Oct 06
The Rays have decided to let go hitting coach Steve Henderson and will keep pitching coach Jim Hickey. In addition, the Rays eliminated Todd Greene’s position as quality assurance coach.
Many are wondering why the Rays would drop Hendu when the offense set a franchise record for runs scored and the pitching staff consistently underperformed all season. The hardest people to evaluate on a baseball staff are the coaches. They have such little in-game responsibility that 99% of their jobs are performed when the fans are not watching.
We can however evaluate what their subjects did on the field.
Steve Henderson: While the Rays did hit very well overall this season, we feel the Rays situational hitting which is still lacking. Sure strikeouts are not that bad in the grand scheme of things, but there are certain situations where strikeouts suck, and only one AL team (Rangers) struck out more than the Rays this season. Where that hurts the most is runners in scoring position with less than two outs. Strikeouts are rally killers. They don’t give the runners any chance to advance. Watch the veteran hitters on the Red Sox and Yankees enough and you will see the difference between productive outs and those that are not so much.
Jim Hickey: We find it difficult to lay too much blame at the feet of Hickey. Much of the problems with the pitching staff can be traced back to the 2008 season. Too many innings, too many months, and a very short off-season. There just weren’t any dominating performances from guys like James Shields and Matt Garza like we would have expected. We are not sure what Hickey, or any other pitching coach, could have done differently.
Todd Greene: The Rays thought they had come up with a super-duper idea to assign one coach the job of scouting the Rays all season. Have one guy find the flaws that other teams will look to exploit. The problem the Rays didn’t foresee was the Red Sox then hiring that coach last year (Tim Bogar) and having him then take all that knowledge with him to Boston. Maybe it turned out that there were too many of the family secrets being held by one person so low on the totem pole.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- There are a lot of former (Devil) Rays in the playoffs this year. [Bugs and Cranks]
- In addition to the 16th pick in the draft, Keith Law has now confirmed that the Rays will also have pick 30B (#32 overall) as compensation for failing to sign LeVon Washington, and pick 78B (overall selection to be determined) for failing to sign Kenny Diekroger. [ESPN]
- An Open Letter to the Rays, to which we would like to add “Ditto.” [Sixty Feet, Six Inches]
- The Rays failed to reach the playoffs, but their 2-year run is still pretty impressive. [The Rays Party]
- The home run hit by Juan Miranda (first of his career) on Friday night off of Dale Thayer was the longest hit at The Trop this season, travelling 469 feet. That eclipsed the 466-foot home run hit by Carlos Pena on June 13th off of Jordan Zimmerman. [MLB Video] Here is Pena’s home run. [MLB Video]
Apr 12
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: Rebounds. Despite his horrid first inning, Jeff Niemann managed to stay in the game into the 6th inning. In fact, at one point he retired 9 in a row…Joe Nelson. Nelson looked good with 2 shutout innings…Evan Longoria. He was only 2-4 with a double. He is doing his job. but he did ground into his third double-play already.
THE BAD: Bad Beginnings. Another bad first inning and this one was as bad as it gets. We were actually surprised Jeff Niemann did not get pulled. The first 6 batters all reached base including a grand slam, 2 ground-rule doubles and a hit batter. You could really see how nervous Niemann was in the first with the very deep breathing when Joe Maddon visited the mound..No offense. 1 run in two games off of the O’s starting pitchers just can’t happen. 0-11 with runners in scoring position doesn’t help.
THE TELLING: As young as the Rays are as a team, Jeff Niemann is the only rookie on the opening day roster…Joe Nelson and Lance Cormier pitched in similar situations the past two games, which does not shed light on which pitcher is low-man on the totem pole for when Jason Isringhausen is ready to join the Rays.
SUNBURST PLAYER OF THE GAME: Dioner Navarro. 2 hits, including a double and we are going to give Navi some of the credit for Niemann’s ability to settle down after the first inning. It may not have been important for last night, but it could be important for Niemann’s psyche moving forward.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Turns out the Rays did not request to open at home this season. [St. Pete Times]
- Remember our worries about the color of David Price’s glove and how it might be illegal? Some pointed out that Scott Kazmir was using a glove with a similar color. Turns out MLB has told Kazmir to stop using the glove because the color is too light. They have also told Kid K to stop wearing his custom cleats, which are too blue. [St. Pete Times]
- In the same piece we learn that James Shields is going to be working from a new routine today in Baltimore to help with his road woes. [St. Pete Times]
- Marc Lancaster looks at how the Rays are attacking lefties this season. [Tampa Tribune]
- Todd Greene the Rays new quality assurance coach (which we had forgotten), was included in a story in the New York Times that links him to a doctor known to prescribe steroids. Greene testified before a grand jury about the relationship during his time as a player. [MLB]
- Marc Topkin notes that the Rays had the largest payroll increase in baseball this off-season and Topkin gives some reasons why. [St. Pete Times]
Jan 14
Click on image for a larger viewThe Tampa Bay Rays will be unveiling their new alternate jersey later today. Above is James Shields sporting the new threads (click here for The Duke wearing the new jersey).
Besides the new color, the sunburst is 40% larger than on the home and away jerseys. According to the team, the new jersey will be worn “occasionally at home and on the road.”
“Rays apparel, marked by our signature sunburst and light blue accents, has been embraced by fans throughout the state of Florida and across the nation,” said Rays President Matt Silverman. “The amplified sunburst on our new alternate jersey represents the brightness of our organization and its growing impact throughout the Tampa Bay region and central Florida.”
All-in-all, the new jersey is not terrible. We would have liked to have seen “Tampa Bay” across the front and maybe even a new patch on the sleeve as a shout-out to the city of St. Pete.
On the other hand, at least we won’t be subjected to any more “pit stain” games.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Too make room on the 40-man roster for Gabe Kapler, the Rays designated JK Ryu for assignment. Ryu appeared in only 5 games (all starts) at triple-A Durham in 2008. He was shelved most of the year with an elbow injury. Ryu was orgininally acquired from the Cubs prior to the 2007 season for a pair of minor leaguers. [Rays Report]
- The Rays have hired their new quality assurance coach (basically the Rays scout themselves to see what other teams are seeing). It is Todd Greene, who has a long relationship with Joe Maddon. [Rays Report]
- Game 7 of the ALCS will be reaired on Thursday at 3pm et on MLB.com/Live. [MLB]
- On third thought, Gabe Kapler’s 2009 salary will indeed be $1,000,018, with the extra 18 being Kapler’s lucky number and a Jewish symbol of life. [St. Pete Times]
- Drays Bay weighs the pros and cons of keeping Chad Bradford or Dan Wheeler. [Drays Bay]
- The city of St. Pete made it clear that they want the new Rays stadium within the city limits. Of course, they still aren’t sure if they want to help pay for it, but gosh darn it, it better be in St. Pete. [St. Pete Times]
- The Mischievous Little Badger is once again facing jail time. This time Elijah Dukes was ordered to pay $57K in back child support or face 90 days in the clink. [Rays Report]
- The 2009 season will be broadcast on 620-AM. [The Heater]
