Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Kevin Goldstein Talks About The Rays - Part 2

David PriceOn a recent broadcast of the Minor League Notebook Weekly radio show, host Tyler Hissey interviewed Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus. They discussed several Rays players including Desmond Jennings, David Price, Jason Hammel, Tim Beckham, and Reid Brignac.

Tyler was kind enough to type up a transcript of the Rays-related portion of the show and send it to me. Here is Part 2 of 4, focusing on David Price and Jason Hammel (TH = Tyler Hissey, KG = Kevin Goldstein):

TH: What is your take on the Rays' decision to send David Price down to the minors to start the season?

KG: The decision leaves me completely and utterly baffled when it comes to what the Rays did with David Price this year. You hit the nail on the head as far as the American League East. You have to throw David Price out there. You can't afford to have Jason Hammel as your fifth starter if you have another option in David Price, which is going to make you a better team. You can't afford to risk any games in the American League East this year, because the three best teams in the American League are all in the East. And one of those teams is going to be on the outside looking in come postseason time even though they're the third best team in the league.

And so I don't understand it, and this whole "we're going to control his innings" crap, to be honest with you. Because he had some very, very slight elbow issues to begin the year in 2008. And the Rays were incredibly cautious about it, they started him much later than they anticipated, and, therefore, that limited his innings. And, because of that, because they were way cautious 12 months ago, that means that they're not going to start him in the rotation this year and theoretically, since he's only going to throw 150 innings this year—and the rule is 20 percent increases—he's only going throw 180 innings in 2010, meaning that the decision to be cautious about his elbow, while certainly the right thing to do, all the sudden is costing you starts in a season when you're trying to win. And then somewhere between 20-25 percent of a work schedule two years from now.

I just think these hardened-fast rules are kind of silly the way the Rays are doing it (and) are really damaging to the club. And it's just strange to say, because I've had nothing to say but ridiculous praise for the Rays have been doing the things the past couple years. I just think they have made a monumentally dumb decision here. I guess I get kind of tired of everyone thinking long term. You see it a lot in fantasy leagues. Who’s thinking about now? The Rays are in a position to win the best division and baseball and have a chance at a World Series title, and so maybe let's starting thinking about now, and then start worrying about the future later.

TH: What do you think of Hammel's trade value, assuming he pitches well for the first few weeks?

KG: I think Hammel is definitely the kind of arm who could get something in return. It doesn't matter if he's just an extra guy in Tampa Bay, because I don't think a lot of other teams care that he doesn't have as much value in Tampa Bay.

Link to Part 1 of the interview.

Minor League Spring Training Roster - Updated

Tampa Bay RaysA total of 146 players are on the Tampa Bay Rays minor league spring training roster as of March 31st.

Pitchers (76):
Winston Abreu, Jordi Amargos, Christopher Andujar, Kyle Ayers, James Bagley, John Baird, Brian Baker, Nicholas Barnese, Omar Bencomo, Kevin Boggan, Angel Chapa, Kevin Chavez, Jason Childers, Randol Choate, Alex Cobb, Alexander Colome, Jason Cromer, Joseph Cruz, Jesse Darcy, Wade Davis, Dewon Day, Frank De Los Santos, Jose DeLaCruz, Jairo De La Rosa, Julio DePaula, Joey Dettrich, Darin Downs, Shane Dyer, Diego Echeverria, Marquis Fleming, Brian Flores, Neal Frontz, Bradley Furdal, Justin Garcia, Glenn Gibson, Matthew Gorgen, Jeremy Hall, Tyree Hayes, Jeremy Hellickson, Carlos Hernandez, Austin Hinkle, Craig James, Michael Jarman, Chris Kelly, William Kline, Kyle Lobstein, Brandon Mann, Chris Mason, Jason McEachern, Jacob McGee, Calvin Medlock, Jose Angel Mejias, Matthew Moore, Eddie Morlan, Ryan Morse, David Newmann, Rayner Oliveros, Chad Orvella, Elvin Perez, Paul Phillips, David Price, Thomas Rafferty, Ryan Reid, Travis Risser, Heath Rollins, Douglas Salinas, Juan Santana, Joshua Satow, Neil Schenk, Trevor Shull, Shawn Smith, Albert Suarez, Mitch Talbot, Dale Thayer, Matt Walker, and Michael Wlodarczyk.

Catchers (18):
Mayobanex Acosta, Craig Albernaz, Nevin Ashley, Tomas Francisco, David Genao, Tyler Hauschild, Alex Jamieson, John Jaso, Jacob Jefferies, Christian Lopez, Michael McCormick, John Mollicone, Ian Paxton, Matt Spring, Mark Thomas, Alejandro Torres, Stephen Vogt, and Shawn Williams.

Infielders (31):
Drew Anderson, Robert Asanovich, Jeremy Beckham, Tim Beckham, Jason Bowers, Reid Brignac, Joseph Callender, Julio Cedeno, Brandon Chaves, Cody Cipriano, Juan Cuello, Robi Estrada, Matt Fields, Jake Gautreau, Matthew Hall, Rhyne Hughes, Elliot Johnson, Diogenes Luis, Omar Luna, Luis Marchena, Chris Nowak, Shawn O'Malley, Elias Otero, Burt Reynolds, Gregory Sexton, Michael Sheridan, Eligio Sonoqui, Cesar Suarez, Jason Tweedy, Isaias Velasquez, and Henry Wrigley.

Outfielders (21):
Dustin Biell, Brian Bryles, Jason Corder, Rashad Eldridge, Reid Fronk, J.T. Hall, Astin Jacobo, Desmond Jennings, D.J. Jones, Kyeong Kang, John Matulia, Michael McKenna, Ty Morrison, Ramon Novas, Sergio Pedroza, Pedro Powell, Justin Reynolds, Ryan Royster, Justin Ruggiano, Emeel Salem, and Anthony Scelfo.

Unofficial Transactions:
3/30: Since I've started tracking, Pedro Powell (along with those down from major league camp, see other posts) has been added. Deletions include: Robert Della Grotta, Chase Fontaine, Jino Gonzalez, Matt Long, Wilton Noel, and Quinn Stewart. The only one I've heard has been officially released is Chase Fontaine (see Stacy Long report in my post below).

3/31: Added Drew Anderson (from trade). Removed James Houser (to extended spring), Chuck Tiffany (released), Jonathan Barratt (released), Jeffrey Kamrath (released), Patrick Cottrell (released), Michael Ross (released).

March 31st Spring Training Box Score


             1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9   R  H  E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Tampa Bay 0 0 1 4 0 2 0 0 0 7 11 1
Boston 0 0 0 2 0 0 3 3 x 8 9 0

Tampa Bay AB R H BI Boston AB R H BI
B Zobrist ss 3 0 1 1 J Ellsbury cf 3 1 1 0
A Kennedy 2b 5 0 0 0 C Ambres cf 1 0 0 0
W Aybar 3b 5 1 1 0 D Pedroia 2b 3 1 1 1
M Joyce cf 4 1 2 2 G Velazquez 2b 1 1 1 0
S Riggans c 4 1 1 0 D Ortiz dh 2 0 0 0
M Hernandez c 0 0 0 0 R Baldelli ph-dh 1 0 0 0
G Gross rf 4 1 1 2 K Youkilis 1b 3 0 0 0
J Matulia rf 0 0 0 0 C Carter 1b 1 0 0 0
G Kapler lf 4 1 1 0 J Drew rf 2 0 1 0
R Royster lf 0 0 0 0 J Place pr-rf 0 1 0 0
C Richard 1b 4 1 1 0 J Bay lf 2 0 1 1
R Sadler dh 2 0 1 0 N Green pr-lf 1 2 1 2
J Weber ph-dh 2 1 2 2 M Lowell 3b 3 0 0 0
A Sonnanstine p 0 0 0 0 A Chavez pr-3b 1 1 1 1
G Balfour p 0 0 0 0 J Lowrie ss 3 0 0 0
W Abreu p 0 0 0 0 K Negron ss 0 0 0 0
J Varitek c 4 1 2 3
J Apodaca c 0 0 0 0
C Buchholz p 0 0 0 0
J Masterson p 0 0 0 0
R Ramirez p 0 0 0 0
TOTALS 37 7 11 7 TOTALS 31 8 9 8
E--M Joyce. LOB--TAMPA BAY 5, BOSTON 4. 
2B--D Pedroia, N Green, G Velazquez, J Ellsbury, W Aybar,
S Riggans, G Kapler, C Richard, R Sadler. 3B--B Zobrist.
HR--J Varitek 1 (4) (off A Sonnanstine), G Gross 1 (1)
(off C Buchholz), M Joyce 1 (1) (off C Buchholz), J Weber 1 (3)
(off J Masterson). SB--J Weber 1 (2). SF--J Bay.
Tampa Bay                         IP   H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR
A Sonnanstine 7 6 5 5 2 2 1
G Balfour (L,0-1) 2-3 3 3 2 2 1 0
W Abreu 1-3 0 0 0 0 0 0
Boston IP H R ER BB SO HR
C Buchholz 5 1-3 9 6 6 1 4 2
J Masterson (W,2-0) 2 2-3 1 1 1 0 3 1
R Ramirez (S,1) 1 1 0 0 1 0 0
Time: 2:44.
Attendance: 7,862.

Jino Gonzalez Released

Jino GonzalezPer Marc Topkin:
Other players released recently from minor-league camp include INF Chase Fontaine, who was acquired form Atlanta in January 2008 with Willy Aybar for LHP Jeff Ridgway (who was released by the Braves this week), LHP Jino Gonzalez, INF Patrick Cottrell and INF Michael Ross.
We already knew about the others, but Gonzalez is apparently officially released now too. You may remember Gonzalez, the Rays 46th round pick in the 2002 draft who pitched for the Montgomery Biscuits (AA) last year, was arrested January 4th at Tampa International Airport. He was charged with one count of carrying a concealed firearm and released the same day on a $2,000 surety bond. The Court's docket indicates he has entered Florida's pretrial intervention (PTI) program, which means if he successfully completes the requirements of the program, the charge will be dismissed. There are some risks to PTI, but let's hope he is successful in both the program and his future baseball career.

Kevin Goldstein Talks About The Rays - Part 1

Desmond JenningsOn a recent broadcast of the Minor League Notebook Weekly radio show, host Tyler Hissey interviewed Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus. They discussed several Rays players including Desmond Jennings, David Price, Jason Hammel, Tim Beckham, and Reid Brignac.

Tyler was kind enough to type up a transcript of the Rays-related portion of the show and send it to me. Here is Part 1 of 4, focusing on Desmond Jennings (TH = Tyler Hissey, KG = Kevin Goldstein):

TH: How high are you on Desmond Jennings?

KG: I am very high on Desmond Jennings. The tools are incredible. It says something when you thing about a league like the Arizona Fall League, which is just filled with studs, and you talk to a scout who says "Jennings stood out like a sore thumb" on a tools level. That says a lot. If you can stand out in the Arizona Fall League on your athleticism, you're a pretty special athlete. And that's what he is.

Again, there are a lot of fantastic athletes in baseball, but the fact that he has some idea at the plate, and has some presence there, and has some plate discipline and understanding of the strike zone, gives him a huge advantage over the other kind of high-risk, high-ceiling athlete types. I think it's one thing that really differentiates him from other prospects. He has a little bit of pop, tremendous speed, and plays a good center field.

He is coming off just a nightmare season, where like every three seconds he got injured in a different kind of way. They're just going to do a rewind, starting him in the Florida State League, and then kind of taking things from there. He remains one of the higher-ceiling center fielders in the game.

TH: Will Carroll says that staying healthy is a skill. Do you think Jennings has had his share of bad luck or can be considered injury prone? Or is just way too early to tell?

KG: I think it is too early to tell. I think a lot of things can be thought of last year were a bit of bad luck. He just couldn't catch a break. And I've talked to people in the Rays organization who were as frustrated as Jennings was at times—in the sense that he came back from just a minor knee surgery at the end of 2007, and that came along a little slow. Next thing you know his shoulder hurts. Next think you know he's done something to his back. He just couldn't catch a break.

But we don't know if he's injury prone yet. I actually think it's hard for hitters to be injury prone. There are always position players who get injured out there, but with most of them it's their fault. A lot of that revolves around conditioning. You think about Landon Powell's history. Just non-stop injury problems. I think that revolves around the fact that he's rarely in good shape. Players who are in good shape like Jennings are rarely as much injury prone as it's a bad luck thing.

TH: Although there are a lot of unknown variables, health included, what is Jennings' ETA? And, assuming he can stay healthy and is an asset defensively in center field, could he move B.J. Upton off of the position when he's ready?

KG: It's a nice problem to have, you know. Even the Rays don't have to worry about that until they're forced to. A lot of people look at prospects when they are young and they go we have this guy here, and think about where he will be moved. The Brewers have a near-ready shortstop in Alcides Escobar, who is just silly great defensively. So now many people say they got to shift Hardy over, and figure out how to get Escobar playing everyday. Teams don't worry about that stuff until you get to the day you're forced to make a decision.

For now, he's a really good center fielder. I think his ETA is probably two, three years away. Who knows where you are down the road two, three years in the big leagues? Everything can change, and you've seen a whole lot of unpredictability with all sorts of players, so it's hard to speculate on what you do there. It's a nice problem to have, though, as far as most teams would love to have too many center fielders as opposed to not enough.

Minor Moves: Houser, Newmann, Tiffany, Anderson

James HouserStacy Long updates us on James Houser and David Newmann:
Pitcher James Houser, seemingly slated to go to Triple-A Durham this year, is now on the extended spring roster. For someone of Houser's experience, that would hint that he's injured, but he said he's not.
...
One other thing that stood out on the updated work lists: pitcher David Newmann.
In a separate article Stacy says the Rays have released five minor leaguers and added Drew Anderson:
The five released include four former Biscuits: pitchers Chuck Tiffany, Jon Barratt and Jeff Kamrath, and infielder Patrick Cottrell. Infielder Michael Ross is the fifth player no longer in camp.
...
Infielder Drew Anderson doesn't appear on the roster but is on the newly updated work lists. Infielder Joseph Callender is the opposite (on roster, not on work lists).

Spring Training Probable Pitchers

Andy SonnanstineTuesday, March 31st at Boston Red Sox, City of Palms Park, Fort Myers (webcast: raysbaseball.com) – 1:05 p.m.:
Rays – RH Andy Sonnanstine
Red Sox – RH Clay Buchholz

Wednesday, April 1st vs. Minnesota Twins, Charlotte Sports Park (webast: raysbaseball.com) – 1:05 p.m.:
Rays – RH James Shields
Twins – RH Scott Baker

Friday, April 3rd at Philadelphia Phillies, Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia (radio: 970-AM WFLA) – 7:05 p.m.:
Rays – LH Scott Kazmir
Phillies – RH Joe Blanton

Saturday, April 4th at Philadelphia Phillies, Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia (radio: 620-AM WDAE) – 1:05 p.m.:
Rays – RH Matt Garza
Phillies – LH Cole Hamels

Monday, March 30, 2009

Richard De Los Santos, Wade Townsend, Chase Fontaine

Richard De Los SantosStacy Long solves the Richard De Los Santos mystery, and updates on Wade Townsend:
Pitcher Richard De Los Santos, after offseason elbow surgery, won't report to camp until Tampa Bay starts its extended spring training program late next week.

De Los Santos was 5-5 with a 3.42 ERA with the Biscuits last year and re-signed with the Rays this offseason. Wade Townsend, a former first-round pick who will miss all season after shoulder surgery, also is not yet in camp.

"Wade and Richard obviously are not proficient right now," farm director Mitch Lukevics said. "With that, we're keeping them home until April 8 when we can give them more one-on-one attention."
Time to update the projected Montgomery Biscuits starting rotation. Stacy also notes that Chase Fontaine, obtained along with Willy Aybar from the Atlanta Braves for Jeff Ridgway, has been released.

March 30th Spring Training Box Score


              1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9   R  H  E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Tampa Bay 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 8 0
Minnesota 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 x 3 9 1

Tampa Bay AB R H BI Minnesota AB R H BI
A Iwamura 2b 5 0 0 0 D Span cf 4 0 1 0
C Crawford lf 4 0 0 0 C Parmelee lf 0 0 0 0
R Sadler lf 0 0 0 0 A Casilla 2b 3 0 2 1
E Longoria 3b 4 1 1 0 T Watkins 3b 0 0 0 0
C Pena 1b 3 1 2 2 M Cuddyer rf 4 0 0 0
P Burrell dh 3 0 1 0 J Benson rf 0 0 0 0
D Navarro c 4 0 1 0 J Morneau 1b 2 0 2 0
B Zobrist rf 4 0 0 0 B Buscher pr-1b 1 1 0 0
G Kapler cf 3 0 1 0 J Kubel dh 3 1 1 0
M Joyce ph 1 0 0 0 A Machado ph-dh 1 0 0 0
J Bartlett ss 4 0 2 0 D Young lf 3 0 1 0
M Garza p 0 0 0 0 C Gomez cf 1 0 0 0
L Cormier p 0 0 0 0 J Crede 3b 2 0 0 0
T Percival p 0 0 0 0 M Tolbert pr-3b 1 0 0 0
J Morales c 3 0 1 1
D Butera c 0 0 0 0
N Punto ss 2 1 1 1
Y Ortiz ss 0 0 0 0
G Perkins p 0 0 0 0
B Duensing p 0 0 0 0
M Guerrier p 0 0 0 0
TOTALS 35 2 8 2 TOTALS 30 3 9 3
E--T Watkins. DP--TAMPA BAY 1, MINNESOTA 1. 
LOB--TAMPA BAY 8, MINNESOTA 7. 2B--P Burrell, D Navarro.
HR--C Pena 1 (1) (off B Duensing). SB--J Bartlett 1 (3).
SF--A Casilla, N Punto.
Tampa Bay                         IP   H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR
M Garza (L,0-1) 6 8 3 3 1 5 0
L Cormier 1 1 0 0 0 1 0
T Percival 1 0 0 0 0 1 0
Minnesota IP H R ER BB SO HR
G Perkins (W,3-1) 6 4 0 0 1 4 0
B Duensing 2 4 2 2 0 1 1
M Guerrier (S,1) 1 0 0 0 0 1 0
WP--M Garza. HBP--C Pena by G Perkins, J Crede by M Garza.
Time: 2:32.
Attendance: 5,072.

Will Longoria And Upton Exceed Projections?

B.J. UptonDavid Gassko says "yes" in his article titled "29 players I think the THT projections got wrong":
Evan Longoria | Projected OPS, .837 |

If he can post an .874 OPS despite a serious injury, I don’t see why he won’t post a .900+ OPS when healthy. I expect big things from Longoria in 2009.

BJ Upton | Projected OPS, .775 |

Upton oozes talent, and I think this will be the season in which he finally breaks out big time. If you watched Upton in the postseason, you know .775 is way too low.

Morgan Ensberg Released

Morgan EnsbergPer Marc Topkin:
Veteran INF Morgan Ensberg was released this morning.Ensberg said he was surprised because he had expected a Triple-A assignment, but was not upset and hoped to catch on with another team.

New Projection System: Rays Will Win 113 In 2009

Tampa Bay RaysMost projections have the Rays winning between 87 and 95 games in 2009. Now comes David Chalk with his forecast:
Ladies and Gentleman, I give you the C.H.A.L.K. Projections. (What’s that stand for you ask? Well, for now, C. Chalk H. Has. A. A L. Lotta K. Knowledge — if you got better ideas, please drop them in the comments.)

So, while PECOTA and CHONE are repeating the mistakes they made last year and are still grievously misunderestimating the 2009 Devil Rays (PECOTA says only 95 wins now — and that’s after I chided them for the original projection of 92 wins; CHONE goes even lower with just 89 wins!), here’s how I’ve reached the 2009 C.H.A.L.K. Projection of 113 Wins for our beloved Devil Rays.
:)

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Random Jim Donten Picture: James Houser

James Houser by Jim DontenJames Houser, photo taken by Jim Donten. Click here to see all of Jim Donten's pictures.

Regular Season Opening Series Probable Pitchers

James ShieldsMonday, April 6th at Boston Red Sox, 2:05 p.m.:
Rays - RH James Shields (14-8, 3.56).

Red Sox - RH Josh Beckett (10-12, 4.03).

Wednesday, April 7th at Boston Red Sox, 7:15 p.m.:
Rays - LH Scott Kazmir (12-8, 3.49).

Red Sox - LH Jon Lester (16-6, 3.21).

Thursday, April 8th at Boston Red Sox, 1:35 p.m.:
Rays - RH Matt Garza (11-9, 3.70).

Red Sox - RH Daisuke Matsuzaka (18-3, 2.90).

Spring Training Probable Pitchers

Matt GarzaMonday, March 30th at Minnesota Twins, Hammond Stadium, Lee County (TV: Sun Sports; no radio) – 1:05 p.m.:
Rays – RH Matt Garza.

Twins – LH Glen Perkins, LH Brian Duensing, RH Matt Guerrier.

Tuesday, March 31st at Boston Red Sox, City of Palms Park, Ft. Myers (webcast: raysbaseball.com) – 1:05 p.m.:
Rays – RH Andy Sonnanstine.

Red Sox – RH Clay Buchholz.

March 29th Spring Training Box Score


             1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9   R  H  E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Tampa Bay 0 0 0 8 2 0 1 0 0 11 18 2
Cincinnati 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 5 2

Tampa Bay AB R H BI Cincinnati AB R H BI
A Kennedy 2b 4 1 3 0 W Taveras cf 3 0 1 0
C Nowak 3b 1 0 0 0 N Hopper cf 2 0 0 0
G Kapler lf 5 2 2 2 J HairstonJr. ss 2 0 0 0
J Hall lf 0 0 0 0 P Janish ph-ss 2 0 0 0
M Joyce cf 4 1 2 2 J Votto 1b 3 1 1 0
R Sadler rf 1 0 0 0 J Gomes 1b 1 0 0 0
S Riggans c 5 0 3 1 B Phillips 2b 2 0 0 0
J Nelson p 0 0 0 0 J Keppinger 2b 1 0 0 0
L Cormier p 0 0 0 0 J Bruce rf 3 1 1 2
G Gross rf 2 2 1 0 L Nix rf 1 0 0 0
B Zobrist ph-cf 2 0 0 0 A Rosales 3b 3 0 0 0
M Ensberg 3b 4 0 1 0 W Castillo 3b 1 0 0 0
O Luna 3b-2b 1 0 0 0 C Dickerson lf 3 0 1 0
C Richard 1b 4 1 1 2 J Jones lf 1 0 0 0
R Olmedo ss 5 3 3 1 R Hernandez c 1 0 0 0
S Kazmir p 3 1 2 3 R Hanigan c 1 0 1 0
W Aybar ph 1 0 0 0 B Arroyo p 1 0 0 0
J Isringhausen p 0 0 0 0 P Viola p 0 0 0 0
M Acosta c 1 0 0 0 D McDonald ph 1 0 0 0
B Bray p 0 0 0 0
A Rhodes p 0 0 0 0
J Burton p 0 0 0 0
S Henry ph 1 0 0 0
TOTALS 43 11 18 11 TOTALS 33 2 5 2
E--J Hairston Jr. 2, C Nowak, O Luna. DP--TAMPA BAY 1.
LOB--TAMPA BAY 8, CINCINNATI 9. 2B--G Gross, S Riggans,
S Kazmir, M Joyce. HR--J Bruce 1 (3) (off S Kazmir).
CS--M Ensberg. S--B Arroyo. SF--C Richard.
Tampa Bay                         IP   H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR
S Kazmir (W,2-1) 6 4 2 2 2 5 1
J Isringhausen 1 0 0 0 0 1 0
J Nelson 1 0 0 0 0 1 0
L Cormier 1 1 0 0 0 2 0
Cincinnati IP H R ER BB SO HR
B Arroyo (L,0-3) 4 2-3 14 10 3 2 3 0
P Viola 1 1-3 1 0 0 0 0 0
B Bray 1 2 1 0 0 1 0
A Rhodes 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
J Burton 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
HBP--R Hernandez by S Kazmir, R Hanigan by S Kazmir.
PB--R Hernandez.
Time: 2:47.
Attendance: 5,339.

The Rays Fleeced The Twins

Matt GarzaTyler Hissey takes a look back at the Rays-Twins trade (Delmon Young, Brendan Harris and Jason Pridie for Matt Garza, Jason Bartlett and Eduardo Morlan) in an article he titles "Fleeced":
Obviously, the Rays ended up on the better end of the trade for ’08. From a dollars earned/made standpoint, the Rays spent $0.8-M on Bartlett and Garza, who combined to provide $21.2-M worth of on-field production, according to FanGraphs' value wins metric. The Rays, therefore, received $20.6-M in value, which is crucial for an organization with limited financial resources.

The Twins, on the other hand, spent $1.8-M on Harris and Young, who, with the latter posting a mark in the red, combined for a total worth of $2.1-M.

Tampa Bay, in year one alone, ended up with a gain of $18.5-M for making the trade. Although Garza has some issues that need to be worked out and Young may finally put it together on a power standpoint, odds are the dollar values are only going to get worse for Minnesota.
It's a long, detailed, well-written article, with breakdowns of each player involved. I encourage you to read it.

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Random Jim Donten Picture: Chris Nowak

Chris NowakChris Nowak, taken by Jim Donten. Click here to see all of Jim Donten's pictures.

Spring Training Probable Pitchers

Scott KazmirSunday, March 29th at Cincinnati Reds, Ed Smith Stadium, Sarasota (radio: 620-AM WDAE) – 1:05 p.m.:
Rays – LH Scott Kazmir, RH Grant Balfour.

Reds – RH Bronson Arroyo, LH Arthur Rhodes, RH Jared Burton, LH Bill Bray.

RH Troy Percival, LH Brian Shouse, RH Dan Wheeler and RH Joe Nelson will work in a minor league game.

Monday, March 30th at Minnesota Twins, Hammond Stadium, Lee County (TV: Sun Sports; no radio) – 1:05 p.m.:
Rays – RH Matt Garza.

Twins – LH Glen Perkins, LH Brian Duensing, RH Matt Guerrier.

Rays 5th Starter Candidates

Jason HammelHere are the Spring Training statistics so far for the remaining candidates to be the Rays 5th starter (thru Saturday's game):

Pitcher W L ERA G GS IP H R ER HR BB SO
Hammel 0 1 3.96 7 4 25.0 25 11 11 3 9 18
Niemann 2 1 6.32 6 3 15.2 17 11 11 0 6 10

Grapefruit League Spring Training Standings

Through Saturday's games:

TEAM W L T PCT GB HOME ROAD RS RA
Atlanta 17 9 0 .654 - 10-5 7-4 143 105
NY Yankees 18 10 1 .643 - 11-3 7-7 164 111
St. Louis 16 10 2 .615 1 8-6 8-4 171 150
Boston 16 11 0 .593 1.5 10-4 6-7 165 145
Pittsburgh 15 11 2 .577 2 9-7 6-4 148 144
Minnesota 14 12 0 .538 3 7-5 7-7 121 106
NY Mets 13 13 1 .500 4 7-7 6-6 163 157
Washington 12 13 2 .480 4.5 8-4 4-9 107 122
Tampa Bay 12 13 1 .480 4.5 8-5 4-8 134 146
Cincinnati 13 15 0 .464 5 7-5 6-10 124 137
Toronto 11 13 2 .458 5 6-7 5-6 130 139
Detroit 11 14 1 .440 5.5 8-3 3-11 111 112
Baltimore 11 16 0 .407 6.5 6-7 5-9 128 124
Philadelphia 10 15 2 .400 6.5 5-6 5-9 128 147
Florida 10 15 1 .400 6.5 3-9 7-6 127 155
Houston 8 17 3 .320 8.5 6-5 2-12 98 162

March 28th Spring Training Box Score


             1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9   R  H  E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Cincinnati 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 1 5 8 0
Tampa Bay 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 0

Cincinnati AB R H BI Tampa Bay AB R H BI
W Taveras cf 3 1 1 1 A Iwamura 2b 3 1 0 0
J Keppinger ss 5 0 0 0 C Richard 1b 0 0 0 0
J Votto 1b 4 1 1 1 C Crawford lf 3 0 2 0
B Phillips 2b 2 0 0 0 G Kapler lf-cf 1 0 0 0
A Rosales ph-2b 1 0 0 0 E Longoria 3b 2 0 0 1
J Bruce rf 4 0 2 2 A Kennedy 3b-2b 1 0 0 0
E Encarnacion dh 4 0 0 0 C Pena 1b 2 0 0 0
C Dickerson lf 4 0 0 0 R Sadler lf 1 0 0 0
R Hernandez c 2 0 1 0 P Burrell dh 3 0 0 0
R Hanigan ph-c 1 2 1 1 M Joyce ph-dh 1 0 0 0
P Janish 3b 4 1 2 0 D Navarro c 3 0 2 0
E Volquez p 0 0 0 0 J Weber rf 1 0 0 0
B Bray p 0 0 0 0 B Zobrist cf 1 0 0 0
J Burton p 0 0 0 0 N Ashley c 0 0 0 0
N Masset p 0 0 0 0 G Gross rf 1 0 0 0
W Aybar ph-1b 2 0 0 0
J Bartlett ss 3 0 1 0
R Olmedo ss 1 0 0 0
J Hammel p 0 0 0 0
J Isringhausen p 0 0 0 0
B Shouse p 0 0 0 0
G Balfour p 0 0 0 0
J Howell p 0 0 0 0
J Nelson p 0 0 0 0
TOTALS 34 5 8 5 TOTALS 29 1 5 1
DP--TAMPA BAY 2. LOB--CINCINNATI 6, TAMPA BAY 8. 
2B--P Janish. HR--J Votto 1 (3) (off J Howell), R Hanigan 1 (2)
(off J Nelson). SB--J Bruce 1 (1), C Crawford 1 (7).
CS--W Taveras. SF--E Longoria.
Cincinnati                        IP   H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR
E Volquez (W,2-0) 5 4 1 1 4 3 0
B Bray 1 1 0 0 1 0 0
J Burton 1 0 0 0 0 2 0
N Masset (S,1) 2 0 0 0 1 1 0

Tampa Bay IP H R ER BB SO HR
J Hammel 5 2 0 0 1 4 0
J Isringhausen (L,0-1) 1 3 2 2 1 0 0
B Shouse 1-3 0 1 1 1 1 0
G Balfour 2-3 1 0 0 0 0 0
J Howell 1 1 1 1 0 0 1
J Nelson 1 1 1 1 0 0 1
WP--E Volquez. HBP--W Taveras by J Nelson. 
Time: 2:52.
Attendance: 7,156.

Rays Spring Roster And Transactions Update

Rays Spring TrainingThe Tampa Bay Rays began Spring Training with 63 players and are now down to 37 (15 pitchers, 3 catchers, 10 infielders, 9 outfielders).

Pitchers (15):
RH Grant Balfour, RH Chad Bradford, RH Lance Cormier, RH Matt Garza, RH Jason Hammel, LH J.P. Howell, *RH Jason Isringhausen, LH Scott Kazmir, RH Joe Nelson, RH Jeff Niemann, RH Troy Percival, RH James Shields, LH Brian Shouse, RH Andy Sonnanstine, RH Dan Wheeler.

Catchers (3):
*Michel Hernandez, Dioner Navarro, Shawn Riggans.

Infielders (10):
Willy Aybar, Jason Bartlett, *Morgan Ensberg, Akinori Iwamura, *Adam Kennedy, Evan Longoria, *Ray Olmedo, Carlos Pena, *Chris Richard, Ben Zobrist.

Outfielders (9):
Pat Burrell, Carl Crawford, Gabe Gross, Matt Joyce, Gabe Kapler, Fernando Perez, *Ray Sadler, B.J. Upton, *Jon Weber.

*Non-Roster Invite.

Spring Transactions:
February 17th - Signed INF Adam Kennedy to a minor league contract.

February 20th - Signed RHP Jason Isringhausen to a minor league contract.

March 10th - Optioned LHP James Houser to AAA Durham; reassigned C Craig Albernaz, C Nevin Ashley, LHP Jason Cromer, RHP Neal Frontz, RHP Calvin Medlock and RHP Chad Orvella to minor league camp. LHP James Houser was optioned to Durham (AAA).

March 16th - Optioned RHP Wade Davis, RHP Mitch Talbot and RHP Dale Thayer to AAA Durham; optioned LHP Jake McGee to the minor leagues; reassigned RHP Winston Abreu, INF Tim Beckham, RHP Jason Childers, LHP Randy Choate, RHP Dewon Day, RHP Julio DePaula, LHP Carlos Hernandez, INF Chris Nowak and C Matt Spring to minor league camp.

March 19th - Accepted back RHP Eduardo Morlan from Milwaukee who was selected from AAA Durham in the Rule 5 Draft.

March 23rd - Offered Rule 5 Draft selection RHP Derek Rodriguez back to Chicago White Sox (accepted).

March 25th - Optioned INF Reid Brignac, C John Jaso, INF/OF Elliot Johnson, LHP David Price and OF Justin Ruggiano to AAA Durham.

Friday, March 27, 2009

Spring Training Attendance

Tampa Bay RaysThe Rays seventh sellout crowd of the spring on Wednesday night pushed the total attendance at Charlotte Sports Park over 90,000, extending the franchise record. The most sellouts the Rays had in any previous spring was three.

Top Rays Spring Training Home Attendance:
2009 - 90,045
2007 - 79,044
2006 - 70,756
2000 - 67,089
1998 - 66,781
2005 - 61,261
1999 - 59,230
2001 - 57,081
2008 - 54,960
2003 - 51,324
2002 - 49,043
2004 - 43,916

Overall 2009 Major League Baseball and Grapefruit League spring training attendance figures so far are down 20%, but the Rays attendance is up 30%.

                        2008 Avg.   2009 Avg.   % Change
Major League Baseball 8,026 6,420 -20.0%
Grapefruit League 7,740 6,174 -20.2%
Tampa Bay Rays 4,996 6,499 +30.0%

Rays Ranked #2 Organization

Tampa Bay RaysDave Cameron has ranked the Tampa Bay Rays as the #2 organization in baseball (the Boston Red Sox are #1, New York Yankees #3):
Ownership: C+
Front Office: A+
Major League Talent: A
Minor League Talent: A
Overall: A
A smart front office, the best young group of major league talent in baseball, and a top notch farm system gives the franchise an embarrassment of riches. They don’t have room for all their quality players. Their depth is ridiculous, yet there are few weaknesses on the major league roster that could use an upgrade. The team’s revenue streams aren’t up there with the big boys, but their remarkable talent overcomes that limitation. The Rays are for real, and they’re going to put a contending team on the field for the next half decade at least.

March 27th Spring Training Box Score


             1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9   R  H  E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Tampa Bay 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 8 0
Minnesota 1 0 0 5 5 0 5 0 x 16 18 1

Tampa Bay AB R H BI Minnesota AB R H BI
A Iwamura 2b 3 0 1 1 D Span lf 4 2 2 3
C Cipriano 2b 1 0 0 0 A Casilla 2b 3 0 0 0
C Crawford lf 2 1 1 1 S Singleton 2b 2 1 1 1
P Cottrell 3b 2 0 0 0 J Crede 3b 4 0 0 0
E Longoria 3b 3 0 0 0 T Watkins 3b 1 1 0 1
C Richard 1b 1 0 0 0 J Morneau 1b 3 1 2 1
P Burrell rf 3 0 1 0 B Buscher pr-1b 2 1 1 2
R Fronk lf 1 0 1 0 J Kubel dh 4 2 4 3
M Joyce dh 2 0 1 0 A Machado ph-dh 1 0 0 0
J Weber ph-dh 1 0 0 0 M Cuddyer rf 2 1 1 2
G Kapler cf 4 0 1 0 R Tosoni pr-rf 1 1 0 0
S Riggans c 3 0 0 0 C Gomez cf 4 1 0 0
M Spring c 1 0 0 0 J Morales c 3 2 2 1
M Ensberg 1b 2 1 1 0 J Christy c 2 1 2 0
R Olmedo ss 2 0 0 0 N Punto ss 3 1 2 1
J Bartlett ss 2 0 0 0 M Tolbert ss 1 1 1 0
R Sadler rf 1 0 1 0 S Baker p 0 0 0 0
J Shields p 0 0 0 0 B Duensing p 0 0 0 0
J DePaula p 0 0 0 0 M Guerrier p 0 0 0 0
J Childers p 0 0 0 0 C Breslow p 0 0 0 0
M Wlodarczyk p 0 0 0 0
TOTALS 34 2 8 2 TOTALS 40 16 18 15
E--J Morales. DP--TAMPA BAY 1, MINNESOTA 2. 
LOB--TAMPA BAY 9, MINNESOTA 8. 2B--N Punto 2, B Buscher,
M Ensberg. 3B--A Iwamura. HR--J Morneau 1 (3) (off J Shields),
M Cuddyer 1 (2) (off J Shields), J Kubel 1 (2) (off J Shields),
C Crawford 1 (2) (off S Baker). SB--C Crawford 1 (6).
Tampa Bay                         IP   H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR
J Shields (L,2-1) 4 1-3 12 11 11 3 1 3
J DePaula 1 2-3 1 0 0 1 0 0
J Childers 1 3 5 5 3 1 0
M Wlodarczyk 1 2 0 0 0 1 0

Minnesota IP H R ER BB SO HR
S Baker (W,1-2) 6 5 2 2 1 2 1
B Duensing 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
M Guerrier 1 1 0 0 0 1 0
C Breslow 1 1 0 0 1 1 0
WP--S Baker, J Childers. HBP--C Gomez by J Shields, C Cipriano
by C Breslow.
Time: 2:44.
Attendance: 7,394.

Spring Training Probable Pitchers

James ShieldsFriday, March 27th at Minnesota Twins, Hammond Stadium, Lee County (no radio/TV) – 1:05 p.m.:
Rays – RH James Shields.

Twins – RH Scott Baker, RH Matt Guerrier, RH Jesse Crain, LH Craig Breslow.

Saturday, March 28th vs. Cincinnati Reds, Charlotte Sports Park (radio: 620-AM WDAE) – 1:05 p.m.:
Reds – RH Edinson Volquez, LH Arthur Rhodes, RH Jared Burton, LH Bill Bray, RH Nick Masset.

Rays – RH Jason Hammel, RH Grant Balfour, RH Jason Isringhausen, RH Joe Nelson, RH Troy Percival, LH Brian Shouse.

Sunday, March 29th at Cincinnati Reds, Ed Smith Stadium, Sarasota (radio: 620-AM WDAE) – 1:05 p.m.:
Rays – LH Scott Kazmir, RH Grant Balfour.

Reds – RH Bronson Arroyo, LH Arthur Rhodes, RH Jared Burton, LH Bill Bray.

RH Troy Percival, LH Brian Shouse, RH Dan Wheeler and RH Joe Nelson will work in a minor league game.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

More On The Drew M. Anderson Trade

Tampa Bay RaysCorey Brinn has this to add on Drew M. Anderson being traded from the Cincinnati Reds to the Tampa Bay Rays:
Anderson was on the backfields at the Cincinnati Reds Spring Training Complex warming up for a game against minor leaguers from the Minnesota Twins. Anderson was in the starting lineup playing second base. As he finished up his pre-game routine and stretches he was tapped on the shoulder by field coordinator Freddie Benavides, and was asked to join him and Terry Reynolds for a few words.

Anderson was told that he had just been traded to the Tampa Bay Rays and they were expecting him to report to their minor league complex in Port Charlotte, about 45 minute drive from Sarasota. With a few "thank you's" and "Good Lucks" Anderson headed into the clubhouse to pack up his locker and move his career in a new direction.
...
I asked him if he knew any details of the trade, and he said all he knew was a phone number of the Rays farm director that he was supposed to call. Having their Triple-A team in Durham, North Carolina, Anderson is hoping to make that squad so that he can live at home and be close to family and friends. Appearing a bit "shell shocked," the 26 year old infielder told me he was excited "because Tampa Bay had a strong interest in him and could be a better road to the show."

Minor Moves

Erold Emilio AndrusStacy Long updates us on some former Montgomery Biscuits:
Longtime Biscuits pitcher Brian Henderson has signed with the Somerset Patriots of the independent Atlantic League.
...
Somerset has also signed former Biscuits pitchers Jim Magrane and Travis Minix. Also in the Atlantic League, outfielder Jeremy Owens will rejoin the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs and Steve Andrade is set to play for the York Revolution.

Outfielder Erold Andrus has signed with the Florence Freedom of the independent Frontier League.

Bowling Green Opening Night Features Clay Underwood

Bowling Green Welcomes Clay UnderwoodAs part of the Citizens First Opening Night celebration, the Bowling Green Hot Rods have announced that Kentucky native and country music recording artist Clay Underwood will sing the National Anthem before the first game in Bowling Green.

Underwood, originally from Hodgenville, is an up-and-coming artist on the country music scene. His current album, New Beginnings and Old Honky Tonks, features his debut single Behind These Walls, which has climbed all the way to No. 71 on the Music Row charts. Lawn seating and standing-room only tickets are still available for the April 17th home opener.

International League (AAA) News

Durham BullsFrom the International League News & Notes email for March 26th:

DURHAM BULLS
ROTATION TAKING SHAPE: With arguably baseball’s top prospect David Price optioned yesterday to Durham, the Bulls rotation is nearly set. Price will more than likely be rejoined by righties Mitch Talbot and Wade Davis. Former major leaguer Carlos Hernandez, who is coming back from shoulder troubles, is expected to join Triple-A newcomer James Houser in the Bulls starting five. If this turns out to be Durham’s rotation, three of the five starters to begin the year will be lefties.

PEN PERFECT: The bullpen certainly has the ability to be one of Durham’s strengths to start 2009. The following pitchers were in major league camp and have been either optioned to Durham or assigned to minor league camp: Winston Abreu, Jason Childers, Randy Choate, Dewon Day, Julio DePaula, Chad Orvella, and Dale Thayer. Every member of that group has either MLB experience or is currently on the Rays 40-man roster.

IN THE FIELD: The following players are still in MLB camp with the Rays, but are expected to be part of Durham’s roster: Michel Hernandez, Chris Richard, Ray Sadler and Jon Weber. Reid Brignac, John Jaso, Elliott Johnson, and Justin Ruggiano were optioned to Durham yesterday, along with Price.

WELCOME BACK: Bulls Manager Charlie Montoyo returned to camp late last week. Montoyo was a coach on Team Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic.
...
COLUMBUS CLIPPERS
HISTORICAL CLIPPERS FOE JOINS TEAM: RHP Juan Salas was one of five players optioned to Columbus on March 19. Clippers fans might remember Salas, acquired from Tampa Bay on February 19 for INF Isaias Velasquez, as the closer in Durham’s 4-1, no-hit win vs. Columbus on July 16, 2006. Salas (0.2 IP) combined with Jason Hammel (8.1 IP) in completing the second no-hitter against the Clippers in Columbus history.

Jae Kuk Ryu Has Landed With The Cleveland Indians

OspreyAnthony Castrovince reports the Cleveland Indians have claimed Jae Kuk Ryu off waivers from the San Diego Padres:
The Indians have claimed right-hander Jae Kuk Ryu off waivers from the Padres and optioned him to Triple-A Columbus. He will go directly to Minor league camp.
...
The Padres had claimed Ryu off waivers in January and gave him a shot at their bullpen. He went 0-1 with a 10.61 ERA in eight appearances this spring, surrendering 12 runs (11 earned) on 16 hits in 9 1/3 innings. He gave up eight earned runs in one-third of an inning in an appearance against the Giants on March 21.

Five Rays Make Scout.com Top Prospect List

Wade DavisFive players from the Rays organization made the Scout.com list of the Top 106(?) prospects in baseball:
1. David Price
11. Wade Davis
20. Tim Beckham
45. Jeremy Hellickson
106. Desmond Jennings

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Rays 5th Starter Candidates

Jeff NiemannHere are the Spring Training statistics so far for the remaining candidates to be the Rays 5th starter (thru Wednesday's game):

Pitcher W L ERA G GS IP H R ER HR BB SO
Hammel 0 1 4.95 6 3 20.0 23 11 11 3 8 14
Niemann 2 1 6.32 6 3 15.2 17 11 11 0 6 10

March 25th Spring Training Box Score


             1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9   R  H  E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Pittsburgh 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 8 0
Tampa Bay 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 x 4 6 0

Pittsburgh AB R H BI Tampa Bay AB R H BI
A McCutchen cf 4 0 1 0 J Bartlett ss 3 0 1 0
J Wilson ss 1 0 0 0 R Sadler lf-cf 1 1 1 0
B Bixler ss 3 0 0 0 C Crawford lf 2 0 0 0
R Vazquez 3b 3 1 1 0 O Luna 2b 0 0 0 0
A Machado 3b 1 0 0 0 E Longoria 3b 3 0 1 1
A LaRoche 1b 3 0 0 0 C Cipriano pr-3b 0 0 0 0
G Jones 1b 1 0 0 0 P Burrell dh 3 0 0 0
C Monroe lf 3 0 1 0 M Ensberg ph-dh 1 0 0 0
J Salazar lf 1 0 0 0 W Aybar 1b 3 0 0 0
B Moss rf 4 1 3 1 C Richard 1b 0 0 0 1
S Pearce dh 4 0 1 1 B Zobrist cf 1 0 0 0
R Diaz c 3 0 0 0 G Kapler cf 1 0 0 0
L Cruz 2b 3 0 1 0 M Joyce ph-rf 1 0 0 0
J Karstens p 0 0 0 0 G Gross rf 2 1 2 0
J Grabow p 0 0 0 0 J Weber rf-lf 1 0 0 0
D Veal p 0 0 0 0 S Riggans c 3 0 0 0
C Bootcheck p 0 0 0 0 A Kennedy 2b 2 1 1 2
R Olmedo 2b-ss 0 1 0 0
J Niemann p 0 0 0 0
T Percival p 0 0 0 0
J Isringhausen p 0 0 0 0
D Wheeler p 0 0 0 0
J Nelson p 0 0 0 0
J Howell p 0 0 0 0
TOTALS 34 2 8 2 TOTALS 27 4 6 4

DP--TAMPA BAY 2. LOB--PITTSBURGH 5, TAMPA BAY 5.
2B--B Moss, S Pearce. HR--A Kennedy 1 (1) (off J Karstens).
SB--R Vazquez 1 (1).

Pittsburgh IP H R ER BB SO HR
J Karstens 5 5 2 2 2 5 1
J Grabow 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
D Veal (L,2-1) 1 1-3 1 2 2 2 2 0
C Bootcheck 2-3 0 0 0 0 0 0

Tampa Bay IP H R ER BB SO HR
J Niemann 4 5 1 1 0 2 0
T Percival 1 0 0 0 0 1 0
J Isringhausen 1 2 1 1 0 1 0
D Wheeler 1 0 0 0 0 1 0
J Nelson (W,2-1) 1 0 0 0 0 1 0
J Howell (S,1) 1 1 0 0 0 1 0

HBP--E Longoria by D Veal.
Time: 2:29.
Attendance: 6,771.

Rays Add New Club Seating Area To Tropicana Field

Tampa Bay RaysFor the 2009 season the Rays will introduce a new seating area at Tropicana Field known as Club 105. The team has converted section 105, previously a drink rail space, into an area with 70 padded seats. Beer, wine, soda, peanuts, popcorn and pretzels are included in the price of the ticket.

Tickets for Club 105 are priced at $90 for regular games, $105 for marquee games and $130 for prime games. Tickets will go on sale beginning tomorrow at 9 a.m. and can be purchased on-line at raysbaseball.com or via phone at 888-FAN-RAYS. As a result of this new section and several other smaller adjustments, the official capacity for Tropicana Field will increase to 36,973.

Rays Send Five To Durham

Durham BullsThe Tampa Bay Rays reduced their spring training roster by five today, optioning INF Reid Brignac, C John Jaso, INF/OF Elliot Johnson, LHP David Price and OF Justin Ruggiano to the Durham Bulls (AAA).

There are now 37 players officially remaining in camp:
Pitchers (15): RH Grant Balfour, RH Chad Bradford, RH Lance Cormier, RH Matt Garza, RH Jason Hammel, LH J.P. Howell, *RH Jason Isringhausen, LH Scott Kazmir, RH Joe Nelson, RH Jeff Niemann, RH Troy Percival, RH James Shields, LH Brian Shouse, RH Andy Sonnanstine, and RH Dan Wheeler.

Catchers (3): *Michel Hernandez, Dioner Navarro, and Shawn Riggans.

Infielders (10): Willy Aybar, Jason Bartlett, *Morgan Ensberg, Akinori Iwamura, *Adam Kennedy, Evan Longoria, *Ray Olmedo, Carlos Peña, *Chris Richard, and Ben Zobrist.

Outfielders (9): Pat Burrell, Carl Crawford, Gabe Gross, Matt Joyce, Gabe Kapler, Fernando Perez, *Ray Sadler, B.J. Upton, and *Jon Weber.

*Non-Roster Invite.

Reported Trade: 2B Drew M. Anderson From The Reds

Drew M. AndersonDoug Gray is reporting that the Cincinnati Reds have traded Drew M. Anderson to the Rays. It is unknown which Rays player(s) are involved at this time. It shouldn't be anyone important, but stay tuned for details as they come in.

Anderson is a 26 year old who played mostly 2B (with some 3B/OF) for the Reds AA affiliate the Chattanooga Lookouts in 2008 (plus 8 games at AAA Louisville). In 225 AB's for Chattanooga he put up a line of .262/.328/.404. He was selected by the Reds in the 13th round of the 2004 draft out of the Ohio State University.

(Hat tip to Tyler Hissey.)

Rays On MLB Network April 30th

Here is the MLB Network Thursday Night Baseball schedule for April and May:

Date Time (ET) Game Announcers
April 9th 7:00 p.m. Brewers @ Giants Matt Vasgersian, Joe Magrane
April 16th 1:00 p.m. Indians @ Yankees B. Costas, H. Reynolds, J. Kaat
April 16th 8:00 p.m. Blue Jays @ Twins Victor Rojas, Dan Plesac
April 23rd 8:00 p.m. Dodgers @ Astros Matt Vasgersian, Joe Magrane
April 30th 7:00 p.m. Red Sox @ Rays Victor Rojas, Joe Magrane
May 7th 7:00 p.m. Phillies @ Mets Bob Costas, Al Leiter
May 14th 8:00 p.m. Orioles @ Royals TBD
May 21st 8:00 p.m. Cubs @ Cardinals TBD

Prospects Looking For A Bounceback

Here's a few Rays prospects hoping to re-establish themselves on the prospect map:

RHP Chris Mason - Mason was a top-10 or 15 Rays prospect entering the year, coming off a strong season in Montgomery. Things completely fell apart in Durham in 2008, where he went 3-10 with an ERA over 6. He was eventually moved to the bullpen where he fared no better. Mason has relatively pedestrian stuff across the board, but if he mixes it up and controls it like he did with the Biscuits in 2007, then he can emerge as a middle-relief type. With as much pitching depth as the Rays have, Mason's best bet may be pitching well enough to catch the eye of another team.

OF Ryan Royster - Like Mason, Royster was pretty high on prospect lists coming into 2009, having won the system's triple crown in 2008. Royster moved up to Vero Beach and failed to adjust to the new league, hitting just .265 and having his slugging percentage plunge from .601 with Columbus in 2008 to .373. Royster still has some decent tools, including huge raw power, but he's not selective enough at the plate(only 32 walks last year) and strikes out a lot(110 times last year).

RHP Wade Townsend - Okay, this one's really on here for my benefit. Townsend was the Rays 1st rounder back in 2005 but he just hasn't been able to stay healthy. In 2008, he pitched 66 wholly ineffective innings between Vero Beach and Montgomery, and in fact he has a career 5.49 ERA in the Rays system. His stuff is obviously way, way down from his Rice days, but I'm going to stick him on this list anyway.

C Mike McCormick - In 2007, McCormick made the switch from 3B to C and, while still raw behind the plate, he showed solid defensive skills while putting up an .821 OPS in Hudson Valley. He got bumped to full-season Columbus and never got on track, his batting average hovering around .210 all season. He finished with a .216/.276/.365 line, though he did show some of his power hitting 13 home runs. Still, he's going to have hit and get on base more to be any sort of viable prospect. He's in a bit of tough spot, as the only way he'll get consistent playing time is by moving up to Port Charlotte, an iffy proposition considering how poor he hit in Columbus. But with Jake Jefferies the likely everyday catcher in Bowling Green, that might be his only shot.

RHP Matt Walker - Hard to believe this guy was right behind Wade Davis and Jake McGee on prospect lists a few years ago. He's battled injuries and a complete inability to throw strikes, but if he can somehow find his control, he has good enough stuff to emerge as a decent prospect. He won't ever be on the McGee/Davis level, and his ceiling is probably a set-up guy. But he has an excellent curveball when he's on, it's just a matter of being a lot more consistent with it(and being able to throw enough strikes early in the count). He could find himself in Montgomery's bullpen in 2009.

Call For Ideas

This period between our prospect list and the affiliate rosters being named is pretty much a dead period, so is there anything you guys would like to see? And while we're here, what about features for the season? We have some ideas for then but are always open to more.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Rays Top Prospects By Affiliate

Tampa Bay RaysWith the 2009 season just around the corner, here are where we project the Rays top prospects to open the year. This list includes all the players from our top batter and pitcher prospect lists (plus honorable mentions) and BaseballAmerica's top 31 Rays prospects list.

Tampa Bay Rays (MLB): Fernando Perez (60-day DL), Jeff Niemann (or traded).

Durham Bulls (AAA): Reid Brignac, John Jaso, Justin Ruggiano, Elliot Johnson, Chris Nowak, David Price, Wade Davis, Mitch Talbot, James Houser, Chris Mason.

Montgomery Biscuits (AA): Jeremy Hellickson, Heath Rollins, Ryan Reid, Ryan Royster, Rhyne Hughes.

Charlotte Stone Crabs (A+): Desmond Jennings, Reid Fronk, Shawn O'Malley, Jake McGee (DL, then here), Alex Cobb, Austin Hinkle, Justin Garcia, Mike McCormick, Will Kline (depends on health).

Bowling Green Hot Rods (A): Tim Beckham, Kyeong Kang, Jake Jefferies, Mike Sheridan, Elias Otero, Jason Corder, Nick Barnese, Matt Moore, Shane Dyer, Matt Gorgen, Mark Thomas, David Newmann (depends on health).

Hudson Valley Renegades (A-) or Princeton Rays (R+): D.J. Jones, Mayo Acosta, Albert Suarez, Alexander Colome, Chris Luck, Kyle Lobstein, Ty Morrison, Brian Bryles, Joseph Cruz, Jason McEachern.

Joe Maddon, Jason Hammel, 5th Starter Decision

Manager Joe MaddonMarc Lancaster has this from Jason Hammel and manager Joe Maddon on the competition for the Rays 5th starting slot:
After issuing five walks to Pirates hitters (including the leadoff man in three of the four innings he pitched), Hammel was quick to fall on his sword. "To sum it up in one word, basically: unacceptable," he said. "For a rotation hopeful that's definitely not what you're supposed to [do]. The one good thing is I felt strong, my arm was good, but other than that, the guy I was the first few appearances wasn't there today. I wasn't aggressive, I was nitpicking, trying to pick the corners."
...
"We want guys that throw strikes," Maddon said. "We have a team that plays defense and you want your pitchers to put the ball in play." Maddon also went out of his way to insist no decision has been made when it comes to the final rotation spot. Niemann will get another chance to state his case Wednesday night against the Pirates in Port Charlotte, and it could be his last chance. Maddon has said he would prefer to finalize everything by the end of this week.

2009 Grapefruit League Spring Training Standings

Through Monday's games:

TEAM          W   L  T   PCT   GB  HOME  ROAD   RS   RA 
Atlanta 16 5 0 .762 - 9-2 7-3 126 79
St. Louis 16 6 2 .773 .5 8-3 8-3 149 116
Pittsburgh 13 9 2 .636 3.5 8-6 5-3 130 130
NY Yankees 14 10 1 .604 3.5 9-3 5-7 137 103
Boston 13 10 0 .565 4 8-4 5-6 142 125
Minnesota 12 10 0 .545 4.5 6-5 6-5 89 88
Tampa Bay 11 10 1 .548 5 7-4 4-6 124 117
NY Mets 10 11 1 .500 6 5-6 5-5 139 129
Cincinnati 11 13 0 .458 6.5 6-4 5-9 111 126
Toronto 9 11 2 .500 6.5 6-5 3-6 112 121
Washington 9 12 2 .476 7 6-4 3-8 91 111
Philadelphia 9 12 2 .476 7 5-5 4-7 110 115
Florida 9 12 1 .452 7 3-7 6-5 104 127
Baltimore 9 14 0 .391 8 6-5 3-9 102 97
Detroit 8 13 1 .405 8 7-3 1-10 88 99
Houston 5 16 3 .310 11 4-5 1-11 77 148

Spring Training Probable Pitchers

Scott KazmirTuesday, March 24th - Off day, no major league game:
Note: LH Scott Kazmir will pitch in a minor league game.

Wednesday, March 25th vs. Pittsburgh Pirates, Charlotte Sports Park (radio: 620-AM WDAE) – 7:05 p.m.:
Pirates – RH Jeff Karstens, RH Denny Bautista, RH Chris Bootcheck, RH Jesse Chavez, LH Donnie Veal.

Rays – RH Jeff Niemann, RH Troy Percival, RH Dan Wheeler, RH Jason Isringhausen, LH Brian Shouse, RH Joe Nelson.

Note: RH Matt Garza will pitch in a minor league game at Charlotte Sports Complex.

Thursday, March 26th at Detroit Tigers, Joker Marchant Stadium, Lakeland (radio: 1250-AM WHNZ) – 6:05 p.m.:
Rays – RH Andy Sonnanstine.

Tigers – RH Rick Porcello.

Rays 5th Starter Candidates

Jason HammelHere are the Spring Training statistics so far for the remaining candidates to be the Rays 5th starter (thru Monday's game):

Pitcher W L ERA G GS IP H R ER HR BB SO
Hammel 0 1 4.95 6 3 20.0 23 11 11 3 8 14
Niemann 2 1 7.71 5 2 11.2 12 10 10 0 6 8
Price 2 0 1.08 3 1 8.1 6 1 1 0 6 10

March 23rd Spring Training Box Score


              1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9   R  H  E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Tampa Bay 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 4 0
Pittsburgh 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 x 4 8 0

Tampa Bay AB R H BI Pittsburgh AB R H BI
G Kapler cf 3 0 0 0 N Morgan lf 3 0 1 1
G Gross rf 1 0 1 1 A McCutchen cf 1 0 0 0
D Navarro c 3 0 1 0 R Vazquez 2b 4 0 1 0
S Riggans c 1 0 0 0 L Cruz 2b 0 0 0 0
W Aybar 2b 3 0 0 0 A LaRoche 1b 3 0 1 0
M Ensberg 3b 1 0 0 0 S Pearce 1b 1 0 0 0
C Pena 1b 2 0 0 0 E Hinske 3b 3 1 2 0
J Weber lf 1 0 0 0 A Machado 3b 1 0 0 0
P Burrell lf 3 0 0 0 B Moss rf 2 1 0 1
C Richard 1b 1 0 0 0 G Jones rf 1 0 0 0
M Joyce dh 3 0 0 0 J Wilson ss 2 2 2 0
J Ruggiano rf-cf 3 0 1 0 B Bixler ss 1 0 0 0
R Sadler cf 0 0 0 0 J Jaramillo c 4 0 0 1
R Brignac ss-2b 3 0 1 0 Z Duke p 2 0 1 1
R Olmedo 2b 0 0 0 0 D Veal p 0 0 0 0
A Kennedy 3b-ss 1 1 0 0 A LaRoche ph 1 0 0 0
J Hammel p 0 0 0 0 T Yates p 0 0 0 0
L Cormier p 0 0 0 0 C Bootcheck p 0 0 0 0
J Nelson p 0 0 0 0 J Salazar ph 1 0 0 0
J DePaula p 0 0 0 0 J Chavez p 0 0 0 0
TOTALS 29 1 4 1 TOTALS 30 4 8 4

LOB--TAMPA BAY 4, PITTSBURGH 8. 2B--J Wilson 2, A LaRoche,
Z Duke, G Gross. 3B--E Hinske. SB--N Morgan 2 (5), S Pearce 1
(1), J Ruggiano 1 (3). CS--N Morgan, J Ruggiano, R Brignac.

Tampa Bay IP H R ER BB SO HR
J Hammel (L,0-1) 4 6 4 4 5 2 0
L Cormier 2 1 0 0 1 0 0
J Nelson 1 1 0 0 0 1 0
J DePaula 1 0 0 0 0 0 0

Pittsburgh IP H R ER BB SO HR
Z Duke (W,1-0) 5 2 0 0 2 4 0
D Veal 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
T Yates 1 0 0 0 0 1 0
C Bootcheck 1 2 1 1 1 2 0
J Chavez (S,1) 1 0 0 0 0 1 0

Time: 2:37.
Attendance: 4,947.

Curt Schilling Retires

Curt SchillingYou can forget the rumors of Curt Schilling pitching for the Rays this summer, or for anyone else:
"Turn out the lights the party’s over" …

I used to wait with bated breath for Don Meredith to start singing that on Monday night football. Normally it was sweet music if the Steelers were playing.

If I could get him to sing it again I would. This party has officially ended. After being blessed to experience 23 years of playing professional baseball in front of the world’s best fans in so many different places, it is with zero regrets that I am making my retirement official.

Yankees Passion For 3rd Place

Chris BasakAn interesting perspective on the Yankees loss to the Rays on Sunday by Lucy Albero:
When the Yankees lost to the Rays today, my first reaction was fear that the Rays may repeat last year’s stellar performance. However, I quickly came to my senses with the realization that today’s game is no barometer of the Rays’ potential success against the Yankees this season. The Yankees have a Spring Training plan they don’t ignore regardless of the competition, so losing is never reason for concern no matter which team they play against. However, many teams play the Yankees with tremendous zeal no matter what the occasion. I recall how desperately hard the Rays played against the Yankees last spring when Rays’ Chris Basak irrationally tackled Yankees’ Catcher Francisco Cervelli, causing him to break his wrist. This goes to show how passionately the Rays approach these meaningless competitions.
...
As such, I don’t believe this game is any indication of what the upcoming season holds concerning the Rays. Therefore, I will continue to believe that the Yankees will leave the Rays in the dust until I see otherwise, and that will start when the Yankees play with the same enthusiasm as the Rays — namely, when the real games finally begin.

I guess this vindicates Elliot Johnson? And didn't she 'see otherwise' for the entire 2008 season?

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Rays Set Spring Training Attendance Records

Tampa Bay RaysThe Tampa Bay Rays today broke two franchise spring training attendance records in their 5-0 victory over the New York Yankees at Charlotte Sports Park. The sellout crowd of 7,621 at Charlotte Sports was a record for the facility and pushed the Rays season home attendance mark to 83,274, the most ever for one spring season. The Rays have three home games remaining this spring, and today was their sixth sellout of the spring.

Rays Spring Training Home Attendance:
2009 83,274
2007 79,044
2006 70,756
2000 67,089
1998 66,781
2005 61,261
1999 59,230
2001 57,081
2008 54,960
2003 51,324
2002 49,043
2004 43,916

Rays 5th Starter Candidates

David PriceHere are the Spring Training statistics so far for the candidates to be the Rays 5th starter (thru Sunday's game):

Pitcher W L ERA G GS IP H R ER HR BB SO
Hammel 0 0 3.94 5 2 16.0 17 7 7 3 3 12
Niemann 2 1 7.71 5 2 11.2 12 10 10 0 6 8
Price 2 0 1.08 3 1 8.1 6 1 1 0 6 10