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: John Jaso. Recently, any time the Rays would get the bases loaded with no outs, our initial reaction has been “oh crap.” But JJ Dyn-O-Mite came through in the 6th. After being down 0-2 in the count, he battled back to a full count and then delivered a game-tying 2-run single…Maddonology. Last week, Maddon wouldn’t intentionally walk David Ortiz with first base open and Big Papi made the Rays pay with a big home run. Last night, with first base open, Maddon did go with the free pass. After a walk, Grant Balfour and Randy Choate teamed to strikeout the next two batters to get out of the 1-out, bases loaded jam and keep the game tied…Bullpen. Matt Garza put the Rays in a hole, but the bullpen picked up the slack. Six relievers combined for 6 innings and gave up just 1 run on 3 hits and 2 walks. The only baserunner in the final 2.2ip was a broken bat single in the 9th. And how awesome is the lights out combo of Joaquin Benoit and Rafael Soriano? We thought last winter that the Rays biggest need was a flame-throwing relief pitcher and World B. Friedman gave us two. This may be hyperbole, but when the Rays are playing well, they remind us a lot of the 1996 Yankees with Benoit and Soriano in the roles of Mariano Rivera and John Wetteland…CC’s Golden Glove. We didn’t think Carl Crawford was a gold glover last year, especially under MLB’s rules of not distinguishing amongst the three outfield spots. But they might as well give Crawford the 2010 award right now. He had another spectacular diving catch that kept the Red Sox 4-run 3rd from being any worse than it already was.

THE BAD: Matt Garza. Let’s hope The Garza Complex got that out of his system. The Rays are not going to win many games when their starter allows 9 baserunners in the first 3 innings, especially against the Red Sox and Yankees…Suicidal Squeeze. After tying the game in the 6th, the Rays still had a runner on 3rd with no outs. Ben Zobrist’s squeeze attempt ended with the runner thrown out at home…Willy Aybar. He was 1-4, but left 6 runners on base, including 4 runners in scoring position.

THE TELLING: Sean Rodriguez has started 23 of the last 27 games…Several of the Rays with the high-cuffed pants are no longer wearing stirrups and instead appear to have opted for striped socks…Former Rays (or Rays prospects) in the all-star game include Ty Wigginton (Bal), Evan Meek (Pit) and Josh Hamilton (Tex). Delmon Young is in the running for the final spot on AL roster…

WHERE THEY STAND: The Rays are 49-33, 2 games behind the Yankees in the East and one-half game ahead of the Red Sox in the Wild Card. After 82 games in 2008, the Rays were 50-32.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

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Durham (DNP)

Montgomery 11, Tennessee 5.Mike Prochaska as victorious in his first start since his demotion from Durham. He allowed 3 run in 6.2 innings…Ronnie Merrill and Gabby Martinez homered for the Biscuits. Martinez drove in 4 on 3 hits.

Vero Beach 6, Tampa 5. Jeremy Hellickson improved to 5-0, but did allow 4 runs in 5 innings. He did improve on his strikeout to walk ratio with 3 more Ks and no walks. He is now up to 61 strikeouts to only 3 walks…Willy Aybar was 1-4 on his rehab assignment. He played third base.

Columbus 11, Augusta 2. Josh Johnson (no relation to Josh Johnson, the catcher), worked 5 innings of 2-run ball to pick up his 2nd win…Jackson Brennan was 2-2 with 3 walks and 2 runs scored…Maiko Loyola was 2-4 and drove in 3.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• Beyond the Boxscore talks to Kiley McDaniel about Jeremy Hellickson. [Beyond the Boxscore]

…a big breakout year for him, so he’s a good guy to cover. Very impressive command, approach, and composure, all those little things the scouts love that tend to project favorably. The stuff was also impressive on one look despite a smallish frame, with a 91-93 mph fastball, flashing an above-average to plus breaking ball and good feel for a change that flashed above-average. He’s the real deal and I’m glad I’m seeing him now since he shouldn’t be in the FSL very long.

• WRAL takes a closer look at the Durham Bulls hitting coach, Gary Gaetti. [WRAL]
• One site wonders if Andrew Friedman wonders about the “cash considerations” Andrew Friedman acepted from the Pirates for Evan Meek. They come up with a list of things that Meek would have been worth trading for. [Doubt About It]

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• Don’t forget to VOTE for Carl Crawford to start the all-star game. If you haven’t voted yet today, go NOW! [MLB All-Star Voting]
• In case you missed it, the Rays have signed Scott Kazmir 3-year contract with $28.5 million, with a 4th year team option for $11 million. This deal buys out the remaining two arbitration seasons and the first two free agency years. [St. Pete Times]
• Al Reyes was activated from the DL and appeared in last night’s game. To make room on the roster, Scott Dohmann was DFA’d. We assume that Dohamnn will clear waivers, but with Grant Balfour pitching well in Durham, he may decline the assignment to Durham and choose to become a free agent. [Rays Report]
• Marc Lancaster is reporting that the Rays and Pirates reached an agreement on a deal so that the Pirates can keep Evan Meek in their system. Meek was a Rule 5 selection by the Pirates, but was recently dropped from their 25-man roster. Without the deal, the Pirates would have had to return Meek to the Rays. No word yet on the particulars of the deal. [Rays Report]
• Big League Stew takes a look at the early season success of the Marlins and Rays and puts together a fairly solid all-star team from just those two rosters. [Big League Stew]
• Edwin Jackson is not worried about losing 2 W’s to Troy Percival blown saves…We always think people make too big a deal about this paticular scenario. For every 8 shutout innings that are not a Win, there are 2 or 3 starts in which the team rallies and saves the pitcher a loss or gives the pitcher a Win with tons of run support despite a poor outing. [Bradenton Herald]
• Jordi from The Serious Tip made a guest appearance at Bus Leagues Baseball and wrote about his recent experiences at a Rays game and a subsequent trip to Brevard Co. Manatees game. [Bus Leagues Baseball]
• A Mets blog laments the fact that the Mets won’t be able to play the Rays this year. Not because they are easy wins, but because they are fun to watch. [Mets Walkoffs]
• A Cubs fan jumps on the Rays bandwagon and we welcome them with open arms and a beer. [Cobra Brigade]

Scranton 9, Durham 5. Chris Mason has yet to adjust to life in AAA, dropping to 1-4 with his latest outing. In 6.1 innings, he struck out 7 but gave up 6 runs (5 earned)…Reid Brignac was 2-4 and hit his 3rd home run, a 2-run shot…Joel Guzman is sudenly hitting the ball. After a 2-5 yesterday, he has an 8-game hitting streak and 4 multi-hit games in that span.

Huntsville 11, Montgomery 3. Mike Wlodarczyk was bombed for 8 runs (6 earned) in 3 innings. He gave up 11 hits and 2 walks, and added a throwing error for good measure…Ronnie Merrill has been red hot for the Biscuits and has been rewarded by a move up to the 3rd spot in the lineup. Yesterday he was 3-5 with a triple and an RBI. He is 14 for 32 (.438) in the last 9 games

Vero Beach 2, Dunedin 0. Ryan Morse improved to 2-0 with 6 shutout innings. He struck out 1 and walked none…Cesar Suarez had 2 of the Devil Rays’ 7 hits…Garrett Groce had his 7th double.

Greenville 5, Columbus 0. Jason Ragan dropped to 4-2, giving up 3 runs in 5 innings on 7 hits and 4 walks…The Catfish were shutout on 4 hits, 3 singles and a double.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• Evan Meek was DFA’d by the Pirates. Meek was a Rule 5 selection by the Pirates from the Rays organization. If he clears waivers the Rays can purchase the contract back from the Pirates for $25K. If he is clamied on waivers, he must remain on the next team’s major league roster for the rest of the season or be offered back to the Rays…Meek appeared in 9 games for the Pirates allowing 10 earned runs in 13 innings. He struck out 7 and walked 12. [Biscuits Batter]

Tampa Bay Rays (66-96)
The Rays are in the market for a veteran catcher to backup or split time with Dioner Navarro. One possible target that was mentioned in numerous circles is Michael Barrett of the Padres, a free agent. At the end of last week, Barrett decided to accept arbitration from the Padres and is now no longer a free agent. However, this does not necessarily mean that Barrett will not be on the Rays roster in 2008. In fact, this might have improved the chances.

For those not familiar with the process, the top free agents at each position are given a label of either a “Type A” or “Type B” free agent. If a team signs one of these free agents, they must forfeit either a first or second round pick in the next amateur draft. The top 15 picks are protected, so in the case of the Rays they would forfeit a second round pick in either case. In order for the former team to receive this compensation draft pick, they have to offer the free agent the option of arbitration. Of course, the risk to the team is that they are forced to keep a player they no longer want.

Barrett was a Type A free agent and losing a top draft pick may have been hurting his stance among potential suitors in the free agent market. Therefore, Barrett accepted the arbitration offer from the Padres. He now remains their property for one year. Most likely, the Padres will now trade Barrett, and the cost could be less than the second-round pick the Rays would have originally needed to give up. If a team trades for Barrett’s rights, they will have to go to arbitration or negotiate a long-term deal.

Last week we speculated that surrendering a second-round pick, was too high a price for a back-up catcher, and that in the end the Rays would pass on Barrett. The Rays recent second round picks have included Will Kline, Josh Butler, Chris Mason, Reid Brignac and James Houser. Now that the cost of Barrett will likely be a mid-level prospect, the chances of the Rays signing him may have improved. On the other hand, the number of teams that would be interested in Barrett may have gone up, especially from teams that would have had to originally surrender a first-round selection for the catcher.

Barrett accepts arbitration with the Padres [MLB]
The Professor’s Take On “Jake’s Take On The Winter Meetings” [Rays Index]

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• DRays Bay has landed an interview with the Rays’ Vice President of Branding and Fan Experience. We would tell you the guy’s name, but we already forgot. So, if you ever cared about who’s came up with the idea for the “Rays Tank” in center field, or why the concession stands sell Yankees and Red Sox ice cream cups (they don’t anymore) then click the link. [DRays Bay]
• The City of St. Petersburg has set a deadline of May 1 to pick a contractor for the redevelopment of the Tropicana Field site. [Florida Times-Union]
• In one recent “Power Rankings”, the Rays were no longer the only worst team in the league. In fact they are tied with the other 29 teams for 30th. [Bugs & Cranks]
• A sarcastic look at the new stadium proposed by the Tampa Bay Rays. [St. Pete Times]

One complaint has been that the team should be named “St. Petersburg Rays” instead of “Tampa Bay Rays”. This is a short-sighted viewpoint indeed. Most people associate St. Petersburg with a city in Russia that is very cold and undesirable in the winter. Why not be creative — St. Petersburg is the city of the Rays and it should be renamed Tampa Bay Rays City. I’m sure the Rays owners would agree to this.

• Evan Meek, formerly of the Rays, was not shy about showing his excitement about be drafted last week in the Rule 5 Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates. [Post-Gazette]

Tampa Bay Rays (66-96)

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• The Rule 5 draft was held yesterday and the Rays selected Tim Lahey from the Minnesota Twins and then traded him to the Cubs. The Rays lost one player, as Evan Meek was taken with the second pick by the Pirates. [Baseball America]
• In the AAA phase of the Rule 5 Draft, the Rays selected Rashad Eldridge from the Twins. Eldridge was a 5th round pick in 2000 and has had a very unimpressive career to date. The Rays selected two other players in the Rule 5 draft that will never wear a Rays uniform so there names are unimportant. [Baseball America]
• Rays Anatomy takes a look at the players selected by the Rays in the Rule 5 Draft, including the two unnamed players from above. [Rays Anatomy]
• Most of us are familiar with the Rule 5 draft (not Rule V), but did you know that baseball’s amateur draft held in June is actually the Rule 4 draft? Baseball Prospectus takes a look at the Rule 4 draft and projects the first 10 selections, predicting that the Tampa Bay Rays will take Pedro Alvarez, a 1B/3B from Vanderbilt. The most eye-opening line is the last one, in which BP projects that Alvarez would eventually be the best bat in the Rays lineup. It isn’t like the Rays don’t have any good bats and Evan Longoria is knocking on the door. [Baseball Prospectus]

Pedro is still the class of this draft, but the top high schoolers closed the gap over the summer. You can bet Alvarez is going to have some huge bonus demands — if he regresses at all as a junior (like Matt Wieters did), Tampa will explore other options. In the end, though, this should be their guy. He could be great at first and probably even work in right, and he’ll be the best bat in their lineup at some point.

• Yahoo! Sports has named the Tampa Bay Rays as one of the winners of the Winter Meetings. Keep in mind that the Matt Garza trade was made prior to the Winter Meetings. [Yahoo! Sports]

The Elijah Dukes Experiment, which went about as well as metal in a microwave, is finally over, and GM Andrew Friedman even managed to procure a decent prospect from Washington in the trade. For too long, the Rays tolerated Dukes’ sociopathic behavior because his talent. His Crazy Factor – the formula for which is DTTW+JPD/BA (death threats toward wife plus joints per day divided by batting average) – finally spiked too high even for their liking, though, and somehow they found a willing buyer in the Nationals. This is six months late, yes, but better than never.

Tampa Bay Rays (66-96)
If the Rays want to sign Scott Kazmir to a long-term contract, they may want to do it sooner rather than later, because the price keeps going up. Jake Peavy signed a contract extension with the San Diego Padres that will guarantee him $65.5 million over the next 5 seasons. While Kid K has never won 19 games, much less a Cy Young Award, Kazmir’s career to date is very similar to Peavy’s first three full seasons and would it really surprise anybody if Kid K won 18-19 games this season? In 2007 he went 13-9 for a team that lost 96 games and possessed one of the worst bullpens in baseball history. Oh yeah, and he is left handed.

At the other end of the spectrum in terms of comparison is Jeff Francis, a lefty for the Colorado Rockies, who signed an extension prior to last season. A contemporary of Kazmir, there first two seasons were nearly identical, but Francis broke out last season, winning 17 games for a playoff team. Francis is due $19.25 million over the next four seasons. If the Rays are to sign Kazmir to an extension this off-season look for the numbers to fall somewhere between those two contracts. Let’s say 4 years/$26 million or 5 years/$38 million with the last year being a club option.

Peavy closes in on $52M extension [SI.com]

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• Omar Minaya says that the Mets don’t need another starting pitcher. Of course the Mets currently have Pedro Martinez, Orlando Hernandez, John Maine, Oliver Perez and a minor leaguer to be named later…Conclusion: Minaya is lying out his arse…We wonder if Mets fans have changed their tune about how they can thank the Scott Kazmir deal for Omar Minaya and all those championships they have won since he came on board. [SI.com]
• John Keri interviews Matt Silverman and Andrew Friedman. [ESPN]
• No surprise here, but it is now official…Akinori Iwamura will be the Rays second baseman whether or not Evan Longoria is ready to be a major league third baseman. Joe Maddon says that the Rays will “mix-and-match at third base until Evan is ready”. If Longoria does start the season in Durham, the most likely choice to be the Rays opening day third baseman is Joel Guzman, who has a gold-glove caliber glove but comes with a gold-glove size hole in his swing. [Yahoo! Sports]
• Baseball America says that the Rays suddenly have a lack of depth of outfielders in the organization and are likely to select Brian Barton in Thursday’s Rule 5 Draft. They say that there are questions concerning Barton, but that the upside is well-worth the selection. [Baseball America]

“Maybe he’s not the type runner he was prior to the (off-season knee) surgery,” said another AL front office executive. “Maybe he comes back and is the same kind of runner. But he’s got the ability to hit for average, has more pop than a lot of people give him credit, and can defend. He’s a little stiff on balls in on his hands, but you could definitely see him going to Tampa with everything they’ve shipped out.”

• Not so fast, Baseball America is now saying that the Rays will not select Brian Barton. Rather the Rays will either sell their selection or select a relief pitcher. BA also notes that Rays’ farmhand Evan Meek may be selected in the draft. Meek increased his stock in the Arizona Fall League after a mediocre 2007 in Montgomery. [Baseball America]
• The Rays need a left handed bat and a right fielder. Marc Topkin points out that there used to be a player in the organization that fit the bill perfectly…Josh Hamilton anybody? [tampabay.com]
• David Price was given his 2007 Baseball America College Player of the Year award yesterday at the Winter Meetings in Nashville. For the first time Rays management acknowledged Price could very well pitch for the Rays in 2008. [TBO]

“He can come quickly,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said this afternoon, adding that it was within the realm of possibility for Price to reach the majors sometime in 2008.

• David Price has set a target date of July 11 for his major league debut. That is July 11 of this season. It is not out of the realm of possibility that the Rays rotation in the second half is Kazmir-Shields-Garza-Price-Niemann, with Wade Davis and Jake McGee pounding the mitts in AAA gunning for a 2009 debut. [MLB]
• Mike Pagliarulo (that Pags?) calculates Carlos Pena’s value at $4-5 million and explains the correct way to determine the value of a player. [Dugout Central]

Indianapolis 9, Durham 1. JP Howell was roughed up for 9 runs (7 earned) in only 4 innings. Calvin Medlock pitched 3 shutout innings, with no hits, but did walk 2 and struck out none. Evan Longoria hit his third home run since being promoted to AAA to account for the Bulls only run. He also committed his second error.

Montgomery 3, Jacksonville 2 (11 innings). Chris Nowak walked with the bases loaded in the 11 inning to give the Biscuits the victory. The win pulls Montgomery within 1 game of the South division leader Jacksonville (anybody else find it strange that the Southern League has North and South divisions? No? Just us. Ok.). Nowak finished 3-4 and hit his 5th home run.

Vero Beach 8, Palm Beach 6. Mike Wlodarczyk gave up 5 runs in 6 innings, but got enough run support to improve to 8-5 on the year. He struck out 2 and walked 1 while giving up 7 hits. Patrick Cottrell was 3-5 with 2 doubles and 2 RBI.

Columbus 5, Asheville 3. Woods Fines pitched 5 shutout innings, allowing only 2 hits. He struck out 2. Ryan Royster was 0-3.

Brooklyn 7, Hudson Valley 1. Maiko Loyola and Stephen Vogt each collected 2 hits, the only hits for the ‘Gades on the evening. Vogt hit his 4th home run.

Burlington 6, Princeton 3 (game 1). Tyree Hayes gave up 5 runs (3 earned) in 5 innings to drop to 3-6. He struck out 4. Dustin Biell, the 5th round selection in this year’s draft, was 2-2 with an RBI.

Burlington 6, Princeton 3 (game 2). Matt Moore, the Rays 8th round pick, struck out 6 and allowed only 2 hits and a run in 2.2 innings, but walked 4. Dustin Biell, went 2-2 and was 4-4 in the double-header.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• Seven of the Devil Rays’ minor leaguers will participate in the Arizona Fall League, including Reid Brignac, John Jaso, Evan Longoria, Jon Barratt, Nick DeBarr, James Houser and Evan Meek. [Stacy Long's Riverwalk Talk]
  
• Reid Brignac has improved his defense considerably. Despite 20 errors in 2007, Brignac has played error-free in 14 August games. [Montgomery Advertiser]
  

Entering Thursday, Brignac led Southern League shortstops in total chances, assists and errors.

“He’s really established himself as a quality shortstop,” manager Billy Gardner said. “He’s really, to me, improved a great deal at shortstop.”

Durham 2, Charlotte 1. After Chris Richard tied the game with a 1-out single in the bottom of the 9th, Shawn Riggans knocked in the winner with a 2-out single. Mitch Talbot got back on track after 3 straight bad starts. He gave 1 run in 7 innings and did not walk a batter. He struck out 4.

Montgomery 7, Jacksonville 2. This is becoming an old story…Another great start for Chris Mason. This time he went 5.1 innings and gave up only 1 unearned run. He struck out 6 and only walked 1. He is now 3-0 with an ERA of 1.26 in 28.2 innings spanning 5 starts. Reid Brignac hit his 4th home run and drove in 3.

Vero Beach 4, Brevard County 0. Wade Davis struck out 9 in 7 shutout innings, giving up only 2 hits and 2 walks. He lowered his ERA to 2.15 in 29.1 innings. Rhyne Hughes hit his first home run of the year. He is hitting .324.

Columbus 7, Charleston 1. Joshua Butler gave only 1 unearned run in 6 innings to lower his ERA to 1.61. He struck out 5. Ryan Royster and Matt Spring both homered for the Rays.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• Yesterday’s Biscuits game featured two bench-clearing incidents although it appears as if no punches were thrown. Evan Longoria was hit after Reid Brignac homered. In the following inning Chris Mason threw at least one pitch that was a little too close. In all, three players and coaches were ejected.
• We have been singing the praises of Jason Hammel and now others are starting to take notice. Hammel is back to throwing a slider and his confidence has never been higher…Quite often these decisions are based on a player’s turn in the rotation, but if that were not a factor, Hammel would be the first starting pitcher called up from Durham.
• Wade Townsend is off to a hot start at low-A Columbus, in his return from Tommy John surgery, and he was just recognized for his performance. The South-Atlantic League named Townsend their pitcher of the week. Both of his starts (prior to his last outing) were wins in which he gave upa combined 2 runs in 11 innings. He is now second in the SAL with 32 strikeouts (8 walks), and has an ERA of 2.25. Very impressive considering he is on a tight leash right now.
• James Houser was placed on the DL after having his wisdom teeth pulled. That’s a new one. Evan Meek, who went on the DL after being hit in the head with by a line-drive from his own teammate, replaces Houser on the roster.

Durham 8, Toledo 0. Chris Richard continues his torrid start with 3 more hits including his 4th home run. He is now hitting .355. Jorge Cantu went 1-4 with 2 RBI and Wes Bankston added 2 hits including his 2nd home run. Jason Hammel had his third straight strong outing pitching 6.2 scoreless innings. He struck out 9 and lowered his ERA to 0.54. With all the talk about Mitch Talbot, Jeff Niemann and JP Howell, Hammel has been lost in the mix a bit. He’s got our attention back.

Montgomery 7, Chattanooga 6. Mike Prochaska struggled again, giving up 4 runs in 4.2 innings. Evan Longoria was 1-3 with a 2-run double and is now hitting .333. Shaun Cumberland was 2-4 with his first home run of the season. He is now hitting .342. Reid Brignac was given the day off to rest his injured foot.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• Reid Brignac had to be removed from the game Saturday night after fouling a ball off of his foot. He did not play on Sunday.
• Montgomery pitcher Evan Meek was hit in the head by a line drive while sitting in the dugout. He suffered a concussion and was placed on the DL.
• The Columbus Catfish were rained out Sunday (there is something weirdly ironic about that statement) and will play a doubleheader today.