Apr 02
Time to bring back the GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.
THE GOOD: Gabe Gross. Gross is heating up at the right time, hitting a home run for the second straight game…James Shields. James the Greater rebounded from the embarrassment of his last start to pitch 4 innings, giving up only 1 run, striking out 4 and walking just 1…Carl Crawford. CC’s wheels are just fine thank you, as he stole his 8th base of the spring…Joe Nelson. Nelson had his best outing of the spring at the right time, throwing two perfect frames, striking out 2.
THE BAD: Lack of patience. Even with the regulars playing most of the game, the Rays still aren’t drawing walks. Yesterday it was just 1 (Carlos Pena).
THE TELLING: Grant Balfour pitched in back-to-back games for the first time this spring…Ray Sadler led the Rays with 4 spring home runs. Of players with at least 35 at bats, Gabe Gross led with a .453 OBP. Jason Bartlett (.423) and Ben Zobrist (.406) were also over .400. Bartlett led the team with a .362 average. Morgan Ensberg led with 5 errors. Nobody else had more than 2. Jason Hammel threw the most innings (25). Nobody else even had 17. Hammel also led with 18 K’s. For pitchers with at least 10 innings, Lance Cormier led with a 1.23 ERA and Carlos Hernandez was second at 2.25. Joe Nelson gave up the most home runs (5) and Mitch Talbot was second with 4.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- David Price got beat up pretty good in a minor league start, giving up 6 runs including 3 home runs. [Biscuit Crumbs]
- According to Marc Topkin, the Rays may wait until the 3pm roster deadline on Sunday before making decisions regarding the final spot in the rotation and the final spot in the bullpen. Lance Cormier will travel with the team to Philly, while Jason Hammel and Jeff Niemann will stay behind in Port Charlotte, with Niemann pitching a minor league game on Sunday. Finally, Topkin says there is no timetable for Adam Kennedy who was demoted to Durham yesterday. [St. Pete Times]
- Troy Renck of the Denver Post says the Rockies are considering whether to make a deal for Jason Hammel, but notes they may try and hold out for teams to start designating pitchers for assignment. [Denver Post]
- Spring training attendance in Florida was down 20% this year, but for the Rays it was up 30%. [St. Pete Times]
- Ten minor leaguers will travel with the Rays for their two-game set in Philadelphia this weekend. Stacy Long has the list. [Biscuit Crumbs]
- Jake McGee is back throwing off a mound and last week began throwing breaking pitches. He expects to return to game action in June but is aiming to be 100% in 2010. [Montgomery Advertiser]
- Stacy Long says Desmond Jennings has been “impressive” this week and Jennings hopes to start the season in double-A. [Biscuit Crumbs]
- Marc Lancaster compares the defenses of the Rays, Red Sox and Yankees. Of course, that really isn’t fair to the Sox and Yankees. [Tampa Tribune]
- Joe Posnanski makes some “semi-bold” predictions about the upcoming season and he predicts the Rays will be better this year. [SI.com]
Now many people seem to think that the Rays will fall off this year — and I guess that’s logical — but I can’t help but think the opposite. Now, they have David Price, who I think could have a huge rookie season. Now they have PatBurrell, who I think will have a big impact on that offense. And more, I think all those players I mentioned above could be BETTER in 2009. Upton has the ability to be an MVP candidate. So does Longoria. Pena could be more like he was in 2007. And so it goes…I don’t know how much better a team can be than the Rays of 2008. They won the American League East and went to the World Series. It’s hard to improve on that. But I think, all in all, the Rays are a better baseball team now.
- Rays Prospects has the transcripts from a recent interview Tyler Hissey conducted with Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus.
- Part 1 discusses what Goldstein thinks of Desmond Jennings.
- Part 2 takes a look at David Price and where he should start the season as well as how much the Rays could expect in return for Jason Hammel.
- Part 3 is a discussion about Tim Beckham.
- Peter Gammons uses the Rays as an example of how success in baseball “begins with youth.” [ESPN]
- David Chalk is the busiest man in Rays coverage…First up is his Rays preview for Sharapova’s Thigh. [Sharapova's Thigh]
- Then there is the Rays preview he wrote for Diamond Hoggers. [Diamond Hoggers]
- And of course, his side-by-side beat downs of the rest of Major League Baseball is nearing its logical conclusion, as he shows us why the Angels “Ain’t S#!t” compare to the Devil Rays. That’s right. We said “Devil Rays.” Got a problem with that? [Bugs and Cranks]
- Joe Maddon provides a list of the places he likes to bike when he travels to different AL cities. [Tampa Tribune]
- Finally, we have a video clip via the Montgomery Advertiser of Joe Maddon talking about the upcoming season and the importance of having the minor leaguers in the same camp as the big leaguers
Read the rest of this entry »
Apr 01
Color us surprised…
Via Marc Lancaster’s Twitter account [Ed. note: It is now up on Lancaster's blog] we learn that Matt Joyce will be on the opening day roster and may start in center field in place of BJ Upton and ahead of Ben Zobrist (Does Zobrist start against lefties?). His stay should be short as Upton is expected to be ready after a week or two.
Also from Lancaster…Jeff Niemann says that he and Jason Hammel will not accompany the team to Philadelphia this weekend and will remain in Port Charlotte to workout.
Mar 31
[UPDATE: 11:00am] Ken Rosenthal says the Rays are in a “position of strenth,” noting that the Rays could choose to cut Lance Cormier and keep both Niemann and Hammel. Rosenthal is reporting that six teams, including the two listed below, have shown interest in either Niemann or Hammel or both.
The Rays would like to move right-hander Jason Hammel or Jeff Niemann, both of whom are out of options. But the team could keep both pitchers and cut right-hander Lance Cormier if it does not receive an attractive trade offer…A number of clubs have shown interest in Hammel and/or Niemann, including the Rangers, Nationals and Indians; published reports indicate that the Padres, Pirates and Rockies also are in the mix, and the Brewers are yet another possibility.
[10:45am] 
Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune is reporting that the Padres have inquired with the Rays about Jeff Niemann, but so far the asking price has been too high. Read the rest of this entry »
Mar 31
Time to bring back the GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.
THE GOOD: Matt Garza. The Garza Complex rebounded from his dead arm issues to throw 6 strong innings, giving up 3 runs, striking out 5 and walking only 1…Troy Percival. Another day, another perfect inning from Percy…Carlos Pena. Pena hit his first home run of the spring and finished 2-3.
THE BAD: Ben Zobrist. Zorilla can occasionally be feast-or-famine. Yesterday it was all famine as he went 0-4 with 3 Ks.
THE TELLING: For the first time this spring, most of the regulars worked the entire game as Joe Maddon moves to get everybody into game shape…Akinori Iwamura continues to lead off since his return from Japan. When BJ Upton returns, we expect Aki to drop to the bottom of the order, but to start the season, he will lead off.
The GBT’s for the rest of the weekend games can be found below the Webtopia, after the jump.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- This should come as no surprise, but Joe Maddon reiterated that he will not skip the fifth starter early in the season. With the number of off-days in April, some managers choose to skip their fifth starter occasionally to keep the rest of the staff on normal rest, something Maddon has never done. In year’s past he has always made it clear that does not like skipping starters and prefers to give the rotation an extra day of rest. [MLB]
- John Romano takes a look at the four pitchers (Jeff Niemann, Jason Hammel, Jason Isringhausen, Lance Cormier) vying for the final two spots of the pitching staff. Romano feels it will be Niemann and Cormier that win the jobs, meaning Hammel has to be traded and Izzy either has to be patient in the minors or be released. [St. Pete Times]
- Jeff Niemann pitched well in a minor league game, throwing 6 shutout innings, striking out 6 and walking none. He only needed 68 pitches. [The Heater]
- Joe Maddon called the competition for the final spot “damn close.” Also, Matt Garza said his arm felt “live again” in his latest outing. [St. Pete Times]
- Jason Hammel says that the competition for the final rotation spot won’t strain the friendship between him and Jeff Niemann, noting that they “will always love each other.” [Montgomery Advertiser]
- Stuart Sternberg does not see the payroll remaining in the $60 million range next season stating that the team “borrowed from the next couple years,” to get it that high this season. He also notes that the Red Sox comeback in the ALCS, forcing games 6 and 7 at the Trop increased revenue significantly and that “there’s probably a middle reliever or two that wouldn’t be here, or we’d have a different bat.” [St. Pete Times]
- In another unsurprising move, the Rays have released Morgan Ensberg who now goes the way of Hee Seop Choi, and Roberto Alomar as big-named signees that never played a regular season game with the Rays. And let’s not forget Shinji Mori. The Rays gave that tool a lot of money. [MLB]
- In an effort to find more playing time for Willy Aybar, Joe Maddon had Pat Burrell take reps at first base and indicated he will play there during the season. Burrell played 58 games at first as a rookie in 2000, but hasn’t appeared there since. [The Heater]
- Joe Maddon spoke highly of Matt Joyce’s potential, saying he sees him as a middle-of-the-order hitter in the future, but that he would hit 6th or 7th now. Maddon said, “But, I mean, this guy has some kind of potential with the bat.” [Tampa Tribune]
- We now know that the opening day pitching matchup will be James Shields against Josh Beckett. [Providence Journal]
- Rocco Baldelli still hasn’t played back-to-back days but so far he has done everything that has been asked of him. [Boston Herald]
- Around the Majors takes a look back at the Delmon Young-Matt Garza/Jason Bartlett trade. [Around the Majors]
- #129 on the list of “The Top 177 Devil Rays Ever.”…For the first time, we don’t have a clue. [Bugs and Cranks]
- Jeff Ridgway, the left-handed pitcher the Rays traded for Willy Aybar, has been released by the Braves. [Biscuit Crumbs] Read the rest of this entry »
Mar 24
Time to bring back the GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.
THE GOOD: Lance Cormier. Cormier (right) is making a strong case to be the last man in the bullpen ahead of Joe Nelson. Joe Maddon has gone to Cormier a lot early in game to face the tougher batters and he has come through with solid spring numbers (1.80 ERA). He pitched two more scoreless innings and his ability to work more than one inning is only going to help his case.
THE BAD: The offense. Rays hitters managed only 1 run on 4 hits and 3 walks. Only one of the hits went for extra bases, a double by Gabe Gross…Jason Hammel. The fifth spot in the rotation is Hammer’s but his grasp may be slipping after walking 5 in 4 innings and giving up 4 runs and 6 hits.
THE TELLING: Adam Kennedy made his spring debut at shortstop, while Reid Brignac made the start.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Marc Topkin takes a look at the questions that remain for the Rays with opening day just around the corner. [St. Pete Times]
- Jason Hammel called his performance “unacceptable.” [St. Pete Times]
- Adam Kennedy says he is willing to start the season in Durham if needed, but the Rays made it clear that if there is not an immediate spot for him with the Rays and another team needs a major league infielder, they will not stand in the way of an opportunity for Kennedy to play in the big leagues. Also of note is Marc Lancaster pointing out that one reason Kennedy signed with the Rays is because he knew he would receive a lot of playing time in the spring to showcase his skills with Aki Iwamura away at the WBC. [Tampa Tribune]
Mar 19
Time to bring back the GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.
THE GOOD: Reid Brignac. Slowly but surely, the slick fielding Cajun’s bat is starting to come to life. Yesterday he hit a 3-run home run in the 7-run 5th inning, his 3rd of the spring. He is now hitting .222 which considering where he started is not bad at all…The Bullpen. Starting with Joe Nelson in th 5th inning, 5 relievers, at least 4 of whom figure to be on the opening day roster, did not allow a base runner until a triple off of Lance Cormier in the 9th inning. Combined, they worked 5 shutout innings, giving up the 1 hit, striking out 4 and walking none…Willy Aybar. Any complaints about Aybar getting some real games under his belt in the WBC? He was 3-3 yesterday and looks to be the epitome of being in “mid-season form.”
THE BAD: Jason Hammel. Hammel struggled early, giving up 3 runs in the first 2 innings, but settled down to pitch 2 scoreless innings. He allowed 5 hits, including a home run and a walk. He struck out 1. He also allowed 3 stolen bases. Joe Maddon was not worried saying that with Hammel is is “just a bunch of little things that you can clean up pretty easily.”
THE TELLING: Willy Aybar started at second base…Evan Longoria was sent home with a “gastrointestinal bug.” On the morning after St. Patrick’s Day? Did the bug have long blonde hair and come with green beer?
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Today’s spring training matchup with the Cardinals will be broadcast on the MLB Network.
- During the WBC contest last night between USA and Venezuela, the announcers indicated that Evan Longoria would not be joining the US squad to replace the injured Chipper Jones, and that manager Davey Johnson would go with the squad that is there.
- Last night we appeared on the Mike Silva New York Baseball Digest radio show. You can download the podcast here. [NY Baseball Digest Podcast]
- BJ Upton played the outfield in a minor league game but did not have any at bats. Joe Maddon said Upton “came through it well” and “felt good.” Upton is to get some at bats today in a minor league game. [St. Pete Times]
- Dennis Maffezzoli of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune spoke with Jason Hammel who says he has a newfound confidence and that he is “throwing the ball with authority” this spring. [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
- David Chalk continues his countdown of “The Top 177 Devil Rays Ever” and he is up to #135, Shawn Bleepin’ Camp. Huh wha?!? This is the first time when we must begrudgingly disagree with Mr. Chalk. If the list is “The Top 177 Devil Rays Ever,” Shawn Bleepin’ Camp shouldn’t be any higher than 178. [Bugs and Cranks]
- The Political Whore takes a look at what impact the economy may have on Rays attendance which is up 40% this spring. [The Political Whore]
Mar 17
Two weeks ago we addressed 10 questions hovering over the Rays in spring training. Every week from now until the beginning of the regular season, we will take a look at those questions and see if we are any closer to getting some answers…
- What can we expect from BJ Upton this season? We are still in “wait-and-see” mode with BJ Upton as he has yet to make his spring debut. When that happens will have an affect on whether the Rays will let him play center field during the first week of the season. We also need to see if Upton will unveil an altered swing this season to try and avoid any addition issues with his shoulder. MAGIC 8-BALL SAYS: JURY STILL OUT
- Who is going to leadoff this season? Joe Maddon has frequently used a lineup this spring that included Evan Longoria, Carlos Pena and Pat Burrell batting 3-4-5. Maddon has already made it clear that Carl Crawford will hit in his customary 2-hole. So unless you think BJ Upton will bat sixth (not likely) that means Upton is going to lead off this season. MAGIC 8-BALL SAYS: BJ UPTON Read the rest of this entry »
Mar 17
Time to bring back the GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.
THE GOOD:Patience. The Rays were able to score 6 runs despite only 5 hits in large part because the Pirates pitchers couldn’t find the strike zone. Rays hitters drew 11 walks…Andy Sonnanstine. We are hesitant to put The Duke here, but the results were solid for his first spring start giving up only 1 run and not walking a batter. But a few of his pitches were being left up in the zone and one pitch missed being a home run by inches to the right of the foul pole. He also threw a wild pitch.
THE BAD: David Price. In his second spring outing, it took Price 58 pitches to make it through 2.1 innings. Not exactly what he needed to do to change the Rays’ minds about his future…The Pirates. We understand that wearing green during spring training is a tradition, but just because the Pirates don’t have a game on St. Patty’s day is no excuse to wear green caps on the day before.
THE TELLING: James Shields will pitch in a minor league game today so that he can remain on schedule for his opening day start…Joe Nelson has allowed 4 home runs this spring in 2.2 innings…In a battle of who is more super-duper, Willy Aybar got the start at first base while Ben Zobrist was in left.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- There is a new Rays blog in our midst. Their first foray is in to a series of over/unders on how Rays players will do compared to last year. Go give them a look at welcome them aboard. [Trop Talk]
- Our latest round-table topic at Rays Prospects…“Most Overhyped” prospect. [Rays Prospects]
- David Price says that he has worked so much on his changeup that his slider “has gone away” and that it is something he is “going to have to get back.” [MLB]
- Evan Longoria might be absent from the Rays for a few days. Chipper Jones injured a muscle in the WBC and will no longer be able to participate. Longoria figures to be added to the roster if somebody is needed. [Rays Report]
- The Rays cut 12 players from their spring roster yesterday including Carlos Hernandez, Wade Davis, Mitch Talbot and Tim Beckham. [The Heater] Randy Choate was also cut following last night’s game. [Rays Plays]
- When asked if Jason Hammel is the front-runner for the final spot in the rotation, Joe Maddon said “Obviously it’s looking that way and it may turn out that way, but it’s really not finalized.” He also indicated that a final decision would likely be made within the next week. [St. Pete Times]
- Matt Joyce is scheduled to play the outfield today in a minor league game. [Rays Plays]
- John Romano spoke with Carl Crawford who called 2008 a “humbling experience” and is determined to get back to where he was the years previous. [St. Pete Times]
- Roger Mooney takes a look at how the spring is the only time the relief pitchers get to work on their pitches. [Bradenton Herald]
- This should come as little surprise, but Scott Boras is not a big fan of long-term deals for young players, which means Scott Boras must hate the Rays. [MLBTradeRumors]
Mar 16
Marc Lancaster provides us with the starting pitchers for the next five games and the list includes one name competing for the fifth spot in the rotation and does not include any others. The name included is Jason Hammel.
The Rays have provided a list of the upcoming starters:
Wednesday vs. Reds: Hammel (w/ Hernandez)
Thursday vs. Cardinals: Kazmir
Friday at Blue Jays: Garza
Saturday at Orioles: Sonnanstine (w/ Price)
Sunday vs. Yankees: Shields
Lancaster speculates on what this means for the starting rotation…
What should we glean from that setup, given that the Rays have said they’re close to narrowing the field of rotation candidates? Well, considering Jeff Niemann isn’t specifically listed, perhaps that’s an indication he may be more in line for a bullpen job, with Hammel set up for the rotation. That would be an interesting move, as I’d say Niemann has been the best of those competing for the fifth spot to this point. But perhaps I’m reading too much into it. Guess we’ll see.
We won’t go so far as to say that Hammel has already won the final spot in the rotation, even though the writing has been on the wall for a while. It is very much the Rays M.O. to wait to make decisions until they absolutely must be made. But this does suggest that Hammel has a firm grip on the final spot in the rotation and it would take an absolute nose-dive from Hammel and signs that Jeff Niemann is the next Nolan Ryan for somebody other than Hammel to be in the rotation when the Rays break camp.
Of starters and B.J. [Rays Report]
Mar 05
The Rays tend to keep things close to the vest and that is by design. But if you listen carefully, sometimes you can deduce pieces of their master plan for world domination. We recently saw this with quotes from Joe Maddon and Andrew Friedman about Jeff Niemann that suggested they see Niemann more as a dominating reliever even though they insist he is in competition for the final rotation spot.
Another pitcher that has crept into recent conversations regarding the final spot in the rotation is Carlos Hernandez. The once top prospect in the Astros organization, has looked solid this spring despite not pitching in the majors since 2004. Even though the Rays have never officially announced he has a shot at the rotation, many people have recently wondered if he does.
Gary Shelton of the St. Pete Times has a column up today looking at the comeback bid of Hernandez and how he got here. But what caught our attention was a quote from pitching coach Jim Hickey buried all the way at the bottom of the article (emphasis is ours).
“He’s interesting,” said Rays pitching coach Jim Hickey, who was the Astros’ Triple-A pitching coach when Hernandez was with the organization. “The first day we threw here, I was shocked. His arm action was so much better than it had been….”Look back at last year’s spring training. Maybe Carlos becomes this year’s J.P. Howell.”
In other words, he is not a candidate for the rotation and at this point the Rays are looking at Carlos as a reliever that can pitch multiple innings. Maddon loves relievers that can come into the middle of an inning, retire the side, and then go back out to the mound after sitting between innings. This was something that made JP Howell so valuable last season.
So if Hernandez is out and David Price is destined for Durham and recent quotes suggest Niemann is destined for the bullpen and the early struggles of Mitch Talbot make him a longshot (who also has minor league options), the fight for the final spot may be down to Jason Hammel and…Jason Hammel?
Pitcher Carlos Hernandez flashes bit of his old potential for the Tampa Bay Rays [St. Pete Times]
