Feb 09
My dad (Prof’s Pop) is a graduate of the Naval Academy (Class of ‘68). He passed along this note for any other Navy alum in the Bay Area…
NAVY ALUMNI: Join us FRIDAY evening MAY 14th VS Seattle Mariners. Last year we witnessed the largest comeback in Rays history vs the Cleveland Indians. Need minimum of forty (40) attendees to get the group rate ($40 last yr).
Don Coughlin action guy – please email him (DTCZ@msn.com) if you plan to attend. Need early probable head count before we commit to forty. Not binding as we know plans change.
And of course, if any Marines want to go and need a ride, we’re sure the Navy guys would be happy to help.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Andrew Friedman was on AM620 last night with Andy Freed and Dave Wills. Marc Topkin provides the highlights. [The Heater]
- Later in the same show, Wills and Freed spoke with Matt Silverman. [The Heater]
- Another “Matt Joyce has a chance to be a starter” story. [Lakeland Ledger]
- Joe Stiglich spoke with Gabe Gross, who compared his new A’s club to the 2008 Rays. [Chin Music]
- Steve Henson writes about what the addition of Rafael Soriano means for the Rays. [Yahoo! Sports]
Feb 08
The Rays short-season affiliate, the Hudson Valley Renegades have introduced a new blog, The Renegades Rundown…
Here you’ll get a glimpse into what the Renegades are doing on and off the field. By keeping up with the blog you’ll get the latest news regarding players, schedules, promotions, events, and more! This will be your one-stop shop for all things Renegades!
The blog is part of a new effort by the ‘Gades to be more active in social media. An effort that includes a very active Twitter account (@HVRenegades). And the voice behind the new fronts is Megan Ogulnick, the ‘Gades manger of new media.
As much as minor league teams depend on promotion, we are amazed that so few teams are this active in new media and these new ways of reaching out to current and potential fans.
So, if you have a moment, go on over and welcome Megan to the organization.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- David Price spoke to a Nashville paper about life in the spotlight, his charity work and money, including a bizarre story about some overaggressive autograph seekers. [Nashville News]
- Marc Topkin hears that Pat Burrell “has been working out extensively at the Athletes’ Performance Institute in Arizona, specifically strengthening his back, and is in tremendous shape.” [St. Pete Times]
- Devil Rays blast from the past…Joel Guzman has signed a minor league deal with the Orioles. [Baltimore Sun]
- Durham manager Charlie Montoyo was named sports person of the year during the Greater Raleigh Sports Council’s “Evening of Champions.” [Carolina Newswire via Biscuit Crumbs]
Feb 04
Business Week ranked the “Power 100″ athletes. This list is based on achievements on the field as well as ability to promote products and services off the field. The Rays very own Evan Longoria comes in at #57…
Longoria is one of just two male athletes on the list not to bring in at least seven figures (he can thank the MLB pay scale for that), yet many consider the second-year pro to be the best at his position—topping even fellow power athletes A-Rod and David Wright. Combined with his marketable face, that should spell big bucks down the road.
In addition to Wilson gloves, Longoria recently became the coverboy for 2K Sports newest version of their popular baseball game, “MLB 2K10.” And not sure if you guys noticed, but Longoria’s shoes and batting gloves have pretty little swooshes on them. Nike commercials can’t be too far away.
#58. Not bad. Then again, #57 is Lorena Ochoa.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- The Rays claimed RHP Mike Ekstrom off waivers. Ekstrom made 20 appearances for the Padres the past two seasons and has a 6.75 ERA with 25 strikeouts in 28.0 innings. He was a 12th round pick in 2004 by the Padres.
- The Rays announced a deal with The Mosaic Company to rename their spring training park in Charlotte. It will now be called Mosaic Field at Charlotte Sports Park for the next 15 years.
- The Minaret Online spoke with Andy Freed about his broadcasting career and how he ended up in the Rays radio booth. [The Manaret Online]
- The Rays will make five appearances on Fox national broadcasts this season. [The Heater]
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]
Feb 01
Portfolio.com looked at 82 different US and Canadian markets to determine which cities are best suited to support professional sports franchises. Tampa did not fare so well (thanks Jordi)…
Nineteen areas are overextended, with Denver, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Tampa facing the worst problems. The income bases of these overextended markets are inadequate for their existing teams, let alone any new ones.
Of those 19 areas, 12 of them are home to MLB teams (San Francisco-Oakland has two teams). Only two markets without baseball teams (New Jersey and San Bernardino, CA) were deemed to be able to support big league baseball.
Meanwhile, remember the ABC group that released it’s final report on the Rays stadium recommendations? The same group that was formed by the mayor of St. Pete? Well now that ABC has basically said the Rays should be in Tampa, the city of St. Pete no longer wants anything to do with the ABC group.
“We appreciate ABC’s efforts,” City Attorney John Wolfe and Senior Administrator Rick Mussett wrote Tuesday in a memo to the council. “However, any relationship the city may have had with ABC has been effectively severed.”
Politicians fighting. And the only ones that will lose are the fans. Thanks assholes.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Howard Troxler says it is now time for Stuart Sternberg to become more vocal on the Rays stadium situation…The problem is, if Sternberg wants the Rays to be anywhere besides St. Pete (likely), he is not allowed to talk about it. It is in the Rays contract with St. Pete that they are not even allowed to publicly discuss moving the team to another city. [St. Pete Times]
- Michael Sasso speculates on what a bullet train would mean for the Rays attendance. Of course, the catch is that the Rays would have to be in Tampa. [Tampa Tribune]
- Marc Topkin makes a case for the Rays making more additions to the roster in the next few weeks…Look for 2-3 recognizable names invited to spring training on minor league deals. [St. Pete Times
- Gabe Gross may have signed with the A's. [MLB]
- BJ Upton or Andrew McCutchen? Go. [Baseball Professor]
Jan 30
In an interesting twist to the Johnny Damon situation, Jon Heyman of SI.com says Damon turned down a $6 million offer from the Yankees.
In a last-ditch effort late last week after Damon himself called the team, Cashman, one of baseball’s best dealmakers, tried floating a contract of $6 million with $3 million deferred at no interest (with the promise it would be cleared with team boss Hal Steinbrenner, who was about to return from his honeymoon). But Damon wasn’t moved enough to respond.
So, if Damon couldn’t even respond to the Yankees on a $6 million deal, a team that was obviously his first choice, there is no way the Rays would be able to sign Damon at $4-5 million. The previous consensus was that the Yankees top offer was $2 million.
Then again, maybe Damon would be willing to give the Rays an “Ooooh-I-can-go-Caveman-again discount.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- The Rays signed former top pick Matt Bush. Before people get too excited, keep in mind that no team thought Bush was the top talent in the 2004 draft. San Diego chose Bush, a local kid, because his signing bonus demands were within their budget. [via Mark Topkin on Twitter]
- Joe Maddon made his strongest statement yet about Matt Joyce: “He knows there’s an opportunity now…[the starting right field job is] pretty much if he wants to go and grab it. It’s right there for him.” This supports our contention that Joyce will be the single biggest factor in determining where Ben Zobrist plays in 2010. [Tampa Tribune]
- Via meechone of The Fightins, we learn that Pat Burrell won a 1970 454 Chavelle Malibu SS at a recent auction for $60K. [Twitter]
- PECOTA has updated their 2010 projections with the Rays projected to score 826 runs and allow 712. That translates to 92 wins, which would be third in the AL East, but only one game behind the Red Sox and the Yankees. It is unclear what the standard deviation is for these numbers, but it is safe to assume that the Rays, Yankees and Red Sox are statistically even heading into the 2010 season. [Baseball Prospectus]
- The Blue Jays may have also expressed interest in Johnny Damon. [Twitter]
- Once again, don’t count on being able to watch too many Saturday games on TV. [Rays Report]
- The Rays are looking for a new PA announcer. If any of you apply, we would love to hear if you get a call-back and interview. [Rays Report]
- Rocco Baldelli’s list of suitors includes the Yankees, Rangers, Mariners and a fourth unidentified team. [Providence Journal]
- Fanhouse ranks the Rays as the top farm system. [Fanhouse]
Jan 28
The latest name to be tied to the Rays is Johnny Damon. And with the Yankees signing former Devil Ray Randy Winn, Damon is looking for a new home. Joel Sherman reports that the Rays have shown interest in Damon for some time…
The Tampa Bay Rays have been in regular contact with Scott Boras about adding Damon to be their primary DH, The Post has learned.
Sherman adds that the Rays may be interested even if they can’t trade Pat Burrell.
That seems fuzzy at best. Damon is a liability in the outfield, and with an arm about as strong and accurate as my 5-month old daughter’s, he certainly can’t play right field. As much as Joe Maddon covets positional flexibility on his four-man bench, the Rays can’t afford to give two roster spots to DH-types. Then again, part of the Damon-package includes his wife, Michelle (above). Maybe she can play the field.
More likely, Scott Boras is feeding additional teams to the media (Reds, Tigers also mentioned) to beef up an offer from the A’s now that the Yankees are no longer in the bidding.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Marc Topkin reports that Johnny Damon “would be interested” in joining the Rays. [The Heater]
- If you are wondering how much Johnny Damon would cost, keep in mind that he turned down $2 million from the Yankees. More likely it will take something closer to $5 million.
- Four Rays are in MLB.com’s list of Top 50 Prospects. The list includes Desmond Jennings (6), Wade Davis (13), Jeremy Hellickson (20) and Tim Beckham (24). The Rangers and Royals also placed four players in the Top 50. [MLB]
- Dioner Navarro spoke with Roger Mooney about his 2009 season and what it means that the Rays traded for Kelly Shoppach. [Tampa Tribune]
Jan 27
Just a few links to to help the coffee go down…
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Buster Olney reports that the Rays have shown interest in Orlando Hudson to play second base. [Twitter]
- Marc Topkin writes that Orlando Hudson is a long-shot for the Rays based on his asking price (a lot) and the Rays committment to in-house options at second base. [The Heater]
- John Romano writes that the ABC Coalition said everything the Rays would want without the Rays having to be the bad guys. [St. Pete Times]
- The agent for Andrew Bellatti, the prospect that was involved in a fatal car accident, spoke with the media. [Rays Report]
- Buster Olney reports that MLB is considering a slotting system for the amateur draft in which bonuses for draft picks would be predetermined. [ESPN]
Jan 25
Well, it is slow time for baseball news, and of course that means, more and more columns on whether Florida can support big league baseball and whether the Rays might move.
First up is Peter Gammons…
Florida has Ramirez, Johnson, Maybin, Longoria, Crawford, Price, Zobrist, Upton and two of the best front offices. Still, there are times when one thinks that maybe they should move a couple of Interleague games to Yeehaw Junction, because if Major League Baseball can’t succeed in Florida with these players, these organizations and a real stadium with a retractable roof in Miami, then maybe Florida should stick to Spring Training and Kevin O’Sullivan’s Gators and let the big leagues move to where the snowbirds came from, in the first place.
Gammons also wonders if the Rays could move to New Jersey or Connecticut.
Marc Topkin adds a local Orlando news report that local investors are beginning the process of attracting a big league team to Orlando, a process that will include a privately funded stadium and almost certainly will target the Rays.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Marc Topkin reports that Matt Garza and the Rays briefly discussed a multi-year deal before settling on a one-year contract, and agreed to explore the possibility again in the future. Also, Bartlett seems open to a multi-year deal, but Topkin says the Rays are not at this point. [St. Pete Times]
- Nick Cafardo writes that Carl Crawford could be traded before the deadline if “the Rays’ financial picture gets any gloomier.” [Boston Globe]
- Bill Chastain writes about Jake McGee’s struggles during his return from Tommy John surgery. [MLB]
- Scott Kazmir has spent the off-season working with the same trainer that works with Carl Crawford and will throw a more traditional slider this season. [ESPN]
http://tampabay.rays.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100122&content_id=7957596&vkey=news_tb&fext=.jsp&c_id=tb
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