Mar 24
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: Justin Ruggiano. We completely ignored Ruggy in our roster projection yesterday. But with 2 more hits yesterday he is now 17-38 with 7 extra-base hits. And it would not surprise us if he is selected for a bench spot if Matt Joyce is on the DL and the Rays do not keep Hank Blalock…Joaquin Benoit. Benoit looks to be in mid-season form after his second consecutive no-hit outing. This one lasted 1.1 innings and he struck out 1. We would be surprised if he is not on the opening day roster, and even more surprised if he is not the main high-leverage guy in the 7th and 8th innings by the second-half…Matt Garza allowed 3 home runs in 5.2 innings, but all were solo and he struck out 4 without walking a batter. In 21.2 innings this spring he has walked only 3.
THE BAD: Missed Signs. Joe Maddon was upset after the game because several batters missed signs…Grant Balfour walked 2 including the eventual winning run in the 9th inning. He has now allowed 8 runs on 10 hits and 5 walks in just 7.1 innings this spring.
THE TELLING: The decision on who will be the 5th starter in the rotation will be announced today…Sean Rodriguez was originally slated to start but was pulled with a sinus headache. JJ Furmaniak replaced him in the lineup but was pulled after 1 inning after injuring his foot during his first at bat.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Jonah Keri, who is currently writing a book about the Rays, made an appearance on “The B. S. Report” with Bill Simmons. The podcast is over an hour long and they spend a good deal of time talking about the Rays and the race in the AL East. [ESPN Radio]
- What do the regulars do when they are given the day off during spring training? Well, apparently if you are BJ Upton you stay home and play video games. BJ announced on Twitter that he was “at the crib playing that FIFA” at almost the exact same time that the Phillies were driving in the winning run. [Twitter]
- Roger Mooney makes the case for Wade Davis as the 5th starter. [Rays Report]
- Marc Topkin says the final spot on the roster could come down to Hank Blalock or Reid Brignac. [St. Pete Times]
- Desmond Jennings will be on the cover of the latest issue of Baseball America (with image). [Biscuit Crumbs]
- Matt Joyce and Joe Maddon comment on Joyce’s struggles with his arm. [Tampa Tribune]
- Marc Topkin looks at some numbers that show just how much JP Howell will be missed…We are not the first to make this observation, but without Howell, the bullpen suddenly looks very thin. [The Heater]
- Bill Chastain examines the Rays roster possibilities and who might fill the last available spots. [MLB]
- Martin Fennelly says Pat Burrell needs to be better this year or his career could be in jeopardy. [Tampa Tribune]
- Jenn Sterger served as a guest bartender in NYC recently. [BobsBlitz]
Dec 15
Above image is of Stuart Sternberg arriving for the wedding of Florida Governor Charlie Crist (image from FragMob)
Lots o’ goodies today from Marc Topkin, so we are giving him his first-ever Topkintopia (the regular webtopia is below)…
- We reported last week that it appeared Gerry Hunsicker, “Teller” to Andrew Friedman’s “Penn” (or “Silent Bob” to Friedman’s “Jay” for the younger crowd), was staying with the Rays despite reports that other teams were interested in his services. Topkin is now confirming that Hunsicker has signed an extension to stay with the Rays saying “I’m happy here. I like what I’m doing.”
- Many think the Rays will slow-play the free agent market and take whatever is left over. Topkin warns that there is a risk as some teams could enter the market later if they lose out on their higher-priced targets.
- Topkin places odds on who will be the opening day DH for the Rays, declaring Jason Giambi the favorite at 3:1, with Milton Bradley right behind at 5:1. Willy Aybar is the highest ranked player currently in the organization at 10:1 (6th on list).
- Jonah Keri, author of “Baseball Between the Numbers”, has announced that he will write a book about the Rays and their Wall Street approach to baseball. Not surprisingly, Topkin says the Rays, who prefer to keep things close to the vest, are “neither cooperating with the project nor particularly enthused.”…Keri was interviewed recently about the book on Rays Digest.
- Matt Garza had minor foot surgery to correct an old break in his foot. The surgery makes Garza ineligible for the World Baseball Classic. There were some rumblings that Garza was being considered for the Mexican team.
DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…
- Rays Prospects projects the starting rotation for the Rays and each of their minor league affiliates. [Rays Prospects]
- If you are going to write in to the local newspaper and bitch about errors seen in their coverage of the Rays and other sports (in this case the Charlotte Sun) please make sure you don’t have your own error in the very first sentence. [Charlotte Sun]
- Behold! “The Longorious”. [Waivers and Sharks]
- Sometimes, while constructing this list, certain headlines make us do a double-take. [Harnesslink]
- Former Rays pitcher Scott Dohmann, who made 12 appearances with the Rays and 33 appearances with the Durham Bulls in 2008, is expected to sign with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of the Central League in Japan. [Sponichi; Translated]
- Rays Digest takes a look back at the Rays busy week in Las Vegas. [Winter Meetings Rewind]
- Former Rays catcher Josh Paul will manage the Staten Island Yankees of the short-season New York-Penn League…We will always have a soft-spot for Paul because of his official team photo. Paul appeared in 93 games for the Rays in 2006 and 2007. [NY Baseball Digest]
- Despite the additions of CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett, Richard Justice says the Yankees are still just the third best team in the AL East. [Yahoo! Sports]
- Drays Bay puts together a “Bullpen Matrix” for the Rays relievers…We assume Grant Balfour is Neo and Troy Percival is Morpheus, but who is Trinity? [Drays Bay]
- Mets Fever would like to see the Mets sign Jonny Gomes. [Mets Fever]
- Tyler Hissey spoke with Dayn Perry of FoxSports.com about the Rays. [Rays Digest]
- Nothing new here, but Ken Rosenthal says the Cubs and the Rays are the two teams pursuing Milton Bradley the hardest. Rosenthal says the Rays are a better fit (patient manager, ability to DH) but wonders if the Rays will meet Bradley’s asking price…The better question is: How far down from his asking price would Bradley be willing to go to sign with the Rays? [Fox Sports]
- Rays Prospects has the winter stats updated through Friday for players in the Rays organization. [Rays Prospects]
- Tampa Bay Sports Blog explains why recent moves show that the Rays are smarter than the Yankees. [Tampa Bay Sports Blog]
- David Chalk of Bugs and Cranks keeps chugging along with his Devil Rays Advent Calendar and the all-time greatest Devil Rays. [Bugs and Cranks]
