Texas Rangers @ D-Rays Tidbits

• The Rays are 49-75, 26.5 games behind the Spankees and 6 games behind the Horioles. They come into this series having lost their last 2 games and they are 5-13 in August. They are 0-5 against the Rangers this season including a 2-game sweep at the Trop in May.
• The Rangers are 65-60, 5.5 games behind the A’s in 3rd place of the AL West. They are 9-2 in their previous 11 games. They are coming off a series that saw them win 3 of 4 from the Tigers.
• The Rangers have snuck up on the AL West after many thought they were dead, which has some fans thinking playoffs. Little do they know that they first need to fire Buck Showalter and then they will win it all the very next season.
• Maybe we can clone Carl Crawford…In the last week, C. C. is 14-23 (.609) with 6 RBI and 7 stolen bases and is now 10th in the AL in hitting (.317). He is hitting .391 since the All-Star break.

Probable Pitchers
Monday, 7:15
Rangers, Adam Eaton, RHP (3-2, 3.86)
Devil Rays, James Shields, RHP (5-6, 4.75)

Tuesday, 7:15
Rangers, Vicente Padilla, RHP (12-7, 4.39)
Devil Rays, Scott Kazmir, LHP (10-8, 3.31)

Wednesday, 7:15
Rangers, Kevin Millwood, RHP (12-8, 4.58)
Devil Rays, Casey Fosum, LHP (6-5, 5.06)

Thursday, 7:15
Rangers, Edinson Volquez, RHP (1-2, 4.02)
Devil Rays, Tim Corcoran, RHP (4-5, 4.13)

Devil Rays News And Notes

• You can forgive us for doing a double-take when we read this headline. We must admit if we had to set the over-under for seeing a headline like this we would have guessed, not ’til 2009. [Battlecreek Enquirer]
• Speaking of which, the D-Rays tragic number for elimination is now 14 in the AL East and 15 in the wildcard. Um yeah…We’d say that the playoff hopes are fading. [MLB]
• It’s too bad this guy can’t pitch. [Devil Rays]
• Speaking of mascots, Wool E. Bull failed in his attempt to be inducted into the Mascot Hall of Fame. Could it be because he was taking ‘performance enhancing drugs‘? [Durham Bulls]
• The Devil Rays recently held a fashion show in which players and coaches modeled clothing to help raise money for children with cancer. [Devil Rays]
• Apparently Rudy Lugo was the hit of the fashion show. Well, this was not the first time that Rudy has gone public with his fashion sensibility. We would have voted for something similar to Carlos Valderamma. [Vero Beach Dodgers]
• The Devil Rays have done a good job, having already signed 10 of their top 11 picks from this past June’s draft. However, time is running out for the last unsigned player from that group. Nick Fuller, a right handed pitcher out of Georgia, remains unsigned and appears ready to enroll in classes at South Carolina. [Gamecock Central]
• Bill Simmons seems to think the Rays have ‘No Chance in Hell’ to make the playoffs this season. Really? This just in…Bill Simmons is a smart man. Oh and he is angry about it. His reasoning? They ruined his fantasy team. [ESPN Page 2]
• In another story from the Land of the Obvious…apparently Rocco Baldelli is not Joe Dimaggio. Next week Fox Sports is going to write a story about how Seth McClung is not Roger Clemens, and we will lose another 3 minutes form our lives reading it. [Fox Sports]
• A good interview with Carl Crawford about…video games? But hey….when the title is “The Best Athlete in Baseball”, we are going to read it. [IGN]
• Best Athlete? Maybe. Fastest player in baseball. Definitely. [Globe and Mail]
• Here is an interesting little map from the people at Frappr. There is really Devil Rays fan in Saskacthewan? [Frappr]

THe Hangover: Stuck In A Glass Case Of Emotion

D-Rays 6, Cleveland 5. Friday night was a big night for the psyche of the team and the team’s fans, although they would throw all that away the next two games, but more on that later. The simplest way to describe the Rays in the second have of the season, is as a losing team. Seems simplistic and obvious, but ever so true. They just have not been competitive. There has been no life…no spark…no excitement. The team has looked dead. Then again, there has not been anything to be excited about. Even the few wins they have had in the 2nd half have not been very exciting. The team needed Friday night. Needed to remember that winning is fun. Even more importantly, the team needed to remember that they could win a game like that. To do to another team what has been done to the Rays too many times this season…come from behind. The Rays entered the bottom of the 7th down 5-1 and on their way to what looked like another typical Rays loss. Travis Lee found a little power in his stick with an opposite field home run to make it 5-2. In the top of the 8th, Rudy Lugo got out of a 1st and 2nd, 1-out jam with inning-ending 6-4-3 double play. In the bottom of the 8th, doubles by Ben Zobrist and Jonny Gomes cut the lead to 2. Seth McClung came on in the 9th and worked a perfect inning to keep the Native Americans in check. Then came the magic. The bottom of the 9th. Lee led of the 9th with a drive off the center field wall for a double. We don’t mean to pick on Travis Lee after this game. He was a big reason the Rays came from behind, but this double showed exactly why Travis Lee is the hitter that he is. Lee hit 22 home runs his rookie year for the Diamondbacks. He has only hit 20 home runs once since then and probably will never hit 20 again. The ball just doesn’t ever explode off his bat. In this particular at bat, Lee got a 94 mph fastball and he absolutely crushed it, and the ball only made it to the wall. He is the epitome of warning track power, but it appears as though he is still trying to be a power hitter…back to the game…After a Dioner Navarro single and a Greg Norton strikeout, something strange happened…The Rays received a doe of good luck. Yes, something good happened for the Rays. Rocco Baldelli hit a tailor-made double play groundball, that hit perfectly on the lip of the infield and bounced over Johnny Peralta’s head into left field to make the score 5-4 with out. Ben Zobrist then did what he does best. He found a way to get on base. BenZo will probably never be a great major league hitter, but like we have stated before, this team was desperate for somebody that just gets on base. The team was in need of a typical #2 hitter. A guy that can move runners over, sacrifice and get on base. Zobrist does that. So it was fitting that Zobrist was in the #2 hole on Friday and in the 9th inning, he worked a 1-out walk to put the game in the hands of the team’s best hitter, Carl Crawford. In moving to the 2-spot, Zobrist allows C. C. to hit in what should be his natural spot in the order, #3. With the bases loaded and the corner infielders playing in, Crawford fell behind 0-2 in the count. That did not phase C. C. as he ripped the next pitch down the first base line for a game-winning 2 run, walk off single. Rays win!

Cleveland 5, D-Rays 3. On Saturday night, it looked like the team would be able to build on the momentum from Friday night. Dioner Navarro (Tobey who?) hit a 2-run double to get the scoring started in the first and stake the Rays to an early lead. But then came the D-Rays that we know and love and loathe. You know this team right? Tim Corcoran struggled mightily and couldn’t hold the lead. He did manage to survive 4 walks in the first two innings but his luck ran out in the 4th when he gave up 3 runs and the lead. A Travis Haffner homer in the 7th and an Andy Marte double in the 8th gave the Indians a 5-3 lead. After that, the Rays never really threatened and the series was tied 1-1.

Cleveland 9, D-Rays 4. This one was just ugly. Don Mosi ugly. We can’t talk about it and we can’t tell you why.

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

One of the ‘Big 3’ combines to No-Hit Peoria

Durham Bulls. On Friday, the Bulls lost to Columbus 8-2. Jim Magrane struggled from the mound, giving up 7 runs in 4.2 innings. He is now 1-3 with a 5.40 ERA since being promoted to AAA. Delmon Young went 0-3 and Kevin Witt was the only Bulls to manage more than 1 hit as he went 2-4 with a double and another home run (36)…On Saturday, the Bulls did their best D-Rays impersonation by blowing a late lead to lose 7-6 to Louisville. Chris Seddon was unspectacular giving up 4 runs in 6 innings on 7 hits and 2 walks. However, he left he game with the lead. The bullpen then gave up 2 in the 7th and 1 in the eighth. Delmon Young went 0-5 with an RBI. Kevin Witt went 2-4 with a double and 2 RBI. Brent Butler went 2-5 with a 3-run double in the Bulls 5-run 3rd…On Sunday, the Bulls were shutout by 3 Louisville pitchers, 2-0. Doug Waechter had his best start in a looooonnnnnngggggg time. He worked 7 innings, allowing 2 runs (1 earned) on 6 hits and 1 walk. He struck out 1 and lowered his ERA to 8.01. Durham managed only 7 hits, 2 by Wes Bankston and 1 by Delmon Young who had his first hit of the weekend.

Montgomery Biscuits. On Friday night, Chattanooga defeated the Biscuits 8-3. Mitch Talbot, who was acquired from the Astros in the Aubrey Huff deal, struck out 11 in 5.2 innings and gave up 2 runs (1 earned). Evan Longoria returned from his minor shin bruise in grand fashion, going 3-5 with a double. Reid Brignac went 1-5 with 3 strikeouts…On Saturday to pitchers combined on a 3-hit shutout as the Biscuits prevailed 6-0. Mike Prochaska, who started the season in Durham, struck out 6 in 8 innings and allowed 3 hits and 3 walks. Justin Ruggiano, who was acquired from the Dodgers in the Hall-Hendrickson deal, went 2-5 with a 2-run single and an RBI double. Reid Brignac was moved into the 2-hole and responded by going 2-4 with a run scored. Evan Longoria went 0-4…On Sunday, the Biscuits began a series with Jacksonville with a 4-1 victory, behind the pitching of Tony Peguero and Marcus Carvajal. Peguero allowed 4 hits, 3 walks and 1 run in 5 innings to pick up his 10th win. Carvajal, who was acquired earlier this year from the Mariners worked 3 perfect innings with 5 strikeouts. Reid Brignac went 1-4 with a double and is now hitting .274 in AA. Evan Longoria was moved up to the 5-hole in the order and didn’t fare so well. He went 0-3 with a walk and 3 strikeouts. Justin Ruggiano went 2-4 with a double and an RBI.

Southwest Michigan Devil Rays. Big game on Friday night in Battle Creek, Michigan. Mike Wlodarczyk and Celso Rondon combined to no-hit Peoria 12-0. Wlodarczyk only gave up 3 walks in his 8 innings of work. He retired the last 7 batters he faced and was removed before the 9th because he had reached his pitch count. Rondon continued the dominance by coming on in the 9th to strikeout all 3 batters he faced. Rondon was pitching in just his 2nd game for the D-Rays since being promoted from Hudson Valley.

Hudson Valley Renegades. Not really on the radar, but we would be remiss if we didn’t mention first baseman Matt Fields big night on Saturday. Fields provided all of the Renegades offense by going 2-4 with a 2-run home run in the 6th and a solo shot in the 9th during Hudson Valley’s 4-3 loss. The Rays’ 44th round pick in 2004 is now hitting .259-5-26…More importantly, everyone’s favorite little righty from Des Moines, Iowa continued his mastery of the short-season New York-Penn league. He pitched 5 shutout innings, allowing only 6 hits and no walks. He struck out 5 to lower his ERA to 2.06 in Hudson Valley’s 3-1 victory over Aberdeen.

The Hangover

Relax, alright? Don’t try to strike everybody out. Strikeouts are boring, and besides that they’re fascist. Throw some ground balls. They’re more democratic.
-Crash Davis

Toronto 6, Rays 2. This much we know…Scott Kazmir is a good pitcher. He has the potential to be a great pitcher. Last night he showed how great he can be and he showed us why is not great yet. Kid K lived up to his nickname by striking out 10 batters in 5 shutout innings, allowing only 2 hits and 5 walks. In fact, the first 7 outs by Kazmir were by strikeout. Unfortunately, in order to strikeout 10 and walk 3 batters, he had to throw 89 pitches in those 5 innings. And with his recent shoulder soreness, 89 pitches was enough for Joe Maddon to pull Kaz from the game. Kazmir is second in the majors in pitches per plate appearance. He needs to be more judicious with his pitches. Save the strikeouts for when he needs them. The Rays bullpen is awful. After throwing 15 pitches in the first inning and 25 pitches in the second inning, it was obvious that Kazmir was not going to go very deep in the game, which meant leaving the game in the hands of the bullpen. And we all know how that usually turns out (We present the above picture of Brian Meadows as evidence).

Oh, by the way, the Curse of Lamar-Naimoli lives…B. J. Upton left the game in the 3rd inning after straining his shoulder swinging the bat. The injury looked bad when it first occurred, but it is apparently not serious and Melvin is listed as day-to-day.

A Look At The Future: Yesterday On The Farm

Durham 7, Columbus 1. Delmon Young, continued his torrid hitting, going 2-5 with his 8th home run. Kevin Witt went 0-3 with 2 walks and 2 runs scored. Catcher Shawn Riggans has been hot lately and last night was no different. He went 3-5 with his 11th home run, a 2-run shot in the 5th. Wes Bankston went 2-5 with a double and is now hitting .344 over his last 32 at bats. Finally, he is young, but we might be seeing exactly why the Royals gave up so quickly on their 2004 first round draft pick, J. P. Howell. He is looking more and more like a AAAA pitcher. He struggled mightily last year with the Royals and looked very hittable in his short stint this season with the Rays. Back in Durham he is once again dominating AAA hitters. Last night, he struck out 6 in 7 innings and allowed only 4 hits, 2 walks and a run. Just goes to show that nobody in the minors can hit a breaking ball, but in the show, without a fastball, all hitters can sit back and tear into a breaking ball if it doesn’t hit the perfect spot…Joel Guzman was not in the lineup. He was removed from Wednesdays game with a sore hamstring and is listed as day-to-day.

Montgomery 4, Chatanooga 3. Evan Longoria was out of the lineup once again with a bruised shin. Justin Ruggiano, recently acquired from the Dodgers was 0-3 with a walk and Reid Brignac was 0-4 with 2 strikeouts. The big news was Jason Cromer. After a 1-out walk in the first, Cromer settled down and retired the next 21 batters in a row. He took a no-hitter into the 8th inning where he allowed a walk and home run, his first and only hit. He finished the 8th inning and was relieved in the 9th. His final line was 8 innings, 1 hit, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts and 2 runs.

Devil Rays Non-Committal On Delmon Young

Earlier this week we reported that there was a rumor circulating that Delmon Young was told to be ready for a call-up to the big leagues. Manager Joe Maddon was asked about the possibility of Young being called up on September 1st, when rosters expend to 40 players. He would only say that “He’s being discussed.”

We can only think of two reasons why the team would not call up Delmon Young on September 1st. The first reason is if the team feels that Young needs further ‘punishment’ for the bat-tossing incident earlier this season that netted Young a 49-game suspension. In this case, they just need to come out and say that this is the reason and be done with it. The other potential reason is that the team really is being stingy and are afraid to start Young’s arbitration clock. If that was the case, then this would suggest that the team does not intend for Delmon Young to be in right field for any length of time in 2007 either. Bringing Delmon up in September would NOT allow Young to be arbitration eligible a year early. On the other hand if the team has made a decision, for some reason they do not want their intentions to be known. For the life of us, we can’t think why.

Delmon Young is as ready for the big leagues as anybody else they could call up, except for Kevin Witt. He is hitting .323-7-53 in 75 games this season (actually he has hit home run #8 tonight). Do they want Delmon to continue working on his plate discipline? Do they want him to hit .400 in the minors? If Young is not ready for the majors, then nobody in the farm system is ready, and nobody should be called up.

He is on the 40-man roster already. He is the top prospect in all baseball. His batting average would be 3rd in the IL if he had enough at bats to qualify. His numbers dwarf those of B. J. Upton and his defense is obviously better. There is an immediate need for a right fielder, for a team that continues to start Damon Hollins and Russell Branyan. There is no reason not to call him up.

Or is there? There could be another reason the team is “discussing” it. They could be afraid of the media backlash of calling up a guy that threw a bat at an umpire. If that is the case, then the sooner they call him up the better. It will only be news for a day, but it will be news no matter when they decide to call him up, so they might as well get it over with.

Devil Rays still deciding whether to call up Young [ESPN]

Evan Longoria Listed As Day-To-Day

Earlier today in out A Look At The Future feature, we reported that Evan Longoria was removed from yesterday’s second game of a double header, after only one at bat. It turns out that Longoria fouled a ball off his shin in the first game and his shin swelled up significantly during the nightcap. He was removed from the game and is listed as day-to-day. The injury is not considered serious.

Daily Dish [Baseball America]

The Hangover: Most Bad Things Must Come To An End

D-Rays 8, Toronto 3. You gotta love this photo to the right. Poor Damon Hollins looks a bit inadequate and like he is about to get ‘pancaked’ by Jonny Gomes. Hollins looks genuinely scared. Maybe Jonny should pick on somebody more his size, like the portly Seth McClung.

Before this series we noted that the Blue Jays playoff hopes were DONE, even if they and their fans had not realized yet. Well, it looks like the team has finally realized as the fire sale is in full force. Before last nights game the Jays traded Scott Schoenweiss and after the game they traded Eric Hinske. Both players were traded for minor league players to be named later. Well, during last nights game, the Rays did their best job to put the nail in the coffin by jumping all over Ted Lilly in the first inning and for once, the team actually held a lead. I doing so, the Rays ended a 7 game losing streak and James Shields ended a personal 6 game losing skid. Shields was strong and only ran into trouble in the 5th inning when he threw a couple of mistake pitches but also was let down with 2 errors by his defense. Offensively, every D-Ray got at least one hit and back-to-back RBI doubles by Jonny Gomes and Jorge Cantu in the first were followed by a 2-run home run by Damon Hollins to stake Shields to an early 4-0 lead.

Welcome back to the big leagues, Chad Orvella. start. Then again, he did get off to an auspiciousOrvella came on in the 8th inning with an 8-3 lead and promptly hit the first batter he faced with his first pitch. He then settled down and got Troy Glaus to strike out swinging, followed by enticing Lyle Overbay to ground into a double play to end the inning. Some great quotes from Chad before the game in which he pretty much let it be known that the reason for his struggles earlier this year for the Rays was due to the fact that he was thinking and not throwing. You just got lesson #1 Chad, don’t think, it can only hurt the ballclub.

A Look At The Future: Yesterday On The Farm

Toledo 2, Durham 1, 11 innings. Great night for Jason Hammel. In 7 innings of work Hammel struck out 13 Mud Hens, including 5 of 6 batters in one stretch. In the 4th inning, he struck out the 2,3,4 hitters on 10 pitches. Even more impressive was that Hammel struck out 13 without walking a single batter. He did hit one batter and allow 4 hits and 1 run. He was not around for the decision as the game was still tied 1-1 at the end of 9 innings. The offense struggled as they managed only 7 hits, 4 of them by left fielder Brent Butler. Delmon Young went 0-5, Kevin Witt went 0-4, Joel Guzman went 1-4 and Wes Bankston went 0-4. Thats not good. Scott Dunn gave up the game-winning RBI double in the 11th.

Chatanooga 5, Montgomery 4, game 1. Jeff Niemann had what may have been his worst outing of the year. In 4 innings, he gave up 6 hits, 3 walks and 5 runs. HE struck out 4 and allowed 2 home runs to the Lookouts leadoff hitter Chris Dickerson. Reid Brignac went 2-3 and hit his 1st home since being promoted to AA. Evan Longoria went 0-3.

Chatanooga 7, Montgomery 3, game 2. Andy Sonnanstine appears to be coming back down to earth as the season enters the Dog Days of August. Sonnanstine struck out 5 in 5 innings, but he surrendered 6 hits, 1 walk and 3 runs (2 earned). He was cruising with only 1 hits allowed in the first 4 innings before running into trouble in the 5th. He did not earn a decision. Evan Longoria was lifted for a substitute after singling in his only at bat. No word on why he was removed from the game. Reid Brignac went 0-3.

High Desert 9, Visalia 5. Chris Mason continues to have an up and down season. Last night he allowed 6 runs in 4 innings on 8 hits and 4 walks. John Jaso went 1-3 with a double. Jaso, who may be the best catching prospect in the organization has been limited to DH duties for most of this season with nagging shoulder injuries.

Burlington 5, Princeton 3. Another catching prospect is Nevin Ashley, who was drafted in the 6th round this year out of Indiana State. Yesterday he went 2-3 with a home run and 2 RBI. In 39 games since being drafted he is hitting .341-4-25.