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: Wade Davis. Big Dub got stronger as the night went on, retiring the last 11 batters he faced for his second big league win…Carl Crawford. Well it wasn’t #100 or even #80, but CC did steal his 60th base of the season to set a franchise record…Defense. We really miss the defense of 2008, but every once and a while we get a reminder. Last night BJ Upton made two great catches, including one of the over-the-shoulder variety while running full speed for the first out in the 7th. And Gabe Gross showed off his QB arm to end the first, throwing out a runner at home…Well, there’s that…Last night was the Rays 81st win of the season, thus assuring them of their 2nd ever non-losing season…

THE BAD: 20,701. As in the combined attendance for the last two games, barely breaking 10,000 each night…Captain Hook. The ends of these games are really getting tough to watch. Last night Joe Maddon used 5 pitchers to record the final 6 outs.

THE TELLING: BJ Upton was back in the leadoff spot with Jason Bartlett getting the night off…With 5 games remaining in the regular season, each of the starting pitchers will now be making their final starts of the year, beginning with James Shields tonight…Rookie pitchers have started 56 games for the Rays this season.

SUNBURST PLAYER OF THE GAME: Wade Davis

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

• Scott Kazmir was scratched just hours before his start on Tuesday. The Angels say they want to give him some extra rest. [Tampa Tribune]
• Chad Bradford is pondering retirement. [St. Pete Times]
• James Shields talks about the disappointment of not having any complete games this season. [Tampa Tribune]
• When he is on, BJ Upton has some of the quickest wrists in baseball and even this year, he is great when pulling the ball. [The Rays Party]
• Trop Talk is not too excited about the Milton Bradley rumors. [Trop Talk]
• Rays Prospects takes a look back at Hudson Valley’s season. [Rays Prospects]

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: Coulda Been A Contender. From May through August, the Rays were 62-45. Over 162 games that would translate to a 94-win team. The Red Sox have 91 wins with 10 to go.

THE BAD: Coulda Had The Top Pick In Draft, Again. In April and September, the Rays are 16-29. So, at the start and end of the season, the Rays have played like a 104-loss team. the Nats are 52-100 with 10 to go.

THE TELLING: Not So Big Game. Since the all-star break, James Shields has the worst ERA (5.23) and WHIP (1.51) in the American League (min. 75ip).

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

• Joe Smith writes about Evan Longoria’s strong finish. [St. Pete Times]
• From the “Can’t make it up” department is Ben Zobrist: “Jew or not a Jew.” Of course, Zorilla is the son of a minister, married to a Christian Rock singer, attended Olivet Nazarene University and runs bible studies in the Rays clubhouse with Gabe Gross. And yet, Zobrist ranks a “4″ on the Jew scale. [Jew or not a Jew]
• David Chalk has finally concluded his epic journey through the Top 177 Devil Rays ever with the top 28. [Bugs and Cranks]
• Chad Bradford’s problems may be that he is throwing too many strikes…Knowing that, would you want him back in 2010? [The Rays Party]
• From the department of “It could be worse,” the Pirates had about 3,000 fans attend yesterday’s game. Of course, the 15,892 paid attendance is still better than the Rays last 2 home games. [Deadspin]
• WRAL in Durham interviewed Elliot Johnson after the Bulls championship run. [Watching Durham Bulls Baseball]

Time to bring back 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: Gregg Zaun. The Zaunbie Nation is growing with every swing of his bat. This time it was a grand slam that broke a 1-1 tie with 2 outs in the 8th. Could the stirrups be this year’s Rayshawk? We can hope, can’t we?…Carl Crawford. He was only 1-4 yesterday but he was 7-12 in the series…Jason Bartlett. 3 more hits on Sunday and Barty continues to shine in the leadoff spot.

THE BAD: Matt Garza. How in the world he only allowed 1 run is a testament to his stuff, as Garza was on the brink of disaster in 4 of the 5 innings he pitched. He allowed at least 2 baserunners in each of those 4 innings, once loading the bases with no outs and once allowing the first two to get on base. Both times he got out of the situation. But in the end, all of the close calls raised his pitch count and he was out after only 5 innings.

THE TELLING: Gregg Zaun is short. He is listed at 5-10, but do you think he is only 5 inches shorter than Ben Zobrist (above)?…The Rays have 11 games remaining with the Orioles including 8 of the final 19…After this 3-game set, the Rays have a 23 game stretch in which 20 games are against AL playoff contenders Rangers, Tigers, Red Sox and Yankees. Texas now leads the wild card race by a half-game over the Red Sox. The Rays trail by 3.5.

SUNBURST PLAYER OF THE GAME: Gregg Zaun (Carl Crawford took the honors on both Friday and Saturday)

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

• Tonight at midnight is the deadline to sign 2009 draft picks (non college seniors). As of now, the Rays have signed 11 of their top 15 picks. They have yet to reach agreements with their top pick LeVon Washington, second pick Kenny Diekroeger, their 10th and 15th picks.
• The Rays have not been shy about singing their draft picks, going well-over the bonus amounts recommended by the commissioner’s office. [St. Pete Times]
• Reid Brignac has been recalled from Durham and took the roster spot of Jeff Bennett who was sent down. This leaves the Rays with the normal complement of 12 pitchers. [Rays Report]
• Chad Bradford is ready to be activated, but is waiting on Pat Burrell.  [Tampa Tribune]
• The Rays sent minor leaguer Rhyne Hughes to Baltimore to complete the Gregg Zaun deal. [The Heater]
• David Chalk presents the facts about Gregg Zaun. [Bugs and Cranks]
• Pat Burrell missed the last two games with a recurrence of the neck injury that sidelined him earlier this year. This one is not as bad and he is hoping to be back in the lineup on Tuesday. [Rays Report]
• Akinori Iwamura felt fine after his first rehab game but Fernando Perez has minor neck injury that has interrupted his rehab assignment. [The Heater]
• Around the Majors argues that trading BJ Upton now would be a mistake. [Around the Majors]
• Letitia Stein has an interesting piece on the eating habits of the Rays, one of the healthier big league clubs. [St. Pete Times]

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: The Magic Touch. Joe Maddon makes some unorthodox move sometimes. OK. All the time. And sometimes every single one seems to work. Yesterday, JoeMa started Willy Aybar and he hit 2 home runs. He put Jason Bartlett in the leadoff spot and he was on base 4 of 5 times. And he started Pat Burrell in the bench spot and he didn’t kill any rallys…Offense. Sometimes they look great. Zack Greinke entered the game as the AL ERA leader and had not allowed more than 5 earned runs in any start this season. The Rays scored 6 and scored in 4 of the 5 innings he took the mound…Day Baseball. If we were commissioner, we would make sure that every day of the regular season featured at least one day game, especially Mondays. A Rays day game on Monday is like finding a Barbie Big Wheel outside your apartment at 2am – A gift from above.

THE BAD: Scott Kazmir. He would have been pounded by a better team. He allowed more than one baserunner in 3 of the 6 innings and had to battle out of a couple of jams including a bases loaded situation in the 5th. But what really hurts is that even his “good” innings aren’t good. Kazmir needed 18 pitches to get through a 1-2-3 1st inning…In A Nutshell. The last two games sum up the entire Rays season. In one they score 10 runs and look like world-beaters. They look like the best offensive team in baseball, and get contributions from everybody, including 2 home runs from a bench player. In the other, the offense can’t score a run and the Rays somehow lose a game in which the starting pitcher took a no-hitter into the 8th inning.

THE TELLING: If the Red Sox go 29-29 in their final 58 games, the Rays would have to finish 33-23 just to tie. The Rays also have 6 games left with Detroit, 6 with the Rangers and a West Coast trip. Anybody still think there is “plenty of time”?

SUNBURST PLAYER OF THE GAME: Willy Aybar

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

• Fernando Perez will play in a simulated game on Thursday and begin a rehab assignment with Charlotte after that. Chad Bradford is still a couple of weeks away…In the same piece, Joe Maddon wishes Matt Garza would have chosen his words better when asked about hitting Mark Teixeira on purpose. [Tampa Tribune]
• Joe Maddon may do the impossible. He is considering some changes to the lineup with Jason Bartlett moving to leadoff and Pat Burrell possibly sharing his DH role with Willy Aybar. [St. Pete Times]
• Jason Bartlett says that when Willy Aybar is in the lineup, “everybody gets happy”. [St. Pete Times]
• John Romano argues that it is time to move BJ Upton out of the leadoff spot. [Point After]
• Joey Johnston discusses the Rays trade deadline acquisition – A rejuvenated Scott Kazmir. [Tampa Tribune]

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: Off He Goes. Pat Burrell was 2-4 with a home run. He just missed another later in the game. He just looks different at the plate right now. More confident. He is starting to zone in and we have a feeling he will be a big part of the offense over the next few weeks. Let’s just hope when it starts, it stays for a while…Strangest Tribe. Gabe Gross may be the strangest home run hitter we have ever seen. He doesn’t hit a lot of them, but when he connects they are always no-doubters. Sounds like a Jonny Gomes or a Dave Kingman, right? Except Gross is actually a very good hitter, so with that power, it is amazing he doesn’t hit more longballs…Glove Boat Captain. Carl Crawford has always been very good with the glove. Of course, much of that was just speed. But this season, CC has really stepped up his game defensively. He made a catch last night similar to the one that won him the All-Star game MVP. He has been making those all year and even his arm has been much more accurate this season.

THE BAD: All or None. The relievers won’t be here too often, but they blew chunks all over the mound last night. Both Randy Choate and Dan Wheeler failed to retire a batter as it took 5 different pitchers to get through the 7th inning. And no, we are not going to lay any blame on BJ Upton for misplaying the ball over his head. A ball hit right at a centerfielder on a line is one of the toughest plays in baseball…Fatal. This didn’t cost the Rays last night, but we noticed a glaring weakness with this roster as it is currently constructed. With Dioner Navarro on first base with no outs and down by 1, Joe Maddon did not have a pinch-running option. Willy Aybar, Joe Dillon and Michel Hernandez were on the bench and none are a marked improvement over Navi. Of course, the irony is that the Rays may be one of the fastest teams in history but were stuck with a 5’9″ 250lb catcher on first base who wouldn’t have been able to score on a double.

THE TELLING: Chad Bradford entered the game in the 7th but was pulled with a back injury before facing a batter. Seems awfully convenient that the Rays shakiest relief pitcher of late has an injury with Brian Shouse set to come off the DL tomorrow. Coincidence? Just sayin’…The Rays have scored 3 or 4 runs in 5 straight games.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

• Ok, Ok. We will bring back the Sunburst Player of the Game Pick ‘Em for the second-half starting next week.
• Joe Posnanski has put together a list of the Top 100 baseball players. Four Rays are in the top 52 and 5 are in the top 100. And yes, Ben Zobrist is on the list (thanks Tyler). [SI.com]
• Carl Crawford is featured in this week’s Sports Illustrated. Jonah Keri has a PDF of the article. [JonahKeri.com]
• The Rays will be giving away All-Star t-shirts featuring each of the Rays’ all-star representatives, during the next homestand. Rays Revolutionary has images of the t-shirts. [Rays Revolutionary]
• Joe Henderson writes about the great trade the Rays didn’t make. That was their decision to keep Jeff Niemann. [Tampa Tribune]
• The Marlins new stadium is not being built in an area that is most convenient for the fans. This same issue is at the center of where to build the next Rays stadium. [Tampa Tribune]
• For the “Freakonomics” blog, Buster Olney addresses some of the economic issues in MLB, a couple of which have a direct impact on the Rays (thanks Laura). [New York Times]
• It doesn’t matter what Joe Maddon says, Trop It Like It’s Hot says the Rays have a closer. [Trop It Like It's Hot]
• Former Devil Rays pitcher Jim Parque opens up about using HGH prior to his comeback attempt with the Devil Rays in 2003. [Chicago Sun-Times]

Time to bring back 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: Scott Kazmir. The velocity was better (91-93) on his fastball. He threw strikes (61 of 92 pitches). However, he did struggle with strike-one early on. Of the first 11 batters, Kazmir only threw strike-one 3 times. If the final 9 batters he faced, he was strike-one 6 times. Of the first 11 batters, 4 got on base. Only 1 of the final 9 batters reached…Chad Bradford. Bradford allowed 2 baserunners in his 1 inning of work (single, error), but otherwise looked good in his first action of the season…Jason Bartlett. Yes, Willy Aybar had the game-winning sac fly, but it was the steal of second base by Jason Bartlett with 1 out that put himself in scoring position and able to move to third on the subsequent wild pitch…Carlos Pena. We absolutely love when El Gato hits home runs to the opposite field. Because when he does, it keeps pitchers honest.

THE BAD: Evan Longoria’s glove. We are nitpicking here a little. But Dirtbag committed his second error this week and just hasn’t looked right defensively since having his hamstring issues.

THE TELLING: The Rays are once again tied with the Jays for 3rd place in the East, 6 games behind the Sox and 2 games behind the Yankees (3 in the loss column)…According to CoolStandings.com, the Rays now have a better chance of making the playoffs (46.6%) than the Yankees (46.1%). The Jays are only 16.4%. However, PECOTA is less bullish on the Rays, giving them just a 23.1% shot. They have the Yankees at 72.9%.

SUNBURST PLAYER OF THE GAME: Scott Kazmir. It took a couple of innings to get the rust off, but after the home run to lead off the 3rd, it was vintage Kid K.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

• A bald fish eagle (above) was released during the national anthem, and landed on the restaurant rooftop in center field rather than return to the trainer. It remained there until the middle of the first inning.
• Marc Topkin reports that the decision to demote Andy Sonnanstine was actually an easy one. [St. Pete Times]
• The Rays Party breaks down Scott Kazmir’s start through Pitch f/x. [The Rays Party]
• No surprise here. St. Pete residents do not want tax money spent on a new stadium for the Rays. [St. Pete Times]
• Joe Smith points to a couple of recent hustle plays by Ben Zobrist and Jason Bartlett that helped the Rays to their current win streak. [St. Pete Times]

Marc Topkin has the news…

Rays send down Andy Sonnanstine, designate Winston Abreu. Scott Kazmir will start on Saturday. Jeff Niemann will be bumped back to Monday. The Rays had to make room for Kazmir and RHP Chad Bradford to be activated. The decision on who to drop from the rotation was between Niemann, David Price and Sonnanstine.

We never believed it would happen even though it was the most logical solution.

Rays send down Sonnanstine, add Kazmir, Bradford [The Heater]

Time to bring back 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: Joe Maddon. Coach has a tendency to overthink games in NL parks, but with an off-day Monday, Maddon pinch-hit for Jeff Niemann in the 5th even though he had only allowed 2 runs up to that point. Niemann was not sharp, but with 2 on and nobody out, Maddon chose to pinch-hit with Willy Aybar as opposed to bunt with Niemann. Aybar came through with a single to load the bases. The Rays would eventually score 4 in the inning…Top O’ The Order To Ya. BJ Upton, Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria combined to go 11-16 with 7 RBI and 6 runs scored. …Willy Aybar. Think Willy Aybar knows how valuable BJ Upton is? After Upton crossed the plate in the 5th and Gary Sheffield’s throw sailed to the backstop, Upton was potentially in line of the throw to second base to get Carl Crawford. Upton ducked and Aybar immediately covered Upton’s backside (above). That’s love.

THE BAD: Jeff Niemann. When he doesn’t have control, there seems to be no hope of finding it that day. No strikeouts, 4 walks and 2 pitches to the backstop…Carl Crawford. With nobody out and the pitcher on the ropes after giving up 5 straight hits, CC was caught trying to steal 3rd in the 5th. CC can’t go there with Evan Longoria, Carlos Pena and Ben Zobrist due up…Carlos Pena. Yes, ‘Los likes to bunt against the shift from time-to-time, but with nobody on and 2 outs, Pena can’t bunt there. There is little advantage to the Rays to having a runner on first in that situation and Pena is no threat to steal second…Joe Dillionaire. Joe Dillon has not played since the opening game of the Rockies series and Joe Maddon even used Andy Sonnanstine as a pinch-hitter in the 9th with Dillon still on the bench (see comments for explanation).

THE TELLING: Yesterday’s game included two delays. The first for an umpire injury and then a 34-minute rain delay in the 7th…Sure, 4-2 would have been nice, but 3-3 on the road against 2 NL playoff contenders is not bad…The Rays now lead the AL with a .355 OBP…The Bullpen, despite early struggles, now has the third best ERA (3.56) in the AL…The Rays are 6 back in the AL East, but only trail the Yankees by 2 in the Wild Card. Toronto and LA are 1 back in the Wild Card.

SUNBURST PLAYER OF THE GAME: BJ Upton

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

• Scott Kazmir will be limited to about 85 pitches tonight in his latest rehab start, this one for Durham. Also, Chad Bradford will pitch back-to-back games tomorrow and Wednesday and then again on Saturday. He is expected to be activated next week. [Tampa  Tribune]
• Yes, there is a creature called Zorilla and it has nothing to do with a Gorilla or Ben Zobrist. [St. Pete Times]
• There does not appear to be much excitement for the upcoming World Series rematch and Marc Topkin reports that The Trop may only be half-filled tomorrow night. [St. Pete Times]
• A father’s day card for Elijah Dukes. [Trop It Like It's Hot]

Time to bring back 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: Big Game James. Because of different schedules and different managerial strategies, aces don’t face each other too often outside of the first month of the season. But James Shields went toe-to-toe with Johan Santana and James the Greater was Greater indeed. 7 innings, 3 hits, no walks, 1 run. Typical Shields…Domination. After a 1-out double in the 3rd, the Mets would not have another baserunner until Carlos Beltran’s 2-out single in the 9th. Rays pitchers retired 19 in a row…‘Los. New Shea is the stadium where home runs go to die, but Carlos Pena had something to say about that. Hit it harder. In fact he hit it so hard that some estimate that his home run in the 7th may have travelled 500 feet…Zorilla. He is a beast. An absolute beast.

THE BAD: The Offense. The offense has suddenly gone cold. Sure it is Johan Santana, but if you are going to be the best hitting team in baseball, you gotta get your first hit before the 5th inning…Carl Crawford. CC has gone cold recently. Another 0-4 yesterday leaves him 3 for his last 29 including his second straight game grounding into a double-play. He was also picked off first base.

THE TELLING: Over/Under on Rays in the All-Star game: 3.5. Speaking before the game Joe Maddon basically said there is no reason Ben Zobrist should not be a member of the AL all-star team (Maddon is the AL manager). Evan Longoria will be elected to start. Jason Bartlett is almost certainly going to be named and JP Howell has a very good shot at the bullpen. Four Rays in the all-star game? Wow. In the old days, Joe Torre would name 7 or 8 Yankees to the team because he knew it was important to keep his own players happy. With both Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena also posting all-star-worthy numbers, might Maddon do the same?

SUNBURST PLAYER OF THE GAME: James Shields…Also, there will be no Sunburst today. We’ll be back on Tuesday.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

• Wezen-ball.com found a review of Tropicana Field from when it first opened…It is an interesting read on just how ill-prepared the “Florida Suncoast Dome” was for baseball. [wezen-ball]
• Chad Bradford pitched 2 scoreless innings yesterday for Durham, and now the Rays want to see him pitch back-to-back games before activating him. [St. Pete Times]
• Joe Maddon wouldn’t commit, but says it is possible Scott Kazmir will be activated by next weekend…Maddon also says both Brian Shouse and Shawn Riggans are not close to returning. [Tampa Tribune]
• Marc Topkin takes a look at which Rays might be in St. Louis for the All-Star game, concluding that it will be Evan Longoria, Carl Crawford and Jason Bartlett…No Ben Zobrist, but he does make a good case for passing on JP Howell, noting that the Rays may prefer to rest his arm for 4 days. Of course with Maddon as the manager, Howell could be named to the team and just not used, or saved as the emergency reliever. [St. Pete Times]
• Marc Lancaster looks at Ben Zobrist’s chances of being named to the AL all-star team. [Tampa Tribune]

Lehigh 4, Durham 0 (11). Jason Cromer pitched 8 shutout innings, allowing just 2 hits and 2 walks. He struck out 5…Chad Bradford pitched 1 scoreless inning…Dale Thayer pitched the final 2 innings, and gave up 4 runs (2 earned)…Reid Brignac was 2-4 in his first game back in Durham…Matt Joyce was 0-5 and Justin Ruggiano was 1-5 with a double.

Montgomery 5, West Tenn 2. Chris Mason picked up his first win as a starter in what seems like 7 years. He allowed 2 runs in 5 innings…Eddie Morlan allowed a run in 1 inning but picked up his 4th save…Desmond Jennings was 2-4 with a double and 2 RBI and a walk. He also stole 2 bases and now has 24…Matt Fields was 0-5 with 4 strikeouts.

Charlotte 7, Lakeland 3. Scott Kazmir pitched 4.2 scoreless innings in his first rehab start, striking out 5 and walking just 1. He allowed 3 hits…Shawn Williams was 4-5 with 4 doubles. He had just 2 doubles in his first 30 games of the season. He drove in 4…Cody Cipriano was 1-4 with a double of his own…Shawn O’Malley was 3-4 with a walk and his 21st stolen base. He scored 4 runs.

Bowling Green 5, Lexington 2. Matt Moore had a no-hitter through 6.2 innings and was pulled after allowing his first hit, a single in the 7th. After walking the first batter he faced, Moore retired the next 15 batters, 7 on strikes. He finished with 10 Ks and 2 walks…Tim Beckham had a 2-run double in the 3-run 9th that broke a 2-2 tie.

Notes from Down on the Farm…

• Watching Durham Bulls Baseball has their latest installment of the trend charts. [Watching Durham Bulls Baseball]