Dec 22
Bruce Levine ESPN Chicago held a chat yesterday in which he said “[Matt] Garza is the guy [the Cubs] are after.” He later added that the Cubs are also interested in Fausto Carmona from the Indians, but that Garza is the more pitcher to be acquired in a trade.
What is interesting here is that the Cubs still think they have a shot at Garza. So while the Rays insist they don’t like the offers that are out there, the Cubs must feel they are at least close enough to keep the talks alive.
Levine insists the deal is not dead and that the Cubs have Garza at the top of their wishlist. He goes on to say that the Cubs “are going to be in it all the way.”
The biggest problem with this matchup is that most believe the Cubs don’t have the prospects to get the deal done. Levine says the Rays will insist on Hak-Ju Lee in the deal. Lee is a 19-year old shortstop that hit .282 with a .354 OBP at single-A this past season.
The Cubs may have to work out a second deal with a third team in order to add a prospect or two to the deal. If that happens, Garza could be gone sooner rather than later.
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
May 12
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: Evan Longoria. It does appear that Sampson’s hair is growing back in a bit and it seemed to help last night with an RBI single and the big blow, a 3-run home run on what was a decent fastball down in the zone…Jeff Niemann. If you ranked the Rays 5 starters by talent, the Giraffe would probably be about 7th or 8th. But he just keeps on truckin’. This time it was 7.1 innings without allowing a run until the 8th inning. He improves to 3-0 with a 2.27 ERA.
THE BAD: Ben Zobrist. Yet another run-scoring bunt for Zobrist (his third?) was good within that moment. But is this really what Joe Maddon wants from his #3 hitter? He’s not hitting that bad. He is hitting .268 with a .350 OBP. But his wOBA is only .335 and he has yet to hit a home run. How patient will JoeMa be?
THE TELLING: BJ Upton was back in the lineup one day after the birth of his son…Carlos Pena was given the day off after the birth of his 1-40 slump. Ben Zobrist started at first and Sean Rodriguez was at second base…
WHERE THEY STAND: The Rays are 23-10, 1 game ahead of the Yankees in the East (tied in the loss column) and 4.5 games ahead of the Tigers in the Wild Card. After 33 games in 2008 the Rays were 17-16.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Don’t forget to check out the ongoing conversations at the Raysheads Forum. [Raysheads Forum]
- Evan Longoria talks about beating Scott Kazmir (video). [The Heater]
- Shawn Riggans was released by the Mets…We wouldn’t be surprised if the Rays re-sign Riggans to a minor league deal. You can never have too many catchers around that are familiar with your pitching staff. And the need for another catcher is emphasized by the recent injuries to Kelly Shoppach and Dioner Navarro. Of course, if another team offers a spot on their 40-man roster, then all bets are off.
- Joe Maddon on John Jaso: “That tells me he belongs here,” Maddon said, raving about all the good Jaso did behind and at the plate (three hits). “The fact that he’s accountable for it and he told his teammate that — he belongs a Ray”…In the same piece we learn that Matt Joyce has finally played catch without pain and could start a rehab assignment next week. [St. Pete Times]
- Former first-round pick Wade Townsend was released by his independent league team. That might not be a good sign for his career. [Rays Prospects]
- Fake Evan Longoria defends his use of the bunt during Sunday’s perfect game. (thanks Charles) [Morgan Ensberg's Baseball IQ]
- Carl Crawford responded to Bobby Valnetine’s criticisms that CC needlessly dove for a ball Monday. [Sporting News]
- The Tampa Sports Authority won’t make any pitches for a new Rays stadium but they are planning to be involved if necessary. [St. Pete Times]
- BJ Upton was back with the Rays a day after the birth of his son. Here is talking about the experience (video). [The Heater]
- The Hardball Times takes a look at David Price’s newest weapon. [The Hardball Times]
- The Durham Bulls returned to their old ballpark, the one used in the movie “Bull Durham.” (Thanks Joe D.) [MiLB]
- Evan Longoria’s haircut is catching on with…squirrels? [RaysRev]
- How local sports radio personalities prepare to talk about the Rays. [RaysRev]
DOWN ON THE FARM…
- Check out “The Rundown” from Rays Prospects for boxscores and more detailed recaps. [Rays Prospects]
- DURHAM: Jeff Bennett made his third start giving up 5 runs on 5 hits and 7 walks in 4.2 innings…Desmond Jennings was 1-3 with 2 walks and his 7th stolen base…Hank Blalock went 1-5 and stole a base…Ryan Shealy hit his 4th home run.
- MONTGOMERY: Jake McGee allowed 2 runs (1 earned) in 4 innings. He struck out 4 and walked 1…The Biscuits collected just 4 hits.
- CHARLOTTE: Matt Moore pitched 6 shutout innings on 3 hits and 3 walks. He struck out 3…The Stone Crabs managed just 3 hits…Tim Beckham was 0-2 with 2 walks and Matt Sweeney was 0-4 with a strikeout.
- BOWLING GREEN: (ppd.)
Feb 12
According to Jayson Stark, the Rays are still in the running for Johnny Damon.
The Atlanta Braves and Tampa Bay Rays have also remained in the bidding, with both teams talking about one-year contracts for fewer total dollars than the Tigers’ offer. MLB.com reported that the Braves’ offer was for less than $4 million. The Chicago White Sox also have expressed interest, as ESPNChicago.com reported late last month.
However, the offer from the Tigers is said to be for 1-year, $7 million and they may be willing to add a second year to the deal. If that number is accurate, the Rays are not still in the running as they will not come close to that offer.
And if Damon is off the table for the Rays, that means the Rays opening day DH will be Pat Burrell. And that is not necessarily a terrible thing. If he is in better shape as reported, he should be motivated by the embarrassment of 2009 and the lure of free agency after the season. Will he be the 2008 Pat the Bat (.250-33-86, 102bb)? Probably not. But he should be considerably better than the 2009 Pat the Fat (.221-14-45, 57bb).
Luckily for the Rays, there is enough offense in the lineup, that Burrell isn’t needed to carry the team. They just have to hope he is not cement shoes in the deep end of the pool.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Don Zimmer will be honored today at one of my favorite places, The Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut. It is the 2010 Annual Celebrity Dinner and Memorabilia Auction hosted by The Connecticut Sport Foundation Against Cancer. Among the guests expected to attend are Joe Girardi (who will bring the World Series trophy) and Evan Longoria (who will stick said trophy up Girardi’s tukus). [Facebook]
- BJ Upton will have his arbitration hearing today. Upton is seeking $3.3 million for his 2010 salary while the Rays are offering $3.0 million. This Rays front office is 3-0 in arbitration beating Josh Paul twice and Dioner Navarro last year.
- Want a BJ Upton game-used glove? It will only cost you $2,000 or about the same amount Bossman will make every inning this year. [Prospect Memorabilia]
- The ABC group is asking the City of St. Pete to reconsider their decision to pout and ignore the group. [10 Connects]
- Shawn Riggans has signed a minor league deal with the Mets. [The Heater]
- James Shields spoke to Bill Chastain about his off-season workouts (the same), wearing a speedo (umm, no) and being the Rays Ace. [MLB]
- Finally, another picture of Evan Longoria with one of our readers from his recent trip to watch the Lightning play: “I tried to talk to [BJ Upton] as well, but he was too busy mackin on the ladies.” Sounds about right.
Dec 12
[Update 10:55pm] The Rays not only did not non-tender Dioner Navarro, they reached an agreement with Navi on a 1-year, $2.1 million contract. They also non-tendered Shawn Riggans making him a free agent. Signing Navarro is a bit of a surprise, but this could just be buying the Rays time to trade him.
[10:30 pm] Marc Topkin is reporting that the Rays have non-tendered Gabe Gross, making him a free agent. No decision has been announced on Dioner Navarro.
Also, the Rays avoided arbitration with Randy Choate and Lance Cormier. Choate will make $700K this season while Cormier will make $1.2 million.
These moves leave the Rays with six arbitration-eligible players including BJ Upton, Jason Bartlett, Matt Garza, Kelly Shoppach, Grant Balfour and JP Howell.
In addition, the Rays re-signed Winston Abreu and Carlos Hernandez to minor league deals. Abreu made three appearances with the Rays last season. He struck out 77 in 51 innings with a 1.94 ERA at triple-A Durham. Hernandez went 7-6 with a 3.29 ERA in 21 starts for Durham.
And in the ex-Rays department, Jonny Gomes has been non-tendered by the Reds and is now a free agent.
Dec 02
Yesterday, the Rays acquired Kelly Shoppach from Cleveland. The move did nothing to clear up the catching position for 2010. In fact, it just made the situation a bit more complicated.
Assuming Shoppach is one of two catchers on the opening day roster, the question then becomes: Who will be the second? There are several options…
- Dioner Navarro (as part of a platoon) – These are the top two catchers in the organization right now, so this may seem like the obvious choice. However, both hit right-handed pitchers about as well as James Shields hits charging batters. And with about 100 games against righties, that doesn’t seem very productive.
- Dioner Navarro (as backup) – The Rays could give Shoppach 110-120 starts and let Navi get the rest. The upside is the Rays could get lucky with Shoppach posting a strong OBP versus righties. The problem here is that Shoppach would get all the starts versus lefties, leaving Navi to only play against pitchers he doesn’t fare well against. Also, Navi is arbitration-eligible and his salary will be based on being a starter the last two seasons. $2.0-2.5 million is a lot for a backup catcher on a team with a tight budget.
- Gregg Zaun (as part of a platoon) – This may be the ideal situation for the Rays as Zaun hits righties well, is solid defensively and provides leadership. However, with several teams reportedly interested, the Rays may be out of luck if another teams is willing to give Zaun more than 50-60 starts.
- Shawn Riggans (as backup) – This may be the “if all else fails” option. Like Shoppach and Navi, Riggans hits lefties better. With Shoppach on board, Joe Maddon will want to give him his rest versus righties so Riggans is not an ideal backup.
- [Insert catcher here via trade or free agency] (as part of a platoon) – If Zaun signs elsewhere, the Rays will likely set their sights elsewhere. But who? We can speculate, but knowing the Rays it will be somebody that is not on anybody’s radar.
- John Jaso or Jose Lobaton (as part of a mini-platoon) – Let’s say Shoppach gets all 60 starts versus left-handers and half of the starts versus right-handers. That would be about 110-120 starts. That leaves 40-50 starts versus righties. Jaso and Lobaton are both on the 40-man roster. Both have big league experience. Both are cheap. And both hit righties better than lefties (Lobaton: .779 career OPS in the minors vRHP, .629 vLHP; Jaso: .847 vRHP, .760 vLHP). But is either ready to hit big league pitching and is either ready defensively? Jaso threw out only 17% of would-be base stealers in triple-A last season while Lobaton was a little better at 28% in double-A and triple-A combined.
We have to admit, the final option is the one that we are warming up to quickly. Why not trade/non-tender Navarro and let Jaso and Lobaton compete for the backup job in spring training. Best man wins. It would be Andre the Giant versus Hulk Hogan (if Andre the Giant was 6-1 and from Venezuela). The ancillary benefit is that the Rays would save ~$2.0 million that could be better spent in the bullpen, or on a quarterback for the Florida Tuskers.
Oct 07
This was brought up by a commenter a few days ago but is worth mentioning here…Pat Burrell was signed this past off-season over other free agents, in part because he was a right-handed bat that would help the Rays versus left-handed pitchers.
Let’s compare Burrell’s production versus lefties to another member of the Rays. And for shites and giggles, let’s throw in two other players, one right-handed, the other left-handed…
You know who else hit as many home runs versus lefties as Burrell? My mom.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- The Rays recently handed out $145K to local not-for-profits as part of the continuing efforts of The Rays Baseball Foundation. [MLB]
- Andrew Friedman said the Rays will not have a designated closer in 2010, but it is not because he wouldn’t want one. [Bradenton Herald]
- Andrew Friedman says the Rays attendance this season will impact future payrolls noting the team “stretched” to reach $63 million this season. [St. Pete Times]
- Just when we thought Martin Fennelly had started easing up on his use of one-sentence disjointed paragraphs. The Fennellyisms rear their ugly head in grand fashion. This time it is something about the Rays not being hungry enough this season. We are not sure because it is hard to read. But hey, if you need to fill column inches and can’t think of enough words, why not just make each sentence its own paragraph. Genius! [Tampa Tribune]
- Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle lists BJ Upton as somebody that might fit well with the Giants. [SF Chronicle]
- Around the Majors looks back at the Jason Hammel trade and how it turned out for the Rockies. [Around the Majors]
- A look back at Shawn Riggans’ injury history. [The Rays Party]
- In a move that should surprise nobody, that UFL football game to be held at The Trop featuring the Rays new business partner, will also feature a post-game concert. [Tampa Tribune]
- Rays the Stakes is still running their contest to give away an autographed Jason Bartlett baseball card. [Rays the Stakes]
Sep 01
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: Needed Win. After the way the Rays lost on Sunday and considering how they have played most of the season on Getaway Day, the Rays needed to come out early and remove any pressure that may have built up over the course of the game. The offense did that with each of the first 6 batters of the game scoring, capped by Carlos Pena’s AL-leading 38th HR…James Shields. It was ugly, but it was effective. With a 6-run lead before even taking the mound, Shields needed to just throw strikes and let the defense make the plays. He gave up 5 runs (4 earned) ultimately, but he only walked 1 and worked 7 innings for the win…Jason Bartlett. 3 more hits to raise his average to .340 including his 12th HR, a 400-foot blast…Big Bats. Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria combined to go 6-10 with 5 runs scored and 5 RBI.
THE BAD: Strange. (ok, this really isn’t bad…) If we had told you back in March that the Rays would play a big game in the middle of the playoff race with Jason Bartlett, Gabe Kapler and Ben Zobrist as the 1-2-3 hitters, you would have laughed.
THE TELLING: The Rays picked up a game on Texas who lost yesterday. The Rays trail the Rangers by just 1 game in the Wild Card…The Rays are 13-2 against the Red Sox at the Trop over the past 2 seasons.
SUNBURST PLAYER OF THE GAME: Carlos Pena
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- If you missed it late last night, Fox Sports is reporting that the Player to be Named Later in the Scott Kazmir deal is one of two players. [Rays Index]
- The Rays will add Jeff Bennett, Shawn Riggans, Fernando Perez and Andy Sonnanstine to the roster today. That means no Reid Brignac, Matt Joyce or Michel Hernandez. However, Marc Topkin does report that more players will be added at a later date. The Rays may be waiting to see how the Wild Card race unfolds and leaving any unneeded players in Durham for their own playoff race. [The Heater]
- Joe Maddon had a telling message for his team prior to yesterday’s game. [Rays Report]
- Joe Maddon is hopeful that a different Andy Sonnanstine is coming back to the Trop. Maddon says that he is hearing The Duke was better against righties at Durham, something he struggled with early in the year…While Sonny is better, it is still not great. While with the Rays earlier this year, right-handed batters were hitting .370. At Durham, the number was still a not-very-good .323. [Tampa Tribune]
Aug 05
Durham 7, Indianapolis 6. The Bulls score 4 in the bottom of the 9th, the final coming on a throwing error while attempting to turn a double-play…Jeremy Hellickson had his first rough outing in triple-A, surrendering 6 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks in 4.2 innings. He struck out 7…Joe Nelson was solid in his first appearance with Durham, pitching 2 shutout innings, striking out 4 and walking none…Desmond Jennings went 2-5 with a double and 2 RBI…Reid Brignac was 2-5 and Matt Joyce went 3-4 (all singles) and 2 RBI. He also walked once…Chris Richard hit his 19th home run.
Montgomery 5, Mississippi 1. Aneury Rodriguez had his scoreless streak snapped at 24 when he finally gave up a home run in the 6th. It would be the only run allowed in 6.2 innings on 6 hits. He struck out 6 and walked just 1…Cody Cipriano went 1-4.
Ft. Myers 4, Charlotte 3 (11). Alex Cobb gave up 3 runs in 4.1 innings. He struck out 2 and walked 4…Shawn O’Malley was 2-4 with a walk.
Asheville 7, Bowling Green 0. Frank de los Santos took the loss and dropped to 4-7…Tim Beckham was 0-4 and Keyong Kang had 2 (2-3) of the Hot Rods 6 hits and has hit in 7 straight. Beckham also committed his 34th error.
Lowell 10, Hudson Valley 1.
Danville 3, Princeton 0.
Notes from Down on the Farm…
- Triangle Offense has all the details on the Bulls comeback. They also note that Shawn Riggans is day-to-day with a ribcage injury and was not able to play last night. They spoke with Joe Nelson about his demotion. Nelson was adamant that his arm is healthy and that he is fighting a mechanical issue. He felt that he discovered the flaw prior to last night’s game and is excited about how well he threw. [Triangle Offense]
Jul 30
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: Playing the Game the Right Way. On Monday, Evan Longoria was hit by a pitch. Last night in the 3rd inning, Joba Chamberlain sailed a ball at Evan’s head. It missed. In the 5th inning Matt Garza plunked Mark Teixeira. No bench-clearing brawl. No yelling from the dugouts. And that was the end of it…Evan Longoria. Dirtbag homered for the 5th time in 16 games. Of course it was in the 9th inning with the score 6-0, but at least somebody did something.
THE BAD: Big Mouth. Sticking up for your players is great, but keep your damn mouth shut. Everybody knows Matt Garza hit Mark Teixeira on purpose. Garza doesn’t need to spout off about it after the game. Because now it is going to cost him his next start because the league will have no choice but to suspend him. JUST. SHUT. UP!…Pat Burrell. Pat the Rally Killer left 2 more runners on base and went 0-4 with 3 strikeouts. And yes, we are now officially picking on Burrell. Sue us. He deserves it…Uniting Yankees Fans. For a while now, Yankees fans have been divided into two camps. Those that think Joba Chamberlain is a starting pitcher. And those that think he should be Mo Rivera’s set-up guy and closer-in-waiting. Last night he was both a starter and an 8th inning guy. Way to go Rays. Way to make him work. This was a guy that entered the game giving up about 1.4 baserunners per inning and the Rays could only muster 5 in 8 innings. If that had been a good pitcher, they might have been perfected again.
THE TELLING: PECOTA now says the Rays playoff chances are 11.4% and falling.
SUNBURST PLAYER OF THE GAME: Evan Longoria
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Shawn Riggans was activated from the DL and optioned to triple-A Durham. [The Heater]
- Both Aki Iwamura and Fernando Perez took BP prior to the game and Joe Maddon thinks both could be ready to play in August. [St. Pete Times]
- There was a GEICO Caveman at the Trop last night in a Rays jersey. He mingled with players and coaches before the game and at one point he ran on to the the field and attacked a GEICO sign. We can only assume they were filming a commercial. The good people of Rays Renegade snapped a few pics, HERE, HERE and HERE.
- Just when you thought the Rays were out, Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi pull them back in! Word now is that the Rays have not given up on trading for Roy Halladay and instead of trading away a reliever or two, they may be thinking about acquiring one. Of course, all of this was before last night’s game. [Fox Sports]
- And Jon Heyman says the Indians are intent on moving Victor Martinez and the Rays and Red Sox are in the mix. [Twitter]
- Meanwhile, Joe Maddon says he wouldn’t be surprised if nothing happened. [The Heater]
- And John Romano points out that the Rays already made their big acquisition. His name is Pat Burrell and the Rays are stuck with him. [St. Pete Times]
- Tony Fabrizio notes the the defense has been less than stellar this season. [Tampa Tribune]
- Separated at Birth: Dewayne Staats and Tony Clifton? [Bugs and Cranks]
- Who knew? Joba Chamberlain’s first name is an acronym. [Her Rays!]
- Look who gets all the toys. This time it is the Scott Kazmir bobblehead. It must be good to know people. Wait. We know people. Where in the H-E-Double Hockey Sticks is our bobblehead?!? [Rays Revolutionary]
Jul 21
Indianapolis 3, Durham 1. Carlos Hernandez gave up 2 runs and was pulled after just 3.2 innings…Both Reid Brignac and Matt Joyce had the night off…Rhyne Hughes was 2-4 and hit his 6th home run since being promoted.
Montgomery. (no games scheduled)
Charlotte 7, Lakeland 2 (gm 1). Darin Downs is now 10-4 with a 2.21 ERA after holding Lakeland to 1 run in 5 innings…Brian Shouse allowed 1 run on 4 hits in 1 inning of work on his rehab assignment…Shawn O’Malley went 0-4 and Shawn Riggans started at catcher and went 0-1 with a walk.
Lakeland 2, Charlotte 0 (gm 2). Brian Flores dropped to 0-4 after giving up 2 runs in 3.2 innings in just his 3rd start of the season…Shawn O’Malley went 2-4 and Mike McCormick was 1-3.
Bowling Green 5, Delmarva 2 (11). Chris Andujar allowed 2 runs in 4.1 innings, striking out 6 and walking 1…Jake Jefferies went 2-5 with a strikeout.
Williamsport 2, Hudson Valley 1.
Pulaski 6, Princeton 4 (12).
Notes from Down on the Farm…
- Desmond Jennings was named the SL hitter of the week, amazingly, for just the first time. [Rays Prospects]
- Rays Prospects has some updates on unsigned draft picks, including top pick LeVon Washington. [Rays Prospects]
