Apr 07
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: Shades of 2008. We just have a good feeling about this team. Last year the Rays never win that game. Last night we were never worried. And Carl Crawford came through in his walk season with a walk-off 1-out, 2-run double to turn a loss into win #1…James Shields. James the Greater gives up home runs. Always has, always will. But he usually does a good job of keeping runners off base in front of the bombs. And last night it was 3 solo home runs as the only runs allowed…Catchers. Dioner Navarro didn’t exactly rake last night, but he did have 2 hits off of right-handed pitchers, which may or may not have equaled his 2009 total. And Kelly Shoppach pinch-hitting in the 9th and facing a lefty nearly ended the game when he missed a 2-run HR by about 6 inches…Defense. It started with BJ being BJ running down a flyball to the wall in center and saving a run and included Evan Longoria gunning a runner down at the plate to save another run in the 9th…Evan Longoria. Spring training doesn’t mean anything? Longo turned up the pop in his bat the last two weeks and it translated to a monster HR last night…Pat Burrell. He had some rough moments last night, striking out twice and killing a rally in the 6th by grounding into a double-play in the 6th with 2 on and no outs. But he also had a double and an excellent first at bat that lasted 10 pitches and included 5 foul balls.
THE BAD: Baserunning. We are all for being aggressive on the basepaths, especially with 2 outs, but why was Dioner Navarro sent home in the 3rd inning with little chance of scoring and Evan Longoria due up? And yes, Pat Burrell scored, but let’s hope he doesn’t run through too many stop signs in which he probably would have been thrown out with a good throw…Percivalian…Rafael Soriano came on in the 9th to keep the game close and almost failed miserably. 3 of the 6 batters he faced reached base and only a great defensive play by Evan Longoria kept the O’s from increasing their lead…Kevin Kennedy. We forgot how much we did not miss Kennedy.
THE TELLING: Evan Longoria’s HR (video) was the third longest (473ft) in the history of The Trop (Vinny Castilla 478ft, Jonny Gomes 474ft) and only the second to land in the left field Party Deck (Castilla)…Randy Choate indeed got to face a righty in a high-leverage situation getting Miguel Tejada to ground into a double-play to end the 7th inning…Kelly Shoppach will start today and possibly tomorrow. No decision has been made on who will start at second. Ben Zobrist will play second base tomorrow against the lefty.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- MLB has changed the blackout restrictions for the FOX Saturday games. Now, if the first FOX game begins at 3:10pm ET, any Rays games that begin at 6:05 or later will be televised. This is significant as the Rays typically start games with a postgame concert at 6:10 and in years past those games were blacked out. If the FOX game starts at 4:10 or later, a Rays game starting earlier than 7:05 will be blacked out. [The Biz of Baseball]
- Is the city of St. Pete in the early stages of planning a new stadium for the Rays? If so, the Rays may not know about it. [Shadow of the Stadium]
- Stuart Sternberg said that he agrees with most of what was written in the ABC report about a new stadium. [St. Pete Times]
- Nevin Ashley has left the Biscuits to tend to a family emergency. [Biscuit Crumbs]
- The Rays announced that Bright House Networks will air 63 Rays games in Spanish on channels 154 and 900 in Tampa and channels 130 and 613 in Central Florida.
- A look at how some Rays bloggers feel the Rays will perform the first week of the season. [Tampa Bay Rays Fan]
- Aubrey Huff is one strange cat. [7th Inning Stache]
Mar 29
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: Matt Garza. Like James Shields the day before, Garza stretched his arm out working 7 strong innings, allowing just 4 hits and striking out 7. He walked 1. He now has 21 strikeouts and just 4 walks this spring…Ben Zobrist. Zorilla looked comfortable in the 3-hole, hitting a single, triple and a home run…Carlos Pena. Pena, who had 3 hits all spring before the weekend, had 3 hits this weekend, including a home run on Sunday. He also walked twice yesterday.
THE BAD: The Truffle Shuffle. Yes, it is spring, and yes scoring the run was not important. But a safety squeeze with Pat Burrell on third base? Burrell was thrown out at home on Gabe Kapler’s squeeze attempt.
THE TELLING: It appears that Joe Maddon is leaning towards having BJ Upton hit 6th and dropping Pat Burrell to the 7th spot…Hank Blalock started at third base…With 6 games remaining, the Rays now have 17 wins. That is 1 short of the franchise record set in 2008.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Marc Topkin says there is a possibility that opening day will not sell out. This would be the first time since 2005. Anybody still think we were overreacting last week?…In the same piece Topkin writes about new ways in which the Rays are taking advantage of video technology. [St. Pete Times]
- Dioner Navarro and Willy Aybar played in a minor league game yesterday and both are expected to be ready for opening day. [St. Pete Times]
- Michael Sasso notes that Bud Selig’s history suggests that at some point he will become more active and more aggressive in the quest for a new stadium for the Rays. [Tampa Tribune]
- Jeremy Hellickson will pitch in a minor league game today which leaves him on pace to pitch the Durham Bulls opener and the exhibition game in Durham between the Bulls and the Rays on Saturday. [Biscuit Crumbs]
- Mitch Talbot, who was sent to the Indians for Kelly Shoppach will be on the Indians opening day roster and has won a spot in the rotation. [Cleveland.com]
- Jordi Scrubbings interviewed The Cowbell Kid. [JordiScrubbings.com]
- Randy Choate and Joe Maddon speak about Choate’s transformation from lefty-specialist to a reliever that can be used at any time. [Tampa Tribune]
- Marc Topkin writes about how Lance Cormier will be called upon in more high-leverage situations with JP Howell on the shelf. [St. Pete Times]
- Wade Townsend was released by the Blue Jays. [Rays Prospects]
- Jason Cromer and Alex Cobb will both miss the start of the season. [Biscuit Crumbs]
Feb 23
Carl Crawford was asked yesterday if he would be willing to give the Rays a home-team discount. His answer was a less-than-emphatic “you never know,” in which he deferred to his agent.
Maybe more telling was this quote from the St. Pete Times in which CC was asked about his next contract and getting paid…
That’s what you go there for, to free agency. You go there to get paid like the guys who play against you. Pretty much, it speaks for itself.
Does that sound more like a guy that will give a home-team discount or a guy that is more concerned with a contract that shows respect and reflects his abilities? We have said this before, it is not about what a player can live with. For many of these guys it is about being shown respect and being paid as much or more than players they are clearly better than. And if that is important to Crawford, there will be no home-team discount.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Pat Burrell is saying all the right things heading into the 2010 season. He also revealed that he suffered from “some slight herniations” in his neck last year and that he did not treat them properly. [Tampa Tribune]
- Jon Heyman writes that the Yankees “love” Carl Crawford and that he might have been the real reason the Yankees wouldn’t give Johnny Damon a two-year deal and maybe why they passed on Matt Holliday. [SI.com]
- In the same piece, Jon Heyman writes that the Rays and Marlins “are believed to have some interest” in Hank Blalock. [SI.com]
- Roger Mooney has some quotes from Carl Crawford on the distraction of his contract year, his future with the Rays and whether the Turf will be a factor in his next contract. [Rays Report]
- Carl Crawford worked out with Scott Kazmir this winter. Crawford also refuses to reveal his new full-arm tattoo. [St. Pete Times]
- Tony Fabrizio has some quotes from Randy Choate on Phil Jackson, football, Tommy Boy and his favorite minor league city. [Tampa Tribune]
- Cliff Floyd has a neg gig, broadcaster, although it sounds like he hasn’t given up on his baseball career, or even a coaching career. [The Palm Beach Post]
- Here is another “there is no money to build a stadium in Tampa” article. [St. Pete Times]
Dec 12
[Update 10:55pm] The Rays not only did not non-tender Dioner Navarro, they reached an agreement with Navi on a 1-year, $2.1 million contract. They also non-tendered Shawn Riggans making him a free agent. Signing Navarro is a bit of a surprise, but this could just be buying the Rays time to trade him.
[10:30 pm] Marc Topkin is reporting that the Rays have non-tendered Gabe Gross, making him a free agent. No decision has been announced on Dioner Navarro.
Also, the Rays avoided arbitration with Randy Choate and Lance Cormier. Choate will make $700K this season while Cormier will make $1.2 million.
These moves leave the Rays with six arbitration-eligible players including BJ Upton, Jason Bartlett, Matt Garza, Kelly Shoppach, Grant Balfour and JP Howell.
In addition, the Rays re-signed Winston Abreu and Carlos Hernandez to minor league deals. Abreu made three appearances with the Rays last season. He struck out 77 in 51 innings with a 1.94 ERA at triple-A Durham. Hernandez went 7-6 with a 3.29 ERA in 21 starts for Durham.
And in the ex-Rays department, Jonny Gomes has been non-tendered by the Reds and is now a free agent.
Oct 16
Before we jump into the 25-man and 40-man roster projections next week, let’s take a look at the one area where we can expect the most change, the bullpen. But before we start thinking about who the Rays may add to the mix, let’s take a look at who might be back in 2010…
WHO’S IN?
- JP Howell, Dan Wheeler, Grant Balfour and Andy Sonnanstine look to us like the only sure-things. We suppose the Rays could dangle Sonny and see if anybody still thinks he can be a big league starting pitcher, but we have a feeling that the Rays see Sonnanstine as worth more in their bullpen than on the trade market. And it wouldn’t surprise us if the Rays feel Sonny can grow into the relief role the same way Howell did.
WHO’S OUT?
- We don’t see the Rays re-signing any of their free agents (Chad Bradford, Russ Springer, Troy Percival, Jason Isringhausen).
- The Rays do not need both Brian Shouse and Randy Choate as lefty-specialists. Choate was nearly unhittable against lefties and will be a lot cheaper, so the Rays will decline Shouse’s 2010 option.
THE MAYBES
- Randy Choate is a very effective lefty-specialist, but he is also arbitration-eligible. Might the Rays find somebody even cheaper for league-minimum?
- Lance Cormier gave Joe Maddon good depth in the bullpen all season. He is arbitration-eligible. While he won’t make a ton of money next year, Andy Sonnanstine will be cheaper and figures to be able to do the same job.
- Jeff Bennett brings something to the table that none of these other “Maybes” can do…a mid-90s fastball…something that is lacking in the bullpen outside of Grant Balfour. And keep in mind that his numbers were inflated by one outing at Texas in which he gave up 5 runs without recording an out. Our gut says Bennett is more “IN” than “OUT” but may have to win a job in the Spring.
- Dale Thayer is a bit of an enigma. He is young in terms of experience, but he is not young. He seems suited to be the “Down 12-3″ mop-up reliever. But more likely he will start the season in Durham as the Rays 8th relief pitcher (waiting for somebody to go on DL).
If we assume that the Rays will indeed bring back all 4 of the “Ins”, that would leave 3 open spots. Bennett might have the inside-track on one of those openings. That would leave 2 spots to be filled via free agency or trade.
May 26
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: King David. He showed flashes of brilliance. After a walk and a double to start the game, Price struck out the next 3 batters to get out of the jam without allowing a run…Carl Crawford. 1-4 with a walk, and he is now 29-29 on stolen bases…Gabe Gross. Drove in 3, was on base 3 times and added his second home run in 3 days.
THE BAD: Prince David. It is a learning curve, and there is much to learn. First and foremost, batters leading off an inning were on base 3 of 4 times, twice via walk. The biggest disappointment was the leadoff walk in the second inning on 4 pitches. He was just staked to a 5-0 lead and that was the worst possible start to the inning. At that point he should be pitching to contact. He also seemed a little too amped up. As a starting pitcher, Price is likely to be most effective throwing his fastball 94-95. Last night he was consistently throwing the fastball 97-98, topping out at 99. He can do that in short stints but not over 6-7 innings. Last night, you could see the toll as his fastball was 92-94 in the 4th inning. Which leads us to his pitch efficiency. Price had to be pulled in the 4th inning after throwing 100 pitches, due in large part to 5 walks…The Bullpen. We don’t have the time, the space or the inclination to properly express how Bad the bullpen was last night and we don’t have the heart to list out every culprit. Let’s just say it was ugly, Don Mossi ugly and that sound you hear? That is us pounding our head on the keyboard…Red. We are all for honoring fallen troops on Memorial Day. God knows the sacrifices my family has made. But David Price makes his 2009 debut and we have to see him wearing a red cap (above)? Atrocious.
THE TELLING: This is just not a good team. Good teams do not blow 10-run leads. They don’t blow 6-runs leads in the 9th innings. And they do not blow ANY leads to bad teams.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- As feared, Akinori Iwamura will be out for the year with a torn ACL. [The Heater]
- Add Brian Shouse to the list of players on the DL. Randy Choate was added to the 40-man roster and promoted to take Shouse’s spot. Shouse has a strained elbow and does not expect to be out very long. Fernando Perez was moved to the 60-day DL to allow for the addition of Choate to the 40-man roster. The Rays now have 8 players on the DL. [Rays Report]
- Jason Bartlett is expected back in the lineup tonight after missing one game with a mild ankle sprain. [St. Pete Times]
- Joe Maddon’s new contract is now official and will keep him in a Rays uniform through the 2012 season. [Rays Report]
- Baseball Analysts breaks down David Price’s first start. It reads an awful lot like “The Bad” from above, only more detail and several hundred more words. [Baseball Analysts]
- Gary Shelton and John Romano discuss the Memorial Day Massacre and the slide that ended Aki Iwamura’s season. [The Point After]
- An amazing read on the thought process behind Fernando Perez’ walk-up music and we love the fact that he used the theme song from “The Price Is Right” while playing in college. [New York Times]
- Randy Choate made his first appearance in the big leagues since 2007, and still hasn’t retired a batter since 2006. [Rays Report]
