Archive for the 'Joe Nelson' Category

Apr 18

The McDLT: Where Hopefully The Hot Side Stays Hot And The Cool Side Doesn’t

Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, Dan Wheeler, Grant Balfour, Jason Bartlett, Jeff Niemann, Joe Nelson, Scott Kazmir 5 Comments »

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Mar 12

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Some Top Prospects, Percy’s Role And Something About The Cowbell Kid

Joe Nelson, Troy Percival No Comments »

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.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • We participated in a round table discussion over at Rays Prospects discussing which prospect not named David Price would have the biggest impact for the Rays this season. You will want to check it. [Rays Prospects]
  • We also participated in a second discussion on Matt Moore and Nick Barnese. [Rays Prospects]
  • We should get an update today on the extent of the injury to Fernando Perez’ wrist. [St. Pete Times]
  • Marc Topkin says that it doesn’t matter what Troy Percival thinks or what the trainers say or what Joe Maddon hopes, it comes down to what Percy does on the field over the next few weeks that will determine if he is ready to resume his role as closer for the Rays. [St. Pete Times]
  • The AP has a story this morning on the Rays struggles to sell tickets. [USA Today]
  • Newcomer Joe Nelson won the Rays charity golf tournament yesterday. [St. Pete Times]
  • And we can’t even believe we are going to type this…The Cowbell Kid is going to make his FCW debut tonight. We think that is Florida Championship Wrestling, but we don’t care enough to look it up. [Video]

Dec 31

[THE HANGOVER] Willy Aybar Just Called To Say ‘I Glove You’

Doug Salinas, Joe Maddon, Joe Nelson, JP Howell, Ray Olmedo, Ray Sadler, Willy Aybar 2 Comments »

Not the best video in the world, but if you fast-forward to the 2:22 mark, you will see Willy Aybar making a nice grab while playing third base for Licey in the Dominican Winter League. Not sure how updated these numbers are, but Aybar was hitting .286-0-9 with a .712 OPS in 15 games for Licey.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • JP Howell was the 118th player to appear in both the College World Series and the Major League World Series. [bNet]
  • Joe Maddon is back in his hometown of Hazleton, PA to visit family and help raise funds to renovate the auditorium of his former high school. [Times-Leader]
  • Rays Party of America shows that the Rays’ bullpen had the second slowest average velocity in baseball. [Rays Party of America]
  • The Rays made the Joe Nelson signing official yesterday. [The Heater]
  • The Rays resigned Jon Weber to a minor league deal. Weber is nice to have around considering he has been on a playoff team eight straight seasons and in six of those seasons his team won a championship. The Rays also signed three other minor leaguers including Ray Olmedo, a shortstop who has played parts of five big league seasons with the Reds and Jays. He will likely serve as the Rays glass case middle infielder. You know. Break only in case of emergency. Ray Sadler is an outfielder, who played 3 games with the Pirates in 2005 and spent last year at double-A and triple-A in the Astros’ organization hitting 25 home runs in 126 games. Finally there is Doug Salinas, a right-handed pitcher. Salinas posted a 5.53 ERA in low-A last year in the Mariners’ organization. That was actually good, considering it was 5.91 the year before in the same league. Another 5 years or so, and he might be ready for double-A. [Baseball America]
  • Rob Quinn of Examiner.com has some New Year’s resolutions for the Rays. [Examiner.com]
  • Rays Prospects takes a look at how some Rays performed in the lower-level Venezuelan Winter League. Rays prospects in this league come from the Rays’ Venezuelan Summer League team, the Princeton Rays and recent international signings. [Rays Prospects]

Dec 30

[THE HANGOVER] Happy Birthday To Grant Balfour And Sandy Koufax; AJ Pierzynski, No So Much

AJ Pierzynski, Andrew Friedman, Grant Balfour, Joe Nelson, Sandy Koufax No Comments »

Happy Birthday to Grant Balfour, who is 31 years old today. We are not sure what that is in Australian years since toilets flush backwards down under*. He shares a birthday with arguably the greatest pitcher to ever live, Sandy Koufax, 73, who went 27-9 with a 190 ERA+ in his last season, a year in which he pitched with an arthritic arm.

Unfortunately The Mad Australian also shares a birthday with one of the biggest scumbags in baseball history, AJ Pierzynski, who has now made 32 trips around the sun despite being a jackass. And still the only player that made us go “Zapruder” here at RI.

*actually not true

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • Andrew Friedman says talks with free agents have picked up in the past week but that nothing is close to being finalized. [The Heater]

Executive vice president Andrew Friedman said Monday that talks with several free agents have gotten “more pointed” in the past week, but nothing is “imminent” as they continue to assess their options from a field that includes Jason Giambi, Pat Burrell, Bobby Abreu, Milton Bradley ( rumored to be headed to the Cubs), Adam Dunn and Garret Anderson, and could include Ken Griffey and Moises Alou.

“I still think we’re in good position to end up with an impact bat,” Friedman said. “We’ll continue to monitor the market and figure out the optimal time to make a deal from our standpoint and the player’s. ”

  • In the same piece, Marc Topkin answers the call and let’s us know that the Joe Nelson signing is indeed still waiting for completion of his physical, which should happen today. [The Heater]
  • The Rays are looking at seven sites, all in Pinellas County, for a new ballpark. It will still be several months before anything is decided. [St. Pete Times]
  • Drays Bay takes a look at how Andrew Friedman’s acquisitions paid off in 2006. [Drays Bay]

Dec 29

[THE HANGOVER] There Is Nothing ‘Utility’ About Julianna Zobrist

Ben Zobrist, Bud Selig, Joe Maddon, Joe Nelson, Julianna Zobrist, Rocco Baldelli, Troy Percival 1 Comment »


We are still waiting on an official announcement from the Rays that they have signed reliever Joe Nelson. Nelson announced on December 24 that he had agreed to a one-year, $1.3 million contract with the Rays. As per most deals, the contract requires the player to pass a physical and the holidays may be holding up that part of the process.

Rays agree to terms with reliever Joe Nelson [The Heater]

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • Ben Zobrist’s wife, Julianna Zobrist, has released her new album, “The Tree.” Ben and Julianna are also expecting their first child in January [Ed note: you can find pre-pregnancy photos of Julianna HERE] [Iowa City Press-Citizen]
  • Buster Olney says the Rays and A’s are in a bidding war of sorts over the remaining DH/corner outfielders. Olney says both teams are willing to spend money but neither wants to go first, preferring to wait until the other team is out of the market, which in turn could drive the price down on the remaining players. [ESPN]
  • We already talked about how defense is the Rays’ “Moneyball”. Well, Bleeding Blue and Teal is jealous and wants the Mariners to duplicate. [Bleeding Blue and Teal]
  • We have been trying to temper people’s emotions on Troy Percival, noting that he was effective when healthy in 2008. Now Drays Bay backs that up with more numbers…Of course, staying healthy is something else indeed. [Drays Bay]
  • One team that was said to be interested in signing Rocco Baldelli, the Reds, have signed Willy Taveras to play center field. However, they are supposedly still looking into the medical condition of Baldelli. [MLB Trade Rumors]
  • The Rays were included as part of the New York Times’ “2008 Year in Review.” [New York Times]
  • Joe Maddon was voted the top story of 2008 by his hometown paper. [Hazleton Standard-Speaker]
  • Bud Selig points to the 2008 success of the Rays as the culmination of 9 years of efforts to bring competitive balance to baseball. [Yahoo! Sports]
  • Joe Smith reports on how much the Rays’ overseas scouting has grown, with over 70 international free agents signed in the last three years. [St. Pete Times]
  • The Rays Party of America has updated their 25-man roster projection…With Gabe Gross and Matt Joyce offering a similar skillset, we don’t see them both on the roster. [The Rays Party of America]

Dec 23

[THE HANGOVER] Rocco’s Dilemma: NL Clubs May See A Better Fit

Andy Freed, Dave Wills, Joe Nelson, Rocco Baldelli 22 Comments »

Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is reporting (via MLB Trade Rumors) that the Pirates are very interested in signing Rocco Baldelli.

The Pirates have had several conversations with Baldelli’s representatives, according to one high-ranking team executive, and their pursuit is serious. General manager Neal Huntington has acknowledged wanting a right-handed power bat for the outfield — Nate McLouth, Brandon Moss and Nyjer Morgan all are left-handed — and Baldelli could fit that, the Pirates believe, even if he continues to require regular rest.

Despite the recent upgrade in Baldelli’s medical prognosis, there are still questions about how much of a recovery can be expected and how quickly he can recover.

And herein lies Rocco’s Dilemma…Rocco almost certainly would prefer to play in the American League, but a National League club is more likely to pursue him.

In the AL, Rocco could DH on a regular basis. But unless a team has a need for a full-time DH, Rocco could handcuff a team’s roster. With only four bench spots, an AL club may not be able to risk having a player on the bench that can’t play the field regularly should an injury to a position player occur.

On the other hand, a young NL ball club like the Pirates or Reds, that doesn’t expect to compete for a couple of years, can more easily hide Rocco with the extra bench spot.

In the worst-case scenario, a NL club could use Rocco as part of a platoon, giving him 2 starts a week in the outfield against lefties, and utilizing him as a pinch-hitter in the remaining games. The upside for the team is that Rocco could become healthy enough to once again become an everyday outfielder in 2010 or 2011 when those clubs are ready to compete. But for Rocco, that would mean 50 starts in 2008 with a mediocre club instead of 100 with an AL contender.

In the end, Rocco may have to decide between the security of a long-term deal from the Pirates or Reds, or an incentive-laden contract with the Red Sox or Rays.

Pirates pursue recovering Baldelli [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]
Pirates Pursuing Rocco Baldelli [MLB Trade Rumors]

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • The Rays are one of the five choices for Joe Nelson a free agent relief pitcher that was non-tendered by the Marlins. Originally a fourth round selection in 1996, Nelson has played in six organizations, including a short stint in the Rays’ system, at Durham, in 2005. Last season, Nelson posted a 2.00 ERA with 60 strikeouts and 22 walks in 54 innings…In the same piece Marc Topkin is reporting that Dave Wills and Andy Freed signed new contracts to return to the Rays’ radio booth in 2009. Wills received the highest approval in our Media Approval Ratings. [The Heater]
  • Dayn Perry is the latest to say the Yankees still haven’t done enough to overtake the Rays and Red Sox. [Fox Sports]
  • Baseball Analysts break down the AL East. [The Baseball Analysts]
  • Rays Prospects compares the organizations of the Rays and the Astros. [Rays Prospects]
  • David Chalk of Bugs and Cranks is nearing the end of their all-time Devil Rays Advent calendar. Today is #23. [Bugs and Cranks]
  • Rays Prospects takes a look at the 2008 performances of the Vero Beach hitters. [Rays Prospects]

Dec 17

[THE HANGOVER] Rhode Island TV Station: Baldelli Misdiagnosed

Andrew Friedman, Joe Maddon, Joe Nelson, Matt Joyce, Rocco Baldelli, Scott Kazmir 32 Comments »

[Update: 10:12am] The misdiagnois is also being reported by WPRI in Rhode Island (via MLB Trade Rumors).

Eyewitness News spoke with Baldelli’s father Tuesday, and he says iIt turns out Baldelli actually has a condition known as channelopothy.

This is certainly great news for Rocco and his family. If Baldelli can make a full recovery as suggested in the story, it will be fun to watch a healthy Rocco play baseball again, even if it is with another organization.

[9:42am] Ken Bell of ABC6 out of Providence, Rhode Island is reporting that Rocco Baldelli’s condition had been misdiagnosed. Doctors at the Cleveland Clinic, one of the top research hospitals in the country, are now saying the condition is channel-opathy.

The Baldelli family told me tonight that the Cleveland Clinic diagnosed his condition as channel-opathy, a non-progressive, highly treatable disease…channel-opathy is a disease involving dysfuntion of an ion channel. Channel-opathies are known to involve the ion channels for potassium, sodium, chlorida and calcium.

Bell also reports that the Baldelli family is saying the Red Sox have yet to contact Rocco who is a free agent.

Certainly the timing of the report is questionable with Baldelli as a free agent. But ABC6 is saying the report is coming from the Baldelli family, and ultimately we are not sure what Rocco stands to gain from fabricating a more favorable diagnosis. Any team that considers signing Baldelli will have their own doctors verify the report.

Drays Bay is calling the report “bunk” because they have never heard of the Cleveland Clinic, they don’t realize that misdiagnoses are actually common in rare conditions and because the original report is in all-caps, something news organizations used to use for short blurbs that were considered important or dramatic.

Family says doctors misdiagnosed Rocco Baldelli’s condition [ABC6]
Concerning The Misdiagnosed Rocco Rumors [Drays Bay]
Baldelli was misdiagnosed [WPRI]

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • Last night marked the beginning of Joe Maddon’s third annual “Thanks-mas” event. [MLB]
  • Matt Joyce was introduced to the media yesterday saying he wants to “raise some eyebrows” and show that he is ready to be an everyday starter at the big league level. [St. Pete Times]
  • Andrew Friedman is still hopeful to add an “impact bat” and feels a deal will get done before the end of January. [The Heater]
  • Scott Kazmir will be on the “Costas Now” on HBO tonight at 9:00 pm. He will join two members of the Phillies to discuss the World Series. So if you are into reliving painful experiences, let us know how he does. [Rays Report]
  • The Rays have spoken by phone with relief pitcher Joe Nelson, who was non-tendered by the Marlins. [The Heater]
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