Mar 27
According to Marc Topkin of TampaBay.com, the Rays have set their starting pitching rotation and as expected Wade Davis is the odd-man out.
The exact order of the rotation is not yet known beyond James Shields on opening day and David Price in game two. The choice between Jeremy Hellickson and Matt Moore in game three will be dependent on whether the Rays would prefer a left-hander to face the Yankees.
As for Davis, we can assume that the Rays will be talking to other teams over the next week looking to make a deal as they would love to upgrade at shortstop and behind the plate. If a deal cannot be made, Davis will move to the bullpen.
Mar 27
The GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.
RAYS 10, Twins 4 (boxscore)
THE GOOD: Runs! Was it just a coincidence that we picked yesterday to chide the Rays a bit about their anemic spring offense? Probably, but it is still weird that it was yesterday that the Rays cranked out a spring-high 10 runs on 14 hits, including 3 home runs. The big blow was a grand slam by Ben Zobrist (see video below)…Ben Zobrist. In addition to his grand slam, Zorilla added a single, a double, and a walk…Jeff Niemann. It wasn’t the most dominating effort ever, but it was typical Niemann effectiveness, giving up 2 runs in 5 innings, striking out 5 and walking 3.
THE BAD: Not Impressing. If you missed it yesterday, a player had a very unfortunate gaffe yesterday. You can see the video HERE.
THE TELLING: Jeff Niemann has added a cutter to his arsenal this spring…The Rays no. 3 starter (Jeremy Hellickson or Matt Moore) will be more about matchups than who is better…Flash Jennings will DH today.
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- If you missed it last night, the victim of the hit-and-run accident involving Matt Bush is now in a coma. [RaysIndex]
- The Rays have announced three more post-game concerts: LL Cool J (June 2, great present for your older brother), Earth, Wind & Fire (June 30, great present for your parents, and what ever happened to Water?), and The Wiggles (August 5, great present for somebody else to spend time with your kids. Trust us, you don’t want to go).
- Gustavo Cabrera, a 16-year old Dominican outfielder worked out for the Rays. Apparently this kid is all the rage in the D.R.. [MLBTR]
- How much blame does Derek Shelton deserve when the offense struggles? [TobyDavid.com]
- Is Ronde Barber’s streak in jeopardy? [JoeBucsFan]
Mar 26
First comes this note from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe…
Kurt Suzuki, C, A’s – The Rays have been trying hard to get him, but Oakland isn’t crazy about Wade Davis or Jeff Niemann in return. As one National League GM pointed out, “The Davises and Niemanns are the type of pitchers that Billy [Beane] winds up trading. He wants a higher grade of pitcher.’’ Right now, the Rays aren’t willing to go there.
That seems perfectly logical. The Rays are always looking to upgrade behind the plate, and the Rays have two starting pitchers for one spot.
But hold one. Buster Olney says not-so-fast (via Twitter)…
Rays say they haven’t talked with Oakland about Kurt Suzuki.
Of catchers in the AL with at least 400 plate appearances, Suzuki (28) ranked as the sixth best catcher with a Wins Above Replacement (WAR) of 2.3. He hit .237 with 14 home runs and an OBP of .301.
Mar 23
With just two weeks until opening day, the Rays opening day roster is nearly set. Let’s take a look (notes on the projection are below)…
A few notes on this projection…
- LINEUP: Obviously Joe Maddon will still play matchups this season, but SS and C would appear to be the only natural platoons. Ben Zobrist will get an occasional start in RF, but he has been used almost exclusively at 2B this spring. And Matt Joyce has received the bulk of the playing time in RF. Also, Jeff Keppinger will get an occasional start at 1B against a tough lefty. The only real questions left would appear to be injuries. Will Reid Brignac start the year on the DL? Same goes for Luke Scott.
- BENCH: Outside of the two platoons, the final two bench spots will almost certainly be Read the rest of this entry »
Mar 07
The GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.
Twins 3, RAYS 2 (boxscore)
THE GOOD: The Crime Cat. Carlos Pena made his Rays re-debut. He only played three innings, and was 0-2. But how awesome is that picture at right?…Well. The starting lineup had five hits, which all things considered is not that bad compared to how the have been doing. But when you consider that the starting lineup included names like Salazar and Gimenez and Rhymes and Mangini and Feliciano, it is hard to get too worked up…The Giraffe. Other than his own throwing error on a pick-off attempt at second base, Jeff Niemann pitched well, working 2 innings and allowing 2 hits and no walks…Ryan Reid. Reid is a minor league reliever with strikeout stuff. And while he won’t make the opening day roster, there is a good chance we will see him at some point. And yesterday he tossed 2 shutout innings, striking out 1.
THE BAD: Shortstops. It was Sean Rodriguez’ turn to commit an error at shortstop, with an errant toss that led to a pair of Twins runs. It was telling when Joe Maddon later said “he had other options and he just chose the most difficult play to make.” It’s one thing to make an error. It’s another when the manager thinks you made a mental error and a physical error.
THE TELLING: This is the first time the Rays have ever started 0-4 in Spring Training…The Rays announced their first concert, featuring ZZ Top, Gretchen Wilson, and 3 Doors Down. The show will follow the June 17 game.
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- This is why you should join Twitter and follow us. In addition to pics like the one above, you also get fun stuff like this while you are at work. [@CorkGaines]
- Guess we can scratch off the Gateway area for a possible new Rays stadium. That land has been purchased by a beer distributor. [TampaBay.com]
- Here’s another Rays preview. [Baseball Nation]
- Would the Bucs draft Trent Richardson? [JoeBucsFan]
Feb 22
OK, it was more fun when we were just putting the pieces together, but somebody actually went and asked Evan Longoria if he is dating Jaime Edmondson. He said yes. And it sounds kinda serious.
On a “why does this flippin’ matter?” note, we have a couple of thoughts…
First of all, this seems like more of a national story than a local one. To us, he is just Longo, and if Dirtbag is happy, we’re happy, and it doesn’t matter who it is. But we need to remember that on a national level he is a bit more of a celebrity, and this is how the national media treats celebrities. And in a strange way, that is kinda cool.
If the national media is paying attention, that means the Rays are relevant. And let’s face it, there is a small part in all of us that hates being in the shadow of the Yankees and Red Sox when the Rays have been just as good in recent years.
Now, we know a lot of you still don’t care and that’s fine. And you like to accuse us of being a “TMZ for the Rays” like we have a video camera camped out in front of Longoria’s condo and we are following him to restaurants. That’s fine. But a lot of people are curious and Longoria doesn’t seem to care. They are going out in public together and are clearly not hiding it. So it is not like anybody is invading their privacy.
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- 14 of the 21 position players have already arrived at camp.
- Jeff Niemann on the Battle Royale Rotation: “It’s going to be a tough deal, but at the end of the day, it’s for the betterment of the team, and we’ll all
be on board for whatever decision that is.”
- Brandon Gomes had his first bullpen session following back surgery. He still seems like a good candidate to start the year on the DL when the Rays are looking for a way to keep everybody in the system.
- David Price on the 2012 Rays: Read the rest of this entry »
Feb 21
The biggest storyline of the spring for the Rays will likely be the rotation and how the Rays will handle their seven big league starting pitchers. And the early favorite to be replaced in the rotation is Wade Davis.
We have already shown you that Davis is probably the weakest of the Rays starting pitchers. And some scouts recently told Buster Olney that Davis is much better suited for the bullpen than Jeff Niemann.
As for Davis, he doesn’t sound particularly thrilled about the idea.
First is this quote via Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times in which Big Dub appears to hint that he would ask for a trade if moved to the bullpen…
“I’m a starter…I don’t see any reason for me to be in the bullpen. I understand they’ve got to do certain things, but we’ll see. … I definitely want to be a starter and stay a starter forever. And that’ll be my mentality”…Davis said there haven’t been any conversations — yet, anyway — with anyone from the Rays about possibly ending up in the bullpen. And if he is sent that way, he might end up approaching them, though he wouldn’t have much leverage to force a trade…”If it ever did come to that, it’s something we’d talk about then,” he said.
But later, Davis spoke with Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune and seemed to back-track from his comments… Read the rest of this entry »
Feb 10
- Off-Season (click image for random Wikipedia page)
Here are a few leftover links to get your weekend started…
In addition to the six Rays on ESPN.com’s list of the top 100 prospects, they also released the Rays Top 10 prospects list.
- Matt Moore
- Hak-Ju Lee
- Chris Archer
- Enny Romero
- Mikie Mahtook
- Taylor Guerrieri
- Alex Torres
- Tim Beckham
- Alex Colome
- Drew Vettleson
THE HONEY BADGER WEBTOPIA…
- Jayson Stark lists Jeff Niemann as one of the five players most likely to be traded during Spring Training. [ESPN]
- A look at what the Rays can expect from Jose Molina. [Baseball Prospectus]
- Ben Zobrist went on SiriusXM Radio and talked about playing multiple positions. [SiriusXM Sports]
- The Bucs have hired Butch Davis and gave him an odd title. Joe Bucs Fan explains why. [JoeBucsFan]
- Ever wonder what Bucco Bruce would have looked like if Peyton Manning was used as the model? Wonder no more! [DaveArtLocker]
Feb 03
The Rays won yesterday’s arbitration hearing with Jeff Niemann, who will now make $2.75 million in 2012. The Giraffe had been seeking $3.2 million. The Rays have never lost an arbitration case, moving to 6-0 overall, and 5-0 since Andrew Friedman was named VP of Baseball Operations.
Niemann’s 2012 salary lowers the Rays 2012 projected payroll to $64.3 million. This of course means more money for World Series rings!
Feb 02
Perfect games! Five 20-game winners! Three Cy Young Awards!
OK, easy now. The Rays have a fantastic rotation. One of the best in the big leagues. But let’s see if we can come up with a more realistic idea of what to expect, who might improve, and who might actually take a step back.
To get a sense of just how good each pitcher has been, and where they might be headed, let’s use Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP). In short, FIP is what a pitcher’s ERA might have looked like if they had pitched all of their games in an average ballpark with an average defense. In the long run, FIP is a better indicator than ERA of how good a pitcher is, and how well they will pitch in the future.
Let’s take a look at the year-by-year FIPs for each of the Rays six starting pitchers. Red lines indicate when the pitcher was promoted to the big leagues (approximately).
WHAT TO LOOK FOR: Don’t get too caught up in what FIP is versus ERA. Rather, look at: 1) how consistent is the pitcher from year to year, even from the minors to the majors; and 2) keep in mind that average in 2011 for AL starting pitchers was about 4.08. Notes and thoughts can be found below…
Notes on the above charts…
- James Shields has been incredibly consistent. However, his 2011 numbers were clearly below his typical season. Has he figured something out? Or is he due for a bit of a letdown in 2012?
- Jeff Niemann has also been very consistent
- Jury is still out on David Price, but the last two seasons were nearly identical. If he can keep that up, he will be the ace we all want.
- Right now, Wade Davis looks like the weak link. Two straight seasons with an FIP over 4.60 is not a good sign for things to come. So, if you could choose which starter to trade, it might be better to keep Niemann and move Davis, unless you are concerned about Niemann breaking down.
- Jeremy Hellickson’s 2011 season is a concern. Both David Price and Wade Davis showed similar jumps in FIP in their first full big league seasons. However, Price saw his FIP improve dramatically the following year, and Davis did not. Which one will Hellboy be in 2012?
- Matt Moore? Well, Moore is awesome. None of the other pitchers had a minor league career as good as Moore’s. Of course, he needs to prove it in the big leagues, but even if his FIP jumps, he will still be very good.
