The GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.

THE GOOD: Matt Garza continues to roll, holding the A’s to 1 run in 7.2 innings. It was the the 5th time in his last 8 starts that Garza allowed 0 or 1 run. His ERA since the All-Star break is 2.66…Evan Longoria. Dirtbag is doing what great players are supposed to do. He has picked this team up and is carrying them to October. His 2-run double in the 6th broke a 1-1 tie. It was his 8th extra-base hit in the last 6 games.

THE BAD: Ben Zobrist. Another 0-4 including a strikeout with one out and a runner on base and an inning-ending double-play in the 4th. He is hitting just .175 in the second-half (.308 OBP).

THE TELLING: As expected, Jeremy Hellickson was sent back to the minors (single-A Charlotte). He was replaced by Dale Thayer. Hellickson will work out of the bullpen in anticipation of returning to the Rays next week…Wade Davis will start tomorrow and Jeff Niemann will start Wednesday…Jake McGee picked up his first career save for the Durham Bulls. McGee is likely to be a September addition to the bullpen and many consider him a closer-in-waiting…The Durham Bulls clinched the South Division title this weekend…According to CoolStandings.com the Rays have a 93.3% chance of making the playoffs. The Red Sox are at 10.5%.

WHERE THEY STAND: The Rays are 76-48, 1 game behind the Yankees and 5.5 games ahead of the Red Sox in the Wild Card (6 games in the loss column). After 124 games in 2008, the Rays were 76-48.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

• Manny Ramirez came off the DL on Saturday. This is important because he can only be traded if he is exposed to waivers. And he can only be exposed to waivers if he is on the active roster…Marc Topkin examines the Rays interest in Manny. [St. Pete Times]
• Evan Longoria discusses yesterday’s game (Video). [The Heater]
• Former Rays manager Lou Piniella retired after 23 seasons as a manager. [Chicago Tribune]
• In happier news, Vin Scully will return next year to the Dodgers broadcast booth. We have said this before, but other than being able to see the Rays anywhere we are, the best part of the baseball TV packages is that Vin Scully tells us a bedtime story every night. [Bright House Sports]
• The Rays spent the 7th most ($21.1 million) on Read the rest of this entry »

Hidden amongst everybody waxing poetic about Lou Piniella, comes this quote from Carl Crawford (hat-tip to RaysRev.com)…

I’m glad I played for Lou because he gets everything out of you. You don’t lollygag at all. Some things you guys see now, wouldn’t happen if Lou was here. I guarantee that.

We don’t think think many people will be surprised to hear that Joe Maddon at times runs a loose ship. But we are surprised to hear a player take a thinly veiled shot at a manager that many would call a “player’s manager.” And it is surprising when that player is a superstar very near free agency.

We have long wondered aloud if the Rays would have been better off had Piniella and Maddon reversed their tenures with the team. That is, have Maddon develop and grow the roster and maybe Piniella would have done a better job maximizing the talent once it was in place.

As for the “lollygag” comment…is that a shot at BJ Upton, or Read the rest of this entry »

The GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.

THE GOOD: Willy Aybar. 2 hits and 3 runs driven in, including the go-ahead run in the 11th. It seems like it has been months since we mentioned Aybar’s name as having done anything, good or bad.

THE BAD: Matt Garza’s Rust. The Garza Complex was well-rested, having not pitched in 10 days, but the rust shown through. You can’t give up 7 runs to the Orioles. And you definitely can’t give up 4 home runs to a team that entered the game ranked 11th in the AL with just 72 HRs in 91 games…The Bullpen. At one point, after Willy Aybar’s RBI single in the 7th gave the Rays an 8-4 lead, the Rays had a 93.2% win expectancy. That is hard to screw up. Not only did Rafael Soriano pick up his first real blown save of the season, the Rays blew a second save opportunity in the 12th inning…Joe Maddon. Yes, Grant Balfour cruised through his first 2 innings, but why try and push a 3rd? Balfour hasn’t recorded more than 6 outs in a game since May of last year…Former Rays. Once again a former Ray came back to sting the Rays in the ankle. This time it was Julio Lugo with the walk-off single in the bottom of the 13th…Ben Zobrist. Zorilla will never be a great defender, but he is usually dependable. Usually. Last night he looked like the guy you stick in right field for a beer league softball game.

THE TELLING: Carl Crawford is day-to-day with a “testicular contusion.” Gulp. If you missed what happened, go here, gently.

WHERE THEY STAND: The Rays are 56-37, 2.5 games behind the Yankees and 3.5 games in front of the Red Sox. After 93 games in 2008, the Rays were 55-38.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

• Carl Crawford talks about his bruised manhood (Video). [The Heater]
• Former Rays manager Lou Piniella plans to retire at the end of the season. [The New York Times]
• Carl Crawford on Lou Piniella: “One of the best things
  Read the rest of this entry »

It’s official. Joe Maddon was named the AL Manager of the Year and everybody knows except possibly Papa Joe himself. Maddon is currently traveling through Europe on his honeymoon with his new bride.

Maddon received 27 of 28 first-place votes. The other top vote went to Ron Gardenhire.

In the NL, former Devil Rays skipper Lou Piniella took home the Manager of the Year award. This is the third time Piniella has won the award.

Maddon, Piniella named top skippers [MLB]

With the Red Sox loss last night, the Rays pull even with Pink Hat Nation in the loss column. The Rays still maintain their 2 game lead in the Wild Card race over the A’s.

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]
• The Rays still have not received official word as to when Edwin Jackson will begin his suspension, which will likely be either tonight or Thursday (at the conclusion of James Shields’ suspension). Tonight is also the last game of Carl Crawford’s suspension with Aki Iwamura to begin his tomorrow. [St. Pete Times]
• “No one could have imagined the Cubs-Rays series would be a possible World Series preview”…Those are the Chicago Tribune’s words. Not ours. Reading that and something comes to our mind. Something about a “cart” and a “horse”?? [Chicago Tribune]
• The Cubs are just the latest good team to face the Rays. They will be the fourth series of the last six that featured a team in first place and 26 of the Rays last 28 games have been against a team with a .500 record or better. [Tampa Tribune]
• In addition to the first to the Trop for former Devil Rays manager Lou Piniella, tonight’s game also marks the first return to the Trop for the Devil Rays original manager Larry Rothschild, who is now the Cubs pitching coach. [St. Pete Times]
• Lou Piniella said that if he had stayed with the Devil Rays for another year or two, he probably wouldn’t be the managing today. [Southtown Star]

”I was crazy enough to think I could win anywhere with anything,” said Piniella, who won two World Series rings as a player in New York and another as a manager in Cincinnati. ”Not crazy, but confident in my ability…At that time, you go on a road trip to New York, Boston and Toronto, and if you win one game in each city, it’s a good trip,” Piniella said. ”From a professional standpoint, I wasn’t prepared for that. I’d won everywhere I’d been. I didn’t enjoy the losses. And it wasn’t going to get any better, so I got out.”

• Gerry Hunsicker was on The Show with Rob Dibble and Kevin Kennedy and talked about making deals at the trading deadline…Hunsicker said “…deals arent easy to make, atleast significant deals and you’re probably going to have to overpay regardless of what you get because of the supply and demand factor…” Overpaying is not something the Rays ever want to do, so don’t expect any major deals from the Rays before the trading deadline. [MLB on XM]
• Cubs f/x breaks down the pitchf/x of Scott Kazmir. [Cubs f/x]

THE GOOD: Give us a second….hold on….nope. We got nothin’.

THE BAD: Losing 2 hours and 55 minutes of our lives that we will never get back.

THE TELLING: The Rays drew 79,393 fans for the 3-game series against the Marlins. Last year, the Rays drew only 56,123 for the Marlins series in late May. That is an increase of 41.4% that cannot be entirely due to a Saturday night concert and a Sunday Father’s Day crowd. In fact, Friday’s attendance of 19,312 bested the Friday night game last year by more than 6,000.

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]
• Joe Maddon is not overly concerned about Edwin Jackson’s recent struggles. [Bradenton Herald]
• Oh, but Martin Fennelly is. Fennely thinks the Rays should win every game, because one loss is apparently reason to panic…Believe us, winning is nice and it is a nice change to expects victories, but can we avoid the Yankees and Mets’ mentality of thinking that one loss is the end of the world? As the old baseball adage goes…Sometimes you win, Sometimes you lose, Sometimes it rains (ok, maybe that doesn’t work so well at the Trop) [Tampa Tribune]
• Ken Griffey Jr’s agent denies that his client is considering waiving his no-trade rights for a chance to play with the Rays. [MLB]
• Marc Lancaster finally comments on the buzz of Ken Griffey Jr.-to-the-Rays…Being last to the table is becoming an old habit for Lancaster. [Tampa Tribune]
• As the roster stands right now, Evan Longoria is the Rays’ backup shortstop. However, barring an injury to Jason Bartlett, Dirtbag won’t be seeing any playing time there anytime soon, thanks to the number of off-days in this current stretch of games. [Bradenton Herald]
• Lou Piniella will rotate some of his regulars into the DH slot when the Cubs play the Rays. [MLB]

THE GOOD: Matt Garza stepped up after his meltdown in his previous start. Garza gave up only 1 run on 3 hits. He walked a batter and hit another…Evan Longoria is once again showing that not only is he the front-runner for Rookie of the Year, but he also deserves serious consideration for the Gold Glove award, making maybe his greatest play yet, diving into foul territory, and throwing a runner out at first from his knees…The Rays once again ran at will, stealing 4 bases, 2 by BJ Upton…Jason Bartlett has been on base 5 times in 7 plate appearance this series and one of the times he failed to reach base was a sac fly…The Rays made the most of their hits, needing only 4 hits to score 4 runs. They later added a 5th hit.

THE BAD:

THE TELLING: After homering in the second inning, Jonny Gomes struck out 3 times. The Rays radio crew wondered aloud what Gomes numbers look like in the 10 at bats prior to hitting a home run compared to the 10 at bats immediately following a home run. Their thought was that Gomes struggles after hitting a home run as he tries to hit more. So we looked it up. So far in ’08 Gomes has hit 5 home runs. We looked at the 10 plate appearances prior to and following a home run. We only counted plate appearances as “prior to a home run” if they weren’t already considered part of a batch of plate appearances “after a home run” (in the case of 2 home runs hit relatively close together). Prior to home runs, Gomes is 4-23 (.174) with 4 strike outs and no walks. In plate appearances after a home run he is 2-30 (.066) with 14 Ks and 4 walks. The number that really stands out is the strike outs.

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]
• We have heard previously that the Rays would add an alternate jersey in ’09. But now it is being reported that the alternate jersey will also say “Rays” across the front, and not “Tampa Bay” as was previously speculated. [St. Pete Times]
• Rocco Baldelli will begin a 20-game rehab stint tomorrow with Vero Beach. He will only DH and there are no plans to have him play in the outfield…It appears as though the Rays still have one minor league option remaining on Baldelli, so it is conceivable (likely?) that the Rays will just option Rocco to the minors in three weeks if they are unable to extend the rehab assignment past the maximum 20 days. [MLB]
• MLB News Online is reporting that the Yankees have been trying to trade for Carl Crawford for the last 2 years, and wonder if there is a chance those talks could rekindle…The chances of the Rays trading CC are slim. The chances of the Rays trading CC to the Yankees, a divisional rival and wild card foe, are less than zero. [MLBNewsOnline]
• Lou Piniella believes that if the Rays had been willing to spend a little money as they are doing now, when he was manager, this success would have come sooner. [St. Pete Times]
• Marc Lancaster surveyed 20 players on who they thought should represent the Rays in the All-Star game. Dioner Navarro received the most votes (10). [Tampa Tribune]

DRG here again with bonus holiday Monday duty. I can be reached here, but expect today’s load to be light.

The Good: Carlos Pena not only his 10th home run in the 3rd inning to give the Rays the lead 2-1, but he also walked 3 times. In the Orioles series Pena was on base 10 times in 13 plate appearances including a double, triple, home run and 5 walks. And the home run was to the opposite field. I’d say he is zeroed in…More great defense (*yawn*). A diving catch in the first by Carl Crawford. James Shields ended the 3rd by picking Brian Roberts off first as he was trying to get into scoring position. In the 5th Aki Iwamura made a great play up the middle for the third out, that probably saved a run…Evan Longoria. In his last 9 games, Dirtbag is 13-37 (.351) with 5 doubles, 3 home runs and 12 RBI.

The Bad: Natty Light.

The Telling: At 30-20, the Rays are tied for the best record in baseball…The Professor is now 3-3 in his series over/unders predictions in the “Pepper” series at the beginning of each series.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

• YouTube video of the day: Best Hockey Fight. EVER. [YouTube]
• You guys really need to check out the comments left on an old post by a Red Sox fan. Keep in mind that this post was written last August. The guy/gal is so offended by the Prof making fun of the Red Sox that he left not one…not two…but THREE comments in a 4 minute span. And I can’t really tell, but he/she is either trying to say that there are NO Red Sox bandwagon fans (“I know a lot of girls who are actually real Sox fans who wear the pink hats, and the players actually do wear green on St. Paddy’s day down in Florida for spring training”) or he/she is trying to justify the fact that the Sox do have bandwagon fans (“the Yankees have just as many if not more bandwagon fans than the Sox”). I am not sure. And this was how this Red Sox fan decided he needed to spend his Sunday night. [Rays Index]
• The AL East Blog says that Saturday night’s performance should solidify Evan Longoria as the favorite for the AL Rookie of the Year. [The AL East Blog]
• Lou Piniella says that fans on the east side of Tampa Bay have no excuse for not attending games at the Trop, and that he is looking forward to his return with the Cubs in June. No word yet, if Piniella will dye his hair blonde for the occasion. [St. Pete Times]
• Josh Hamilton will play his first major league game in the Trop tonight. How is he doing? Oh, just contending for the AL Triple Crown and leading candidate for the AL MVP. But hey, the Rays have Eric Hinske in right field, so all’s good. [St. Pete Times]
• The Rays have 4 errors in the last 30 games, the best stretch in baseball since 2003. [St. Pete Times]

Tampa Bay Rays (20 days until Opening Day)

Yesterday: Indians 12, Tampa Bay Rays 10. Jason Hammel did not help himself in an effort to make the Rays roster giving up 9 runs in 3+ innings. At one point after giving up 2 runs in the first inning Hammel retired seven straight before unraveling in the fourth giving up six hits and a walk in the inning. Wade Davis and Jake McGee both pitched a scoreless inning in their final spring appearances. BJ Upton had a sac fly and a 2-run home run. Reid Brignac saw action at short, going 0-2 with a walk. Evan Longoria started at third and went 2-5 with an RBI. Shawn Riggans was the starting catcher and Eric Hinske started in right seeking to be the Rays 4th outfielder.

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]
• Ben Zobrist had his hot spring come to a screeching halt yesterday. Zobrist broke the tip of his thumb sliding into second base. He will miss four weeks. His absence opens the door for Andy Cannizaro to make the squad as Joe Maddon will need a backup shortstop. Then again, Joel Guzman could fill the backup role for a week or two. Look to see who gets more reps at short in the next couple of days. [Tampa Bay Rays]
• Andrew Friedman spoke yesterday about Rocco Baldelli reiterating that Rocco needs to get on the field soon with only 18 days left in Spring Training. Marc Topkin speculates on possible replacements if Rocco can’t go. including James Lofton, Barry Bonds and several in-house candidates. [St. Pete Times]

“I think the only way all of us, including Rocco, can get a good feel for that is if we can get him on the field and see how he does and how he feels and kind of get him back into a fairly regular routine of playing,” Friedman said.

• Scott Kazmir is hoping to make his spring debut on Sunday. When asked about starting on opening day, he was less forceful than he was in the past acknowledging the need to not rush things. [Rays Report]
• The Rays made their first round of cuts yesterday. No surprise names, although the list includes some of the Rays biggest prospects including Jake McGee, Wade Davis, John Jaso and Fernando Perez. A couple of weeks ago, we wondered if Perez might see time in right field during the season for the Rays. An exit this early from camp suggests that this is not likely. [The Heater]
• Joe Maddon maintains his original stance on the Elliot Johnson collision from this past Saturday, that it was a fair, hard-nosed play. He refuses to make any further comments stating that he believes the entire situation was overblown. [Tampa Bay Rays]
• Both Lou Piniella and Mike Scioscia (a former catcher) backed the Rays and elliot Johnson saying that it was just a good clean hard play. Piniella questioned how somebody can ask a young player not to play hard. Scioscia noted that injuries are more likely if you ask players to curb the intensity. [The Heater]
• Shelly Duncan chimed in on the collision and warned that “They showed what is acceptable to them and how they’re going to play the game, so we’re going to go out there to match their intensity – or even exceed it.” When Duncan says “we”, we assume he is referring to the Yankees that will actually be playing. Mr. Duncan, please meet Kevin Maas and Shane Spencer. Your 15 minutes is about up. [Fanhouse]
• Former Rays’ prospect Jason Pridie was interviewed on MLB on XM Radio and among the topics he covered was his former teammate Evan Longoria. [MLB on XM]

I haven’t seen too many people who can just make solid contact and are just pure hitters like him. And a lot of people focus on his bat but I think people are going to be surprised when they see him out on the field because I’ve seen him make some plays that you just couldn’t believe, you know, those top ‘Web Gem’ plays.

• The Herald-Tribune gives a play-by-play of the goings-on in the locker room. [Herald-Tribune]
• Bleacher Report tells their readers why teams should fear the Rays in 2008, in one of the better and more complete Rays previews we have read. [Bleacher Report]

Tampa Bay Rays (41 days until Opening Day)
Yesterday we posted a list of 10 questions we wished the media would ask the Rays. One of those questions dealt with the future of the shortstop position for the Tampa Bay Rays.

• In an ideal world, is Jason Bartlett the Rays starting shortstop in 2009?

One topic that has yet to be addresses by the team or the media is what are the team’s plans beyond 2008.

Earlier this off-season, the Rays, knowing they needed an upgrade in defense, targeted Bartlett of the Minnesota Twins. What his acquisition means to the Rays in 2008 was addressed yesterday by Joe Maddon and Andrew Friedman.

Maddon suggests that Bartlett is “one of the top five” shortstops in the American League. Executive vice president Andrew Friedman says “he has a chance to be among the best in the game.”

“The trickle-down effect a shortstop can have on your pitching staff is immense,” Friedman said. “You’re talking about more pitches for your starting pitcher, which prevents him from going deeper in the game, which taxes your bullpen more, which affects you the next night because your bullpen is tired.”

The Rays control Bartlett’s contractual right for the next four years, and his arbitration figures should be relatively cheap. So. Is Bartlett the long-term answer for the Tampa Bay Rays? More specifically. Will Jason Bartlett be the starting shortstop in 2009?

With the new emphasis placed on defense, especially up-the-middle, Bartlett is deemed as very important to the future success of the Rays. It is easy to imagine that he will not have to hit very much to secure his role as long as he continues to play gold glove-caliber defense. Bartlett posted a .339 OBP in 2007. If he can improve that to .360-.370, that should be enough to secure his future with the Rays.

But there is one small problem with that scenario.

Sitting down in the minors is, Reid Brignac, one of the top shortstop prospects in baseball. Presumably, he will spend the 2008 season at AAA Durham, and if he stays on schedule he should be ready to make his major league debut as early as this September, but certainly by next Spring.

If Bartlett is the future shortstop of the Rays. What do the Rays do with Brignac? Third base is spoken for by Evan Longoria. Two of the outfield spots are taken (Carl Crawford and BJ Upton) for at least the next three years. Right field is an option if his arm is strong enough. But the Rays will have Fernando Perez knocking on the door soon and Desmond Jennings right behind him. Oh. And there is that guy Rocco Baldelli.

The more likely scenario is to trade Brignac. If the team meets following the 2008 season and feels that Bartlett has done enough to be the starter in 2009, we could be faced with a scenario in which the Tampa Bay Rays trade a prospect for veteran help.

Boy. The times. They are a changin’.

Rays need Bartlett to become a nuisance [St. Pete Times]

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• If you have not yet answered our “Tampa Bay Rays Confidence” survey, please do so HERE. [Rays Index]
• Dioner Navarro reported to camp yesterday after being excused to be with his ailing mother. Navarro claims that a more strenuous off-season workout regimen has him in the best shape of his life. [Herald-Tribune]
• Bill Chastain takes a look at how Dioner Navarro has adjusted to just the latest turmoil to hit his family. [Tampa Bay Rays]
• Joe Maddon commented on the chances of seeing David Price pitching for the Rays in 2008. “No, it’s not a stretch…If everything breaks well for him this summer, he’d be somebody we’d consider.” In other words, they won’t rule it out, but it is not very likely. [Tampa Tribune]
• Tyler Hissey has a solid interview with David Price, in which he discusses expectations for the upcoming season and his newfound celebrity status. [Rays Digest]
• Troy Percival wore a shirt in practice yesterday that compared the Rays top three pitchers to the Atlanta Braves talented young trio of the early 90′s, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz. [Bradenton Herald]
• One More Dying Quail takes a look at PECOTA projections for the Rays from the past five years. Lou Piniella consistently out-performed the projection, while Joe Maddon’s Rays have seriously under-performed. This year PECOTA is projecting 82 wins. [One More Dying Quail]
• John Heyman lists the top 11 GM’s in baseball. While not in the list, Andrew Friedman is named as one of the “up-and-comers”. [SI]
  
• Rays Digest worries that Troy Percival may not be dependable considering his injury history. Still they feel that his presence in the locker room alone is worth having him around. [Rays Digest]
• Rarely do we go to another baseball blog and say “Damn, we wish we thought of that.” That is not to say that we are so great. Rather, we think there is a lack of originality in ideas out there. Well it happened yesterday. David Chalk over at Bugs & Cranks has begun his preview of every major league team. Original? Only if you consider that the preview will take each team and compare them to the Tampa Bay Rays. More specifically, Chalk will tell us why each team “Ain’t $#!T Compared To The Devil Rays”. First up is the Pittsburgh Pirates. Chalk will work his way up from the worst teams to the best teams. We are really curious, how long it will take before it becomes difficult to make/believe the argument. It could take a while this year. Oh, and yes. Chalk is sticking to his guns and will keep the Devil in Tampa Bay. [Bugs & Cranks]
• Rays of Light turns the spotlight on BJ Upton. [Rays of Light]
• The New York Daily News previews the Tampa Bay Rays. Not sure we take anything they say seriously. Jesse Spector says Carl Crawford “might be the best leadoff hitter in baseball.” Hmmm? Well. By our count, CC was the leadoff hitter in six games in 2007 and the assumption is that Akinori Iwamura will resume the role in 2008. [Daily News]
• Breaking Balls takes a look at the recent trend of locking up young players to long-term deals. While the practice may be more wide-spread, it is hardly new. The Indians rode this method to sustained success in the 90s. Interestingly they seem to think the trend suggests that these deals are more likely to be given to good defensive players and high strikeout pitchers, such as James Shields. [Breaking Balls]
• Eephus Pitch names Rays minor leaguer Brooks Badeaux their baseball player name of the week. [Eephus Pitch]