Dec 13
Last night, the Rays decided not to tender a contract to Andy Sonnanstine. This came just hours after the Rays added a middle reliever in a minor trade with the Marlins.
In explaining the decision to non-tender Sonny, Andrew Friedman made it clear that there is no longer room on the roster for a player that is rarely used (via Marc Topkin of TampaBay.com).
Friedman said there was no longer “an optimal fit” for Sonnanstine.
And just like that, the Sonnanstine era with the Tampa Bay Rays appears to have come to an end. We will always have a fond spot in our hearts for the guy we affectionately called “The Duke” (El Duque Hernandez’ twin brother from a caucasian mother).
The remainder of the Rays’ arbitration-eligible players were tendered contracts including JP Howell.
One reason it was easier to move Sonnanstine was the addition of Read the rest of this entry »
Feb 21
A couple if interesting tidbits from Stuart Sternberg via Marc Topkin…
- Sternberg is surprised at “the speed in which the other front offices have changed their game plans a little bit has forced us to try to stay one step ahead or even in lockstep with them.” Specifically Sternberg is referring to game plans that look a lot like the one the Rays started several years ago.
- Sternberg is puzzled by the lack of unity between Tampa and St. Pete. It is safe to assume that he is referring to the need for a new stadium.
- Sternberg says he doesn’t have the money to build a new stadium himself.
Now on to the regular webtopia.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Johnny Damon signed with the Tigers. [Yahoo! Sports]
- Bob Nightengale says the Tigers were the only team that outbid the Rays for Johnny Damon. [Twitter]
- Marc Topkin has released his third annual “Tampa Bay Rays Power Index,” which looks at the most valuable names associated with the Rays. [St. Pete Times]
- The Brewers introduced a road alternate jersey that will have “Milwaukee” across the front. That leaves the Phillies, Angels, Cardinals and our very own Rays as the only teams without a geographical locality across the front of at least one jersey. [John & Cait...Plus Nine]
- BJ Upton says he has no hard feelings looming from the arbitration hearing and that he is putting his past behind him. [Rays Plays]
- Marc Topkin writes about the uphill battle Andy Sonnanstine faces just making this year’s team. [St. Pete Times]
- Rafael Soriano on facing the tough bats in the AL East: “I do not care…If I am healthy, if I am on the mound, I do not care who the hitter is. I am good, too.” Gary Shelton writes that anything is possible for the Rays if Soriano is the real-deal. [St. Pete Times]
- Marc Topkin has more details about Carl Crawford’s new tattoo: “his last name in script wrapped around his forearm, a skull with a baseball head, a lion in his bicep, and…fixed up an older tattoo that he had and placed his home state of Texas as a background to it all.” [St. Pete Times]
- JP Howell’s off-season workouts included…Peggy Fleming? [Tampa Tribune]
- Roger Mooney did a Q&A with JP Howell about downtime, funny teammates and the Winter Olympics. [Rays Report]
- Scouting the Sally takes a closer look at two of the Rays lower-level prospects, Jake Jefferies and Mike Sheridan. [Scouting the Sally]
- The Collective Troll has some pics of Rafael Soriano in the new sky blue jersey. [The Collective Troll]
Jul 17
Durham 4, Louisville 3. Jason Cromer allowed 1 run in 5.2 innings despite walking 5…Matt Joyce was 0-5 with 4 strikeouts while Jon Weber finished 3-4 with 2 doubles.
West Tenn 8, Montgomery 4. Heath Rollins is now 8-8 after giving up 6 runs in 3 innings…Desmond Jennings is heating up again with his 4th multi-hit game in the last 5. He went 3-4 with a walk and stole his 33rd base…Cody Cipriano went 1-4 with an RBI and 2 strike outs.
Charlotte 3, Jupiter 2. Jeremy Hall improved to 11-4, allowing just 2 runs in 6 innings…Brian Shouse pitched 1 inning on his rehab appearance and allowed just 1 hit…Shawn O’Malley went 1-3 with a walk and his 33rd stolen base…Shawn Riggans went 0-2 in his rehab appearance.
Bowling Green 14, Lakewood 11. Joe Cruz picked up his 4th wi, giving up just 1 earned run (2 runs) in 6 innings…Tim Beckham went 2-5 with a double and an RBI…Keyong Kang and Mike Sheridan homered for the Hot Rods.
Hudson Valley 6, Batavia 5.
Princeton 12, Kingsport 9.
Notes from Down on the Farm…
- The Rays Party introduces their prospect rankings. [The Rays Party]
- Jake Jefferies’ hometown paper talked to the catching prospect about his first year as a pro. [Merced Sun-Star]
Jun 03
With the 2009 MLB draft next Tuesday, the Tampa Bay Rays front office is busy preparing for their fourth rodeo. Now is a good time to take a look back and gauge the early returns from players selected in last year’s draft.
Without further ado, we present you the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 2008 top 10 draft picks recap (stats do not include yesterday’s action)…
- Tim Beckham, SS. Very much a diamond in the rough. Watching the boxscores every morning and you can see the talent is there, but there is still a lot of improvement needed. Has played the entire season at low-A Bowling Green, hitting .306/.356/.420 which is a decent line. What you don’t like are the 43 strikeouts in 41 games with only 13 walks. You also don’t like the 14 errors, but that will come around. And his statline might be a little bloated as his BABIP is a little high (.390) considering his kinda low 17.7% line drive rate. And his numbers are downright putrid against lefties (Beckham bats righty): .216/.231/.243. Right now, Beckham looks like he is going to be a one-level-per-year player. So 2012 at the earliest before we start dreaming of a new stud shortstop at The Trop.
- Kyle Lobstein, LHP. Lobstein has yet to play a game in the Rays organization. The lefty threatened to play basketball at Arizona, but he finally signed for $1.5 million which at the time was the highest bonus given to a draftee in the second round or later. Look for Lobstein to make his debut with either Hudson Valley or Princeton later this month.
- Jake Jefferies, C. Jefferies made a solid debut for short-season Hudson Valley last summer hitting .315/.379/.433. His statline has dipped a bit this season to .262/.345/.369 at low-A Bowling Green, but he still has nice command of the strikezone which bodes well for his ability to move up the ranks. This season he has a 15-to-16 strikeout to walk ratio and 37-to-37 for his short professional career. Of course, as a catcher, the important aspect is his development as a catcher and last season he threw out only 2 of 19 would be base stealers.
- Ty Morrison, OF. Morrison appeared in 10 games for Princeton last season going 9-34 with 12 strikeouts and 2 walks. He has yet to appear in a game this season and will likely make his debut with Hudson Valley later this month.
- Mike Sheridan, 1B. Sheridan hit .321 in 31 games for Hudson Valley last year after being drafted but is off to a slow start this season with Bowling Green, .246/.270/.430. His biggest weakness is lefties as he is .207/.226/.276 against southpaws.
- Shane Dyer, RHP. Dyer has made 8 starts for Bowling Green after making 14 starts for Hudson Valley last year. This season he is 0-3 with a 3.98 ERA and 30 strikeouts and only 8 walks in 40.2 innings. That translates to a pedestrian 4.30 tRA.
- Jason Corder, OF. Corder had a strong start last year in Hudson Valley hitting .306-5-36 in 50 games, but is only hitting .158-1-5 in 21 games for Hudson Valley this season.
- Anthony Scelfo, OF. After hitting .281-4-24 last year with Hudson Valley, Scelfo is down to .230-1-12 in 41 games for Bowling Green.
- Shawn Smith, LHP. Smith made 8 appearances last year for Princeton including 1 start. In 14 innings, he gave up 11 earned runs on 20 hits and 9 walks with 12 strikeouts. He will likely make his 2009 debut later this month with Hudson Valley.
- Matt Hall, 2B. Hall has had an interesting season. He started the year with high-A Charlotte, but played 1 game with Montgomery and was recently promoted to Durham. The quick move up the ranks has been more about need than performance as Hall has served as kind of a roving middle infielder depending on which team has needs at that particular moment. So far this season he is only hitting .207/.270/.293, but has seen playing time at 2B, SS and 3B and he is even made a pitching appearance, throwing 1 scoreless inning for Durham.
May 12
Gwinnett 4, Durham 0. Mitch Talbot allowed 3 runs in 5 innings on 6 hits and 4 walks. He is now 3-3 with a 4.10 ERA…The Bulls managed only 3 hits, 2 by Ray Sadler…Reid Brignac was 0-4 with 2 Ks and Matt Joyce was 0-4 with 1 K. Brignac also committed his 8th error on the young season.
Montgomery, Mobile. Brandon Mann allowed 4 runs in 3 innings…Eddie Morlan pitched 2 scoreless innings of relief and has a 2.37 ERA this season…Jason Perry homered for the second time in 5 games since being plucked out of an independent league. He is 7-19 overall (.368) with 2 doubles and 2 home runs.
Jupiter 7, Charlotte 4. Daren Downs allowed 7 runs in 3.1 innings for his first loss of the season…Cody Cipriano homered for the third time in 6 games.
Bowling Green 5, Savannah 2. Frank de los Santos gave up 1 run in 6 innings, striking out 4 and walking only 1…Tim Beckham was 2-4 with an RBI double and a bunt single. He is now hitting .314 but has 27 strikeouts in 27 games with only 4 walks…Jake Jefferies (above) hit his 3rd home run, a 3-run shot.
Notes from Down on the Farm…
- David Price says his slider has been “bad” early in the season and we learn from Stacy Long that Price is working on a new pitch, a spike curveball (Ed. note: a spike curveball is just a chic name for a knuckle curve. The issue is some pitchers use different grips on the knuckle curve. Back when the knuckle curve first became popular, many pitchers used the fingertip of their index finger, like a knuckleball. This is the same as the spike curve. Nowadays a lot of pitchers throw the knuckle curve with their index finger curled and the first joint of the index finger on the ball, like so). [Biscuit Crumbs]
- Jeremy Hellickson and Desmond Jennings were named the Rays minor league pitcher and player of the month, respectively. [Montgomery Biscuits]
- Here is an interview with Jason Isringhausen, in which he discusses his future with the Rays or “another team.” Maybe we are reading to much into it, but even though he says all the right things, he just doesn’t sound like he is very happy about being in Durham. (thanks Chris) [AUDIO]
