The Hangover: The Jeckyl And Hyde Of Baseball

You may have noticed a slight change in format. We run three daily features around these parts. Of course, by daily, we mean if we don’t drink too much the night before and are able to get our buts out of bed in a reasonable manner. Well, we are going to mix things up a little. On days that we run “The AL East Roundup” and/or “Down on the Farm”, those will be posted before “The Hangover” which we should be able to get up all weekdays and most weekends.

Devil Rays 5, A’s 3.
We promise that next time we take off for on a drunken weekend binge, we will leave you with something better to look at on the front page than Mel Allen’s mug…One trait of young teams is extreme ups and downs and this is not lost on the 2007 Tampa Bay Devil Rays. After taking 2 straight from the Yankees in impressive fashion, they followed it up by looking like a AAA team in 2 losses to the Angels. Somehow they bounced back to take 2 of 3 from the A’s. Scott Kazmir got off to a shaky start by giving up 2 solo home runs in the first. He settled down and did what he had to do. He kept an ugly loss (on Saturday) from turning into a losing streak, handing the ball to the bullpen in the 8th inning with a lead. Rocco Baldelli, who was a game-time decision as to whether or not he could return to the lineup, made the start and provided a no-doubt home run in 5th inning. BJ Upton was moved up from his normal 9-spot in the lineup, to the 6-hole and made Papa Joe Maddon look like a genius by driving in 3 with his 5th home run of the year. Elijah Dukes hit his first home run since the first 2 games of the season against the Yankees.

• Josh Hancock, who died in a car accident, was a friend of Casey Fossum.
• Rocco Baldelli started at DH, but is still not 100%.
• Jorge Cantu received his first career start as a first baseman. He went 0-4.
• Yesterday Shawn Camp relieved Scott Kazmir in the 8th inning. He struggled and Brian Stokes had to come in for the final two outs of the frame. With Camp’s recent success and a couple of shaky outings by Stokes, Joe Maddon will be day-to-day with Camps and Stokes on who gets the ball in the 7th and who gets it in the 8th.
• Buster Olney lists James Shields as one of his “payers on the rise”, citing an already impressive change-up that keeps getting better.
• Carlos Pena has been a pleasant surprise for the Rays early in the season. There is no word yet what the Rays will do when Greg Norton is ready to return to the team. Norton is expected to begin a rehab assignment in the next few days. Pena only made the opening day roster after Norton was injured in the last week of spring training. The likely scenario would be one in which the Rays send Cantu back to Durham, keeping Pena and Norton. Then the team would be able to wait until Akinori Iwamura returns before making a decision on Pena.
• Joe Maddon is worried about how often the Rays fall behind early in a game. A team can have all the talent in the world, but it does no good if they do not show up to the park mentally prepared to play everyday.
• RealGM Baseball is taking a look at all 30 GMs in baseball. In their review of Andrew Friedman, they call the hiring of Joe Maddon, his “signature move”. Signing Akinori Iwamura, and not trading BJ Upton must have been a close second and third.
• James Shields is the Rays most consistent pitcher right now, but he does have a penchant for giving up home runs.
• Here is a very detailed account of Ty Wigginton delivering his second child in the closet of their home. All we can say is “wow”.
• A look back at the Devil Rays 1997 expansion draft.

AL East Roundup: Red Sox ManRam The Yankees

AL EAST	W	L	GB	L10	STK	E#
Boston Red Sox	16	8	–	7-3	W1	—
Toronto Blue Jays	12	12	4.0	4-6	W1	135
Baltimore Orioles	12	13	4.5	4-6	L1	134
Tampa Bay Devil Rays	11	14	5.5	5-5	W1	133
New York Yankees	9	14	6.5	2-8	L1	133

Red Sox 7, Yankees 4. How are the Rays ever supposed to pick up ground on the Sox, if Boston keeps getting to play weak teams like the Yankees? The Sox went all Big Papi and ManRam on the Yankees. Both David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez hit home runs for Boston. Ramirez had the decisive blow, a 2-run shot in the 8th that put the Sox up 7-3. After losing 5 of 6 to the Red Sox in a little over a week (and 2 of 2 to the Rays), the Yankees have fallen 6.5 games behind the Sox and once again sit alone in last place of the AL East, a game behiiiiinnnnnd the TAMPA BAY DEVIL RAYS.

Indians 6, O’s 1. All of the sudden the Orioles have lost 6 of 7 and are back in their familiar position (below .500).

Blue Jays 7, Rangers 3. You don’t hear us make too many predictions around here. One of our biggest pet-peeves is somebody that makes 20 predictions and gloats when they get one or two right. Still we are starting to get a sense that this will be the story of the Blue Jays for the rest of the year. After their win yesterday they are now 12-12. We know this team has talent and they have had injuries, but even when the roster is healthy this looks like a .500 team. We would be surprised if this team finishes more than 2 games above or below .500.

NOTE FROM AROUND THE AL EAST…

• Not surprising, there are rumblings in the Bronx that Joe Torre’s job security is very thin right now. George Steinbrenner has a history of firing managers early in a season. In 1985, he fired Yogi Berra after a 6-10 start. Of course, Berra wasn’t coming off his 11th straight playoff appearance and did not have 4 championships on his resume. If Steinbrenner was younger, we might think this could happen, but we would be shocked if it happened now. On the other hand, Steinbrenner almost fired Torre last October and he already has a manager-in-waiting on the bench, that goes by the name Don Mattingly.
• You wont ever hear Derek Jeter publicly defend Alex Rodriguez, but as team captain he is quick to defend Joe Torre.
• The Orioles activated Jaret Wright before Sunday’s game in order to start against the Indians. He only lasted 3 innings.
• Orioles broadcaster Gary Thorne was named “Sports Douche of the Week.” A little harsh. We would have gone with Ron Mexico.

Down On The Farm: Big Afternoon For Top Pitching Prospects

Durham 2, Charlotte 1. After Chris Richard tied the game with a 1-out single in the bottom of the 9th, Shawn Riggans knocked in the winner with a 2-out single. Mitch Talbot got back on track after 3 straight bad starts. He gave 1 run in 7 innings and did not walk a batter. He struck out 4.

Montgomery 7, Jacksonville 2. This is becoming an old story…Another great start for Chris Mason. This time he went 5.1 innings and gave up only 1 unearned run. He struck out 6 and only walked 1. He is now 3-0 with an ERA of 1.26 in 28.2 innings spanning 5 starts. Reid Brignac hit his 4th home run and drove in 3.

Vero Beach 4, Brevard County 0. Wade Davis struck out 9 in 7 shutout innings, giving up only 2 hits and 2 walks. He lowered his ERA to 2.15 in 29.1 innings. Rhyne Hughes hit his first home run of the year. He is hitting .324.

Columbus 7, Charleston 1. Joshua Butler gave only 1 unearned run in 6 innings to lower his ERA to 1.61. He struck out 5. Ryan Royster and Matt Spring both homered for the Rays.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• Yesterday’s Biscuits game featured two bench-clearing incidents although it appears as if no punches were thrown. Evan Longoria was hit after Reid Brignac homered. In the following inning Chris Mason threw at least one pitch that was a little too close. In all, three players and coaches were ejected.
• We have been singing the praises of Jason Hammel and now others are starting to take notice. Hammel is back to throwing a slider and his confidence has never been higher…Quite often these decisions are based on a player’s turn in the rotation, but if that were not a factor, Hammel would be the first starting pitcher called up from Durham.
• Wade Townsend is off to a hot start at low-A Columbus, in his return from Tommy John surgery, and he was just recognized for his performance. The South-Atlantic League named Townsend their pitcher of the week. Both of his starts (prior to his last outing) were wins in which he gave upa combined 2 runs in 11 innings. He is now second in the SAL with 32 strikeouts (8 walks), and has an ERA of 2.25. Very impressive considering he is on a tight leash right now.
• James Houser was placed on the DL after having his wisdom teeth pulled. That’s a new one. Evan Meek, who went on the DL after being hit in the head with by a line-drive from his own teammate, replaces Houser on the roster.

How About That!

Either we are getting old or we just don’t watch network TV on the weekends anymore. The Rays are going to be featured on This Week in Baseball. We didn’t even realize that TWIB was still on. Does Mel Allen host the show from beyond the grave?

The TWIB producers miked up Carl Crawford before a recent game and followed him around during pregame warm-ups and batting practice. The show also catches up with Delmon Young, whom they apparently featured when he was a 14-year old high schooler in California.

The feature will also include the top 5 “things you don’t know about the Devil Rays.” Some of the thing we hope make the list include:

• Is anybody on the Rays old enough to remember Mel Allen?
• Who on the Devil Rays is best at “Making it Rain”?
• If Delmon Young could hit any of his teammates with a bat, who would it be?
• If you were to rank the Devil Rays pitchers based on talent, would Elijah Dukes be in the top 5? Would Jae Seo be in the top 20?
• Is it true that Edwin Jackson forgets to ut the rose in front when he puts on the garter on days he pitches?
• Is BJ Upton legally blind when holding a baseball?

The Hangover: Bubble Boy Is On The Shelf…Again

Angels 11, Devil Rays 3.
supposed to win games if the team doesn’t score 15 runs a game? Let’s look at Are you surprised? You shouldn’t be. There is some good news. First of all, the more times this happens, the easier it is to swallow. The other good news is, the Rays are now one start closer to an all 25-and-under rotation. Last season Jae Seo suffered quite often from a lack of run support. We guess, you could say the same thing this season. How is Jae SeoSeo’s numbers on the season. In 5 starts he has an ERA of 9.51. In each of his starts, he has given up run totals of 5, 10, 4, 5 and 6. He has posted one decent start, against Minnesota, in which he worked 7 innings and didn’t walk anybody and gave up only 4 runs. Seo is not a major league starting pitcher right now. The Rays only have two pitchers that can win a game on their own. The others have to at least keep the team in the game, and Seo is not even doing that. Somebody should tell Jason Hammel to pack his bags.

• Rocco Baldelli (aka Bubble Boy) had to be removed from yesterday’s game in the third inning. He will probably miss the weekend series with the A’s.
• Next up for the Rays is the Oakland A’s. Tampa Bay is 8-34 all-time in Oakland. Over a 162-game schedule that equates to 31-131. Ouch.
• Buster Olney comments on the possibility of the Rays making a deal with Oakland for starting pitcher Rich Harden. There is no indication that any conversations have taken place. Rather, the commentary is more that the Rays and A’s would make good trade partners if Harden is available.

Down On The Farm: We Won’t Forget About Jason Hammel

Columbus 1, Durham 0. Jason Hammel struck out 8 in 6 innings, and only gave up 2 hits, but 1 of those was a second inning solo home run that marked the only scoring in the game. Hammel now has a 2.36 ERA in 5 starts with 29 strikeouts in 26.2 innings, and continues to remind us that we may have kicked him off the radar a bit too soon.

Huntsville 3, Montgomery 0. Mike Prochaska struck out 7 in 7 innings. He only allowed 4 hits, but he trailed 2-0 after only 6 pitches with a single, followed by a 2-run home run. Reid Brignac had 3 of the Biscuits 6 hits including 2 doubles. Evan Longoria was 0-3.

Brevard County 3, Vero Beach 2. Second baseman Hunter Vick had 3 of the Rays 5 hits to raise his average to .324. Mike Wlodarczyk gave up 2 runs in 5.2 innings with 4 strikeouts.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• James Houser will have his next start pushed back after having his wisdom teeth pulled. He has pitched in pain his last two starts.

The Hangover: Rays Land In Anaheim And Fall Back to Earth

Angels 9, Devil Rays 1.
Don’t blame us. We said we wouldn’t be surprised if the Rays lost 10-1….We are never apologists for starting pitchers. We hate it when somebody says a pitcher threw a great game but just “made a couple of mistakes.” It is the biggest gop-out in baseball. Winning pitchers don’t make mistakes when the game is on the line. That being said, last night was the second time in the past week that a Devil Rays pitcher deserved a better fate. Edwin Jackson didn’t have his best stuff, but he battled all night and was betrayed by sloppy defense. He did give up 8 hits in 6+ innings, but he only gave up 1 walk. The Rays committed three errors, including BJ Upton’s 6th. With 2 outs in the 5th inning, two runners on in a scoreless game, Upton made a great stop of a groundball up the middle but threw wide to first. By the time the inning was over, the Rays had committed 2 errors and were down 3-0 and the game was over.

• Why was the second Rays-Yankees game a night game, on get-away day, before a west coast trip? We understand trying to maximize the attendance, but it was the Yankees and it would have still been a good crowd. So for an extra 5,000 fannies in the seats on Tuesday, the front office may have sacrificed a game on wednesday.
• Jorge Cantu is just as comfortable at first as he is at second base (uh oh) and he says it is because, they are the same side of the infield. Pure genius.
• Jorge Cantu was not called up to play everyday and will have to make the most of the little playing time he receives if he has any hopes of being traded.
• The upcoming series with the Rangers in Orlando may not sellout.
• Ty Wigginton on the other hand is a chameleon when it comes to infield positions and should make a smooth and quick transition to being the most-days third baseman.
• Brendan Harris now appears to be the starting shortstop. We thought this could happen, but didn’t think it would happen so quickly.
• Has BJ Upton done enough to reestablish himself as one of the games up and coming stars? Too early to tell, but he is off to a good start.
• Tonight’s starter Jae Seo has given up more runs than any other pitcher in baseball (24).

Down On The Farm: Jeremy Hellickson Strong In 2007 Debut

Columbus 12, Durham 6. Mitch Talbot got knocked around yesterday, giving up 8 runs on 8 hits and 3 walks in 4 innings. It was his third straight shaky outing since pitching 6 hitless innings on April 9. Wes Bankston, Shawn Riggans and Justin Ruggiano had 2 hits apiece. Catcher Josh Johnson pitched a scoreless 9th. Best we can tell, it was his first appearance as a pitcher since 2002 when he gave up 4 runs in one-third of an inning, in the Twins organization.

Montgomery 13, Huntsville 6. Fernando Perez was 2-2 with his first home run, his 7th stolen base and 3 walks. Jason Pridie was 2-5 with his first home run. Reid Brignac was 0-5 and Evan Longoria was 1-4 with 2 runs scored. Longoria is hitting .303. Chris Mason continues to dominate the Southern League. In 6 innings, he gave up only 1 unearned run and struck out 7 with no walks. The first 18 pitches he threw were strikes and he struck out the side in the 2nd inning on 9 pitches. On the season he has a 1.54 ERA and a 20:3 strike out to walk ratio.

Brevard County 4, Vero Beach 3. Wade Davis was overpowering, striking out 8 in 7 innings with no walks. He gave up 3 hits and no runs. Greg Dupas gave up a game-tying home run in the 9th and the Rays lost in 11 after taking a 3-2 lead in the top half of the inning.

Columbus 6, Rome 2. Jeremy Hellickson made his 2007 debut and it was a good one. In 6 innings he gave up only 1 hit and 1 unearned run. He struck out 6 and walked 2.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• Short stop Neil Walton of the Vero Beach Devil Rays was named Florida State League offensive player of the week. Walton batted .474 (9-19) with 7 RBI and 1 stolen base, hitting safely in all 6 games.

AL East Roundup: Ladies And Gentlemen…Your Last Place New York Yankees

AL EAST	W	L	GB	L10	STK	E#
Boston Red Sox	12	7	–	7-3	L2	—
Baltimore Orioles	11	9	1.5	7-3	L2	142
Toronto Blue Jays	10	10	2.5	4-6	W2	141
Tampa Bay Devil Rays	9	11	3.5	5-5	W2	140
New York Yankees	8	11	4.0	4-6	L5	140

Blue Jays 10, Red Sox 3. The Blue Jays are a lot like the Devil Rays these days and we are not just talking about their aversion to the first part of their nickname and a distancing from their team colors. With all their injuries, especially to BJ Ryan, the Jays only hope is to outscore their opponents, and they have the offense to do it. Roy Halladay struck out 10 in 8 innings and the Jays knocked around 15 hits. Mike Lowell homered for Boston, his third in 3 games.

A’s 4, O’s 2. All four runs by the A’s were scored after the Orioles played hot potato with the baseball. Aubrey Huff hit a triple. Who was playing in the outfield? Stevie Wonder?

NOTES FROM AROUND THE AL EAST...

• Better them than us. The NEW YORK YANKEES ARE IN LAST PLACE.
• Apparently the Rays aren’t the only team with bullpen issues. The Yankees bullpen is in disarray. We have to agree if Joe Torre is already using the Great Mariano in the 8th inning, bringing Andy Pettite out of the bullpen and his main setup man is Kyle Farnsworth, who has the weakest 98 mph fastball in baseball. Oh yeah, and your submarining lefty gives up grand slams to left-handed hitters.
• Derek Jeter was removed from last night’s loss to the Rays with a bruised thigh after being hit by a pitch. He is not expected to miss much time.
• Alex Rodriguez says he wants to stay in New York after this season. We would expect him to say nothing else.
• BJ Ryan is not coming back anytime soon. The Jays moved him to the 60-day DL. Sounds an awful lot like his season is in jeopardy.
• The Orioles lost reliever Scott Williamson to the DL.
• Yet another injury for the Blue Jays. This time it is Greg Zaun headed to the DL. At this rate, Jesse Barfield, Lloyd Moseby and Garth Iorg will be suiting up for the Jays.

The Hangover: Say It With Us…Rays Sweep Yankees

Devil Rays 6, Yankees 4.
Show of hands…how many of you thought the inning was over when the Yankees brought in a side-arming lefty to face Carl Crawford with the bases loaded and 2 outs? Be honest. If you don’t have your hand raised you are lying to yourself and to us and now you have to carry a Hello Kitty back pack and bring us candy every day. Now…how many of you saw Shawn Camp enter the game with a runner on and no outs in the 8th with the Rays up 6-3, with Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi due up, and tasted vomit in your mouth? Get your hands up. Be honest…This team has something. We can’t quite put our finger on it yet, but boy can they look good some nights. We shouldn’t say this out loud but the Rays really are just two pitchers (1 starter and 1 reliever) away from…Nevermind. So, what is more likely? The Rays now head to Anaheim and Oakland for 5 games and come home for 6 games against the Twinkies and Oakland. Not an easy stretch at all. Do the Rays build on the momentum of their first series win of the season and the knowledge that they have taken 3 of 4 from the Evil Empire and club LA in the series opener? Or do they throw out a stinker tomorrow against the Angels and lose a 10-1 ballgame? Honestly, we have no clue at this point. But neither would surprise us.

• Preliminary reports are that Akinori Iwamura will be out 4-6 weeks.
• Shawn Camp has been a completely different pitcher his last 4 appearances. By different, we mean not the worst pitcher in baseball. Does this mean we have to stop making fun of him?
• Jorge Cantu has embraced a move to first base. That is all fine and dandy, but if he wants to be an everyday major league first baseman, his 2005 numbers are a minimum. He is better off fixing his defensive short-comings at second.
• Not sure how we missed this. We hope you will forgive us. The Dugout did a Devil Rays preview that is a tad dated but still worth the visit. There has been more than one occasion when we wished Casey Fossum was GettinADelmon.
• Not to start everybody off in a depressed mood today, but has anybody noticed that Josh Hamilton is 5th in the NL in home runs with 5. Wish we hadn’t noticed.