An interesting situation is developing in Durham, that is worth keeping an eye on...

Dan Johnson has started the last two games for the Durham Bulls at third base. Johnson, who leads the International League in OBP (.422) and OPS (.969), has only played first base and DH since being drafted in 2001 by the A's. Joel Guzman, the Bulls regular third baseman started both games at shortstop, a position he played exclusively his first three years as a pro in the Dodgers organization.

There is no official word as to why the move was made. Was the move done to make Johnson a third baseman, to return Guzman to shortstop or both? Reid Brignac is on the DL, and Guzman could be filling that vacancy. But the Bulls also have Ronnie Merrill, recently promoted from Montgomery and Elliot Johnson as two players better suited to play SS.

Johnson has shown signs he can be a decent major league hitter, with a career .344 OBP in 318 games, but many feel he does not hit well enough to be an everyday first baseman or DH, and he does not have enough positional flexibility to be a bench player in the majors.

With Evan Longoria on the DL and Willy Aybar filling in for the next few weeks at third base, adding the hot corner to Johnson's resume could make him more attractive to Joe Maddon as a bench option and spot-starter.

Also, a successful return to SS for Guzman, could give Maddon a better defensive backup at that position in the majors. Guzman has always shown strong defensive abilities, even at SS, despite being 6'6". He is hitting .248-19-68 (.277 OBP) in 111 games. Guzman has immense power, but has never developed command of the strikezone. This season he has 100 strikeouts and only 19 walks.

Complicating matters is the roster status of both players. Johnson is not on the 40-man roster. If Andrew Friedman does decide to promote Johnson, somebody would have to be removed from the roster. Of course, Friedman may also be attempting to increase the trade value of Johnson who would not have to clear waivers. As for Guzman, he will be out of minor league options in 2009. Therefore, he will either have to be on the Rays 25-man roster, traded or Designated for Assignment, effectively making him a free agent.

With only a couple of weeks remaining in the Bulls' schedule, this will be an interesting development to follow as the Rays could be setting up a future move with the major league roster.

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]
  

Durham 3, Charlotte 2. Dan Johnson homered in his first game with the Bulls.

Birmingham 4, Montgomery 2.

Brevard Co. 5, Vero Beach 1. Al Reyes started the game and pitched 1 perfect inning in his first rehab appearance.

Columbus 7, Charleston 4.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM...

• Nada
  

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

Yesterday: Tampa Bay Rays.

• The Good: In what might be the biggest series to date in the history of the franchise, the Rays played the best defense I have ever seen. The diving catches. The diving stops. Stops in the hole. Double plays. Nobody went for a potty break without calling time with a runner on third base....Joe Maddon's crystal ball that predicted Nathan Haynes would win the game in the 11th. Inexplicably Maddening Maddon pinch ran for Carlos Pena in the bottom of the 9th inning with a runner on third base ahead of Pena. Pena's run means nothing, so if Maddon was worried about Pena's recent leg issues, Pena did not have to run and he was in the DH slot so he didn't have to play the field. There was absolutely no reason to pinch-run there and yet Papa Joe proved he is smarter than all of us. Instead of having a top 10 MVP bat at the plate with a chance to win the game in the 11th, he went with his gut and put the game on the line with guy with an OBP near the Medoza line. And Haynes came through. I bow in awe to the genius that is Joe Maddon's crystal ball of wackiness.
  
• The Bad: Whiskey
  
• The Telling: The last time the Rays won 5 in a row was August 21, 2005. The winning pitchers in that streak were, Chad Orvella, Trever Miller, Seth McClung, Scott Kazmir and Casey Fossum. No shit.
  

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA...

• I love how Red Sox fans all of the sudden think it is their birthright to win. And boy do they not take well to losing to the "Devil Rays". [Tales From The Ballpark]
  
• Al Reyes will start a rehab assignment in the next day or two and will be back with the Rays next Thursday. Cliff Floyd will begin a rehab assignment next week and could rejoin the Rays on May 9th after their road trip. [Rays Report]
  
• In an interesting twist, Dan Johnson cleared waivers and accepted an assignment to AAA Durham. Not sure who has been dropped, but Durham has some changes to make as all the recent demotions from the Rays has left the Bulls with a very crowded roster. [Rays Report]
• Marc Lancaster says Evan Longoria is struggling against lefties. Dirtbag has an OPS of .951. I can't wait to see how well he hits once he figures out lefties. [Tampa Tribune]
  
• Jayson Stark looks a the lack of a long-term deal for BJ Upton and suggests that the Upton brothers may not be willing to sign at below market-value. [ESPN]
  

THE GOOD: With McScrappy on third base and two outs in the first, Jason Hammel got Vernon Wells to strike out to end the inning and avoid early trouble...Lots 'o goodies in Rays Rally in 6th inning with the Rays down 3-0. Opposite field lead-off double by Dioner Navarro, followed by another slap-hit to the right side by Jason Bartlett with Navi on second base. Carl Crawford had an RBI single one out later. BJ Upton walks on 4 pitches to load the bases. After a Carlos Pena strikeout, Evan Longoria goes opposite field with a great swing to tie game at 3. Pitch was in on his hands. Dirtbag kept his hands in and ahead of the barrel of the bat. Not easy. Eric Hinske followed with a one-handed wrister and just flipped the ball into right field for a 4-3 lead...Nice 5-4-3 to end the 7th with a great scoop by Carlos Pena...The bullpen was fantastic once again. 2 scoreless innings from Dan Wheeler and 3 scoreless overall...We guess we should file under "good" keeping Roy Halladay in the game in the 8th inning, down 4-3. He only had 96 pitches entering the inning, but had thrown 34 in the 6th inning alone. A Carl Crawford triple followed by a BJ Upton sac fly and the Rays had a huge bonus run to make it 5-3.

THE BAD: Jason Hammel versus Roy Halladay. Turned out OK last night, but that does not mean we will be too excited to see the same matchup in the future...Asshole Jays' TV announcer: "Jason Hammel has worked 20 innings this year and allowed only 1 home run." About 0.4 seconds later a ball off the bat of Matt Stairs is flying over the right field wall. In the bottom half of the same inning: "Well [Evan] Longoria has some pop in his bat. He showed it last night." About 0.2 seconds later Dirtbag grounds into a 5-4-3 double play...Jason Hammel walked 2 batters in the second with only one out. He got out of it...Joe Inglett stole second and third in 5th. Counts against Dioner Navarro in the stat sheet, but that is all Jason Hammel's fault. Anytime a runner steals third, it is almost always on the pitcher...Joe Maddon got lucky in the 8th inning. We wondered if maybe Trever Miller would get the 8th inning with Dan Wheeler coming on in the 7th inning. Seemed smart with Matt Stairs due up in 8th and already with 2 home runs. Instead, Papa Joe stuck with Wheeler in the 8th inning and Stairs just missed a home run to the opposite field that would have tied the game...The Jays broadcast network runs these idiotic 10 second commercials smack dad in the middle of innings. So fucking annoying. Your first reaction is, "What the hell happened? That was only the first out!" We cannot emphasize enough how annoying this is. It completely interrupts the flow of the game for the viewer.

THE TELLING: Dan Wheeler worked 2 innings last night and is probably not available to work tonight...Troy Percival might not be available either. He has worked the last two nights and his fastball was clearly not sharp last night touching only 88 on the gun after hitting 92-94 the night before. Joe Maddon may have to be careful how often he uses Percy on back-to-back nights in the future. We have no idea who Maddon would use in the 9th inning tonight. Trever Miller? Maybe Papa Joe is counting on another complete game from Andy Sonnanstine...Joe Maddon got caught with his pants down in the 7th inning. Not anticipating the Rays to take the lead in the bottom of the 6th, Dan Wheeler was not ready to go at the start of the 7th. Jason Hammel had to go out to the mound and pretend to be staying in the game while Wheeler got in a few more warmup pitches...Carlos Pena was back at first base...Only two teams in baseball are batting better than .300 with runners in scoring position and two outs, the Los Angeles Angels and the Tampa Bay Rays...Noticed on Carl Crawford's triple that he is running the bases batter this year. Crawford has mentioned in previous seasons that he hates "rounding" bases. He prefers to run straight to a base and make very sharp turns. He always felt that rounding bases was a waste of steps. Last night, CC took rounded approaches at first and second base. Looks like Dave Martinez finally got into CC's head when others could not...The Rays are now in 4th place and have won 2 in a row for the third time this season. They are yet to win 3 in a row.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• Wow. We predicted that Dan Johnson's stay in a Rays uniform would be short, but we didn't think it would be this short. To make room for the newly acquired Gabe Gross, the Rays DFA'd Johnson. To recap: Johnson's career with the Rays included one game, zero plate appearances. [The Heater]
• Joe Maddon has finally come to the realization that back-to-back-to-back lefties in the lineup is not necessarily a good thing and has recently altered the lineup accordingly. [MLB]
• Sorry, this one missed the "Down on the Farm" feature, but for our Y-Chromosome deficient readers, you might be happy to know that Wade Davis has made the list of hottest prospects at Ladies... [Ladies...]
  
• Rays Digest wonders if the Rays are stretching too far by reaching out to potential fans in Orlando. Their biggest piece of evidence is the empty seats from Tuesday night's game...It should be noted that the Rays were going head-to-head with an Orlando Magic playoff game. It is difficult to gauge exactly how much the impact is, but they probably should have waited to see how attendance was in game 2, which was up about 700 over game 1. While there were still empty seats last night, this is a town that is mad for the Magic right now. [Rays Digest]
• No surprise here...there appears to be a disagreement over how much parking would be available for Rays games at the proposed waterfront stadium. The Rays say plenty. The city of St. Pete says "don't count your parking spaces before they hatch" or something like that. [St. Pete Times]
  
• Apparently a Canadian likes to stereotype people from Orlando and calls the Rays stupid for trying to expand their fanbase. [The Heater]
• Shawn Riggans and JP Howell read to some Orlando-area school kids. A truly noble effort, but let's hope it went better than the Shawn Camp-Ruddy Lugo incident last year. [MLB]
  

THE GOOD: James Shields showed us that he is a winner last night. He struggled early without his best stuff and with shoddy defense behind him, but fought through it and still managed to give Joe Maddon 7 innings. For all the changes to the bullpen, the biggest reason the relief corps is better this year is because the starters are working deeper. Any bullpen will be better if it only needs to throw 2 innings instead of 3-4...And last night wasn't any different. Shields handed the ball off in the 8th to Dan Wheeler (a role we expect he will keep once Al Reyes comes off DL) and then Troy Percival in the 9th. The two combined for 2 perfect innings...Eric Hinske continues to swing a hot bat, only this time it was against his former team and went to the tune of a double, triple and home run...Dioner Navarro added 3 hits in his return. We still can't get over Navi. Nobody hits more line drives. And nobody hits the ball softer than Navi...Jason Bartlett finally did something productive with the bat, executing a perfect hit-and-run with Dioner Navarro running from second base.

THE BAD: James Shields walking the first two batters of the second inning, followed by the play that led to the Jays first run. On the play the Rays were only charged with 2 errors, but there should have been three plus a couple of mental errors. A ground ball to Eric Hinske's right was bobbled after the runner on first distracted Hinske. Hinske then tried to backhand the ball to Shields covering first and missed him by 10 feet with the ball rolling towards the plate. For some reason, with a runner now on 3rd, Dioner Navarro left home to retrieve the ball. Shields sprints home to cover the plate. Throw from Navi was in time, but Shields dropped it.

THE TELLING: The Rays are now 4-0 all-time in Orlando...The Rays are 2-1 this season during our Live Blog-A-Baloos and 7-10 in all other games. Just Sayin'...The Rays need to sweep the Jays to get out of the cellar of the AL East and reach .500.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• We commented on this last night during the Blog-A-Baloo, but the Rays traded for Gabe Gross from the Brewers, giving up single-A pitcher Josh Butler. Butler was the Rays 2nd round pick in the 2006 draft. Gross is a left-swinging outfielder that can play all three outfield spots...While Justin Ruggiano will likely be the first player to go, this move probably marks the end of the Nathan Haynes-era. Andrew Friedman announced during the game last night that the Rays had been talking to the Brewers about Gross since Spring Training. [Tampa Tribune]
• Outs Per Swing sees the Rays crowded outfield and wonders if the Rays should trade Eric Hinske while the value is at its peak...We say yes. [Outs Per Swing]
  
• Through 19 games the Rays have the best bullpen in baseball. Trever Miller says that the biggest reason is they are not walking anybody. [Bradenton Herald]
  
• New Ray Dan Johnson suffered from an infection in the spring that caused him to lose 30 pounds. He has since gained most of it back. [Bradenton Herald]
• Marc Lancaster notes that Dan Johnson's injury history is quite extensive. [San Francisco Chronicle via Rays Report]
  
• While the Orlando Magic playoff game may have affected attendance, the Rays could not have been happy with the non-sellout or that a large portion of the crowd was not Orlando residents. [Orlando Sentinel]
• Brittany Ghiroli takes a look at the "Green" practices of the Tampa Bay Rays and notes the team will continue to make a commitment to environmental sustainablity after Earth Day. [MLB]
  
• The Serious Tip thinks they have figured out why Andy Sonnanstine has struggled at times this season...He's is jinxed. [The Serious Tip]
  
• A couple of new renderings of the proposed waterfront stadium, with one that apparently gives a reference to how big the new stadium will be compared to existing structures. [The Heater]
• Matt Silverman and Joe Maddon were set to attend the Bruce Springsteen concert in Tampa on Monday but missed it after the show was postponed until Tuesday. [Orlando Sentinel]
  

THE GOOD: The Bullpen? Are we the only ones that think a huge bullpen implosion is just waiting to happen? Yesterday, four relievers combined for 4.2 innings, 3 hits, 1 walk and no runs, while striking out 5. The bullpen now has an ERA of 2.70, a number that is unfathomable for a Tampa Bay relief corps.

THE BAD: Edwin Jackson's last two starts. Since pitching shutout ball for 8, 2-hit innings against the M's, Nuke has allowed 11 runs on 11 hits and 7 walks in 9.1 innings. That line looks an awful lot like the '07 Jackson...The offense. 9 strikeouts and ZERO walks. After Sunday's shutout, their second of the year, the Rays have now been held to 2 runs or less in 6 games.

THE TELLING: Since the 4th game of the year the Rays are averaging only 4.2 runs per game. The offense is supposed to be catching up to the pitchers not losing ground...The Rays are now 2-5 in their last 7 and 5-10 in their last 15...The Rays have used 5 people in right field but so far they haven't been too terrible. So far Rays right fielders have hit .281-4-9 with an .854 OPS. Delmon Young is hitting .236-0-6 with an .559 OPS...Jonny Gomes is hitting .304/.429/.565 versus right handed pitchers.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• The Rays finally added Dan Johnson to the 25-man roster with Jeff Niemann being optioned to Durham giving Justin Ruggiano a stay of demotion until Matt Garza is promoted on Friday to start that night. With the off-day, Andy Sonnanstine will move a spot and make the start on Thursday. Marc Topkin also suggested that Mike DiFelice will be DFA'd on Tuesday to make room for Dioner Navarro. [The Heater]
• Rays of Light questions the move of adding Dan Johnson, noting that he adds less flexibility to the roster, not more...We have to agree that the Rays won't be printing any Dan Johnson jerseys as his tenure with the Rays is likely to be a short one. Look for Johnson to be DFA'd once people start returning from injuries. [Rays of Light]
• MLB Trade Rumors has a bunch of links and discussion on the Evan Longoria deal. [MLB Trade Rumors]
  
• Fanhouse thinks the new deal for Evan Longoria is a bad deal for the Rays because of the risk that Longoria will be a bust. We don't have a link, but if you go back and look at the top hitting prospects in Baseball America's annual lists you will see that hitting prospects almost never bust. The worst they become is usually an average player. Pitching prospects on the other hand bust all the time. This is a great deal for the Rays. [Fanhouse]
• Portfolio.com wonders if the Evan Longoria and Troy Tulowitzki deals signal an end to baseball's mega-deals...That may be a little extreme considering the Mets just gave Johan Santana $137.5 million. [Portfolio.com]
  
• Rays Digest wonders if the Rays would be interested in Frank Thomas...Thomas is angry and he would very likely welcome another AL East suitor for a chance to play the Jays 18-19 times this season. And he is sufficiently motivated to resume his role as the "Big Hurt". He would also certainly be cheap as the Jays are still paying his $8 million salary this year. Still, we have to wonder how Thomas fits with the Rays who already have Cliff Floyd and Jonny Gomes at DH. Thomas is less of a fielder than Barry Bonds. And is Thomas really that much better than Floyd? [Rays Digest]
• Beyond the Boxscore also takes a look at the Rays as one of several potential suitors for Frank Thomas. [Beyond the Boxscore]
  
• We love that the Yankees super-duo of Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes is struggling so far this year. As much time as we spend in New York, it was starting to reach ludicrous levels this off-season with Yankees fans and Red Sox fans fighting over which team had the best rotation in baseball. And time after time, Yankees fans would talk about Kennedy and Hughes as if they were locks to win 17-20 games this season. [Baseball Musings]
  
• Our new friends at Hugging Harold Reynolds are having a fundraiser to try and get enough money to "hire" the real Harold Reynolds to blog at their site. [Hugging Harold Reynolds]
• One blogger compares Stuart Sternberg to Barack Obama, both beacons of change. [The Year Is Coming]

Now, if Obama could be as successful turning our country around as Sternberg and Matthew Silverman (president/GM) has been turning the Devil Rays around, I wouldn’t be surprised if within three years, we all have global health care and Iraq has a settled, stable government.

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

The Good: Andy Sonnanstine. The End.

The Bad: Baserunning. The End.

The Telling: I don't know if you have ever had an opportunity to watch a White Sox broadcast, but if not, you should put that on your bucket list. There has never been a bigger pair of homerific broadcasters. At times it is painful and at times it is just downright hillarious. It is very rare for Hawk Harrelson to ever admit that another team actually beat the White Sox. 99% of the time the White Sox lost the game. Last night was as close as it ever gets. They repeatedly talked about how Andy Sonnanstine's performance was the best they had seen this season. But they couldn't give all the credit to the Rays. They also repeatedly spoke about how the White Sox "just gave the Rays 3 runs in the second"..."just gave it to them".

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA...

• Dan Johnson is supposed to be with the Rays today. Still not sure who is being demoted, although if I were Justin Ruggiano I would go ahead and start packing...Jason Bartlett says he is batting a sore shoulder which is affecting his throws. So basically, both players that came over from the Twins were damaged goods. Nice...Carlos Pena was the DH last night and will be again today. [The Heater]
  
• John Donovan has a more realistic Power Ranking with the Rays at #20. [SI.com]
• Rays Digest takes a closer look at one of the Rays big surprises this year, JP Howell as a welcome addition to the bullpen. [Rays Digest]
  

[Update 4:24 PM] Marc Lancaster is reporting that Calvin Medlock has been designated for assignment to clear room for Johnson on the 40-man roster. However, there is still no word on who is being dropped from the 25-man roster although Justin Ruggiano seems like the obvious choice. Lancaster also notes that Carlos Pena will not be going on the DL. Medlock came from the Reds in the Jorge Cantu trade.

The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that the Tampa Bay Rays have claimed Dan Johnson off of waivers from the Oakland A's.

Johnson, a first baseman and DH, hit .236/.349/.418 with 18 home runs in 117 games last season.

With Carlos Pena nursing a sore hamstring, he could get the start at first base for the next few days and afterwards he will likely DH against right handed pitchers.

This is a very interesting move for the Rays and more evidence that the team has switched gears towards a win-now philosophy. With Eric Hinske, Cliff Floyd, Willy Aybar and Pena already providing left-handed bats for first base and DH, this signing appears to just be a short-term fix until Floyd and Aybar return from the DL. Afterwards it is hard to imagine that there will be room on the roster for Johnson.

No word yet on who will be removed from the 25-man roster to make room for Johnson.

Tampa Bay Claims Johnson [San Francisco Chronicle]
Dan Johnson claimed by the Rays [Rays Report]