Jun 08
Time to bring back 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: Joe Nelson. Nelson looks to have emerged from his mini-funk and has pitched much better of late, throwing 2 scoreless on Sunday.
THE BAD: Matt Garza. He only allowed 1 run, but it took him 96 pitches to get through 5 innings forcing Joe Maddon to go to the bullpen in the 6th. And it could have been worse. He walked the 8 and 9 hitters to lead off the 5th but got out of it without allowing a run…Grant Balfour. 2 more earned runs for Balfour and his ERA is now 6.31. Balfour was the one reliever whose high innings count last season had us worried…Willy Aybar. Brutal. Just brutal defense the past two days…JP Howell. Before yesterday, Howell was the one dependable arm in the bullpen but his control (and maybe the umpire’s strike zone) eluded him on Sunday…Reid Brignac. It may not have seemed that big at the time, but what the heck happened to Brignac when he was trying to steal in the 7th with the Rays up 3-1? He was out by 20 feet.
THE TELLING: The Rays lead the AL with 244 walks by their hitters. But yesterday they managed only 1 walk against a starting pitcher who entered the game averaging 4.6 walks per 9 innings…Evan Longoria was once again not in the lineup. We are all for being careful, but it seems that EVERY player that has missed time this season has been out longer than was originally planned. Remember when Jason Bartlett wasn’t even supposed to go on the DL? Or when Pat Burrell was day-to-day?
SUNBURST PLAYER OF THE GAME: Gabe Gross
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- No surprise here, but Marc Topkin finally confirmed what we already knew. The Twitter account, @evanlongoria is a fake. [St. Pete Times]
- Joe Maddon has altered the rotation a bit, moving James Shields up a day (will pitch Tuesday) so that he can pitch his next two starts at home and to give Jeff Niemann an extra day of rest. [St. Pete Times]
- No doubt about it, Evan Longoria is having a great season. But one reason that he is tied for the MLB lead in RBI is that he has had more opportunities than anybody else. Longoria has come to the plate this season 231 times. In those plate appearances he has had 114 runners in scoring position, the most in baseball. Only one other player has more than 105, Andre Ethier of the Dodgers (111). By comparison, the co-leader in RBI, Jason Bay has had 92 runners on second and/or third.
- Would you be susprised to learn that Evan Longoria does not lead the Rays in VORP? Jason Bartlett has a 31.8 VORP, good for second in the AL (Joe Mauer 37.1), and ahead of Longo’s 29.8.
- Tyler Hissey is still alive in “BP Idol” and his latest is about Desmond Jennings. [Baseball Prospectus] Brittany Ghiroli is also still competing for the title. [Baseball Prospectus]
- Will Ferrell was heckling Joe Maddon on Saturday, but apparently Dave Martinez said “earmuffs” first. [Rays Report]
May 07
We have been providing snippets of the statlines for Matt Joyce and Desmond Jennings in the morning “Down the Farm” report. But let’s draw them out a little more. And in the comments, let’s hear what you think the Rays should do with these prospects.
Notes on the stats after the table…
Notes on Joyce and Jennings
- The biggest question mark for Joyce heading into the season was whether he was ready to handle lefties on a regular basis. Certainly it is a small sample size, but you have to like what you see so far. And many of the at bats against lefties have been late-inning relievers brought in to specifically face Joyce. That is exactly the type of situation you hope that Joyce can handle once he is promoted.
- Overall, Joyce is smoking the ball to the tune of a 32.1% line drive rate (20.0% is very good). Certainly the Rays have to feel that Joyce is pretty much ready right now. The only question is how do they make room for him on the roster. Either Gabe Gross or Gabe Kapler will have to be traded or released. Kapler’s salary would be easier to swallow, but he offers more positional flexibility off the bench.
- As for Jennings…we always said we needed to see him do it above the single-A level. He has not disappointed and we are officially sold. There is nothing not to like. Strong numbers across the board against lefties and righties. The only knock might be that his numbers against lefties might be a little bloated with a .609 BABIP. Based on his LD% that should be closer to .350. Either way, we have seen players promoted to the majors from double-A with less impressive stats.
- What this ultimately presents is a very interesting situation for the Rays next spring. Carl Crawford has a $10 million team option. BJ Upton is the center fielder. That leaves Joyce, Jennings and Fernando Perez possibly all looking for a big league job.
Apr 30
Akinori Iwamura, Alex Cobb, Andy Sonnanstine, Carl Crawford, Chad Bradford, Chad Orvella, Dan Wheeler, Emeel Salem, Gabe Gross, Gabe Kapler, Jason Bartlett, Jeff Niemann, Justin Ruggiano, Mitch Talbot, Reid Brignac, Shawn O'Malley, Shawn Riggans, Willy Aybar Cork Gaines
Welcome to the 1st Annual Tampa Bay Rays Trade Pool where we determine who is the best at predicting which members of the Rays organization will be traded this season (this contest is based loosely on the “Dead Pool“).
We have invited all members of the Tampa Bay Rays Blogosphere as as well as a couple of outside bloggers.
The Rules:
- Each blogger submitted a list of 5 players they believe have the greatest chance to be traded this season. All players in the organization are eligible.
- The bloggers ranked those 5 players, giving the highest rank (#1) to the player they think is most likely to be traded.
- If one of the players they chose is traded prior to the end of the season, that blogger will receive points based on where the blogger ranked the player. If Aki Iwamura is traded and a blogger has Aki ranked first, they will receive 5 points. If they have Aki ranked second, they will receive 4 points and so on.
- The blogger with the most points at the end of the season wins.
- We also want YOUR lists in the comments. Let’s see if you guys can beat the experts. And by “experts” we of course mean 11 people with too much free time on their hands.
Notes on the rankings can be found after the tables…
Notes on the rankings
- We have invited the individual bloggers to provide comments on their individual rankings in either the comments section here or on their own blogs. We will provide those links as they happen.
- The difficulty in these rankings is predicting whether the Rays will be “buyers” or “sellers” this season. If they are in the playoff hunt, they are more likely to trade prospects. If they fall off the pace they are more likely to try and move expensive veterans.
- Below we gave each player an MVP-style point total. That is, every time a player was given a rank of 1, we gave them 5 points. Every time a player was ranked 2nd, we gave them 4 points, and so on. This gives us a sense of which players the Blogosphere thinks is most likely to be traded.
- As we can see, Reid Brignac and Chad Bradford lead the way with the most first-place rankings (3), but Gabe Gross leads the way with 24 points total and is deemed the most likely to be traded by the group as a whole.
- Gabe Gross appeared on the most lists (7).
- 10 different players appeared on more than one list.
Thanks to all who chose to participate including…
Also, you might be asking “What does the winner receive?” We have no idea. Any suggestions?
Apr 15
Time to bring back 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: No no-no. Well there is that…Matt Garza. After the first 3 batters reached base, The Garza Complex settled down and retired 17 of the next 19 batters.
THE BAD: Strikeouts-to-walks. As in the Rays struck out 12 times and walked only once. BJ Upton, Evan Longoria and Dioner Navarro combined to go 1-11 with 9 Ks. Ouch. That’s embarrassing just typing it. And let’s not forget Pat Burrell. Sure his sac fly in the 7th tied the game, but with first and third with no outs and a 3-0 count, Burrell needs to do better with a 3-0 pitch than a lazy flyball…An almost no-no. No hits until the 7th inning for a team that had 46 kazillion in the two previous games. And on the night they received their AL championship rings. The Yankees needed a strong performance from their starting pitcher and the Rays gave it to them.
THE TELLING: Last night during the broadcast, when asked which fielder he would turn to if needed to pitch an inning, Joe Maddon answered Willy Aybar. Strange (Thanks Brian)…Last night’s game was the Rays 12th straight sell out, a streak that will end today.
SUNBURST PLAYER OF THE GAME: Matt Garza. Giving up 2 runs in 7 innings is not the best night ever, but against the Yankees it is pretty darned good, and it is not like the offense did anything last night.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Evan Longoria is going to miss the next 2 games to be back in California for a family matter. So adjust you Sunburst PoG predictions accordingly. [MLB]
- Thanks to those that reminded us that the Scott Kazmir countdown in the sidebar was behind the times. It is now updated and Kid K stands one win short of his first milestone.
- Rays the Stakes wants to know why we have to put up with Jason Isringhausen’s mouth. [Rays the Stakes]
- Joe Maddon said Ben Zobrist has earned his share of playing time in right field. Maddon would not say that Zobrist is taking Gabe Gross’ job…Does tham mean that right field is now a triploon? [St. Pete Times]
- The Rays received their AL championship rings last night. [St. Pete Times]
- Gary Shelton writes about how Matt Garza could have easily imploded in the first inning, but his new sense of self-control kept him and the team in the game. [St. Pete Times]
- Gabe Kapler struck out against Nick Swisher. Somehow he found a silver lining. He can now answer the question: What is your most embarrassing moment? [The Heater]
- Some small business owners near the Trop are not at all happy about the Rays new found success. [St. Pete Times]
Apr 13
As expected, Matt Joyce was demoted to Durham following yesterday’s game to make room for the return of BJ Upton. Upton will start in center field for tonight’s home opener and bat lead off. And based on his 7 steal attempts in his 3 rehab starts, our guess is Upton is going to be running early, and often.
And buried at the bottom of Marc Topkin’s piece, Joe Maddon may be considering another lineup change.
Maddon is deciding between Ben Zobrist and Gabe Gross to start in right tonight
This suggests that Maddon is considering a change in which Zobrist becomes at least the left-handed half of a right field platoon, permanently replacing Gross. Last season, Zobrist was a better hitter against lefties (.269BA/.356OBP v LHP, .242/.328 v RHP) but showed more power against righties (.542 SLG v RHP, .449 SLG v LHP).
If Zobrist does replace Gross in right field, one has to wonder if Gross would soon be on the way out. Gross is not the kind of player Maddon likes to have on his bench. Maddon prefers players with positional flexibility and that is not Gabe Gross.
If Zobrist does replace Gross, the next logical step would seem to be Adam Kennedy replacing Gross on the roster and assuming the role of backup middle infielder.
As expected, Joyce sent to Durham [Rays Report]
Excitement for Tampa Bay Rays’ celebration grows [St. Pete Times]
Jan 18
BJ Upton hopes to be in the opening day lineup in Boston, but cautions that he may not join the team until they return home from their roadtrip a week later. Upton has been warned that the potentially cold weather in Boston and Baltimore opening week may cause his surgically repaired shoulder to ache.
We also learn from Bill Chastain that Upton brought along his dog, Deuce, to his workout at Tropicana Field yesterday. Deuce is a Rhodesian Ridgeback. No word on whether Deuce took a deuce in the outfield or whether Justin Ruggiano would have been required to clean it up.
Upton may miss Opening Day [MLB]
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- The Rays signed Gabe Gross to a one-year deal avoiding arbitration. The deal is for $1.255 million…We had projected Gross at $1.3 million. [The Heater]
- Kevin Gengler will be joining Tyler Hissey today at 1pm on the latest installment of the “Rays Digest Podcast”. The show can be downloaded later. [Rays Digest]
- Several Rays comment on the recent signing of Pat Burrell. [Tampa Tribune]
- Scott Kazmir has employed a new off-season training program and has added nearly 20 pounds of muscle as a result…It will be interesting to see if Kid K now looks older than 12, and whether we should change his nickname to “Beef K”…In the same piece we learn that the new alternate jersey will debut at home on May 1. [St. Pete Times]
- Tampa Bay Sports Blog wonders why the Rays ended up with Gabe Kapler over Rocco Baldelli. [Tampa Bay Sports Blog]
- Several owners have jumped on the “Salary Cap” bandwagon. [Yahoo! Sports]
Jan 15
BJ Upton hopes to be in the opening day lineup in Boston, but cautions that he may not join the team until they return home from their roadtrip a week later. Upton has been warned that the potentially cold weather in Boston and Baltimore opening week may cause his surgically repaired shoulder to ache.
We also learn from Bill Chastain that Upton brought along his dog, Deuce, to his workout at Tropicana Field yesterday. Deuce is a Rhodesian Ridgeback. No word on whether Deuce took a deuce in the outfield or whether Justin Ruggiano would have been required to clean it up.
Upton may miss Opening Day [MLB]
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- The Rays signed Gabe Gross to a one-year deal avoiding arbitration. The deal is for $1.255 million…We had projected Gross at $1.3 million. [The Heater]
- Kevin Gengler will be joining Tyler Hissey today at 1pm on the latest installment of the “Rays Digest Podcast”. The show can be downloaded later. [Rays Digest]
- Several Rays comment on the recent signing of Pat Burrell. [Tampa Tribune]
- Scott Kazmir has employed a new off-season training program and has added nearly 20 pounds of muscle as a result…It will be interesting to see if Kid K now looks older than 12, and whether we should change his nickname to “Beef K”…In the same piece we learn that the new alternate jersey will debut at home on May 1. [St. Pete Times]
- Tampa Bay Sports Blog wonders why the Rays ended up with Gabe Kapler over Rocco Baldelli. [Tampa Bay Sports Blog]
- Several owners have jumped on the “Salary Cap” bandwagon. [Yahoo! Sports]
Jan 12
Marc Topkin is reporting that the Rays have signed Gabe Kapler to a one-year, $1 million deal. The same Gabe Kapler who is the only player in major league history to tear his Achilles Heal while running the bases after a teammate’s home run.
Right field is now going to be All Gabe, All the Time. Kapler, who had a 1.001 OPS against lefties in 2008 (87 PA), will likely join Gabe Gross to form the all-Gabe right field platoon. This signing could also be a sign of a new religious diversity initiative by the Rays as Kapler, who is Jewish, will be partnering with Gross, who is a devout Christian.
Last season, Rays right fielders posted a combined .809 OPS, which is not terrible, but as a run-producing position, that only ranked 10th in the American League. The addition of Kapler should help push the Rays up closer to league average.
With the Gabes in right field, both Fernando Perez and Matt Joyce will now likely begin the season in triple-A, with the final three bench spots going to Shawn Riggans, Willy Aybar and Ben Zobrist.
The Rays now project to have 16 players with a salary of at least $1 million in 2009.
No word yet on who is being dropped from the 40-man roster to make room for Kapler. The leading candidate is JK Ryu.
Rays sign Kapler [The Heater]
The 15-Minute Home Run Trot [Deadspin]
Jan 10
The Rays claimed Dewon Day off of waivers from the Red Sox. Day, 28, is a right-handed pitcher that split time between double-A and triple-A in the White Sox organization in 2008. He posted an ERA of 4.56 at triple-A despite 25 strike outs and only 6 walks in 23.2 innings.
Day was added to the 40-man roster, taking the last available spot. He does have minor league options remaining.
Rays claim Day from Red Sox [Rays Report]
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
“Yeah, ‘The Mad Australian’. They call me that [in the U.S.] because I get pretty fired up sometimes,” Balfour admits. “It’s pretty full-on and intense during the season and I am just out there competing as hard as I can every pitch.”
- Former New York Times columnist Murray Chass says there is good reason to group JC Romero with members of the Black Sox scandal. [Murray Chass...On Baseball]
- Not sure how much of this is the new Spring Training home and how much is due to the Rays successful 2008 season, but tickets for Rays Spring Training games are selling fast. [Herald-Tribune]
- Rocco Baldelli reflects on what it means to him to move from the Rays to the Red Sox. [Tampa Tribune]
“I think it’s beginning to sink in,” he said. “In a way, it’s sad because, obviously I’m from Rhode Island, but I also consider St. Pete my home. One way or another, the last nine years of my life have been spent mostly down there. I have a lot of good friends there, a lot of people who I’m going to miss. It’s a great place. I loved my time there and I’ll cherish it always.”
- In her own special way, Her Rays went through all the stages of depression after Rocco Baldelli signed with the Rays. She was even willing to give the Red Sox John Gruden if they would have let the Rays keep Rocco…That doesn’t seem very fair for the people of New England. [Her Rays]
- The other major leaguer from Rhode Island, Dan Wheeler, was named the New England Player of the Year. [Providence Journal]
- Marc Lancaster says the Rays will likely head into 2009 with a platoon in right field with Matt Joyce in the minor leagues…It just seems to us, that as long as Gabe Gross is on the team, Joyce will start the year in triple-A. It just doesn’t make sense to have both players on the 25-man roster. [Tampa Tribune]
- The Rays are working with Tampa Bay Watch to help restore salt marsh habitats. [TBN Weekly]
- USA Baseball has released a list of 22 players that have expressed an interest in playing for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. That list does not include any Rays. [Rays Report]
- Rays Prospects has the final stat lines for prospects in the various winter leagues. [Rays Prospects]
- How rough is it for corner outfielders and DHs this year? It looks like Eric Hinske’s only substantial offer at this point is from Japan. [MLB Trade Rumors]
Jan 07
The Rays have five players that are arbitration-eligible: Dioner Navarro, Jason Bartlett, Gabe Gross, Grant Balfour, Willy Aybar. The Rays will have until January 19 to reach an agreement with each of these players prior to filing arbitration numbers. The Rays have a strict “file-and-go” policy. Once arbitration numbers have been filed, they will no longer negotiate with a player.
The Rays have an excellent track record for getting these deals done prior to the deadline, so look for each of these players to have a new contract in the next two weeks.
Typically, players that avoid arbitration sign one-year deals. Of the above players, the Rays seem most likely to give long-term deals to Navarro and Balfour with Bartlett as a possibility.
Balfour already hinted that his participation in the World Baseball Classic could be contingent on the deal offered by the Rays.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- A very thorough biography for Patrick B. Burrell. His idol was George Brett.[JockBio]
- Ken Rosenthal reports that the Rays have kicked the tires on Gabe Kapler as a potential right fielder. Kapler played 96 games for the Brewers last season hitting .301/.340/.498. The Rays interest in Kapler further suggests that Matt Joyce will begin the season in the minor leagues. In theory, Kapler would be used as part of a platoon with Gabe Gross in right field until Joyce is deemed ready to be the everyday guy. Kapler posted a 1.001 OPS against lefties in 87 plate appearances in 2008 and has an .828 career OPS versus lefties. [Fox Sports]
- Buster Olney takes a look at how much the Rays lineup may improve in 2009 with the addition on Pat Burrell and healthy seasons from the returning position players. [ESPN]
- The Rays Party of America takes the MLB Network and Harold Reynolds to task for their portrayal of the Rays’ success in 2008…Speaking of which, yesterday afternoon was a treat as the MLB Network broadcast game 2 of the World Series. You know, the good game. [The Rays Party of America]
- The Rays announced a couple more signings of former major leaguers to minor league deals. This time it is a pair of pitchers. Randy Choate is a lefty who has spent parts of 8 seasons with the Yankees and D-Backs. Last year he spent the year at triple-A in the Brewers organization posting a 5.08 ERA with 31 Ks and 20 walks in 39 innings. Julio DePaula is a righty that appeared in 16 games for the Twins in 2007. Last year he was at triple-A and posted a 5.70 ERA with 65 Ks and 41 walks in 77.1 innings. [The Heater]
