Archive for the 'JP Howell' Category

Dec 06

Joe Maddon Met With The Media, Said Things

Joe Maddon, Jose Lobaton, JP Howell, Matt Moore, Reid Brignac, Sean Rodriguez No Comments »

At the opening of the 2011 Winter Meetings, Joe Maddon met with the media and answered a number of questions. You can read the full transcript HERE. But if you want the Cliffs Notes version, you will find it below…

On who will play shortstop…

It’s an open competition is what it is [between Sean Rodriguez and Reid Brignac]. I thought Sean did really well at the end of last year.  Sean probably exceeded our expectations what he’s going to be able to do defensively.  Even as offense I think there’s a lot of room for improvement there, too.  But Sean is a wonderful baseball player and that’s why we love to have him on the field.  Reid one of the better young defenders, I think, at shortstop in the game.  Obviously did not have the offensive year that we were looking for, so he needs to really pick up there.  Again, talking to both of them, they’re both aware that they’ll be battling it out for that job in Spring Training.

On the bullpen…

You’ve got Kyle [Farnsworth] and Joel [Peralta] and then [Jake McGee and Brandon Gomes], I don’t know exactly where J.P. Read the rest of this entry »

Oct 05

If You Booed JP Howell, Joe Maddon Thinks You Are Insane

Joe Maddon, JP Howell 44 Comments »

Maybe the key moment in the Rays game three loss was the two-out, two-run single by Josh Hamilton off of JP Howell in the seventh inning. The hit made the score 4-1 and the Rays would eventually lose the game by one run, 4-3.

At the time, a lot of fans questioned the move by Joe Maddon to Howell, who had struggled this season with a 6.16 ERA. However, Howell was better in the final two months of the season, allowing just three runs in 12 innings (2.25 ERA).

And whether it was anger towards Howell, or annoyance with Maddon, or just frustration with the situation, some fans booed as Howell was removed from the game. Whatever the reason, Maddon made it clear that booing Howell is completely unacceptable.

“It’s really wrong. I don’t understand why the folks would have gone there on him…It’s inappropriate. Here’s a guy who was a big part of our World Series run, is coming off a severe injury and has done some really good work this year, particularly against left-handers. He’s given up a couple of homers. That’s why the numbers are so high. He’s not been as bad as it seems. But that was the right moment for him, that was the right situation, him versus Hamilton. I felt good about it.”

Yes, Howell’s home run rate was higher this year. And that could be a sign of just plain ol bad luck. But he also went from an arsenal of 4-5 pitches in 2009 to a two-pitch pitcher in 2011. That may have allowed batters to sit on his fastball. And if a batter is sitting on an 86 mph fastball, they can do a lot of damage. But that is another discussion for another time.

Maddon went on to say that blaming the loss on Howell “is absolutely insane as far as [he is] concerned.”

Hey, we know Maddon will always Read the rest of this entry »

Oct 04

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Disappearing Offense, Longo’s Struggle, And Maddon’s Misguided Loyalty

Evan Longoria, Jeff Niemann, Joe Maddon, JP Howell, Kyle Farnsworth, Manny Ramirez 11 Comments »
Click Here For Boxscore
Rangers 4, Rays 3 (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: David Price. There were concerns about Price heading into this game and whether he could be counted on in a big game. As far as we’re concerned, Price came through big time. He held the lethal Rangers offense scoreless for six innings before finally yielding a home run in the 7th inning. Loss was not his fault…Desmond Jennings. Flash struggled in September. October seems to suit him much better. Two home runs for Jennings. Too bad nobody else showed up for the offense.

THE BAD: Joe Maddon. Hey, you want to stick with your guys on the postseason roster even if they struggled. That’s cool. But the Rays never show loyalty to relief pitchers. So Joe Maddon’s loyalty to JP Howell is perplexing. Did we really need to see Howell in a 1-run game with the bases loaded and Josh Hamilton at the plate? Maddon has now gone from walking Hamilton with the bases loaded during the regular season to giving him a BP pitcher in the playoffs…The Offense. No baserunners in the first 3 innings. Only 3 baserunners in the first 6 innings. Yeah. That’s not going to win too many playoff games. The Red Sox aren’t around now to help. The Rays gotta figure out a way to win this thing on their own…Evan Longoria. It is not too often that Longoria doesn’t show up. He didn’t show up last night. He went 0-3 with 3 strikeouts. And after the third strikeout, he even showed a bit of frustration, throwing the bat. And if BJ Upton is not caught stealing in the 8th, Longoria might have struck out again. Once Upton was off the bases, the Rangers pitched around Longo and gave him first base.

THE TELLING: In the 8 postseason matchups between these two teams, the home team is now 1-7…Kyle Farnsworth was available last night and even warmed up at one point. But he never got into the game.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

Aug 27

Postgame Shot Of Joe: Winning As Yanks Tread Water

Jake McGee, JP Howell 3 Comments »

The bullpen reared its scary head in Toronto, sans Kyle Farnsworth, and held on today to put the Rays seven back of the Yankees in the Wild Card chase.

Obviously, the bullpen was more rested than any history. Then why did Joe Maddon pull J.P. Howell for Jake McGee — lefty for lefty — to open the eighth after Howell went six pitches (two outs) to close the seventh? Howell had given up just one hit over his previous nine outings.

Surely Howell was capable of more. And right on cue, McGee served up a gopher ball and put the Jays back in the game.

Oh, well. There’s no use questioning everyone’s favorite manager, especially after a win. The team is confident and swinging the big boy sticks, and it’s certainly not Maddon’s fault the Rays left another pile of runners on base to keep the game close.

It was interesting to see that during today’s in-broadcast sales pitch for 2012 season tickets, there was no offer dangling priority purchasing for 2011 playoff tickets, which is pretty standard for any team in a pennant race. Shouldn’t the Rays believe? Or at least put that vibe out there? Matt Silverman needs to smack someone for that.

And speaking of the Yankees, their pitching is imploding and a slew of Hurricane Irene rainouts and other lost games leave them with an overloaded schedule of epic proportions.

Assuming the fix isn’t in and Major League Baseball doesn’t find a way to give the Yanks a break somehow, the whole scenario can only help the Rays.

Oh, the glorious potential irony of the Yanks getting screwed by the Rays, in part, because they don’t play in a rickety old dome.

Aug 12

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Niemann’s Status, Double-Play D, And JP’s Struggles

Andrew Friedman, Hak-Ju Lee, Jeff Niemann, JP Howell, Tim Beckham 15 Comments »
Click Here For Boxscore
Rays 4, Royals 1 (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: Jeff Niemann. Is Jeff Niemann making himself the great pitcher we always hoped? Or is he just making himself into a winter trade candidate? In his last 7 starts he has an ERA of 1.65 and has worked into the 7th inning 5 times…Joel Peralta. Where would the bullpen be this season without Peralta? After JP Howell did his best to make an easy win more difficult, Peralta came in with 2 on in the 7th and got a big strikeout. He then got a big double-play to end the 8th…Double-Play D. The Rays got two huge inning-ending double-plays. In the 7th, on a strikeout with 2 runners stealing, Kelly Shoppach threw out the runner at second rather than try for the runner at third. Then in the 8th, with a runner on first and a groundball to first, Casey Kotchman took a huge step towards the mound before throwing to second, making sure that the throw would easily clear the runner and give Elliot Johnson a clear look back to first base.

THE BAD: JP Howell. This is where Joe Maddon drives fans nuts. At this point, why is Howell even a consideration in high-leverage situations? He has zero confidence in himself. And the opposing hitters know this. And when your fastball is upper-80s, it is hard to be successful without any confidence in your stuff.

THE TELLING: If the Yankees go 23-23 down the stretch, they will finish 94-68. The Rays would need to go 31-14 to tie…

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • A young Rays catching prospect had himself quite a season, setting records and winning league MVP in the Venezuelan Summer League. [Biscuit Crumbs]
  • Here are the draft picks that have until Monday to sign with the Rays. [Rays Prospects]
  • The New Jersey Star-Ledger spoke with some of Andrew Friedman’s Wall Street co-workers. [NJ.com]
  • David Price got quite the Read the rest of this entry »
Jul 15

Surprise! Shields And Farnsworth Were Top Arms In First Half

Jake McGee, James Shields, JP Howell, Kyle Farnsworth 1 Comment »

Yesterday we looked the Rays biggest first-half bats. Well, we can also use WPA to look at which pitchers came through when it mattered the most so far this season.

In short, WPA gives the pitchers points for a good play and takes away points for bad plays. The amount of points depends on how much of an impact that play had on the Rays winning the game (for an intro to WPA, please check yesterday’s post).

Here are the pitchers so far this season…

James Shields has been the Rays most important pitcher, by far. Of course, that is no surprise.

An interesting thing to look at here is the differences between relievers and starters. We always work under the assumption that starting pitchers are more important than relievers because they work far more innings.

However, the outs later in the game can be far more important than the outs early in the game. And if a relief pitcher is given regular work in high-leverage situations, they can have just as much of an impact as some starters.

For example, Kyle Farnsworth has been the Rays second most important pitcher so far this season. One thing that helps Farnsworth is Joe Maddon’s trust. Unlike Rafael Soriano, Farnsworth has come into several games this season in the 8th inning with runners on base. Those outs tend to be far more valuable than the leadoff hitters in the 9th inning with a 2- or 3-run lead.

Of course, if the reliever sucks, those negative points can add up. And we see that with Andy Sonnanstine (although some of that was as a starter), JP Howell, Adam Russell, Jake McGee, and Cesar Ramos, the Rays five pitchers that have hurt the team the most.

We can also scale these values to get a better sense of who is making the most of their opportunities. Here is the WPA per 9 innings…

And now we can really see how important those late inning outs can be, with the good (Farnsworth) and the bad (McGee).

And we also see which relievers should be getting the ball in critical situations (Farnsworth, Juan Cruz) and who shouldn’t (Howell, Ramos, Russell). Then again, most of you guys probably already knew that. But at least we have numbers now to prove it.

Jul 10

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss BJ’s Big Apple, Price’s Disappearing Fastball, And Des To The DL Again

BJ Upton, David Price, Desmond Jennings, Evan Longoria, Fernando Perez, JP Howell 6 Comments »
Click Here For Boxscore
Yankees 5, Rays 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: The Bullpen. It wasn’t the best performance ever (3ip, 1r, 3bb, 2K), but anytime a bullpen can hold the Yankees to 1 run in 3 innings and keep the Rays in the game, that is all we can ask for…BJ’s Big Apple. In his career, playing in New York, BJ Upton is 48-152 (.316) with 8 home runs and 28 RBI in 41 games…Ben Zobrist. Zorilla has 9 hits and 4 walks in the last 4 games.

THE BAD: David Price. Only 66 of Price’s 108 pitches (61.1%) were fastballs. Prior to yesterday, that number was 79.1%. And when Price is really strong, it is not unusual to see 90% fastballs. So either Price did not have his good fastball yesterday. Or the Rays didn’t want to throw the Yankees too many heaters. If the latter is the case, it is a bit troubling. Price is a dominating pitcher with a dominating fastball. He is one of those rare pitchers that shouldn’t have to adjust his style based on the opposition no matter how good they are…BJ Upton. Can BJ please stop bickering at the umpires. It is getting to the point where we just want the umpire to eject him. Yesterday it was after a called strike 1 in the 8th inning.

THE TELLING: Desmond Jennings has now been placed on the DL and will be out a couple of weeks. So much for “day-to-day”…The first hit David Price gave up in his career was a home run to, you guessed it, Derek Jeter…According to CoolStandings.com, the Rays have a 13% chance of making the playoffs despite having the 4th best record in the AL.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • JP Howell on his $1,000 fine: “That (stinks). That’s not cool…A thousand bucks for that? I didn’t touch him…I don’t want to pay a thousand…I want to get it over with, too. But a thousand bucks is steep to me…I wonder how much [the umpires] get fined for cussing at us. But I don’t think it’s any.” [TampaBay.com]
  • Matt Joyce is not happy about Read the rest of this entry »
Jul 01

Howell Ejected, Makes Ass Of Himself During, And After Game

JP Howell 52 Comments »

Last night, JP Howell was ejected in the eighth inning after giving up a 3-run home run. This came after several questionable borderline pitches that did not go Howell’s way.

After Howell gave up the home run, he almost immediately slammed his glove down in disgust. Technically, that alone was an ejectable offense. The home plate umpire did not see it, and the umpires may have just chalked it up to the “heat of the moment,” and “no harm, no foul.”

But then, when the umpire throws Howell a replacement ball, he first smacks the ball to the ground. He then picked up the ball and tossed it aside.

Did Howell have a right to be upset? Absolutely. Did Howell deserve to be ejected? A thousand times yes.

We have seen hundreds of pitchers get squeezed. But we have never seen a pitcher act like that after it happened. But, hey, we were willing to chalk it up to emotions..

But then Howell opened his mouth after the game. You can see the entire clip below. Here are a few of the more idiotic comments…

On the ball that Howell tossed aside:

Yeah, it wasn’t good enough. The ball he gave me wasn’t good enough. I wanted a new ball. He took it personal.

If you watch the clip below, you will see that this isn’t one of those Joe Maddon tongue-in-cheek comments. It appears that he is actually trying to pass this BS off to the press.

On deserving a better strikezone:

The pitches I made. You make those pitches. You make a lot of money [making those pitches]. You should deserve that call.

Hey JP, the batters make Read the rest of this entry »

Jun 26

Postgame Shot Of Joe: Clutch Dirtbag

Evan Longoria, Jeff Niemann, JP Howell 2 Comments »

As former Pirates radio and TV play-by-play man Lanny Frattare would bellow after a Pittsburgh win, “There’s nnnooo doubt about it.” Dirtbag won this game.

Gloveless Dirtbag bailed the Rays out with both the bat and the leather in a game far more frustrating than it was fun to watch.

Rays starter Jeff Niemann had a curveball and little else today and the pitchers, save Goggles who closed the game, weren’t much better. The fact J.P. Howell got the win was nothing more than a quirk and nothing to do with his mound appearance.

First, Dirtbag tied the game with a two-run homer in the sixth and his three-run homer in the ninth gave Goggles plenty of room to work with. And the way the Rays pitchers had thrown today, that four-run lead sure felt good.

Seemed like Dirtbag channeled his inner Albert Pujols as Dirtbag launched that three-run homer the way Pujols did off Brad Lidge to win Game 5 of the 2005 NLCS. Dirtbag simply crushed that ball.

But Dirtbag’s best play may have come in the bottom of the eighth. The Astros had pulled within a run and with two runners on base, Jason Bourgeois grounded to Dirtbag who had the presence of mind to tag out Clint Barmes who was trying to advance from second to third for the first out of a 5-3 double play to end the inning.

Finally, after a rough start to the season that began with an injury, it appears Dirtbag is rolling into form.

Jun 25

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss James The Greater, And Evan The Tinkerer

Evan Longoria, James Shields, JP Howell, Matt Joyce 2 Comments »
Click Here For Boxscore
Rays 5, Astros 1 (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: James Shields. Ho hum. Another start, another complete game. That is his 6th on the year, and his 3rd in a row. And really, he was toying with the Astros all night. Typically, Shields will use a full arsenal of 5-6 pitches. Last night it was just 4-seam fastball, curve and change. And there was nothing the Astros could do…Evan Longoria. Is Dirtbag starting to heat up? Hard to say. He is still looking for consistency. But there are signs. Last night’s 3-run home run was all Shields would need. That was Longo’s 2nd in 4 nights. Of course, those were sandwiched around a couple of 0-4s. Still, we are getting the sense, that the timing is almost back…BJ Upton. Upton followed up Longoria’s home run with one of his own, going back-to-back and a belly-to-belly.

THE BAD: Too Much Tinkering. First it was his hair. Now Evan Longoria is hitting without batting gloves. For a guy with so much natural ability, he spends way too much time inside his own head. He hit a home run last night. That’s great. Is he going to go gloveless the rest of the year? There is a reason players where gloves. It is a better grip. An advantage. A wise man once said, “don’t think, it can only hurt the ballclub.”

THE TELLING: Since 2000, only 2 pitchers Roy Halladay (twice) and Paul Byrd, have longer streaks than James Shields of consecutive complete games. Both of those pitchers had 4-game streaks…Since 2000, only 24 pitchers have thrown 6 complete games in an ENTIRE SEASON. And only 16 of those have thrown more than 6. Shields has 6 in 16 starts…JP Howell was back with the team after his bout with gout in his foot…Matt Joyce is once again a platoon player. He sat last night and will again tomorrow. After tomorrow’s game, Joyce will have been on the bench for 6 of the last 14 games.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

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