Devil Rays News And Notes

• Here is a nice write-up of the recent combined no-hitter thrown by Jason Hammel and Juan Salas. Hammel came a lot closer to finishing the deal himself than we realized. [Baseball America]
• Excellent question here…Has there been a worse hitter in baseball, especially at hitter’s position, than Travis Lee? Here are some numbers. In all baseball, there are 34 first basemen with at least 150 at bats. Lee is last in batting average (.202), 31st in home runs (5), last in RBI (14), and last in slugging (.305). But our favorite stat? Try 3-40. Travis Lee is 3-40 (.075) with runners in scoring position. Who cares how many errors he saves at first base if he costs the teams runs at the plate? [Yahoo! Sports]
• The Rays’ front office has clearly started a new trend by showing that they will pull a trigger on a deal. But the question is…would Andrew Friedman take a page from Billy Beane and the Oakland A’s and hold on to a free agent-to-be? In this case, Julio Lugo is set to be a free agent at the end of the season. Lugo would probably command a contract that would not make sense for the Devil Rays, especially with young shortstops waiting in the wings (B. J. Upton?, Reid Brignac, Ben Zobrist). The obvious choice is to move Lugo to a contender for a prospect or two. But, Billy Beane often holds on to those players and takes the “sandwich” draft pick that teams are awarded for losing free agents to other teams. If Lugo walks at the end of the season, the Rays would be awarded an extra pick in between the first and second round. Apparently the Rays are considering this option. [DevilRays.com]
• Unbelievably, the Devil Rays game featuring two of the best young pitchers in baseball (Liriano and Kid K) will not be part of the MLB Extra Innings package. *banging head against our desk* [MLB Extra Innings]
• Here is an article that shows exactly how difficult it is to acquire a young catcher like Dioner Navarro. This trade may actually be bigger for the Rays than it appears on the surface. [Sporting News]
• Chuck Tiffany who came over with Edwin Jackson in the off-season trade that sent Danys Baez and Lance Carter to the Dodgers, has just had season-ending rotator cuff surgery. Tiffany was considered by some to be the better player in that trade with a higher upside than Jackson. [Baseball America]

UPDATE: The game tonight with the Minnesota Twins, featuring Liriano and Kid K, has been added to the MLB Extra Innings package. It looks to us like enough people called and complained. In the immortal words of Mel Allen, How about that! People were complaining about a Devil Rays’ game not being on TV.

A Look At The Future…Yesterday On The Farm

Durham 4, Scranton 0. Four pitchers combined to 4-hit Scranton, led by J. P. Howell (2-2) and finished off by Seth McClung. Howell had his best start since being acquired in a trade for Joey Gathright. The 2005 first round pick pitched 5 innings, giving up 4 hits and 3 walks, while striking out 7. In 5 starts, he now has a 2.36 ERA. McClung just keeps mowing down the opposing hitters. In the 9th inning, he faced four batters. He gave up 1 hit and struck out 3. Since being sent back to Durham to become a relief pitcher, McClung has pitched 11.2 innings, surrendering 9 hits, 1 walk and 20 strikeouts. Not bad. Ben Zobrist another recent acquisition, went 2-4 and is now 6-18 (.333) in his first 5 games with Durham.

Devil Rays Need To Throw Out The Stale Bread

Minnesota 6, D-Rays 3. Four in a row. Seven of the past eight games, dating back to the final game of the Red Sox series before the break. It’s ugly and it will only getting uglier. Unfortunately, with the team making as many trades as they have made, this team is on the verge of giving up on the season. With Julio Lugo set to be shipped elsewhere very soon, the second half is likely to become a tryout for the 2007 season. The team has made it clear that they do not want to rush their young prospects to the big leagues before they are ready, but it is time to see B. J. Upton, Juan Salas, Kevin Witt (not so young), Ben Zobrist, Jason Hammel, J. P. Howell and Seth McClung (as a closer) in Devil Rays uniforms. In September we are also need to see Delmon Young, and Elijah Dukes patrolling the outfield. The team cannot keep using castoffs in the lineup like Travis Lee, Greg Norton, Russell Branyan, Tomas Perez, and Damon Hollins. These players are not part of the future and they are not helping the Rays win games now. The pitching staff? Casey Fossum does not give the team a chance to win, so why keep sending him out there every five days. He is not part of the future of this team. We would rather lose with Hammel or Howell on the mound then struggle to watch another game pitched by Fossum. The Bullpen? It is what it is…A disaster. With three different closers lost to injuries this season, pitchers are in the bullpen that shouldn’t be there and there are pitchers who are in roles that don’t suit them (ie. Brian Meadows). Juan Salas has been as dominant as any player can be in the minor leagues and why he is not in the major leagues is beyond us. We understand that he is young in terms of being a pitcher, but he is not young. He is 28. If they had converted a 20 year old to pitcher that would be one thing. But one of the announcers during the Futures Game said it best. Sometimes when a player is 27, 28, 29, they just “get it”. It looks like Salas “gets it”. Will he struggle at times in the majors? Probably. But that is ok. He is 28, and his maturity level should allow him to survive any difficulties he will endure. Seth McClung has DOMINATED at Durham. 20 strikeouts in 11.2 innings and only 1 walk. He already knows the big leagues. Why isn’t he back already? The team does not have a closer right now. McClung looks like he has found his calling. Now is the time to give the shot.

There is an old saying in the NFL, that the most popular player on the team is the backup quarterback. It is the same in baseball. The most popular players in baseball are the top prospects in the minors. We here at RI are advocates of patience. Let them grow and develop. But this season is now lost and the players that are here are clearly giving up. There are players at AAA Durham that may be ready. There are players on the major league roster that are not part of the future. At this point, attendance will begin to fall and it will fall fast. Why should fans go watch a team that loses and loses with players like Fossum on the mound and Perez, Branyan and Hollins in the lineup? At this point, the fans need hope. There is no hope in half this roster. There is hope in the minors. We know that we will see some of these guys in September, but that is six weeks away. This team is in serious danger of a 5-25 stretch. We would rather watch a last place team with Upton, Young, Witt, McClung, Salas and Hammel than the stale bread the team keeps sending out to the field right now.

A Look At The Future: This Past Weekend On The Farm

Durham Bulls. The Wes Bankston experiment at third base ended this past week when Aubrey Huff was traded to the Astros and uber-prospect B. J. Upton was moved to third base. Bankston, who has struggled defensively was promoted to AAA Durham and moved back to first base. Bankston is taking well to his promotion and new old position. In his first four games, he is 6-13 (.462) with 4 RBI…Delmon Young has cooled off a bit, going 2-13 in the last 3 games. His average has fallen to .333…The B. J. Upton experiment at thirdbase is off to a strong start. In four games, Upton is yet to commit an error, marking one of his longest errorless streaks of the season…The Juan Salas streak has finally ended. On Friday night, Salas surrendered a 2-run home run, his first two earned runs of the season…On Saturday night, Salas made up for the snafu by combining with Jason Hammel on a no-hitter. Hammel went 8.1 innings and was taken out after throwing 125 pitches…Ben Zobrist is 4-14 in his first four games with the Bulls …Seth McClung is adjusting well to his new role as closer. He saved two games over the weekend and has struck out 17 in 10.2 innings while only walking 1. McClung should be back in Tampa sooner rather than later and take over for Brian Meadows as the team’s closer…Things are not so well for Doug Waechter. In 6 starts, he is 1-5 with 9.09 ERA. Um? That’s not good.

Other Notes. Josh Hamilton is starting to find his groove. He is 5-7 over the past 2 games. In 9 games Josh is 10-31 (.323) with 3 doubles, 1 triple and 4 RBI...Mitch Talbot was strong in his first start for the Montgomery Biscuits. He worked 6 innings giving up 5 hits and 1 walk. He struck out 5 to pick up the win…Jeff Niemann continues to stretch out his arm. In his most recent start he worked 6 innings, with 4 hits, 2 walks and 6 strikeouts. In his first 5 starts of 2006, he has struck out 32 in 27 innings, with a 3.33 ERA…Evan Longoria continues to rack up hits for the Oaks. In 15 games he is hitting .339-5-13 with an 8 to 7 walk to strikeout ratio. He now has 9 home runs in 23 professional games. Would it be so terrible to give Longoria a week or two with the big club in September?

Devil Rays Blogtopia

While we await the return of the Devil Rays from the All-Star break, Let’s take a look at what is being said about the team and their players out in the Blogosphere.

• Astros fans liked the Aubrey Huff trade so much they have…written a song? We introduce you to H. R. Huff ‘n Stuff. [Smell the Glove]
• Was the Huff trade good for the Rays? One site thinks we should remember the date when the team finally starts winning. [DRays Bay]
• While another site believes the Rays were just thirsty. [zachls]
• The Mets are the one team that keeps popping up in the Julio Lugo sweepstakes. With Jose Reyes firmly entrenched at shortstop, that would leave Lugo to play secondbase. [Mike’s Mets]
• We are getting tired of bloggers out there commenting on potential trades and mentioning how the Rays are usually tough to trade with. They must have missed the memo about a new front office, and how the Rays have made more trades in the past 9 months, then they did in the previous four seasons. Guys…Lamar and Naimoli are not here any more! [Kenny’s Sports Spectacular]
• Of the perennial losers in all the major sports, where do the Rays rank in overall chance to end the ineptitude? [Mondesi’s House]
• Thanks to Kid K, we might soon have a new word in our vocabulary…Kazmired. [Hardball Heaven]
• Speaking of Kaz, apparently we can thank Al Leiter, John Franco and their musical arrogance for Scott Kazmir wearing a Devil Rays uniform. [Hot Foot]
• And Deana thinks Kid K looks like he is 12 years old. Now she knows why we call him Kid K. [Seattle Marinerds]
• It always annoys us when fans of the Red Sox and the Yankees think that every good player should play for their respective teams. This Red Sox fan thinks it is wrong for Kid K to playing for the Devil Rays. [Cursed to First]
• Now that Delmon Young has become a complete 6-tool prospect (hitting, hitting for power, speed, glove, arm strength, bat tossing) he has retained his position as the top prospect in all baseball. [D. A. Humber: Baseball Central]
• So the question now is…Is Delmon the next Alex Rodriguez, or the next Darryl Strawberry? [Roto Rob]
• Dusty Baker is clearly on the hot seat in Chicago…So let the Lou Piniella rumors start swirling. [Osos, Inc.]
• Then again, if one observer was actually in charge, the Devil Rays managerial position would be vacant again very soon. [African-American Sports Take]
• Another good idea for a Devil Rays name change? [Capitol Punishment]
• Or this one. [African-American Sports Take]
• What is more American than a D-Rays game and…Needle Arts? [Thriftgoddess]
• First Carl Crawford, now the Rockies want B. J. Upton. Good luck with that one. [Baseball With An Altitude]
• Speaking of C. C., if you were starting a team today, would he be one of the outfielders? [Kenny’s Sports Spectacular]
• And if you had to pick one player from everyone that has ever worn a Rays uniform to represent the team, would C. C. be the “Face of the Devil Rays”? Not yet, but give him a year or two. Right now? Wade Boggs? Fred McGriff? Rocco Baldelli? Scott Kazmir? [The Bottom Line]
• The single-A, Southwest Michigan Devil Rays have made the list of top-10 most outrageous promotions. [Kansas City Star]

D-Rays @ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim near Disney Land

• The Rays open the second half of the season 39-50, 15 games behind the AL East leading Boston Red Devils and 1 game behind the Horioles.
• The Angels ended the first half, having won 8 of their last 9 games to pull within 2.5 games of Oakland and Texas in the AL West.
• We think that the cousin of Angels prospect Howie Kendrick is behind the Angels’ Blog, Chronicles of the Lads. For a team that is one of the hottest in baseball, their only post in the last few days is an epic rant about demoting Adam Kennedy in favor of Kendrick. Never mind that most playoff contenders look for veteran players in exchange for minor league prospects this time of year. Of course! Why wouldn’t a team want to demote a proven veteran and give a prospect his first big league experience in the heat of a pennant race?
• The writers over at Halos Heaven have predicted tonight’s score to be 6-1 with the Angels out-hitting the Rays 14-5. hmmmm? Not sure if they have ever predicted an Angels’ loss.
• The Angels pitchers have allowed 3 or fewer runs in 20 of last 33 games and lead the AL in ERA (4.05).
• L.A. leads the AL in errors and is second in wild pitches, leading to the most unearned runs allowed in the Majors.
• The Angels took 2 of 3 from Tampa June 5-7.
• In his last start John Lackey gave up a leadoff double and then retired the next 27 batters he faced.
• This series marks Joe Maddon’s first return to Anaheim since leaving the franchise after 12 seasons as a coach for the Angels.

Probable Pitchers
Friday, 10:05 et
Devil Rays Jae Seo, RHP (2-6, 5.22)
Los Angeles John Lackey, LHP (7-5, 2.88)

Saturday, 10:05 et
Devil Rays Scott Kazmir, LHP (10-6, 3.27)
Los Angeles Ervin Santana, RHP (10-3, 3.96)

Sunday, 3:35 et
Devil Rays James Shields, RHP (4-2, 4.89)
Los Angeles Bartolo Colon, RHP (1-4, 4.57)

Juan Salas

We aren’t sure why it took so long but people are starting to notice the amazing things that Juan Salas is doing in the minor leagues this season. If you are a regular visitor to RI, then you know that we are firmly entrenched on the Juan Salas bandwagon and are clamoring for a promotion to the Devil Rays. Salas was recently promoted to AAA Durham after pitching most of the first half for the Montgomery Biscuits. At Montgomery, he pitched 34.2 innings allowing a ridiculously low 13 hits. He also struck out 52 compared to 14 walks. The most impressive number? Zero. As in no earned runs (4 unearned) allowed. Since his promotion to Durham, he hasn’t slowed down. In 10 appearances he has pitched 12.2 innings allowing 6 hits, 4 walks while striking out 15. He has yet to allow any runs in AAA. This was followed up by a recent appearance as the lone Devil Rays representative in MLB’s Futures Game. In the game, Salas retired the lone batter he faced.

Originally signed as a third baseman at the age of 16 out of the Dominican Republic. In six seasons as a fielder, Salas batted an unimpressive .264, never hitting more than 7 home runs in any single season. On top of that, after the Sept. 11, 2001 crack down on immigration, it turned out Salas was three years older than the organization thought he was and all of the sudden Salas was no longer a 20 year old prospect with an upside. He was then a 23 year old minor leaguer who had probably reached his potential. Then in 2004 he pulled a “Delmon Young” at one point, by throwing a bat at an umpire after striking out, earning himself an indefinite suspension. During the suspension, the team decided to take a new route and converted Salas to a pitcher and sent him back to the rookie league Princeton Devil Rays. Two years later, Salas is one of the top relief pitcher prospects in all baseball.

At this point Salas has a major-league fastball and slider. His fastball tops out at 96 with natural movement like a cutter. His slider hits 86. Maybe the only thing holding back Salas at this point is the development of a split-finger pitch. Here is hoping that the front office will allow Juan to work on the pitch on the mound at the Trop.

His future is now. [Yahoo! Sports]
Converted Pitcher Takes Unlikely Route To Futures Game. [tbo.com]

Devil Rays News And Notes

• Aubrey Huff has paid immediate dividends for the Astros by hitting a 3-run home run in their 5-1 victory over the Marlins. Huff batted 5th and played third base. He went 2-4. [mlb.com]
• The Rays will not promote Kevin Witt to replace Aubrey Huff. Rather the team has activated Ruddy Lugo from the disabled list. Unfortunately that means we have to endure a few more weeks of Travis Lee before the team realizes that ANYBODY would be a better option, gold glove or not. [tbo.com]
• Mark Hendrickson is 0-2 with a 4.91 ERA in his first two starts with the Dodgers. [mlb.com]
• Toby Hall is 4-10 with 3 RBI having played in 4 games as a backup catcher for the Dodgers. Hall is unhappy with his new role and has asked to be traded. [espn.com]
• John Donovan has handed out his midseason report card for all MLB teams. The Devil Rays received an F. That seems a bit harsh. Considering all the injuries to the team early on, we think the team merited at least a D. [Yahoo! Sports]
• Jim Callis of Baseball America has listed the top-15 high school prospects ever. The Devil Rays have drafted three of them. [Baseball America]
• Attendance at the Trop has increased from 14,052 in 2005 to 17,613 through 42 home games. [espn.com]

What Did We Miss?

We finally have returned from a 4-day drunken stint in Pittsburgh for the All-Star game. Unfortunately we stayed in the same hotel as Chris Berman and the rest of the ESPN crew, which meant that all women in leather pants were already spoken for at the hotel bar. The entire experience was somewhat surreal right down to being informed of the Aubrey Huff trade by none other than former Mets general manager Steve Phillips while waiting in line to check out of the hotel (more on that in a moment). There is no surprise that Huff was traded. In fact the Astros were one of the logical choices. Huff is set to become a free agent at the end of the season and will likely command in the neighborhood of his current $7.3 million salary. In return, the Rays received SS Ben Zobrist, and RHP Mitch Talbot. Talbot, 22, is a former 2nd round draft choice (2002) of Houston. In his first three professional seasons he has been consistent, but unimpressive with a career ERA of 3.90 in 66 career starts with 6.6 Ks per 9 innings and a WHIP of 1.30. He has been more dominating this season going 6-4 with a 3.39 ERA in 17 starts with 96 strikeouts in 90.1 innings. The key to the trade appears to be Zobrist. Zobrist, 25, was a 6th round pick in the 2004 draft. This season in AA, he is hitting .327-3-30 with a very impressive 55 to 46 strikeout to walk ratio and a .434 OBP. A couple of weeks ago we had commented on the recent power surge of Carl Crawford and noted that C. C. was more suited to be hitting in the #3 spot in the lineup. The problem was that the Devil Rays did not have a current member or a prospect that looked to be an ideal #2 hitter. Zobrist could be that player.

Finally, the Devil Rays also swallowed about half of Huff’s remaining salary for the 2006 season. For a team that clearly does not have the financial resources of other franchises, this move was a bit surprising, yet pleasing. This is the second time this season the front office has included cash in a deal, having sent $1 million to the Dodgers in the Hendrickson-Hall trade. This marks a clear shift in the team’s philosophy that they are willing to spend money to improve the club. The other interesting development in this trade was timing. It is impossible to know how many teams had made offers for Huff, but clearly the Rays jumped on the first offer that was deemed good for the team. There have been rumblings that the team could have received more (Steve Phillips had not even heard of the prospects and he is a former GM), but this quick trigger could prove a good move for the team in the future. In particular, as the team looks to move Julio Lugo, any team that has Lugo targeted will be more likely to approach with their best offers early knowing that Tampa will not hesitate to accept a different offer.

In a related story. The long-anticipated move of B. J. Upton to a new position has finally occurred, as he will begin the second half of the season as the new third baseman for the Durham Bulls. Team executives have emphasized that the move is not permanent yet and that the team still looks at Upton as their future SS. However, the move clearly indicates that the team wants Upton in the majors sooner rather than later and the trade of Huff leaves an open spot in the infield. In fact, if Upton takes to his new position quickly, we could see B. J. in a Devil Ray uniform in the next month. If and when Lugo is traded, Upton will most likely get a chance to play both third base and shortstop in the last 2 months of the season.

So what is the immediate impact of this trade on the major league roster for the Devil Rays? As of this afternoon, the team has not indicated who will replace Huff on the roster. The logical choice is Kevin Witt. Witt leads the International League with 23 home runs and on Wednesday night, led the IL All-Stars to victory by going 3-3 with a 2-run home run and an RBI double. Witt, 30, has played parts of four seasons in the major leagues with three different teams. Most recently he played 93 games with the Detroit Tigers in 2003 hitting .263-10-26. He is a career .249 hitter with 13 home runs in 127 games. Witt can immediately become the starting first baseman with Ty Wiggington moving to third base until Upton is deemed ready.

Rays trade Huff for prospects. [tbo.com]
Revamping Rays: Huff traded, Upton to 3B. [tbo.com]
International Wins Triple-A All-Star Game. [Herald Sun]

Devil Rays vs. New York Yankees Tidbits

• The Devil Rays are 38-48, 14.5 games behind the Red Devils and a half game behind the Orioles. The Spankees are 48-35, 3 games behind Boston and 2 games in front of Toronto. The Bronx Roiders lead the season series 4-1.
• New York is coming off a series split against Cleveland in which they lost the first two games es by a combined score of 24-3 and then won the next two games by a combined score of 21-7. The Devil Rays just took 3 of 4 from the Red Sox, but failed to become just the 5th last place team in Major League history to sweep a 4 game series from a first place team.
• This season the Yankees remind us of a teenager spending their first paycheck. They have all this money and it is more than they have ever had. Three days later, they looked at their account and all the money is gone and they have nothing to show for it. The Yankees have a $200 million payroll and in the past three days they have had the following players appear in their starting lineup…And Phillips, Melky Cabrera, Kevin Reese, Miguel Cairo, Aaron Guile, and Devil Ray castoff Nick Green. Inflation…$200 million just doesn’t go as far as it used to. On top of that, Jonny Damon may miss this series and be out until after the all-star break with an abdominal strain.
• Shouldn’t there be more Yankees fans jumping into the East River? It has been argued that YanksBlog, Replacement Level Yankees Weblog and Bronx Banter are the top three Yankee blogs. After reading the most recent posts from all three, we feel like we read the same site three times. All three have posts since yesterday and all three are just recaps of last nights game. We can get that from Sportscenter. Maybe we just caught them before they had their cappucinos. We expected a bit more panic…The Yankees are in serious danger of missing the playoffs for the first time in 11 years. We guess this is just the mentality of the Yankees fans. They assume that George Steinbrenner will go out and trade for Barry Zito or Dontrelle Willis or Albert Pujols and the team will surge into the playoffs, again. There are problems with that assumption this year.

1. The Red Sox are the real deal. They will be there all year and are just as likely as the Yankees to pick up a player before the trade deadline.
2. Last season the Yankees picked up Aaron Small and Shawn Chacon in midseason trades. Chacon went 7-3 and Small went 10-0. Where are the Yankees going to find another pair like that this year? The number of available pitchers this season appears to be small and if the Yankees do pick up somebody, are they going to go 10-0 like Small did?
3. Finally and most importantly the Red Sox and Yankees are probably fighting for one spot this season. New York is 7 games behind the White Sox and 8 games behind Detroit in the wild card and only 2 games in front of the hottest team in baseball, the Minnesota Twins who recently won 19 of 20.

• Please note below. The Devil Rays will avoid the Yankees top two pitchers in this series, Mike Mussina and Randy Johnson.
• In the last 25 games the Rays are batting .282. Prior to those 25 games, the team had a major league worst .240 average.
• Shawn Chacon is listed as the probable starter for Sunday’s contest, but Bronx Banter reports that Kris Wilson will make the start in place of Chacon. [Bronx Banter]

Friday, 7:15 et
New York Jaret Wright, RHP (4-5, 4.61)
Devil Rays Jae Seo, RHP (2-5, 5.59)

Saturday, 7:15 et
New York Chien-Ming Wang, RHP (8-4, 4.21)
Devil Rays Scott Kazmir, LHP (10-5, 3.29)

Sunday, 1:15 et
New York Shawn Chacon, RHP (4-3, 6.71)
Devil Rays Casey Fossum, LHP (3-3, 4.84)