Archive for the 'Ben Zobrist' Category

Aug 08

Postgame Shot Of Joe: Derek Shelton Is Lousy

Andrew Friedman, Andy Sonnanstine, BJ Upton, Ben Zobrist, Carlos Pena, Derek Shelton, Jason Bartlett, Uncategorized Joe Rays Fan 27 Comments »

Well, thanks to Dirtbag, the Rays avoided being no-hit by Bob Gibson Sunday.

Oh, that wasn’t Bob Gibson? Morrow is the guy’s name? Wow, Joe never knew Ken Morrow could pitch. Dude was a helluva hockey player for the Islanders. Guess a great athlete can also be a good player at another sport… wait, it’s not Ken Morrow?

Brandon Morrow you say? The man with the vaunted ERA pushing 5.00? Really? This is the guy who tossed 17 strikeouts against the Rays today? Really?

This is getting to be absurd. The Rays lead the American League in strikeouts with 864. Joe knows you can’t do this in early August with a team that, if the season ended today, would win the American League wild card, but how can Rays hitting instructor Derek Shelton sleep at night?

Under the watchful tutelage of Shelton, the Rays have been no-hit twice this year and came a whisker away today from setting a modern baseball record for being no-hit three times in a season (and there’s a plenty of time for that mark to be reached this season).

Gary Shelton of the St. Petersburg Times could do just as well as a hitting instructor. Rays color analyst Brian Anderson had a telling piece of information in the ninth inning on Sun Sports when he remarked it was the first time he saw the Rays adjust to Morrow’s slider all game long.

In the ninth inning no less!

Please feel free to detail veteran players who have improved their hitting this year with Shelton guiding them? Has he helped B.J. Upton? Has he helped Carlos Pena? Has he helped Ben Zobrist? Has he helped Jason Bartlett?

The answers are no, no, no and hell no.

Yet another wonderful pitching performance pissed away, just like Friday night. Joe raises his glass for Andy Sonnanstine. Well done son, well done. Too bad your team has a joke of a hitting instructor and your fine performance was wasted.

Yes, it’s too late to run Shelton now. Going into the stretch run of the season with a new hitting instructor could do more harm than good. Besides, the Rays still have the second-best record in baseball despite Shelton which explains just how wonderful the Rays pitching truly is.

If Joe were Andrew Friedman, the minute the final out of the season is recorded, Shelton should be told to pack his bags and be given a one-way ticket out of town.

Aug 03

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Matt Joyce, Sonny’s DL Stint And One Hellish Debut

Andy Sonnanstine, Ben Zobrist, Jeremy Hellickson, Jim Hickey Cork Gaines 8 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:Jeremy Hellickson. Hellboy was everything a Rays fan could have hoped for. 7 innings, only 3 hits and 2 runs. 6 Ks and only 2 walks. He threw 107 pitches and got 14 swinging strikes. Six of those on his changeup. His fastball reached 93 and he threw 14 of his 17 curveballs for strikes. His fourth pitch, the slider, was thrown only 2 times. All-in-all, a great debut…Matt Joyce. In his last 13 starts, Joyce is 13-42 with 5 doubles, 4 home runs and he drove in 15. And his 2-run double in the 5th last night gave the Rays a 4-1 lead that they wouldn’t relinquish…BJ Upton. Bossman had 2 singles and a double. He also added 3 stolen bases giving him 7 total bases for the game.

THE BAD: Aggressive Running. This is not that bad, because we love the aggressive baserunning. But if the Rays are going to be aggressive, sometimes it will cost them outs. Last night, both Matt Joyce and Jason Bartlett were thrown out trying to steal. Joyce’s killed a rally in the 2nd and Bartlett’s kept the 5th inning from being even bigger.

THE TELLING: The Rays have now won 8 of 9… Ben Zobrist expects to be able to pinch-hit tonight and return to the lineup tomorrow…To clarify our comments yesterday, Andy Sonnanstine must spend at least 5 days on the DL (max 10 days backdating). If he had been demoted, he would be required to spend at least 10 days in the minors…More evidence that Matt Joyce is Carlos Pena-lite: Joyce has 14 extra-base hits and just 7 singles…If the Rays go just 29-28 in the final 57 games, the Red Sox would still have to go 35-21 just to tie.

WHERE THEY STAND: The Rays are 66-39, tied for first place in the AL East and 6.5 games ahead of the Red Sox in the Wild Card. After 105 games in 2008, the Rays were 61-44.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

Aug 02

Dan Johnson Could Be With Rays Tomorrow

Ben Zobrist, Carlos Pena, Dan Johnson, Jeremy Hellickson Cork Gaines 20 Comments »

Dan Johnson, who leads the International League with 30 home runs, 95 RBI, a .430 OBP and a 1.053 OPS could be up with the Rays as early as tomorrow. With both Ben Zobrist and Carlos Pena ailing, Joe Maddon says the team could place one on the DL rather than proceed this week with a short bench…

“You have to make up (your mind) whether you want to take the chance of putting them on (the DL) and them being ready in two or three days or you don’t put them on and play short,” Maddon said. “It’s a real box you’re in right there. It’s not clear, and it’s not an easy call.”

Joe Smith goes on to report that both Zobrist and Pena were feeling better yesterday with Zobrist expecting to be ready no later than Thursday.

So who is more likely to hit the DL? On the one hand Read the rest of this entry »

Jul 30

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss ARod’s 600th, King David’s 14th And Aki’s Trip To The Hospital

Akinori Iwamura, BJ Upton, Ben Zobrist, Gabe Kapler, Matt Joyce Cork Gaines 9 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: Gold Glove First Baseman. 3 of the Rays 4 runs scored on hits by Carlos Pena that went off the glove of Miguel Cabrera. Not only did Pena drive in those 3 runs, but he would have prevented them if he were in the field. Even when struggling at the plate, Pena is still a valuable commodity…Brennan Boesch. For the third time in this series, Joe Maddon walked Miguel Cabrera with runners on 1st and 2nd and 2 outs. And for the 3rd time, the Rays got Boesch out…Choate And Wheeler. Rafael Soriano and Joaquin Benoit were unavailable and Randy Choate and Dan Wheeler stepped up when Joe Maddon needed them most, getting the final 8 outs allowing just 1 baserunner…David Price. King David matched the franchise record with his 14th win. And he still has 12-14 starts left. We might be looking at the Rays first-ever 20-games winner.  We might also be looking at the Rays first Cy Young Award winner…Early To Bed. Well, we hope the Rays were in bed early. As for the Yankees, they likely didn’t arrive in Tampa until about 3am.

THE BAD: 599. The hype may not be as bad as it could be, but Alex Rodriguez is still stuck on 599 home runs. And as one commenter pointed out earlier, the three starters in the series for the Rays have a habit of giving up home runs as all 3 are in the 10 in the AL.

THE TELLING: All 3 games versus the Yankees are sold out. This is the first time in the history of the Rays that they have sold out 3 straight games…Gabe Kapler started in center field even though a right-hander was on the mound, thanks to a lack of any other options.

WHERE THEY STAND: The Rays are 63-38, 2 games behind the Yankees and 5.5 games ahead of the Red Sox (6 in the loss column). After 101 games in 2008, the Rays were 59-42.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • David Price talks about tying the club record for wins. [The Heater]
  • It is still unclear if Ben Zobrist or BJ Upton will play tonight. [Tampa Tribune]
  • Aki Iwamura suffered a concussion and was hospitalized after a collision on the basepaths during a triple-A game. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]
  • Rays Prospects makes the case for three minor leaguers that deserve a promotion. They won’t get any arguments from us. [Rays Prospects]
  • He might not have as much power, but looking at these numbers, we see Matt Joyce as an outfield version of Carlos Pena. And that means it is a good thing he ended up with the Rays at a young age, because he might have bounced around several organizations before somebody realized his potential. [DRays Bay]
  • Joe Maddon blames Read the rest of this entry »
Jul 29

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Maddonology, Return Of The Bats And Zorilla’s Back

Adam Dunn, BJ Upton, Ben Zobrist, Desmond Jennings, Rafael Soriano, Seth McClung Cork Gaines 8 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: Maddonology. For the second straight night, Joe Maddon walked Miguel Cabrera with runners on 1st and 2nd to put the tying run on third base. And once again, Grant Balfour came up huge. This time inducing a flyball to end the inning…Offensive Rebound. Still a little shaky, but every Rays hitter that came to the plate got at least one hit. Evan Longoria led the way with 3 hits, including a 2-run home run in the 8th that gave the Rays a little breathing room…Carlos Pena. In the 1st, the Tigers shifted against Pena allowing the runner on second to take third unchallenged. But in 3rd inning, with Carl Crawford on second, the Tigers did not shift against Pena and he delivered a basehit between first and second to score Crawford.

THE BAD: Abusing Soriano? After 42 pitches the past 2 nights, it is hard to believe he will be available for the noon start today. Which of course raises the question of whether Joe Maddon could have used somebody else in the 9th with a 3-run lead…Emo Squeeze Fail. Joe Maddon’s “safety squeeze” is not your typical safety squeeze and it bit the Rays in the ass last night. Willy Aybar was thrown out at home on Jason Bartlett’s squeeze attempt. JoeMa loves overly aggressive baserunning and last night it cost the Rays.

THE TELLING: Ben Zobrist was removed from the game with a lower back strain (apparently from carrying Gabe Kapler all season) and will not play today…BJ Upton hopes to return Friday. Joe Maddon says Saturday or Sunday but that he could pinch-hit before then…The Rays at 62-38 are 24 games above .500. Even if they only play .500 the rest of the way, they will finish 93-69. If they go 33-29, they will finish 95-67. In the Wild Card ERA, no AL team has ever won 95 games and failed to make the playoffs…Evan Longoria’s single in the 4th snapped an 0-19 skid…Rafael Soriano’s 28th save is a career-high…Fewer than 1,000 tickets remain for each of this weekend’s games against the Yankees.

WHERE THEY STAND: The Rays are 62-38, 2 games behind the Yankees and 5 games ahead of the Red Sox. After 100 games in 2008, the Rays were 59-41.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria have a laugh about Longo robbing CC of his 400th stolen base, twice (Video). [Bright House Sports]
  • Ben Zobrist discusses his back injury (Video). [Tampa Tribune]
  • Jon Heyman says the Rays are still a possibility to land Adam Dunn. Obviously Matt Garza was a ridiculous request, but what about Wade Davis? Keep in mind that Dunn will fetch 2 draft picks after the season. [Twitter]
  • However, Joel Sherman says the Rays are concerned about Adam Dunn’s potential transition to DH. [Twitter]
  • Desmond Jennings has switched Read the rest of this entry »
Jul 06

Bigger Rays All-Star Snub: Soriano Or Zobrist?

Ben Zobrist, Rafael Soriano, Ty Wigginton Cork Gaines 7 Comments »

Since it was announced that Evan Longoria, Carl Crawford and David Price would represent the Rays in the 2010 All-Star game next week, many have cited Rafael Soriano as one of the bigger snubs in the American League.

It is hard to argue with his 21 saves (in 22 opportunities, with his 1 blown save coming on an error) and his 1.47 ERA (2.75 FIP). Statistically, Soriano has been worth about 1 win (0.9 WAR), but it would be easy to argue that he has been worth more than that.

Still, we wonder if Ben Zobrist is even more deserving of an all-star nod.

Yesterday, Jayson Stark mentioned on Twitter why the all-star managers chose Omar Infante for the NL squad and Ty Wigginton for the American League. Both are considered controversial choices… Read the rest of this entry »

Jul 02

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss A Fun Win, Former Rays And BJ On The Bench Again

BJ Upton, Ben Zobrist, Delmon Young, Elijah Dukes, Pat Burrell Cork Gaines 22 Comments »

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

Rays 5, Twins 4

THE GOOD: Late Rallies. There is nothing more fun than a late rally in baseball. And thanks to a game-tying double by Evan Longoria in the 9th that scored Carl Crawford all the way from first and a go-ahead single by Willy Aybar in the 10th, the Rays won their first-ever game in Target Field…Most of the Bullpen. Randy Choate might be in the midst of one of his epic meltdown phases. But the rest of the ‘pen was strong, throwing 3 perfect innings and keeping the Rays in the game.

THE BAD: Former Rays. What is it about former Rays that elevate their game to new heights against Tampa Bay? We have seen it in previous years from players like Aubrey Huff, whose career has been lengthened by a few years just based on his numbers versus the Rays. But this year has seen an all-new level. There was Edwin Jackson’s no-hitter. And last night it was Delmon Young suddenly thinking he is a power-hitter with a game-tying home run in the 7th. He also threw out a runner at home to end an inning and added an RBI single. Delmon had moments with the Rays, but we don’t ever remember complete games.

THE TELLING: The Rays have now won 2 in a row for the first time since June 8 and 9 versus the Blue Jays…BJ Upton did not start for the 3rd straight game again citing a sore leg muscle. Ben Zobrist once again ledofff and played center.

WHERE THEY STAND: The Rays are 46-32, 2 games behind the Yankees and a half-game behind the Red Sox in the Wild Card. After 78 games in 2008, the Rays were 47-31.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • Carl Crawford compares this win to how the Rays were playing earlier in the year (VIDEO). [The Heater]
  • The Rays rank 6th (out of 144 professional franchises) in ESPN the Magazine’s “Ultimate Standings.” The rankings consider several factors including “Bang for the Buck” which has the Rays ranked second overall. Interestingly, the Rays rank only 106th in “Stadium Experience” and 58th in “Ownership” a category described as “honesty and loyalty to core players and local community.” [ESPN]
  • Here is a fun video of Pat Burrell playing “defense” (h/t Jason Collette). [MLB]
  • Elijah Dukes has signed with the Independent Atlantic League’s Newark Bears. [MLB Trade Rumors]
  • Pop Life has a list of songs to describe BJ Upton. Our fave? Jay-Z’s “99 Problems.” [Pop Life]
  • A young lady pissed on the hallowed grounds of Fenway Park Wednesday night During the Rays game. Since then, the Rays have won two in a row. Coincidence? (thanks Rob). [Deadspin]

DOWN ON THE FARM…

  • Check out Rays Prospects for boxscores and more detailed recaps. [Rays Prospects]
  • DURHAM: Carlos Hernandez didn’t give up a run, but was pulled after 4.2 innings with 99 pitches having allowed 5 hits and 2 walks. He struck out 6…Fernando Perez went 2-4 with his 19th stolen base…Dioner Navarro hit his first home run since being demote…Angel Chavez (6) and Justin Ruggiano (7) also homered…Desmond Jennings did not start but was used as a late-inning defensive replacement.
  • MONTGOMERY: Jake McGee looked strong again, throwing 5 shutout innings, striking out 8 and walking 3. He gave up just 3 hits…In game 2, Alex Cobb pitched 5.1 scoreless innings with 5 Ks, giving up just 2 hits. He now has a 1.67 ERA in 10 starts…Matt Sweeney was 0-5 with 2 strikeouts in the double-header and is now hitting .203.
  • CHARLOTTE: Shane Dyer gave up 4 runs in 6.1 innings. He struck out 4 and walked 2…Tim Beckham went 1-4 with a strikeout.
  • BOWLING GREEN: Kyle Lobstein dropped to 5-4 after getting pounded for 6 runs in 5 innings on 7 hits and 4 walks…Chris Murrill went 2-5.
  • HUDSON VALLEY: Miguel Sierra made his 3rd start and gave up 2 runs in 5 innings. He struck out 3…Jacob Thompson, the Rays 2nd round pick this year, made his professional debut. He pitched 2 scoreless innings of relief, striking out 2 and allowing just one hit.
  • PRINCETON: Jacob Partridge gave up 2 runs in 5.1 innings.
Jul 01

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Zorilla In Center, Garza’s Strong Start And The Return Of Big Innings

BJ Upton, Ben Zobrist, Carl Crawford Cork Gaines 27 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 9, Red Sox 4

THE GOOD: Big Innings. One feature of the Rays early in the season when they were winning everyday was the consistency of big innings and last night they had two of them. During this recent stretch of poor play, the Rays have continued to draw walks. Getting on base is great. But the walks are wasted if they aren’t followed by a string of hits and last night the Rays were able to string together hits for what seemed like the first time in a long time…Ben Zobrist. Zorilla is no center fielder, so let’s not use him as evidence for getting rid of BJ Upton. But in Upton’s absence last night, Zobrist got on base twice as the leadoff hitter, stole a base and even played some solid defense…Matt Garza. He had 104 pitches after 7, so it was a little surprising to see him come out to start the 8th. If we ignore those 2 batters, Garza held the Sox to 1 run on 4 hits and 2 walks in 7 strong innings. He is now 9-5 with a 4.08 ERA on the year.

THE BAD: Zero Confidence. That’s what we have in Randy Choate right now. The Rays lone bad moment last night came when Joe Maddon left Matt Garza in to start the 8th and then brought Choate in to face David Ortiz who promptly hit a 2-run double.

THE TELLING: Jason Bartlett’s home run was his first non-solo home run since 2006, snapping a stretch of 21 straight 1-run home runs.

WHERE THEY STAND: The Rays are 45-32, 2 games behind the Yankees and 1 game behind the Wild Card leading Red Sox. After 77 games in 2008, the Rays were 46-31.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA… Read the rest of this entry »

Jun 30

Upton Not In Lineup Again, But Still Not Benched

BJ Upton, Ben Zobrist Cork Gaines 8 Comments »

[Update] Oh, it gets better…Joe Maddon says BJ Upton has a sore quad that he suffered last night. Yes, that’s right. Upton will not start tonight because he ran too hard last night.

[5:08pm] Via Joe Smith’s Twitter page, we learn that Ben Zobrist will once again play center field and will also be leading off. The only explanation that we can fathom is the ol’ day-after-a-non-benching-day-after-an-off-day extra rest.

Tonight’s full lineup…

  1. Zobrist cf
  2. Crawford lf
  3. Longoria 3b
  4. Pena 1b
  5. Joyce rf
  6. Jaso dh
  7. Rodriguez 2b
  8. Shoppach c
  9. Bartlett SS
Jun 29

Starting in CF Tonight? Mr. Ben Zobrist (Not BJ Upton)

BJ Upton, Ben Zobrist, Joe Maddon Cork Gaines 17 Comments »

[Update] Roger Mooney reports that Joe Maddon insists Upton is not being benched:  

Decision not to start him based on a number of things, including getting 2 days off

Utterly hopeless. Utterly f****** hopeless.

[5:22pm] BJ Upton is not in tonight’s lineup, one game after lollygagging in the field, loafing a throw, losing his sh*t in the dugout, getting picked off first base and failing to fetch the proper postgame bottle of wine for Joe Maddon*.

When asked why Upton was not in the lineup, Maddon apparently felt he did not owe anybody an explanation (via Tom Caron)…

“I chose not to have him in the lineup. No underlying reason.”

So JoeMa apparently wants to ignore the Navarro in the room and pretend like tonight is just a scheduled day of rest for Bossman.

Typical Rays. They like to keep things close to the vest and feel the fans only need to know what the Rays want us to know.

*that last one might not have happened

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