The Nationals signed Jayson Werth to a seven-year $126 million (avg. $18M per season) contract, a move that will have a big impact on Carl Crawford’s future.

When the off-season started, we predicted Crawford would sign for seven years and $105 million. Well, Werth’s new deal means teams looking to sign Crawford can start at $126 million and may have to go as high as $150 million.

Also, the Red Sox, who had their hopes set on signing either Werth or Crawford, will now likely go hard after Crawford, which will just drive his price up higher.

In fact, Jayson Werth spoke to an official from an AL team that said Crawford is “looking at maybe eight years, $180 million now, maybe 10 years, $190 million.”

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

• If you missed it yesterday, we updated you on the six teams (five now that Jayson Werth signed with the Nationals) that are chasing Carl Crawford. [Rays Index]
• Marc Topkin writes that the signs are indicating that Carlos Pena won’t Read the rest of this entry »

Last night the Rays drafted speedy middle infielder/center fielder LeVon Washington with the 30th pick of the draft. Shorty after being selected, Washington sounded eager to sign with the Rays and Andrew Friedman sounded eager to get him in a uniform.

LeVon Washington had already impressed the Rays with his speed. Then he really showed them something about an hour after being the 30th pick in the draft Tuesday night, announcing on a media conference call he already was committed to sign: “I’ll be a Ray.”…”That’s great news,” Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman said later, “and we feel the exact same way.”

Not so fast. There is one person that has yet to show the same eagerness and in the end it may be his opinion that matters most of all. That is Washington’s agent, Scott Boras.

Boras rarely makes a move with his clients before it is absolutely necessary. He prefers that his players wait as long as possible before signing contracts. It is his belief that waiting almost never costs a player money, but quite often it makes them more. And no matter what you think of Boras, he is usually right.

So what does this mean for Washington and the Rays? Unless the Rays open the wallet, we expect that like David Price, negotiations will go down to the August deadline, but that eventually a deal will get struck.

But more important may be how this affects Washington’s playing career. If a deal is not made prior to August, it is unlikely that Washington will play this season for any of the Rays farmclubs.

Whereas Tim Beckham was able to get on the field last summer and was ready for a full-season this year, it is more likely that Washington will play in the fall instructional leagues and won’t make his Rays debut until next June in one of the short-season leagues.

In other words, it could be a while before Washington starts his Tampa Bay Rays career.

Tampa Bay Rays draft Gainesville prep star LeVon Washington with first-round pick [St. Pete Times]

Yesterday we wondered why there were not more rumors involving the Rays and the Cardinals. Now Joel Sherman of the New York Post is reporting that the Rays are one of five teams that have shown interest in Rick Ankiel.

Ankiel is arbitration-eligible and will be a free agent following the 2009 season. He made $900K in 2008 and Sherman speculates that he will make about $3 million in 2009. Signing Ankiel to a long-term deal is considered unlikely as he is represented by Scott Boras and Boras prefers players wait until free agency.

The other four teams reportedly interested are the Yankees, Braves, Giants and one unnamed team. The Cardinals are said to be looking for starting pitching which means they will most likely demand Edwin Jackson or Andy Sonnanstine.

ANKIEL SHOWS UP ON BOMBERS’ RADAR [New York Post]

THE GOOD: Finally, the Rays caught a couple of breaks. First was in the second inning after Matt Garza gave up a leadoff single. With the runner going on the pitch to stay out of a double-play, Lyle Overbay then hit a bouncer back up the middle that looked like a catcher trying to throw out a basestealer. The ball bounced chest-high right over the second base bag, right to a waiting Jason Bartlett, who caught it and threw to first for the double-play. Then in the 7th, after retiring the first 2 batters, Garza gave up back-to-back singles, the second of which went under the glove of Willy Aybar, essentially giving the Jays an extra out in the inning. Garza survived to get the next batter to pop out. Finally, in the 9th inning, with a 1-0 lead Joe Maddon brought in Dan Wheeler and looking like a genius, Papa Joe moves Justin Ruggiano from right to left field. With 2 outs, Rod Barajas hit a ball that if a foot farther is a home run. As it was, Ruggiano timed his jump perfectly and his glove and the ball reach the top of the fence at the same moment, and somehow the ball stuck in Ruggiano’s glove. Game over…We’ve been saying it for a while, but if there was any doubt, there shouldn’t be now. The Yankees are dead. The Yankees are roadkill.

THE BAD: Holes in the Rays’ bats. The 11 strikeouts isn’t terible. But when 9 of them come in the first 4 innings, that is terrible. It is hard to tell, how much of it was the Rays having a bad night or how much was just David Purcey pitching light’s out. He threw a complete game needing only 90 pitches. 72 of those pitches were strikes. A truly Madduxian performance. Just gotta tip the cap and be grateful for Carlos Pena’s latest home run, or else they might still be playing.

THE TELLING: The Rays magic number for the Wild Card is 25 over the Twins, with 31 games remaining.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• Dioner Navarro had an MRI done on both of his hamstrings and no damage was detected. He is listed as day-to-day. [Rays Report]
• Evan Longoria hit off a tee and Joe Maddon said everything went well. [The Heater]
• We have been trying to defend the attendance for a while now. But after this week, we don’t know what to say anymore. John Romano is right: “And, in a remarkable display of grace under pressure, we continue to stay away from Tropicana Field in droves.” Matt Silverman has a couple of quotes that reveal the frustration of the team. [St. Pete Times]

“The TV ratings are high, and that’s a great sign, but it hasn’t translated to the number of people at Tropicana Field. It really takes the wind out of our sails,” Silverman said. “We’ve poured our hearts and souls into making this a great draw, and a great fan experience. And to come home after a great road trip and have … the smallest crowds in major-league baseball was discouraging.

• Baseball Mastermind takes a look back at their preseason preview of the Rays to see what they got right…As a side-note, we have a few friends that got the Rays over-under for wins prior to the season at 77. They laughed at how “high” it was, bet the under, calling it the best line they had ever seen. Like a broken record, they all chimed in, “I don’t care how improved the Rays are, they will never win 78 games when they have to play the Red Sox and Yankees 18 or 19 times each.” We warned them that it was not as impossible as they thought. Does anybody listen to us? Suckers. [Baseball Mastermind]
• This should put to rest any lingering thoughts that the Rays should have drafted Pedro Alvarez with the top pick in June. Turns out Scott Boras refused to do any negotiating until just hours before the deadline and when Alvarez finally stepped up and pushed the negotiations just before the midnight deadline, a deal got done. Only, now Boras and Alvarez are contesting the deal, saying it was not submitted in time and of course they want more money. In other words, Alvarez and Boras are not happy that Buster Posey got more money. [MLB]

DRG here again to get you through the weekend. I can be reached here..

• The Good: The 2nd inning was Scott Kazmir’s coming out party. In the 1st inning, Kid K’d fastball was only 88-89, much like it was in his first start off the DL. However, in the 2nd inning, Kazmir struck out Juan Rivera to lead off the inning with only one fastball that broke 88. That seemed to be the at bat that gave him his confidence back, because in the next at bat, threw four fastballs that were clocked at 92. He walked that batter, but from that point forward, Kazmir was consistently 92-93 with his fastball including his 108th, and last, pitch in the 6th which was 93.
• The Bad: Mimosas, Coronas and whatever that blue crap was.
• The Telling: Stuart Sternberg predicted 50 home win in 2007. We laughed. They won 37. 2008 came and Sternberg predicted 50 home wins again. Again we laughed. The Rays have now won 8 straight at home (a record) and now sit at 12-7 at home this season. Brace yourselves. The Rays are on pace for 51 home wins in 2008. I can’t make it up…PS, the Rays are now in second place and 1 game back of wild card lead…PPS, take a look at those standings above and soak it in for a moment. The season is now 20% completed and the Rays are not only not in last place, but they are in 2nd place, ahead of the O’s. Ahead of the Jay. And ahead of the Yankees.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

• ManRay is baaaaaaaccccccckkkkkkkkk. [Armchair GM]
  
• James Shields and Joe Maddon discuss the possibility of Shields throwing a no-hitter. [Tampa Tribune]
• Marc Topkin says that the Rays have narrowed their top choce down to 5 players…Prof loves the high school shortstop Tim Beckham. Personally, I am starting to lean towards one of the two catchers. I know the Rays do not draft for need, but with Dioner Navarro behind the plate and no obvious catching prospects in the system (John Jaso is not a catcher long-term), I love the idea of drafting a high school catcher. But hey, what do I know. [St. Pete Times]
• Beyond the Boxscore breaks down the two most likely candidates for the #1 pick. Tim Beckham and Florida State catcher Buster Posey. My Gator allegiances aside. Um. What? nevermind. Momentary lack of respect for my alma mata. Screw Posey. [Beyond the Boxscore]
• The New York Times takes a look at New York City native and potential #1 overall pick Pedro Alvarez. He says he would love to join David Price, his former Vandy teammate, in the Rays system…Sorry. As long as Scott Boras is his agent, he will not be drafted by the Rays. Even if the Rays thought they could afford his signing bonus demands, the bigger factor is that Boras almost always takes his clients to free agency and never signs away arbitration and free agency seasons. A key to the Rays franchise. [New York Times]
• Gary Glover and Al Reyes threw bullpen sessions yesterday. Sounds like Reyes is still a few days away, but Glover could be back today or tomorrow. [The Heater]
• Joe Maddon says that Akinori Iwamura is getting better at leading off and says that there are no plans to move him out of the spot. [Tampa Tribune]
• Her Rays thinks Akinori Iwamura’s luck is a’ changin with his new haircut. [Her Rays]
• Several Rays will use pink bats today for Mother’s Day in honor of breast cancer awareness. [St. Pete Times]

THE GOOD: Carlos Pena hitting his first home run in almost a month (Apr 12).

THE BAD: With 2 on in the first, Evan Longoria hit a ball in left-center that would have been a sure double, IF Manny Being Manny was in left field. Instead he was DHing with David Oritiz getting the day off. Jacoby Ellsbury made the catch costing the Rays 2 runs early in the game…Shawn Riggans. 2 passed balls, an error and 0-2. Not good. Anybody think Mike DiFelice will be back sooner rather than later?…Jonny Gomes being robbed of a double on a ball that was clearly fair off the Green Monster and nobody appeared to even question the call, much less ask for help from another umpire…

THE TELLING: We guess the positive spin would be that if entering last weekend’s series, and somebody offered us 3 wins in 6 games against the Sox, we probably would have taken it and ran.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• BJ Upton was in the lineup after missing the last 2 games with a sore shoulder, but Joe Maddon said that Upton “didn’t want to turn it loose.” And Upton admitted to some hesitation in his approach. [Tampa Tribune]
• Akinori Iwamura is one of only 2 starting second basmen in the majors without an error. [USA Today]
• Marc Lancaster takes a look at the upcoming draft and wonders who the Rays will draft. RJ Harrison says that the choice is not nearly as clear-cut as it was last year with David Price. As a side note, does anybody know why it is OK in baseball for a player to select an agent while they are still competing in college, as Pedro Alvarez has with Scott Boras and yet it is not OK in basketball and football? This one really stumps us. And yes, we realize that the player doesn’t actually “sign” with the agent yet, but they are still aligned with one. And we are pretty sure that would still be illegal in baseball and football. [Tampa Tribune]
• Fox Sports list the Rays as only the 4th worst franchise in sports and only 3rd in baseball behind the Pirates and the Royals. [Fox Sports]

Tampa Bay Rays (66-96)

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• Here is an interesting mathematical projection of the Rays 2008 season. Just based on the upgrade in the rotation with the addition of Matt Garza and the upgrade in defense with the addition of Jason Bartlett, the Rays will give up 121 fewer runs in 2008. That translates to 12 more wins (78-84). [Yahoo! Sports]
• Today is the Rule 5 draft, and it looks like the Rays will sell their #1 pick to the Padres. [Baseball America]
• It comes as no surprise…Scott Boras does not see Carlos Pena signing a long-term deal this off-season. Most likely the two sides will submit arbitration numbers, and settle on a 1-year deal somewhere in between. In our 40-man roster and payroll projections, we predict that number to be close to $5 million. [TBO]
• The New York Daily News is reporting that the Rays are looking at Cliff Floyd to be the part-time right fielder and left handed bat that they are seeking. [New York Daily News]
• The Rays were named “Topps Organization of the Year”. The award is based on a point system in which the organization earns points anytime a minor leaguer or rookie receives an a Topps Award during the season (ie. Named to the Topps Rookie team, Player of the Month, etc.) [The Biz of Baseball]

The Rays’ individual winners were: John Jaso (August Player of the Month / Class AA All-Star – Southern Lg.); Desmond Jennings (June POM – South Atlantic Lg.); Evan Longoria (May POM / Class AA All-Star – Southern Lg.); Maiko Loyola (Class A Rookie All Star – NY/Penn Lg.); Chris Mason (Class AA All Star – Southern Lg.); Mike McCormick (Class A Rookie All-Star – NY/Penn Lg.); Fernando Perez (Class AA All-Star – Southern Lg.); Jason Ragan (Class A Rookie All-Star – NY/Penn Lg.); Justin Ruggiano (August POM / Class AAA All-Star – International Lg.); Emeel Salem (Class A Rookie All-Star – NY/Penn Lg.); Jae Seo (July POM – International Lg.); Dale Thayer (Class AA All-Star – Southern Lg.) and Delmon Young (Rookie All-Star – MLB).

• Jorge Cantu has been released by the Cincinnati Reds. [Hot Foot]
• Scott Kazmir and Rocco Baldelli traded to the Mets? Fear not, this website is a fake. [FAKE MLB]
• The Tampa Bay Rays and Montgomery Biscuits will begin discussions to extend their relationship past the 2008 season. [Talk Alabama]

Devil Rays (66-96)

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• The general manager’s meetings are under way in Orlando. [TBO]
• DRaysBay now has more interviews with David Price than Price has pitches thrown as a professional…He bought a new car. [DRaysBay]
• Another trade rumor that has blown up after one writer was just speculating. Tim Lincecum for Delmon Young. Once again, Young’s name got mixed up in this rumor because one blogger was trying to find a match for the Giants. The Rays would make this move in a heartbeat, which means it won’t happen. Nothing to look at here. Keep moving folks…keep moving. [Minor League Ball]
• How awesome was Carlos Pena in 2007? In addition to Comeback Player of the Year, he now can add Latin American Idol winner. Scott Boras will certainly use this to add a few million to Pena’s asking price in the negotiations for a long-term deal. [Fernando's Blog]
• Future Considerations is counting down their top 30 Rays prospects. They are currently on #25, Elliot Johnson. [Future Considerations]
  

Scottsdale 10, Peo Saguaros 1.
Evan Longoria did not hit a home run. He did not get 3 hits or 4 RBI. He did not pass go and collect $200. He did go 1-3 with a walk and a run scored. He is hitting .318. Reid Brignac 0-4 with a run scored and is now 5-37 (.135) in 9 games.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• Justin Ruggiano has been added to the Team USA World Cup baseball team that will compete in Chinese Taipei. [Austin American-Statesman]
• We pretty much can’t stand Scott Boras, as much as anybody. But we have the utmost respect for him. I’m Writing Sports refers to Boras as the most hated man in sports. He is a salesman and when it comes to agents that sell their clients, nobody does it better. Yes he says ridiculous things. He is a salesman. Yes he always sets the bar way too high. He is a salesman. He knows that no owner is going to give Alex Rodriguez $450 million. But…if he demands $450 million, then he has a better chance of getting $300-350 million, which is exactly what Boras wants for A-Rod…And he will get it. That is why he is the best. He may not necessarily put his client in the best situations (A-Rod in Texas, Jeff Weaver in Seattle, etc.), but he will always get them the top dollar. The only effect on baseball that Boras has had on baseball that really irks us is the Amateur Baseball Draft. The best player should be drafted #1. End of story. Too often the top players fall to the big market teams because of contract demands by Scott Boras. In the end, the rich get richer. [I'm Writing Sports]
• The Devil Rays only have one player (Carlos Pena) currently represented by Scott Boras. Rocco Baldelli was formerly a Boras client and then dropped him to negotiate his own contract extension. At the time, it was generally considered a bad move by Baldelli and for a while many considered Rocco’s contract to be below market. But Boras is an agent that rarely negotiates extensions before a previous contract expires. He believes in the open market, and that competition drives up prices. In this case, if Boras had held back and waited for Rocco to become a free agent, he might have cost his client money, or at least he would have been forced to sign an incentive-laden contract on the free agent market.

Angels 2, Devil Rays 1.
This is what drives us absolutely nuts about the local coverage of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. We stayed up late last night and caught every pitch of the Rays 89th loss of the season. We went to bed frustrated with the offense, but content that Jason Hammel had pitch well and has shown improvement in his last four starts.

Then we wake up this morning to THIS headline in the St. Pete Times…

“Banged-up Rays waste Hammel’s latest gem”

Now..instead of feeling good about Hammel’s performance we now feel compelled to explain to Marc Topkin and the editors of the Times why Hammel’s performance was far from being a “gem”. Instead of feeling good about his start, we now have to point out the faults.

• It took Jason Hammel 98 pitches to get through 6 innings. Therefore, for the 12th time in 12 starts, Hammel was unable to pitch into the 7th inning.
• 6 innings and 2 runs is not a “gem”. That is an ERA of 3.00. Good. Not great. 9 innings and 2 runs might be a gem, but even then we would need to see 8-10 strikeouts and only 1-2 walks.
• Hammel allowed 7 hits and 2 walks in 6 innings. That is a WHIP of 1.50! That is NOT a gem.
• He struck out 3 batters. a strikeout to walk ratio of 3:2 is NOT a gem. A ratio of 8:1 might be a gem…if he also pitched 8 innings and gave up only 1 run.
• In 3 of his 6 innings, Hammel allowed the leadoff batter to reach base. Two of those runners scored. That is definitely NOT a gem.
• Chone Figgins scored the first run on a wild pitch. That is right. A wild pitch with a runner on third base. Apparently that is “gem”-worthy.
• Hammel had exactly ONE 1-2-3 inning. Hammel allowed base runners in 5 of the 6 innings. That is NOT a gem.
• Did we mention…SIX INNINGS IS NOT A FRIGGIN’ GEM.
• Eight innings. M-INIMUM are needed before we even think about calling a game a gem, and really we would prefer 9. And is it too much to ask that a few of those innings be 1-2-3?
• If a starting pitcher for the Yankees or the Red Sox gave up 2 runs in 6 innings and LOST, would ANYBODY call it a gem? NOT A CHANCE IN HELL. They would wonder why he labored and couldn’t get the ball directly to the set-up man in the 8th inning.
• His “Latest gem”? IS ANYBODY AT THE TIMES AWAKE OVER THERE?!? Hammel is yet to pitch into the 7th inning. In his last start, he allowed 5 hits and only 1 run in 6 innings. He did not walk a batter and struck out 6, against an overrated Seattle Mariners club. That was a very good start. But even that was NOT a gem.

Is this what we have been reduced to as fans of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays? Has the pitching been so bad that when somebody other than Scott Kazmir or James Shields allows 2 runs over 6 innings, we are supposed to be giddy?

We hope that Jason Hammel does not read the St. Pete Times. If he does, he might actually be content with his performance last night, and not see that there is still plenty of room for improvement. We understand that a lot of times, wins and losses are out of the control of the starting pitcher, but when it comes down to it, there is one stat that counts from last night’s start…L. As in Hammel lost. The Devil Rays lost.

If a team is going to only score 1 run, then the pitcher needs to find a way to keep the other team off the board. If he can’t? Let’s just say we are not about to start calling him Tom Seaver. Now there is a guy that threw some gems.

Banged-up Rays waste Hammel’s latest gem [tampabay.com]

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• MLB Trade Rumors did an excellent job of breaking down exactly how ridiculous Scott Boras’ comments on Carlos Pena were. They challenge both the assertion that Pena is the best player to ever wear a Rays’ uniform and the boast that Pena is one of the top 5 players of 2007. They then go on to show that any claim that Pena is a $15 million player in his 4th full season is ludicrous. They even speculate that because Pena is not a free agent until after the 2009 season, the Rays best move may be to go to arbitration for the next two seasons and then trade Pena during the 2009 season. [MLB Trade Rumors]

Boras says the DRays basically got a $15MM season for the cost of $1.2MM and also takes some digs at the franchise. But it’s disingenuous to imply that a fourth-year player should be earning free agent prices. That ain’t the way it works. Albert Pujols earned $7MM in his fourth year, which seems like some kind of record. Jason Bay is earning $3.25MM in his fourth year. Matt Holliday is at $4.4MM. I could make a laundry list of young players who are huge bargains because of baseball’s pay scale. Hanley Ramirez is making $402,000 this year…Pena reaches free agency after the 2009 season, and Marc Topkin says the Rays have already begun discussions on a three or four-year deal. If the Rays are to buy out a year or two of free agency, those might cost $12-15MM each. More likely, the team just goes to arbitration with him twice and trades him in a summer of ’09 blockbuster (assuming he remains a 40 HR threat).

• The Devil Rays are 63-89 with 10 games remaining and are 2 games behind (1 in the win column) the Orioles in the AL East and for the worst record in baseball.
• The Devil Rays have decided to shut down James Shields for the remainder of the season. The move is simply an effort to limit the number of pitches thrown by the emerging ace. JP Howell will fill Shields’ spot in the rotation. [tampabay.com]
• Brendan Harris was injured during batting practice and was scratched from the lineup. [tampabay.com]
• Jim Alexander has a conversation with Joe Maddon about his return to Anaheim to face the franchise he was a part of for 31 years. [Many Opinions, No Waiting...]
• Joe Madden believes that Carl Crawford will be ready to go on Friday, but the team is still likely to call up an extra outfielder from Durham, with Jason Pridie being the most likely candidate. Pridie will need to be added to the 40-man roster this winter anyway or risk being lost in the Rule 5 Draft. [Devil Rays]
• Gerry Hunsicker will appear on the Baseball Digest Daily radio show this Sunday. [Baseball Digest Radio]
• Carlos Pena has 18 home runs in the past month, the most in the majors over that span. [USA Today]