The Durham Bulls: One In The Pink

This past Sunday, the Durham Bulls wore pink jerseys in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness. After the game, the jerseys were auctioned off to raise money. This is the second year that the Bulls have shown their support by donning the pink. While this is definitely a worthy cause and great charitable contribution, we hope that no professional sports team ever incorporates pink as their main color. That being said, the Bulls version was actually not that bad. The pink works well with the Bulls blue, although there were reports that the pink jersey could be seen through the Bulls white pants.

Still, this use of a pink jersey was easier on the eyes than some previous attempts such as THIS, THIS, THIS, THIS, THIS, THIS, THIS, THIS or THIS. And of course you already know how we feel about Pink Red Sox caps. They makes us throw up a little and want to punch Ben Affleck.

Swing for the cure [Durham Bulls]

The Return Of Jorge Cantu: Iwamura to DL

Jorge Cantu is back. Akinori Iwamura was placed on the DL today with a strained oblique muscle and Cantu was recalled from Durham to take his place.

Honestly we are a bit surprised that Cantu was the choice, although there really isn’t a lot of offensive talent at Durham right now. Cantu’s demotion at the end of spring training was not received very well by the second baseman and he subsequently demanded a trade. It is not clear if the Rays have entered into anything other than preliminary discussions with other teams about moving Cantu. There just does not seem to be much of a market for a second baseman with limited defensive abilities and a bat in decline.

Iwamura to the DL is a big blow to the this team. He was the one player on the team that would actually work a pitcher. He is 4th in the AL in walks on a team that has always struggled with getting on base. And is it us or is the oblique muscle a recent discovery to science? Up to 5 years ago, we never heard of a player missing time with an injured oblique. Now it happens all the time. Apparently the injury occurred earlier in the week. The big worry is how serious the injury is. Obliques can be a finicky muscle and if not careful, this could turn into a season-long nagging injury.

As for the Rays lineup, look for Cantu to receive at bats, but not regular playing time. BJ Upton is still the second baseman. Ty Wigginton will likely slide over to third base with Brendan Harris also receiving some starts. On days that Wiggy is at third, Carlos Pena will start at first base. Cantu is most likely to receive one or two starts a week at DH.

ManRay Goes Where No Blogger Has Gone Before

A while back there were rumblings about Major League Baseball’s policy to only give press credentials to mainstream media outlets. Some people even started a “movement” (which may have already died) to persuade MLB to at least make the decision based on a case-by-case basis in which “legitimate bloggers” (whatever that means) would at least receive some access.

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays have proven to be very progressive in their thinking (free parking, cheap beer) and in their media relations. A team needs to be if they finish in last place 88% of the time and are coming off another 100-loss season. They will even go so far as to purchase a fan during an auction.

You might remember a couple of months ago, the Devil Rays team president Matthew Silverman actually acquired the rights to “professional” blogger Manny Stiles during an online auction that raised money for The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation to aid in research and care of pediatric AIDS patients. In doing so, ManRay (his Devil Rays alter-ego) would blog about the Rays all season long.

Well, Silverman and the Rays took it a step further. In addition to giving money to charity and receiving at least 50 blog posts about the Rays, Manny Stiles was invited to the Trop for the recent three game series against the Indians and last night’s game versus the Yankees. Manny was given full press credentials, in an apparent f-you snub to Bud Selig and the powers-that-be.

ManRay’s tour of duty concluded last night with a live game-blog from the press box. He was his usual entertaining self, and somehow managed to comment on the Rays nads, Jeter’s penchant to grab himself, holy cows, and his own fat fingers. He even figured out that Kei Igawa is an acronym (I Give Alot of Walks and A-bombs). All-in-all, a great experience, even though we were too busy drinking to actually comment, but he was lucky to have picked such an entertaining game and an actual Devil Rays victory.

Still, we are going to have to agree with Will Leitch of Deadspin on this one. We can’t understand why any blogger would want full press credentials. Poor Manny had to bite his tongue the entire game as no cheering is allowed in the press box and he could not wear his new #694 Devil Rays jersey. Being on the field before the game could be cool, but we have no desire to see our favorite players naked (although Manny did like conversing about tats) and if we ever tried to “interview” a player or coach, we would probably ask something really stupid like “Which section has the hottest chicks?” or “what is you most embarrassing drunk story?” Let’s hope we are never “legitimate bloggers”. We actually like our day job. Although a media guide would be nice (we were rejected).

Movement starts to encourage baseball to give access to bloggers [Micro Persuasion]
Devil Rays Acquire The Rights For Free Agent Blogger For $535 [Rays Index]
The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation [PedAids.org]
Rays-Yankees Running Blog [Armchair GM]
No Cheering In The Pressbox [Deadspin]
Stiles in Tampa – Day 3 [Devil Rays Universe]

AL East Roundup: Yankees And Jays Join Rays In Kiddy-Pool

AL EAST	W	L	GB	L10	STK	E#
Boston Red Sox	12	6	–	8-2	L1	—
Baltimore Orioles	11	8	1.5	8-2	L1	143
Toronto Blue Jays	9	10	3.5	4-6	W1	141
New York Yankees	8	10	4.0	4-6	L4	141
Tampa Bay Devil Rays	8	11	4.5	5-5	W1	140

Blue Jays 7, Red Sox 3. With a 4-3 lead heading to the 8th inning and BJ Ryan on the DL, the Jays realized their only hope was to do the obvious…score more runs. A 2-run homer by Aaron Hill capped the scoring and gave the Jays enough of a cushion to top the Pink Hats who were obviously still hung over from their April sweep of the Yankees. APRIL.

A’s 6, O’s 5. The Orioles lose! The Orioles lose!

NOTES FROM AROUND THE AL EAST…

• The Yankees would be 17-0 without A-Rod. Derek Jeter’s defensive struggles? A-Rod’s fault. All the injuries to the pitching staff? A-Rod’s fault.
• Alex Rodriguez is the fastest ever to 13 14 home runs.
• This makes us giggle like a school girl.
• The Yankees passed over top prospect Phillip Hughes last time, but they won’t make the same mistake this week. Chase Wright was demoted after giving up 4 straight home runs to the Red Sox on Sunday Night and Hughes will get the ball for his major league debut on Thursday against Toronto. Hughes is generally regarded as one of the top pitching prospects in baseball.
• While Mets fans have trouble letting go of Scott Kazmir, Orioles fans are having trouble letting go of Jeffrey Maier.
• David Ortiz is Shakespeare with a bat. We had no idea Shakespeare had a tendency to go yard in the 9th inning of close games. We admit, some metaphors confuse us.
• Jaret Wright and Ramon Hernandez finally get to throw to each other, on rehab assignments. That is soo BFF.
  

The Hangover: Root For the Devil Rays At Your Own Risk

Devil Rays 10, Yankees 8.
We love winnin’…it’s like better than losin’. The 2007 incarnation of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays are going to be the death of us. The Rays beat the Yankees and in the process were involved in their 612th straight game decided by 2 runs or less. As usual, the offense was great with 6 different Devil Rays collecting at least 2 hits. And as usual, the pitching was shaky. Casey Fossum got the win despite giving up 6 runs in 5.2 innings. Brian Stokes was the lone pitching bright spot as he jumped right back on the horse after blowing the save opportunity on Sunday. After Juan Salas walked the only two batters he faced in the 8th, Stokes came on and retired the side. Al Reyes close out the win despite giving up A-Rod’s second home run of the game. We love the wins…but we are already cringing in anticipation of the next debilitating loss.

• These Rays DO come with a warning. Do not root for them if you are pregnant or have a pre-existing heart condition.
• First it was BJ Upton imitating Chone Figgans. Now Chone Figgans is worried about imitating BJ Upton. That’s not good. Figgans is returning from fractured bones in the fingers of his throwing hand and will begin a rehab assignment this week. His biggest concern will be the accuracy of his throws.
• Poor Yankees fans…not such big fans of the cowbells.
• Joe Maddon hesitates to use Al Reyes in back-to-back games. There was no way Papa Joe was going to use Reyes in 3 straight on Sunday.
• Ty Wigginton’s hot starts as a member of the Devil Rays is not a coincidence. It is due to a different approach he has learned to take in spring training and early in the season in which he will force himself to take more pitches than usual.
• You will never see any Fantasy baseball analysis on this site. There are a million other places you can get that, and we don’t read any of it. However, Roto Authority has a nice analysis of James Shields. They like him so much they actually analyze Shields two times. The consensus is that Shields has added a few inches to his fastball and his changeup is now even more devastating, with a 38% swing-and-miss rate.

Manny Stiles Live-Blogging From The Trop Tonight

A quick note to let everybody know that Manny Stiles will be live-blogging from the Trop tonight as the Devil Rays take on the Evil Empire. The game is also on ESPN.

HERE is the link. We will be there, and we will be reviewing his performance here tomorrow. Pressure’s On Manny!

AL East Roundup: A-Rod Puts Mother On Speakerphone

AL EAST	W	L	GB	L10	STK	E#
Boston Red Sox	11	5	–	8-2	W4	—
Baltimore Orioles	11	7	1.0	8-2	W4	145
New York Yankees	8	8	3.0	5-5	L2	144
Toronto Blue Jays	8	10	4.0	3-7	L5	142
Tampa Bay Devil Rays	7	11	5.0	4-6	L1	141

Red Sox 7, Yankees 6. The Pink Hats hit 4 straight home runs in the 3rd inning to erase a 3-0 deficit and held on in the 9th when Jonathon Papplebon got Alex Rodriguez to ground into a force out to end the game (somebody call A-Rod’s therapist). It was the first time the Sox had swept the Evil Empire in Boston since 1990. And why did Joe Torre and Brian Cashman think it was a good idea to hold back Chien-Ming Wang and not start him last night? Because that would have been perceived as a panic move this early in the season. Kinda like using Mo Rivera in the 8th inning on Friday after saying that would not happen this year.

Orioles 7, Blue Jays 3. The Orioles win again? That’s annoying.

NOTE FROM AROUND THE AL EAST…

• Hideki Matsui is likely to rejoin the Yankees on Monday when they face the Devil Rays.
• Jorge Posada who has missed action with a bruised thumb, could play tonight versus the Rays as the DH.
• People in Chicago are starting to get excited about the idea of having Alex Rodriguez in the second city next season.
• Things are in danger of spiraling out of control in Toronto.

Down On The Farm: Working Lots O’ Overtime

Toledo 7, Durham 4 (16 inn.). Lucky Vero Beach. The Rays had Sunday off while all three of the other minor league affiliates worked overtime. In Durham, Jeff Niemann gave up 3 runs in 5 innings and struck out 8. Seth McClung and Chad Orvella pitched a combined 5 hitless innings with 2 walks and 6 strikeouts. Jorge Cantu was 3-7. Joel Guzman was 2-5 with his 2nd home run.

Huntsville 2, Montgomery 1 (11 inn.). Derek Feldkamp struck out 5 and gave up 1 run in 5 innings. Reid Brignac was 1-4 with a walk and is now hitting .327. Evan Longoria was 2-5 and is hitting .310.

Columbus 8, Rome 3 (16 inn). Woods Fines struck out 5 in 6 innings allowing 1 run. Desmond Jennings was 4-7 to raise his average to .313.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• The Bulls are a mirror-image of the themselves from last year. The 2006 squad needed to outscore their opponents. This year’s team is doing it with pitching and defense. Of course at 7-11 and last in the IL South, the results are about the same.
• Will Reid Brignac and Evan Longoria make an appearance at the Trop this fall? Probably not, but the idea of an infield from left-to-right of Longoria-Brignac-Iwamura is mouth-watering.
• John Sickels breaks down the potential of Reid Brignac.
• Oreo Man and Scooby Doo made appearances in Durham last night. Oreo Man?
• The 16-inning marathon was the longest in the history of the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
  

The Hangover: We All Aknew That Was Going To Happen

Indians 6, Devil Rays 4.
It is hard to get too upset when the worst is expected and the worst happens. The “highly potent” Rays offense was only able to manage 5 hits and once again the bullpen blew a lead. With Al Reyes unavailable after pitching in the first two games of the series, Joe Maddon called on Brian Stokes to close out a 4-2 ballgame. When Stokes hit the first batter he faced, a collective sigh could be heard from the crowd of 18,000 at the Trop. It was as if everybody knew what was going to happen next and that is exactly what happened. After a run-scoring single, Stokes gave up a 3-run home run to somebody with 8 career home runs. On the bright side, James Shields was masterful and solidified himself as the Rays best pitcher, going 8 innings, allowing only 2 hits and matching the Devil Rays team record of 12 strikeouts.

• Despite second-guessers calling for James Shields to come out for the 9th or for Juan Salas to be there in the 9th, Joe Maddon’s decision to use Brian Stokes was the correct one. Stokes just did not get the job done.
• We disagree. James Shields performance did not fly under the radar. Performances like that by a D-Rays pitcher are noticed, no matter what the end result.
• It could be another week before the team seeks relief relief from AAA.
• BJ Upton is finally hitting the ball, but considering his frail frame, questions remain as to whether he can sustain this all season.
• Carlos Pena is now getting regular playing time. What happens when Greg Norton comes back from the DL?
• Mets fans just cannot let go of Scott Kazmir. Now they are analyzing his struggles during his recent start and wondering aloud if he is injured. Of course, Kid K out-dueled Johan Santana in the start before that. Sure looked fine that night.
• Manny Stiles at the Trop, day 2.
• Current Buccaneers quarterback Chris Simms as well as former Bucs QB Brian Griese will throw out the first pitches tonight in the series opener against the Yankees. We are not sure what is more likely to happen…Brian Griese is injured during the pitch or Chris Simms has pitch knocked down by Derek Jeter before it reaches the plate. We are taking bets on both.

The Hangover: Bullpen Does Their Job Against The Indians

Devil Rays 6, Cleveland 5.
After last night’s victory the Rays have another opportunity to win a series when James Shields takes the mound. Last night the Rays battled back from an early 2-0 deficit and rebounded after blowing a 5-2 lead. Jae Seo picked up just his second win as a Devil Ray, but gave up 5 runs in 6 innings. Four pitchers combined to shut down the Indians over the last 3 innings, including another perfect 9th by Al Reyes for his 6th save in 6 chances. Ty Wigginton went 3-4 with his 4th homer and Delmon Young and BJ Upton each added 2 hits. Upton raised his average to .340.

• Ben Zobrist was dropped form the 2-hole to the 8th spot. In reality, he should just be happy he was in the lineup. Without BenZo in the lineup, Joe Maddon will utilize the spot much differently.
• Travis Hafner continues to beat up on the Rays.
• The Rays have only had one game decided by more than 4 runs (12-5 loss to Twins).
• Everybody loves the Rays lineup. So do we, but it is like icing on a cake. The icing is great, but doesn’t do much without a cake to cover. The Rays are still the only team in baseball with an ERA over 6.
• Everybody.
• Jake Westbrook goes to the mound for the Indians today. In his last start, his first after signing a contract extension, he gave up three home runs and 8 runs in 1.2 innings.
• A Mets fan actually attended a game at the Trop before passing judgment and came to the conclusion that it is not that bad.
• Should we feel bad for the interpreter when he tells the press that Aki Iwamura wants to speak English fluently? When that happens, the interpreter is out of a job.
• If you were running the Devil Rays, what would your 2009 lineup look like?