Archive for the 'Dioner Navarro' Category

Jan 17

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Shields’ Heiny, More Damon Suitors, And Navi’s New Home

David Price, Dioner Navarro, James Shields, Johnny Damon, Matt Joyce Cork Gaines No Comments »
Click Here For Boxscore
Off-Season (click image for random Wikipedia page)

The Rays 2011 All-Stars, David Price, James Shields, and Matt Joyce, have been named the grand marshalls for the 2012 Gasparilla parade on January 28.

Speaking of Shields…Does anybody in baseball have a more intimidating ass? If we were on first base when Shields went into his stretch, we’d be scared.

Just sayin’.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • The A’s are the latest team to show interest in Johnny Damon. [MLBTR]
  • Dioner Navarro has signed a minor league deal with the Reds.
  • USA Today says the Yankees rotation “not necessarily beast of AL East.” Maybe we are biased, but we think they didn’t need the word “necessarily.” [USA Today]
Aug 27

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss James The Greater, Dirtbag Power, And Jaso’s Bruise

Dioner Navarro, Evan Longoria, James Shields Cork Gaines 12 Comments »
Click Here For Boxscore
Rays 6, Blue Jays 1 (click image for boxscore)

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

THE GOOD: James the Greater. Another start, another complete game. That is 10 on the year and only the second pitcher with 10 complete games since the 2000. Also consider that Shields is working 1.1 more innings per game this year (7.1 ip) compared to last year (6.0 ip) meaning he is on pace to throw about 44 more innings this year. That is 44 fewer innings that the bullpen will be required to throw just because of Shields…Dirtbag Power. Evan Longoria hit 2 more home runs giving him 24 on the year. If he had not missed 27 games in April, Longo would have about 31 home runs. That would be 4th in the AL and only 6 behind the all-powerful Jose Bautista…Flash Power. Desmond Jennings hit another home run giving him 6 in just 32 games. That is already 8th on the team and just 1 behind Kelly Shoppach.

THE BAD: Ben Zobrist. Not the worst night ever, but Zorilla saw 12 pitches in 4 at bats, swung at 6 and hit the ball out of the infield once. And only 2 of the pitches made it past the pitcher.

THE TELLING: File this under something we have never seen. After initially ruling that John Jaso had not been hit by a pitch, the umpire corrected his call after waiting to see if a bruise would form. It did after about a minute…BJ Upton was back in the lineup for the first times since Monday…Jays manager John Farrell missed the game with pneumonia. He could return today.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • BJ Upton was claimed by an unidentified team after being placed on trade waivers. Marc Topkin calls a trade “unlikely.” [The Heater]
  • Reid Brignac talks about his goal of regaining his starting job. [TampaBay.com]
  • Blah, blah, blah. Another fan got tossed from The Trop for Read the rest of this entry »
Jan 18

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Maddon’s Non-Beef, Johnny And Navi’s New Job

Dioner Navarro, Gabe Kapler, Joe Maddon, Rafael Soriano Cork Gaines 10 Comments »

Yesterday, we linked to a report from Bill Madden of the New York Daily News that said among other things, that many in the Rays organization had a problem with Rafael Soriano and referenced a “hissy fit” Soriano allegedly threw during game 5 of the ALDS.

Roger Mooney spoke with Joe Maddon who denies he ever had a problem with Soriano, and says he is unaware of Soriano getting upset during the ALDS.

Of course, we wouldn’t expect JoeMa to say any different, but we also have no reason to think he is lying. So we have a he-said, tabloid-said situation. Who you got?

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • Jon Heyman says the Rays are still in on Johnny Damon. That may be, but we have to believe that he is at-best, their third choice behind Vladimir Guerrero and Manny Ramirez. We will have more on this later, but the Rays have a stronger need for a right-handed bat at this point. [Twitter]
  • Gabe Kapler is close to signing a minor league deal with the Dodgers. [Twitter]
  • It could be worse Read the rest of this entry »
Dec 03

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss The End Of The Navi-Era And Free Agency For Howell And Aybar

Andy Sonnanstine, Dan Johnson, Dioner Navarro, JP Howell, Lance Cormier, Willy Aybar Cork Gaines 8 Comments »

More donuts for the rest of the Rays! We have known for a while that Dioner Navarro would not be back in 2011. But yesterday the door hit him in the ass. There is probably a repair man fixing the door as you read this.

Yesterday was the deadline to tender contracts to players not under contract with less than six years experience. The Rays chose to non-tender Dioner Navarro , JP Howell, Willy Aybar and Lance Cormier. All four are now free agents. The Rays did tender Dan Johnson and Andy Sonnanstine.

While Navarro will not be back, there is a good chance the Rays will re-sign Howell and will try to re-sign Cormier and Aybar.  Howell, Cormier and Aybar were likely non-tendered  because the Rays think they will sign for less than what they would have received through arbitration. In other words, the Rays want those players to take a paycut, something that an arbitrator would not have done.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

Oct 07

The Fat Catcher Has Likely Played His Last Game With The Rays

Dioner Navarro, John Jaso, Kelly Shoppach Cork Gaines 11 Comments »

Yesterday, when we posted the postseason roster, we noted that Dioner Navarro was among those not asked to stay and keep working out with the club in case a player is injured or the team makes changes before the ALCS. Well, it turns out that Navarro was asked to stay. But he apparently has better things to do with his time (via Marc Topkin of the St. Pete Times)…

The Rays wanted Navarro to remain with the team and keep working out so he’d be in shape in case they needed to add him to the roster in the event of injury, or for the next round should they advance…But Navarro, who was sent to the minors for two months and played sparingly after his Sept. 1 recall (10 games, five starts), declined, and seemingly brought his tenure with the Rays to a bad ending. He made $2.1 million this season and will be eligible for arbitration again.

Geez. His own Percivilian moment.

And so, Navarro, who may be Read the rest of this entry »

Sep 23

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Rain Delay Depth, CC’s Big Stage And Navi’s Mental Lapse

BJ Upton, Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, Dioner Navarro, DJ Kitty, Jeremy Hellickson 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: Carl Crawford. While it looked like CC was pressing against the Yankees last week, he finally had a typical all-around great game in a big game. Two hits, including his 16th home run and he stole 2 bases…Rain Delay Depth. With a 2-hour rain delay, both starting pitchers were pulled in the 3rd inning. While the Yankees had to go with a guy who hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2008, the Rays were able to counter with Jeremy Hellickson who gave Joe Maddon 3.1 strong innings. Hellboy did give up 2 runs (1 can be blamed on Navarro, see below) but he also struck out 5 and got 9 swinging strikes of his 54 pitches (16.7%). That is very good. And he showed how dominating his changeup can be by getting 5 swinging strikes on that pitch alone (out of 16 changeups).

THE BAD: Dioner Navarro. Navi is the Rays best defensive catcher. But if he has a fault behind the plate it is that he sometimes falls asleep or gets lazy. In the 6th with the score 3-1 and Derek Jeter on first base, Jeremy Hellickson threw a 58-foot curveball and Navi made a half-arsed attempt to block it. The pitch got away, Jeter advanced to second and would eventually score on a single.

THE TELLING: The Rays magic number to clinch a playoff spot is now 5…Carlos Pena and BJ Upton were not in the lineup…Tonight is David Price versus CC Sabathia, round 2.

WHERE THEY STAND: The Rays are 90-61, 1.5 games behind the Yankees and 6.5 games ahead of the Red Sox. After 151 games in 2008, the Rays were 90-61.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • Don’t forget to check out our “Postgame Shot of Joe” for immediate reaction to that night’s game. [Postgame Shot of Joe]
  • Jeremy Hellickson talks about his rain delay relief work (Video). [The Heater]
  • Joe Maddon said BJ Upton needed some rest and Carlos Pena needed to “try to rearrange how he’s thinking.” [St. Pete Times]
  • John Romano wonders if Carlos Pena’s spot on the bench will become more permanent. [St. Pete Times]
  • The Wall Street Journal on “DJ Kitty”: “You’re so much better than this, Rays”. We couldn’t agree more. Is DJ Kitty cute? Sure. Does DJ Kitty want us to get loud and rally the Rays to victory? Um, no. Now, maybe if it was “DJ Doberman” or even “DJ Jonny Gomes” we might get excited. But not for a kitty. Even the Rally Monkey is laughing at the Rays. [Wall Street Journal]
  • The sheriff’s deputy we told you about Read the rest of this entry »
Sep 03

What Will Rays Do With Their 3-Headed Catcher In 2011?

Dioner Navarro, John Jaso, Kelly Shoppach Cork Gaines 13 Comments »

With the return of Dioner Navarro this week, the Rays now have an interesting dilemma this off-season. When Navi was demoted back in June, we just assumed that he would be non-tendered during the off-season, essentially releasing him. It appeared that the Rays had chosen Kelly Shoppach’s bat over Navi’s defense and familiarity with the pitching staff. And with the inconsistency of the Rays offense, the Rays were willing to take a step backwards defensively at the catcher’s position.

But then something happened. Actually, we should say something didn’t happen. Shoppach never started hitting. In 146 plate appearances, Shoppach is hitting .189 with 3 home runs (2 in one game), a .306 OBP and a .288 wOBA (that sucks).

So what will the Rays do?

Of the three catchers, Shoppach is the only one the Rays are committed to for the 2011 season, to the tune of $3.0 million. Navarro is arbitration-eligible and would make $2.5-3.0 million. If they non-tender him, they owe him nothing. John Jaso would make near the big league minimum of $400K.

You have to assume they will Read the rest of this entry »

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 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 »
Jul 27

Why The Rays Need Dioner Navarro Back Right Now!

Dioner Navarro, Evan Longoria Cork Gaines 5 Comments »

The image at right is from after last night’s no-hitter, in which Evan Longoria gave Matt Garza the ceremonial shaving cream pie-to-the-face. And this morning we read this (via Big League Stew)…

We are through the looking glass on these postgame celebrations, people. We have our first injury caused by someone giving a shaving-cream pie to the face.
Florida Marlins outfielder Chris Coghlan tore the meniscus in his left knee, and is headed for the disabled list after he face-pied teammate Wes Helms during a TV interview Sunday.

By the Beard of Zeus! We just had a heart attack in our butt.

The Rays want to keep doing the shaving pie tradition? Fine. But good lord, can we at least assign it to Willy Aybar or maybe Lance Cormier?

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