Jun 23
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.
Jun 12
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.
Mar 23
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.
Mar 16
Spring hitting statistics are fun to track, but often mean little or nothing, even when a player is battling for a position. So then how can we get an idea of which players may have an edge for a starting job or a roster spot?
To get a better idea of who is winning the battle for a job, we can look at which players are playing the key positions during high-leverage innings. During the regular season that would be innings 7, 8 and 9. But during spring training, innings 1-5 are the key innings as that is when a player will face other big leaguers.
This spring, the Rays face only a couple of questions with respect to the opening day roster. So let’s take a look at who is seeing the most playing time at those positions during the high-leverage innings…
- Ben Zobrist is expected to see playing time at both second base and right field. But during the spring, Zobrist has played 29 innings at second base and only 4 in right field. Either Joe Maddon thinks he needs more time at second base to get ready for the regular season, or Maddon is preparing to use Zobrist as the most-days second baseman.
- Many think Sean Rodriguez is going to be the other half of the second base platoon based on his spring power surge. But as we can see, Reid Brignac has played almost twice as many innings at second base as Rodriguez.
- If there really is a battle to be the second second baseman, we would expect to see a more even split of playing time between Reid Brignac and Sean Rodriguez. And we would also expect to see those two players receive much more time at the position than Ben Zobrist.
- SUMMARY: These numbers suggest that Joe Maddon is leaning towards using Reid Brignac as Ben Zobrist’s platoon partner and Sean Rodriguez will be used as the “super-utility” player, seeing only occasional playing time at second base.
- Matt Joyce’s recent injury has clouded this picture. Still, we can see that Joe Maddon is giving Joyce every opportunity to prove he is ready to be a big league right fielder.
- At this point in Gabe Kapler’s career, we know what he is. There is no mystery and he is just getting ready for the regular season.
- The surprising number here is the number of innings that Ben Zobrist has played in right field: 4 (1 start). Does Zobrist not need any playing time in right field to prepare for the regular season, or will his playing time there be minimal to start the regular season?
- SUMMARY: This is all about Matt Joyce. He will continue to receive plenty of playing time once he can get back on the field.
- Here, we just looked at relief pitchers that have seen playing time in the first 5 innings. We did not include Andy Sonnanstine even though in theory he is one of the leading candidates for the final bullpen spot.
- Joaquin Benoit is likely the leading candidate for the final bullpen spot and the mound time during high-leverage innings supports that notion. Still, his spot on the opening day roster will depend on his ability to work back-to-back games.
- SUMMARY: If Joaquin Benoit can go back-to-back games, the final spot will be his. If not, it could be Andy Sonnanstine. But we still wonder if Sonny is more likely headed back to Durham to be the Rays 6th starter. If both Benoit and Sonnanstine are off the roster, the final spot could be an open battle between the likes of Jeff Bennett, Dale Thayer and Joe Bateman (see comments).
Mar 15
Every team goes through “Picture Day” during spring training where all the players and coaches get all dolled up in their regular season uniforms and have their pictures taken by the professionals. Here is a link to Getty’s pics of the Rays.
But before you go look at the entire set, let us point out a few of our favorites…
Pat Burrell
Why does Pat Burrell have such a sly grin on his face and why is he touching his crotch with both hands? Maybe it is because the photographer told Pat to grab his bat. Maybe it is because it is the only bat of Pat’s that still works. Or maybe this is the secret behind the nickname, “Pat the Bat.” We vote for “all of the above.”
Gabe Kapler
Is there a reason Gabe Kapler doesn’t have his jersey tucked in? Maybe it is because he is lazy. But more likely it is because the photographer is right-handed.
Dave Martinez -- Derek Shelton -- Tom Foley
Inability to dress one’s self is apparently not limited to Kapler.
Don Zimmer
Look! It’s the mascot. How cute.
- Evan Longoria
At least Dirtbag knows how to dress himself.
Mar 11
Yesterday, Joe Maddon indicated that Ben Zobrist will likely start the season platooning in both right field and at second base. Let’s take a look at what that means for the rest of the players competing for roster spots and playing time…
Notes on the 25-man roster projection…
If Gabe Kapler is on the opening day roster…
- RIGHT FIELD: Up until now, we have just assumed Gabe Kapler is on the opening day roster. If true, he will start versus lefties and Ben Zobrist starts versus righties.
- SECOND BASE: If Kapler is on the team Zobrist plays RF versus righties and 2B versus lefties. That leaves either Sean Rodriguez or Reid Brignac to play 2B versus righties. For their careers, Rodriguez is stronger versus lefties (.940 vs .881 OPS) and Brignac has been stronger facing righties (.778 vs .638). But Rodriguez’ mark versus RHP (.881) is still stronger than Brignac’s (.778). Brignac is considered the better defender. But Rodriguez has impressed with the glove so far this spring. Therefore, we give Rodriguez the edge.
- BENCH: If Sean Rodriguez is platooning at 2B and backing up the outfield, it would seem that Joe Maddon would want to also keep Reid Brignac as the back-up middle infielder. Also, if Ben Zobrist and Gabe Kapler are playing right field, there is no need for Matt Joyce.
- SUMMARY: If Gabe Kapler’s job is a lock and Ben Zobrist is platooning in RF and at 2B, that means Sean Rodriguez and Reid Brignac make the team and Matt Joyce is back in Durham. And spring training is a competition between Rodriguez and Brignac for a portion of the 2B job.
If Matt Joyce is on the opening day roster…
- RIGHT FIELD: If the Rays decide to keep Matt Joyce on the roster, there is likely no room for Gabe Kapler as the Rays would already have 2 guys playing right field and Sean Rodriguez who can back-up in the outfield. And if Joyce is on the roster, he starts in RF versus righties and Ben Zobrist is in RF versus lefties.
- SECOND BASE: If Ben Zobrist is in RF versus lefties, he will start at 2B versus righties. That leaves Sean Rodriguez or Reid Brignac to start at 2B versus lefties. And that is a no-brainer. Rodriguez’ career OPS versus LHP (.940) dwarfs Brignac’s (.638).
- BENCH: Again, with Ben Zobrist in RF part-time, there doesn’t seem to be a good reason to keep both Matt Joyce and Gabe Kapler, so if Joyce is in, Kapler is out and the Rays will have to either eat his $1 million salary, or find a trade partner. That opens the final spot for Reid Brignac as the backup middle infielder.
- SUMMARY: If Matt Joyce is on the team, he platoons in RF with Ben Zobrist, and Sean Rodriguez platoons with Zobrist at 2B. Reid Brignac would get the final bench spot and Gabe Kapler is filing his unemployment papers.
Ultimately it looks like both Rodriguez and Brignac will make the team and the final spot will be between Kapler ad Joyce. Obviously Kapler has a huge edge as his contract is guaranteed, but it’s not like he is making Pat Burrell-money.
Jan 26
Ken Rosenthal has a new piece on how Mark McGwire “needs a do-over.”
His apology was not enough. His tearful interview with Bob Costas on MLB Network was not enough.
We couldn’t agree more. In fact, if McGwire really wants people to believe that steroids did not help him hit home runs, he need only look at the roster of the Tampa Bay Rays and one muscular member of The Tribe.
- GABE KAPLER
18 and 80. Those are Gabe Kapler’s career-high in home runs (1999) and the number of home runs he has hit in his 11-year career. And those are the only numbers McGwire needs to know if he wants to convince people that he would have been just as good without steroids.
Now, we aren’t saying Kapler used ‘roids (we’ll let you look at the picture and draw your own conclusion). But if we were Mark McGwire, we would just carry this picture of Kapler with us everywhere we go. And next time somebody asks if he really believes steroids don’t help somebody hit home runs, he should pull out this picture and just say: “18 and 80, bitches!”
Nov 02
The Rays face an interesting dilemma the day after the World Series ends: What to do with Aki Iwamura’s $4.25 million option. While the amount is cheap for what Aki brings to the table, the Rays can find cheaper options in-house. And the Rays are a club where every million counts.
The Rays appear to have two options with Aki’s option (see what we did there!)
- Decline the option and move forward with some combination of Ben Zobrist, Sean Rodriguez and Reid Brignac at second base.
- Pick up the option and try to trade Aki for a bullpen arm and/or prospects.
The downside to the second option is: a) Another team will know the Rays would be desperate to trade Aki, and if there isn’t a big market, they can hold out for next-to-nothing; b) What happens if the Rays cannot trade Aki? All of the sudden they are on the hook for $4.25 million with a player that might not have a position in 2010.
Of course, knowing the Rays, they will only pick up Aki’s option if they already have some assurance from another club that a trade is doable. The benefit to the other club is that the $4.25 million option is probably less than they would have to pay for Iwamura on the open market.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Chris Richard was removed from the 40-man roster. He has the option of choosing free agency over a demotion to Durham.
- Carl Crawford won the Fielding Bible Award for being the top defensive left fielder. Of course, being named the best defensive left fielder is kinda like being named the best-looking Pug. There is a reason Gold Glove awards don’t differentiate among outfield positions. [The Heater]
- Among several other items from Marc Topkin, we learn that Gabe Kapler “fits several needs” for the Rays even if he is just a 5th outfielder and Dave Martinez talked to the Indians about their managerial position. [St. Pete Times]
- Dock of the Rays discusses Aki Iwamura’s option. [Dock of the Rays]
- According to one metric, Matt Joyce was the 4th best defensive right fielder in the minors this past season. [The Hardball Times]
Oct 27
The Rays announced today (via press release) that they have re-signed Gabe Kapler to a one-year deal. The deal is a major league contract for $1.05 million. He made $1.0 million last season.
Kapler, who turned 34 in August, hit .239-8-32 with a 98 OPS+ and .334 wOBA as the Rays primary right fielder against left-handed pitchers.
With Ben Zobrist and Matt Joyce in the mix to play right field, this move is a bit surprising. Does this mean the Rays are leaning towards using Zobrist as the most-days second baseman and a Joyce-Kapler platoon in right? Or is this just insurance in case either Joyce or Sean Rodriguez are not ready to be major leaguers? If the Rays are still leaning towards Zorilla and Joyce in right field, Kapler would be relegated to 5th outfielder. It is hard to imagine that Kapler would have signed so quickly without some assurance that he will compete for regular playing time.
Sep 18
Baseball Prospectus caught up with Fernando Perez and Gabe Kapler for an interview. Or did Perez interviewed Kapler? Or Kapler interviewed Perez. Or! Perez and Kapler interviewed Perez and Kapler! Our head just exploded. [Baseball Prospectus]
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/sep/18/wake–call-12-games-will-haunt-2009-rays/sports-rays/
