Evan Longoria has been promoted from AAA Durham and will make his major league debut tonight for the Tampa Bay Rays against the Baltimore Orioles.

The timing of the promotion raises several questions:

1. What has Longoria done in two weeks at Durham to show that he is now ready?

Not much. We were told that Willy Aybar was given the job out of spring training because Longoria was not ready. In 7 games, The Dirtbag was 5-25 (.200) with 1 RBI and ZERO extra-base hits. If the decision was indeed based completely on whether or not Longoria was ready, the Rays would not be calling him up now just to fill the hole created by the injury to Aybar. Longoria is no more ready after only 7 AAA games than he was at the end of March. Rather, the Rays would let Eric Hinske or Joel Guzman start at third base for the next two weeks.

2. Will Longoria still be the starting third baseman when Aybar comes off the DL?

If he struggles, the Rays have a built-in excuse to send Longoria back to Durham in two weeks. But that would just go back to the first question. Why bring him up now if he wasn’t considered “ready” at the end of spring training? Longoria was not on the 40-man roster. If the Rays were just looking for a two-week stop-gap, they would go with a player already on the 40-man roster. So maybe the job was his all along and the Rays were just waiting the requisite number of days to delay his free agency clock…which brings us to question #3…

3. Did the Rays keep Longoria in Durham long enough to delay the free agency clock?

A service year is considered 172 days. If a player spends 172 (or more) days on the major league roster they receive credit for a full season. The 2008 regular season ends on Sept. 28. If we are adding right, and we like to think we are…if The Dirtbag spends the rest of the season on the major league roster, he will accumulate only 167 service days. In other words, the Rays have successfully pushed back Longoria’s pending free agency. If Longoria would have been on the opening day roster, he would have been elegible for free agency following the 2013 season. Having waited only two weeks, Longoria will not be eligible for free agency until after the 2014 season. And while the Rays will certainly try to sign Longoria to a long-term deal, that one year delay will make a huge difference in the structure of any agreement reached between the two sides.

4. Who is out if Longoria sticks?

The Rays will have an interesting problem in a few weeks when Cliff Floyd and Aybar return from the DL (Aybar should only be gone 2 weeks, Floyd 4-6 weeks). Of the four players on the bench, Mike DiFelice and Elliot Johnson appear to be safe due to team needs (backup catcher/shorstop). Certainly Justin Ruggiano will be gone. But that leaves Hinske, Floyd, Gomes, Aybar and Nathan Haynes for four spots. Floyd, Gomes and Aybar are safe. That leaves Hinske and Haynes for one spot. Keep in mind that Haynes is the Rays best defensive right fielder and really the only backup center fielder, although Johnson and Gomes could do it in an emergency. Also keep in mind that all of those players are out of options. Might the Rays seek to trade Gomes or Hinske? There is a very good possibility. If not, they will be forced to DFA Haynes and let Gomes, Aybar and Hinske share the right field duties…and nobody wants that.

While the Rays did not keep Longoria down long enough to delay his arbitration eligibility, they did save the team a year on the back-end and the only cost to the fans and his teammates was 10 games. It is difficult to argue with the reasoning, but forgive us if we question the excuses.

Tampa Bay Devil Dogs (2 days until opening day)

DRG here again to get you through the weekend…

Yesterday: Reds 6, Tampa Bay Rays 3.

• The Good: Carl Crawford was 3-4 with 2 doubles…Carlos Pena hit a ball so hard off the top of the wall in right field that he was held to a single…Dioner Navarro continues to hit, adding 2 more hits and is at .366 in March…Matt Garza went 5 allowing only 2 unearned runs…Jason Bartlett and Aki Iwamura combined on yet another picture-perfect double play.
• The Bad: Miscommunication in center field with BJ Upton allowed a routine fly ball to drop, leading to 2 unearned runs, after Matt Garza cruised through the first four frames.
• The Telling: Joel Guzman had a great game in the field getting several tough plays and handling them well including throwing a runner out at home. With the addition of Nathan Haynes, Eric Hinske is probably out meaning the third baseman is either Guzman or Elliot Johnson if Willy Aybar is not ready on opening day…Oops. Just found out this morning that Guzman is out, Hinske is in.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

• A total of 8 players were cut yesterday. Other than Grant Balfour, the biggest names were Mike DiFelice, Josh Paul and Andy Cannizaro meaning that Shawn Riggans will indeed be the backup catcher and Elliot Johnson will be the backup-whatever. [Tampa Bay Rays]
• Word just came down that the final roster spot will go to Eric Hinske with Joel Guzman being optioned. [The Heater]
  
• Scott Kazmir threw in the outfield yesterday and all reports were that he looked and felt good. [Tampa Tribune]
• Willy Aybar and Cliff Floyd are both on track to be ready for opening day while Rocco Baldelli was officially transferred to the 60-day disabled list opening a spot on the 40-man roster. [St. Pete Times]
• Baseball Prospectus looks at the leading candidates for the top pick in the June amateur draft, with hot shot high school shortstop Tim Beckham looking like the odds on favorite these days. Sweet Fancy Moses! I am drooling just reading the scouts takes. Better than Justin Upton? Sign me up. [Baseball Prospectus]

Beckham is without question the toolsiest player in the draft, and he’s lived up to expectations this year, if not exceeded them. A true shortstop with outstanding hitting skills, power potential, plus speed, and good fielding skills, most insiders agree that no position player comes close to his overall upside. “He looks like Justin Upton to me, only Upton had the throwing problem in high school and this kid doesn’t,” said one scouting director. “He’s also a lot stronger than I thought he was,” he continued. “I wasn’t sure of the power before, but I’m pretty convinced now.” Another scouting director agreed that he was one of the elite players in the draft. “He’s a guy who has proven it at every event and every showcase, he plays up the middle and he doesn’t have to move,” he said. “It’s hard to classify high school players as safe, but this one is about as safe as it gets.”

• The Wall Street Journal grades the managers in three categories and then ranks them. Joe Maddon comes in at #14. Interestingly, he is tied with his former boss Mike Scioscia. [Wall Street Journal]

Tampa Bay Rays (4 days until Opening Day)

Yesterday: Twins 4, Tampa Bay Rays 2.

The Good: The Rays used the league minimum three regulars yesterday. Two of those three, Jason Bartlett and Aki Iwamura the Rays new double-play combo combined for 5 of the Rays 6 hits, including two extra-base hits and both RBI. They also combined on yet another double-play…For the second straight game Rays pitchers did not walk a batter.

The Bad: Elliot Johnson committed two errors on the same play in center field. First he misplayed a hard hit ground ball single up the middle, and then threw the ball into the dugout. Not what Johnson wants trying to convince Joe Maddon that he can be the backup centerfielder for the first week of the season.

The Telling: Jason Bartlett added his 5th stolen base indicating that even though he will bat 9th, Joe Maddon is going to treat Bartlett like a second leadoff hitter and Bartlett is going to rack up steals this year.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• Obligatory Public Service Announcement: We will be hosting the 2nd Annual Opening Day Tampa Bay Rays Live Blog here at RI. So feel free to stop by and join in on the shenanigans as participation is certainly welcome.
• Two days ago we ran a poll on public opinion about the Rays decision to send Evan Longoria to the minors to begin the season. 52.3% of respondents think Longoria should have began the season with the Rays. 47.7% think the Rays did the right thing with sending Longoria to Durham, with 36.7% thinking the move should have been made at least in part because it is good for the future of the franchise. Interestingly, 60.0% think Dirtbag needs more seasoning although about half of those think he could finish the learning curve at the big league level. [Rays Index]
• Thanks to the great work of Stacy Long, we have our first look at what the rosters for each minor league affiliate might look like to begin the 2008 season. These are reflected in the CorkBoard in the sidebar. We say might because camp has yet to break and some of these assignments are only temporary based on needs. There are also several players still in big league camp that have yet to be reassigned. In addition, most of the players listed under the two short-season squads will remain in extended spring training and have yet to be assigned to a specific team. Finally, starting lineups for each team won’t be relevant until the season begins…However, we do see a number of big names in the system have taken their expected steps up in 2008. [Riverwalk Talk]
• Tigers pitcher Todd Jones takes a none-too-subtle shot at the Rays in the little side bar of his Sporting News blog. Don’t worry, you will find our none-too-subtle response in the comments section. [The Sporting News]
• Rocco Baldelli’s favorite sport to watch is Team USA softball…Me too Rocco, you sly dog. Me too. *nodding acceptingly* [Bradenton Herald]
• Interestingly, with Evan Longoria now in the minors, Willy Aybar may not be the opening day third baseman after all because of a nagging hamstring problem. If he is not ready to go, the starter would either be Elliot Johnson or Joel Guzman. [Tampa Tribune]
• Joe Maddon calls Jason Bartlett “probably the best base runner I’ve seen since Paul Molitor.” High praise indeed. And just another example that people should not consider Bartlett’s spot in the lineup (#9) a sign that Maddon does not have any faith in Bartlett’s abilities. Quite the opposite. As the #9 hitter, Bartlett and Iwamura provide Maddon with back-to-back leadoff hitters to get on base and wreak havoc on the basepaths in front of the Rays mini-muderer’s row of 2-3-4 hitters Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena and BJ Upton. [Tampa Tribune]
• RJ Anderson urges Rays fans to look at the big picture and not panic about recent moves involving Jeff Niemann and Evan Longoria or the injury by Scott Kazmir. [DRays Bay]
• We are beginning to think the Rob Neyer at ESPN.com is a closet Rays fan. Yesterday, he tackles the issue of whether or not the Rays lied to the fans about why Evan Longoria was sent to the minors. [ESPN]

Of course the Rays lied. Teams lie to their fans weekly, if not daily (Christmas and New Year’s are usually lie-free). Baseball teams, like everybody else in the world, tell you whatever they think they can get away with, especially if they think it’s something you want to hear…For me, the bottom line is this: I don’t care if my favorite team lies, as long as it’s in the service of the franchise’s long-term health. And while the Rays look silly now, given how impressive Longoria was this spring, I think it was a lie worth telling. And a month or two from now when Longoria is beginning his late drive for Rookie of the Year, all should be forgiven.

• Rob Neyer also has his annual list of the “Top 50 for five years”. He previously gave us the positional lists in which Carl Crawford was named the top left fielder for the next five years and BJ Upton topped the list of center fielders…In the overall Top 50, Upton comes in at #15, Crawford is #36 and Evan Longoria comes in at #20 although Neyer notes that the 20-spot “might be too high, as Longoria hasn’t played a single inning in the majors. It might be too low, as any objective method will choose Longoria as the American League’s No. 1 or 2 third baseman over the next five years.” [ESPN]
• Jim Moloney calls the Rays one of the top 10 stories of 2008. [MLB]
• Stacy Long has a neat story about how the Rays acquired a new middle infielder (Jeff Bannon) for the Durham squad after Bulls manager Charlie Montoya met Bannon’s wife who was a nurse in the hospital where Montoya’s son was being treated. [Montgomery Advertiser]

Tampa Bay Rays (5 days until Opening Day)

Yesterday: Tampa Bay Rays 10, Jays 0.

The Good: Rays pitchers combined on a shutout without walking a batter and striking out 8. Jason Hammel was limited to 4 innings in the game so that the relievers could catch up on their work (Hammel continued to work in bullpen after his 4 innings), but was very effective. He did not allow a run and gave up only 3 hits and did not walk a batter. He struck out 2…Five relievers, that will all be on the opening day roster, combined for 5 shutout innings, with only 2 hits and no walks with 6 strikeouts…Another errorless game…Jonny Gomes was 3-4 with his 4th home run of the spring…Eric Hinske had a double and a RBI.

The Bad: Guess we could put Cliff Floyd here for going 0-3 and lowering his spring average to just north of the Mendoza Line (.205), but that is a stretch as spring numbers don’t mean much, but they mean even less for veterans.

The Telling: Elliot Johnson started at short and played the first 8 innings. Right off the bat in the first he successfully turned a double play and later handled a ground ball cleanly. Johnson needed to show he could handle short if he is going to be a utility player off the bench while Ben Zobrist is on the DL.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• Obligatory Public Service Announcement: We will be hosting the 2nd Annual Opening Day Tampa Bay Rays Live Blog here at RI. So feel free to stop by and join in on the shenanigans as participation is certainly welcome.
• In case you missed it late yesterday, we have a poll going to gauge the reaction of RAYSHEADS to the demotion of Evan Longoria and see what you think the Rays should have done. [Rays Index]
• Several Rays are not happy about the demotion of Evan Longoria including Jonny Gomes…They must not have asked Willy Aybar and Joel Guzman their thoughts. [St. Pete Times]
  

If I say I commit to winning, he’s on my team for sure. I think everybody wearing a Tampa Bay hat and uniform wants that guy here. I don’t think it’s a good day on the players’ end and for everybody in a uniform.

• Joe Maddon is taking a very a conservative approach with Scott Kazmir. Kid K will play catch the next few days and may throw from a mound some time next week. And yes, he was officially placed on the DL. [The Heater]
• Gary Shelton shows that the Rays will improve in 2008 and the biggest reason is the bullpen, especially considering the Rays in essence traded Shawn Camp, Ruddy Lugo and Brian Stokes for Troy Percival, Dan Wheeler and Trever Miller. [St. Pete Times]
• This is the extreme example of the uninformed bashing that some people are tossing at the Rays since the Evan Longoria demotion…And for the record, the Rays do not have the worst winning percentage in baseball history. There are 20 franchises in history with lower winning percentages. [Mike Responts]
• Drays Bay found a stat that shows that Dioner Navarro is one of the better catchers in baseball at blocking pitches in the dirt and preventing runs. [DRays Bay]
• Most previews should have this title. At least this blog is honest enough to admit it, and that earns points in our book. [The Ballclub]
• Willy Aybar is trying to put his troubled past behind and is relishing his fresh start. [St. Pete Times]
• Brian Anderson, who attempted a comeback from Tommy John surgery this spring with the Rays, has accepted a position with the team in which he will assist pitching coach Jim Hickey and the front office with scouting. [Rays Report]

Tampa Bay Rays (7 days until Opening Day)

We have a busy, busy day planned here at RI, so be sure to check back early and often…

Yesterday: Tampa Bay Rays 10, Reds 9.

The Good: The two players that the Rays will rely on to be power sources in 2008, Jonny Gomes and Carlos Pena, each hit their third home run of the spring…Elliot Johnson continues to secure his spot as the opening day utility player, assuming Ben Zobrist is on the DL, with 2 more hits while playing center. He is now 19-41 (.463) on the spring with a 1.145 OPS…Aki Iwamura started 2 double plays with his new partner-in-crime, Jason Bartlett…Al Reyes struck out all three batters he faced.

The Bad: Matt Garza needed over 90 pitches to get through 5.1 innings walking 2 and hitting 2 more batters…Troy Percival gave up 7 runs in 1 inning of work on 6 hits and a walk.

The Telling: Andy Cannizaro who figures to be the only person that could beat out Elliot Johnson for utility player, saw time at both second and third.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• It is never a good day when we read the sentence “David Price left a Minor League start Thursday after feeling some discomfort in his left elbow.” Andrew Friedman says that it is not serious. We hope World B. Friedman will forgive us if we hold our breath until Price makes another appearance on a mound. [Tampa Bay Rays]
• Tom Singer names the Rays as one of two team in the AL that are “worth watching for early signs of a miracle”. [MLB]

In already setting a club record for Grapefruit League wins, Tampa Bay also has lost only twice in 13 games against other AL clubs, is 6-1-1 vs. the AL East and is 5-1 against Detroit and Philadelphia…Yet it’s almost as if the Rays are being humored. That could be a mistake, even if the weight of the AL East does have to curb their optimism.

• Bill Chastain notes that several roster decisions are still up in the air and the team met again last night to discuss some of those decisions. According to Chastain Ben Zobrist is likely to start the season on the DL, but will be available as early as April 5…Our best guess is that Elliot Johnson will now join Eric Hinske, Joel Guzman and Shawn Riggans on the bench. Not bad for a guy that had the 5th worst OPS in AAA last year. We are rooting hard for Johnson. [Tampa Bay Rays]
• Joe Smith also looks at the remaining roster questions…On a side note, does anybody else remember a couple of weeks ago when Joe Maddon was talking about how nice it was that most of the roster was already in place. [St. Pete Times]
• Joe Maddon all but confirms that JP Howell will be on the Rays opening day roster as a long reliever by saying that the last bullpen spot will go to either Scott Dohmann, who was better last year and Grant Balfour, who has had the better spring. Both players are out of options. One will make the team. The other must be traded or will need to clear waivers in order to be optioned to the minors. [Tampa Tribune]

“That is a tough one,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “Both have really good arms, both are very competitive. They’re making it tough. This is going to be quite a discussion in regard to that spot, because I have a lot of respect for both of these young men – they’re both great workers, they’re great teammates. It’s tough.”

• It sucks to be a hitter during an intrasquad game when the opposing pitcher is working on pitching inside. Yesterday, Chris Mason hit two batters in one game at minor league camp…Chuck Tiffany who missed all of 2007 also participated. [Riverwalk Talk]
• Delmon Young has a new commercial promoting the 2008 Twins in which he seeks the advice of Twinkies legends. They tell him to “See the ball, hit the ball”. Might just be us, but isn’t Young’s problem that he swings at too many pitches? [Chinese Evil Dead]
• New and Old Rays gear is being spotted with alarming regularity as far north as Tallahassee. [FSView]

Tampa Bay Rays (18 days until Opening Day)

Yesterday: Tampa Bay Rays 7, Spankees 6. Andy Sonnanstine got his first start of the spring and looked sharp going 3 scoreless and giving up only 1 hit. He did not walk a batter. Troy Percival pitched another perfect inning in the 5th. Both veteran non-roster invitee catchers saw playing time with Mike DiFelice getting the start. He went 0-2 with a strike out, while Josh Paul had a single in two at bats. The Yankees were 4-4 in steals against Paul. Reid Brignac who now has an outside shot at being on the roster for the first week or two as the Rays backup shortstop played late and went 2-2 with a walk. John Rodriguez played right for a while and went 1-2 with a double and 2 RBI. Jon Weber the other leading candidate for the 4th outfielder spot saw time at all three outfield positions going 1-4 with an RBI. Joe Maddon’s decision is likely to be based on who can handle center better, which rules Eric Hinske out. Evan Longoria started at third and had a walk in 3 plate appearances. Hinske relieved Longoria while Willy Aybar received one plate appearance as a first baseman.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• Oh It’s Those Girls recreated yesterday’s brouhaha with the aid of various toys and bobble heads. Excellent work, with our favorite detail being the use of AJ Pierzynski bobble-head to represent Shirley Duncan. [Oh, It's Those Girls]
• You remember Shirley Duncan, don’t you? He’s is the little bitch that thinks a second baseman keeps his glove near his groin. [The Heater]
• Jonny Gomes hopes everything is “under the rug” but doubts it. While Joe Maddon called the play “borderline criminal”. [New York Times]
• Marc Lancaster has several quotes from the Rays in regards to the Shirley Duncan slide. BJ Upton called it a “dirty play” and Troy Percival noted that this play was not typical of the way the Yankees play the game, which might be the biggest insult anybody can lob at Shirley. It is one thing to play for the Yankees. It is something else entirely to be a Yankee. [Rays Report]
• Big League Stew says yesterday is “The day the Rays finally became a real MLB franchise”. [Big League Stew]
• This past weekend we linked to this Yankees blog for their idiotic rant after the home plate collision. Now they are back at it. This time they make fun of Jonny Gomes for being so foolish for attacking somebody as big as Shirley Duncan…I can forgive Yankees fans for not knowing about baseball players that makes less than $12 million a year and isn’t a future hall-of-famer (re: future Yankee), but Gomes is not a small man and he did not grow up attending private schools the way Shirley did. We’ll take Gomes and we’ll take our chances. [Joblog Chamberlain]
• Another Yankees blog blames Yesterday’s fracas on Joe Maddon…and goes on a long-winded non-sensical ignorant rant against Maddon citing the incident last year when Joe Torre checked Akinori Iwamura’s bat as another example as to why Maddon is “a pompous, sarcastic wise ass” and he should “Lay off the beer for a little while, so you stop bursting blood vessels around your nose and so you can reduce the size of the unsightly gut”. [The Analytical Typical Yankees Fan]
• Brian Anderson had to be pulled after facing only three batters after feeling “something strange” in his left elbow. Anderson is attempting a come-back after two Tommy John surgeries. [Tampa Bay Rays]
• Chris Mason was reassigned to minor league camp. [Herald-Tribune]
• Would the Dodgers want Joel Guzman back? They are suddenly short on third baseman and if Guzman does not make the 25-man roster, he must be traded or released as he is out of options. [Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness]
• Baseball Happenings has a personal affinity for Rocco Baldelli and they will be rooting hard for him to get back on the baseball field…We will too…We will too. [Baseball Happenings]
• Members of the Columbus Catfish and the Montgomery Biscuits received their championship rings yesterday. [Montgomery Advertiser]
• The Montgomery Biscuits extended their Player Development Contract with the Rays for the 2009 and 2010 seasons. [Montgomery Advertiser]

We call him The Dirtbag because of how he plays and because he played college ball at Long Beach State whose baseball team has the coolest mascot in sports…The Dirtbags.

The biggest question mark for the Tampa Bay Rays in Spring Training is whether or not Evan Longoria will be named the opening day third baseman. Manager Joe Maddon has repeatedly stated that the decision will be based less on his stats, and more on how the 22-year old handles himself on a day-to-day basis and how well The Dirtbag adjusts to everyday life as a major leaguer. From now until the Rays announce a decision on Longoria’s fate, we will track The Dirtbag’s progress through his numbers, our own observations and quotes from Maddon and Andrew Friedman…

Notes on the Dirtbag-O-Meter…

Yesterday at the plate: DNP. Longoria did not make the trip with the team.

Quotes: None reported.

Summary: Willy Aybar was 2-3 with 2 RBI, but committed the team’s first error in only 3 total chances. Longoria has been flawless defensively, errorless in 5 total chances in one fewer innings played…Still, this is not your normal spring position battle. The situation is more pass-fail for Longoria, and so far he is passing with flying colors. Aybar could conceivably ‘win’ the job with a hige spring which could give the team an excuse to end Longoria back to Durham, but so far that has not happened. Interestingly, Joel Guzman has yet to see any spring action at third base logging all his playing time at first base.

Tampa Bay Rays (33 days until Opening Day)

Even though the MRI results are not due until today, the St. Pete Times this morning is reporting that Scott Kazmir will be sidelined for approximately two weeks.

The news on Rays ace Scott Kazmir’s left elbow appeared relatively good Tuesday night – no serious injury, but he’s expected to be sidelined about two weeks, which makes it unlikely he’d be ready for the opening day start.

Kazmir, 24, walked off the mound Tuesday after feeling “a little discomfort” while warming up for an intrasquad game and ended up in an MRI machine at Dr. Koco Eaton’s office. Kazmir said “it felt like it just jammed a little bit, kind of like a hyperextension.”

Of course the immediate concern is the status of Kid K’s elbow. In relation to the Rays opening day roster…this set-back for Kazmir may be an opportunity for another starting pitcher.

Joe Maddon has stated the five are fighting for the final two spots in the rotation, with incumbants Edwin Jackson and Andy Sonnanstine the early favorites. If Kazmir does indeed miss two or three starts in April, One of Jason Hammel, JP Howell and Jeff Niemann may get a shot to extend their audition into the regular season.

If one of those pitchers is slated to become a long reliever, Maddon may be more inclined to start that pitcher in the role immediately and fill the hole in the rotation with one of the other two. For example, if Hammel is to be the long reliever, he may not be considered to fill Kazmir’s spot in the rotation.

This set-back for Kazmir now means that we have a significantly better chance of seeing Niemann on the opening day roster.

Rays concerned for Kazmir [Bradenton Herald]
Kazmir checks out [St. Pete Times]

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• If you missed it yesterday, we included a “Webtopia” in the “Happy Hour” segment yesterday afternoon. So you will find a number of links there. This may become more common during Spring Training when the media coverage is at it’s highest. [Rays Index]
• The Rays held their first intrasquad game yesterday. Not a lot of action, outside of Jonny Gomes making a falling down diving catch. [Herald-Tribune]
  
• Joel Guzman finally resolved his Visa issues and arrived at camp yesterday. Willy Aybar is expected to arrive today. We finally get to see exactly how good the super-platoon, Jolly Guzbar, can be. [Tampa Bay Rays]
  
• Stuart Sternberg said he would be open to adding payroll to the team in-season if it meant strengthening the team. [St. Pete Times]

“Obviously our payroll has been at or near the bottom. But it’s a big business, and with a business like that you need to have some flexibility,” Sternberg said during his first appearance of the spring at training camp…”So we will always be in a position to add. The question is, at what cost and not just at the cost, but how does that affect us 2009, 2010? The money isn’t endless. It will just have to come from another year.”

• Florida Governor Charlie Crist supports the Rays proposal for a new stadium, stating that he believes the new park and the redevelopment of Tropicana Field would be an economic boost for the city. [Rays Report]

The new stadium “means a lot. I want to do everything we can,” Crist said, “That is why I wanted to reinstitute the [Governor’s Baseball Dinner], to show how much Florida appreciates what baseball does for the whole Sunshine State. Anything we can do in order to support baseball – and all sports being in Florida – is important…Annually, sports means $32 billion a year for the Sunshine State. That’s a huge economic driver and makes an enormous impact in the production of jobs…[A new Rays stadium is] not just for owners and players but for an awful lot of people that work at the stadium that park the cars and provide the food. It’s very important for all of us and I want to do whatever I can to help.”

• Fire Jay Mariotti rips apart a piece from The Sporting News that thinks the Rays should sign Barry Bonds. [Fire Jay Mariotti]

Tampa Bay Rays (34 days until Opening Day)

For those that do not follow the comments sections, let us clarify our point on Barry Bonds.

There are reasons to sign Bonds and there are reasons not to sign Bonds. We understand both sides of the argument. In fact, we believe the Rays would be a better baseball team with Bonds. And in all probability the Rays would sell more tickets and make more money with Bonds.

However, our argument has never been about “should they” or “shouldn’t they”. We are just saying the Rays won’t. Signing Bonds would go against everything the Rays front office has done in the past two-plus years. They traded last year’s headaches, Elijah Dukes and Delmon Young. They dropped the term ‘Devil’ because some people reacted negatively. Free agent signings have filled needs, not wants.

But most importantly, the Rays like to speak of their new ‘brand’ (new nickname, logos and colors). The team has gone to great lengths to promote the new brand in a positive light. It doesn’t seem very likely that they are going to want America’s first experience with that brand to be in the form of Barry Bonds.

The Rays have a plan. The plan is working. Now can we please get back to talking about the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays? Yes? Good.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• If you haven’t had a chance to vote in this week’s “Rays Confidence Survey”, you can do so right HERE. [Rays Index]
• Buster Olney (behind the wall of “ESPN: Insider”) believes that Barry Bonds makes sense for the Rays. There are now 6,345,122 new stories on Bonds to the Rays, good or bad? We did not want to link to any of them, but Buster Olney is very well respected. [ESPN]
• Of course “the players” would welcome Barry Bonds. That is because nobody thought to ask Cliff Floyd and Jonny Gomes, two players that would stand to lose consider playing time with the addition of Bonds. [Tampa Bay Rays]
• ESPN takes a satirical look at the Pros and Cons of Barry Bonds playing for each of the 30 teams. [ESPN]
• Willy Aybar and Joel Guzman had their visa issues resolved and will be in camp today and tomorrow. [St. Pete Times]
• The Bradenton Herald interview Evan Longoria on how he is approaching this year’s Spring Training. [Bradenton Herald]
• The Tampa Tribune interviews Reid Brignac and he discusses the key step that helped him turn the corner with regard to his defense at shortstop. [Tampa Tribune]

Beginning in spring training last year, the Rays set about to revamp Brignac’s throwing motion. A tall, rangy shortstop whose build recalls Cal Ripken Jr., Brignac was in the habit of delivering his throws straight over the top. That’s what you want from an outfielder, which Brignac was in high school until his senior season, but not ideal for an infielder.

“You can’t teach hands or anything like that, but they did a great job of getting me where I needed to be to be successful,” Brignac said. “You can either take that and run with it or you can try and do your own thing, and nine times out of 10, if you listen to the advice that has been given to you and the coaching that has gone on and run with it, you learn a lot. You get better.”

Brignac certainly did. He had committed 19 errors, most of them with his arm rather than his glove, in his first 90 games for the Biscuits. He committed only three more miscues in his final 43 games.

• Joe Maddon will wait until after the first two intrasquad games before deciding how much Rocco Baldelli will play in the early portion of the Spring Training schedule. [Herald-Tribune]
• Jason Bartlett and infielder coach Tom Foley think that Akinori Iwamura is making great strides in his adjustment to second base. [Tampa Bay Rays]

“He’s going to be fine,” said Jason Bartlett, the Rays’ new shortstop. “Everybody makes a big deal about it, but he’s an athlete. … I don’t think it’s going to be a problem at all.”

“He’s doing great,” Foley said. “There are some little things he has to do to help him out, but as far as fundamentals, he’s doing great.

“Aki’s a great athlete and seems to have a real good grip on second base already,” Foley said. “It’s just a matter of playing games. When you go from one side of the diamond to the other side, and all of a sudden, you get a ball in the gap: What are your responsibilities? Those things have to be reactionary once the season starts.”

• One More Dying Quail compares the 2008 to the 1969 New York Mets. And as Red Sox fans they are scared. [One More Dying Quail]
• Joe Maddon has enlisted one player every morning to tell the Joke-of-the-Day prior to workouts. [ESPN]
• Will Carroll of Baseball Prospectus attended the Tampa Bay Rays’ FanFest. He even took a few pictures. [Baseball Prospectus]
• One blogger thinks that a new-and-improved Rays could cause havoc in the AL East, which may lead to the AL Wild Card coming from the AL Central. [The Spot Starters]

Tampa Bay Devil Dogs (36 days until opening day)

DRG here again to get you through the weekend…

Rays Anatomy interviewed David Price. It is a solid interview with good questions.

However…And this is not a jab at RA because we have seen plenty of other Q&As with Price…but when the hell is somebody going to ask him if the team is going to give him a start in Spring Training? This is the single most pressing and important question.

Has this question been asked and we have just missed it? I have asked three people and nobody remembers having seen this question asked by anybody, including the Rays beat reporters or columnists.

If the Rays even think it is possible that Price will pitch for the Rays in 2008 then they will want to see him pitch against major league batters in the Spring. And not just a few cursory batters in the 8th inning of a Spring game in which the batters are all wearing numbers north of 70. If Andrew Friedman and Joe Maddon think Price is close to being ready they will want him to start at least one Spring game and throw him to the wolves, and see how he handles the pressure. If there are no intentions to have Price in the majors in 2008 then he will most likely be reassigned to minor league camp very early.

Maybe Price won’t answer the question. But I would love it if somebody would at least ask. And I don’t want anybody to tell me that this decision has yet to be made. This has been discussed.

Rays Anatomy And The MLB Source Interview David Price [Rays Anatomy]

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

• Delmon Young is keeping quiet after the challenge from Carl Crawford. Certainly Twins brass strongly suggested he do so. And certainly, it is killing Young to not be able to say something. It must be eating him alive and I think that is funny. [Tampa Tribune]
• Three players (Willy Aybar, Joel Guzman and Juan Salas) remain stuck in the Dominican Republic without Visas. Joe Maddon spoke to the issue and said that Salas is the one that stands to be hurt the most by his absence as he is fighting for the last spot in the bullpen. [St. Pete Times]

“The longer Salas is out,” Maddon said, “the more difficult it’s going to be for him.”

• Willy Aybar and Joel Guzman are expected in camp on Wednesday. Juan Salas is not. It is believed that his Visa issues are due to his drug suspension last year. [Tampa Tribune]
  
• Edwin Jackson will pitch the Grapefruit League opener on Friday. He will be followed by Scott Kazmir on Saturday and James Shields on Sunday. Kid K’s start on Saturday would have him on pace to start the season opener in Baltimore. [The Heater]
• Joe Maddon said that the decision to start Edwin Jackson has no bearing on who will make the rotation in the final two spots of the rotation. [Tampa Tribune]
• Dioner Navarro didn’t exactly change his diet. He still loves himself some fried chicken. However, he did change when he eats it (not as late at night), and apparently he looks slimmer this Spring. [Tampa Bay Rays]
• The Bradenton Herald takes a look at the other player in the Delmon Young-Matt Garza swap…Jason Bartlett. [Bradenton Herald]
• Matt Garza almost quit baseball in college. [Tampa Tribune]
• Am I the only one that is confused by this? Just askin’. [DRays Bay]