Apr 17
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: Run Prevention. Much has been made about the Red Sox newfound emphasis on defense and run prevention. It was not on display last night. Jeremy Hermida misplayed a flyball in left and earlier, Adrian Beltre lost a groundball in the lights that scored Carl Crawford from second…Running Wild. Even with Victor Martinez getting his first day off, the Rays stole 4 bases off of Jason Varitek…Randy Choate. Had to love Joe Maddon’s move to bring Choate in for just one left-handed batter. Not saying he should never face another righty, but Choate needed a positive outing on the mound and he got it by getting JD Drew to ground out to lead off the 8th.
THE BAD: Wade Davis. It is hard to complain about Big Dub allowing just 2 hits and a run, but Davis was lucky. Of his 104 pitches, 58 were strikes and 46 were out of the strikezone. He walked 4 and had to be pulled after 5 innings.
THE TELLING: The game was suspended in the middle of the 9th inning. It will be resumed tonight at 7:00, prior to the originally scheduled game…This was the first suspended regular season game in Rays history…Weather may actually be worse tonight…The Red Sox were essentially playing with just 1 bench player with both Dustin Pedroia Jacoby Ellsbury and Mike Cameron unavailable…The only difference right now between David Ortiz and Pat Burrell is that Rays fans don’t expect anything from Burrell.
WHERE THEY STAND: The Rays are 6-3, one-half game behind the Yankees and tied with the Blue Jays. After 9 games in 2008 the Rays were 4-5.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- MLB has told Joe Maddon that he is no longer allowed to wear his cold weather hoodie (as seen above). [The Heater]
- Mitch Talbot picked up his first career win with the Indians. And it was a complete game…This is why minor league options and the Rule 5 draft exist. If Talbot was still in the Rays organization he would be in the minors without much hope for being promoted this season. Also, Talbot’s success, along with that of Edwin Jackson and Jason Hammel will help the Rays in the long run as it will increase the value of Rays pitching prospects in the eyes of other teams. [Dayton Daily News]
- Catcher Jose Lobaton has been promoted to triple-A. [Biscuit Crumbs]
- Tom Verducci writes that the pressure is on Pat Burrell to start producing. [SI.com]
DOWN ON THE FARM…
- Check out “The Rundown” from Rays Prospects for boxscores and more detailed recaps. [Rays Prospects]
- DURHAM: The Bulls scored 14 runs and had 20 hits…Dan Johnson hit his 4th home run, a 3-run shot…Joe Dillon and Ryan Shealy each hit their first home runs of the year…Fernando Perez went 2-6 with 2 RBI and his 3rd stolen base…Hank Blalock went 3-5 and has 5 hits in the last 2 games.
- MONTGOMERY: Jake McGee started and gave up 5 runs in 4.1 innings on 4 hits and 4 walks. He struck out 3…Matt Fields was 2-4.
- CHARLOTTE: Joe Cruz struck out 6 and walked 2 in 6 innings. He gave up 1 run…Tim Beckham went 0-4 and committed his first error…Matt Sweeney was 1-4 with 3 Ks.
- BOWLING GREEN: Wilking Rodriguez struck out 9 and walked 2 in 6 innings. He allowed 1 run…Mark Thomas was 3-6 with 2 RBI and is 10-24 (.417) to start the year.
Mar 29
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: Matt Garza. Like James Shields the day before, Garza stretched his arm out working 7 strong innings, allowing just 4 hits and striking out 7. He walked 1. He now has 21 strikeouts and just 4 walks this spring…Ben Zobrist. Zorilla looked comfortable in the 3-hole, hitting a single, triple and a home run…Carlos Pena. Pena, who had 3 hits all spring before the weekend, had 3 hits this weekend, including a home run on Sunday. He also walked twice yesterday.
THE BAD: The Truffle Shuffle. Yes, it is spring, and yes scoring the run was not important. But a safety squeeze with Pat Burrell on third base? Burrell was thrown out at home on Gabe Kapler’s squeeze attempt.
THE TELLING: It appears that Joe Maddon is leaning towards having BJ Upton hit 6th and dropping Pat Burrell to the 7th spot…Hank Blalock started at third base…With 6 games remaining, the Rays now have 17 wins. That is 1 short of the franchise record set in 2008.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Marc Topkin says there is a possibility that opening day will not sell out. This would be the first time since 2005. Anybody still think we were overreacting last week?…In the same piece Topkin writes about new ways in which the Rays are taking advantage of video technology. [St. Pete Times]
- Dioner Navarro and Willy Aybar played in a minor league game yesterday and both are expected to be ready for opening day. [St. Pete Times]
- Michael Sasso notes that Bud Selig’s history suggests that at some point he will become more active and more aggressive in the quest for a new stadium for the Rays. [Tampa Tribune]
- Jeremy Hellickson will pitch in a minor league game today which leaves him on pace to pitch the Durham Bulls opener and the exhibition game in Durham between the Bulls and the Rays on Saturday. [Biscuit Crumbs]
- Mitch Talbot, who was sent to the Indians for Kelly Shoppach will be on the Indians opening day roster and has won a spot in the rotation. [Cleveland.com]
- Jordi Scrubbings interviewed The Cowbell Kid. [JordiScrubbings.com]
- Randy Choate and Joe Maddon speak about Choate’s transformation from lefty-specialist to a reliever that can be used at any time. [Tampa Tribune]
- Marc Topkin writes about how Lance Cormier will be called upon in more high-leverage situations with JP Howell on the shelf. [St. Pete Times]
- Wade Townsend was released by the Blue Jays. [Rays Prospects]
- Jason Cromer and Alex Cobb will both miss the start of the season. [Biscuit Crumbs]
Dec 22
Just a few links on Steve Garvey’s and Steve Carlton’s birthday…
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Little surprise here…Mitch Talbot was sent to the Indians to complete the Shoppach deal. Several writers have suggested the Indians ended up with the better player in this deal. But keep in mind that Talbot is out of minor league options, and the Rays had no room on the 25-man roster. [The Heater]
- Stacy Long has released his list of the Rays top 30 prospects. Kepp in mind, unlike most Rays Top Prospects lists, Long has actually seen most of these guys play…And we will forgive Long for his shot at the great state of Iowa. [Biscuit Crumbs]
- Trop Talk projects the Rays 2010 lineup. [Trop Talk]
- Jayson Stark reports that the Rays were one part of a complicated 4-team trade that fell apart during the winter meetings. In the end, the trade was no different than the proposed trade with the Cubs in which the Rays would have received Milton Bradley and Pat Burrell would have gone to the Cubs (scroll down to 5:03pm). [ESPN]
Nov 27
Just a few links to wet your tastebuds on this day after Turkey Day.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- The Rays continue their infatuation with side-arming relief pitchers by signing Joe Bateman and RJ Swindle to minor league deals.
- The Blue Jays are interested in trading for Reid Brignac, but feel the Rays are asking for too much. [MLB Trade Rumors]
- Jon Weber has signed a minor league deal with the Yankees. [Watching Durham Bulls Baseball]
- Bill Chastain writes about the different ways the Rays give back to the community. [MLB]
- Jeff Niemann was not named as part of the Topps MLB Rookie All-Star team. The roster includes just one right-handed pitcher with that spot going to Tommy Hanson of Atlanta. Niemann was 13-6 with a 3.94 ERA while Hanson was 11-4 with a 2.89 ERA. Niemann had a better WAR (3.2 vs 2.6) but Hanson had the better FIP (3.50 vs 4.07). Doesn’t seem like a huge oversight. [The Heater]
- Baseball Digest takes a look at the Rays off-season plans. [Baseball Digest]
- Bill Chastain writes about the work Mitch Talbot is getting in the Arizona Fall League. Mitch Lukevics says it is an opportunity to get Talbot some more innings since he only made 11 starts this season due to injury. Of course, Talbot will be out of minor league options in 2010, so the Rays may either be hoping Talbot can fill a bullpen role or they are showing other teams that Talbot is healthy should the Rays attempt to trade him. [MLB]
Sep 08
Norfolk 4, Durham 3. Jason Cromer pitched 4 scoreless innings, giving up 4 hits and no walks…Desmond Jennings went 1-5…Sean Rodriguez and Matt Joyce each went 0-4…John Jaso was 3-4 with a pair of doubles. The Bulls finished the regular season 83-61, winning the IL South by 2 games behind Gwinnett in the IL South division as the Wild Card winner. They will face Louisville in a first-round, best-of-5 playoff series beginning Wednesday.
Montgomery 7, Mobile 5. Matt Spring’s 8th home run, a 3-run shot in the top of the 9th, proved to be the game-winner…Brian Baker went 5.1 innings and gave up 3 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks…JT Hall hit his 6th and 7th home runs and Matt Fields hit his 5th…The Biscuits finished the season 66-74, 27 games back in the Southern League South Division (that the Southern League has North and South divisions will never cease to amuse us).
Charlotte. No games scheduled. The Stone Crabs begin a best-of-3 divisional playoff series against Ft. Myers tonight.
Lexington 5, Bowling Green 1. Tim Beckham went 1-4 and Jake Jefferies was 0-4. Bowling Green finished the second-half of the season 30-38, 10.5 games back. Beckham finished the year hitting .275/.328/.389 with 5 home runs and 13 steals. Jefferies hit .261/.326/.359 with 8 home runs.
Hudson Valley. Finished their season 38-37, 8.5 games back in their division.
Princeton. Finished their season 36-31, 10.5 games back in the East division.
Notes from Down on the Farm…
- Mitch Talbot, who had been out since May with a shoulder injury, threw 3 innings over the weekend and is slated to start game 2 of the playoffs for Durham. [Triangle Offense]
- It is like 2006 all over again. The Rays can’t win a game but can lean on the fact that they have some of the best prospects in baseball. Desmond Jennings and Jeremy Hellickson come in 1 and 2 in the latest Prospect Hot Sheet. [Baseball America]
Jun 03
Durham 6, Toledo 5 (11). A Chris Nowak 2-run home run in the bottom of the 9th got the Bulls within 1 and then Jon Weber doubled home Brandon Chaves with 2 outs to tie the game and send it to extra frames. Then in the 11th, Justin Ruggiano singled home the game-winner with 2 outs. Ruggiano finished 3-6 to get his average up to .260…John Jaso was 2-5…Matt DeSalvo made his second start for the Bulls, allowing 4 runs in 7 innings. He did get touched for 2 home runs.
Jacksonville, Montgomery (ppd. wet grounds). Game will be resumed today with Jacksonville leading 5-1 in bottom of 4th.
Charlotte 9, Tampa 4. Jesse Darcy allowed 4 runs (2 earned) in 5 innings…Matt Fields homered for the second straight night and was 2-5. He now has 11 home runs on the year…Emeel Salem was 2-3, his 5th multi-hit game in the last 8.
Bowling Green 5, Lexington 3. Strong start for Shane Dyer who allowed 1 run in 5 innings to pick up his first win of the year…Tim Beckham was 0-4 and did not commit an error…Jake Jefferies was the DH and went 0-4 while Mike McCormick went 1-3 with a walk.
Notes from Down on the Farm…
- Jeremy Hellickson is now heading back to Charlotte to continue his rehab in extended spring training. [Biscuit Crumbs]
- Mitch Talbot joins Jeremy Hellickson on the DL with Chris Richard coming off. [Watching Durham Bulls Baseball]
- Chris Mason is on his way back to Montgomery after filling in for Mitch Talbot for 1 start at Durham and Nevin Ashley has been promoted to Montgomery. [Biscuit Crumbs]
Jun 02
Durham 6, Buffalo 4. Chris Mason took Mitch Talbot’s spot in the rotation and allowed 4 runs in 4 innings. He struck out 3 and walked 1…Justin Ruggiano was 0-4 with 2 Ks…John Jaso hit his second home run and was 2-3.
Montgomery 6, Jacksonville 1. Brandon Mann picked up his 4th win after holding Jacksonville to 1 run in 6 innings…Eddie Morlan strike out 3 in 2 scoreless innings…Desmond Jennings was 1-5 with a double and Rhyne Hughes was 2-4 and didn’t strike out.
Charlotte 8. Tampa 2. Alex Cobb struck out 6 in 5 innings, allowing 2 runs in 5 innings…Matt Fields was 2-3 with a double and his 10th home run. He drove in 3…Emeel Salem was 2-5, his 4th multi-hit game in the last 7.
Bowling Green 7, Rome 4. Matt Moore struck out 6 in 4 innings, but was let down by his defense that committed 2 errors that led to 3 unearned runs…Tim Beckham was hitless in 3 at bats but did walk once. He also committed his 14th error.
Notes from Down on the Farm…
- Triangle Offense says Mitch Talbot may have missed his start with shoulder stiffness, but was unable to confirm…Chris Mason, a former starter was promoted a couple of days ago and his numbers in Montgomery hardly seemed worthy of the move. So it appears Mason was promoted to make this start and it looks as though this was a known issue with Talbot’s arm and not something that popped up during warm ups. [Triangle Offense]
- Jeremy Hellickson will throw live batting practice on Wednesday. [Biscuit Crumbs]
- Watching Durham Bulls Baseball takes a look at Durham’s pitching and hitting trends. [Watching Durham Bulls Baseball]
Apr 30
Akinori Iwamura, Alex Cobb, Andy Sonnanstine, Carl Crawford, Chad Bradford, Chad Orvella, Dan Wheeler, Emeel Salem, Gabe Gross, Gabe Kapler, Jason Bartlett, Jeff Niemann, Justin Ruggiano, Mitch Talbot, Reid Brignac, Shawn O'Malley, Shawn Riggans, Willy Aybar Cork Gaines
Welcome to the 1st Annual Tampa Bay Rays Trade Pool where we determine who is the best at predicting which members of the Rays organization will be traded this season (this contest is based loosely on the “Dead Pool“).
We have invited all members of the Tampa Bay Rays Blogosphere as as well as a couple of outside bloggers.
The Rules:
- Each blogger submitted a list of 5 players they believe have the greatest chance to be traded this season. All players in the organization are eligible.
- The bloggers ranked those 5 players, giving the highest rank (#1) to the player they think is most likely to be traded.
- If one of the players they chose is traded prior to the end of the season, that blogger will receive points based on where the blogger ranked the player. If Aki Iwamura is traded and a blogger has Aki ranked first, they will receive 5 points. If they have Aki ranked second, they will receive 4 points and so on.
- The blogger with the most points at the end of the season wins.
- We also want YOUR lists in the comments. Let’s see if you guys can beat the experts. And by “experts” we of course mean 11 people with too much free time on their hands.
Notes on the rankings can be found after the tables…
Notes on the rankings
- We have invited the individual bloggers to provide comments on their individual rankings in either the comments section here or on their own blogs. We will provide those links as they happen.
- The difficulty in these rankings is predicting whether the Rays will be “buyers” or “sellers” this season. If they are in the playoff hunt, they are more likely to trade prospects. If they fall off the pace they are more likely to try and move expensive veterans.
- Below we gave each player an MVP-style point total. That is, every time a player was given a rank of 1, we gave them 5 points. Every time a player was ranked 2nd, we gave them 4 points, and so on. This gives us a sense of which players the Blogosphere thinks is most likely to be traded.
- As we can see, Reid Brignac and Chad Bradford lead the way with the most first-place rankings (3), but Gabe Gross leads the way with 24 points total and is deemed the most likely to be traded by the group as a whole.
- Gabe Gross appeared on the most lists (7).
- 10 different players appeared on more than one list.
Thanks to all who chose to participate including…
Also, you might be asking “What does the winner receive?” We have no idea. Any suggestions?
Dec 11
[Update: 11:58pm] Marc Topkin confirms.
[11:30pm] Jon Paul Morosi of the Detroit Free-Press is now reporting that the deal reported earlier, in which the Rays would send Edwin Jackson to the Tigers for Matt Joyce has now been finalized.
Joyce, 24, is a left-handed hitting outfielder that hit .252/.339/.492 with 12 home runs in 92 games for the Tigers in 2008. He also hit .270/.352/.550 with 13 home runs in 56 games at triple-A.
Moving Jackson assures that Andy Sonnanstine will be in the rotation next season and clears a spot for David Price, although Jeff Niemann, Mitch Talbot and Jason Hammel could also get a shot in April if Price is deemed not ready.
And with that, the Edwin Jackson era in Tampa Bay has ended. Some people like to play video games. Some people like to read books. Edwin Jackson liked to impersonate Bob Gibson for four innings and then the Hindenburg for one.
Tigers trade for Tampa Bay pitcher Edwin Jackson [Detroit Free-Press]
Sep 29
[Update: 8:24pm] The White Sox put away the Tigers 8-2. The Rays post-season opponent will now be determined tomorrow at 7:30 ET in a 1-game playoff.
[Update: 7:26pm] Gary Glover’s first pitch was a grand slam for Chicago. About right. 6-2 White Sox.
[Update: 7:24pm] White Sox have tied the game at 2-2 and Detroit just brought in Gary Glover with the bases loaded, which should just about a guarantee a White Sox win and a 1-game playoff tomorrow with the Twins.
[Update: 6:08pm] Game announcers just said the Twins are in Minneapolis with a charter ready to bring them to Chicago.
The White Sox and Tigers are currently in the 4th inning with the White Sox leading 1-0. A Chicago win will force a 1-game playoff tomorrow at home against the Twins…Interesting question: Are the Twins in Chicago today? Today’s game was delayed by rain for 3 hours. Would the Twins wait until after the game to travel? Can’t imagine they would fly in tomorrow morning.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Carl Crawford went 0-4 in 5 plate appearances during an Instructional League game today. He reported no pain and indicated he was playing at 100%. Crawford also says his hamstrings “feel good”, no doubt benefiting from the time off. [Rays Report]
- Reid Brignac is healthy and playing in the Fall Instructional League. Andrew Friedman said he would not hesitate to put Brignac on the postseason roster should an injury necessitate the addition of a middle infielder…Marc Lancaster also reports that Jeff Niemann, Mitch Talbot and Juan Salas have been told they will not be on the postseason roster. [Rays Report]
- Ben Zobrist was named co-player of the week. He is the 4th Ray to win the award this season. [Rays Report]
- Outs Per Swing has a nice list of the Rays’ top 10 pitching performances this season. A testament to this year’s squad, all 5 of the Rays’ starters make the list at least once. However, 7 of the outings came via Matt Garza (4) or James Shields (3) with the other 3 starters each appearing once. Our only argument might come with #1. We probably would have gone with Garza’s 1-hit, 10-K performance against the Marlins (#2 on the list). That was the most dominating performance we have ever seen by a Rays’ pitcher. Still, 1-hit shutout by Shields is hard to argue against. [Outs Per Swing]
- Sorry we missed this one yesterday…Baseball Digest Daily spoke with Buster Olney of ESPN.com during their weekly podcast. Among the topics covered were the Rays. You can catch the Rays segment at about the 35 min mark. [Baseball Digest Daily]
- The Angels “Ain’t S#!t” compared to the Rays. [Bugs and Cranks]
- The first pitches for games 1 and 2 will be thrown out by senior VP John Higgins, the Rays’ first-ever employee and Paul Azinger, the captain of the recent US Ryder Cup team, and Bradenton resident. [The Heater]
