Aug 06
- Rays 8, A’s 4 (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: Reaching New Heights. What in the world has gotten into Jeff Niemann? The Giraffe worked into the 9th inning for the first time in over a year going 8.2 innings. And his efficiency was amazing. And outside of the 9th inning, he appeared to get stronger as the game went deeper, needing just 17 pitches combined to get through the 7th and 8th innings. And now, in his last 6 starts he has a 1.69 ERA with 42 strikeouts and 10 walks (42.2ip)…Bossman. BJ Upton had just his third 3-hit game of the year, and was on base 5 times.
THE BAD: Sean Rodriguez. Since hitting his home run last weekend, Rodriguez is 0-11 with 4 strikeouts and no walks.
THE TELLING: The Yankees are now a game up on the Red Sox and the Rays are 9 behind the Sox…Jeremy Hellickson’s next start will be Monday…Look for Robinson Chirinos to steal some starts versus lefties from Kelly Shoppach in the near future.
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- “…with more than 50 games to go, the Rays…are already eliminated from the playoffs…This would be the equivalent of the New York Jets being eliminated from the playoff race at 6-5.” [Business Insider]
- Evan Longoria got a new puppy, Jango (on the right). David Price’s dog is on the left (thanks Caity). [Image]
- Joe Maddon says the 6-man rotation will Read the rest of this entry »
Jun 07
In 2009, Grant Balfour, sat out the World Baseball Classic at the request of the Rays. And with the next WBC scheduled for 2013, Balfour says he is pulling his name out of consideration because he hates all the drug testing…
Balfour, who is currently on the roster of the Oakland Athletics, says he wouldn’t want to go through the time-consuming drug testing for the 2013 World Classic only to have his club again force him not to compete…”It gets a little hectic, you’ve got to fill out these forms every day,” Balfour told AAP after Oakland’s 6-3 loss to Boston at Fenway Park on Sunday…You’ve got to tell them where you’re at and what time of the day for all the drug testing and stuff and it got a little bit too much…I was like, `geez, I’ve got nothing to hide, I get tested here whenever they want’…It got a little bit much.”
Hey. We get it. Supporting your country can be a bitch when there is all that paperwork during the off-season. Poor guy.
And yes, that image above is from the STFD moment in the 2008 ALDS.
Jan 19
Want to know just how valuable Evan Longoria and his contract are to the Rays, then read THIS PIECE from The Orange County Register. Sam Miller takes an even-handed look at what it might take for the Angels to trade for Longoria.
The conclusion:
“Mike Trout, Jered Weaver, Dan Haren, Peter Bourjos, Garrett Richards and Fabio Martinez Mesa for Longoria probably would be fair”
Which of course neither team would ever do. Still, wow.
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- The Rays avoided arbitration with Andy Sonnanstine with a one-year, $912,500 deal. We had The Duke projected at $1.5 million. We probably gave him a little too much credit for still being a starting pitcher of sorts. [TampaBay.com]
- Grant Balfour sounded very appreciative of his time in Tampa Bay. [Rays Report]
- Evan Longoria made an appearance Read the rest of this entry »
Jan 17
Two potential relievers for the Rays signed with the A’s over the weekend. First it was Grant Balfour signing a deal that is reportedly a two-year contract for $8.1 million. Then the A’s signed Brian Fuentes to a two-year deal for $10.5 million.
The Rays came into the off-season needing to completely overhaul their bullpen. And while they have been able to fill in those pieces in the past with cheap one-year deals, the free agency market threw Andrew Friedman a sucker-punch. All the decent relievers are getting multi-year deals, and the Rays just don’t want to go down that road.
The one potential closer still out there is Jon Rauch. Roger Mooney wonders if the Rays should go after the 6’11″ right-hander. [Rays Report]
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- I’m sure this will cause Eric Hahman to throw a hissy fit (again), so I apologize for tooting my own horn but…my story from Friday about the Yankees paying their bullpen more than the Rays entire roster got referenced on ESPN’s “Pardon the Interruption” on Friday. And well, I think that is pretty damn cool. *steps down from the soap box, raises arms and slowly backs away*
- Kwang Min Park spoke with recently-acquired Hak-Ju Lee, who wants to be in the big leagues by June…Let’s keep in mind that Lee just turned 20 and has never played above single-A. So pardon us if we are skeptical. [Twitter]
- Looks like the Yankees are Read the rest of this entry »
Jan 12
Jonah Keri asked us to pass along a note that a free preview is now available for his new book “The Extra 2%: How Wall Street Strategies Took a Major League Baseball Team from Worst to First.” This is the long-anticipated book about the Rays front office. The free preview includes the foreward from Mark Cuban. [Scribd.com]
You can pre-order the book at Amazon.com.
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- As we near spring training, Buster Olney says that Grant Balfour’s asking price might finally be coming down. [Twitter]
- Buster Olney thinks Grant Balfour’s best option may be to re-sign with the Rays as their closer and hit the free agency market again next year. [Twitter]
- Buster Olney adds that the Rays could entice Grant Balfour by promising to not offer him arbitration next winter so that teams won’t have to surrender a draft pick. [Twitter]
- Roy Peter Clark in the St. Pete Times makes a case that Tropicana Field is not the Rays problem. [TampaBay.com]
Dec 30
Might Grant Balfour be pitching in Baltimore next season? According to Roch Kubatko of MASN.com, that is a definite possibility.
Kubatko says the Orioles have “definite interest” and notes that the compensation price must not be a deterrent. The Mad Australian is a Type A free agent, but since the Orioles have one of the top 15 picks in the draft, their first round pick is protected. Therefore, if Balfour signs with the O’s, the Rays would receive a sandwhich pick between the first and second round and the O’s second round pick (approximately #55).
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- The Rays could receive another draft pick if Chad Qualls signs with another team. And according to Qualls’ agent, there are six teams interested in the reliever. [MLB Trade Rumors]
Dec 27
Ken Rosenthal takes a look at Grant Balfour’s situation and says it is only a small chance that he returns to the Rays.
Even though Balfour is a Type A free agent, Rosenthal notes that there are only nine teams that would lose a first-round pick for signing The Mad Australian. The top 15 picks are protected and several teams have already lost their first round pick by signing other Type A free agents.
As a result, Rosenthal believes Balfour will eventually land a multi-year contract with another team, his reason for declining the offer of arbitration from the Rays.
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- It took Carl Crawford to reach out to the Rays and say “good bye” or “thank you,” but he finally bought them lunch, having Lee Roy Selmon’s delivered late last week. Roger Mooney also notes that Crawford still hasn’t mentioned or thanked Rays fans. We’re not holding our breath. We won’t bore you with the details, but based on our own experience, it does not surprise us in the least. One word: Bitter. [Rays Report]
- The Rays were reportedly Read the rest of this entry »
Dec 01
Ken Rosenthal suggests it is in Carl Crawford’s best interest to wait until after Cliff Lee finds a new home before signing a contract..
The Red Sox are interested. The big loser in the Lee sweepstakes — the Yankees or Rangers — could be, too…Thus, it’s in Crawford’s interest to wait for Lee, setting up — potentially — a bidding competition between the Red Sox, Yankees and Angels, or the Angels, Rangers and Red Sox…At the very least, it’s Angels vs. Red Sox, plus heaven knows which other clubs.
So if you were hoping that CC would just rip the band-aid off in one quick motion, should prepare themselves for a long painful process.
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- All seven of the free agents offered arbitration by the Rays rejected the offer. The biggest surprise was Grant Balfour, who apparently thinks he can get a multi-year deal somewhere. [Rays Report]
- Pinellas County extended the Bed Tax through 2021. This is important because the tax could be used to help finance a new stadium. [Twitter]
- Meanwhile, the Hillsborough Chamber of Commerce will soon vote on whether finding financing for a new stadium should be a priority in 2011. [St. Pete Times]
Nov 30
Today is the deadline for free agents to accept or reject the arbitration offers from their teams. While players like Carl Crawford and Rafael Soriano will certainly decline arbitration for the opportunity at multi-year deals with other teams, Grant Balfour is a bigger question.
As a Type A free agent, he would cost another team either a first- or second-round draft pick. That is a steep price for a middle reliever. As a result, there may not be many teams interested in signing Balfour, meaning his best option would be to accept arbitration and return to the Rays on a one-year deal.
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- The Rays playoff share was $28K per person. 45 players, coaches and personnel received full-shares. [The Heater]
- Mets Blog sees both Gregg Zaun and Dioner Navarro as potential backup catchers for the Mets. [Mets Blog]
Nov 29
Buster Olney had the following to say about the Nationals’ interest in Carlos Pena…
Heard this: Some team officials that have talked about Carlos Pena view the Washington Nationals as being the club most enthusiastic about acquiring the first baseman.
The key here, is this is what officials from other teams think about the Nationals. At no point did Olney speak to Nationals officials about this.
And yet for some reason, this led to several headlines such as this one from NBCSports.com:
“The Nats are “enthusiastic” about signing Carlos Pena”
Maybe that is true. But that is not what Olney reported.
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- The city of St. Pete lost over $1.2 million in 2010 due to the operational costs of hosting the Rays and insuring Tropicana Field…Of course, there are a lot of indirect revenues that are not being factored here. [St. Pete Times]
- The Rays are one of nine teams Read the rest of this entry »
