Archive for the 'Scott Kazmir' Category

Sep 19

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Briggy’s Bat, Postgame Concerts And Kazmir’s Return

Mike Ekstrom, Reid Brignac, Scott Kazmir 6 Comments »

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: Reid Brignac. His 2-run home run in the 5th game the Rays the lead, and then he led off the 10th with a double. Jason Bartlett pinch-ran and would eventually score the winning run on a 2-out throwing error.

THE BAD: Postgame Concerts: If there is a downside to the postgame concerts it is that some of these shows will attract non-sports fans. And when that happens, the Rays will get a late-arriving crowd in which 5-10K people won’t start filtering into The Trop until the 7th inning and have no interest whatsoever in the game…Steinbrenner Monument. Tomorrow’s game time has been pushed back to 7:35 due to a pre-game ceremony unveiling George Steinbrenner’s plaque in Monument Park at Replica Yankee Stadium. Anybody think it is a coincidence that the Yankees waited until they were playing the Rays?

THE TELLING: Scott Kazmir will start today for the Angels. This will be his first start at Tropicana Field as an opposing player…Mike Ekstrom was recalled from Durham following last night’s game…According to CoolStandings.com the Rays have a 99.9% chance at making the playoffs.

WHERE THEY STAND: The Rays are 89-58 one-half game behind the Yankees (tied in the loss column and the Rays hold the tie-breaker) and 7.5 games ahead of the Red Sox in the Wild Card (8 in the loss column). After 147 games in 2008, the Rays were 88-59.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • The Durham Bulls season ended on Friday night when they lost game 4 of the Governor’s Cup Finals. [Indy week]
  • It sure looks like winning the division is much more important to the Rays than it is to the Yankees. [Tampa Tribune]
  • Justin Bieber does seem much more appropriate for “DJ Kitty.” [TAUNTR]
  • SBN Tampa Bay makes the case for Dan Johnson on the postseason roster. [SBN Tampa Bay]
  • Rob Bradford of WEEI makes a case for the Red Sox signing Carl Crawford this offseason. One interesting quote from Crawford in the piece: “I feel like if I didn’t have to run as much my offense would be better.“ [WEEI]
  • This week Read the rest of this entry »
Aug 24

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss MFIKY’s Way, James The Better And Chasing 95

Evan Longoria, Johnny Damon, Mike Ekstrom, Rafael Soriano, Scott Kazmir, Wade Davis 11 Comments »

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: Follow MFIKY, He Knows The Way. Rafael Soriano came in a shut down the Angels 1-2-3 in the 9th for his 38th save. But even more impressive was how he did it. 9 pitches. 3 strikeouts. He is the first pitcher to accomplish that feat this season…Bossman. BJ Upton stepped up to the plate against the guy that was his best friend on the Rays, Scott Kazmir. Upton didn’t waste any time, hitting the first pitch of the game for a home run…James the Better. Two runs and 8 hits got his pitch count up there (103) and he had to be pulled after 6 innings. But he did have his good stuff at times striking out 10 and walking just 1. His changeup spent a little too much time in the strikezone (20 of 25) but he did get 4 swinging strikes on the change. And that is what he needs to be successful…Chasing 95. The Rays now need only go 18-19 in their final 37 games to reach 95 wins. In the Wild Card era, every AL team that has won at least 95 games, went on to the playoffs.

THE BAD: Letting Kazmir Off The Hook. Once again the bats went cold. After getting 3 runs off of Scott Kazmir in the first, the Rays let the Angels off the hook, allowing Kaz to work into the 6th inning. In the Rays last 25 plate appearances, the Rays went 1-21 with 4 walks.

THE TELLING: The Rays magic number is 32 with 37 left to play…Mike Ekstrom was sent back to the minors to make room for Wade Davis who will start tonight…Evan Longoria was named AL Co-Player of the Week, sharing the award with Robinson Cano….For the first time this season, Joe Maddon used the same lineup for the 3rd consecutive game…Look for Manny Ramirez to be placed on waivers today by the Dodgers.

WHERE THEY STAND: The Rays are 77-48, tied with the Yankees for first place in the AL East. They are 5.5 games ahead of the Red Sox in the Wild Card (6 in the loss column). After 125 games in 2008, the Rays were 77-48.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • Johnny Damon was claimed off waivers by the Red Sox, blocking the Rays from making a claim. But Damon does have a no-trade clause to Boston and is still deciding whether to accept the move. [The Heater]
  • The best question to arise from the leaked MLB financial documents is: Read the rest of this entry »
Aug 23

Was Scott Kazmir’s Negative Influence On David Price The Reason Kaz Was Traded?

David Price, Edwin Jackson, Scott Kazmir 81 Comments »

Saturday is the one-year anniversary of the trade that sent Scott Kazmir to the Angels for Sean Rodriguez and two prospects. And tonight, the Rays face Kazmir for just the second time since the trade. Even though the Rays were just 3.5 games out in the Wild Card race and even though Kazmir was coming off his three best starts of the season, the Rays decided to dump Kazmir and the more than $20 million remaining on his contract.

Some saw the trade as a smart move. Others saw it as waiving the white flag. We just thought it looked bad for a team trying desparately to build a fanbase.

But was the chance to rid themselves of an expensive contract and add depth to the farm system the only reason for the trade? Maybe not.

According to two sources close to the Rays, the biggest reason for trading Kazmir was his negative influence on David Price. At the time, Price was struggling through a rookie campaign in which he would finish 10-7 with a 4.42 ERA.

According to our sources, it was accepted among those close to the Rays that prior to the 2009 season, Kazmir liked to partake in illegal recreational activities with his good friend Read the rest of this entry »

Apr 04

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Shop’s Big Blast, A Rays Futures Game And Kazmir’s Bum Shoulder

Don Zimmer, Elliot Johnson, Joaquin Benoit, Kelly Shoppach, Scott Kazmir, Sean Rodriguez 14 Comments »

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: Kelly Shoppach. Shoppach hit a grand slam off of Jeremy Hellickson.

THE BAD: Future Stars. We like the idea of the Rays playing exhibition games at the parks of their minor league affiliates. It’s great for the local fans. But instead of playing the Mets at The Trop on Friday, why not do what the Yankees did yesterday? The Yankees played an exhibition game against a team composed of their top prospects. For a franchise like the Rays that is so dependent on their farm system, wouldn’t this be a big draw for fans at The Trop the weekend before the regular season starts?

THE TELLING: Kelly Shoppach caught Jeff Niemann…Sean Rodriguez started in right field and batted 9th.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • Several tidbits from Marc Topkin: Elliot Johnson cleared waivers and will go to triple-A…Joaquin Benoit doesn’t sound pleased with his demotion saying “Am I supposed to prove I can pitch in the minors? We’ll see what happens in three-four weeks”…Sean Rodriguez may start at second base on Tuesday…Like Desmond Jennings, Tim Beckham will miss the start of the regular season. [St. Pete Times]
  • Scott Kazmir will start the season on the DL. [ESPN]
  • Marc Topkin writes about some of the key decisions that were made during the spring and why they were made. [St. Pete Times]
  • Art Levy spoke with Don Zimmer about his 62 years in baseball. Great read. [St. Pete Times]
  • Roger Mooney lists the players Raysheads should watch closely in 2010. [Tampa Tribune]
Mar 26

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Ashley’s Big Day, Overlooking Brazelton And Sleeping Wilking

Dewon Brazelton, John Mollicone, Nevin Ashley, Scott Kazmir, Wilking Rodriguez 8 Comments »

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: Nevin Ashley. With Dioner Navarro injured, the Rays may need a backup catcher for the first week or two. Alvin Colina would appear to be the leading candidate but Ashley has received a couple of starts the past week. And throwing out Denard Span in a first inning strike-em-out-throw-em-out doesn’t hurt his chances. He also added a single and a double…David Price. He was shaky early, had a rough 5th inning and allowed 2 home runs on the day, but he retired 9 in a row at one point and was able to work 6 full innings, walking 1 and striking out 5…BJ Upton. Bossman had 2 more hits including a deep double, this one to left-center. It is early, but Bossman seems much more confident at the plate than he did at any point last year. Hat tip to Derek Shelton.

THE BAD: Carlos Pena. Well we praised Pena for his increased contact rate earlier this spring even though he was hitless at the time. So it is only fair that we point out that he struck out 3 times yesterday in 3 plate appearances…The Bat. Pat Burrell started in right field. The Twins radio crew had this to say about one play: “Pat Burrell making a routine play look adventurous out there in right field”…sounds about right. He was also booed after one at bat when he struck out to end the inning with a runner in scoring position. You know things aren’t going well when you get booed by the home crowd during spring training.

THE TELLING: Sean Rodriguez was back at third base for the second time.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • Uh oh. Scott Kazmir and “shoulder injury” in the same title. [LA Times]
  • The always great Wezen-Ball put together a list of the “worst opening day starters of the last 50 years.” Amazingly, Dewon Brazelton is not #1. In fact, he isn’t even on the list. Brzelbum was the Devil Rays opening day starter just 5 years ago, making 8 starts before being demoted. He would only make 2 more starts in his big league career. [Wezen-Ball]
  • The Rays released a couple of minor league catchers, Alex Jamieson and John Mollicone (from Fordham). [Baseball America]
  • Ben Badler on Rays minor leaguer Wilking Rodriguez: Sleeper of the day: Rays RHP Wilking Rodriguez. Fastball up to 96, plus CB, advanced control/feel for pitching for 20-yr-old…Remember that name folks. [Twitter]
  • Sports Networker uses the Durham Bulls as one example of teams that are taking advantage of social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook. [Sports Networker]
Feb 17

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss The Possibility Of A Mid-Season Firesale

Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, Dan Wheeler, Rafael Soriano, Scott Kazmir, Stuart Sternberg, Wade Davis 9 Comments »

The idea of the Rays cutting payroll and not being able to re-sign Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena generated a lot of buzz on the interwebs yesterday.

We just wanted to take a moment to clarify our stance…

We have no problem with the Rays bringing the 2011 payroll south of $60 million. The rotation will still be intact and there are enough in-house options to field a lineup that should still score a lot of runs. We think the 2011 Rays will miss both CC and Pena, but letting both go is the right move.

No, our problem is with the timing. Why take this stance now? Why leave this sour taste in the mouths of the fanbase a full 8 months before any of this matters? Why now, when there is so much to be excited about for the 2010 season?

Is Stuart Sternberg bracing us for a situation where Pena, Crawford, Rafael Soriano and Dan Wheeler are traded during the season even if the Rays are still in the race? Otherwise, why now?

Keep in mind what Stu said last year when Scott Kazmir was traded: “This is who we are.”

We don’t have a problem with trimming payroll in 2011. We will have a problem with trading key players if the Rays are still in the pennant race.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • Junk Roxx writes about giving Carl Crawford his new sleeve tattoo. Sadly, no pictures. [The Junkyard]
  • Rob Neyer says the Rays 2011 payroll cut will be “perfectly healthy.” [ESPN]
  • Add Mets fans to those that are already salivating at thought of Carl Crawford in their team’s uniform in 2011. [Mets Blog]
  • Roger Mooney takes on some of the Rays key questions entering spring training. [Tampa Tribune]
  • John Romano offers Bud Selig a deal that would net the Rays a new stadium, a deal that would never happen. [St. Pete Times]
  • Matt Snyder of Fanhouse weighs in on the Rays eventual move to Tampa. Yeah, we said it. It is not an if, just a when. [Fanhouse]
  • Wade Davis says he is treating spring training like he has to win a job in the rotation. [St. Pete Times]
Jan 25

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Moving The Rays, An Extension For Garza And Kazmir’s New Body

Jake McGee, Jason Bartlett, Matt Garza, Scott Kazmir 9 Comments »

hangoverWell, it is slow time for baseball news, and of course that means, more and more columns on whether Florida can support big league baseball and whether the Rays might move.

First up is Peter Gammons…

Florida has Ramirez, Johnson, Maybin, Longoria, Crawford, Price, Zobrist, Upton and two of the best front offices. Still, there are times when one thinks that maybe they should move a couple of Interleague games to Yeehaw Junction, because if Major League Baseball can’t succeed in Florida with these players, these organizations and a real stadium with a retractable roof in Miami, then maybe Florida should stick to Spring Training and Kevin O’Sullivan’s Gators and let the big leagues move to where the snowbirds came from, in the first place.

Gammons also wonders if the Rays could move to New Jersey or Connecticut.

Marc Topkin adds a local Orlando news report that local investors are beginning the process of attracting a big league team to Orlando, a process that will include a privately funded stadium and almost certainly will target the Rays.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • Marc Topkin reports that Matt Garza and the Rays briefly discussed a multi-year deal before settling on a one-year contract, and agreed to explore the possibility again in the future. Also, Bartlett seems open to a multi-year deal, but Topkin says the Rays are not at this point. [St. Pete Times]
  • Nick Cafardo writes that Carl Crawford could be traded before the deadline if “the Rays’ financial picture gets any gloomier.” [Boston Globe]
  • Bill Chastain writes about Jake McGee’s struggles during his return from Tommy John surgery. [MLB]
  • Scott Kazmir has spent the off-season working with the same trainer that works with Carl Crawford and will throw a more traditional slider this season. [ESPN]
http://tampabay.rays.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100122&content_id=7957596&vkey=news_tb&fext=.jsp&c_id=tb
Jan 23

7″ Evan Longoria Not Quite As Cute As 74″ Evan Longoria

Evan Longoria, Scott Kazmir 5 Comments »
Cick on image for larger version
Cick image for larger version

We are not much for collecting sports memorabilia, but we have always been a fan of the McFarlane line of sports figurines (although they certainly don’t have the charm of the “Starting Lineup” action figures).

Previously, we mentioned that Evan Longoria would be included in the latest set of McFarlane baseball figurines, and now, thanks to Toy News International, we have the visual proof.

Our initial reaction is, meh. Maybe it is just us, but the figurine seems to look more like Gabe Kapler (minus the 24-pack abs). For comparison, see the image of Longoria below (he’s the one on the right).

hangover

Dirtbag is just the second member of the Devil Rays/Rays to be part of the McFarlane collection, joining Scott Kazmir.

Oct 28

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss The Mayor Of Tampa’s (Pin)Stripes Shining Through

Jason Bartlett, Scott Kazmir 14 Comments »

We are pretty sure that most of you throw up a little every time two mayors wager over a championship game. We do. Well, if that bothers you, you might want to sit down before hearing what the Tampa and Clearwater mayors have done. Mayoral championship wagering just Jumped the Shark…

The Tampa Bay Rays didn’t make the World Series this year, but two local mayors aren’t letting that stop them from betting on the outcome…Since Clearwater and Tampa are the spring training homes of the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees, Clearwater’s mayor has made a wager with Tampa’s mayor.

Somebody please explain to us how it is possible that the mayor of Tampa is openly rooting for, and wagering on, the New York Yankees in the World Series. Maybe the Rays should change their name to the St. Pete Rays Pelicans.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • It has only been 12 months since the Rays were in the World Series, but apparently it is not too soon for Martin Fennelly to wonder if the Rays will ever make it back. [Tampa Tribune]
  • David Laurila of Baseball Prospectus interviewed Jason Bartlett. See if you can count the number of times Barty uses the word “man.” [Baseball Prospectus]
  • Do you want the Rays to trade for a catcher this winter? Well here is a list of catchers that could be on the market. See anybody you like? [MLB Trade Rumors]
  • Looking for something to root for in the World Series? Tom Jones has a list of reasons to pick a side. [St. Pete Times]
  • Michael Sasso breaks down the Tampa connections in the World Series. [Tampa Tribune]
  • We mentioned this a few days ago on Twitter, but now we have a transcript from the radio bit in which former Mets GM Jim Duquette interviewed Scott Kazmir. Awkwarddddd. [Newsday]
  • Did we mention that we are on Twitter? [Twitter]
  • The first 2010 prospect list is out. Our thoughts are in the comments section. [Dock of the Rays]
  • Rays Prospects projects where the Rays top prospects will be playing in 2010. [Rays Prospects]
Oct 16

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Stadium Bickering, The Florida Tuskers And Gabe Gross, Celebrity Home Run Hitter

Gabe Gross, Scott Kazmir 1 Comment »

Just a few links this morning as we celebrate the 3rd anniversary of Lou Piniella becoming the manager of the Chicago Cubs.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • In the quest for a new Rays stadium, we have seen The Good (original proposal by the Rays), The Bad (no new stadium in the near future) and as we get closer to the St. Pete mayoral election, we are now seeing The Ugly. Yesterday we read some comments from candidate Kathleen Ford. Today we get an editorial response in the St. Pete Times. [St. Pete Times]
  • When you think of “celebrities” and “home runs,” the first name that comes to mind is Gabe Gross. Right? Well, he apparently qualifies for both at Auburn’s Baseball Celebrity Home Run Derby. [Columbus Ledger-Enquirer]
  • The New York Post looks at how Rick Peterson helped Scott Kazmir rediscover his dominance. [New York Post]
  • The Rays sister franchise, Florida Tuskers of the UFL, won their first game, giving them more wins than the Bucs. The Tuskers play a 6-game schedule. Any chance the Bucs will finish with more wins? We didn’t think so. [Orlando Sentinel]
  • Rays the Stakes makes the case for Jeff Niemann as Rookie of the Year. [Rays the Stakes]
  • They don’t give out MVP awards for the LDS but if they did Sully Baseball thinks Aki Iwamura would have won it for the Rays last year. [Sully Baseball]
Previous Entries Next Entries