Mar 31
Today the Rays announced three more acts for their Saturday night Summer Concert Series.
August 14: Train
September 18: Adam Lambert and Orianthi
September 25: Dierks Bentley
The Rays have received some criticism for only booking AARP acts (e.g. ZZ Top, Go-Go’s, Hall & Oates) for the Summer Concert Series, so it is refreshing to see some that won’t be up past their bedtime.
But the current selection is certain to bring a different audience to The Trop on Saturday nights this summer. Train is innocent enough. They have that catchy pop song out now, “Hey Soul Sister.” And while Dierks Bentley is a Country singer, that stuff is pretty mainstream these days. Know that song “It’s a quarter after 1:00, I’m a little drunk and I need you now“? That was on the Country charts for months before it hit the pop charts.
No, we are talking about Adam Lambert. Here is how the Rays described Lambert in the press release…
The flashy and flamboyant Indianapolis native is known for his time on the eighth season of the hit television show American Idol.
Translation: Gay and nowhere near the closet, and only 14-year old girls listen to his music. That will be an entertining night at The Trop.
The Republican National Convention will not approve.
Mar 31
With 6 days to go before opening day, the roster is starting to take shape, but there are still some questions to be answered. Let’s update the projected roster…
A few notes on the 25-man roster projection…
- LINEUP: It looks like Ben Zobrist will now get the bulk of the starts in RF against right-handed pitchers until Matt Joyce is healthy and ready for the big leagues. He will platoon with Gabe Kapler, who the Rays are obsesses with against lefties. Zobrist will play 2B when Kapler is in the lineup. The other half of the 2B platoon is likely to go to Sean Rodriguez even though Reid Brignac is better defensively. At catcher it sounds like each pitcher will be assigned one of the catchers to work with on a regular basis. That could change if either Dioner Navarro or Kelly Shoppach gets hot.
- BENCH: Dioner Navarro, who appears healthy enough for opening day, and Gabe Kapler will be part-time starters. One bench spot will go to Willy Aybar if he is healthy enough to play everyday. That leaves one spot for Reid Brignac or Hank Blalock. This decision could depend on whether the Rays are confident enough in Sean Rodriguez’ glove to play 2B on a regular basis.
- ROTATION: Wade Davis was given the 5th spot after it was determined that JP Howell would miss the first month or two. Andy Sonnanstine was deemed the better bullpen replacement.
- BULLPEN: With Andy Sonnanstine now in the bullpen, there is one spot still up for grabs and 2 guys on the roster with a shot. Joaquin Benoit is still the favorite, but he is yet to show that he can work back-to-back days. Mike Ekstrom appears to be plan B, unless the Rays can use somebody like Elliot Johnson (out of options) to pry a cheap reliever off a another team’s hands.
Mar 31
March 31, 2008 is one of the most important dates in Tampa Bay Rays history.
That was opening day for the 2008 season. That was the day that the Rays took their first steps towards being a true major league baseball team. It was the first day of a season in which the Rays would go from one of the laughing stocks of professional sports to American League champions. The franchise may have been playing games since 1998, but a great franchise was born on March 31, 2008.
And on that day, we declared that the Tampa Bay Rays and their loyal Rayshead Army would no longer go quietly in the night. We would no longer vanish without a fight. We declared that day Tampa Bay Rays Independence Day.
So to my fellow Raysheads, Happy Tampa Bay Rays Indpendence Day!
Mar 31
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: Joaquin Benoit. The odds-on favorite for the final bullpen spot showed that his arm is healthy by working 2 innings. But unfortunately we still don’t know if he can work back-to-back games. And with a 2-inning stint yesterday, he won’t work today. There are only 3 spring games remaining after today…Reid Brignac. Brignac had 2 more hits and is now 19-52 (.365) this spring.
THE BAD: Rafael Soriano. Sure he gave up 4 runs in 1 inning. And sure he gave up a 2-run double and a 2-run HR to minor leaguers. None of that is good. But what in all likelihood really pissed off Joe Maddon was the failure to cover 3rd base on a bloop base hit in which Willy Aybar had to cover second base. That allowed both runners to move up a base and started the 4-run rally.
THE TELLING: Dioner Navarro started and caught 6 innings and should be ready for opening day…David Price threw 106 pitches and worked 6.2 scoreless innings in a minor league game giving up 1 hit and 1 walk, striking out 8…Dan Johnson accepted his outright assignment to Durham…Carl Crawford will make his 8th straight opening day start for the Rays. Only 12 other players have an active streak that long with their current team…James Shields will become the first Rays pitcher to make 3 opening day starts…The Rays will be introducing a new official hot dog in the next couple of days.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- With a week before opening day there are “a couple of thousand” tickets remaining for Opening Day according to the Rays.
- From Rays Renegade we learn that Train and Dierks Bentley have been added to the Saturday Night Concert Series this season. Dierks Bentley is a Country artist for you Gentiles. [Twitter]
- Dale Thayer and Heath Rollins were reassigned to minor league camp leaving Joaquin Benoit and Mike Ekstrom for the final spot in the bullpen. Of course the Rays could also look outside the organization if they are worried Benoit is not ready for the regular season. [St. Pete Times]
- Sport Illustrated picks the Rays to win the AL Wild Card and the AL pennant, but to lose in the World Series to the Phillies…So who gets the “SI Curse,” both teams, or just the Phillies? [Rays Report]
- Dennis Maffezzoli spoke with Carl Crawford about his future and how he will approach this season, which in all liklihoodwill be his last with the Rays. [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
- Jeff Fletcher of Fanhouse went through the Rays clubhouse asking what various members of the Rays know about Evan Longoria. [Fanhouse]
- Yesterday we mentioned that BJ Upton helped recruit the GOP to the Trop. Now Rays Rev has a picture of Raymond sucking up to the GOP by wearing a suit. [Rays Rev]
- Jonah Keri was interviewed by Fack Youk about the 2010 Rays. [Fack Youk]
- Marc Topkin looks at the challenge Jason Bartlett faces working with a platoon at second base. [St. Pete Times]
- Seth McClung has been released by the Marlins. [MLB Trade Rumors]
Mar 30
Tampa is a finalist to host the 2012 Republican National Convention. Earlier today, Republican leaders were given a tour of Tropicana Field. Among the highlights was a special greeting from BJ Upton…
On Tuesday, the RNC selection committee, including RNC Chairman Michael Steele, arrived at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg…St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster greeted the group. There was also pre-recorded video greeting from Tampa Bay Rays centerfielder BJ Upton.
So does this mean that Upton would not support a marriage between Alex Rodriguez and Mike Piazza?
Mar 30
A few months ago I commissioned an illustration of Mrs. Professor in the classic pin-up style, wearing a Tampa Bay Rays jersey (you can see the original piece HERE)
That piece was recently featured in the March 19th issue of TBT* that is published by the St. Pete Times. There she is on page 98 (click on the image for a larger version).
Mar 30
Below you will see three polls that ask about your confidence in the Tampa Bay Rays. We will present these same polls every Tuesday (and randomly during the off-season). The results will be presented in graphical form on Thursday, and will be displayed permanently in the sidebar. The goal of the Confidence Graph is to get a feeling of how Rays fans feel about the team and the franchise and track how that level of confidence changes through time.
Mar 30
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: Starting Pitching. Want a sign that the starting pitchers are already in mid-season form? The 5 members of the rotation have combined for 78 strikeouts and 24 walks in 97.1 innings. That is a very good 3.25-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio…Jeff Niemann. The Giraffe tossed 6 shutout innings, striking out 6 and walking just 1. He now has 24 strikeouts and just 3 walks in 25.1 innings this spring…Nevin Ashley. Ashley continues to impress with 3 more hits including a home run…Evan Longoria hit his 4th home run of the past week. This one off of Josh Beckett.
THE BAD: Bullpen Candidates. Two relievers in the running for the final spot, Dale Thayer and Mike Ekstrom, combined to allow 3 runs in 3 innings on 6 hits and 2 walks.
THE TELLING: David Price will make his scheduled start today in a minor league game to avoid facing the Red Sox. Kelly Shoppach will be his catcher suggesting the two will team up during the regular season…The Rays are now 18-7-1 in the spring, matching their franchise record for wins in the Grapefruit League. They have 4 games remaining.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Desmond Jennings on when he will be able to return to action: “Soon, real soon.” [Biscuit Crumbs]
- No surprise here, Matt Joyce will likely not be on the opening day roster. [St. Pete Times]
- Marc Topkin looks at how the final roster spots could shake out. [St. Pete Times]
- Stacy Long spoke with Desmond Jennings about the upcoming season. [Montgomery Advertiser]
- This is behind the Insider wall, but Buster Olney presents a well-thought out realignment plan that would eliminate divisions and have the top 6 teams in each league qualify for the playoffs. The top two seeds would recieve byes in the first round and the third and fourth seeds would host each game in a 3-game first round series against the fifth and sixth seeds. [ESPN]
- Lisa Winston writes about 10 Rays prospects to keep an eye this year. [MLB]
- Don Zimmer has seen a lot of baseball in his years and he spoke with the Ft. Myers News-Press about how today’s players compare to players in past eras. [Ft. Myers News-Press]
- Roger Mooney has 5 questions for Elliot Johnson. [Tampa Tribune]
- The Tampa Bay Rays are teaming up with “American Idol” and their “Idol Give Back” charity. Donation stations will be set up at Tropicana Field. [My Fox Tampa Bay]
http://www.tampabay.com/sports/baseball/rays/tampa-bay-rays-still-finalizing-roster-as-spring-training-winds-down/1083779
Mar 29
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: Matt Garza. Like James Shields the day before, Garza stretched his arm out working 7 strong innings, allowing just 4 hits and striking out 7. He walked 1. He now has 21 strikeouts and just 4 walks this spring…Ben Zobrist. Zorilla looked comfortable in the 3-hole, hitting a single, triple and a home run…Carlos Pena. Pena, who had 3 hits all spring before the weekend, had 3 hits this weekend, including a home run on Sunday. He also walked twice yesterday.
THE BAD: The Truffle Shuffle. Yes, it is spring, and yes scoring the run was not important. But a safety squeeze with Pat Burrell on third base? Burrell was thrown out at home on Gabe Kapler’s squeeze attempt.
THE TELLING: It appears that Joe Maddon is leaning towards having BJ Upton hit 6th and dropping Pat Burrell to the 7th spot…Hank Blalock started at third base…With 6 games remaining, the Rays now have 17 wins. That is 1 short of the franchise record set in 2008.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Marc Topkin says there is a possibility that opening day will not sell out. This would be the first time since 2005. Anybody still think we were overreacting last week?…In the same piece Topkin writes about new ways in which the Rays are taking advantage of video technology. [St. Pete Times]
- Dioner Navarro and Willy Aybar played in a minor league game yesterday and both are expected to be ready for opening day. [St. Pete Times]
- Michael Sasso notes that Bud Selig’s history suggests that at some point he will become more active and more aggressive in the quest for a new stadium for the Rays. [Tampa Tribune]
- Jeremy Hellickson will pitch in a minor league game today which leaves him on pace to pitch the Durham Bulls opener and the exhibition game in Durham between the Bulls and the Rays on Saturday. [Biscuit Crumbs]
- Mitch Talbot, who was sent to the Indians for Kelly Shoppach will be on the Indians opening day roster and has won a spot in the rotation. [Cleveland.com]
- Jordi Scrubbings interviewed The Cowbell Kid. [JordiScrubbings.com]
- Randy Choate and Joe Maddon speak about Choate’s transformation from lefty-specialist to a reliever that can be used at any time. [Tampa Tribune]
- Marc Topkin writes about how Lance Cormier will be called upon in more high-leverage situations with JP Howell on the shelf. [St. Pete Times]
- Wade Townsend was released by the Blue Jays. [Rays Prospects]
- Jason Cromer and Alex Cobb will both miss the start of the season. [Biscuit Crumbs]
Mar 28
Peter Gammons spoke with some scouts about a few of the Rays top prospects with some surprising feedback…
One of the fun debates on the west coast of Florida is rating the three young, big arms on the Rays. I polled six scouts, five had it 1. Wade Davis, 2. Jeremy Hellickson and 3. David Price, and the other had it Hellickson/Davis/Price.
In other words, all six scouts think David Price is behind both Wade Davis and Jeremy Hellickson. We are not sure if that means Big Dub and Hellboy are that great, or if we should be worried that King David is not what we all hoped.
Also, Gammons spoke with a GM and some scouts about two of the pieces the Rays received in the Scott Kazmir deal…
One GM said Tampa Bay’s Sean Rodriguez “has the best bat speed I’ve seen all spring,” and two scouts think the 160-pound lefty reliever the Rays got from the Angels in the Scott Kazmir deal, Alex Torres, will be a major factor in the second half.
Not bad considering Kazmir is now battling a shoulder injury.
