Archive for the 'Evan Longoria is a Dirt Bag' Category

May 07

Postgame Shot Of Joe: Orioles Begging For Mercy

Evan Longoria, Evan Longoria is a Dirt Bag, Reid Brignac, Sam Fuld Joe Rays Fan 3 Comments »

The Rays smacked the cover off the ball, banged out clutch hits and continued the thorough humiliation of Baltimore on Saturday, but Joe’s just so fired up about what complete baseball the team is playing.

Reid Brignac and Sam Fuld are Double-A hitters at this point, but still are dialed in on defense, along with seemingly everyone else minus the catcher who can’t catch. 

Fuld is just one sick dude who never takes off a play. Two more gems added today. Joe will proudly wear Fuld’s cape when they give it out later this month, even if he’s hitting .190 by then.

Does Casey Kotchman get a cape day if he gets closer to .400?

It’s fair to say that with today’s double and homer Longoria has found his stroke, and his impact at third base can’t be quantified.

Sure the Rays can’t keep the latest run (18-6) up all season, but it feels very relaxed and sustainable. The bullpen is money, the road is no obstacle, and first place could be shared tonight. Why not us?

Dec 26

[2008 TAMPA BAY RAYS] The 12 Days Of Raysmas: Day 1 (Evan Longoria)

Evan Longoria is a Dirt Bag Cork Gaines 4 Comments »

If you have been hanging around these parts for a while, you know that the model for this site is to tell you what the Rays have done, what they are doing and what they will do, and why. Unlike most team blogs, we do not very often tell you what the Tampa Bay Rays should do. However, for the next 12 days we will step away from the standard, and we present to you 12 “presents” the Tampa Bay Rays should give to their fans.

On the first day of Raysmas, the Tampa Bay Rays gave to us, ONE Evan Longoria in the opening day lineup…

The main purpose for keeping any player in the minor leagues is for that player to learn how to compete at the major league level. For a hitter, that means, learning how to hit major league pitching. Evan Longoria has been ready to hit major league pitching since the Dirtbag was drafted out of Long Beach State in 2006. Longoria is already a great hitter, with great instincts and great natural ability. There is nothing left to learn and in fact, starting him at Durham in 2008 may actually hinder his development.

The only step left in Longoria’s maturation into a major league hitter will be the adjustment that all hitters must make to facing major league pitchers. If Longoria begins 2008 in the minors, he will spend the first few week adjusting to AAA pitching. If he was still learning how to be a major league hitter, that would be an important step. However, with Longoria’s ability, adjusting to AAA pitching will not teach him very much and it will only delay the more important step…adjusting to major league pitching. With any hitters, teams risk a step-back in progress if they are rushed to the majors. With only 31 games at the AAA level, Longoria’s adjustment to the big league may take a little longer, but he is too good a hitter for it not to happen.

The Rays also have the added benefit of a lineup that is loaded with offensive talent. There is no need for Longoria to put up big numbers as the team can hide him in the bottom third of the lineup. Akinoria Iwamura, BJ Upton and Carl Crawford are locked in at the top of the order with Carlos Pena, Cliff Floyd and the two-headed monster of Rocco Baldelli and Jonny Gomes filling out the next three spots [Ed. note: Joe Maddon could decide to bat Pena 3rd, Upton 4th and Floyd 5th to break up the lefties]. That means, Longoria is most likely hitting in the 7th spot of the lineup, and there will be no pressure to be a run producer early in his career.

With that in mind, the Rays need to make an announcement prior to Spring Training that Evan Longoria will be the opening day starter at third base and that the job will be his all season long no matter what the numbers say. Longoria projects as a .300-35-120 hitter in the big leagues. That compares favorably with one hall-of-fame third baseman. In his first full season, George Brett hit .282-2-47 (133 games). The Royals knew Brett was their third baseman of the future and gave him the job without looking back. And despite a Sean Burroughs-like performance his first full season, the Royals did not waiver.

With no obvious detriment to Longoria, the only reason to keep him in the minors to begin the season is if the Rays have a better option to man the hot corner. In short…they don’t. If opening day was tomorrow and Longoria was not on the roster, the starting third baseman would most likely be Joel Guzman, and we don’t see Guzman outperforming Longoria, even if the Dirtbag struggles out of the gate. The team could also try and find a third baseman through free agency or via trade. Neither of these moves is likely as the Rays will not want to surrender a prospect or any significant amount of money for a player that will only be a starter for half a season. Signing a player such as Greg Norton is a possibility as he would be cheap, can start at third base and then fill the role of super-utility player once Longoria arrives. This is a move you make only if the Rays truly think Longoria needs more seasoning, because even during his adjustment phase, Longoria would outperform Norton with one arm tied behind his back.

Will Evan Longoria be the next George Brett? Only time will tell, but one thing is for certain. He has nothing left to learn that the minor leagues can teach him. Evan Longoria is ready to be a major league third baseman. He may struggle at first, but eventually he will hit. It is what he was born to do. There may be a period of adjustment, but as he has shown over and over again as he has progressed through the minors, the period of adjustment will be short and sweet.

On the first day of Raysmas, all Rays fans want is ONE Evan Longoria in the opening day lineup.

Aug 01

Down On The Farm: The Dirtbag Is One Step Closer To The Majors

Aaron Sisk, Evan Longoria, Evan Longoria is a Dirt Bag, Jeff Niemann, Jeremy Owens, Rhyne Hughes, Wade Townsend Cork Gaines 1 Comment »


Evan Longoria has been promoted to AAA Durham. He hit .307-21-76 with a .930 OPS in 105 games. He is tied with for the lead league in home runs and leads the SL in RBI and Runs (78). Despite a stellar glove, Joel Guzman will be moved permanently to first base to make room for Longoria. Guzman started at first base for the Bulls on Tuesday night. It will be interesting to see if a strong month at AAA will tempt the Devil Rays front office to bring The Dirtbag to the Trop for a September call-up. [Montgomery Advertiser]

Indianapolis 5, Durham 3. JP Howell was masterful for the Bulls, striking out 12 and allowing only 1 walk and 2 hits in 7 shutout innings. Howell left the game with a 3-0 lead but the bullpen was unable to protect it as Chad Orvella and newly acquired Brian Shackelford combined to allow 5 runs in the 9th inning on 3 home runs. Shackelford allowed a walk-off 2-run home run to the only batter he faced. Jason Pridie was 0-3 and Joel Guzman was 0-4.

Montgomery 6, Birmingham 2. Reid Brignac was 1-4 with his 14th home run. He also committed his 20th error of the season.

Columbus 4, West Virginia 0. Heath Rollins moved to 12-4 with 7 shutout innings. He allowed 3 hits and 1 walk while striking out 5. Ryan Royster hit his 16th home run, a 3-run shot in the first.

Vermont 6, Hudson Valley 1.

Princeton 6, Elizabethton 3.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

  • Rhyne Hughes (.329-12-57) and infielder Aaron Sisk were promoted to AA Montgomery. Sisk was recently named the FSL offensive player of the week when he hit 6 home runs in the week ending July 15.
  • Both Jeff Niemann and Wade Townsend are currently sidelined but neither injury is considered serious. [TBO]
  • Evan Longoria was named the top prospect in the “MLN FAB50 Baseball 2007 Rankings”, a mid-season look at minor league talent. [The Raw Feed]
  • Jeremy Owens was named the IL’s batter-of-the-week. He is the 5th Bull to win a weekly award. [Our Sports Central]
  • Behind the Dugout takes a look at three of the Devil Rays’ top pitching prospects. [Behind the Dugout]
  • Vero Beach and Jupiter were postponed due to rain.
Jun 27

Down On The Farm: Joel Guzman May Force Evan Longoria To Skip AAA

Evan Longoria, Evan Longoria is a Dirt Bag, Joel Guzman, Ryan Royster Cork Gaines No Comments »

Durham 7, Rochester 5. Mitch Talbot gave up 5 runs (4 earned) in 7 innings. He struck out 4 and walked 1. His ERA is now 4.57. Ben Zobrist had 3 hits including a 3-run double in the 8th that gave the Bulls the lead for good. Justin Ruggiano added 2 hits in 4 at bats and hit a 3-run home run, his 11th in the 5th inning. Chad Orvella pitched another perfect 9th inning, with 2 strike outs for his 9th save.

Montgomery 9, Mississippi 5. Wade Davis picked up the win in his second AA start. He struck out 7 and gave up 2 runs in 5.1 innings. He allowed 5 hits and 2 walks, including a solo home run. Juan Salas gave up 3 runs in one-third of an inning in his first appearance since being suspended for steroids. Salas is allowed to pitch in the minors prior to returning from his 50-game suspension on July 3rd. Reid Brignac was 1-4 with a 2-run double in the Biscuits 5-run 4th inning. He also committed his 17th error. Evan Longoria was 2-4 with 2 strike outs. He is hitting .295. Fernando Perez and John Jaso each added 3 hits. Jaso is hitting .324.

Sarasota 9, Vero Beach 1. Josh Butler was roughed up in his second AA start. He allowed 9 runs (8 earned) in 4 innings. He surrendered 8 hits and 4 walks. Garrett Groce and Hunter Vick had 2 hits apiece. Rhyne Hughes was 0-3.

Columbus 10, Rome 1. Wade Townsend had his strongest outing as a professional. He allowed only 1 hit and 2 walks in 7 innings. He struck out 8 to pick up his 5th win. His ERA is now 3.95 on the season. Townsend faced the minimum through 5.2 innings before allowing his only hit. Ryan Royster hit his 12th home run and Matt Fields hit his 13th. Desmond Jennings added 2 hits, including his 13th double and his 33rd stolen base.

Staten Island 8, Hudson Valley 5.

Elizabethton 14, Princeton 3.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

  • Evan Longoria was named the Southern League hitter-of-the-week. We’ve lost count, but we are fairly certain that this is the 74th time he has been named player of the week. Next week they may just name him pitcher-of-the-week so that somebody else has an opportunity to be named hitter-of-the-week. It is fairly clear that The Dirt Bag is no longer a AA player. He would most likely be in Durham now or in the next two weeks if Joel Guzman was not clogging the path. We are not suggesting that Guzman is more deserving of the position at AAA. Rather, Guzman is just good enough that he can’t be moved. His defense is gold glove caliber and while his batting average is nothing to brag about (.253), it is not terrible and he is starting to show some pop (12 doubles, 11 home runs). Still, Guzman is not close to being major league-ready. He has a .283 OBP and a 73 to 11 strike out to walk ratio. If Guzman is not being moved from third base at Durham, what can the Rays do? We see two options. The first option is to promote Longoria and institute either a platoon situation with the off-player filling in at DH, or just make Guzman the temporary DH for month until Longoria has shown sufficient skill to warrant a promotion to the show. The other option is to keep Longoria in AA and skip AAA all-together. This option may seem like the less likely option, but The Dirt Bag may have shown enough that he will hit at the major league level with or without a stint at AAA. Either way, we now think there is a very good chance we see Longoria in a Devil Rays uniform before the end of the season.
  • Ryan Royster was .254 hitter in his first 3 seasons in the Rays organization. This year he is hitting .309 with 12 home runs and 46 RBI. The improvement is attributed to medication to treat a previously undetected case of ADHD.