The Rays have nine potential free agents at the end of the year. The Elias rankings will determine whether the Rays will receive any compensation should these players sign with another team (see below for a detailed explanation of free agency compensation).

MLB Trade Rumors has determined the formula used in the Elias rankings. Let’s take a look at where the Rays free agents-to-be would fall if the season ended today…

The Rays have three potential Type A free agents. They also have four potential Type B free agents with Joaquin Benoit jumping up into Type B status. With only 49 games to go, this classifications are not likely to change much unless Grant Balfour comes back strong in September.

If the season ended today Read the rest of this entry »

Joe is so giddy over the Rays win he doesn’t know where to begin? It was the Holy Trinity of baseball tonight: pitching, defense and a key hit.

* Wade Davis: Was this his best outing? Hard to argue. Once he got past the first, he was simply dominant. Joe has written before Davis could carry the Rays a long way until/unless James “No Game” Shields has proven he has put his awful pitching woes behind him.

Joe cannot write just how great that is to see a No. 4 pitcher come out against a team with the best record in baseball and shut them down for six innings. As strong as the Rays bullpen is, Rays pitchers only need to get through seven innings.

Nice job Wade! Keep it up!

* While Joe has been a bit difficult on Carlos Pena at times for his penchant for imitating Rob Deer with his strikeout-or-homer offense, Joe has never wavered that Pena is one of the best defensive first basemen in baseball and maybe the best.

Pena diving to his right and throwing Read the rest of this entry »

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 »

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: David Price. If there was ever a night that JoeMa needed his starter to work into the 8th inning, it was last night. And King David delivered with one of his 2 or 3 best starts of the season, striking out 10 and walking just 1. And in doing so, he made a strong case to start the all-star game. At 12-4 with a 2.42 ERA, he has the lowest ERA of any 10-game winner. And his 3.61 FIP betters CC Sabathia (3.79) and is comparable to Clay Buchholz (3.47)…Matt Garza. It is not often you will see Garza listed in “The Good” on the same day as David Price. But with Rafael Soriano and Joaquin Benoit desperately needing a night off, Joe Maddon did the unthinkable once again. He turned to Matt Garza in the 9th inning who picked up his first career save…Ben Zobrist. Joe Maddon may have found his leadoff hitter. Zorilla had 2 more walks and another stolen base. In the last 10 games, he has 15 walks and 7 steals.

THE BAD: Tim Wakefield. Of the many downsides to playing in the AL East, is having to face a knuckleballer 3-4 times a season. There is always the fear that players will have their swings messed up for a few games afterwards.

THE TELLING: This was the Rays first sweep at home this season, and they have won 5 in a row…The Rays are now 8-4 versus the Red Sox and 22-10 against the AL East….Matt Garza’s save was just his 3rd relief appearance as a pro and 1st since joining the Rays…Evan Longoria hit his first HR in 19 games…The Rays are 9-6 since Stuart Sternberg made his announcement seeking a new stadium. They were 6-9 in the 15 games prior to that. Whatever that is worth.

WHERE THEY STAND: The Rays are 51-33, 2 games behind the Yankees and 2.5 games in front of the Red Sox in the Wild Card. After 84 games in 2008, the Rays were 52-32.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

Read the rest of this entry »

Marc Topkin reports that the Rays activated Gabe Kapler from the DL following tonight’s game. To make room for Kapler, the Rays designated Hank Blalock for assignment, in all likelihood ending his brief stint with the Rays.

Blalock hit .254 with just 1 home run in 26 games (63 at bats) with the Rays.

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

Diamondbacks 2, Rays 1

THE GOOD: Wade Davis. Nice strong start from Big Dub. The 7.1 innings was his longest outing of the year and only the second time he has worked into the 8th inning this season.

THE BAD: Where are the Bats? Sometimes good teams get no-hit. It’s rare, but it happens. What good teams don’t do is get 7 hits in a 3-game series against a last place team. In total, the Rays went 7-81 (.086) in route to losing their 5th straight series. Some of the blame can be placed on luck as every time the Rays hit the ball hard, it seemed to be drawn right to a player’s glove. Still, luck can’t explain it all. This team just cannot hit right now. We are not ready to blame Derek Shelton. For one thing, the influence of the hitting coach at the big league level is overrated. And for all the struggles, the offense is still 4th in the AL in OPS. That being said, the Rays need to find more consistency from the bats..BJ Upton. If you missed it yesterday, Upton nonchalantly jogged after a ball as it rolled to the wall turning a routine double into a triple. That led to some stern words from Evan Longoria to which Upton reacted by absolutely losing his sh*t in the dugout and having to be restrained by Willy Aybar. He followed that up by getting picked off of first base for the 7 millionth time in his career. And with all the energy he exerted in the field and on the basepaths, Upton’s try for a walk-off 2-run home run in the bottom of the 9th came up a few feet short. Or maybe Upton just has warning track power after all.

THE TELLING: All players in the starting lineup went with the high-cuffed pants and striped stirrups…Dioner Navarro is expected to make his debut with Durham tonight.

WHERE THEY STAND: The Rays are 44-31, 3 games behind the Yankees in the East and 1 game behind the Red Sox in the Wild Card. After 75 games in 2008, the Rays were also 44-31.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

• Joe Maddon says it is “60-40″ that Carl Crawford will be able to DH in Boston tomorrow. But CC’s return to the outfield is less clear after he aggravated his shoulder sliding on Friday night…also Gabe Kapler is expected to be activated from the DL tomorrow and Marc Topkin wonders if the Rays will let Hank Blalock go rather than demote Matt Joyce. [St. Pete Times]
• Evan Longoria on yesterday’s incident: “It’s just a couple of guys that are frustrated with the way they are playing…it’s already buried” (VIDEO). [The Heater]
• The St. Pete Times has a timeline of BJ Upton’s brainfarts…And to be clear, we have never thought Upton was “lazy.” We just think he occasionally loses focus in critical situations. [St. Pete Times]
• Marc Topkin says it is still too early to judge the Edwin Jackson-Matt Joyce trade. [St. Pete Times]
• Michael Kruse writes about the tricky situation the Rays find themselves in with the stadium situation. It’s a good read, and not just because we were interviewed for the story. [St. Pete Times]
• Will Kline, the Rays second-round pick in 2007 missed all of the 2008 and 2009 seasons. And now he won’t play in 2010 either after suffering a torn rotator cuff. [Biscuit Crumbs]
• Rise of the Rays comes to the defense of BJ Upton. [Rise of the Rays]
• Ken Rosenthal speculates that Carl Crawford could sign with the Rangers this winter. [Fox Sports]
• Durham manager Charlie Montoyo will join Jeremy Hellickson and Desmond Jennings at the Futures Game during the all-star break. Montoyo was named as a member of the coaching staff. [Biscuit Crumbs]
• Pitcher Josh Satow and 3B Henry Wrigley have been promoted to double-A Montgomery.
• The News & Observer spoke with Dan Johnson and manager Charlie Montoyo about the slugger’s chances at making it back to the big leagues. [News&Observer]
• Rays Prospects is accepting votes for the Rays minor league mid-season all-stars. [Rays Prospects]
• The Times Herald-Record interviewed Rays roving instructor Matt Quatraro. [Times Herald-Record]
• Here is a good read on an usher at The Trop that has been going to baseball games for over 60 years and just witnessed his first no-hitter. [JordiScrubbings.com]

DOWN ON THE FARM…

• Check out Rays Prospects for boxscores and more detailed recaps. [Rays Prospects]
• DURHAM: Heath Phillips worked 6 innings and gave up 2 runs (1 earned), striking out 5 and walking 2…Desmond Jennings went 2-5 with a double and his 18th stolen base…Fernando Perez was 2-4 and hit his 3rd home run.
• MONTGOMERY: Alex Torres struck out 6, but lasted only 4 innings as his pitch count reached 89. He allowed 2 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks…Leslie Anderson went 2-4 and is now 22-75 (.293) since being promoted to double-A…Matt Sweeney was 1-4 with a double. He is hitting 25-119 (.210) since being promoted.
• CHARLOTTE: Matt Moore struck out 11 in 6 innings, walking just 2. He allowed 2 runs on 5 hits…Reid Fronk had 2 of the Stone Crabs’ 3 hits…Tim Beckham was 0-3 with a strikeout.
• BOWLING GREEN: Wilking Rodriguez gave up 6 runs, but all 6 were unearned. He gave up 7 hits, walked 1, hit 2 batters and threw a wild pitch in just 4 innings…Tyler Bortnick went 2-3 with a double and his 6th home run.
• HUDSON VALLEY: Omar Bencomo made his second start and allowed 3 runs in 4.2 innings. He struck out 3…Derek Dietrich was 1-4 with a double.
• PRINCETON: Enny Romero struck out 7 and gave up 1 run on just 2 hits and 2 walks in 6 innings…Bryan Fogle hit his first home run of the year.

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, PADRES 3

THE GOOD: Stirrup Power! If you didn’t get to see yesterday’s game and if you missed our post last night, please go now. And if there is any doubt that the stirrups should become the norm, note that players that wore stirrups went 9-18 with a home run and those that did not went 3-16 with 6 Ks. Then again Amanda noted there was also an ejection and a demotion for those wearing the ‘rups…Joe Maddon. We love JoeMa, we really do. And we have never loved him as much as we loved him yesterday when he went out in the 7th inning to argue a balk called on Matt Garza. Knowing he is not allowed to argue balk calls, Maddon stood on the mound and went on a tirade directed at the umpire while looking at Garza. Garza had to do everything he could to keep from laughing. Pure Joe Maddon…Matt Garza. He overcame a shaky 2nd inning to pitch 8 strong inning to throw 8 strong innings. Outside of that 2nd inning, Garza allowed no runs and just 3 hits, retiring 19 of the last 21 batters he faced…Carlos Pena. Pena hit an opposite field home run which of course means the Rays offense will be fine for the next 5-10 games.

THE BAD: Playing with Fire. In the second inning it was the bases loaded with 1 out and in the third inning it was first and third with no outs. Both times the Rays failed to score and it looked like they were headed to yet another ugly loss.

THE TELLING: Carl Crawford left the game early with “shoulder soreness.” He is not expected to go on the DL, but will probably not be in the lineup tonight…Joe Maddon’s ejection was his 3rd of the season…Kelly Shoppach’s home run was his first with the Rays…BJ Upton and his brother Justin Upton will face each other for the first time as big leaguers tonight…Gabe Kapler will begin a 4-game rehab assignment tonight with Charlotte.

WHERE THEY STAND: The Rays are 43-29, 2 games behind the Yankees in the East and tied with the Red Sox in the Wild Card. After 72 games in 2008, the Rays were 43-29.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

• Several of the Rays comment on how they struggled to keep a straight face when Joe Maddon came out to argue with Matt Garza about the balk call. [St. Pete Times]
• Michael Sasso looks at other cities that might want a big league team and what role they might play in the Rays quest for a new stadium. [Tampa Tribune]
• Marc Topkin spoke with Matt Joyce about his return to the big leagues. [The Heater]
• Here is a highly entertaining video of David Price who was recently mic’d up during a game. The money quote: “Do you know what Longo’s middle name is? ‘I’m so good,’ Evan I’m So Good Longoria.” [FSFlorida]
• The St. Pete Times examines whether or not the Rays are truly “the most affordable in all of professional sports.” [St. Pete Times]
• Sun Sports’ “Inside the Rays” episode featuring Wade Davis and Jeff Niemann on their fishing trip will air this Sunday at 4:30.
• Kelly Shoppach on his approach against Wade LeBlanc: “It’s a secret!” [SunSports]

DOWN ON THE FARM…

• Check out Rays Prospects for boxscores and more detailed recaps. [Rays Prospects]
• DURHAM: Aneury Rodriguez gave up 2 runs in 5 innings. He struck out 4 and walked 3…The Bulls managed just 2 hits including an RBI single by Desmond Jennings.
• MONTGOMERY: Jeremy Hall got pounded for the second straight start. This time he allowed 6 runs (3 earned) in 5 innings on 5 hits and 3 walks. The big blow was a 3-run home run…Matt Fields 10th home run was 1 of just 4 hits for the Biscuits.
• CHARLOTTE: Joe Cruz took the loss despite working 8 innings. He allowed 3 runs on 8 hits and a walk. He struck out 4…Tim Beckham was 1-4 with a strikeout.
• BOWLING GREEN: (no games scheduled)
• HUDSON VALLEY: Julius Dettrich gave up 6 runs (5 earned) in 4 innings…Nick Schwaner was 2-5 with a double and a home run.
• PRINCETON: Braulio Lara made his first start, giving up 7 runs (4 earned) in 4.1 innings…Leonardo Reginatto went 2-5 with a double and his first stolen base.

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: Andy Sonnanstine. The Duke has tossed 8 scoreless innings in his last 3 appearances and has retired 14 in a row helping to save the bullpen from some poor outings by the starting pitchers and rescuing the Rays from a near-disaster on Saturday. Does this mean the Rays have finally found a role where Sonny can thrive, or has he rediscovered his mechanics? If the later, one has to wonder if The Duke is an option to give Wade Davis a breather in the rotation…Dan Wheeler. Two perfect innings kept the Rays in the game late.

THE BAD: Wade Davis. There is plenty to not like about last night’s start. But it starts with a 30-pitch 1st inning and a 42-pitch 3rd inning, which led to being pulled with 1 out in the 5th inning having already thrown 103 pitches. With Davis struggling and the Rays reeling, we can now start to wonder when Jeremy Hellickson gets the call. Hellboy could be the shot in the arm this team needs right now. Of course, if James Shields goes out tonight and tosses a 2-hit shutout, that might work also…Sean Rodriguez. It is hard to be included in “The Bad” when you don’t swing a bat or put on a glove. But Carlos Pena walked to leadoff the 9th, Rodriguez came in as a pinch-runner. He then proceeded to get thrown out trying to steal second. It was the second out and killed the rally and effectively ended the game…BJ Upton. 0-4 with 3 strikeouts. In June, he is .243-0-6 with a .343 SLG.

THE TELLING: Last night was Dewayne Staats’ 5,000th game as an announcer…James Shields will make his regularly scheduled start tonight despite pitching out of the ‘pen on Saturday night…Attendance for last night’s game was 14,650.

WHERE THEY STAND: The Rays are 42-28, 1.5 games behind the Yankees and tied (1 game up in the loss column) with the Red Sox in the Wild Card. After 70 games in 2008, the Rays were 41-29.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

• In case you missed it, the Cork-Board has been updated with Hudson Valley and Princeton rosters. [Cork-Board]
• Might Evan Longoria get on stage and play drums with Tantric? If the band has their way, he will…For those of you that will be at the game, we expect photos and/or video submissions. Don’t let us down. [Tampa Tribune]
• Want a chance to beg Carl Crawford to stay? Now you’ve got it. CC is now officially on Twitter. [Twitter]
• Gabe Kapler is feeling better but has no timetable for his return. [St. Pete Times]
• Jake McGee on his return from Tommy John surgery: “I feel my stuff is almost better than it was two years ago.” [Montgomery Advertiser]
• This one is for the ladies…Matt Garza and his son went to Adventure Island on Father’s Day. The Orlando Sentinel provides the gratuitous topless shot of Matt and his goatee. [Orlando Sentinel]
• Jeremy Hellickson and Desmond Jennings have been selected to participate in the Future’s Game during the All-Star break.
• Justin George compares the Rays fight for a new stadium to the Lightning’s move to Tampa. [St. Pete Times]
• A local couple got to go on a shopping spree with Kelly Shoppach. Luckily for the couple, it was Shoppach in charge of catching the items with the cart, and not John Jaso…what? Too soon? [MLB]
• Pat Andriola looks at David Price’s increased reliance on the curveball. [Fangraphs]

DOWN ON THE FARM…

• Check out Rays Prospects for boxscores and more detailed recaps. [Rays Prospects]
• DURHAM: Heath Phillips gave up 8 runs on 10 hits, including 4 home runs in 5.1 innings…Desmond Jennings was back in the leadoff spot and went 2-5 with a triple…Matt Joyce was 1-4 with a walk.
• MONTGOMERY: Alex Torres walked 6 in 5 innings, allowing 2 runs. He struck out 3…Emeel Salem and Leslie Anderson homered for the Biscuits.
• CHARLOTTE: Nick Barnese pitched a 7-inning complete game in the opener, holding Jupiter to 1 run on 3 hits and no walks. He struck out 2…Chris Andujar started the nightcap and gave up just 1 run on 2 hits and a walk in 5 innings…Tim Beckham went 0-6 in the double-header…
• BOWLING GREEN: (no game scheduled)
• HUDSON VALLEY:  (suspended in the second inning)
• PRINCETON: Nolan Diaz allowed 3 runs (2 earned) in 5 innings. He struck out 4…Kyle Hoppy went 2-5 with a double and an RBI.

Prior to today’s game, Gabe Kapler was placed on the DL with a hip flexor strain. Justin Ruggiano was recalled from Durham to take his place on the DL.

Earlier today, Joe Maddon raised some eyebrows by indicating that Hank Blalock now has a shot at making the opening day roster. With a decision on the final rotation spot expected tomorrow, and several key players still nursing injuries, let’s see what these decisions mean for the opening day roster projection…

Notes on the 25-man roster projection…

• SECOND BASE: Ben Zobrist has played almost exclusively at 2B this spring indicating that it might not be much of a platoon after all. Still, Reid Brignac’s spot on the roster seems safe, and we would expect him to get ~2 starts per week versus righties.
• RIGHT FIELD: Matt Joyce won’t be able to play in the field until next week. His job wasn’t safe before the injury, so the lack of playing time doesn’t help. He will either be on the DL or back in Durham playing catch-up. So if Ben Zobrist is at 2B most days, that leaves Gabe Kapler and/or Sean Rodriguez. We think Rodzilla has impressed enough this spring to get most of the RF starts to start the season.
• BENCH: If healthy, Willy Aybar gets one spot. Another goes to Dioner Navarro if healthy, but we suspect the Rays will be very patient with his recovery. That opens the door for Alvin Colina who has a little big league experience and much more AAA experience than the other options. Reid Brignac seems safe to us as the backup middle infielder, and should get plenty of ABs during the season. That leaves one spot for Gabe Kapler or Hank Blalock. So what is more valuable? A Pat Burrell/Blalock DH-platoon with Sean Rodriguez and Ben Zobrist in RF or Burrell at DH with Rodriguez and Kapler in RF? We’ll take the former.
• ROTATION: With JP Howell on the DL, Andy Sonnanstine will likely head to the bullpen, giving the 5th spot to Wade Davis by default. The interesting question is what happens when Howell returns and Davis is only pitching so-so.
• BULLPEN: With JP Howell, there are 2 spots up for grabs. One seems destined to be Andy Sonnanstine’s. The other will go to Joaquin Benoit if he can go back-to-back games. If not, Jeff Bennett would be the leading candidate, but we wouldn’t be surprised if the Rays went with Dale Thayer, Carlos Hernandez, Winston Abreu, Joe Bateman, Mike Ekstrom or Heath Phillips.