May 13
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: James Shields. Don’t get us wrong. We love the complete games and shutouts. But we can’t expect those very often. If Shields is indeed better this year, we need to see a lot of games like this: 7 ip, 2 runs, 7 Ks, 1 bb and one very solo home run that didn’t come until the Rays were up 5-0. Vintage Shields…Pickoffs. Shields helped himself out a little with two pickoffs. Even more important than both pickoffs ending innings, they helped keep Shields’ pitch count in check, by saving him 6-8 pitches. He probably doesn’t make it through the 7th without those pickoffs…Casey Kotchman. It is easy to dismiss what he has done so far because he has never been this good and it has been a while since he has even been close. But if you just say he has been lucky so far, you are assuming that all the other variables are unchanged and he is the same batter he has always been. But what if the work he had done on his eyes does make a big difference? Is he still the same batter then? And if he is not the same batter, then what he did in the past means less than it would otherwise. Is he this good? No. But he may be productive after all…The Prof. That’s right! If I am going to take the blame for jinxing the bullpen in the first game of this series, then I get to take credit for the reverse-jinx on Reid Brignac who had his first extra-base in 55 games. It was a 2-run double in the Rays 4-run 2nd inning. Briggy was so surprised, he stood at the plate for a second before running. It would have been ironic if he had been thrown out at second base.
THE BAD: Brushbacks. Back in the day, the brushback pitch was actually a brushback pitch. If you thought a guy was crowding the plate or was too comfortable, you threw one up and in. Close, but you didn’t hit the guy. Hitting a batter was what you did if he needed to be taught a lesson. In his autobiography, Carl Yastrzemski said he ended up on his butt about once a game. And yet Yaz was never hit more than 4 times in a single season. In just this 3-game series, Evan Longoria was hit twice. And that is just wrong.
THE TELLING: The Rays are now alone in first base, 1 game ahead of the Yankees and 5 games ahead of the Red Sox. They have won 21 of their last 28 games…The Rays are now 11-4 when playing outside this season, and 11-11 in Domes…James Shields now has 5 pickoffs on the year, a new career-high. The team record for pickoffs is 7 by Joe Kennedy in 2002.
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
Mar 16
Bobby Ramos, Dave Eiland, Dave Martinez, Derek Shelton, Dirk Hayhurst, Don Zimmer, George Hendrick, Jim Hickey, Joe Maddon, Rocco Baldelli, Scott Cursi, Tom Foley Jordi Scrubbings
Our correspondent and Afrologist, Jordi Scrubbings, is back with another sensible take on things that drive most of us nuts…
During my time in the military, I could always tell how good a unit was by watching the interaction between the commanding officer and the non-commissioned officers (sergeants and the like) under their command. Good units had tight communication and a well-defined road ahead. Officers dictated their intent and the non-commissioned officers trained and molded the troops to fulfill the vision of their leaders. Less quality units lacked either that overarching guidance or had a commander who suffered from either being too distant, too buried in paperwork, or too full of his own ego to be approachable.
Although football often draws the most war-like comparisons, there are a few baseball-military comparisons that can be made. One could liken Spring Training to a sort of Basic Training, where the basic skills are learned or brushed up on and new recruits learn the philosophy of the organization, although there is hardly the level of intensity in spring baseball that there is in a place like Fort Bragg or Camp LeJune. One could also make the leap that daily batting practice is similar to the daily physical training, where members exercise and work out before the duty day.
My favorite baseball-military analogy Read the rest of this entry »
Feb 25
What can only be described as “must see TV,” is this video report from JB Long of Bright House Sports.
The clip includes a great sequence in which Joe Maddon is actually instructing Manny Ramirez on the art of hitting. And Manny seems receptive to it. Even more fun, JoeMa is instructing Manny in Spanish.
But maybe the best part of the entire video comes in the final 4-5 seconds, as can be seen in the screenshot above. It is Dave Martinez lurking in the background with his new beard. After hearing about how the Red Sox investigated Carl Crawford, if we didn’t know that was Dave, we would swear it was a Red Sox investigator in a cheap disguise.
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
Oct 20
Dave Martinez did not get the Blue Jays managerial job. He told Marc Topkin that it is a “little bit disappointing,” but that he may be still be a candidate for the Pirates and Brewers jobs.
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Evan Longoria, Carl Crawford and Rafael Soriano were named post-season all-stars by the Sporting News…Only two Rays have previously received this honor: Longoria in 2009 and Carlos Pena in 2007.
- In addition, Rafael Soriano was named the AL’s reliever of the year. [Sporting News]
- JP Howell’s wife wrote a book…We’ll sit back and wait for Roger Mooney to receive his scorn for writing about a player’s wife in a non-baseball context. [Tampa Tribune]
- Fire Brand of the American League suggests Grant Balfour Read the rest of this entry »
Oct 19
Today is the second anniversary of the greatest game in Rays history. Game 7 of the 2008 ALCS in which Matt Garza gave up just 2 hits and struck out 9 in 7 innings. And David Price earned his nickname by coming on to retire the final 4 outs, slaying Goliath. And the unsung hero of that game has always been Aki Iwamura who fielded a bad-hop grounder and ran to second base for the final out. If that ball gets past Aki, all of the sudden the Red Sox would have had the tying run at the plate and the top of the order due up.
What a hell of a night that was.
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Dave Martinez was indeed granted permission by the Rays to interview for the Blue Jays managerial job...We really hope Martinez lands a managerial job, but we would prefer it not be in the division. He does know a lot of Joe Maddon’s tendencies. [The Heater]
- Was the Rays attendance Read the rest of this entry »
Oct 15
Joe Maddon announced (via Marc Topkin) that he expects all of his coaches to be back in 2011. Of course, that includes hitting coach Derek Shelton.
And we thought this week couldn’t get any worse.
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Ken Rosenthal reports that Dave Martinez will interview for the Blue Jays managerial job. Still think Don Wakamatsu would be a great replacement if Martinez leaves. [Twitter]
- Carl Crawford on his future: “I know it’s a high possibility I probably won’t be back next year.” Yes, Carl, we know. No need to twist the knife. [St. Pete Times]
- Roger Mooney writes that the bullpen could have a big shake-up this winter. If we were to target one guy to bring back it would be Joaquin Benoit, but even that is going to be a longshot. [Tampa Tribune]
- Evan Longoria is not Read the rest of this entry »
Aug 10
Don Wakamatsu was fired yesterday in his second season as Mariners manager. What does this have to do with the Rays? The Mariners are a franchise that have embraced the Tampa Bay Rays model of pitching, defense, speed and sabermetrics. And when Seattle hired Wakamatsu prior to the 2009 season, many thought they had picked up the next Joe Maddon.
If the Mariners are still looking for “the next Joe Maddon” then one would have to think Dave Martinez will be near the top of their wishlist. Martinez has spent the last three seasons as Maddon’s bench coach and is widely regarded as a future manager.
And if Martinez is hired by the Mariners Read the rest of this entry »
Jul 22
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: Devil O’sian? With one out in the 8th with the potential tying run on second, Scott Moore broke for third despite a groundball being hit in front of him to Jason Bartlett. Bartlett got Moore at third killing the O’s last hope…Rafael Soriano. One day after his first real blown save of the season, Soriano came into the 9th of a 1-run game and mowed the O’s down 1-2-3…Randy Choate. After Shields left with the tying run on base in the 7th, Choate came in and battled Nick Markakis before getting him to hit into a inning-ending double-play…Evan Longoria. He started the scoring with his 14th home run and broke the tie in the 6th with a bases-loaded walk.
THE BAD: James Shields. “Big Game” (haha) James continues to struggle with the longball. This time it was a 2-run home run to yet another former Ray, Ty Wigginton. The blast cut the Rays lead to 2 and brought the O’s back in the game. Shields would eventually allow the O’s to tie it before being pulled after 6.1 innings.
THE TELLING: Carl Crawford was not in the lineup yesterday after CC hurt his PP…Randy Choate leads the AL with 49 appearances…Brian Shouse made his first appearance since re-signing with the Rays. He threw 2 shutout innings for high-A Charlotte.
WHERE THEY STAND: The Rays are 57-37, 2.5 games behind the Yankees and 4.5 games ahead of the Red Sox in the Wild Card. Nobody else is within 7 games in the Wild Card. After 94 games in 2008, the Rays were 55-39.
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
Jun 15
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: Lighting A Fire. Maybe it is just a coincidence, but Matt Joyce had 3 more hits and 2 walks last night and is now 8-8 with 2 walks since Justin Ruggiano was promoted. Sure the Rays needed a right-handed bat to replace Gabe Kapler. But when time came to promote an outfielder, it was not Joyce and that probably stung a little. Joyce is now 23-67 (.343) in 18 games with Durham and has 15 walks to just 12 Ks. He is also 7-16 (.438) versus lefties at Durham including a single last night.
THE BAD: Pat is Back. Pat Burrell hit another home run for the Giants. He is now 11-27 (.407) with 3 doubles and 2 home runs in 10 games.
THE TELLING: The Rays still have the highest percent chance of making the playoffs according to PECOTA. The Rays are at 79.3%, followed by the Yankees at 70.1%. The Red Sox have a 43.7% shot…Carl Crawford is now second in the All-Star voting among AL outfielders and is just 108K votes behind Ichiro Suzuki. It looks like Crawford will indeed make his 4th all-star appearance and first start…Jason Bartlett went 2-3 with a walk and a double for Durham. He will play with Durham again today and could rejoin the Rays tomorrow.
WHERE THEY STAND: The Rays are tied with the Yankees at 40-23 and are 4 games ahead of the Red Sox in the Wild Card. After 63 games in 2008, the Rays were 37-26.
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- We did a Q&A with Tomahawk Talk about this series with the Braves. [Tomahawk Talk]
- Desmond Jennings was named the IL hitter of the week.
- Joe Maddon on Rafael Soriano: “He has a mean streak…” [St. Pete Times]
- Tony Fabrizio writes about Dave Martinez’ job as bench coach. [Tampa Tribune]
- It is amazing how good a team can look playing the Orioles. The Yankees jump ahead of the Rays in the latest ESPN.com power rankings. [ESPN]
- Here is another good pick-by-pick review of the Rays draft. [Minor League Ball]
- Adam Berry writes about the relationship between BJ Upton and his father, the original Bossman. [MLB]
DOWN ON THE FARM…
- Check out Rays Prospects for boxscores and more detailed recaps. [Rays Prospects]
- DURHAM: Jeremy Hellickson allowed just 1 run in 6 innings. He struck out 5, walked 1 and allowed 2 hits. He was pulled after just 81 pitches…Dale Thayer was pounded for 5 runs in the 8th inning and took the loss…Matt Joyce was 3-3 with 2 walks…Desmond Jennings was 2-5 with a double. He is now 16-31 in the last 7 games…Jason Bartlett went 2-3 with a double and a walk in his rehab start.
- MONTGOMERY: Alex Cobb gave up 3 runs in 7 innings. He struck out 4 and walked 2. He had only allowed 2 earned runs in 5 previous starts and now sports a 1.89 ERA…Matt Fields hit his 7th home run…Matt Sweeney was 0-4 with 3 strikeouts one day after hitting his first home run with Montgomery.
- CHARLOTTE: Shane Dyer allowed 1 run on 8 hits and 1 walk in 6 innings. He struck out 3. He now has a 1.44 ERA in 5 starts since being promoted…Tim Beckham was 2-4 with a walk…Stephen Vogt was 3-5 with 3 RBI raising his average to .365 (.417 OBP).
- BOWLING GREEN: (no game scheduled)
May 03
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: Stirrups! Yes, the top of today’s “Good” is a purely aesthetic observation. Take a look at Evan Longoria to the right. Perfect! And those beauties helped Dirtbag snap an 0-10 against Zack Greinke with 2 hits and a home run. Think they might stick around for a while?…Big Dub’s Big Start. Wade Davis versus Zack Greinke sounds like a mismatch. And more often than not, if the other pitcher wants to win, he will have to throw up a lot of zeros. And that is exactly what Davis did with 7 shutout innings on 3 hits and 3 walks…The Bullpen. Three relievers faced the minimum over the final 2 innings, with the only baserunner, a leadoff walk in the 9th, retired with a double-play…The Orioles. The Orioles? Yep. The O’s swept the Red Sox, who are now once again 3 games under .500 and 7 games back in the East.
THE BAD: Patience. Zack Greinke throws strikes, so it is usually ok for batters to be aggressive to avoid falling behind in the count. The downside is allowing a great pitcher to work deep into the game. Greinke needed only 87 pitches in 8 innings and in 5 of the 8 innings, he threw 10 pitches or less.
THE TELLING: In all five of Wade Davis’ starts this season he has faced the opposing team’s opening day starter. The Rays are 4-1 in those games…The game took only 2:15…The Rays starting pitchers have a 2.64 ERA, best in the AL…PECOTA now gives the Rays an 89.1% shot at making the playoffs.
WHERE THEY STAND: The Rays are 18-7, 1.5 games ahead of the Yankees and 2.5 games ahead of the Tigers in the Wild Card. After 25 games in 2008, the Rays were 14-11.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Well, if you ever wondered what it would sound like to hear Dave Martinez cover ZZ Top, today is your lucky day. The rest of us? Not so much. [The Heater]
- JP Howell could be ready to start a rehab assignment as early as next week. Meanwhile Matt Joyce will start throwing in about a week. [The Heater]
- John Romano writes about the lack of holes in the Rays rotation and how that could keep the Rays from slumping. [St. Pete Times]
- Joe Henderson writes about how the bullpen has stepped up in JP Howell’s absence. [Tampa Tribune]
- Roger Mooney writes about the struggles of mid-season call-ups to find enough clothes to wear. [Tampa Tribune]
DOWN ON THE FARM…
- Check out “The Rundown” from Rays Prospects for boxscores and more detailed recaps. [Rays Prospects]
- DURHAM: Carlos Hernandez’ defense failed him as he only gave up 3 hits and a walk in 7 innings, but 5 runs crossed the plate. Only 1 run was earned…Dan Johnson hit his 9th home run…Elliot Johnson hit his 3rd home run…Hank Blalock was 0-5…Fernando Perez went 0-4 with a walk and his 11th steal…Desmond Jennings did not start.
- MONTGOMERY: (ppd. rain)
- CHARLOTTE: Joe Cruz pitched 6 shutout innings with 5 strikeouts and 1 walk…Matt Bush pitched 2 shutout innings with no hits, 2 walks and 3 Ks…Tim Beckham was 0-4 with 2 Ks.
- BOWLING GREEN: (ppd. rain)
The GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.
