Apr 27
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: Offense? The Rays are only 7th in the AL in hitting (.259), 5th in OBP (.342) and 6th in slugging (.431), but they lead the AL in runs scored (113). Why the disparity? The Rays are hitting when it matters most. in 216 plate appearances with runners in scoring position, the Rays are hitting .318 (1st in the AL), have a .413 OBP (1st in the AL) and have a league-best OPS of .964, which is 150 points higher than the next best team (Boston)…Starting Pitching. The Rays starting pitchers have the second best ERA in the AL (2.81) and they lead the AL with 6.4 innings per start.
THE BAD: Relief Pitching. One reason the Rays starters work so deep into games is to hide a weak bullpen. So far this season, the Rays relievers are 9th in the AL with a 4.13 ERA even though they have the 3rd best batting average against (.227)…Basestealing. The mathematical cutoff for success stealing is 75%. Less than that and the team might be losing runs (although it can be argued that the affect of stolen bases goes beyond the success rate). The Rays are tied with the White Sox for the AL lead with 21 stolen bases, but they have also been thrown a league leading 10 times leading to the 4th worst success rate in the AL (68%).
THE TELLING: The Rays now begin a stretch of 7 straight series (20 games) against non-AL East opponents.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Andrew Friedman made an appearance on “The Dan Patrick Show.” The only telling statement is when Friedman refers to a sold out Trop as “like a 10th man,” which may or may not have been a Freudian slap to the face of Pat Burrell. Here is the link to the audio if you are so inclined. [Audio]
- Steve Slowinski attempts to quantify the difference between John Jaso and Dioner Navarro and whether the Rays should stick with Jaso once Kelly Shoppach returns. [DRays Bay]
- Aneury Rodriguez was named the IL pitcher of the week, one week after Jeremy Hellickson won the same award. [Rays Prospects]
- Joe Henderson takes a matter-of-fact look at the Rays attendance woes. [Tampa Tribune]
- John Romano writes about the path Leslie Anderson took from Cuba to the Rays and how he is adjusting with his new club. [St. Pete Times]
- Rays Prospects informs us that Wade Townsend has signed with an independent team. [Twitter]
- An Astros short-season team will be giving away Ben Zobrist bobbleheads. There will only be 1,200 of them so you can expect them to not be cheap on eBay. [Rays Rev]
- Virgil Vasquez actually has two broken wrists, suffered in a car accident. [St. Pete Times]
- Angela Jacobs has some quotes from John Jaso on his early success with the Rays. [10Connects.com]
- Rays now sit atop ESPN.com’s power rankings. [ESPN]
DOWN ON THE FARM…
- Check out “The Rundown” from Rays Prospects for boxscores and more detailed recaps. [Rays Prospects]
- DURHAM: Heath Rollins made his first start in place of the injured Virgil Vasquez. He allowed 4 runs in 4 innings…Fernando Perez was 1-5 with 3 strikeouts…Dan Johnson hit his league leading 8th home run…Hank Blalock started at third base and collected 2 more hits. He is now hitting .396 with a .455 OBP. Of his 19 hits, only 2 are for extra-bases.
- MONTGOMERY: Darin Downs pitched 5.2 shutout innings but was pulled after being hit in the leg by a comebacker…Nevin Ashley was 0-4.
- CHARLOTTE: Nick Barnese gave up 3 runs in 6 innings on 3 hits and a walk. He struck out 5…Isaias Velasquez went 4-5 with 3 stolen bases. He is now second in the FSL with 8 steals…Tim Beckham went 0-3 with 2 walks. He is just 4-39 (.103) to start the year…Matt Sweeney was 2-4.
- BOWLING GREEN: (no game scheduled)
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 03
The Red Sox have made a concerted effort this off-season to improve their run prevention. John Tomase of the Boston Herald says the Red Sox philosophical change can be traced back to a 14-5 loss to the Rays back in May.
The 14-5 defeat that afternoon against the Rays was mostly characterized as a poor showing from starter Jon Lester, who served up a two-run homer to Evan Longoria in the first inning and was chased in the fifth after allowing a career-high eight runs on 10 hits…The Sox knew better than to pin the loss on Lester. They knew that while the lefty hadn’t pitched his best, he didn’t lose that game. The gloves did.
Yikes. So now it is a $120 million payroll, one of the top farm systems in baseball and they now understand the value of run prevention.
Meanwhile, the Orioles are now implementing a plan similar to the one used by the Rays to compete in the AL East (thanks Amanda).
The Rays are screwed.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- The Rays have brought back Heath Phillips on a minor-league deal. Phillips, who made six appearances with the White Sox in 2007, was in the Rays organization in 2008, making 3 starts for Durham. He spent the 2009 season with the Royals’ triple-A club, making 25 starts and posting a 4.99 ERA.
- Wade Townsend has signed a minor-league deal with the Blue Jays. [Rays Prospects via Twitter]
- Joe Nelson, the Vulcan Tripod, has signed a minor-league deal with the Red Sox. [WEEI]
- Most have picked the Rangers, but for the third time in four years, the Rays have the top organizational talent according to Baseball America and their just-released “Prospect Handbook.” Marc Topkin also provides their list of the top 31 prospects. [The Heater]
- It is behind the pay wall, but Buster Olney looks at the Rays next wave of prospects and how important they are to the Rays continued success. [ESPN Insider]
- Rob Neyer discusses the Rays top prospects and how it is loaded with pitchers. Some of whom could be moved for a catcher, something sorely lacking in the system. [ESPN]
- One ranking in which the Rays are ahead of the Red Sox, is team nicknames. Of course, that is not saying much as the Sox are last and the Rays come in at #24. [The Hardball Times]
- The guy that wants to bring a baseball team to Orlando has dropped out of his congressional race to concentrate on his effort to bring a team to Orlando. [Shadow of the Stadium]
Aug 04
Indianapolis 6, Durham 2. Andy Sonnanstine gave up 3 runs in 6 innings for his first loss since being demoted. He allowed 9 hits while striking out 4 and walking none…Desmond Jennings went 0-3 but walked twice and stole his second base…Reid Brignac went 1-4 with a walk while Matt Joyce was 0-4. Joyce is now hitting .265/.355/.476 (.241/.286/.446 versus LHP).
Mississippi 3, Montgomery 0 (gm 1). Heath Rollins dropped to 9-10 after giving up 3 runs in 3 innings…Cody Cipriano was 0-3 with a strikeout.
Montgomery 3, Mississippi 2 (gm 2). Former starter Mike Wlodarczyk made the spot-start in the nightcap striking out 4 and walking none in 3 shutout innings. He allowed just one basehit…Cody Cipriano went 0-3 to finish the double-header hitless…Jose Lobaton started his second game since being picked up by the Rays and went 2-2 with a double and a walk.
Charlotte. No games scheduled
Bowling Green @ Savannah. (ppd. rain)
Hudson Valley 7, Brooklyn 0.
Princeton. No games scheduled
Notes from Down on the Farm…
- The Rays released Wade Townsend. Townsend was the Rays first round pick in 2005 but never pitched above double-A battling a series of injuries. His latest, Tommy John surgery, proved to be too much for Townsend to come back from…Wade was also a high school classmate of Mrs. Professor and my sister-in-laws. One question we could always count on when we got together for meals was “How is Wade doing?” and “When will he be in he majors?” So if you will excuse us, we have to go break the bad news. [The Heater]
Jul 22
Durham, Indianapolis. Jason Cromer held Indy to 1 run in 6 innings on 5 hits and 3 walks…Reid Brignac went 1-2 with 2 walks and his 4th steal…Matt Joyce returned to the lineup after a 1-game “suspension” for being ejected in the previous game, and went 0-4 with a strikeout.
Birmingham, Montgomery. Brian Baker worked into the 7th, but he gave up 7 runs on 9 hits and 2 walks…Desmond Jennings went 1-4 and Cody Cipriano was 0-4.
Lakeland 12, Charlotte 3. David Newmann got pounded for 10 runs (8 earned) in 4.1 innings…Shawn O’Malley went 1-4 with a walk…Shawn Riggans was 1-4 with a strikeout as the DH.
Bowling Green. (no games scheduled)
Williamsport 2, Hudson Valley 1.
Princeton 3, Elizabethton 2.
Notes from Down on the Farm…
- Jeremy Hellickson has been promoted to triple-A and will start on Friday. No word yet on who will replace Hellboy in the Montgomery rotation. [The Heater]
- So much for those rumors that Wade Townsend had retired. Townsend started yesterday for the GCL Rays and threw 1 innings, walking 1 and striking out 1. [Rays Prospects]
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2009_07_21_dubaaa_indaaa_1
Jun 24
Toledo 11, Durham 10 (13). Reid Brignac was 3-6…Matt Joyce was 0-7 with 2 strikeouts…Rhyne Hughes was 3-6 and hit a pair of home runs, driving in 4…Ray Sadler added a grand slam, his 9th home r4un.
Montgomery 1, Tennessee 0. Brandon Mann pitched 6.2 shutout innings, striking out 6 and walking none. He gave up 4 hits…Desmond Jennings was 0-2 with a walk.
Charlotte 7, St. Lucie 3. Alex Cobb struck out 6 and walked none in 5.1 innings and allowed just 1 run on 6 hits…Cody Cipriano was 3-4 and drove in 3 to raise his average to .312…Henry Wrigley drove in a pair and was 2-5.
Bowling Green. (no game scheduled)
Brooklyn 7, Hudson Valley 3. Glenn Gibson allowed 3 runs in 2 innings on 2 hits and 5 walks.
Princeton 2, Burlington 1 (10). Princeton won their opener on a Kyle Spraker single with 1 out in the bottom of the 10th…Jason McEachern pitched 5 shutout innings, striking out 4 and walking none.
Notes from Down on the Farm…
- Tim Beckham played in the SAL all-star game and went 3-5 with a triple and a run scored, but committed an error. Chris Andujar pitched 1 inning and gave up 3 runs. [MiLB]
- Rays Prospects noticed on CBS Sportsline that Wade Townsend may have retired…Still no official word from Wade or the Rays. [Rays Prospects]
Nov 17
Last week, we updated our Trade Value Index Top 50 in which we ranked the top 50 players in the organization based on value to the team. In our list, we had Evan Longoria at the top, followed by David Price, James Shields, BJ Upton, Scott Kazmir and Matt Garza. Considering talent, potential, age, position and contract status, which player do you think should have been #1?
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Last week we learned that Wade Townsend had suffered another injury that would derail the former first round pick for a good part of the ’09 season. Now, Joe Smith is reporting that Townsend had surgery on his right shoulder and will likely miss the entire season…Townsend will be 27 in 2010 with only 2 career starts above single-A. Last week we speculated that his career with the Rays was in jeopardy. This week we have to wonder if his career in baseball is in jeopardy. [The Heater]
- Aaron Sharockman of the St. Pete Times has a sobering report on the demographics of the Bay Area and how Tampa-St. Pete compares to other baseball markets and whether the area is a viable option for supporting a baseball team…In short, it is not impossible, but it is an uphill climb. [St. Pete Times]
- Last week, Rays Prospects did a nice job of analyzing the 2008 performances of the starting pitchers throughout the organization. This week they are back with the relief pitchers. Must reads if you follow the minor leaguers. [Rays Prospects]
- Tampa Bay Sports Blog has a list of 5 moves the Rays should make…We don’t have any issue with trading for Magglio Ordonez, but the Tigers better be picking up some of that contract or it won’t happen. [Tampa Bay Sports Blog]
- Another interview with the one writer that did not vote for Joe Maddon as Manager of the Year…We would have hated to see David Chalk’s reaction had Papa Joe not won the award. [Bugs and Cranks]
Nov 14
Some sobering news today. Via RaysProspects we learn that Wade Townsend has been shut down in the Arizona Fall League due to a shoulder injury that is expected to “sideline him for an indefinite period of time into 2009.”
This is a huge setback for Townsend, who will be 25 in February, and only has two starts above single-A. We can’t imagine he will be full strength again until 2010, when he will be 26 and likely back at single-A. The bitter irony is of course that Townsend suffered his first major injury in the Arizona Fall League back in 2005 when he blew out his elbow and needed Tommy John Surgery. We have to wonder if this latest injury will mark the end to Townsend’s career in the Rays organization.
On a personal level, this is especially difficult because Mrs. Professor and her sisters grew up with Wade and we have to deliver almost weekly reports on his progress to the in-laws. We are not looking forward to that part of dinner this weekend.
Rays Notes [RaysProspects]
Rays boast deepest system in Majors [MLB]
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- That story we posted yesterday about Evan Longoria and his offseason in Long Beach? Well, during the interview a waitress interrupted to tell Longoria that she would be attending an upcoming party hosted by Longoria. Thanks to some
stalking nifty interweb research by ‘Duk over at Big League Stew, we now know that the young lady in question, Paloma Soto-Castillo, was a contestant on the latest season of “Survivor”. And there is a picture…Is there anything Dirtbag can’t do well? Nice pull kid. [Big League Stew]
- Evan Longoria as Brad Pitt? Fine. But “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” as a “chick flick”? Not even close. Listen. We have no problem with “chick flicks”. They serve a purpose. Some are even good. We have over 300 DVDs and there are more than a few “chick flicks” in there that we would never admit to owning in public. The problem with “chick flicks” is the plot has to be very, very good. If the plot sucks, the movie has nothing to fall back on. On the other hand, take a typical guy movie. If the plot sucks, it is not the end of the world. There will still be explosions and car chases and aliens and girls in lingerie. In other words, there are plenty of distractions from a disastrous plot. And that is what “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” offers. Plenty of distractions. Love story? Sure. But there are enough explosions and gun fire to distract you from the sappy parts. Not to mention, the use of the song “Mondo Bongo” in the climatic fight scene is one of the great movie song/scene combinations ev-ER. Besides, can it be a “chick flick” if the filming led to one actor cheating on his wife? But we like where Her Rays is going with this. [Her Rays]
- MVN Outsider plays the role of Andrew Friedman and looks at a few moves the Rays should make this offseason. The big suggestion is trading Andy Sonnanstine and Chad Bradford for Andre Ethier…Not terrible, but the Rays would prefer to add a right-handed bat and would probably like to avoid an arbitration-eligible player that comes without cost-certainty. [MVN Outsider]
- David Chalk writes a guest piece over at Big League Stew breaking down the World Series odds for various teams in 2009 and let’s you know how stupid it would be to wager on the Yankees. Really, really, really stupid. [Big League Stew]
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]
May 16
Toledo 6, Durham 5. Chris Mason has yet to put together back-to-back strong outings. After throwing 5 shutout innings, his last time out, he was touched for 6 runs in 5.2 innings last night. He looked decent until the 6th inning, when he gave up 2 home runs…With runners on 2nd and 3rd in the 9th inning, Jon Weber went down looking to end the game…Dan Johnson continues to swing a hot stick. Last night he was 3-4 with 2 doubles and his 6th home run to go with 4 RBI. His 2-run home run in the 8th made it a 1-run game. Johnson has 6 home runs in just 70 AAA at bats as well as a 1.131 OPS…Reid Brignac was 2-4 with his 3rd stolen base.
Montgomery 8, Tennessee 7. Patrick Cotrell won it in the bottom of the 9th with a single that plated 2…Jake McGee allowed 4 runs (1 earned) in 5.1 innings. He struck out 3 and walked 1…Chris Nowak was 3-5 with his 3rd home run and 2 RBI…Rhyne Hughes added 2 singles and 2 RBI and Ronnie Merrill also added 2 hits in 4 at bats.
Palm Beach 5, Vero Beach 4. Ryan Morse allowed only 1 unearned run in 5 innings on 6 hits and 1 walk. He struck out 3…Cesar Suarez and JT Hall provided 2 hits and an RBI apiece.
Hickory 10, Columbus 2. Jason Ragan was pulled after allowing 7 runs (all unearned) in just 1.2 innings. He did allow 8 hits, but 3 errors in those 2 innings didn’t help…Henry Wrigley was 2-3 with his 3rd home run, a solo shot.
NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…
- Wade Townsend has been demoted to high-A Vero Beach…Townsend, who has adjusted his mechanics to avoid further injuries, had just been inserted into the Montgomery rotation, but was knocked around in his last start. On the season, he had posted a 7.66 ERA in 13 appearances with a 17-to-17 strike out to walk ratio. [Biscuits Batter]
