D-Rays @ Baltimore Orioles Tidbits

• Tampa is 2-5 against the Orioles this season, having met in 7 of the first 10 games of the season.
• For the 2nd straight week, a Devil Ray was named AL player of the week. Last week it was Scott Kazmir. This week, Carl Crawford was named co-player of the week with Tiger’s pitcher Justin Verlander. This is the 10th time a D-Ray has been so honored. Last week, Crawford hit .484-3-5-8. Only once (1999-3) have the Rays had more than 2 honorees.
• The Rays enter the final leg of their longest roadtrip of the season (10 games). They are 1-6 so far and 9-19 on the road this season.
• Tampa has lost 4 straight on 3 occasions this season. They have yet to lose 5 straight.
• The Rays are 1-7 in Doug Waechter’s 8 starts and he has not won a start on the road since September of 2004. However, he did have his best outing of 2006 at home against Baltimore on April 13. He went 6 innings and gave up only 1 run. He failed to get a decision as the Rays lost 6-5.
• James Shields will make his major league debut tomorrow night. Shields, 25, was the 16th round pick of the Rays in 2000, is a 6’4″ righty. He is not overpowering but has shown remarkable control at Durham, with a 64:6 strikeout to walk ratio in 61.1 innings. He has walked more than one in a start only once (2) and has struck out 10 in two of past three starts.
• Jorge Cantu began his rehab assignment last night for AA Montgomery. He DH’d and went 0-3 with a walk and strikeout. He is scheduled to play 7 innings tonight at 2B.
• SP Daniel Cabrera (2-2, 5.23 ERA) is on the 15-day DL and will miss this series. OF Jay Gibbons, (.268-10-29) is listed as day-to-day with an injured knee. There is a chance he could be in the lineup tonight.
• Tonight’s starter Rodrigo Lopez, was the Orioles’ opening day starter picking up the win against the Devil Rays in Camden Yards. He went 7 innings, giving up 7 hits and 5 runs. In his last start, in Seattle, he had his best start of the year, throwing 7.1 innings of 2-hit shutout ball.
• Bruce Chen worked into the 8th in his only start against Tampa this season at the Trop. He gave up 5 hits and 5 runs, failing to pick up a decision in the O’s 6-5 win. In his last start against the Angels, he received a no-decision as he went 6 innings, giving up 5 hits and 2 runs.
• Eric Bedard has 2 of his 5 wins against the Rays this season, including a start in Tampa in which he pitched 7 shutout innings. He had his worst outing of the season in his last start, failing to get out of the 4th against the Angels. He gave up 10 hits and 6 runs, taking the loss.

Probable Pitchers
Tuesday, 7:05 et
Devil Rays Doug Waechter, RHP (0-3, 6.43)
Baltimore Rodrigo Lopez, RHP (2-7, 7.16)

Wednesday, 7:05 et
Devil Rays James Shields, RHP (0-0, 0.00)
Baltimore Bruce Chen, LHP (0-5, 7.40)

Thursday, 7:05 et
Devil Rays Scott Kazmir, LHP (7-3, 2.86)
Baltimore Eric Bedard, LHP (5-4, 5.67)

The Future: The Past Few Days On The Farm

Durham (26-24, 9.0 gb).

• Rocco Baldelli is off to a great start on in the first week of his minor league rehab assignment. In 6 games, he is 8-19 (.421), with 3 doubles and 3 RBI.
  
• James “Don’t Call Me Jamie now that I am in the bigs” Shields, made his scheduled start Saturday night unaware that he would be called up to the show after the game. He was pulled from the game after pitching 2 perfect innings and striking out 4. You can imagine his surprise by being yanked. Shields, a 6’4″ righty will make his major league debut on Wednesday in Camden Yards against the Orioles. Shields is not an overpowering pitcher, but what he lacks in heat he more than makes up for with pinpoint accuracy and command of his pitches. In 61.1 innings at Durham, he has struck out 64 and walked only 6 with an ERA of 2.64.
• Kevin Witt continues to pound the ball for the Bulls. He currently leads the league with 13 home runs (3 ahead of 2nd place), is second in RBI (34) and is 7th in batting average (.313).
• Elijah Dukes continues to try and get his name mentioned among the outfield prospects for the Rays. He is currently hitting .305, with 6 home runs, but is 3rd in the league in slugging (.552) as he leads in triples with 5. He is also 5th with 31 RBI.
• B. J. Upton continues to lead the IL in stolen bases with 21 (caught 8 times). His average has consistently hovered around .300 all season and is currently .293 with 4 home runs and 21 RBI. He still strikes out a lot, but makes up for it with a solid OBP of .397. Of course we are all well aware of his fielding woes. He has committed 18 so far this season.
• Darnell McDonald numbers have fallen off a bit recently but they are still strong. He is now hitting .300 with 6 home runs, 29 RBI and 13 stolen bases.
• The rest of the starting pitchers, outside of Shields, has struggled of late. Chris Seddon did pitch well in his last outing going 7 and giving up 6 hits, 0 walks and 3 runs. He is now 5-3 and his ERA now sits at 4.66. Against Richmond, Brian Stokes gave up 7 hits and 2 walks and 5 runs in 5 innings. He is now 2-2 with a 3.59 ERA. Edwin Jackson is probably the biggest disappointment so far. After his last start, he is now 2-4 with a 6.10 ERA.

Montgomery (29-22, 3.5 gb).

• 2B Elliot Johnson, continues to big the biggest surprise for the Biscuits. Johnson, who has never shown much promise with the bat is 8th in the Southern League in hitting (.301). He also leads the league in triples (6) and is 5th in home runs (8). His .536 SLG is good for 5th in the league.
• C Ryan Christiansen leads the league in home runs with 12, with a .263 batting average.
• OF Jason Pridie is only hitting .210 but is 12-12 in stolen bases.
• SP Tony Peguero leads a strong starting rotation, although he got knocked around pretty good his last time out. In 6.2 innings he gave up 7 runs (6 earned). He is now 5-5 with a 3.09 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP.
• Andrew Sonnanstine was also without his best stuff in his last start, giving up 9 hits and 4 runs in 5 innings. He is now 3-4, with a 3.56 ERA.
• Jason Cromer, made his first start since being demoted from Durham. He went 4 innings and didn’t allow any runs on 3 hits and 2 walks.
• Jim Magrane appears to finally be making a breakthough in pro ball. In his last start he pitched 7 shutout innings. He is now 7-3 with a 2.64 ERA. Considering his age and experience, we would not be surprised to see Magrane working out of the Devil Ray bullpen some time after the All-Star break.
• Juan Salas is yet to give up an earned run in 24.2 innings out of the bullpen. He also has only given up 5 hits and 10 walks, while striking out 37. He has 12 saves on the season.
• Brian Henderson has also been strong out of the bullpen, allowing only 1 earned run in 20.1 innings.

Visalia (23-28, 8.5 gb).

• In the hitter friendly California League, C John Jaso is 5th in batting average at .338.
• SS Reid Brignac is 7th in hitting at .325 with 8 homer runs and 38 RBI and a lot of errors.
• Shaun Cumberland is 2nd in the CL with 11 home runs and 43 RBI. He is hitting .241.
• Patrick Breen is 4th in home runs with 9 and is hitting .311.

Southwest Michigan (25-25, 6.5 gb).

• Starting pitching continues to impress for the Devil Rays. One of the Rays’ biggest pitching prospects is Wade Davis and he is not disappointing this season. In 10 starts, he is 3-1 with a 1.00 ERA. In 54 innings, he has given up only 32 hits and 25 walks. He is 2nd in the league with 71 strikeouts. In his last outing, he went 6 innings, giving up 7 hits, no walks and 1 run. He struck out 8.
• Jacob McGee leads the league with 72 strikeouts. He is 4-5 with a 2.96 ERA.

Memorial Day Weekend Hangover: The Past Few Days In The AL East

Boston (30-19). The Red Sox still lead the division by 1 game after losing to the Blue Jays yesterday. The folks over at Suriving Grady are ready for a 1-9 roadtrip that could shake up the division a bit. Of course, that loss came on the heals of a 4 game sweep against some team. It is still a bit fuzzy.

New York (29-20, 1.0 gb). The Spankees took 3 of 4 over the weekend to remain 1 game back. Randy Johnson looked strong for the first time in a month yesterday against the Tigers. Of course he only worked into the 7th innings despite allowing only 2 hits and no runs. Two years ago, that would have been a 3-hit shutout and 12 K’s. Of course, the folks at YanksBlog are ever the optimist, believing this marks a turnaround for the Big Mullett.

Toronto (28-22, 2.5 gb). The Jays took 3 of 4 over the weekend and continue to hang around in the AL East. We can see this team sticking around for a while, but will most likely fade in late July. We just don’t believe in that pitching staff.

Baltimore (23-28, 8.0 gb). The O’s salvaged the final game against the LA Angels, as they tread water slightly ahead of the Rays in the standings. Reading the posts over at Camden Chat, seems to indicate that the Oriole’s fans believe the apocalypse is right around the corner.

Devil Rays (21-30, 10.0 gb). We might be willing to discuss this later in the day after we find a really big bloody mary to cure this hangover and a map to find our way out of this Glass Cage of Emotion.

The Hangover: Last Night In The AL East

New York 8, Boston 6. The Spankees took of 3 at Fenway and now sit just a half game behind the Sox in the division. The key moment came in the bottom of the 8th when Kyle Farnsworth got David Ortiz looking with the bases loaded and two out. Ortiz come through in the clutch so often, especially against the Yankees, that we actually gasped when it happened.

Seattle 7, Baltimore 4. And once again, the Rays are tied with the O’s for 4th in the AL East. The O’s must go down, and they must go down hard!

A Look At The Future: Yesterday On The Farm

Durham 5, Richmond 2. We have to admit, we have been skeptical of Rocco Baldelli ever being the player that we hoped he would become after missing over 200 games. Don’t worry we are still resisting the urge to get excited, but Rocco is off to a great start at Durham as he works his way back. Last night Baldelli added two more hits and drove in two runs in the 7th inning that broke a 2-2 tie. Elijah Dukes started the scoring for the Bulls with a 2-run homer in the 1st. Dukes has been red hot since returning to the team after a short absence. He now has 6 homers and is hitting .312. Kevin Witt also homered and is leading the International League with 11. Witt is 30 years old and has spent parts of 4 season in the majors with 3 different ball clubs. At some point we would not be surprised to see Witt replace Travis Lee in the lineup, if the later continues to struggle with the bat.

Mobile 8, Montgomery 0. Tony Peguero, who had put together a strong of impressive starts had a rough outing. In 4 innings he gave up 6 hits, 2 walks, and 5 runs (4 earned).

"I Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Wrist!"

D-Rays 10, Toronto 8. The Rays salvaged the final game of the 3-game set with the Blue Jays. What a night for Carl Crawford. Crawford, who has been nursing a sore wrist all season long had one of the best offensive performances in the short history of the Devil Rays. He went 5-5, scored 5 (!) runs and drive in two. Oh wait…he also hit his 2nd home run of the season and stole 4 bases. He even climbed into the hotel of the RogersCenter and rescued a family of four from a fire, and later briefed the president on the war in Iraq…The 10 runs marked only the second time this season that Tampa had scored that many. Earlier this year, Tampa beat the White Sox 10-7. The Rays jumped out early with 4 in the first two innings, but Casey Fossum struggled and gave back three runs in the bottom of the 2nd. He then gave up the lead in the 6th and finished with 9 hits, 2 walks and 6 runs (5 earned) in 5.2 innings.

We have to feel good about this team at this stage of the season. Considering the number of injuries the Rays have suffered, the anemic hitting (last in the AL in batting average) and the repugnant bullpen (worst ERA in the majors), the team still sits only 5 games below .500 at 21-26. Tyler Walker appears to have solidified the closer role. Now the team just needs somebody to step up and claim the 8th inning set-up duties. We had hoped that would be Chad Orvella, but he has yet to get going this season. If this team could ever find some stability in the bullpen and get healthy offensively, the Rays could flirt with .500 this season. Boy would we be excited about 2007 if this team could win 80 or 81 games. Saucy!

Devil Ray Blogtopia

• Evidence that the Rays will not make a drastic name change. Rather it looks like the team will just drop “Devil” and officially become the Tampa Bay Rays. [Pewter Pirates]
  
• The D-Rays in the NL Central? Well THAT makes sense. [Baseball For Thought]
• A statistical look at Jonny Gomes shows that he is no Shane Spencer. [FanGraphs]
• Yet another look at the progression of Jonny Gomes. [Beyond the Boxscore]
  
• The Devil Rays are 3rd in costs per win! WooHoo! [Sports Column]
• Was Rocco Baldelli the best player chosen in the first round of the 2000 amateur draft? [MaverickBall]
• Could Aubrey Huff soon be wearing Dodger Blue? [DRays Bay]
• One Met’s feelings about Scott Kazmir…He is the anti-christ. [New York sportsblog]
  
• Torii Hunter wouldn’t want to play for the Rays…Hey Torii…why in the world would Tampa trade for you? [AaronGleeman.com]
• The ushers at the Trop like to drink on the job. [fishchunks]
• White Sox fans just figured out that Florida has a west coast. Who are we to judge the intelligence of southsiders? [South Side Sox]
• Mark Hendrickson and Tyler Walker are not Major League pitchers? (well we might agree about the rest of the staff). [unrestricted view]
• Barry Bonds has 714 home runs…Not one against the Devil Rays. Ha! [Baseball Analysts]
• Apparently heckling an opposing player in front of children is the equivalent of child abuse, even if the language is clean and it is done in fun. [The Baseball Zealot]
  
• One blogger thinks the Rays consist of over-the-hill has beens. This is why amateurs shouldn’t be allowed to write about sports…oh wait…nevermind. [And with your help, I’ll get that chicken]
  

The Hangover: Last Night In The AL East

Toronto 4, Tampa Bay 1. Once again the team struggled mightily at the plate. In fact, the only run was scored on a fielder’s choice when Greg Norton grounded to first base. That was followed by Roy Halladay retiring the next ten batters he faced. Only one other runner reached thirdbase for the Rays (Julio Lugo in the 1st inning). Jonny Gomes and Toby Hall both grounded into inning ending double plays that killed potential rallies in the 6th and 7th innings. Mark Hendrickson, was not particularly strong but he kept the score close, allowing 2 runs in 6 innings. However, the bullpen once again let the game get away, allowing 2 more runs in the 7th inning. And just like that, the good feeling that was the 4 game winning streak is gone after losing the first two games in Toronto. Arrggggggg.

New York 7, Boston 5. The Yankees got a boost with the return of Gary “I’ll throw balls into the stand to get traded” Sheffield and took the second game from the Boston Red Sox. Doubleplay-Rod hit a 3-run home run to put the game away. If you haven’t seen A-Rod’s home run, go look for it…It is worth it for the Unintentional Comedy Factor. When A-Rod hits the ball he thinks he popped it straight up. At first he doesn’t run and he starts looking up trying to find the ball. He then holds out his arms wondering what is going on. In the meantime, the ball is heading over the Green Monster. We guess that is what happens when you are struggling. And to make matters worse for Rodriguez, according to many Yankee fans he is the most overrated player in baseball. Remember we are talking about the player that won the MVP last year playing for the Yankees. He hit .321 with 48 homers and 130 RBI, yet according to many in New York, he has never hit a meaningful home run or driven in a meaningful RBI. The perception is that he only hits home runs and drives in runs when the team already has a 10-run lead. The latest incident was on Sunday in the 8th inning with the Yankees trailing the Mets 4-3. With one out and runners on first and second, A-Rod grounded weakly into a double play, earning him the new nickname amongst Yankee fans…Doubleplay-Rod. We understand demanding the best from your players and we definitely understand the extra bright lights of playing in New York, but this guy won the MVP last year. These are the same fans that would find something to complain about if Randy Johnson pitched a perfect game.

Baltimore 14, Seattle 4. Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing…The O’s score 9 in the 9th inning, to make the score look worse than it actually was.

A Look At The Future: Yesterday On The Farm

Durham 7, Richmond 5. Chris Seddon is struggling. Last night he got knocked out in the 5th inning after giving up 4 hits, 4 walks and 3 runs. Elijah Dukes provided most of the offense. He hit a triple and his 5th home run. He drove in 5 on the night going 2-3 and raising his average to .313. This game marked the return of Rocco Baldelli to the field for the first time since 2004 and he did not disappoint. He DH’d and went 2-4 with 2 singles.

Montgomery 4, Mobile 2. Andy Sonnanstine had a strong outing to improve his record to 3-3. Sonnanstine went 6 innings, giving up only 3 hits, 1 walk and 2 runs (1 earned) while striking out 6.

San Jose 4, Visalia 3. Patrick Breen went 3-4 to bring his average up to .329. SS Reid Brignac went 0-4.

SW Michigan 5, Dayton 4. The Devil Rays scored three in the bottom of the 9th, the last run coming on a single by SS Neil Walton. On a side note, SP Wade Davis, made Baseball America’s prospect “Hot Sheet” for his performance last week and his overall potential.

Take Two Aspirin And Get Your Butts Back On The Field

• Let’s not get too excited, but Rocco Baldelli might be one step closer to wearing a Devil Ray uniform again, and we don’t mean just for the team picture. Barring any further setbacks *knock on wood*, Baldelli is slated to begin a rehab assignment on Tuesday for the Durham Bulls. The initial plan is to have Rocco with the Bulls for approximately 20 games, but by no means is that set in stone. The team will most likely just go with a wait-and-see approach. [MLB.com]
• More Rocco news…While Baldelli is closer to returning to the field, his spot as the centerfielder for the Rays will be delayed even longer. When Rocco does return he is likely to play in rightfield with occasional duty as a DH. Rightfield will be easier on Baldelli’s leg with less ground to cover. We would be surprised if we saw Rocco in centerfield this season. [MLB.com]
• Looks like Casey Fossum, who injured his groin in his last start, will be OK to make his scheduled start on Friday. We all know how important the groin is when you are throwing 45 MPH. [tbo.com]
  
• Jorge Cantu is shooting for a June 1st return. Thank goodness because it sounds like he might die of boredom at home. [Jorge Cantu’s World]
• Remember Jeff Niemann? The Rays’ first pick in the 2004 draft? Big tall right-hander? Future ace? Any of this ringing a bell? Well, he pitched in a “game” for the first time since being shut down last summer with a sore shoulder. The game was actually just a 2 inning simulated game during the Devil Rays extended spring training. Niemann is hoping to make his 2006 debut in June with the AA Montgomery Biscuits. [DevilRays.com]
• Scott “Captain K” Kazmir was named AL player of the week. [baseball.com]