Archive for the 'Cliff Lee' Category

Nov 06

Are Yankees Faking Their Lack Of Interest In Crawford?

Carl Crawford, Cliff Lee Cork Gaines 4 Comments »

Yesterday we heard that the Yankees aren’t planning to “make a hard charge” for Carl Crawford. The feeling is that the Yankees are content with Brett Gardner in left field and would rather spend money elsewhere.

But at least one “rival GM” (*cough*Theo Epstein *cough*) thinks the Yankees are just trying to pull a rope-a-dope on the competition (via Ken Rosenthal)…

If the Yankees are so serious about “running a business,” is it really in their best interests for them to commit to another 30-something player [Cliff Lee], albeit one who is undeniably brilliant?…One rival GM actually believes the Yankees’ rather public obsession with Lee is a ruse, that they secretly want Tampa Bay Rays free-agent outfielder Carl Crawford, 29, instead.

Remember, the Yankees never Read the rest of this entry »

Oct 13

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss 1,256 Great Games, Lee’s Dominance And The Rays Not Being The Rays

Carl Crawford, Cliff Lee, Kelly Shoppach Cork Gaines 51 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: 1,256. That is the number of regular season and postseason games Carl Crawford played in a Rays uniform. Last night sucked, but today we stand and applaud the greatest Ray ever. Thank you Carl. We’ll miss you.

THE BAD: Not How It Was Supposed To End. This team was not perfect, but there are certain things they are supposed to do well. They usually play smart baseball. They usually play good defense. And they usually shut the opposition down late in games. These are the things that a low- or mid-payroll team must do to win. And this Rays team excels in these areas. Usually. But last night, two runners scored from second on groundballs. Another scored on a throwing error. And the last two scored off of Rafael Soriano. This team wasn’t perfect, but this is not how they were supposed to lose a game…Cliff Lee. Let’s face it. All the mental and physical errors were just window dressing. This team was not going to beat Cliff Lee last night. Take the 4th inning. After overcoming the first ugly run, the Rays had just tied the game in the previous inning and were starting to gain a little confidence. Then the throwing error gave the Rangers the lead again. And how did the Rays respond? Rather than build on the previous inning, Carlos Pena, BJ Upton and Dan Johnson went strikeout, strikeout, strikeout. Game over.

THE TELLING: Rocco Baldelli threw out the first pitch…The Rays lost their last 6 games in which the opponent started a left-handed pitcher.

WHERE THEY STAND: On a golf course.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • Evan Longoria talks about losing the series (Video). [The Heater]
  • Kelly Shoppach talks about his rough night (Video). [The Heater]
  • Joe Maddon would start Dan Johnson over Willy Aybar, but he wouldn’t start John Jaso over Kelly Shoppach? Yeah, that one is strange. [St. Pete Times]
  • Joe Maddon brought tacos Read the rest of this entry »
Jul 13

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss

Cliff Lee, Desmond Jennings, Jason Bartlett Cork Gaines 1 Comment »

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

Sorry for the delay today. You guys killed our server last night, which is both amazing and humbling. But don’t worry, we are in the process of moving everything over to an adult server which should help to avoid a similar incident in the future. In the meantime, you might experience some slow load times today. Hopefully everything will be back to normal soon.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

Jul 11

Yankees Are Shocked They Can’t Have Any Player They Want

Cliff Lee, New York Yankees Cork Gaines 19 Comments »

The rest of the 29 teams in baseball have long been viewed as a farm system for the Yankees by that segment of The Evil Empire that believes they should have a future Hall-of-Famer at every position. And really, it is hard to argue, considering the Yankees rarely fail to land a player they target.

But when the Yankees were unable to complete the deal for Cliff Lee on Friday, it led to the following reaction from the Yankees front office…

Yankees livid with Mariners. Believed they had deal, then M’s took it to Rangers saying put Smoak in and Lee is yours . . . Rangers jumped. Adams’ ankle injury was excuse for M’s to back out. “You just don’t do business that way,” one Yankee official said.

We know the Yankees have always been spoiled. But they have now officially blown right past “spoiled” and are now the trust-fund teenager who wasn’t allowed to buy another Mercedes.

Jul 09

Cliff Lee Traded To Rangers

BJ Upton, Cliff Lee, Wade Davis Cork Gaines 27 Comments »

[Update] ESPN.com is reporting that Cliff Lee has been traded to the Rangers for Justin Smoak and three others. It is too bad they couldn’t wait a few hours but it is nice to see Lee is not going to the Yankees.

[Update] Joel Sherman is reporting (via Twitter) that talks between the Mariners and Yankees may have reached an impasse. The M’s are concerned about the health of one of the prospects involved and a mystery team has swooped in. It would be surprising to us if that mystery team is the Rays. Read the rest of this entry »

Jul 09

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Big Dub’s Job Security, Dan Wheeler’s Relief And Why We Hate Carl Crawford

Carl Crawford, Cliff Lee, Dan Johnson, Dan Wheeler, David Price Cork Gaines 18 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: Carl Crawford. Plain and simple. As of July 9, 2010, he is the greatest Tampa Bay Ray that ever lived and one of the best players in baseball. Last night he went 2-4 with 2 long home runs and 4 runs batted in. The Real Superman is now hitting .321/.378/.516 and is on pace for 20 home runs, all of which would be a career highs…Wade Davis. It is easy to think that Big Dub’s job is in a fragile state these days, so he needed a strong performance entering the break. And for the 2nd time in 2 starts, Davis worked at least 7 innings and held the opposition to 2 runs. He is still walking too many batters (4 last night), but he is showing signs that the Rays may not need Jeremy Hellickson after all…Carlos Pena. Joe Maddon saw something he liked in Thursday night’s matchup and had Pena back in the cleanup spot. Pena responded with his first home run in 12 games…Dan Wheeler. Apparently giving Joaquin Benoit and Rafael Soriano another night off, Joe Maddon turned to Dan Wheeler with 1 out in the 8th and the tying run at the plate. Wheeler came through getting the next two batters en route to a 5-out save.

THE BAD: Carl Crawford. We hate Carl Crawford right now. Before the season, we assumed it would be easy to see him walk away. Not now. Now it is going to suck. But what can the Rays do? Would he be worth $15 million in 2011? Yes. What about 2012? Yes. Heck, he might even be worth $15 million in 2013. But Crawford is going to want a 6 or 7-year deal. Do you want to pay Crawford $15 million in 2014, 2015 and 2016? No. No, you don’t.

THE TELLING: Dan Wheeler recorded his first save since last September…Ben Zobrist once again led off, going 2-3 and scoring twice. Look for Zorilla to lead off against right-handers for the time being with BJ Upton the likely choice against lefties.

WHERE THEY STAND: The Rays are 52-33, 2 games behind the Yankees and 3 games ahead of the Red Sox in the Wild Card race. After 85 games in 2008, the Rays were 53-32.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

Jul 08

Stark: Rays Looking To Upgrade Offense; Upton Not Likely To Be Traded (Yet)

Adam Dunn, BJ Upton, Cliff Lee, Jeremy Hellickson, Josh Willingham Cork Gaines 29 Comments »

Earlier this week we heard that the Rays might be interested in trading for Cliff Lee. Now we learn from Jayson Stark that the Rays have inquired about a couple of hitters…

Despite an eruption of rumors linking them to Cliff Lee, the Rays are spending almost all of their time shopping for bats these days. Two names sources say they’ve inquired about: Josh Willingham and Adam Dunn, reports ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark.

Clubs that have spoken with the Rays say they’re not even focused on adding offense at any particular position…their focus is to “just get a bat,” said an official of one club, “and make the pieces fit later.”

Certainly Lee would be a big boost to the Rays rotation, but it does make more sense that the Rays first priority would be to add a bat. In fact, if Lee doesn’t work out, we can’t imagine there is even a plan B for the rotation that does not include the name “Jeremy Hellickson.” Read the rest of this entry »

Jul 06

Gammons: Rumblings Of A BJ Upton-Cliff Lee Deal

BJ Upton, Cliff Lee Cork Gaines 45 Comments »

Our old friend Peter Gammons reported a short while ago (via Twitter) that the Rays and Mariners could be discussing a deal that would include BJ Upton and Cliff Lee…

Rumblings around St. Pete ballpark was a BJ Upton-Cliff Lee deal. 3-way?

OK. Let’s ignore for a second that shock of reading that a mainstream media member actually knows The Trop is in St. Pete.

This deal makes a ton of sense for both sides. Upton is a big league-ready player for the M’s as they look to get back into contention next season. And they won’t shy away from Upton’s rising arbitration salary. For the Rays, Lee is one of the best pitchers in baseball and could make the Rays favorites to win the World Series.

Even if the Rays don’t win it all this season, they will be able to add two more compensation picks to their already bountiful supply in next year’s draft.

Jun 10

Cliff Lee Might Soon Be A Yankee; Rays Fans Might Soon Poop Their Pants

Cliff Lee Cork Gaines 10 Comments »

Just when you were starting to feel better about Rays comes this news from Ken Rosenthal…

The Yankees are going to end up with Mariners left-hander Cliff Lee. The only question is whether they land him in a trade this summer or as a free agent this winter — and a trade might not be as far-fetched as it appears…True, the Yankees currently boast five healthy and effective starters. True, they simply could wait for Lee to become a free agent and sign him in the offseason without losing any young talent. But one rival executive says the Yankees will be undeterred in their pursuit of Lee on the trade market…His reasoning is simple…“Top of the rotation starter,” the exec says of Lee.

And here is another reason for the Yankees to go after Lee sooner rather than later: In 12 career starts versus the Rays, Lee is 6-4 with a 2.51 ERA and a .597 opponent OPS. Sure the Rays have beaten Lee both times they have faced him this season. And sure the Rays are 18-7 versus lefties this season. But would anybody be surprised if Lee was in pinstripes and he pitched a 1-hitter against the Rays on August 1?

Jul 29

Cliff Lee Traded To Phillies; Crawford Officially “Dangled”

Carl Crawford, Cliff Lee, Scott Kazmir Cork Gaines 7 Comments »

Cliff Lee has been traded by the Indians to the Phillies. MLB Trade Rumors has all the details.

Meanwhile, an anonymous GM has confirmed to Jon Heyman what we had been hearing about Carl Crawford. That he is available, or at least was at one point recently.

Tampa Bay will consider anything, and one competing GM swears [the Rays] briefly dangled outfielder Carl Crawford a few weeks ago.

So, no Lee. No Roy Halladay (probably). Without a pitcher coming back to the Rays, it now seems highly unlikely that the Rays will move Scott Kazmir before the end of the year.

Previous Entries