Sun Sports announced yesterday that Dewayne Staats will be back next season, but he will have a new partner. Kevin Kennedy is out, and Brian Anderson will now be Staats’ full-time partner.
Our feelings on Kennedy have always been that 90% of the time he offers insightful commentary. But the other 10% of the time is so horrific that you completely forget that you actually learned something from him most games.
GQ ranked the five best and five worst broadcast teams in baseball and the Rays’ own Dewayne Staats and Kevin Kennedycome in at #3…in “The Bottom Five.”
Staats isn’t the worst play-by-play man in the country, but one gets the sense that he gets his rocks off on the idea that other humans are listening to the sound of his voice. (Which is to say nothing of his creepy mustache.) Kennedy, for his part, matches Staats sentence for sentence, talking a ton but saying precious little. He even steps on Staats’s toes as pitches are being thrown. When these guys do hit on an unusually insightful point, they’ll milk it endlessly, hammering it home until there’s nothing left but a shriveled teet. Why, one wonders, do they fill the airwaves so relentlessly with their words? Perhaps they’re afraid that, if they stop, viewers will notice how much nicer the games are without them.
Ouch. Well, this should give the anti-Kennedy crowd more ammunition. But to be fair, if we do have one criticism of Staats (besides hoarding vowels) it is that he occasionally has trouble letting something go. We envision Staats at home rocking Dan Wheeler to sleep while complaining about a call at second base earlier in the day.
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: Sean Rodriguez. Rodzilla was 3-3 on Sunday to extend his hitting streak to 14 games. In that span, he is 21-49 (.429) with 5 doubles and 3 home runs. We think the Rays are running out of excuses to *not* have a Brignac-Rodriguez starting middle infield…Carlos Pena. Unfortunately, Pena did not homer on Sunday. But that marked the first time he failed to homer in a game since last Saturday a streak of 6 straight games with a home run. During that span, Pena was 10-27 with 7 home runs and 10 RBI.
THE BAD: Nobody To GTMI. Of Carlos Pena’s 7 home runs in 6 games, the grand slam against the Blue Jays was the only one that wasn’t a solo shot…Bad Inning James. On Friday, James Shields walked 3 batters in the Marlins 5-run 3rd inning. How rare was that? Only 6 times in his career has Shields walked more than 3 in an entire game. And only 1 time has he walked more than 4…Bobblehead Bartlett. Sunday was Jason Bartlett Bobblehead day. Unfortunately the Rays didn’t trade those bobbleheads and substitute a Reid Brignac Bobblehead...Kevin Kennedy Hurts My Brain. On one particular play Saturday night, a play Dewayne Staats and Kevin Kennedy spent way too much time praising, a ball hit high off the wall and past BJ Upton. Kennedy noted that Upton “would have caught that if it wasn’t so high up.” Yeah, and I could do a 360° dunk if the rim wasn’t so high.
THE TELLING: Jason Bartlett will play rehab games for Durham today and tomorrow. He will likely be activated on Wednesday. At that point the Rays will likely place Dioner Navarro on the DL with a sore left roster spot. Navi hasn’t played since Wednesday. After his DL stint, Navi will almost certainly need an extended “rehab” stint at Durham…Sunday was Jeff Niemann’s first loss at home in over a year…Evan Longoria has reached base in 31 straight games, the longest current streak in baseball…On Saturday, Jeremy Hall of Montgomery extended his scoreless innings streak to 35 before giving up 2 runs in the 6th inning…Pat Burrell hit his first home run for the Giants on Friday. He is 9-24 since switching back to the NL.
WHERE THEY STAND: The Rays are tied with the Yankees at 40-23 and are 4 games ahead of the Red Sox in the Wild Card. After 63 games in 2008, the Rays were 37-26.
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
Jeff Niemann talks about yesterday’s performance. [The Heater]
Roger Mooney reports that Rocco Baldelli threw longtoss prior to Sunday’s game…It has been his ability to throw that has limited his efforts to return to the big leagues. [Tampa Tribune]
Rays first-round draft pick Justin O’Connor will say thank you to his hometown tonight by signing autographs for free for area little leaguers. [Star-Press]
Stacy Long writes about how Matt Sweeney has shortened his swing and become more selective at the plate. Sweeney was one of the pieces of last summer’s Scott Kazmir trade. [Montgomery Advertiser]
Former Rays reliever Joe Nelson is pondering retirement after being designated for assignment by the Red Sox. [MLB]
A look at how David Price uses his fastball. [DRaysBay]
Prospect Henry Wrigley won the FSL home run derby. [Twitter]
DOWN ON THE FARM…
Check out Rays Prospects for boxscores and more detailed recaps. [Rays Prospects]
DURHAM: Carlos Hernandez gave up 5 runs in 5 innings…Desmond Jennings was 2-4 with a triple, 3 runs scored and 3 RBI. He is now 14-26 in his last 6 games and has raised his average to .279…Matt Joyce was 5-5 with 3 doubles and 2 RBI and raised his average to .313.
MONTGOMERY: Jake McGee struck out 5 and walked 1 in 6 innings. He gave up 1 run on 5 hits for his second win…Matt Sweeney hit a 2-run home run for Montgomery, his first home run since being promoted.
CHARLOTTE: (no game scheduled)
BOWLING GREEN: Kirby Yates’ first start of the year was an impressive effort. He struck out 8, walked 3 and allowed just 1 hit in 4 innings…
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: Making It Look Easy. It feels like every game this season has been like last night. Domination. And it starts with the league best starting pitchers who have a 2.61 ERA and are 7-0 the last 2 trips through the rotation. Jeff Niemann was the latest with 7 shutout innings. He allowed 6 baserunners, 3 of them coming in the second inning…Ben Zobrist. For the second straight day, Zobrist bunted for a basehit. This time it was a pseudo-safety squeeze, scoring a runner from third…Lefty Lineup. Gabe Kapler got his usual starting nod in right against a lefty and Willy Aybar is becoming the regular DH against lefties. Last night they combined for 3 hits and 3 GTMIs (see below)…Easy Parcheesi. In two of the first 3 innings, BJ Upton recorded the final out with a running grab towards the wall. Both times he looked like he was just shagging flies.
THE BAD: Jeff Niemann’s Second Inning. He needed 28 pitches and at one point threw 11 straight pitches out of the strike zone. He loaded the bases after retiring the first two batters, but survived when he got Rob Johnson looking…Kevin Kennedy. In the 4th inning, Dewayne Staats was commenting on how good the Mariners ballgirls are with their gloves and noticed the one down the right field line was on the other side of the field the night before. Kennedy’s response? “A lot of women that can play third base, they can play first base as well.” We have no idea what that means. And to make it worse, he was so anxious to drop that line that he you can hear him trying to interrupt Staats who was still trying to make his point. Ugh, why does it need to be so painful?
THE TELLING: The average score of the Rays 21 victories is 7.2-2.2…The Rays are now 12-1 on the road…Carlos Pena tied Fred McGriff’s franchise record for walks (305)…Dioner Navarro will catch David Price tonight, but it is expected John Jaso will start both weekend games.
WHERE THEY STAND: The Rays are 21-7 and have a 1.5 game lead on the Yankees and a 3.5 game lead (6 in the loss column) over the Blue Jays in the Wild Card. After 28 games in 2008, the Rays were 16-12.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
Two of my favorite writers discussed the Rays for New York magazine. [New York]
Rise of the Rays argues that moving Jeff Niemann to closer is the answer to the Rays pitching depth “problem.” [Rise of the Rays]
Rays Prospects takes a closer look at Matt Moore’s rough start. [Rays Prospects]
It is obviously early, and the Rays have a long ways to go before winning a World Series, but so far, the Rays are on pace to meet one person’s criteria to be considered one of the greatest team’s ever (thanks Thad). [Sportales]
Can somebody explain the purpose of this graph? What are we expected to learn from comparing the attendance of a Saturday game with a post-game concert to a weeknight game against the Indians (for example). [Tampa Tribune]
The Rays are hitting .319 with runners in scoring position despite only hitting .262 overall. Have they been lucky? Or is this part of new approach to hitting implemented by Derek Shelton: GTMI (Get The Man In). Hardcore Saberheads will tell you it is all luck. Traditionalists will call the Rays “clutch.” The truth is probably somewhere in between. [St. Pete Times]
Joe Maddon has no problem with his players going on their own and using the bunt as a weapon. [St. Pete Times]
Roger Mooney writes about Matt Garza’s quest to be one of the best pitchers in baseball. [Tampa Tribune]
In this piece on Scott Kazmir, it sure reads like a recycled Rays article. Just sub “Rays” every time it says “Angels.” [ESPN]
DOWN ON THE FARM…
Check out “The Rundown” from Rays Prospects for boxscores and more detailed recaps. [Rays Prospects]
DURHAM: Aneury Rodriguez was pounded for the second straight outing. This time he lasted just 2.1 innings and gave up 3 runs on 7 hits and 4 walks…Hank Blalock went 2-5 with a 3-run home run, hit 3rd…Alvin Colina and Jose Lobaton also homered.
MONTGOMERY: Alex Torres struggled, giving up 5 runs (2 earned) on 6 hits and 3 walks in just 3 innings. He struck out 5.
CHARLOTTE: Nick Barnese loaded the bases with no outs on 2 singles and a hit batter. He then retired 19 of the final 22 batters he faced. He allowed just 1 run (sac fly) on 3 hits and no walks. He struck out 5…Tim Beckham was 0-4 with 3 strikeouts, a walk and a stolen base in his return to the lineup…Matt Sweeney was 0-4 with 3 Ks.
BOWLING GREEN: Shane Dyer pitched 7 no-hit innings before being pulled. Of the first 9 batters he faced, he hit 2 and walked 1. After that he settled down and retired 16 of the final 17 batters he faced with the only baserunner reaching via an error.
[7:10pm] Earlier today an unruly passenger on Delta flight 2148, screaming about Satan and spraying fellow passengers with water, had to be restrained by several other passengers.
What does that have to do with the Rays? One of the passengers that subdued the crazy man was Kevin Kennedy, the Rays TV color commentator.
Kennedy first told of the story earlier on his XM Radio show (thanks Joe D.). When we asked the Rays, they verified that he was indeed on flight 2148.
A Delta Air Lines flight was rerouted Friday morning after a passenger threatened to blow up the plane, screamed “get behind me Satan” and sprayed passengers with water from a beverage-cart bottle, according to a complaint filed in federal court.
Flight attendants and other passengers on Delta Flight 2148 struggled to restrain the “erratic and dangerous” passenger with seat belts and plastic handcuffs while pilots rerouted the plane to Albuquerque, New Mexico, FBI Special Agent Benedict R. Bourgeois said.
The plane, which was flying from Los Angeles, California, to Tampa, Florida, landed in Albuquerque at 3:37 a.m. ET, the Transportation Security Administration said.
The passenger, Stanley Dwayne Sheffield, was taken into custody shortly afterward.
There is apparently no truth to the rumor that the unruly passenger was a Rays fan that misses Joe Magrane.
Last year we asked you guys what you thought of various members of the Rays media. For the most part you guys approved. Based on yesterday’s discussion in “The Hangover” we thought we would dust off this feature for the Rays new color commentator, Kevin Kennedy. For comparison, the man Kennedy replaced, Joe Magrane, scored a 91.4% approval rating.
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.
click above image for boxscore
THE GOOD: Kevin Kennedy. As a former catcher, we always prefer the perspective of somebody that wore the tools of ignorance. Despite 15 years behind the plate and a couple of years coaching, we often find ourselves learning something from Kennedy about the game and the craft.
THE BAD: Kevin Kennedy. We really wish Kennedy would offer up his opinion on taking infield practice prior to a game (end sarcasm). We generally try to catch the opposing team’s broadcast for the first game of every series so we can get a feel for how others view the Rays. That means that we have only caught the Rays broadcast crew for about 35-40 games this season (we do radio from time to time). And in just those games we must have heard Kennedy rant about infield practice at least 4 times.
THE TELLING: Kevin Kennedy. You can tell that he is still learning the Rays and the organization. We can’t expect him to sound like somebody that has covered the team for 10 years. There is certainly a learning curve. For the most part we have been happy with his commentary, even if sometimes it sounds like Dewayne Staats has left the booth to go get a hot dog.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
Jason Isringhausen’s MRI showed that he has a torn UCL in his elbow and is done for the season. He will need Tommy John surgery. His agent says that Izzy plans to pitch again. [St. Pete Times]
The Rays Party has a couple of great before and after pictures showing how Ben Zobrist is now using his lower body to generate more power. [The Rays Party]
Joe Smith has a piece on BJ Upton’s growing Gold Glove chances, with quotes from somebody that knows the award well, Torii Hunter…In the same piece, Joe Maddon admits that even though he would prefer Ben Zobrist as a utility player, Zorilla has earned a shot to be the most-days second baseman. [St. Pete Times]
Joe Smith writes about Jeff Niemann’s rocky road as a professional. [St. Pete Times]
Rays Revolutionary offers up some Fathers Day shopping ideas, Rays Style. [Rays Revolutionary]
Rays the Stakes pens an open letter to the Rays. [Rays the Stakes]
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.
click above image for boxscore
THE GOOD: BJ Upton. We put Bossman here reluctantly. The 3 hits were a nice change, but he is still not hitting the ball with authority. A healthy Upton has the quickest wrists and amazing bat speed, neither of which we are seeing now…Jason Bartlett. Yes Upton was on base 3 times, but until he is healthy, would it kill Joe Maddon to have Bartlett’s hot bat at the top of the order? Three more hits. On base 4 times. And oh yeah, his 5th home run and 9th steal…Jeff Niemann. That was a decent workmanlike performance. The kind you hope a 5th starter can provide. He worked his way out of several tough jams and picked up his 3rd win…Carlos Pena. No home runs, but last night may have been his best night of the season yet. 2 hard hit doubles and 2 walks, scoring 3 times.
THE BAD: Troy Percival. Can we just rename this section “The Percy”? Any objections? We could give Percival a lifetime pass, kinda like the one he has to Piccadilly. By the way, can we assume that Percy is going to the DL sometime in the next week with a back “injury” to make room for Jason Isringhausen? In the meantime, we really want to punch Percy in the face. It would be ok. He is not pregnant in the face…Carl Crawford. CC had to be removed from the game after making a diving catch to end the 4th.
THE TELLING: The Rays played 23 games in April with one sacrifice bunt. They have 5 in the last 12 games including Dioner Navarro’s last night. Last year the Rays had the fewest sacrifices (23) in baseball. This year, Baltimore (3), the White Sox (2) and Boston (0) combined have fewer sac bunts than the Rays.
SUNBURST PLAYER OF THE GAME: Jason Bartlett.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
Carl Crawford’s shoulder injury has been classified as a bruise and CC doesn’t expect to miss much time. [The Heater]
Pat Burrell left the team to go back to the Bay Area to have his neck examined by a specialist. It has been bothering him for several weeks. [The Heater]
Andrew Friedman was in Durham to watch Jonny Gomes tear apart the Bulls the past couple of days…OK, he wasn’t there to watch Gomes, but it was a little ironic. Also Watching Durham Bulls Baseball has an audio interview of Friedman in which he discusses David Price’s last start (he was impressed) among other topics. Scroll down about two-thirds for the link. [Watching Durham Bulls Baseball]
Can somebody please explain why Kevin Kennedy was doing color commentary for the Red Sox broadcast on Tuesday? We are not sure if this should bother us or not. Would it have been different if Dewayne Staats did the play-by-play? [WEEI via Joe Maddon Sucks]
Well, now we know why Scott Kazmir gained so much weight in the off-season and why we now call him Beef-K. [Bugs and Cranks]
Bill Chastain has a piece discussing Dioner Navarro’s struggles with passed balls this season…What is interesting to us is that we looked up the numbers and Navi has only been charged with 2 passed balls, but it seems to us that there have been at least 5. [MLB]
Rays the Stakes wonders when there is going to be a shake-up in the rotation and offers a glimpse at what it might look like. [Rays the Stakes]
Her Rays writes an ode to Jason Bartlett. [Her Rays]
Rays Revolutionary got their hands on the Evan Longoria figurine to be given out this weekend. [Rays Revolutionary]
Just a few links to get you through this first official day of workouts for the Rays in Port Charlotte.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
Kevin Kennedy has been hired as the Rays new TV analyst and will partner with incumbent play-by-play announcer Dewayne Staats. Kennedy will serve as color analyst for most games, with Brian Anderson occasionally filling in. [The Heater]
The Rays Party attended FanFest and gives a recap. [The Rays Party]
Joey Chestnut signed autographs while wearing a Rays jersey, and he even drank a gallon of milk in 44 seconds. Dude is a monster. [Sharing Florida]
Marc Topkin names three players to watch this spring and then projects where each will be on opening day. [St. Pete Times]
The New York Times ran a feature piece on the Rays and how they won’t sneak up on anybody this season. [New York Post]
Ted Jackovics of the Tampa Tribune analyzes how the economy affects Rays ticket sales and compares the Rays ticket prices to the rest of major league baseball. [Tampa Tribune]
Tony Bruno is a radio host that interviewed James Shields. The interview was summarized on Bruno’s blog. All we can say is that we hope Bruno and his staff did more research before the interview than they did before writing up the summary. Unless one considers Rocco Baldelli and John Smoltz, two players that the Red Sox will be lucky to get half-seasons from, a lot, the Sox did not add a “ton of guys” this off-season. And the even bigger gaffe is referring to Shields as the youngest pitcher in the starting rotation. In fact, Shields is the oldest…Research is your friend. Try it some time. [Tony Bruno]
Willy Aybar’s arbitration hearing was to be held on Friday but was postponed. No reason was given and no date was given for the new hearing. [ESPN]
Rocco Baldelli says the worst part of his condition is answering questions about it everyday. Or as the Minneapolis Star-Tribune wrote, he is “sick of answering questions.” Get it? Those editors are so clever. [Minneapolis Star-Tribune]
Sun Sports announced yesterday that Dewayne Staats will be back next season, but he will have a new partner. Kevin Kennedy is out, and Brian Anderson will now be Staats’ full-time partner.
GQ ranked the five best and five worst broadcast teams in baseball and the Rays’ own Dewayne Staats and Kevin Kennedy 
The GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.
The GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.
[Update] Marc Topkin has 
