Archive for the 'John Rodriguez' Category

Mar 12

[HAPPY HOUR] Rocco Baldelli May Have Played His Last Game For The Rays

Andy Cannizaro, Ben Zobrist, Elliot Johnson, Eric Hinske, Joe Maddon, John Rodriguez, Jon Weber, Jonny Gomes, Justin Ruggiano, Kenny Lofton, Rocco Baldelli Cork Gaines 10 Comments »

Tampa Bay Rays (19 days until Opening Day)

Not the best day in the world to be a Rays fan. We just reported about the cheapshots thrown by the Yankees in the today’s spring games (we apologize, for the excessive profanity). This came after this morning’s press conference to announce that Rocco Baldelli will start the season on the DL with a still unidentified muscle condition.

Baldelli said he had some type of “metabolic, and/or mitochondrial abnormalities, basically along the lines my body isn’t making or producing ATP the right way, and therefore not allowing my muscles to work as they should and recover like they’re supposed to on a day-to-day basis.”

Andrew Friedman noted that the Rays will continue to help Baldelli, but that at this point it is unlikely that the team would pick up his 2009 option ($6 million). Declining the option will cost the Rays a $4 million buyout.

At this point we need to seriously consider the possibility that Rocco has played his last game for the Rays and possibly his last game as a major league baseball player. If this is the case, it will be a sad end to a once promising career.

P.S. Shelley Duncan is still a little bitch.

Baldelli headed to the DL with fatigue [Tampa Bay Rays]

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

  • As far as the Rays in-house options to replace Rocco Baldelli as the Rays’ fourth outfielder, Joe Maddon will have to decide between Jon Weber, whom Maddon says is the better defensive outfielder and John Rodriguez, whom Maddon says is the better offensive option. Both will get considerable playing time in the near future and the decision may be based on who can handle center field better. [The Heater]
  • Outs Per Swing does not like the idea of bringing Kenny Lofton on board, when the Rays have a suitable solution in-house with Justin Ruggiano…We tend to agree. We don’t see Lofton as a difference-maker this year and think Jonny Gomes can handle the everyday right field job with one of several candidates good enough to step-up and be the Rays fourth outfielder (Eric Hinske?). Of course one thing going for Jon Weber is that he has played on a championship team six of the last seven years and just missed his seventh straight last year with the Bulls. [Outs Per Swing]
  • To continue with the injury-news, Andy Cannizaro is being treated for a recurring back problem. With the regular backup shortstop, Ben Zobrist out 4 weeks already, it now appears as though Elliot Johnson’s hot spring has earned him a shot to be the backup shortstop. He will likely get some time at short this week. [Rays Report]
  • Elliot Johnson says he is a hard-nosed player and expressed no regrets for the collision at home plate this past weekend. The Rays hoped that Johnson would enter camp and cut down on trying to hit home runs and lower his strikeout totals. So far it is working and Joe Maddon has taken notice. [Tampa Bay Rays]

“He’s a very good athlete and I think there’s a lot of positions that he could play,” Maddon said. “I want him to become more involved defensively, because this guy is very gifted, you can see that…He’s handled himself extremely well, and I’ve told him so,” Maddon said. “He’s out here playing hardball every day and that’s what he’s all about.”

  • We mentioned previously that the PECOTA projection system predicted a 22-win increase for the Rays in 2008, and now SI.com’s Nate Silver looks at that number and the Rays roster and sees the 1994 Cleveland Indians. [SI.com]

Forget about the ’87 Indians; the relevant team to consider here is the ’94 Tribe, which reversed a string of seven consecutive losing seasons by going 66-47 in a strike-shortened season. Like those Indians, who went on to win five straight division titles behind such rising stars as Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome, the Rays have plenty of young mashers.

  • Somebody else suggested we use THIS JOKE on our site. We think it is a little rough considering we are talking about a guy who has what is apparently a genetic disorder and may never be able to play again. [Hugging Harold Reynolds]
  • CNBC is running a bracket-style tournament to find the best minor league baseball logo. The Montgomery Biscuits were up on DAY 1, while both the Columbus Catfish and the Durham Bulls are in the running on DAY 2. [CNBC]
Mar 12

[THE HANGOVER] Elliot Johnson Is Reestablishing Himself As A Top Prospect

Andrew Friedman, David Price, Don Zimmer, Elliot Johnson, Eric Hinske, JK Ryu, Joe Girardi, John Rodriguez, Jon Weber, Justin Ruggiano, New Stadium, Rocco Baldelli Cork Gaines No Comments »

Tampa Bay Rays (19 days until Opening Day)

Yesterday: Tampa Bay Rays 7, Twins 1. Joe Maddon and Jim Hickey is starting to let their starters stretch it out early this year. James Shields worked 5 scoreless innings, giving up 4 hits and 1 walk. His last inning was his strongest with his only 1-2-3 frame. Elliot Johnson has not let all the media hoopla get to me or his poor 2007 campaign. Johnson led off going 3-5 with his first home run and his 3rd stolen base. He is now 9-18 in the spring with 3 walks. And people thought we were crazy to keep his name so high on our list of prospects…Willy Aybar started at third and went 2-2 with a double. Some kid named Evan Longoria hit his first spring home run. Eric Hinske saw time at first in his effort to show Joe Maddon he can be a utility player. Joel Guzman started in left field but later moved to third base. Dioner Navarro hit his first spring home run.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

  • After pitching a perfect ninth inning, David Price was sent to the minors along with Jae Kuk Ryu and Justin Ruggiano. Ruggiano’s demotion is a bit surprising considering the unknown status of Rocco Baldelli. The move leaves non-roster invitees Jon Weber, Eric Hinske and John Rodriguez as the only in-house options to be the Rays’ fourth outfielder. The Trib also quotes Ben Zobrist as saying he will be ready for opening day and that he will be 100%. [Tampa Tribune]
  • David Price says there is no doubt in his mind that he is ready. He also feels that the clubhouse knows he is ready also but acknowledges that the team has a plan for him and a process that needs to be followed. Don Zimmer noted that Price’s first appearance was as impressive as it gets. [Tampa Bay Rays]

“To me, where are you going to see anything better the whole spring than that one inning?” Zimmer said. “I don’t care if you’re 17 years old or if you’re 77 years old — that was thrilling. Strike, strike, strike, strike, and low, and breaking balls. It’s easy to say they didn’t have their regular lineup in there. That, to me, has got nothing to do with it. It’s where he was throwing it.”

  • Andrew Friedman spoke at length yesterday about Rocco Baldelli noting that he does not have a good feel of the situation and will not be proactive in looking for a replacement until they know for certain that Rocco cannot play. [Herald-Tribune]
  • Joe Girardi says there will be no bad blood when the Rays play the Yankees after last weekend’s home plate collision. Girardi seems to have changed his tune a bit after hearing so many big names side with the Rays (incl. Lou Piniella and Mike Scioscia). Girardi now says that he thinks there was enough plate left exposed for Elliot Johnson to slide into home around the catcher. [Newsday]

Girardi said he had not told his catchers to leave some extra plate open in case of any Rays sliding into home… “I thought there was plate open the other day, and it still happened,” Girardi said.

  • Anaheim Angels All the Way, who previously used their CHONE projections to predict that the Rays will win 89 games this year, now looks at those results a little closer. The biggest difference will be from the pitching staff and the defense as the Rays are projected to allow 200 fewer runs in 2008. Of course, the Rays could throw out 9 guys off the street and allow about 50 fewer than the 2007 Rays. [Anaheim Angels all the Way]
  • SI.com profiles the Rays proposed stadium. One question that recently pooped into our heads about the new stadium…When the “roof” is closed, it seems that the tunnel effect could produce very strong wind currents inside the stadium. This could lead to some very low-scoring games as we would think most of the wind would come from the bay. [SI.com]
Jan 07

[THE HANGOVER] One More Time…Scott Kazmir Is Not Going Anywhere…For Now

Andy Cannizaro, Ben Zobrist, Carl Crawford, Dioner Navarro, Evan Longoria, John Rodriguez, Michael Kalt, Mike DiFelice, New Stadium, Paul DePodesta, Reid Brignac, Scott Kazmir, Shawn Riggans Cork Gaines 3 Comments »

Tampa Bay Rays (38 days until pitchers and catchers report)
Will everybody please shut the hell up about Scott Kazmir? This has been going on all off-season and it is approaching ludicrous levels. The original source for all the stories and speculation was a New York Post article written by the idiot Joel Sherman. Here is the original line…

An executive familiar with Tampa’s thinking said if the offers for Santana grow to a substantial level, then the Rays would test to see what they could get for Scott Kazmir.

“An executive familiar with Tampa’s thinking…” His source was not even a Rays’ executive. Hell it may not have even been a baseball executive. He might have talked to the executive at his morning coffee shop.

Now we have been inundated with dozens of stories and blog posts speculating that the Rays will trade Kazmir because he has not signed a long-term contract and does not seem to have any interest in doing so.

SO WHAT?!?!

He is still three years from free agency. Three friggin’ years! 2008 marks Kid K’s first year of arbitration eligibility. Our best guess has Kazmir and the Rays agreeing to a one-year deal somewhere in the neighborhood of $4 million. If Scott Kazmir was a free agent pitcher today and he approached the Rays and said he would sign with Tampa Bay for one year at $4 million, the Rays would throw a party. Kazmir is going to pitch for the Rays in 2008. He is going to pitch for the Rays in 2009 and there is at least a 50/50 chance he pitches for the Rays in 2010.

If and when the Rays decide to move Kid K, it will not happen until after the 2009 season at the earliest. Why do it before then? There really is no incentive.

And so what if there is a chance the Rays trade Kazmir after the 2009 season? We have absolutely ZERO idea what the Rays’ rotation will look like entering the 2010 season. What if David Price, Wade Davis and Jake McGee are all fullfilling their promised careers and two have already joined James the Greater, Matt Garza and Kid K in the rotation? If the Rays have five young and talented starting pitchers at the major league level, and Kazmir is entering the final year before free agency the Rays better trade Kazmir. They would be stupid not to.

That’s right. We said it. And we will repeat it now for the cheap seats. If the Rays rotation entering 2010 is some combination of Kazmir, Shields, Price, Davis, Garza and McGee and all look to be above-average starting pitchers and the Rays have failed to lock Kazmir into a long-term deal…THE RAYS BETTER TRADE KAZMIR. And they will. Make no doubt about it. It is the smart move.

And if Kazmir continues to develop at his current pace, the Rays would be fools not to trade him. While he is not Johan Santana, look at the packages that are being offered for his services. Even if a proposed trade was slightly less than one of the Santana packages, it would still be a sweet bounty that would include 3-4 top prospects/young major leaguers. Add that group to Shields/Price/McGee/Davis/Garza/Upton/Longoria and the Rays will continue to have a very strong core of young players.

Kid K is the type of player that we covet. We may not get his peak years but we will get at least 5 seasons of top-level pitching and then he is moved for a number of pieces that will replenish the cupboards. Kid K is the type of player that keeps a team like the Rays competitive over the long-term.

As Rays fans we cannot be afraid to lose a player like Scott Kazmir. As a small-market franchise, the Rays cannot be afraid to trade a player like Scott Kazmir.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

  • The Rays have signed former Devil Rays catcher Mike DiFelice to a minor league contract. He will be invited to spring training with an opportunity to make the squad as the backup catcher. With the other option being Shawn Riggans, we give Difelice the edge, unless another catcher is signed. [TampaBay.com]
  • Each week until the opening of Spring Training, Bill Chastain will preview a different position for the Tampa Bay Rays. The first week is catcher and a close look at Dioner Navarro. According to Joe Maddon, the team is not concerned with Navi’s bat, but are more worried about his development defensively. His throwing is above-average, but the team needs improvements in other aspects of his game. [DevilRays.com]

“He really came on offensively,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “But the quantum leap we want to see is defensively calling a game…”He does a pretty good job of blocking pitches. We like to see him receive balls on the corner better than he has in the past. Taking charge of the staff, communication wise, we have a ways to go. … It’s vital to the development of [Scott] Kazmir, [James] Shields, [Matt] Garza, [Edwin] Jackson, etc…We do lack experience (at catcher). No question. We have to accelerate the learning curve behind the plate. We talk a lot about it and we’re trying to address it.”

  • Joe Maddon has placed on emphasis on making sure that Dioner Navarro arrives to Spring Training in shape and ready to take on a leadership role with the Rays. [TampaBay.com]

Maddon said he was in contact with Navarro this week, and he has been working out at the Naimoli complex trying to get into better shape for spring training. Last spring Navarro struggled as Maddon called the starting job open….”I really got a sense of urgency from him,” Maddon said. “I would be very surprised if he didn’t come into camp in much better shape and ready to play. I know he’s not going to forget what happened last spring, also because I’m not going to let him.

  • Dayn Perry, of Fox Sports, who we have been very critical of in the past, has a feature story predicting a bright future for the Rays. [FoxSports.com]
  • With Baseball America set to unveil their list of the Rays’ top 10 prospects and best tools list, Future Considerations makes their predictions for which Rays farm hands will be named in the “Best Tools” categories. We don’t see much to argue with, although we are not sure we would name Evan Longoria “Best Power Hitter and “Best Average Hitter”. Rhyne Hughes or John Jaso for “Best Average Hitter”? [Future Considerations]
  • RotoAuthority lists the top 25 catchers. Not a single Dioner Navarro among the bunch. [RotoAuthority]
  • Did Carl Crawford ruin the career of Matt Clement? [The Dugout]
  • Michael Kalt, the Rays Vice President of Development, has been named by the St. Pete Times as one of “10 People to watch in 2008″. He is the man behind the plan to bring a new stadium to the St. Pete waterfront. [TampaBay.com]

After helping parlay other people’s needs and money into new homes for the Yankees and Mets in New York, Kalt cobbled a plan that would raise most of the cash to build a new $450-million stadium in downtown St. Petersburg by selling publicly owned Tropicana Field as site for a $600-million-plus mixed-use project.

  • The Rays signed Andy Cannizaro and outfielder John Rodriguez to minor-league contracts. Both players will be invited to Spring Training with a shot at making the 25-man roster. Neither will. Rodriguez would have to beat out Jonny Gomes for the fourth outfielder spot. And even if Gomes is traded, there is still Justin Ruggiano. Cannizaro has a slightly better shot as the only real competition for utility infielder at this point appears to be Ben Zobrist, but as a switch-hitter, Benny Boo Boo has a strong advantage as the only available left-handed bat off the bench at this point. [TampaBay.com]
  • Beyond the Boxscore interviewed Paul DePodesta. Why are we including this in the “Webtopia”? Because DePodesta confirms something we have been screaming at the top of our lungs ever since we read Moneyball…That is, a “Moneyball” player has NOTHING to do with a good OBP. It has everything to do with finding a player that is undervalued. Nothing more. Nothing less. At the time Moneyball was written, players with a strong OBP were undervalued. Nowadays, strong OBPs are on everybody’s radar so they are no longer undervalued. [Beyond the Boxscore]
  • Reid Brignac has a rooting interest in tonight’s BCS Championship game between Ohio State and LSU. Probably don’t have to tell you which team The Cajun God of Baseball will be cheering for. [Stacy Long's Riverwalk Talk]
  • The Rays will discuss their stadium proposal with members of the Downtown Neighborhood Association at 7 pm on Thursday at the Sunshine Center. [TampaBay.com]
  • On Wednesday, The Rays will hold a meeting open to the public to discuss the new stadium. The meeting will be held at Tropicana Field at 6pm. City officials are requesting RSVPs but will not turn anybody away. [TampaBay.com]