run…Mike McCormick went 0-4 with 3 strikeouts.
Kannanpolis 9, Bowling Green 3. Matt Moore was pounded, giving up 6 runs in 3.2 innings on 8 hits and 2 walks. He struck out 3 and allowed a solo home run. He also hit 2 batters…Tim Beckham went 2-4 with his 32nd double. He has now hit in 7 straight.
Hudson Valley 1, Staten Island 0 (gm 1).
Staten Island 8, Hudson Valley 2 (gm 2).
Princeton 7, Burlington 0.
Notes from Down on the Farm…
- Jeremy Hellickson is #6 on Baseball America’s most recent “Prospect Hot Sheet.” [Baseball America]
- Rays Prospects has the attendance figures from the Rays minor league affiliates. [Rays Prospects]
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2009_08_23_dubaaa_syraaa_1
