Feb 03
The Red Sox have made a concerted effort this off-season to improve their run prevention. John Tomase of the Boston Herald says the Red Sox philosophical change can be traced back to a 14-5 loss to the Rays back in May.
The 14-5 defeat that afternoon against the Rays was mostly characterized as a poor showing from starter Jon Lester, who served up a two-run homer to Evan Longoria in the first inning and was chased in the fifth after allowing a career-high eight runs on 10 hits…The Sox knew better than to pin the loss on Lester. They knew that while the lefty hadn’t pitched his best, he didn’t lose that game. The gloves did.
Yikes. So now it is a $120 million payroll, one of the top farm systems in baseball and they now understand the value of run prevention.
Meanwhile, the Orioles are now implementing a plan similar to the one used by the Rays to compete in the AL East (thanks Amanda).
The Rays are screwed.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- The Rays have brought back Heath Phillips on a minor-league deal. Phillips, who made six appearances with the White Sox in 2007, was in the Rays organization in 2008, making 3 starts for Durham. He spent the 2009 season with the Royals’ triple-A club, making 25 starts and posting a 4.99 ERA.
- Wade Townsend has signed a minor-league deal with the Blue Jays. [Rays Prospects via Twitter]
- Joe Nelson, the Vulcan Tripod, has signed a minor-league deal with the Red Sox. [WEEI]
- Most have picked the Rangers, but for the third time in four years, the Rays have the top organizational talent according to Baseball America and their just-released “Prospect Handbook.” Marc Topkin also provides their list of the top 31 prospects. [The Heater]
- It is behind the pay wall, but Buster Olney looks at the Rays next wave of prospects and how important they are to the Rays continued success. [ESPN Insider]
- Rob Neyer discusses the Rays top prospects and how it is loaded with pitchers. Some of whom could be moved for a catcher, something sorely lacking in the system. [ESPN]
- One ranking in which the Rays are ahead of the Red Sox, is team nicknames. Of course, that is not saying much as the Sox are last and the Rays come in at #24. [The Hardball Times]
- The guy that wants to bring a baseball team to Orlando has dropped out of his congressional race to concentrate on his effort to bring a team to Orlando. [Shadow of the Stadium]
Oct 13
- BJ Upton
- Carl Crawford
- Evan Longoria
- Carlos Pena
- Ben Zobrist
- Pat Burrell
- Jason Bartlett
- Gabe Kapler
- Dioner Navarro
Above is a pretty standard batting order used by the Rays this past season versus left-handed pitchers early in the season. In fact, no other batting order was used more often this season. How often? Six (6!) times. Joe Maddon employed 125 different batting orders this season. He used 115 in 2008. By comparison, The Yankees used 107 and the Red Sox used 114.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Joe Nelson, Michel Hernandez and Joe Dillon were granted free agency as minor leaguers. We would not be surprised to see Hernandez and Dillon back with Durham next season. [Baseball America]
- Rays Renegade spoke with members of the bullpen about their off-season plans. JP Howell, Grant Balfour and Scott Cursi will all be getting married (not to each other). [Rays Renegade]
- Strange story: Former Devil Rays pitcher Geremi Gonzalez will have his body exhumed in Venezuela to determine if he died of a lightning strike (as original believed) or foul play. We are not really sure how those two could get confused…Gonzalez made 33 starts for the Devil Rays from 2003-2004, going 6-16. [St. Pete Times]
Aug 05
Durham 7, Indianapolis 6. The Bulls score 4 in the bottom of the 9th, the final coming on a throwing error while attempting to turn a double-play…Jeremy Hellickson had his first rough outing in triple-A, surrendering 6 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks in 4.2 innings. He struck out 7…Joe Nelson was solid in his first appearance with Durham, pitching 2 shutout innings, striking out 4 and walking none…Desmond Jennings went 2-5 with a double and 2 RBI…Reid Brignac was 2-5 and Matt Joyce went 3-4 (all singles) and 2 RBI. He also walked once…Chris Richard hit his 19th home run.
Montgomery 5, Mississippi 1. Aneury Rodriguez had his scoreless streak snapped at 24 when he finally gave up a home run in the 6th. It would be the only run allowed in 6.2 innings on 6 hits. He struck out 6 and walked just 1…Cody Cipriano went 1-4.
Ft. Myers 4, Charlotte 3 (11). Alex Cobb gave up 3 runs in 4.1 innings. He struck out 2 and walked 4…Shawn O’Malley was 2-4 with a walk.
Asheville 7, Bowling Green 0. Frank de los Santos took the loss and dropped to 4-7…Tim Beckham was 0-4 and Keyong Kang had 2 (2-3) of the Hot Rods 6 hits and has hit in 7 straight. Beckham also committed his 34th error.
Lowell 10, Hudson Valley 1.
Danville 3, Princeton 0.
Notes from Down on the Farm…
- Triangle Offense has all the details on the Bulls comeback. They also note that Shawn Riggans is day-to-day with a ribcage injury and was not able to play last night. They spoke with Joe Nelson about his demotion. Nelson was adamant that his arm is healthy and that he is fighting a mechanical issue. He felt that he discovered the flaw prior to last night’s game and is excited about how well he threw. [Triangle Offense]
Aug 01
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: Rotation. Gotta love that the Rays two biggest question marks in the rotation had great starts this week…Carlos Pena. Long before the Rays added Pat Burrell, they had their own streaky hitter. Let’s hope a hot streak comes now after Pena’s 3-run home run in the first inning.
THE BAD: Better To Be Lucky? We’d prefer Pat Burrell was good. In the 5th, with runners on first and third, Sidney Ponson threw 3 straight pitches out of the strikezone, down and away. The fourth pitch was a belt-high 90mph fastball middle-in. If a power hitter has a green light on 3-0, that is their dream pitch. Burrell was jammed. Luckily the ball landed in left field for an RBI single. But that pitch shows how far away Burrell is from being a good hitter again.
THE TELLING: Joe Nelson was demoted to Durham after the game. The Rays have not yet announced a corresponding move. Not including Nelson, the Rays have 5 pitchers at Durham on the 40-man roster: Wade Davis, Andy Sonnanstine, Dale Thayer, John Meloan and James Houser. It is too early for Davis and Thayer cannot be recalled for 5 more days (he has to stay in minors for 10 days). The Rays could promote Sonny to the bullpen, but that would seem strange. Right now, Sonnanstine is the Rays “backup” starting pitcher if somebody gets hurt. A starting pitcher that is moved to the bullpen usually takes 3-5 starts to get their starting pitcher arm back. Maybe the transition would be easier for The Duke. If not, that would leave Houser, who was recently moved to the Durham bullpen or Meloan.
SUNBURST PLAYER OF THE GAME: David Price
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Joe Nelson was demoted to Durham after the game. The Rays have not yet announced a corresponding move. Not including Nelson, the Rays have 5 pitchers at Durham on the 40-man roster: Wade Davis, Andy Sonnanstine, Dale Thayer, John Meloan and James Houser. It is too early for Davis and Thayer cannot be recalled for 5 more days. The Rays could promote Sonny to the bullpen, but that would seem strange. Right now, Sonnanstine is the Rays “backup” starting pitcher if somebody gets hurt. A starting pitcher that is moved to the bullpen usually takes 3-5 starts to get their starting pitcher arm back. Maybe the transition would be easier for The Duke. [Tampa Tribune]
- Joe Smith and Marc Topkin have some quotes from Andrew Friedman about the Rays decision to not make any trades at the deadline. [St. Pete Times]
- Matt Garza dodged a bullett when he was fined by MLB but not suspended after admitting that hit Mark Teixeira on purpose. [Tampa Tribune]
- Evan Longoria icons! It’s like Christmas and our birthday all wrapped up in one! [LiveJournal]
May 15
Matt Garza made an appearance in yesterday’s “Pop Culture Grid” on SI.com (thanks Amanda). In this feature, various athletes are asked to complete a series of sentences.
For example, Garza was asked to complete the following: I cant believe ___ is dating _____….Garza’s response: I can’t believe Cameron Diaz isn’t dating Troy Percival.
That’s cute and all. But what left us dumbfounded was Garza’s response to the following: If I could steal one body part from a teammate it would be…
Garza’s response? It’s a doozy…
If I could steal one body part from a teammate it would be…Joe Nelson’s.. he knows what it is
If we are reading this right, and we would like to think we are, that was way too much information. We will never look at Nelson the same again.
Guess we have a premise for Nelson’s nickname. Let’s start the bidding at…
- Vulcan Tripod
- Third Arm Blind
- Ray Dong Chong
- Boogie Knight…yep, think we have a winner.
Apr 29
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.
click above image for boxscore
THE GOOD: Ben Zobrist. Zorilla hit another pinch-hit home run and is now 3-5 with 2 home runs as a pinch-hitter this season. Both were huge.
THE BAD: James Shields. Shields gives up home runs. Always has, always will. But what he can’t do is walk the leadoff hitter 2 batters before Justin Morneau. And then there is the hit batter with the bases loaded, and the 4 walks total…Willy Aybar. Where did he think he was going when he was thrown out at home by 20 feet?…Troy Percival. Let’s face it, at this point Percy still has decent stuff, but he has no idea where the ball is going. Nobody misses the strikezone by so much on such a consistent basis as Percival…JP Howell. Did his best Troy Percival imperonation by throwing about 126 pitches in the dirt…Baserunning. Stop us if you have heard this before. Two Rays were picked…
THE TELLING: Willy Aybar started at DH as Pat Burrell was pulled from the lineup prior to the game with a stiff neck…According to PECOTA, the Rays now have a 33.4% chance of making the playoffs. The Blue Jays, who lead the division have only an 11.1% shot.
SUNBURST PLAYER OF THE GAME: Ben Zobrist. Can somebody please find this guy some more plate appearances?
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- In case you missed it, the WAGs list has been updated. [Tampa Bay Rays WAGs]
- Ryan Fagan has a long interview with Joe Maddon, in which they discuss what Maddon told David Price this spring and how he handles such a young pitching staff. [Sporting News]
- Interesting. Jason Bartlett only hits home runs when the Rays have a HUGE lead. [Bugs and Cranks]
- Kenny Powers Rays jerseys? Yikes. And kinda cool. [Deadspin]
- On Monday, Joe Maddon left Joe Nelson in the game to face Justin Morneau instead of brining in lefty Brian Shouse. Today we find out why. Maddon says Nelson is like having a third lefty in the ‘pen, noting that he likes Nelson against lefties “as much as any left-handed reliever in this league.”[St. Pete Times]
- The Rays Party wonders why the Rays are holding on to Jason Isringhausen when other options are apparent. [The Rays Party]
- Gerry Fraley says the Rays post-season run in ‘08 is to blame for their rough start in ‘09. [Sporting News]
- Dayn Perry says it is too soon to panic. [Fox Sports]
Apr 28
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.
click above image for boxscore
THE GOOD: Sweet Fancy Moses! What is more impressive right now? Carlos Pena hitting his 9th home run to lead the AL or Jason Bartlett hitting his 3rd home run and is on pace for 24? His career high is 5…Mad Genius. With Justin Mourneau representing the tying run with 2 outs in the 7th, Joe Maddon left Joe Nelson in the game instead of bringing in the lefty Brian Shouse (isn’t that situation why Shouse is on the team?). Mourneau hit it hard, but right at BJ Upton to end the inning…Jeff Niemann. It wasn’t pretty but he got the job done. He walked 4 and allowed a home run, but that was the only run in 5.2 innings…The Bullpen. 3.1 innings, 5 Ks, 2 hits, no walks and no runs.
THE BAD: Navi’s brain farts. It didn’t hurt the Rays last night, but Dioner Navarro dropped yet anther pitch allowing a runner to go to second behind a lead runner stealing third…Bossman’s brain farts. BJ Upton finally ends an 0-19 skid with a nice opposite-field single and then does what he does worst. He got picked off first base…Wrong team running. The Rays lead the majors in steals, but it was the Twins running wild last night with 4 steals.
THE TELLING: Twins TV announcers didn’t do their home work. At one point, in the middle of talking about how the Rays have much better fundamentals under Joe Maddon, they tried to use the current game situation as an example saying Aki Iwamura would be asked to bunt right then. Of course he did not. That is because the Rays have ZERO sac bunts this season and had the fewest in baseball last season (23). Later the announcers said the Rays are yet to win a series this season. Of course they won the opening series in Boston…The Rays face lefty Francisco Liriano tonight and are 1-7 against lefties this season.
SUNBURST PLAYER OF THE GAME: Carlos Pena. Several options last night including Evan Longoria, Jeff Niemann and Jason Bartlett. But it was Pena’s triple in the first that started the scoring and it was his home run in the 8th that sealed the win.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Rays the Stakes compares the Rays to the Indians…from “Major League 2.” [Rays the Stakes]
- The Rays Party adds a new twist to the classic power rankings, looking at just how different publications and writers rank the Rays. [The Rays Party]
- Grant Balfour admits that he was better prepared for spring training last season (the spring he was DFA’d) than he was this year, but that he is starting to come around…His velocity has been better the last two appearances with fastballs back up to 94-96. [MLB]
- David Laurila interviews Joe Nelson, where he talks about his long road to sticking in the majors and the use of his Vulcan pitch. Nelson is the only pitcher in baseball that is known to throw the unique changeup. [Baseball Prospectus]
Apr 18
| WHO'S HOT | | WHO'S NOT |
| Carlos Pena | | Carl Crawford |
| 2 doubles, 5 home runs and an OPS of 1.296 is the epitome of a 'Hot' week | | 5-28 (.179) with 9 strike outs and only 1 walk in 7 games this week. |
| Jason Bartlett | | Jeff Niemann |
| Barty continues to crank out hits. 10 more this past week for an OBP of .462. Oh yeah, and he hit 2 home runs. | | There have been positives, but he needs to learn to avoid the big inning. In 2 starts he has allowed 8 runs in 11+ innings. |
| Scott Kazmir | | Grant Balfour |
| Not the best start ever, but it was the first time he reached the 7th inning in a span of 20 starts. And it left him 1 win short of 50 for his career. | | He did look better his last time out, but prior to that he looked awful. This week he gave up 4 runs on 3 hits and 4 walks in only 1 inning of work. |
| Joe Nelson | | Dan Wheeler |
| Two very good appearances, striking out 5 in 3.2 scoreless innings. | | Like Balfour, he looked better last night, but the week as a whole was not good. 4 runs on 5 hits in 2.2 innings. Just part of the bullpen struggles of late. |
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