A Look At The Future: Yesterday On The Farm

Louisville 4, Durham 2. Not a good day for the Bulls. B. J. Upton went 0-4 and committed his 15th error. Elijah Dukes was 0-2 with 2 walks. Darnell McDonald went 0-5 to see his average plummet to .309. Not much better on the mound as Jason Hammel got knocked out in the second after giving up 5 hits, 1 walk and 3 runs (2 earned).

Montgomery 10, Birmingham 5. Not Tony Peguero’s best outing, but it was good enough for the win. Peguero (5-3) went 6, giving up 6 hits, 4 walks and 2 runs. His ERA went up to 2.08. 2B Eliot Johnson went 2-4 and C Chairon Isenia went 1-4 and drove in 3.

Visalia 6, Modesto 1. James Houser worked 5+ innings of shutout ball, giving up 4 hits and 3 walks to pick up his 2nd win. Patrick Breen hit a 3-run home run, his 8th, and drove in 4. DH John Jaso went 3-4 to raise his average to .348. Reid Brignac was 0-3, and played an error-free SS.

South Bend 12, SW Michigan 4. We usually don’t write about other team’s players in the minors, but this game is an exception. Justin Upton, B. J.’s little brother, went 3-5 for South Bend and hit a grand slam, driving in 5 total. It is his 2nd home run of the year and he is batting .348. The Rays’ would probably appreciate it if we don’t mention how any of them did, and who are we to kick someone when they are down?

Not A Good Month For The Young Brothers

Three weeks after younger brother Delmon Young of the Durham Bulls threw a bat at an umpire during a game, older brother Dmitri has been charged with domestic violence after his ex-girlfriend charged him with choking her.

Some people like to play video games, some people like to read books…sounds like the Youngs like to hit other people.

Delmon Young Video [Rays Index]
Ex-girlfriend accuses Tigers’ Young of choking her [espn.com]

Look At The Future: Yesterday On The Farm

Durham 8, Louisville 2. Kevin Witt, went 3-5 and hit a 3-run home run in the first, his league-leading 9th on the season. B. J. Upton also had a big day at the plate going 3-5, raising his average to .299, the first time all season he has been within earshot of .300. Elijah Dukes, went 4-4 with a double and is now hitting .328. We have to wonder where Dukes fit into the future of this franchise. He has all the tools and appears to be getting it together this season, but with the logjam in the Devil Rays outfield, will we ever see him in a D-Rays uniform? Chris Seddon picked up his 4th win, going 6 innings and giving up 6 hits and no walks.

Montgomery 2, Birmingham 0. Big game from Andy Sonnastine. He went 8 without allowing a run and only 4 hits and 3 walks. He struck out 4.

Visalia 6, Modesto 3. John Jaso hit his 4th homer for the Oaks as he is beginning to show some power in the past week to compliment his .333 average. Reid Brignac went 1-3 with a double and a walk, and shhhhh…Don’t tell anyone, but no errors. Strongest outing yet for Brandon Mann. He went 8, allowing only 3 hits, 2 walks and 2 runs to earn his 2nd win of the year.

South Bend 6, SW Michigan 2. Big game for Alex Jamieson. He went 3-4, with his 1st home run of the season and a triple, scoring both runs for the Rays.

The Hangover: Last Night In The AL East

Baltimore 4, Boston 3. “We are 1-13!! We are 1-13!!” Those were the calls heard from the O’s clubhouse after the game last night, as they snapped a 13 game losing streak to the Red Sox. Baltimore did try their best to lose the game, allowing 2 runs in the top of the 9th before Chris Ray finally put out the fire for his 10th save, sorta…After Big Papi hit a 2-run home run, Willie Harris was thrown out trying to steal 2nd base.

New York 4, Texas 3. The Spankees’ bullpen needed the night off, and Chien-Ming Wang provided it by going 8 innings before yielding to Big Mo to close off the game. The Bronx Roiders are now tied with the Sox for 1st in the AL East and all is normal in the world.

Toronto 3, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim near Disney Land 0. Casey Janssen had a perfect game through 5 before Donald Duck lined a single up the middle. Duck and Snow White weren’t enough and the Disney Characters fell to the Jays.

Deep Breaths….Deep Breaths

Where would this team be if they had even an average bullpen? We are trying to be patient. The addition of Tyler Walker helped, but the team needs more. Last night the bullpen wasted another strong performance by Seth McClung. In fact, we haven’t done the math (we are too busy drinking our sorrows away), but this bullpen may in fact go down as one of the worst in the history of baseball. There is not ONE major league pitcher in this bullpen. This time it was Ruddy Lugo. Is Lugo a major leaguer? Not yet. Is Chad Orvella a major league pitcher? Not yet. Is Walker a closer? No. We do think Walker is a serviceable pitcher, but he is not a closer. He would probably make a good setup man. But who would close? Nobody on this team, that is for sure. “BARTENDER!! Another, and make it a double.”

A Look At The Future: Yesterday On The Farm

Louisville 6, Durham 5. 3B Sean Burroughs went 2-5 and hit a his first home run since being sent back to Durham. B. J. Upton went 1-5, to lower his average to .289. He also committed his 14th error on the season, ending an impressive 10-game errorless streak. Darnell McDonald, went 0-5, but stole his 9th base. Jamie Shields got roughed up, giving up 5 runs in 7 innings. He did strike out 10 and walked only 2.

Montgomery 9, West. Tennessee 7. 2B Elliot Johnson went 2-5 with a double and his 8th home run, driving in 2. He is now hitting .325. Juan Salas picked up his 10th save with a perfect 9th. In 19.2 innings, he has given up 4 hits, 9 walks and 2 UNEARNED runs. He has also struck out 29. This kid is legit.

Visalia 15, Modesto 8. The Oaks had 3 hits, including SS Reid Brignac who went 3-6, scored 4 runs, drove in 5 and hit his 7th home run. He also stole his 5th base. John Jaso hit his 3rd home run.

SW Michigan 1, South Bend 0. Wade Davis was at it again. In what may have been his most impressive outing to date, Davis went 5, allowing 2 hits and no runs. He struck out 8 and walked none. His ERA is now 1.08.

The Hangover: Last Night In The AL East

New York 14, Texas 13. Just more evidence that they need to change the “13-run” pools across the country. For those that aren’t familiar, some people run pools in which each participant has a team and the first person to have a team reach 13 runs wins the money in the pot up to that point. In the old days, a pool could go 2 or 3 weeks without a team reaching 13 runs. Including this game, in which the Bronx Roiders were down 9-0 in the 2nd inning, there were 3 such teams last night, with the Astros also reaching 14 runs.

Boston 6, Baltimore 5. It is kinda like when the older brother puts his hand on younger sibling’s forehead and the smaller child is swinging like crazy, but can’t quite hit the older brother. That is what Boston is doing to the Orioles right now. The Sox won their 13th straight over Baltimore despite hitting 3 home runs off of Curt Schilling.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim near Disney Land 8, Toronto 3. We have already wasted too much ink.

These Are Not Your Older Brother’s Devil Rays

D-Rays 10, Chicago 7. Before the season began we envisioned a team with solid starting pitching, lots of speed, occasional power surges and a terrible bullpen. We saw all those elements last night in the first game of a 3 game set at the Trop against the defending world champion Chicago Whit Sox. SP Scott Kazmir continues to show that he can be the stopper every team needs. The guy who can take the mound and stop a losing streak. It is hard to believe that this kid is only 22, and even more unfathomable that the New York Mets let the Rays have him for Victor Zambrano. Of course, as much as we listen to New York City sports radio, believe us, the Mets fans have not forgotten about Kazmir and follow his every move in disgust. Kazmir won his 4th straight start going 7, giving up 5 hits, 2 walks (both in the first inning) and 1 run. He struck out 8. The only ball hit hard off of Kazmir, was a sixth inning ground rule double by Tadahito Iguchi that CF Joey Gathright appeared to lose in the lights. Kazmir is now 6-1 with a 1.90 ERA since his opening day loss in Baltimore, allowing more than 2 walks in only 2 of those 8 starts and more than 2 runs in 1 start. The offense broke open the game in the 5th in true Devil Ray fashion. A lead off base hit was followed by a sacrifice attempt in which Gathright reached on an error. Gathright’s speed clearly made pitcher Boone Logan rush his throw pulling 1B Paul Konerko off the bag. Julio Lugo then attempted to move the runners over with a sacrifice bunt, but he too reached first with a beautiful bunt down the third base line, loading the bases. Carl Crawford then hit an infield single in which the pitcher failed to cover first, scoring Hollins. Crawford likely would have beat the pitcher to the bag anyway. After scoring one run and loading the bases with speed, the Rays flexed their muscles. Jonny Gomes hit a double to the gap in right center that easily cleared the bases. Eventually, the Rays would stretch their lead to 10-1. Not wanting to have too easy of a win, the bullpen tried their best to blow the game, giving up 6 runs in the 8th, before Tyler Walker came on in the 9th to record his 6th save in 7 chances with Tampa.

Baldelli? Baldelli? Baldelli? (D-Ray Notes)

• Rocco Baldelli (remember him?) is hoping to play in a couple of minor league games this week. He has now been more than 200 games since he last played in a game with the Rays. To put into perspective, he has played in 292 major league games. Manager Joe Maddon has stated that once Baldelli is ready he will play 2-3 weeks in the minors, most likely at AA Montgomery. [The Providence Journal]
• Jorge Cantu’s foot is starting to feel better and may be ready to begin a rehab assignment later this week, and may return to the team after their next roadtrip, June 1. [devilrays.com]
• Jeff Niemann, the Devil Rays’ top pick in 2004, is still a month away from pitching in games. He has been sidelined since late last season with a sore shoulder. [The Tampa Tribune]
• While many players used pink bats and donned pink wrist bands in observance of Breast Cancer awareness day, Toby Hall took it one step further. He played the game with his trademark goatee dyed pink. We have yet to find a good picture of the goatee, so if anyone out there knows of one, please forward it to us here. [The Tampa Tribune]
• Not only did Delmon Young receive a 50 game suspension…he was also “sentenced” to community service. Its official, Delmon Young received a stronger sentence than O. J. Simpson. [The Tampa Tribune]
• The good news? Derek Jeter committed 56 errors one season in the minors. The bad news? Jeter was in his first full season, B. J. Upton is in his 4th full season. More good news? Upton’s glove work is much better. He recently had a 10-game errrorless streak and 11 of his 14 errors this season have been on throws. This is especially good if the Rays sign this guy to play first base. [The Tampa Tribune]
• So…how is that Dewon Brazelton for Sean Burroughs trade working? Burroughs was sent down last week so that he could get regular playing time. Brazelton was sent down this week just in case his crappy pitching is contagious. [San Diego Union-Tribune]
• The future of the Devil Rays rotation? Meet Wade Davis and Jake McGee. [Battlecreek Enquirer]

D-Rays vs. Chicago White Sox Tidbits

• The Rays are batting .199 in their last 24 games and are last in the majors (.230)
• Tampa has scored less than 2 runs in 7 of last 24 games and 3 of last 5. The lack of run production is not a result of failing to drive runners in. Against the Blue Jays, the Rays left 3 runners on base TOTAL in the 3 game series.
• 8-17 since sweeping Kansas City Royals.
• Jonny Gomes is 2nd in the AL with 13 HR.
• Ty Wiggington is 2nd in the majors with 15 game-tying or go-ahead RBI.
• The Rays starting pitchers have the 2nd best ERA in the AL since Mark Hendrickson rejoined the rotation (17 games).
• The bullpen has allowed at least one run in 14 of last 17 games and batters are hitting .314 against them on the season.
• The D-Rays have score 4+ runs in an inning 3 times (last in majors) and have allowed 4+ runs in an inning 17 times (most in the majors).
• D-Rays were 2-4 against the defending world series champs last season.
• Doug Waechter will be skipped in the rotaion this time through so that Kazmir can pitch on his normal 4 days rest. Waechter will be available out of the bullpen.
• Tonight’s starter Scott Kazmir has 3 of Rays’ last 5 wins. Since opening day loss to O’s he is 5-1 with a 2.00 ERA.
• White Sox own the best record in baseball (25-12) but only lead the Tigers by 1 game in AL Central. They have won 11 of 16 and 24 of 32.
• Chicago is led by their starting pitchers who lead the AL in quality starts, innings pitched, 2nd in wins and 3rd in ERA. However, the Rays will miss their top three starters, Mark Buehrle, Jose Contreras and Freddy Garcia. In addition Brandon McCarthy will be making his first start of the season tonight.
• The Sox have the best road record in baseball since the beginngng of the 2005 season.
• Former Devil Ray outfielder is in his first season as a radio broadcaster for the White Sox.

Probable Pitchers
Tuesday, 7:15 et
Chicago Brandon McCarthy, RHP (2-1, 5.21)
Devil Rays Scott Kazmir, LHP (5-2, 2.94)

Wednesday, 7:15 et
Chicago Jon Garland, RHP (2-2, 6.75)
Devil Rays Seth McClung, RHP (2-4, 5.91)

Thursday, 7:15 et
Chicago Javier Vazquez, RHP (4-2, 3.88)
Devil Rays Mark Hendrickson, LHP (2-3, 3.24)