The Anti-Pennant Race

The D-Rays stretched their lead last night to a full game over the idle Kansas City Royals by falling to the Orioles 4-1 for their eighth straight loss. The Rays magic number is now 12. The win may have been the last gasp for Baltimore as they are now barely treading water. The Cubbies and did not do the wildcard-chasing Phillies or themselves any favors, and now have fallen to 4.5 games back. That win may have knocked themselves out of the David Price Sweepstakes. Colorado and Cleveland were both eliminated last night by posting unnecessary victories. Seven teams now remain in contention for the first pick of next year’s draft. Milwaukee faces elimination tonight.

A Minor League Hangover

The Devil Rays organization will have to settle for one league championship this season. After forcing a deciding fifth game on Sunday, Inland Empire beat Visalia again on Monday night 2-1, to win the California League Championship. The Evil Inland Empire broke a 1-1 tie in the 8th with an RBI double by some guy who’s name slips our memory and we will probably never hear about again.

The Hangover

Another day, another loss as the Rays fell to the Orioles 4-1 in the first game of a 3-game set. A Ty Wiggington RBI single in the first, that scored Carl Crawford, once again gave the Rays an early lead. Once again, the pitching staff couldn’t hold the lead as Tim Corcoran gave up a 3-run home run in the top of the second and the offense could not add to their lone first inning run. The only other bright spot was Delmon Young extended his hitting streak to 12 games, but he grounded out with the bases loaded in the ninth to end the game. This was the D-Rays season-worst eighth straight loss, but somehow Joe Maddon remains optimistic. Maybe he is just optimistic the season will eventually end. We are still waiting for Maddon to actually argue a call this year…any call. Then again, maybe he just spends too much time thinking. Derek Jeter style? Really? ok. But at lease we know he is not thinking about losing 100 games.

• Surprise, surprise. Kid K will not pitch again this season.
• Can somebody do us a favor and let’s refrain from using B. J. Upton’s name in an article entitled “Hall of Fame is thin at third base“.

The Anti-Pennant Race: The David Price Sweepstakes

Unfortunately the Devil Rays still have games left at The Trop this season. Otherwise, the race for the first pick in the draft would not be a race at all. The Rays have shown their true metal and have blown past the Royals into “first place” with 7 straight losses including sweeps at the Yankees and the Blue Jays. On the other hand the Royals are playing like…winners? It is supposed to be the Rays that have talent on the verge of contention, instead there now appears to be hope on the horizon for the Royals and the Rays are in shambles. The Royals are actually winning games and now appear to be tanking this race and handing the first pick in next June’s draft to the Rays on a bronze platter. Pittsburgh is another team that is all of the sudden losing winning games at the wrong time. Two weeks ago, the Rays and Pirates were virtually tied, but now Pittsburgh sits 5.5 games back, after sweeping the Mets, with very few games remaining.

Five teams were eliminated over the weekend, including Cincinnati, Houston, Atlanta, Seattle and Arizona. There are still nine teams that are mathematically alive, but it appears to be a 3-team race, with Kansas City, Tampa Bay and the Cubs. We are still keeping our eyes on Baltimore. They are trying, but the D-Rays may be too shitty for the O’s to catch them the last 2 weeks of the season.

Who is David Price? David Price is the front-runner to be the top pick of Major League Baseball’s 2007 amateur entry draft. Price is a 6’6″ pitcher at Vanderbilt that some scouts have called the left-handed version of Mark Prior. This past season Price went 9-5 with a 4.16 ERA and 155 strikeouts in 110 innings. For Team USA this summer, Price went 5-1 and a 0.20 ERA with 61 strikeouts and 7 walks in 44 innings. He won Baseball America’s Summer Player of the Year award for 2006. Obviously a lot can change in the next 9 months. He could suck next year…He could sign Scott Boras as his agent…his arm could fall off…he could get abducted by aliens…he could get Matt Leinart pregnant…the possibilities are endless. In the meantime, the race is on! May the worst team win.

A Minor Hangover

We sure hope the kids down in the minors don’t get to used to all the winning that is happening down on the farm. On Friday night, the Montgomery Biscuits won the the Southern League Championship. After dropping the opening game of the best-of-5 series 6-4, they offense exploded and the Biscuits won three straight games to win the title. Michael Coleman homered in all three wins and was named MVP of the series. On Thursday night, Mitch Talbot pitched his second straight playoff shutout striking out 10 in the 7-0 victory. On Friday, Montgomery finished off Huntsville with 15 hits including 4 home runs in the 12-4 win. In addition to Coleman’s blast, the Biscuits all got home runs from Evan Longoria, Jeremy Owens, and Elliot Johnson (above). Johnson went 4-5 and hit for the cycle with 3 RBI.

The Visalia Oaks missed an opportunity to win the California League championship by dropping game 4, 8-2 to the Inland Empire. That best-of-5 series is now tied at 2 games apiece. The deciding game 5 will be tonight at Inland Empire.

The Weekend Hangover

Thank god for Delmon Young. We don’t want to imply that there is nothing to talk about with this team. Quite the contrary, there are still plenty of storylines. It’s just that most of them are bad, and well, we are starting to have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms from our formative years in the mid to late-80s as a Buccaneers fan. Of course, after two weeks of the NFL season, we are beginning to wonder aloud if the Devil Rays are in fact the best professional sports team in the Tampa area right now. Well at least they have the best offense of the Tampa teams. Bea Arthur scores more often than the Chris Simms led offense. And its a good thing Simms isn’t a pitcher, or he would lead the league in opposing players hit. Well, the Rays went into Toronto this weekend after being swept by the Yankees in New York and proceeded to get swept on the road again. We are going to give you some numbers that are quite disturbing, so if you have a weak heart, we strongly suggest you turn your head away…The Rays are now a league worst 19-56 on the road, 5.5 games behind the next worst road record (Kansas City) including 2-29 since the All-Star break. The Rays have been swept 9 times on the road this season, including 7 times since the break.

Still there are reasons to go to the games and reasons to pay attention when the game is on TV. Some are already talking about the Devil Rays possessing the best outfield in baseball. We all know the outstanding play of Carl Crawford, but reason number one is Delmon Young. Young has played in 18 games since being called up and is hitting .400-3-10 with 2 stolen bases. In those 18 games he has 10 multi-hit games including all three games against the Blue Jays this past weekend. He has only been held hitless two times and has an 11-game hitting streak overall. Another bright spot has been the resurgence of Rocco Baldelli who continues to shine as a leadoff hitter. And there have been other reasons to feel optimism even it has been lost on a team heading towards 100 losses. You might also need a mickey mouse decoder, but the signs are there….Maybe.

• B. J. Upton continues to struggle at third base.
• Edwin Jackson is OK after being hit in the head by a line drive this weekend.
• The bullpen still makes us want to hurt a stuffed animal.

The Hangover

Rocco Baldelli put the team on his back last night, but it wasn’t enough as the Yankees beat the Rays 7-4 to complete the 3-game sweep. The Yankees decided not to start 17-game winner Chien-Ming Wang, and sat all of their regular outfielders due to the weather. Rocco led off the game with a triple and was driven in by Delmon Young on Delmon’s 21st birthday. No truth to the rumor that Joe Maddon had a beer waiting for him back in the dugout. Rocco added a solo home run in the 3rd and a 2-run shot in the 5th. Baldelli was the first visiting player since Bo Jackson in 1990 to get a homer or a triple in each of his first three at bats at Yankee Stadium. James Shields cruised through the first four innings, allowing only a solo home run to Hideki Matsui. Then the rain came and Shields fell apart. After Baldelli’s second home run of the night, the Rays led the Yankees 4-1. Shields immediately gave up that lead in the bottom of the 5th, and then was removed from the game with a tight hamstring. The bullpen gave up three more runs in the 7th.

• Delmon Young has been on a tear since being called up, but he is not letting it go to his head.
• Apparently the team was rewarded for being swept by having to put on another fashion show following the game. Rudy Lugo in drag?
• Has anybody wondered where Jonny Gomes has been? He is going to school with Shamika. really.
• Oh and once again, it seems silly to say this, but Derek Jeter extended his hitting streak to 23 games, two nights after going hitless.

There was some good news last night. Kansas City won their third straight game and as a result, the Rays have pulled within a half game of the lead in the race for the worst record in baseball and the rights to the first pick in next June’s draft. Both Cincinnati and Houston won last night, so neither team was eliminated. Still, don’t rule out the pathetic Orioles, who continue to lose, and lose, and lose. They arenow only 6.5 games back. A lot of ground to be made up, but we don’t doubt they can do it.

Who is David Price? David Price is the front-runner to be the top pick of Major League Baseball’s 2007 amateur entry draft. Price is a 6’6″ pitcher at Vanderbilt that some scouts have called the left-handed version of Mark Prior. This past season Price went 9-5 with a 4.16 ERA and 155 strikeouts in 110 innings. For Team USA this summer, Price went 5-1 and a 0.20 ERA with 61 strikeouts and 7 walks in 44 innings. He won Baseball America’s Summer Player of the Year award for 2006. Obviously a lot can change in the next 9 months. He could suck next year…He could sign Scott Boras as his agent…his arm could fall off…he could get abducted by aliens…he could get Matt Leinart pregnant…the possibilities are endless. In the meantime, the race is on! May the worst team win.

[THE HANGOVER] The David Price Sweepstakes

Who is David Price? David Price is the front-runner to be the top pick of Major League Baseball’s 2007 amateur entry draft. Price is a 6’6″ lefty pitcher at Vanderbilt that some scouts have called the left-handed version of Mark Prior. This past season Price went 9-5 with a 4.16 ERA and 155 strikeouts in 110 innings. For Team USA this summer, Price went 5-1 and a 0.20 ERA with 61 strikeouts and 7 walks in 44 innings. He won Baseball America’s Summer Player of the Year award for 2006. Obviously a lot can change in the next 9 months. He could suck next year…He could sign Scott Boras as his agent…his arm could fall off…he could get abducted by aliens…he could get Matt Leinart pregnant…the possibilities are endless. In the meantime, the race is on! May the worst team win.

There appear to be four contenders at this point, including K. C., the Rays, the Cubs and Pittsburgh, which is pretty amazing considering everyone thought the Royals would run away with this race in June. This could be an epic collapse on their part, much like the ’69 Cubbies, the ’87 Blue Jays, or the ’04 Yankees…The Darkhorse is the Orioles who are 7.5 games out and look like a long shot. However, their 4-11 record over the past 15 games is a strong indication that they have given up on the season. Of course you would too if you had the worst owner in baseball. Both Cincinnati and Houston could be eliminated as early as tonight.

Last night the Rays picked up another game on the Royals and now stand just 1.5 games behind for the worst record in baseball. While Kansas City completed a 2-game sweep of the Indians, the Rays blew an another early lead and fell to the Yankees 8-4. Carl Crawford and Rocco Baldelli each ht a first inning solo home run but Jason Hammel immediately gave up the lead with 3 runs in the bottom of the first and 3 more in the bottom of the third. Interestingly, yesterday we pointed out the salaries of the starting lineups of each team and last night it was Robinson Cano that drove in 5 runs. Derek Jeter extended his hitting streak to 22 games, one night after going hitless, and the Yanks moved closer to clinching the division. But hey…In addition to the home run and three hits, Carl Crawford did get his 50th stolen base for the third time.

• Need another piece of evidence that there is a disparity in baseball? Tropicana Field cost $138 million to be built. The Yankees recently broke ground on their new ballpark. Estimated cost? $1.2 billion.
• We must admit, we have a soft spot for this headline.
• How is it possible to be a fan of the L. A. Lakers and the New York Yankees? One word Bandwagon. Or is that two words?
  

Do The Devil Rays Even Have A Chance Against The Yankees?

For those of you that are regular visitors to this site know that we very rarely complain about having to eat McDonald’s Hamburgers every night, while our counterparts are eating Steak. We understand the dynamics of baseball and until the rules change, we have no problem with the Yankees spending $200 million on player salaries. They are playing within the rules. Still, it makes us wonder if we are wasting our time hoping that the D-Rays will ever be competitive as long as they compete in the AL East. Above are the starting lineups from Tuesday’s game in the Bronx featuring the The New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. In other words, EIGHT members of the the Yankees starting lineup have salaries greater than the entire Devil Rays’ lineup. And this Yankee’s lineup does not have Gary Sheffield ($13,000,000) who will replace Melky Cabrera when he returns from injury in the near future. What is amazing about this big gigantic enormous colossal astronomic gargantuan John Holmsian slight disparity in payrolls is that somehow the Rays actually have won 3 games versus the Yankees this season. Even more amazing that the Rays won 11 of 19 versus the Yankees last season. So the ultimate question is…Can the Devil Rays ever compete in this division with the Yankees and other big payroll teams like the Red Sox, The Blue Jays, and The Orioles? (And Yes, that question is Rhetorical)…Pardon us while we go cry in the corner like a girl stood-up on prom night.

The Hangover

And this is why Tim Corcoran, despite his impressive numbers, is a longshot to make the rotation in 2007. When he has his best stuff, he will give the team 5 or 6 good innings. At some point in the 5th or 6th inning, things will start to unravel. And if he does not have his best stuff? A good team like the Yankees are going to hit him, and they are going to hit him hard. Also consider his age, 28 and the number of young starting pitchers, including Jason Hammel, that could potentially fill out the rotation and Corky’s spot in the rotation is more likely to be temporary than longterm. His role for 2007? If he is still with the Devil Rays next season, he most valuable role may be as a long reliever that can give you 2-3 strong innings as a change of pace guy, and as an occasional spot starter. This year’s team lacked that guy in the bullpen and every team needs one. On numerous occasions this season, the team needed to go to the minors to find a starter for an injured pitcher. On several occasions, the team was bringing up a guy that may not have been ready to face major league pitching. With a guy like Corcoran in the bullpen, it would give Joe Maddon another option.

• Hideki Matsui returned for the Yankees last night and had a Godzilla vs. Rodan performance. Of course some might say that he is still on a AAA rehab assignment
• Have we mentioned how nice it must be to be able to go out replace a player like Gary Sheffield with Bobby Abreu? We think Aaron Guiel would not have driven in 7 runs last night.
• Derek Jeter was removed from the game for a pinch-hitter despite having a 21-game hitting streak on the line. Well, it turns out the streak is intact.
• So…Is there anything good to say about last nights loss? Well, has anybody noticed that the Rays are only 2.5 games ahead of the Royals? The Rays are actually contending for the first pick in next year’s draft. And with the way the Rays have played on the road this season (worst record in the majors), there is a good chance that the Royals will surpass the Rays by the end of this roadtrip.
• The AA Montgomery Biscuits began play in the Southern League championship series last night. Before the game, the Devil Rays announced that they were extending their relationship with the Montgomery franchise for two years, through 2008.
• It is old news that the Devil Rays will have a new look in 2008, but now comes word that the team may keep the ‘Rays’ moniker and change ‘Tampa Bay’ to ‘Florida’. Apparently the Marlins have considered changing to the Miami Marlins. The Florida Rays? Please, tell me we can do better than that.
• Looks like the Devil Rays have overcome the final hurdle that will allow the team to move its Spring Training to Charlotte County.