Jul 01
Durham 9, Columbus 6. Carlos Hernandez picked up his first win in his last 5 starts, holding Columbus to 2 runs in 6 innings. He struck out 4 and walked 2…Matt Joyce finished 4-5 with 2 doubles and his 9th home run. It was the 3rd straight game in which he homered and he has 4 in the last 7 games…Jon Weber (7), Rhyne Hughes (5) and Chris Nowak (4) also homered for the Bulls.
Montgomery 5, Jacksonville 1. Heath Rollins improved to 7-6 with just 1 run allowed in 8 innings on 7 hits and no walks. He struck out 5…Desmond Jennings went 0-5.
Charlotte vs Brevard Co.. (ppd. wet grounds)
Bowling Green 10, Rome 6. Joe Cruz evened his record at 3-3 after holding Rome to 1 run in 6 innings. He allowed just 5 hits and no walks, while striking out 4…Tim Beckham went 2-5 including his 4th home run, a 2-run shot…Keyong Kang went 2-4 with a double and 3 RBI…John Mollicone was 4-5 with a pair of home runs driving in 4.
Brooklyn 3, Hudson Valley 1.
Princeton 6, Greeneville 3.
Notes from Down on the Farm…
- Jake McGee made his second start in the Gulf Coast League and we’d have to say that his arm looks to be healthy based on the starts. [Rays Prospects]
- Jeremy Hellickson, Desmond Jennings, Eddie Morlan and Rhyne Hughes have all been named to the Southern League South Division all-star team…Anybody else find it strange that the Southern League has a South Division? Of course that is not as strange as having a North Division. [Our Sports Central]
May 26
Durham 3, Rochester 2. Carlos Hernandez allowed only 2 unearned runs in 6 innings on 4 hits and a walk. He struck out 1…Justin Ruggiano was 2-4 and is now hitting .253 while Matt Joyce was 1-4 and is hitting .313.
Montgomery 6, Jacksonville 5. Jason Cromer, who may be headed to triple-A soon to replace David Price, pitched 7 strong innings, allowing 1 run on 3 hits and 2 walks. He struck out 4…Eddie Morlan was roughed up, allowing 3 runs in 1.1 innings as the Biscuits nearly blew a 6-1 lead…Rhyne Hughes went 0-5 with 3 strike outs and now has struck out 66 times in 45 games including 7 in his past 3 games (13 at bats)…Desmond Jennings did not start but was a defensive substitution in the 9th inning.
Charlotte (no games scheduled).
Charleston 4, Bowling Green 1. Michael Jarman made his sixth start, and was touched for 4 runs (1 earned) in 4 innings. He struck out 6, but allowed 2 home runs…Tim Beckham was 2-3 with a double and a walk. He is now hitting .313 with 40 strikeouts, 11 walks and a .354 wOBA.
Notes from Down on the Farm…
May 03
Columbus 10, Durham 6. The first batter of the game reached on a Reid Brignac throwing error and the second batter reached on a Ray Olmedo throwing error and it was all downhill from there. David Price would allow 4 unearned runs that inning and 2 more of the normal variety in the 4th when he left with 2 runners on and Julio DePaula let them score. Price lasted only 3.2 innings, and gave up 4 hits and 3 walks. He only struck out 1…Matt Joyce was 3-5 with a solo home run off of former big leaguer Tomo Ohka…Adam Kennedy was 3-4 with a pair of doubles and is now hitting .269…Reid Brignac finished 1-5 with 2 strikeouts.
Montgomery 3, Mississippi 2. Heath Rollins picked up his 2nd win, allowing only 2 runs in 7 innings. He struck out 2 and walked 1…Eddie Morlan and Calvin Medlock combined for 2 scoreless innings of relief…Desmond Jennings added 3 more hits including a double to raise his average to .368 and his OPS to 1.020…Rhyne Hughes was 0-5 with 5 strike outs. Yes. Five strike outs. Is that the platinum sombrero?
Charlotte 6, Charlotte 4. Jesse Darcy gave up 5 runs on 10 hits in 6 innings…Matt Fields hit his 4th home run.
Bowling Green 7, Rome 1. Matt Moore rebounded from a couple of shaky starts in which he walked 8 batters to throw 5 innings of 1-run ball. He struck out 7 and walked only 1…Tim Beckham was 1-5 with a strike out. He drove in 1 run on a ground out and another on a fielder’s choice. He also committed his 4th and 5th errors when he booted a pair of ground balls in the 9th inning.
Notes from Down on the Farm…
- The Charlotte Stone Crabs wore pink jerseys on Friday night for Breast Cancer awareness and auctioned the jerseys off following the game. They raised $2,400.
- Montgomery Riverwalk Stadium was rated the best stadium in the Southern League. [Baseball America]
Apr 28
Durham (off-day).
Montgomery 6, Jacksonville 5. Neal Frontz blew the save on a 2-out game-tying double in the top of the 10th. But Desmond Jennings led off the bottom of the 9th with a single, and would later score on a 2-out single by Rashad Eldridge…Heath Rollins struck out 6 in 6 innings, giving up 3 runs (2 earned)…Jason Isringhausen made his final rehab appearance in double-A, giving up a run on 2 hits and a walk in 1 inning…Desmond Jennings was 2-5 with a 3-run home run, his 3rd…Rhyne Hughes was 0-3 with 2 walks.
Sarasota 8, Charlotte 7. Jesse Darcy allowed 5 runs (3 earned) in 5 innings…Emeel Salem had a pair of singles and 2 walks, scoring twice…Matt Fields was 2-4.
Bowling Green (off-day).
Notes from Down on the Farm…
- In an interesting move, Desmond Jennings started in right field last night for the first time of his career. With Jennings off to a hot start in double-A and Upton firmly entrenched in center field for the foreseeable future, might the Rays be considering a spring training 2010 in which Jennings is competing with Matt Joyce for the right field job at the big league level?
- Jeremy Hellickson has done a better job of avoiding home runs. [Montgomery Advertiser]
- Rhyne Hughes was named the Southern League hitter of the week. [Rays Prospects]
- Rays Prospects takes a look at the caught stealing rates for the Rays minor league catchers. You have to be pleased with the numbers from Nevin Ashley, Jake Jefferies and Mike McCormick. [Rays Prospects]
- Matt Walker has returned from his 50-game suspension for testing positive for amphetamines.
Dec 01
Andy Sonnanstine, Carl Crawford, Chris Mason, Eddie Morlan, Edwin Jackson, Jermaine Dye, Joe Maddon, Ken Griffey Jr, Rhyne Hughes, Rocco Baldelli, Tim Bogar, Troy Percival The Professor
According to Jim Street, six American League teams are among the group that has contacted free agent Ken Griffey Jr.. Based on some comments from Griffey’s agent, you can be sure the Tampa Bay Rays are one of those teams.
“Kenny realizes that he probably would be a middle-ground guy when it comes to salary,” he said. “He also understands that a contract could include some incentives, but I don’t think he’ll price himself out of a job. He’s never been about being the highest paid.”…Goldberg said Griffey would be receptive to a one-year contract offer from “the right team in the right place,” but wouldn’t be any more specific than that.
Griffey’s agent says his client is healthy now after postseason season knee surgery and is ready to play a couple more years. A healthy Griffey posted 119 OPS+ with 30 home runs and a .372 OBP in 2007. Those numbers fell to 101 OPS+, 18 home runs and a .353 OBP.
This could come down to whether Griffey still wants to play the outfield on a regular basis. If he is willing to accept a role as a most-days DH, and an incentive-laden contract to play for a contender, Griffey is the type of player the Rays will target.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- We will find out this week if Troy Percival will need surgery on either his knee or his back…Also, Joe Smith is reporting that the Rays are continuing to have conversations with Rocco Baldelli. [St. Pete Times]
- Tim Bogar, the Rays Quality Assurance Coach this past season, has been hired by the Red Sox to be their first base coach. [The Heater]
- Rocco Baldelli won the “Tony Conigliaro Award”, which is given to “a major league player who has overcome adversity through the attributes of spirit, determination and courage.” [The Heater]
- Carl Crawford had his baseball jersey retired by his high school prior to a recent playoff game. [Houston Chronicle]
- Joe Maddon is one of 10 finalists for Hazelton, Pennsylvania “Person of the Year”. [Standard-Speaker]
- According to Nick Cafardo, the White Sox would want more than Andy Sonnanstine or Edwin Jackson for Jermaine Dye…Huh, wha? More than Duke or Nuke for a player that is owed $11.5 million next season and a $12 million option in 2010? That should about do it for the “Jermaine Dye is a good fit for the Rays” talk. [MLB Trade Rumors]
- Rounding the Bases lays out 7 reasons to trade Edwin Jackson. [Rounding the Bases]
- Rise of the Rays takes a look at some options for the Rays in right field and at DH either through trade or via free agency. [Rise of the Rays]
- Baseball Analysts previews the top 11 pitchers available in next week’s Rule 5 draft, including Eddie Morlan and Chris Mason. [Baseball Analysts]
- The members of the Rise of the Rays community debate who will be the “key player for the Rays in 2009.” [Rise of the Rays]
- Rays Prospects has an update on winter league stats for several current and former Rays prospects. [Rays Prospects]
- Rays Digest looks at the top hitting prospects in the organization. [Rays Digest]
- Baseball Talk takes a look at some of the lesser known pitching prospects in the Rays system. [Baseball Talk...]
- After Rhyne Hughes’ solid Arizona Fall League season, Examiner.com tries to project how good the prospect can be. [Examiner.com]
- Ted Flemming offers several suggestions on what the Rays should do from the operations side of the coin, which includes broadcasting more spring training games. [Examiner.com]
- The King of Series, David Chalk’s latest is counting down the 25 greatest Devil Rays…as an advent calendar. [Bugs and Cranks]
Nov 10
Back in early August, the Rays added Chad Bradford from the Orioles for a Player To Be Named Later (PTBNL). It is two months later and the Rays have yet to send a player to the O’s to complete the deal. A couple of weeks ago, O’s GM Andy MacPhail was asked about the trade.
MacPhail also said the player to be named in the Chad Bradford deal will be announced between the end of the World Series and the start of the winter meetings. That’s quite a gap. But it’s hardly worth pacing the floor over…”I’ve done everything I can when asked to downgrade expectations,” he said, adding there won’t be any immediate benefits to the acquisition.
The winter meetings are to be held December 8-11.
Often in trades involving a PTBNL, the receiving team (in this case the O’s) is given a list of several players to choose from. This gives the receiving team a chance to scout the players on the list and decide which player they prefer.
With the seasons completed, this suggests that the Orioles are scouting one or more players in the Arizona Fall League. The AFL schedule ends on November 22, two weeks prior to the winter meetings. Rays prospects participating in the AFL include Rhyne Hughes, JT Hall, Matt Spring, Chris Mason, Ryan Reid, Wade Townsend, Mike Wlodarczyk and Desmond Jennings.
We have been unable to confirm, but there is some sentiment that if the teams cannot agree on a player, the Rays will send a predetermined amount of “cash considerations” to the O’s in order to complete the deal. There may also be a six month time limit on the deal.
MacPhail snippets [MASN]
Oct 18
Click on above images to be taken to full standings, box scores or schedule…
With the Cubs once again home without a World Series trophy, Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune is desperate for a story. How desperate?
“Of course, if we had won it, we’d be in the World Series by now,” Maddon said. “We’ll just have to wait one more day, hopefully, to get that done.”…He meant one more game, as Friday was a travel day. And he did add an important qualifier with the word “hopefully.” But still …When your team gets as close to the World Series as the Rays were—seven outs away, seven-run lead—and then unravels, the task ahead is about a lot more than waiting “one more day.”
It amazes us that some writers get paid to write this shit. We are not sure if Phil Rogers is familiar with how the game of baseball works. But actually, it is that simple. The Rays are still one win away with two games at home and their two best starting pitchers. One more day. One more win. That’s it. And somehow Phil Rogers turned that one benign quote into a 700 word cluster***.
Apparently Phil Rogers would prefer Maddon to just give up and go back to the shitpile with the Cubs.
Damn, we are an angry blogger right now. Nothing would give us more pleasure than to be on the mound with a ball and have Phil Rogers step into the box. Dude is a little too comfortable.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- We have asked this before and we will keep asking until somebody gives us a satisfactory answer: Why is it OK for football teams to play in domes and it is not OK for baseball teams? Football is a game that is often better in bad weather. Some of the greatest and most memorable games in the history of the NFL were played in severe conditions. And yet baseball, a sport of precision, is stopped when it rains. The NFL has 6 teams that play indoors (Colts, Falcons, Vikings, Saints, Rams, Lions) and yet nobody ever complains. Anybody care to explain? And don’t give us that “tradition” crap. We love the tradition of baseball more than most but anytime somebody brings up tradition we ask them why they aren’t taking dumps in an outhouse any longer. [New York Times]
- Everybody is rooting against the Rays. Good. Keep it that way. Screw the networks and their bottom line. If the Rays go to the World Series we hope those FOX TV executives choke on their champagne when they are cruising the Mediterranean on their luxury yachts. What fan gives a flying hoot what ratings are? Either you watch the game or you don’t. Why do some people care if other people watch? Jesus. Somebody get us a uniform. We are ready to run through a wall for Papa Joe. [Los Angeles Times]
- Really? The Hartford Courant is going to compare JD Drew’s winning hit to the ALCS-winning, walk-off home run by Aaron Boone in 2004. Do they have Bonobos writing at the Hartford Courant? We worry about the sanity of Hartford. If all their stories are this idiotic the IQ of the entire town is in serious trouble. [Hartford Courant]
- You know those Red Sox fans and how they are the bestest fans in the whole world. How the entire Red Sox Nation was born in South Boston with a little red sock tattooed to their asses. How their ancestors came over on the Mayflower wearing a Red Sox cap and how they would prefer a league in which every season is just a Best-of-162 game series with the New York Yankees…Well those diehards were so diehard that they were seen piling out of Fenway in droves on Thursday night in the 6th and 7th innings. Big League Stew has the top 10 things overheard from the exodus. To which we would have added: “Who is Carl Yaster Zemski?” [Big League Stew]
- Big League Stew answers the question: “Why cowbells?” for those not familiar…Stu Sternberg (and Joe Maddon with his 9=8) both understand a very simple premise in marketing. Keep things simple. Keep them corny. The initial reaction will often be to snicker. But stick to it, and eventually corny becomes cool. [Big League Stew]
- Rob Neyer explores James Shields nickname “Big Game”. The reason is suggestion #2 from Neyer. Joe Maddon believes it and wants Shields to believe it also. It is that simple. [ESPN]
- Nasty Boy Brian Knobbs got kicked out of Fenway during game 5, to which we ask: Who wears a shirt with their own picture on it? Knobbs does. [Home Run Derby]
- Rhyne Hughes is having himself a nice little Arizona Fall League. [Tampa Bay Rays Prospects]
Aug 23
Durham 6, Louisville 2. Ben Hendrickson won his 10th game, striking out 7 in 7 innings, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits and a walk…Dan Johnson was 2-4 with 2 doubles and a walk…John Jaso finished 1-4 with a walk and an RBI…Jonny Gomes was 0-5 with a strike out.
Tennessee 1, Montgomery 0. Mike Prochaska allowed only 1 run in 8 innings on 7 hits and no walks. He struck out 3.
Daytona @ Vero Beach (gm 1; ppd rain).
Daytona @ Vero Beach (gm 2; ppd rain). The D-Rays have now had their last 6 games postponed or cancelled due to rain or a wet field.
Columbus 2, Charleston 0 (gm 1). Jesse Darcy pitched a 2-hit shutout improving to 7-3 with a 2.95 ERA. He did not strike out a batter and did not issue a walk…Maiko Loyola finished 2-3.
Columbus @ Charleston (gm 2; ppd rain)
Hudson Valley 10, Oneonta 1.
Princeton 7, Johnson City 0. Tim Beckham did not play.
NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…
- 5 of the Rays 6 Arizona Fall League participants will be from the Montgomery roster including James Houser, Ryan Reid, Rhyne Hughes, JT Hall and Matt Spring. Houser was originally scheduled to participate last fall, but was unable due to his on-going suspension. No word yet on who the 6th member will be, although it will likely be a pitcher. [Montgomery Advertiser]
- The Bulls’ magic number to clinch the South Division is now 4 with 10 games remaining on the schedule. [Durham Bulls]
- The Biscuits now trail Mississippi by 3.5 games with 10 to play. [Montgomery Advertiser]
Apr 26
Charlotte 5, Durham 2. Mith Talbot gave up 5 runs in 6 innings.
Montgomery 8, Birmingham 3. Wade Davis held Birmingham to 2 hits and no runs in 7 innings. He struck out 4, walked 1. Thanks to two double plays, he faced 1 over the minimum…Ronnie Merril had 4 hits for the 2nd time in 3 nights.
Palm Beach 6, Vero Beach 1.
Columbus 6, Charleston 3.
NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…
- Eduardo Morlan and Rhyne Hughes went on the DL for Montgomery. Morlan’s injury is significant because now all three of the players received from the Twins for Delmon Young and Brendan Harris have been hampered by injuries in the first month of the season. [Biscuits Batter]
- David Price threw a live bullpen session yesterday but there is still no timetable for his 2008 debut. [The Heater]
- After a slow start, John Jaso is starting to weild a mean stick. He is in at #10 on Baseball America’s “Prospect Hot Sheet”. However, they do note that his time as a catcher may have a shlef-life. So far this season, base stealers are 25-26 against Jaso…Jeremy Hellickson is also mentioned as being just outside the Top 13. [Baseball America]
- Tampa Bay’s Tomorrow takes a look at Jake McGee. [Tampa Bay's Tomorrow]
- Minor League Ball is running a mock draft and the pick for the Rays is Aaron Crow, a pitcher from Missouri. [Minor League Ball]
Subscribe
