Archive for August, 2010

Aug 31

Postgame Shot Of Joe: Jeff Niemann Is Scaring Joe

Uncategorized Joe Rays Fan 4 Comments »

Color Joe disturbed.

Man, everything seemed to be going so well in this game, especially Red Sux killer Dan Johnson — seemingly forgetting he wasn’t playing Boston — doubled to deep center, giving the Rays a 3-1 lead.

Sure, starter Jeff Niemann struggled a little bit in the previous inning but he got out of it and it seemed a near slam dunk that MFISUO and MFIKU would do their typical eighth and ninth inning dances and subsequent pulling out the shirt tail.

Rather, Niemann completely came unglued in the sixth. Niemann, in his first start back from the disabled list last week, was simply shelled by the Angels. After five innings, Niemann seemed fine. But is he?

Joe’s very concerned there’s still something wrong with Niemann. Joe’s trying to convince himself that Niemann just needs a little work and a very strict, limited pitch count through the next two weeks.

This is something Jim Hickey and Merlot Joe need to keep a very close eye on. Sure, it would be nice to have Niemann for the playoffs. But Joe would truly hate to see Niemann go under the knife and miss the entire 2011 season too.

Aug 31

Baldelli, Hellickson, Navarro Back With Rays; Jennings, Hawpe To Join Them

Brad Hawpe, Desmond Jennings, Dioner Navarro, Jeremy Hellickson, Jose Lobaton, JP Howell, Rocco Baldelli Cork Gaines 14 Comments »

Marc Topkin is reporting that the Rays will call up Desmond Jennings, Jeremy Hellickson, Rocco Baldelli, Brad Hawpe and Dioner Navarro when rosters expand tomorrow.

The Rays plans for the Wednesday’s roster expansion are to add OF Desmond Jennings, OF/DH Rocco Baldelli, C Dioner Navarro, RHP Jeremy Hellickson and OF Brad Hawpe…They are also expected to bring up C Jose Lobaton, though he is likely headed to the DL, which will create additional roster flexibility at the end of the season.

In order to add Hawpe and Baldelli, the Rays will need to make room on the 40-man roster. Moving JP Howell to the 60-day DL would free up one spot. They could do the same with Jose Lobaton.

Aug 31

Dan Johnson And Jeremy Hellickson Take Home Top IL Honors

Charlie Montoyo, Dan Johnson, Jeremy Hellickson Cork Gaines 6 Comments »

The Durham Bulls today announced that Jeremy Hellickson was named the International League Pitcher of the Year and Dan Johnson won the league’s MVP award. In addition, manager Charlie Montoyo was named the manager of the year.

Hellickson was 12-3 with a league-leading 2.45 ERA in 25 starts. He struck out 123 and walked 35 in 117.2 innings.

Despite spending all of August with the Rays, Johnson still leads the IL with 30 home runs, 95 RBI and a 1.053 OPS.

In 2009, Montoyo was named the top minor league manager by Baseball America. This season, the Bulls have the best record in the IL (84-52).

Aug 31

Rocco Baldelli Compares The 2010 And 2008 Rays

Rocco Baldelli Cork Gaines 8 Comments »

Here is an interview conducted by Neil Solondz in which Rocco talks about why he is coming back and the similarities between the 2008 and 2010 Rays (thanks Chris)…

Rocco Baldelli (click arrow to play)

Aug 31

Is Winning The AL East That Important?

Playoffs? Cork Gaines 23 Comments »

Barring a collapse of historic proportions, the Rays are going to the playoffs. The only question that remains is whether they can fight off the Yankees for the division title. But winning the East may not necessarily be the best move for the Rays.

As of today, the Twins and the Rangers hold big leads in their respective divisions. But more importantly, the Twins have a 1-game lead over the Rangers for overall record. This is important, as the team with the better record at the end of the season will host the Wild Card winner in the ALDS.

So which team would be a better first-round matchup for the Rays?

Some things to consider…

  • The Twins have played a game below their Pythagorean Record (76-55). Meanwhile, the Rangers record is identical to their Pythagorean Record (74-57). So that tells us that neither team is playing way above or way below their true talents.
  • Winning the division means Read the rest of this entry »
Aug 31

BJ Upton To Give Away His BRayser For Charity

BJ Upton Cork Gaines 6 Comments »

We told you about this last week, but here are the details from the management firm that represents BJ Upton…

The “BRayser” gained national attention two weeks ago when the Rays wore the unique blazers adorned in Tampa Bay Rays colors in a plaid design on their west coast road trip. After posting a picture of BJ in his BRayer on his twitter account he received many messages from followers asking where they could get their own “BRaysers” so BJ decided to raffle off his “BRayser” for a good cause.

BJ is raffling off his “BRayser” at his website www.theuptonbrothers.com and can be found at https://mcgraffle.com/upton/. Proceeds go to the Childs Park and Wildwood Recreation Centers located in South St. Petersburg to help support the families served by these centers. As part of the Dugout Club community initiative this summer, BJ adopted the two recreation centers and created ‘BJ’s Bunch’, a positive club for the kids.

Each chance to win costs $15 or get 3 chances for $40. Only 500 chances will be raffled off. This is the only “BRayser” available to the public and will be made available to the winner after the season. The winner will have the chance to have the “BRayser” autographed by BJ and if they are in the Tampa/St. Pete area will have the option of receiving the “BRayser” from BJ in person.

You can get updates on the raffle at www.theuptonbrothers.com or at BJ’s twitter account – www.twitter.com/therealbjupton. A Facebook Page is being created for BJ’s “BRayser” where you can get updates on the many uses of the “BRayser” and all the fun things you can do with it.

We’ve entered. Now it’s your turn.

Aug 31

Scott Cursi Called Dan Johnson’s Walk-Off Home Run

Dan Johnson, Scott Cursi Cork Gaines 3 Comments »

From Bill Chastain comes this tidbit involving the bullpen catcher and original Devil Ray Scott Cursi (thanks Connie)…

“The coolest part was at the beginning of the inning, [bullpen catcher Scott] Cursi keeps a chart and finally he hands the chart to [John] Jaso and goes, ‘Just write that down as Jack Johnson,’ like Johnson is going to jack it,” Cormier said. “Jaso was like, ‘What?’ And Cursi says, ‘That’s Jack Johnson as in game-winner.’ Then, blam.”

Guess we may have to update the nickname database.

Aug 31

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Pena’s Impact, Red Hot Davis And A Rough Night At The Ticket Office

Alex Torres, Carlos Pena, Matt Moore, Mike Napoli Cork Gaines 24 Comments »

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: Carlos Pena. This offense is different just when Carlos Pena is in it, whether or not he is hitting. He is that threatening presence that nobody else provides. But the Rays offense can be scary-good when Pena is clicking. And you know The Crime Cat is clicking when he is smacking oppo-field blasts like his 3-run home run Monday night…Wade Davis. Big Dub is now 5-0 in 6 starts since the All-Star break. And for just the third time this season he worked into the 8th inning, giving up just 2 runs in 7.2 innings…Chad Qualls. With the tying runners on and 2 outs in the 8th, Qualls came in to face Jose Bautista and his 42 home runs. Qualls got him to strike out swinging on a slider to end the Jays last threat.

THE BAD: Attendance. We hate pointing it out, but 11,968 last night was just the third time this season the Rays failed to crack 12,000. That’s not good…Official Scoring. Anybody else think that Carl Crawford was going to beat out that slow roller in the 3rd inning anyway? We thought it should have been a single, not an error. Nitpicking, but still…Randy Choate. You are absolutely right. It is not fair to put Choate in “The Bad” when he came in and retired both batters he faced. But c’mon, admit it. You were a little nervous with Choate in the game, even with a 4-run lead in the 9th. And that is not good. Jake McGee and/or RJ Swindle can’t get here fast enough.

THE TELLING: The Rays and Yankees have now been tied atop the East for 7 straight days and 12 days in August…The Rays magic number is now 25 with 31 to go…Matt Moore was named the FSL pitcher of the week…Alex Torres was named the Southern League pitcher of the week.

WHERE THEY STAND: The Rays are now 81-50, tied with the Yankees for first place in the AL East and 7 games ahead of the Red Sox in the Wild Card. After 131 games in 2008, the Rays were 80-51.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • Wade Davis talks about last night’s effort. [The Heater]
  • Did the Red Sox block the Rays from picking up catcher Mike Napoli from the Angels? [NESN]
  • Noah Pransky feels the ugly situation Read the rest of this entry »
Aug 30

Postgame Shot Of Joe: Fun Watching Wade Davis Deal

Uncategorized Joe Rays Fan 4 Comments »

Damn, what a fun game this Rays win was tonight.

The coolest thing about the win? Wade Davis pitched like he did earlier in the year. His seven-inning, six-hit no walk perforance — and quick work no less – really put a smile on Joe’s face as if someone bought him a beer at the Fruitdome.

If Wade Davis can pitch like this the rest of the way, Joe’s pretty confident the Rays can outlast the Yankmees for the division.

How neat was it to see the Rays get an insurance run against Shawn Camp? Was there a more brutal (Devil) Rays closer than Camp? Watching the Jays make a couple of errors behind him following by a Dirtbag sac fly was karma my friends.

Good baserunning. Good power (Carlos Pena again). Good bullpen pitching (again).

This is some sweet baseball folks.

Now if Jeff Niemann can regain his form Tuesday…

Aug 30

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Dan Johnson, Bossman’s Power And Red Sox Roadkill

Attendance, BJ Upton, Carl Crawford, Dan Johnson, Dioner Navarro, James Shields, Jeff Niemann, Xavier Hernandez Cork Gaines 23 Comments »

The GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.

RAYS 5, RED SOX 3

THE GOOD: Red Sox Roadkill. According to CoolStandings.com the Red Sox still have a 6.2% shot at making the playoffs. That’s being generous. In reality, the Red Sox season ended this weekend. Dan Johnson put them on life-support and Carl Crawford and James Shields pulled the plug last night. Even if the Rays go just 16-16 in their final 32, the Red Sox would have to finish 22-9 just to tie. How unlikely is that? The Rays still have 13 games against the Orioles, the Mariners and the Royals. Meanwhile, the Red Sox still have 16 games against the Yankees, White Sox and Rays. Yes, it is safe to say, the Red Sox are roadkill…Dan Johnson. It was shades of 2008. DJ just knows how to raise his game against the Red Sox when the Rays need it more. And now, 3 of his 4 home runs in a Rays uniform have come against the Red Sox. Let’s just hope that he doesn’t turn back into a pumpkin until after next week’s series in Fenway…BJ Upton. He was 0-4 last night, but we didn’t want to go without mentioning his home run from Saturday night which has been overshadowed by Dan Johnson’s big blast. If not for Upton double-clutching and then crushing a Clay Buchholz curveball, Johnson may never get a chance to recreate his role as Red Sox killer. Upton now has 5 home runs in August. That is his biggest single month since October, 2008.

THE BAD: Attendance. There were only 23,438 tickets sold for last night’s game, and there were probably less than 20,000 in The Trop. Of course, much of that can be blamed on ESPN moving the game to 8pm on a school night. The rest can probably be blamed on bandwagon Red Sox fans that have never even been to Boston and have now jumped ship.

THE TELLING: Carl Crawford is just the 8th big leaguer with 100 home runs, 100 triples and 400 steals…Yesterday was James Shields’ 145th career start and 56th career win. Both broke Scott Kazmir’s franchise records…The Charlotte Stone Crabs extended their minor league affiliation with the Rays through the 2012 season…Catcher Nevin Ashley was promoted to Durham.

WHERE THEY STAND: The Rays are 80-50, tied with the Yankees for first place in the AL East. They are 6.5 games ahead of the Red Sox in the wild card (7 in the loss column). After 130 games in 2008, the Rays were 79-51.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • We are traveling today. RI will return a normal schedule tomorrow.
  • Dan Johnson talks about his walk-off home run Saturday Night (Video). [The Heater]
  • Here is video of Dan Johnson getting the shaving pie treatment after is big blast on Saturday night (Video). [Sun Sports]
  • Durham pitching coach Xavier Hernandez will join Houston Baptist University next season as an assistant coach. Hernandez had previously coached at HBU. [Houston Baptist]
  • The Biz of Baseball explains how the Rays are an example of how Read the rest of this entry »
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