Archive for the 'Josh Beckett' Category

Sep 30

[THE HANGOVER] Rays May Have To Choose Between Crawford And Percival

Andrew Friedman, Carl Crawford, Elliot Johnson, Joe Maddon, Josh Beckett, Tony Dungy, Troy Percival Cork Gaines 20 Comments »

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • In case you missed it yesterday afternoon, we ran a bunch of “Webtopia” links in the evening “Happy Hour” feature. [Rays Index]
  • If the Rays decide to carry Carl Crawford on the postseason roster, they could choose to go with only 10 pitchers (6 relievers)…Although Andrew Friedman has not indicated as much, this could end up being a decision between Crawford and Troy Percival. If they want Percy on the roster they almost certainly will want an 11th pitcher in case he is unable to work back-to-back games. [St. Pete Times]
  • Despite a report on one Rays blog, Joe Maddon will not announce his game 1 starter until today. While Shields is the likely game 1 starter, all we know for certain is that Shields and Kazmir will be the first 2 pitchers. The exact order is not known. The blog referenced an ESPN report that is likely based on the probable pitchers listed on the team’s website. It is not unusual for MLB.com to guestimate probable pitchers, but they are wrong quite often. [Ed. note: we would love to link to the "Rays blog" but then we would get pounded for picking on them too much] [MLB]
  • 8,000 fans showed up at Straub Park in St. Pete to celebrate the Rays first playoff appearance…Can’t say we have a huge problem with it, but this reeks a bit of “just glad to be here.” [Tampa Tribune]
  • The Cubs “Ain’t S#!t” compared to the Rays. [Bugs and Cranks]
  • Baseball Analysts say the Rays have only a 36% chance of winning the first round (based on tendencies in previous playoffs). When we saw that, we didn’t even bother reading the rest. [Baseball Analysts]
  • John Romano compares Joe Madddon to another former Bay Area head coach, Tony Dungy and wonders what success the Rays would be having now if the front office had not taken a chance on Papa Joe. [St. Pete Times]
  • Although we never wish ill will on others, today we link to the latest batch of Fennellyisms. If only because we agree that the tone of the team and the fans changed in Spring Training when Elliot Johnson collided with the Yankees’ Francisco Cervelli, breaking his wrist. The Yankees proved they don’t like getting dirt on their pinstripes and the Rays, for the first time, punched the bully right in the face. [Tampa Tribune]
  • Josh Beckett injured his oblique muscle on Friday and will not pitch in the ALDS until game 3. [Boston Globe]
  • Marc Lancaster is now Twittering. For those of you that follow us on Twitter, you may want to also follow Marc. [Rays Report]
May 22

[THE HANGOVER] Rays Finish Tough Road Trip 3-3

Andy Sonnanstine, Daisuke Matsuzaka, James Shields, Jonny Gomes, Josh Beckett, Scott Kazmir Cork Gaines 3 Comments »



THE GOOD: If you would have offered us 3-3 on a tough two-city road trip, we would have signed for that. So, despite yesterday’s awful performance, the Rays are still playing well. Being 2 back in the division is more of an indication of how well the Sox are playing right now.

THE BAD: Bizarro Andy Sonnanstine. Duke retired the first 8 batters, but after that, A’s hitters were 9-18 with a walk, 4 doubles and 2 home runs…Jonny Gomes career as an outfielder took a major hit yesterday. There were 2 doubles that hit off the base of the outfield wall that probably should have been cought. He also had trouble fielding a ball on the ground a couple of times and missed at least 1 cutoff man. If Sonny wasn’t so hittable, we would suggest that the outcome would have been different if Carl Crawford had not been given a day off…Offense managed onle 3 hits, and none from the 2-6 hitters.

THE TELLING: The Rays still have a 2 game lead in the Wild Card over Baltimore, which means this is a big series coming up this weekend. The Rays have an opportunity to put some distance between themselves and the O’s and reveal to the rest of the league that Baltimore is a pretender, not a contender.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

  • Don’t forget to VOTE for Carl Crawford to start the all-star game. If you haven’t voted yet today, go NOW! [MLB All-Star Voting]
  • Tampa Bay Rays’ merchandise sales have risen 70% so far in ’08. Of course a 70% increase of very little is still very little as the Rays still rank 29th in baseball, ahead of only the Toronto Jays. [St. Pete Times]
  • Bill Chastain has a few quotes from other teams in the AL East and how they view the ’08 Tampa Bay Rays. [MLB]
  • Joe Henderson takes a closer look at the Rays vastly improved defense and tells us something that the rest of baseball has been saying since the middle of April: The Rays turnaround in ’08 is due in large part to the improved fielding. [Tampa Tribune]
  • Do the Rays have the best 1-2 starting pitchers in the AL East? Well, the Red Sox would never in a million years trade Josh Beckett and Daisuke Matsuzaka for James Shields and Scott Kazmir. [DRays Bay]
  • Rays Digest breaks down the early-season contenders for Rookie of the Year. [Rays Digest]
May 17

AL East Roundup: Bobby Abreu Decides To Earn His King’s Ransom

Alex Rodriguez, Jason Giambi, Joe Torre, John Lester, Josh Beckett Cork Gaines No Comments »


AL EAST W L GB L10 STK E#
Boston Red Sox 26 12 - 7-3 L1 –
New York Yankees 18 20 8.0 5-5 W1 117
Toronto Blue Jays 18 22 9.0 5-5 W3 115
Baltimore Orioles 18 23 9.5 4-6 L5 114
Tampa Bay Devil Rays 17 22 9.5 4-6 W3 115


White Sox 5, Yankees 3 (gm 1). Mike Mussina gave up 5 runs in 5+ innings for the Spankees in game 1.

Yankees 8, White Sox 1 (gm 2). The Yankees salvaged a split in the nightcap as Bobby Abreu remembered that he makes $15 million for a reason. He hit his first home run since the second game of the season. Hideki Matsui had 3 hits and drove in 4. This was a huge win for the Yankees as their next six games are against the Mets and the Red Sox. How fun would it be if the Yankees were 10 back a week from now?

Blue Jays 2, Orioles 1. AJ Burnett went the distance and struck out 10 in the game that somebody had to win. And the Orioles have yet another 5 game losing streak.

NOTE FROM AROUND THE AL EAST…

  • Alex Rodriguez is now 8-47 (.170) in his last 13 games as his average has fallen from .367 to .311. The slump may in part be due to the recent struggles of Jason Giambi who normally hits behind A-Rod.
  • Trying to shake the Yankees out of their recent funk, Joe Torre tried a new lineup last night. Alex Rodriguez did not hit 8th.
  • John Lester will get a start this weekend at AAA as the next step in his return from cancer.
  • The Top 10 Red Sox surprises of 2007, in pictures. #1 should have been a picture of a Yankees fan rambling on with every excuse in the book trying to explain that it is “still early” and “we’ll be fine” and “we just want to make the race exciting this year”. Oh wait. That’s not a surprise.
  • Josh Beckett will miss his start tomorrow, with just his latest blister problem.
May 14

AL East Roundup: Can Roger Clemens DH On His Off-Days?

Derek Jeter, Joe Torre, Josh Beckett, Miguel Tejada, Roger Clemens, Scott Proctor Cork Gaines No Comments »


AL EAST W L GB L10 STK E#
Boston Red Sox 25 11 - 8-2 W2 –
Baltimore Orioles 18 20 8.0 6-4 L2 118
New York Yankees 17 19 8.0 5-5 L1 119
Toronto Blue Jays 15 22 10.5 2-8 L1 116
Tampa Bay Devil Rays 15 22 10.5 2-8 L1 116


Red Sox 6, Orioles 5. Sometimes a team just has one of those seasons. It might be a little early but the Sox are definitely having one of those seasons so far. Trailing 5-0 in the 9th inning, the Evil Empire Jr. rallied for 6 runs to take the rubber match of the series against the Orioles and all of the sudden the Sox have opened up a 8 game lead. The one bit of bad news was Josh Beckett being forced to leave the game early with skin inflammation of a finger. Any hopes of Beckett going 35-0 went right out the window.

Mariners 2, Yankees 1. The Yankees have now played 13 series this season and have only won 3 after losing 2 of 3 to the M’s this weekend. Derek Jeter is having another great year and Jorge Posada is hitting well, but outside of them, nobody is hitting, including Alex Rodriguez who has 1 home run in May. But hey, Maybe Roger Clemens can play DH on his off days. Well, on the off days that he doesn’t want to go golfing.

NOTE FROM AROUND THE AL EAST…

Apr 04

AL East Roundup

AJ Burnett, Aubrey Huff is an idiot, Bernie Williams, Josh Beckett Cork Gaines No Comments »


AL EAST W L GB L10 STK E#
New York Yankees 1 0 0 1-0 W1 –
Toronto Blue Jays 1 0 0 1-0 W1 –
Boston Red Sox 0 1 1.0 0-1 L1 161
Tampa Bay Devil Rays 0 1 1.0 0-1 L1 161
Baltimore Orioles 0 2 1.5 0-2 L2 160


Twins 3, Orioles 2. The O’s dropped their second straight in Minnesota. One day after being bested by a Johan Santana, with less than his best stuff, Baltimore blew an early 2-0 lead and fell to a guy named Boof. Former Devil Ray Aubrey Huff had two hits for the second straight game and his second RBI.
  • Bernie Williams called manager Joe Torre and several of his teammates before the opening day match up with the Rays. Bernie insists that he is not retired but that he would not play for any team other than the Yankees in 2007. Williams declined a minor league contract offer from the Yankees before the season began.
  • The Red Sox send Josh Beckett to the mound against the Royals. Beckett won 16 in his first season with the Sox, but was considered a disappointment with 5.01 ERA. The Sox and Curt Schilling dropped the opener to Kansas City.
  • Toronto will go with AJ Burnett as they try to take two straight in Detroit. Burnett won 10 games in his first season in Toronto, but missed two months.