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 End Of The Bat? Some feel that today is the deadline for a decision on whether or not to promote Hank Blalock. Might last night have been the last game for Pat Burrell in a Rays uniform?…JP Howell. The Dude threw batting practice prior to the game and looked good. Well, he looked good if yo can get past the fact he forgot to shave, since he’s been on the DL (above)…Evan Longoria. What kind of numbers would Dirtbag have right now if Carlos Pena was actually hitting behind him? Last night he hit his 9th home run and 6th in the last 15 games.

THE BAD: 5-6-7. Carlos Pena (2 for last 47), BJ Upton (4-45) and Pat Burrell (2-25) are all mired in slumps of various lengths (Burrell’s is not so much a slump as it is a cliff at the end of his career). And the three have combined for 3 extra-base hits in May. Batting orders that look like a donut (hole in the middle) are usually easy for an opposing pitcher to work through. Last night, the trio went a combined 0-12 with 4 strikeouts.

THE TELLING: The Rays are now 0-11 all-time on May 14th…Hank Blalock was not in the Durham lineup last night. However, Todd Kalas reported that it was a scheduled night off…Bobby Ramos coached third base last night as Tom Foley was not with the team…The Rays are 17-3 all-time in games followed by a concert.

WHERE THEY STAND: The Rays are 24-11, 1 game ahead of the Yankees and 4 games ahead of the Blue Jays in the Wild Card. After 35 games in 2008, the Rays were 19-16.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • Matt Joyce will begin a rehab assignment next week with Charlotte. [Tampa Tribune]
  • John Jaso is the latest with a dramatic haircut. This picture comes to us via Rays Renegade. [Picture]
  • The GOP Convention will indeed be coming to The Trop, but Noah Pransky writes that it is unlikely to force a long roadtrip for the Rays. [Shadow of the Stadium]
  • Here is a great breakdown of the Durham pitching staff. [Watching Durham Bulls Baseball]
  • Rays Prospects looks at how the minor league rotations could shake out in the wake of Shane Dyer’s promotion. [Rays Prospects]
  • The News-Herald spoke with Rays prospect Tyler Bortnick (video included). [The News-Herald]

DOWN ON THE FARM…

  • Check out “The Rundown” from Rays Prospects for boxscores and more detailed recaps. [Rays Prospects]
  • DURHAM: Jeremy Hellickson continued to roll through the IL, improving to 6-1 with 6 shutout innings. He struck out 11 and walked none. If there was one red flag it was that he had to be pulled after 6 innings with 98 pitches…Desmond Jennings was 2-5 with a double. He is hitting .319/.407/.404 in 17 games.
  • MONTGOMERY: David Newmann gave up 2 runs in 6 innings with 6 strikeouts and no walks…Matt Fields was 3-4.
  • CHARLOTTE: Tim Beckham went a combined 0-6 with 2 Ks in the double-header…Matt Sweeney was 2-6.
  • BOWLING GREEN: Wilking Rodriguez struck out 7 and walked none in 6 innings. He did give up 4 runs (3 earned) on 7 hits.

Related posts:

  1. [THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Ekstrom’s Case, The Opening Day Lineup And Pat The Glove
  2. [THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Big Dub Being Big Dub, A Questionable Lineup, And The Pumkin’s Future
  3. [THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Dirtbag’s Doin’ What He Do, Big Game’s Big Escape And , JoeMa’s Lineup