Saturday, August 16, 2008

[DOWN ON THE FARM]
Dan Johnson Leads The IL In OBP And OPS
Durham 6, Indianapolis 5. Nathan Haynes singled home the tying run in the top of the 9th and then scored the go-ahead run on a sac fly by Jon Weber...Jeff Niemann struck out 6 and walked 6 in 4.2 innings, allowing 2 hits and 5 runs. He also hit a batter. The big blow was a bases loaded double in the second inning after Niemann had walked the bases loaded. Niemann has now walked 16 batters in his last 20.2 innings pitched...Chris Richard was 2-5 with a double and a home run. He drove in 3...John Jaso added his 3rd home run since being promoted from Montgomery...Fernando Perez stole his 39th base. He is 4th in the IL in steals...Dan Johnson was 2-5 and leads the IL with a .969 OPS and .422 OBP.

Jacksonville 7, Montgomery 3. James Houser made his first start in a month and was limited to 1.1 innings, walking 3 and giving up 1 hit and a run...Ryan Reid pitched 2 perfect innings of relief with 2 Ks...JT Hall hit a solo home run.

Jupiter 7, Vero Beach 5. Brandon Mann struck out 8 in 5 innings, but allowed 6 runs on 6 hits and 4 walks. He gave up 3 home runs...Hector Gimenez hit a 2-run home run for the D-Rays.

Columbus 3, Hagerstown 2 (13). Jesse Darcy struck out 5 and walked none in 6 innings, allowing 2 runs (1 earned). He is 12th in the SAL in ERA (3.12)...Henry Wrigley was 4-5 with 2 doubles and a walk, while Maiko Loyola finished 1-5 with a double, walk and his 41st stolen base. He is now 4th in the SAL in steals.

Hudson Valley 7, Oneonta 2.

Bristol 6, Princeton 1 (gm 1). Tim Beckham went 0-3 with a strikeout.

Bristol 15, Princeton 2 (gm 2). Tim Beckham went 0-3 with a walk.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM
...
  • James Houser who missed the last month with minor knee surgery has been activated. [Biscuits' Batter]
  • The Pirates were able to sign Pedro Alvarez to a minor league deal afterall, with a $6 million signing bonus, just short of Tim Beckham's deal for $6.15 million. [USA Today]
  • Buster Posey, another player the Rays apparently considered with the top pick signed for $6.2 million. His deal was also a minor league deal...We could be wrong but the only draftee that we know of that received a major league deal was LHP Brian Matusz with the Orioles #4 pick. [San Francisco Chronicle]

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Friday, June 06, 2008

[RULE 4 DRAFT]
Recapping The First Day Of The Draft
THE GOOD: The consensus seem to be that the Rays took the player with the best chance to be a superstar in the big leagues, in Tim Beckham.

THE BAD: Can somebody please explain to us why Tim Beckham was wearing an old Devil Rays' cap after he was drafted? And apparently Mr. Beckham needs to work on his telephone interview skills.

THE TELLING: While people differ on what kind of bat Tim Beckham has, most seem to agree that he is already at or near major league caliber defensively.

The question then becomes: How does this selection affect the future of Reid Brignac? There were already questions over his future with the gold clove-caliber defense of Jason Bartlett now manning the shortstop position for the Rays at the big league level. Bartlett, who will be arbitration-eligible for the first time this off-season, is still under the Rays control for the next three seasons. While Brignac certainly is better offensively, there are concerns over inserting him next season considering much of the Rays emergence is due to the improved defense and the chemistry between Bartlett and Aki Iwamura.

Beckham is expected to move quickly through the minors, even as a high school draftee. It is not out of the realm of possibilities that he will be ready for the big leagues by the end of 2010. It seems more than likely that the Rays will stick with Bartlett for the next 2+ seasons until Beckham is ready to make the jump.

So then the next question is: What happens to Reid Brignac? Brignac who is now considered an above-average defensive shortstop may have to move to a new position (right field?) if he is to make his break with the Rays. Otherwise, Brignac's future may lie with another organization.

DRAFT WEBTOPIA...
  • Baseball America says that when push came to shove, the Rays drafted the player with the best ability. [Baseball America]
  • Minor League Ball says that the Rays 5th round pick, Jason Christian Michael Sheriden, a college first baseman, could be a sleeper. [Minor League Ball]
  • Andrew Friedman commented on reports that the Rays steered away from Buster Posey because of his pre-draft demands for a $12 million guaranteed contract. [Rays Report]
“That had zero factor in our decision,” he said. “We’re confident that whoever we would have taken, with the size of the check we were going to go to the table with that we’d be able to sign whoever we took. Look, everyone makes different demands leading up to the draft – even second-rounders, third-rounders. We trust our process and our ability to get players signed and the relationships that our area [scouts] have made with the players. It had zero factor for us.”
  • The Rays hope to sign Beckham quickly. Marc Lancaster speculates it will take longer than the agreement reached with Evan Longoria but shouldn't take nearly as long as the deal with David Price which went right down to the August 15th deadline. Lancaster notes that the Rays will move more quickly with Beckham not being a pitcher as innings thrown is not a concern. Last year, the Rays did not want to add any more innings to Price's arm after his college season. [Rays Report]
  • Marc Topkin has reactions from the Rays and from Tim Beckham. [St. Pete Times]
  • Today the Rays drafted Tim Beckham's older brother, Jeremy Beckham, a second baseman from Georgia Southern University. [Rays Report]

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Thursday, June 05, 2008

[2008 RULE 4 DRAFT]
Rays To Pick Beckham After Posey Makes $12MM Demand
Word is starting to leak out that the Tampa Bay Rays will select high school shortstop Tim Beckham with the top pick in the draft. It had been thought that the Rays were deciding between Beckham and Florida State catcher Buster Posey.

Many will say that the decision was based on drafting talent over the need for catchers in the organization. However, the decision may have been made based on contract demands

Baseball Prospectus is reporting
that the Rays were leaning towards drafting Posey, but switched to Beckham because of Posey's demand for a $12 million contract.
Late this evening, multiple sources have indicated as to Buster Posey’s draft-eve asking price, and it’s a doozy at $12 million. Right now, that looks like more than enough to make up the Rays mind, and they’ll likely be taking Tim Beckham unless that number reverses dramatically in the next 12 hours.
Last year, David Price received $8.5 million in guaranteed money and he is a left-handed pitcher with Ace potential. Posey is a catcher that projects to hit 20 home runs in the big leagues. $12 million? Kids these days...smokin' way to much ganga.

Rays will make Beckham top pick [Rays Report]
D-Rays On Beckham (or, Money Changes Everything) [Baseball Prospectus]

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2 comments

[DOWN ON THE FARM]
Power Struggle Within Rays Over Posey Or Beckham
Richmond 8, Durham 1. Chris Mason dropped to 2-6 after allowing 5 runs in 5.1 innings on 10 hits and no walks. He struck out 6...Reid Brignac had 2 of the Bulls 5 hits in 4 at bats.

Montgomery 10, Carolina 2. Richard de los Santos gave up 2 runs in 7 innings and evened his record at 5-5.

Jupiter 12, Vero Beach 1. Brandon Mann allowed 2 runs in 7 innings on 8 hits and 1 walk. He struck out 6...Wade Townsend faced 6 batters in relief and all 6 reached base on 3 hits and 3 walks. All 6 would eventually score....Matt Fields and Nevin Ashley were each 2-4.

Columbus 2, Savannah 0. Making just his 4th start of the season Jesse Darcy struck out 7 in 6 shutout innings. He allowed 3 hits and no walks. His K-to-walk ratio is now 42-to-5....Greg Sexton had 1 of the Catfish' 3 hits and 1 of the 2 RBI.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM
...
  • Baseball America says the Rays have narrowed their choice down to Tim Beckham and Buster Posey, with indications of a bit of disagreement within the organization on who to select. [Baseball America]
While Vandy third baseman Pedro Alvarez ranked first on BA’s draft board, he’s about third on Tampa’s board, according to industry sources. The top spot remains undecided. According to BA’s sources, the Rays’ scouting department prefers Georgia prep shortstop Tim Beckham, the kind of toolsy, middle-of-the-diamond athlete the Rays have drafted repeatedly—the kind of athletes that have put the Rays in first place in the American League East as the draft approaches. Others in the organization, such as de facto GM Andrew Friedman, are said to prefer Florida State catcher Buster Posey as the perfect complement to the organization’s impressive current stockpile of talent.
  • Eduardo Morlan, who is out with a sore shoulder threw in extended spring training, but his velocity was not as expected so he will stay a little longer. [Biscuits Batter]

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Wednesday, June 04, 2008

[THE HANGOVER]
Sox Dared Garza To Throw Strike-One; Garza Doesn't Deliver


THE GOOD: Say what you will about Aki Iwamura, but this guy was born to hit in Fenway Park. His first at bat of the game was a typical Aki flyball to left field, only in Fenway that is a leadoff home run. Aki would hit 50 doubles if he played for the Sox. Let's hope he doesn't figure that out after his playing days with the Rays ends...Carlos Pena had 10 home runs at the end of May in '07. He had 10 home runs after May in '08. He got his first of June last night on a ball that looked like it was off the end of the bat and yet kept going for a 2-run shot that gave the Rays a 4-3 lead in the 6th...Grant Balfour and Gary Glover who may be battling for a roster spot over the next week-plus, both pitched and pitched well. They combined for 2.2 scoreless innings of relief with 1 hit and 1 walk. Balfour did allow one inherited runner to score on a sac fly.

THE BAD: Matt Garza. It is all about command in the strike zone for Garza and last night he did not have it. Of his 96 pitches, only 55 were strikes. And amazingly he only threw 8 first-pitch strikes to the 26 batters he faced (31%). In his last start in which he struck out 10, he was strike-one to 23 of 30 batters (77%). This is especially important against a patient veteran team like the Sox. They are just going to sit back and wait for Garza to throw a strike, knowing there is a good chance he won't. Of the 26 batters that Garza faced, only 3 swung at the first pitch, and one of those was JD Drew's 4th inning home run. They were just begging The Garza Complex to get ahead 0-1 and he couldn't do it.

THE TELLING: With Carl Crawford on the bench, Papa Joe Maddon had Dioner Navarro batting in the 2-hole, and Eric Hinske in left field.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...
  • This weeks Rays Index Live Blog-A-Baloo will indeed be held tomorrow (Thursday) night. And don't forget that it is an early 6:05 start time, so be sure to make your beer run early.
  • Don't forget to VOTE for Carl Crawford to start the all-star game. If you haven't voted yet today, go NOW! [MLB All-Star Voting]
  • Carl Crawford was not in the starting lineup as he flew to Birmingham, AL to visit Dr. James Andrews to have an MRI on his sore hamstring. There was no structural damage, and CC flew back and was used as a pinch-hitter later in the game. [MLB]
  • With no David Ortiz in the lineup it would be tempting to just walk Manny Ramirez every at bat. But Joe Maddon says he will wait and see how the rest of the Sox lineup is hitting before making any decisions. [Boston Herald]
  • Another power ranking has the Rays rated #1. This one is a bit different in that it is statistically driven, which seems like a good way of revealing the teams that have been lucky or unlucky so far this season. [WhatIfSports]
  • Some blogger apparently stopped playing World of Warcraft long enough to comment on the Rays having better odds to win the AL East than the Yankees. [Sports Crackle Pop]
  • The Rays just started a rather tough stretch of games. [St. Pete Times]
  • Saber Scouting is split on whether the Rays will take Buster Posey or Tim Beckham with the first pick tomorrow. [Saber Scouting]

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Tuesday, June 03, 2008

[DIONER NAVARRO]
Dioner Navarro Is Heading For A Historic Season
Earlier today we took Steve Henson behind the woodshed for referring to Dioner Navarro as a "middling" catcher and for suggesting that if the Rays have any interest in winning, they should draft Buster Posey. A little voice in our head kept telling us that we we weren't doing Navi enough justice in our evaluation. So we dug a little deeper.

Heading into tonight's game, Navarro has an OPS of .831 (.391 OBP + .440 SLG). That seems pretty good, but we wanted to know exactly how good that is for a young catcher.

In the expansion era (since 1961) only 11 catchers posted an OPS higher than .831 in their age-24 season or younger. The list is a who's who of modern catchers...

If we look at adjusted OPS (OPS+; OPS adjusted for park and league; 100 is league average), Navi's 131 would be in even more rarefied air...

There are quite a few Hall-of-Famers and near-Hall-of-Famers on those lists. But hey, maybe Steve Henson thinks Johnny Bench, Mike Piazza, Carlton Fisk, Joe Torre and Gary Carter were "middling" catchers also.

[Ed. note: when running this through Baseball-Reference's "Play Index" we only included catchers that had enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting crown. If we removed that restriction, the only difference in both lists is the addition of Brian McCann's '06 campaign (age 22), in which he was 10 plate appearances short of qualifying. He would be #1 on the first list with a .960 OPS and #5 on the second list with 143 OPS+]

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[RULE 4 DRAFT]
Steve Henson Projects First Round And Make Zero Sense
Steve Henson of Yahoo! Sports projects the first round of the upcoming baseball draft and predicts that the Tampa Bay Rays will select Buster Posey, the catcher from Florida State. Of course his reasoning is a little screwy...
1. Tampa Bay Rays – Buster Posey, C (Florida State): All of a sudden the Rays are a team with aspirations of winning now, and Posey – a converted shortstop – is an advanced player who could take the job from middling incumbent catcher Dioner Navarro by 2010.
Ahhh. So drafting Posey will help the Rays win "now" even though he won't be ready for the big leagues until 2010.

And apparently Henson believes that Navarro is an average catcher. First of all, Navi is only 24 years old. Most 24-year old catchers are still in AA and yet Navi is in his 5th season in the majors, which explains his slow development. But he is far from "middling" any longer. Since the All-Star break last season Navarro is hitting .313/.370/.461 with an OPS of .831, all while playing better-than-average defense. Did we mention he is only 24?

If somebody wants to argue that the Rays need catchers in the system because outside of Navi, there are very few, if any, options...that is an argument. But to say the Rays need to draft a catcher to win now, just shows that a writer only needs 36 words to sound like an idiot.

MLB first-round projections [Yahoo! Sports]

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2 comments

Sunday, June 01, 2008

[DOWN ON THE FARM]
Talent Or Need? Posey Or Alvarez? Rays Undecided?
Pawtucket 14, Durham 7. Jeff Niemann gave up 10 runs in 4.2 innings including 4 home runs. Jon Weber, Justin Ruggiano and Elliot Johnson homered for the Bulls. Reid Brignac was 1-3 with his 20th double.

Carolina 7, Montgomery 6. Chris Nowak and Gabby Martinez homered for the Biscuits. Martinez' shot was a grand slam. Mike Prochaska gave up 6 runs in 5 innings.

Brevard Co. 3, Vero Beach 2. Jeremy Hellickson took his first loss of the season and drops to 5-1 after giving up 3 runs in 6 innings. He struck out 5 and walked 1.

Greenville 6, Columbus 2.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM
...
  • Jeremy Hellickson spoke to his hometown newspaper, and said he is hoping for an all-star break promotion. [Des Moines Register]
  • James Houser is battling a knee injury and will be skipped the next time through the Biscuits rotation. [Biscuits Batter]
  • The Sporting News previews the MLB Draft. Gerry Fraley says that one NL Executive says that RJ Harrison is being pressured to select Buster Posey suggesting that the Rays are more concerned about drafting need over talent. This goes against everything the Rays have ever said about the draft process, so it will be interesting to see if the Rays do pass on a more talented player. [The Sporting News]
  • However, DRays Bay has a quote from RJ Harrison that suggests that he prefers Pedro Alvarez. [DRays Bay]
  • According to Marc Lancaster the Rays have not even narrowed down the top pick, having spent more time trying to figure out who will be available in the second round and beyond. [Tampa Tribune]

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Saturday, May 31, 2008

[DOWN ON THE FARM]
Please Don't Draft Posey
Durham 10, Pawtucket 6.

Chattanooga 4, Montgomery 0.

Vero Beach 6, Brevard Co. 2.

Greenville 6, Columbus 3.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM
...
  • Desmond Jennings, who had yet to play this season, has been participating in extended spring games and could be activated today or tomorrow. [Biscuits Batter]
  • No surprise here. King David Price makes the weekly installment of Baseball America's "Prospect Hot Sheet". Unfortunately, Glenn Gibson makes the "Who's Not" list. [Baseball America]
After making his much-anticipated debut on May 22, Price came out for his second start and beat a three-time Cy Young Award winner. Martinez praised Price's performance and ability after watching him fan nine guys and allow just two hits. On the season, he is now 2-0, 0.00 in 11 innings with 13 strikeouts, one walk and five hits. At this rate, Price won't be in the Florida State League for long.
  • Might the Rays actually draft a 'nole? Oh god, please no. [ESPN]
  • Baseball America says Tim Beckham is the bestest in the land! Or Pedro Alvarez who comes in at #2. Buster Posey is only #4 on their list. Listen to them. They are smart. [Baseball America]

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Sunday, May 18, 2008

[DOWN ON THE FARM]
Posey And Beckham Ranked 1-2 By John Sickels
Durham 8, Charlotte 4. Jeremy Cummings won his 2nd game in 2 starts. He gave up 2 runs in 5 innings. Fernando Perez, Justin Ruggiano and Chris Richard sparked the offense with 3 hits each. Richard had 2 home runs and srove in 5.

Montgomery 2, Tennessee 1. Rhyne Hughes scored the game-winner in the 9th on an error. James Houser started for the Biscuits and only allowed 1 run in 6 innings, despite walking 4.

Vero Beach 11, Palm Beach 3. Brandon Mann improved to 2-3 despite being roughed up for 10 hits and a walk in 6 inning. 3 runs scored. Chuck Tiffany pitched 1 inning and didn't allow a run, but did surrender a hit and 2 walks. Garret Groce, Ryan Royster and Nevin Ashley each added 3 hits. Royster drove in 3.

Augusta 2, Columbus 1 (10 inn.). Augusta took the win on a wild pitch by Travis Barnett in the 10th...Alex Cobb started and worked 6 innings, allowing 1 run, striking out 3. Mike McCormick went 2-4 to raise his average to .221.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM
...
  • John Sickels ranks the Top 30 prospects available in this year's draft. He has Buster Posey #1 and Tim Beckham #2. [Minor League Ball]

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Wednesday, May 14, 2008

[DOWN ON THE FARM]
Potential Top Pick Screams 'Look At Me, Look At Me!'
Durham 5, Toledo 3. Jeremy Cummings picked up the win in his first start for the Bulls, throwing 6 shutout innings. He stuck out 4 and walked 4...Grant Balfour earned his 6th save, striking out 4 in 2 innings...Justin Ruggiano was 2-3 with a 3-run home run, his 4th...Dan Johnson was 4-4 and is now hitting .317.

Mississippi 2, Montgomery 1. Richard de los Santos only gave up 3 hits and 2 walks in 7 innings, but picked up the loss...Sergio Pedroza was the only Biscuit with more than 1 hit. He was 2-2 with a walk.

Vero Beach 1, St. Lucie 0. Heath Rollins finally picked up his 2nd win, throwing 7 shutout innings, on 2 hits and 1 walk. He struck out 6...Joey Callender drove on the only run with a sac fly.

Hickory 7, Columbus 5. Glenn Gibson dropped to 1-5 after allowing 3 runs in 5 innings on 7 hits and 3 walks...Emeel Salem was 2-5 with his 24th stolen base...Maiko Loyola was 2-5 with his 18th steal...Greg Sexton was 2-5 with an RBI.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM
...
  • Potential #1 pick by the Rays in the June draft, Buster Posey, played all 9 positions in a 7 inning game...No offense. Wait. Yes, take offense. This is friggin' ridiculous. The just screams, "Look at *me* do something ridunculous against a weak Savannah State squad. This is NOT the type of player the Rays want in their system. And this has only a little to do with DRG's anti-FSU bias. This is really a little league/Bush league move, unless of course the Rays draft this kid, in which case it was friggin' awesome! [Biscuits Batter]
  • OK. It has been a while since we ragged on Bill Chastain, so we will keep this minor. But to say "David Price is close to resuming his season" is kinda ridiculous, no? We mean, doesn't "resume" mean it had already started once. And in fact, Price will not only be making his 2008 debut but his professional debut. Of course, there is the little fact that the team is still not ready to schedule the #1 pick for his debut, saying only that he will make another extended spring training start later this week. Oh, Bill, where have you been? We missed you. [MLB]
  • Jeremy Cummings got the win last night for Durham after starting the week in China. [Durham Herald-Sun]

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10 comments

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

[DOWN ON THE FARM]
Evan Meek Likely Headed Back To Rays' Organization
Durham 9, Syracuse 1. Ben Hendrickson improved to 3-2 with 5 shutout innings. He allowed 2 hits and 2 walks and struck out 2...Juan Salas relieved Hendrickson and pitched 2 scoreless innings...Reid Brignac was 3-4 with his 10th double and 2 RBI. He is now hitting .258. He also stole his 2nd base...The Bulls hit 3 home runs, including dingers from Hector Gimenez (2), Elliot Johnson (1), who also had 4 RBI and Jeremy Owens (2).

Mississippi 5, Montgomery 4. Steve Andrade blew a 4-2 lead in the 9th inning, giving up 3 runs after losing his grasp of the strike zone. With 1st and 3rd and 2 outs, Andrade balked home the first run. He then intentionally walked one batter and then hit the next to load the bases. He then walked in the tying and go-ahead runs...James Houser started and had his own control issues. In 5 innings he walked 4 but only allowed 1 run. He gave up 3 hits and struck out 3...Rhyne Hughes was 2-4 with 2 RBI and his first steal of the year.

Vero Beach 1, St. Lucie 0 (13). Neil Walton singled with the bases loaded and no outs to break a 0-0 tie in the bottom of the 13th. He finished 2-6...Brandon Mann had his best start of the season, throwing 7 shutout innings, with only 3 hits and no walks. He struck out 5...Garrett Groce was 0-5 with 4 strike outs...Chase Fontaine added 2 singles in 3 at bats.

Columbus 6, Hickory 4. Alex Cobb picked up his 6th win on the young season, his 4th straight W. He struck out 5 and walked 3, allowing 2 runs in 5 innings on 4 hits...Greg Sexton hit his 2nd home run, a 2-run shot. He now has 24 RBI...Reid Fronk went 3-4, while Maiko Loyola added 2 hits in 3 at bats and his 17th steal...Emeel Salem was 1-4.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM
...
  • Sounds like Rule 5 draftee Evan Meek will be returned to the Rays. The Pirates have been trying to work out a trade with the Rays after removing Meek from their active roster, but the Pirates GM does not sound optimistic about getting a deal done. [MLB]
  • One website is tracking several MLB mock drafts. The most common pick for the Rays to date is Tim Beckham, who is the choice for the #1 pick in 5 of the 11 mocks. Buster Posey is the pick in 2 drafts and a total of 5 different players are represnted in the mock drafts. [DC Pro Sports Report]

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Sunday, May 11, 2008

THE SUNDAY MORNING REVOLUTION:
Scott Kazmir Rediscovers His Confidence


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]

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