A Look At The Future…Yesterday On The Farm

Durham @ Charlotte, ppd. rain.

Mississippi 2, Montgomery 1. Evan Longoria went 0-4 and Reid Brignac went 1-4 as the Biscuits only managed 5 hits. Patrick Breen went 1-3 and Elliot Johnson went 0-4.

Visalia 9, Stockton 5. Catcher Josh Arhart went 3-4 with his 13th home run. John Jaso went 2-5 to raise his average to .314 , however he did strikeout 3 times. Jonathon Barratt pitched 5 scoreless innings. He gave up 3 hits and 2 walks.

South Bend 9, SW Michigan 1. The only thing worth mentioning from this game is that B. J. Upton’s brother Justin played centerfield for South Bend and went 2-5 with a grand slam, his 11th home run of the year.

Hudson Valley 4, Aberdeen 3. The little right hander from Iowa, Jeremy Hellickson struck out 6 in 5 innings, allowing 4 hits and 3 runs (2 earned). He was not around long enough for the win, but his ERA is now 2.12 in his second pro season.

D-Rays @ Seattle Mariners Tidbits

• Seattle is 53-57, 6.5 games behind Oakland in last place of the AL West, after being swept in 3 straight at home against the A’s. This was the 6th time this season that the Mariners have been swept. They swept 4 series from other teams.
• The folks at U.S.S. Mariner believe this sweep may have cost the M’s any realistic shot at the playoff, and we have to agree.
• In an era where coddling a starting pitcher has become an artform, the Mariners have only used 5 starting pitchers this season. In other words, none of their starting pitchers have missed a start. On the other hand, the Rays have had 11 different pitchers start a game this season.
• On 37 occasions this season, the Rays have lost a game in which they held the lead, attesting to the miserable performance of the bullpen. If the Rays had won just 10 of those games, their record would be 57-55, just 2 games behind the Blue Jays for 3rd place in the division.

Probable Pitchers
Monday, 10:05 et
Devil Rays Tim Corcoran, RHP (4-2, 3.54)
Seattle Jamie Moyer, LHP (6-10, 4.15)

Tuesday, 10:05 et
Devil Rays Jae Seo, RHP (2-9, 5.71)
Seattle Felix Hernandex, RHP (10-9, 4.49)

Wednesday, 4:35 et
Devil Rays James Shields, RHP (4-5, 5.28)
Seattle Jarrod Washburn, LHP (5-11, 4.47)

The Hangover: This Past Weekend In The AL East

D-Rays defeat Boston 2 games to 1. Since the All Star break the Rays have been the absolute worst team in baseball. The worst record…The worst team bating average…The worst team ERA…Who would have thought that the cure for the team’s ills would be the Boston Red Sox? The D-Rays won consecutive games for just the second time in the last month, and now have a shot to win 3 straight games for the first time since they took the first 3 games of a 4-game set against the Boston Red Sox, of course. As you can imagine, Red Sox Nation is not taking it too well. The folks at Soxaholix have even resorted to name-calling…The Tampa Bay Suckaneers? Seems a bit harsh. We, here at RI would like to think we are above such moorish behavior and would never resort to making fun of another team by altering their name…Meanwhile the Boston Red Devils and their pink-hat wearing “Nation” have lost 6 of 10 and now stand 2 games behind the Spankees who are red hot. The Scarlett Hose are also tied with the Twins a half game behind the White Sox in the wild card race. Then again, after reading Surviving Grady you would think that this is exactly where the Nation wants their team. In second place, behind the Yankees and out of the playoff picture? We guess that is just where the Red Sox are most comfortable…staring at the Yankees’ backsides, kinda like how Brooks in Shawshank Redemption couldn’t handle life on the outside.

New York takes two of three from Baltimore. Meanwhile, the Evil Empire is rolling. They have won 10 of 12 and are now 2 games in front of the Sox and 3 games in the loss column. Then again, their last two series were against the Jays and the Horioles, two teams that have all but given up on their respective seasons. The folks at Replacement Level Yankees Weblog have used some mathematical calculations to show that this surge to first place was predictable. Of course, we don’t need a probability theory to tell us this was going to happen any more than we need a calculator to tell us that not puting on sunblock can give you a sunburn. We just know it will happen from past experience. Of course, the Yankees’ schedule over the next month does look pretty brutal.

Toronto loses 2 of 3 to the White Sox. The Jays have lost 9 of 11 and now trail the Yankees by 9.5 games. There are actually closer to the O’s in 4th place than they are to the first place Yankees.

A Look At The Future…Yesterday On The Farm

Richmond 7, Durham 4. Stop us if you have heard us say this before, but Kevin Witt hit another home run. He is absolutely on fire right now. In his last 17 games, he has hit 10 home runs and now leads the International League with 33, 13 more than the next highest total. Jim Magrane made his 2nd start since being promoted from Montgomery. This start did not goes as well as the 1st, as Magrane gave up 5 runs in 5 innings. He gave up 7 hits and 2 walks. Joel Guzman went 1-4 with a double and 2 strikeouts. On Saturday, the Bulls lost to Richmond 3-0.

Montgomery 9, Mississippi 8. Right fielder Justin Ruggiano lead off the bottom of the 10th with a walk-off home run, but the big story of the game was Evan Longoria. Longoria, who was recently promoted from Visalia hit his first AA home run, a 2-run shot in the 2nd inning. He finished the night 2-4 with 3 RBI. Patrick Breen also hit his first home run since being promoted last week. Reid Brignac went 1-4. On Saturday, the Biscuits lost to Mississippi 4-3. Andy Sonnanstine lost his first decision in 4 years…OK, it only seemed like 4 years. He had won 8 straight starts before Saturday.

A Look At The Future…Yesterday On The Farm

Richmond 7, Durham 4. We here at RI should have a bunch of stock lines that we can just cut and paste into a post when they are needed. Examples would be…The Rays bullpen blew the lead…Travis Lee went 0-4 and left 32 runners on base…B. J. Upton committed another error…Well if we had these stock lines, three of them would come in handy for this Bulls post.

1. Kevin Witt hit his league-leading (32nd) home run.
2. Doug Waechter was awful once again (getting pulled in the 6th after giving up 10 hits, 3 walks and 6 runs).
3. Elijah Dukes has been suspended (for 30 games by the Devil Rays).

We don’t know about the suspension. It seems excessive. Hell, Delmon Young threw a bat at an umpire and got 50 games. All Elijah did was fail to leave the dugout. Obviously they are also taking into account all his previous transgressions, but thirty games? It will be interesting to see how Dukes responds to this and whether we will see him again this season or in a Bulls/Devil Rays uniform ever again.

Montgomery 6, Mississippi 3. The three prospects recently promoted from Visalia, all mae their AA debut last night. Evan Longoria batted 6th and played 3rd base. He went 1-4 with 2 RBI. Reid Brignac batted 7th and went 1-4 with a strikeout. Patrick Breen played left field, batted 9th and went 1-3. Jeff Niemann picked up the win, but did make one mistake pitch, giving up a 3-run home run in the 2nd inning. He struck out 7 in 6 innings, allowing 5 hits, 1 walk and 3 runs.

Visalia 6, High Desert 1. James Houser picked up his 10th win, pitching 6 shutout innings. He struck out 7.

D-Rays vs. Boston Red Sox Tidbits

• We promise not to rag on the nouveau Red Sox fans this time. And we promise to limit the number of time that refer the team as the Duke Blue Devil of Baseball (The Red Devils). It just doesn’t seem right to kick somebody while they are down. The poor Red Devils fans…They get walk-off wins left and right and they still end the week a game behind the Yankees. It’s like somebody upstairs is trying to remind you that just because your team won one World Series…They are still the Red Sox, and the Red Sox belong in 2nd place in the AL East, 1 game behind the Yankees. They just split a 4-game set with the Native Americans and have lost 5 of 8.
• The Devil Rays are 45-164, 84 games out of first place. The Rays are so far behind the Yankees (did we mention that the Yankees are in 1st place and not the Red Sox?) its like they brought a tricycle to a Indy car race. But hey! The D-Rays are better than the Royals!
• The Devil Rays have not won 2 straight games since July 22, and are 7-17 since winning 3 straight versus the Red Sox at The Pit just prior to the All-Star break. Over that span the Rays have the worst record, the worst ERA and the worst batting average in baseball. That sounds like a winning combo! Earlier today we noted that the Rays attendance was up almost 30% from last year. Well, with stats like those, the team is trying real hard to reverse that trend of rising attendance.
• Do we sound bitter?
• Delmon…Delmon…Delmon!…Delmon!!…Delmon!!!
  
• After the recent transactions, the Rays now have 17 players on their active roster that were not in the organization last season.
• Finally! Carl Crawford turns 25 tomorrow!! Woohoo! We can finally stop hearing about where C. C. ranks on the lists of things accomplished before turning 25. The 7th most steals before 25…The 11th most triples before 25…The most “before they were 25” lists before 25…blah blah blah
• The Scarlett Hose just acquired Javy Lopez from the Oriole’s after losing Jason Varitek to an injury.
• This is the Red Sox fans we know and love. After falling out of first place, at least one fan over at Fire Brand of the American League is nervous about facing the D-Rays.

Friday, 7:15 et
Boston Curt Schilling, RHP (13-4, 3.84)
Devil Rays James Shileds, RHP (4-5, 5.43)

Saturday, 7:15 et
Boston David Wells, LHP (0-1, 11.08)
Devil Rays Casey Fossum, LHP (5-4, 4.89)

Sunday, 1:15 et
Boston Jason Johnson, RHP (3-11, 6.25)
Devil Rays J. P. Howell, LHP (0-1, 14.73)

Devil Rays News And Notes

• When Baseball America ranked each organization in the preseason, The Tampa Bay Devil Rays were #10, which is about where they have been each of the last four seasons. Well, according to Jim Callis, if they were to redo the rankings in midseason, The Devil Rays would have jumped all the way to #1. Callis notes that the Rays still have Delmon Young at or near the top of the Top 100 prospects list and that players like Reid Brignac, Wade Davis and Jacob McGee have made the jump into the Top 100. Also, the Rays have added two Top 100 players this year in top draft pick, Evan Longoria and recent acquisition Joel Guzman. [Baseball America]
• Speaking of Joel Guzman, here is a nice write-up on what exactly the Rays were able to pluck from the Dodgers. [MLB Trade Rumors]
• Recently Baseball Digest Daily interviewed Devil Rays’ Executive VP of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman. Here is Part I. Here is Part II.
• The Devil Rays attendance is up almost 30% from last season, second only to the White Sox in % increase. Of course, 30% of nothing isn’t very much. [tbo.com]
• Playing the Rays is like “babysitting octuplets”….huh? [CBS Sportsline]

Chase Utley Can Chase This…We Give You Vlad The Magnificent

As you know we are a Devil Rays blog and we try to keep the posts to items directly related to the Rays and their divisional foes. Well, we noticed something last night about Vladimir Guerrero that was worth mentioning. We have always been fans of Vlad’s from afar. You have to love a superstar that just goes out every night and punishes baseballs as if they insulted his mother. On top of that..in an era when baseball nicknames are mostly pathetic (ie. A-Rod), Vlad has one of the best…Vlad the Impaler.

Well last night Chase Utley extended his hitting streak to 35 games and people around baseball are starting to salivate. While 35 games in a row is very impressive, he is still almost a month away from Joe DiMaggio’s record 56-game streak. Meanwhile, there is another streak that we think is actually more impressive and is being given to us by The Impaler. Last night Vlad got a basehit in his 43 consecutive game against the Texas Rangers. To give a sense of the enormity of the feat, the second longest active streak in baseball right now is Vlad’s teammate Garret Anderson who has a 21 game streak against the Boston Red Sox. The reason the streak is more impressive in our eyes, is that it is done over the course of 2 and a half seasons. Meaning, in the last 3 seasons, he has never had a hiccup game against the Rangers, which just attests to Vlad’s consistency. It is one thing to find a groove over a short period of time and have an overall hitting streak, but to keep churning out hits against one team, every time is quite the impressive feat. Fortunately, the Angels play the Rangers 9 more times, so Vlad’s streak has a chance to top 50 games before the season is over, which will be about 15 games longer than Utley’s streak will end up being.

update…the streak was extended to 44 games on Friday night, but came to an end on Saturday night when the Rangers walked Vlad 4 times, including 3 intentional walks in 5 plate appearances. One of the intentional walks came in the bottom of the 6th with a man on second with 1 out and the score 9-3. Can you imagine the uproar if this was how Utley’s streak ended.

The Hangover: Yesterday In The AL East

D-Rays 2, Detroit 1. Hey B. J….If you promise to keep doing that, we’ll stop calling you Melvin…OK, we promise not to call you Melvin very often…Jae Seo had his strongest start to date for the Devil Rays, giving up one run in 6+ innings of work. Unfortunately, it was not good enough for the win as Seo was pulled in the 7th with the Rays down 1-0. In the bottom of the 7th with the offense struggling yet again, the Rays managed to get 2 men on. After a Tomas Perez sacrifice bunt, B. J. Upton came through with a line drive up the middle that scored the tying run and go ahead runs. And who picked up the win in relief of Seo? None other than Seth McClung. McClung came in with a man on and 2 outs in the 7th and got Brandon Inge to fly out to Greg Norton. He then faced the top of the order in the 8th and retired the side 1-2-3 with 2 strikeouts. Joe Maddon stated before the game that McClung would be used at as the closer “when he is ready”. Hey Joe…did he look ready last night?

New York 8, Toronto 1. OK, say it with us…The First Place, New York Yankees. And thanks to the Toronto Blue Jays, who have completely given up on the season, the Yankees now have a 1 game lead over the Red Sox and 2 game lead in the loss column. And somewhere, Shea Hillenbrand is smiling. Since the Jays got rid of Hillenbrand, they are 5-11 and are no longer a playoff contender. Then again, did ayone actually think they would contend?

Cleveland 7, Boston 6. Well it took a day longer than we expected, but the Red Devils are back in their rightful place…the place being 2nd place in the AL East, and if it weren’t for Big Papi, they probably wouldn’t even be in the wild card race. So what are Red Sox fans saying about it in the Blogosphere? Well, give the fan one championship and all of the sudden they forget their rightful place and now they are the eternal optimists…”The lead is lost (for now)” is the title of today’s post at Soxaholix. Of course, at least they mentioned it. We think the guys over at Surviving Grady, are acting like if they don’t write about it, it never happened.

A Look At The Future…Yesterday On The Farm

Richmond 7, Durham 0. And the Joel Guzman era has begun. Of course, he might not realize it yet. Guzman played in his second game with the Bulls since being acquired from the Dodgers’ organization. Last night he went 0-3, and in two games he is now 1-7 with a double and 2 strikeouts. He has batted 6th both nights and played left field. Kevin Witt continues to hit the cover off the ball, going 3-4 and is now hitting .296 on the season.

Lancaster 8, Visalia 4. After the promotion of Evan Longoria, Reid Brignac and Patrick Breen, catcher John Jaso is one of the only remaining hitting prospects at Visalia, and last night he hit his 6th home run of the season. He is now hitting .315.