Archive for the tag: The Hangover

May 09

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Holding Kepp, Throwing Strikes, And Welcoming Guyer

Brandon Guyer, Dick Vitale, Jeff Keppinger Tags:
13 Comments »

The GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.

Yankees 5, RAYS 3 (boxscore)

THE GOOD: Ben Zobrist. With no Desmond Jennings, Zobrist batted leadoff and delivered 2 hits and 2 walks, including a triple in the 8th that would eventually cut the lead to one.

THE BAD: Holding Kepp. With one out and runners on 2nd and 3rd, we understand why Tom Foley held Jeff Keppinger at third base on the double by Will Rhymes in the 7th. But Joe Maddon always says he wants his runners being aggressive on the basepaths, and Foley was not in that case. Nor was he on the flyball to right field immediately after that…Strikes. We are still waiting for David Robertson to throw Carlos Pena a strike. And yet somehow Pena struck out looking to end the game.

THE TELLING: BJ Upton batted third for the first time this season…Remember when it felt like the Rays couldn’t lose a game? The Rays have now lost 3 straight…Tonight’s game will be on ESPN.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • Jeff Keppinger was placed on the restricted list following the game for a “personal matter.” Brandon Guyer was promoted to take his place. According to Marc Topkin, Keppinger could be back as soon as tomorrow. [@TBTimes_Rays]
  • Desmond Jennings is hopeful that he Read the rest of this entry »
May 08

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Shifting To Wins, Flash’s Knee, And Cutting Hellboy

Desmond Jennings, Joe Maddon, Jose Lobaton, Kyle Farnsworth, Looking for Glove Tags:
13 Comments »

The GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.

RAYS (off-day)

The New York Times has a solid read on Joe Maddon’s use of the defensive shift. The piece talks a lot about how the Rays use the shift in unconventional ways against players and in situations that are not necessarily a typical threat.

But the best part might be this stat: Last year the Rays saved 85 runs with their defense, and that was a lot. But according to John Dewan, co-author of “The Fielding Bible,” the Rays have already saved 28 runs in 29 games this season. At this rate, the Rays would save about 156 runs with their defense. That would be worth 15-16 (!) wins in the standings.

In other words, if the Rays had the pitching staff and the hitters of an 81-81 team, this defense, along with the defensive shifts would turn that team into a 96 or 97-win team.

Wow.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • Desmond Jennings has a knee sprain and is day-to-day. He is also with the team on their roadtrip. [TampaBay.com]
  • Kyle Farnsworth is playing catch, and Jose Lobaton will see action in extended spring training this week. Also, Hideki Matsui is expected to play in an extended spring game in Port Charlotte on Wednesday. [TampaBay.com]
  • Rays minor leaguer Drew Vettleson already has 10 outfield assists this season. That is tops in all of baseball, majors or minors. [Biscuit Crumbs]
  • Jeremy Hellickson and Joe Maddon discuss the Read the rest of this entry »
May 07

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Hot Upton, Moore Up, And Trade Deadline Scenarios

BJ Upton, Matt Moore, Video Tags:
9 Comments »

The GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.

A’s 9, RAYS 5 (boxscore)

THE GOOD: Sean’s Glove. The one good highlight of the game might have been the one after the game was long decided. Sean Rodriguez made a lovely diving grab and throw to get Brandon Inge, that suddenly had us asking, “Reid who?”…Bossman Still Hot. BJ Upton only had one hit, but it was a home run. And he also added 3 walks, raising his OBP to .410. If he had enough plate appearances, that would rank 7th in the AL.

THE BAD: Another Injury. Desmond Jennings left Sunday’s game early with “left knee soreness”…Matt Moore Up. A team that has a 4-run lead after the first inning wins about 91% of the time. So if you are Matt Moore, you can’t give up a 5-spot in one inning and lose the lead. And Moore’s biggest problem, as pointed out by Andy Freed and Dave Wills, is that Moore can’t keep his pitches down. Of Moore’s 105 pitches, only 40 were below the mid-point of the strikezone. And six of those were more than 6 inches below the strikezone. Unfortunately, this is a bad habit he probably picked up in the minors, more than being a mechanical flaw. Minor league hitters can’t catch up to a good fastball up in the zone. Big league hitters will also struggle with that pitch, but only if they are looking for a pitch down. If all the pitches are up, that pitch is not a problem.

THE TELLING: The Rays are now 19-10, 0.5 games behind the Orioles, 3.5 games ahead of the Yankees, and 7 games ahead of the Red Sox.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • Be sure to click the <Read More…> below to see some a video and some GIFs from the weekend.
  • Ken Rosenthal notes that the extra wild card will Read the rest of this entry »
May 06

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss An Old Friend, And Green Lights Going Bad

Brandon Gomes, Cesar Ramos, Joe Maddon, Jonny Gomes, Matt Joyce Tags:
3 Comments »

The GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.

A’s 4, RAYS 3 (boxscore)

THE GOOD: Carlos Pena. Pena had 2 hits (should have been 3) and a walk, including his 5th home run of the season…Brandon Gomes. It was very nearly a disaster. Two walks and a hit batter loaded the bases in the 10th. And then Brandon Inge nearly leaned into a pitch, just missing being hit. But then Gomes came back and struck out Inge and then got a groundball to first base to get out of the jam. He then went 1-2-3 in the 11th.

THE BAD: Jeremy Hellickson. Hellboy lasted just 3.2 innings, the shortest start of his career…An Old Friend-Turned-Foe…It sure looked like Carlos Pena had led off the bottom of the 10th with a double. But then Jonny Gomes did the inexplicable, making a great running grab at the fence. And then in the 12th, it was Gomes that hit his 32nd career home run at The Trop, giving the A’s the lead for good…Matt Joyce. If the manager gives you a green light, that doesn’t mean swing at anything. The hitter should look for HIS pitch in HIS power zone. Instead, with one out in the bottom of the 12th and a 3-0 count, Joyce swung at a cutter away and hit a weak groundball to short that became a game-ending 6-4-3.

THE TELLING: The Rays had the leadoff hitter on base in the bottom of the 9th, 11th, and 12th, and failed to score each time. When Sean Rodriguez led off the 11th with a double, the Rays had a 79.5% chance of winning the game…Last night was Joe Maddon’s 1000th game with the Rays.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • Brandon Gomes reward for 2 scoreless innings is a demotion to AAA. Of course, this is more about the bullpen being overtaxed and Gomes won’t be available today because he worked 2 innings yesterday. Cesar Ramos has been called up to fill the open spot.
  • Joe Maddon talks about having Read the rest of this entry »
May 05

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss King David’s Dominance, Big Momma’s Big Blast, And Shagging Flyballs

David Price, Video Tags:
11 Comments »

The GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.

RAYS 7, A’s 2 (boxscore)

THE GOOD: King David. Oh mamma, Price es en fuego. He struck out 12 and walked just 1 in 8 innings. And more importantly, he attacked early. With less than 2 outs, hitters were just 2-18 with 7 strikeouts and no walks. And he had all the pitches working. 11 swinging strikes on fastballs, 3 on changeups, 2 on curveballs, and 4 on sliders. Enjoy it folks. We are watching Price’s coming out party. By the end of this season, he will be recognized as one of the 5 or 6 best pitchers in baseball…Jose Molina. Woah big momma, where did that come from? Molina hit his first home run of the season…BJ Upton. Bossman was in the middle of both of the Rays’ big innings, delivering an RBI-double in each.

THE BAD: Lazy Puns. A google search for “David Price” and “Price is Right” return 223,000 results. In other words, been there done that, 223,000 times! Price is a fairly common word. If you are going to you a cheesy headline, can’t we come up with something original? And yes, the headline was used again last night. And no, we’re not linking to it, because it is not our intention to belittle one person. We’re just saying, we get it. Let’s try something else now (thanks Aaron)…

THE TELLING: The Rays have (at least) a 1.5 game lead over EVER OTHER TEAM IN BASEBALL…Reid Brignac was back at shortstop and had a double in 4 at bats for triple-A Durham.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • Be sure to click the <Read More…> below for a look at the dancing groundskeeper’s new moves.
  • David Price’s newfound love of off-speed pitches has turned him into a groundball pitcher. [ESPN.com]
  • Despite what happened to Read the rest of this entry »
May 04

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Crafty Niemann With Extra Mustard, And Calling Hideki

Brandon Allen, Don Zimmer Tags:
19 Comments »

The GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.

RAYS 4, Mariners 3 (boxscore)

THE GOOD: Jeff Niemann. Once again we got crafty Niemann, throwing 6 different pitches at least 10 times, and none more than 24 times. On top of that, he actually had a little extra mustard on the fastball, reaching 93mph…2-Out Rally. Kevin Millwood retired the first 5 batters he faced. But then, with 2 outs in the 2nd, 6 straight batters reached base leading to 4 runs…Bullpen. Where would the Rays be without their bullpen? Jake McGee and Fernando Rodney combined to face 10 batters, and retired them all. They struck out 3 (all by McGee).

THE BAD: Injuries. Hey, if they are going to happen, this is a point in the schedule where it might do the least amount of damage, this is it. Still, yesterday’s lineup resembled a split-squad spring training trip to Jupiter, with names like Allen, Rhymes, Keppinger, and Gimenez…So, When Is Hideki Coming? We had heard good things about Brandon Allen’s defense. But that wasn’t on display yesterday when he appeared to jog in and allowed what looked like a catchable blooper to fall in front of him.

THE TELLING: The Rays now have the best record in baseball at 18-8. They are 14-3 in their last 17…BJ Upton is expected to be in the lineup today…Maybe it was already part of the plan, but interesting to note, that with Tim Beckham suspended, Reid Brignac played second base last night.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

May 03

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Peralta Power, Another Injury, And A Bizarro AL East

BJ Upton, Don Zimmer, Joel Peralta, Kyle Farnsworth Tags:
8 Comments »

The GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.

RAYS 5, Mariners 4 (boxscore)

THE GOOD: Joel Peralta. With Ichiro representing the tying run on third with only 1 out in the 8th, Peralta came in and got the first batter to pop up. And then with a little help from Ben Zobrist’s nice running grab, he got out of the jam unscathed. And then, a 1-2-3, 2-strikeout 9th gave Peralta a huge 5-out save…Luke Scott. If the Rays are going to survive offensively without Evan Longoria, they are going to need guys like Luke Scott and Matt Joyce to be hot. And Wolverine came through, with a little help. His flyball in the 6th inning probably should have been an out or a double. Instead, a leaping Michael Saunders had the ball hit off his glove and go over the wall…Jose Molina. Molina ended a 10 at bat hitless streak with a single and a big 2-run double…The Bullpen. In their last 31 innings (10 games), the relief pitchers struck out 39 batters and given up just 5 runs on 21 hits and 5 walks…Bizarro AL East. The current AL East standings: 1) Rays 2) O’s 3) Jays 4) Yankees 5) Red Sox

THE BAD: James Shields. He had too much stuff last night. 10 strikeouts in the first four innings is nice. But it also meant his pitch count was sky-high, and also meant his pitches were overamped. His changeup was 87 when it is typically 84. His fastball was 93-94 when it should be 90-91. The result was 4 walks and 2 home runs…More Injuries. BJ Upton left the game in the 5th inning with tightness in his right quad. Joe Maddon didn’t sound worried, but we would be surprised if he played today.

THE TELLING: Will Rhymes started at third base…The Rays have won 12 of 15 and are now tied with the Rangers and Dodgers with the best record in baseball…According to CoolStandings.com, the Rays currently have a 65.5% shot at making the playoffs.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • Click the <Read More…> below for some GIF-goodness.
  • While you were sleeping, Jered Weaver threw a no-hitter. Here are the final two outs. [BI Sports]
  • Don Zimmer has been in the hospital for Read the rest of this entry »
May 02

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Moore Getting Close, Hideki Speaks, And One Crazy Fan

Evan Longoria, Hideki Matsui, Kyle Farnsworth, Will Rhymes Tags:
15 Comments »

The GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.

RAYS 3, Mariners 1 (boxscore)

THE GOOD: Moore Is Close. Will have more on Moore in a little while. But 7 strikeouts and just 1 walk is a solid day at the ballpark. Of course, despite just 1 walk, he did throw too many pitches, and was out after just 5 innings…Matty Joyce. His home run drove in 1 run. And his triple in the first was nearly another home run, but did drive in the Rays first run of the game. If not for Joyce, the Rays…Honey Badger Shoots The Moon. Fernando Rodney faced 3 batters and threw just 14 pitches. But he struck out all 3. And all 3 went down swinging. Just nasty.

THE BAD: No O. The Rays did score 3 runs and won the game. But in their first game post-Longo, the Rays managed just 3 hits, and hitters not named Matt Joyce were just 1-21. Prior to last night, the Rays had at least 5 hits in every game…Ugh. Between Evan Longoria and Tim Beckham, it wasn’t the best day in franchise history. Then again, we now have the answer to who will play shortstop at triple-A Durham: Reid Brignac, and not Beckham.

THE TELLING: Evan Longoria has been placed on the DL and Will Rhymes was added to the 40-man roster and promoted. Kyle Farnsworth was moved to the 60-day DL to make room on the 40-man roster. The earliest Farnsville can return now is the first week of June…The Rays are 15-8, 1 game ahead of the Orioles…

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

May 01

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss EJ The Good, EJ The Bad, And BJ’s Big Hits

Alex Torres, BJ Upton, Elliot Johnson, Hideki Matsui, Luke Scott Tags:
3 Comments »

The GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.

RAYS 3, Mariners 2 (12; boxscore)

THE GOOD: Hellboy’s Control. Jeremy Hellickson entered last night’s start with just 14 strikeouts and 12 walks. A pitcher like Hellickson should have at least twice as many strikeouts as walks, and three times as many would be preferred. So it was nice to see the control return last night with 7 strikeouts and no walks…EJ the Good. The guy we affectionately refer to as Mini-Maddon came through in the bottom of the 12th inning. With the shortstop shifted over towards second base, Johnson looped a single right past where the shortstop normally would have been and Ben Zobrist raced home…BJ Upton. For the second time in a week, somebody else will get all the glory, but BJ Upton’s at bat earlier was actually more important. In the 11th with the Rays down 1, it was BJ’s 2-out RBI single that kept the Rays alive…Jose Molina. We’ve been bashing his defense recently, so it is only fair that we point out his great play that saved the game. With 1 out in the 9th and the go-ahead run on third, a bunt attempt was fielded by Fernando Rodney who threw home. It appeared that Molina’s tag missed the runner, but the crafty veteran calmly held up the ball as if he had made the tag, and the umpire called the runner out.

THE BAD: Depth. The one thing the Rays cannot afford is a serious injury to a key player. And that is exactly what may have happened with Evan Longoria when he was pulled from the game with an injured knee. He is expected to have an MRI today. You can see the play here…Bad Luck. The the score tied in the 5th, Carlos Pena laced a double to deep right-center. Ben Zobrist would have scored easily..EJ the Bad. With 2 outs and 2 strikes in the 5th and with 2 runners in scoring position, Elliot Johnson inexplicably tried to bunt his way on. He fouled the ball off and the inning was over.

THE TELLING: The Rays now have a 1-game lead over the Orioles in the East…The Hideki Matsui signing is now official. He is expected to report to AAA in Mid-May…Prospect Brandon Guyer is out with a sprained ankle…

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • Be sure to click the <Read More…> below to see some videos and GIFs from last night’s game.
  • If you missed it last night, The Happy Heckler made his triumphant return to the Trop last night. [RaysIndex]
  • Alex Torres, one of the big 3 pitching prospects at triple-A Durham, is being moved to the bullpen permanently. Torres has struggled this season with a 10.38 ERA in 5 starts and 21 walks in just 17.1 innings. [Watching Durham Bulls Baseball]
  • Gary Shelton spoke to Fernando Rodney about his Read the rest of this entry »
Apr 30

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss A Big Message, Trusting Molina, And Underappreciating Peralta

David Price, Joel Peralta, Jose Molina, Sean Rodriguez Tags:
24 Comments »

The GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.

RAYS 5, Rangers 2 (boxscore)

THE GOOD: Sending a Message. The Rays went into Texas and won 2 of 3. We don’t know if that means the Rays are better than the Rangers. But it does mean that right now, the Rays are as good as any team in the AL. Some people already knew that. Most didn’t. Now they do…King David’s Change. If you were there for the Tailgate before the game, we said the key to Price was his changeup. Of his 101 pitches, 24 were changeups, and 18 of those were strikes. And of those 4 were swinging strikes. In other words, he had the powerful Rangers lineup guessing most of the night. Is 6.1 innings enough from Price? Sure we would like a little more. But against the Rangers, that is enough with a lead…Joel Peralta. He’s not getting the same love as Honey Badger. And part of that was a rough start to the season. But holy moley. With a man on in the 7th, he came in and struck out two straight to end a quasi-rally. And then Peralta retired the Rangers 1-2-3 in the 8th…Zorilla. Ben Zobrist was just 3 for his last 27 and hitting .183 entering the game. But he went 3-4 for his first multi-hit game in more than 2 weeks.

THE BAD: We Have To Stop Underestimating. We have to find a way to stop underestimating this team. They are really, really good. Knowing the schedule, we would have been ecstatic with 11-11 at this point. Going into Texas, we would have been happy with one win in the series.

THE TELLING: Jose Lobaton is close to going on a rehab assignment…David Price was 0-6 with a 5.30 ERA in the regular season against the Rangers prior to last night…The Durham Bulls lost their 13th straight game yesterday. But at least they didn’t waste any hits in this one. It was a no-hitter…Reid Brignac is just 3-24 (.125) since being demoted.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • Be sure to click the <Read More…> below to see some GIFs from last night’s game…
  • Joe Maddon sounds encouraged (of course) about Jose Molina and expects things to get better. [TampaBay.com]
  • Wade Davis says his new role is still a work in progress, but Joe Maddon says Friday’s game was a big lesson. [TBO.com]
  • Joe Maddon calls his outfield, one of the Read the rest of this entry »
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