She Hit The Fucking Bull! Mother Nature Gets A Free Steak.

Weird, we always had Mother Nature pegged as a vegetarian…

It’s a sad day for us here at RI. The Snorting Bull that was made famous by the movie “Bull Durham” was destroyed during a wind storm in Durham yesterday. The Bull sat atop the Blue Monster at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park for the past 13 seasons rewarding any lucky hitter with a free steak if they could hit the Bull (or free weed salad if they hit the grass). The latest incarnation of the Snorting Bull replaced the original when the team moved to their new ballpark in 1995.

We grew up on Bull Durham and sadly we can probably recite every line from the movie and few were better than the scene in which Crash Davis tells the batter what pitch is coming and the hitter tees off and nails the Bull.

[Mechanized bull noises in background]
Crash Davis: Well, he really hit the shit outta that one, didn’t he?
[laughs]
Ebby Calvin LaLoosh: [softly, infuriated] I held it like an egg.
Crash Davis: Yeah, and he scrambled the son of a bitch. Look at that, he hit the fucking bull! Guy gets a free steak!
[laughs]
Crash Davis: You having fun yet?
Ebby Calvin LaLoosh: Oh, yeah. Havin‘ a blast.
Crash Davis: Good.
[pause]
Ebby Calvin LaLoosh: God, that sucker teed off on that like he knew I was gonna throw a fastball!
Crash Davis: He did know.
Ebby Calvin LaLoosh: How?
Crash Davis: I told him.

Bull Bears Brunt of Storm [Herald-Sun]

Down On The Farm: Wade Townsend Rebounds From Bad Outing

Toledo 6, Durham 0. JP Howell continues to struggle at Durham. Last night he gave up 6 hits, 4 walks and 6 runs (4 earned) in 5.1 innings. He has now surrendered 14 runs (10 earned) in 16.1 innings for a 5.51 ERA. Shawn Riggans went 3-4 with 2 doubles to break a 1-21 skid to start the season. Jorge Cantu went 0-4 and is hitting .250.

Birmingham 2, Montgomery 1. Chris Seddon was dominating but left after 7 innings with the score tied 1-1. He gave up only 3 hits and 2 walks. Evan Longoria was 1-5 and drove in the only run. He is hitting .316. Reid Brignac sat out the second consecutive game after fouling a ball off of his foot.

Daytona 4, Vero Beach 2. We got nuthin’.

Columbus 6, Asheville 2, gm 1. Wade Townsend rebounded from his last poor outing to throw 5 strong innings. He struck out 6 with 3 hits and 3 walks and 1 run allowed. On the season he has struck out 16 in 13 innings with 9 hits and 4 walks for an ERA of 2.77.

Asheville 13, Columbus 5, gm 2. Quin Stewart, a right fielder, hit home runs in both ends of the double header, and Woods Fines got knocked around in the loss.

NOTE FROM DOWN ON THE FARM….

• Jason Hammel was named the International League’s first pitcher-of-the-week for 2007. This is the second time he has won the award. In three appearances, he has 18 strikeouts in 16.2 innings with a 0.54 ERA.

Around The AL East: Sox Fans Believe Josh Beckett Is Going To Finish 32-0.

AL EAST	W	L	GB	L10	STK	E#
Boston Red Sox	7	4	–	7-3	W3	—
Toronto Blue Jays	7	5	0.5	6-4	W1	151
Baltimore Orioles	7	6	1.0	7-3	W4	150
New York Yankees	5	6	2.0	4-6	L1	150
Tampa Bay Devil Rays	5	8	3.0	3-7	L1	148

Red Sox 7, Angels 2. The Red Sox played their annual Patriot’s Day morning noon tilt, and once again the winning time of the marathon was quicker than the game itself. Oh, and Josh Beckett won his third straight start and Pink Hat fans everywhere are already screaming Cy Young. Big Papi hit his 4th home run.

NOTES FROM AROUND THE AL EAST…

• Chase Wright has two starts above A-ball but will make his major league debut at Yankee Stadium tonight. Nothing like just throwing a child in the middle of the lake filled with piranhas to see if they can swim.
• We have all seen the now-famous pizza throwing incident from yesterday’s Red Sox game, but can somebody explain to me why it happened? They were both Sox fans and he kept an Angels player from catching a foul ball. Shouldn’t the guy have bought him a beer instead? Sox Fans *shaking head*.
• The excuses are starting to come already as to why Daisuke Matsuzaka has not thrown two perfect games in his first two starts. Apparently they use a much different ball in Japan.
• Former Devil Rays shortstop Julio Lugo is impressing people in Boston.
• The Jays’ Reed Johnson will be out until at least July after having surgery to repair a herniated disk.
• Not a good week for the Blue Jays as Troy Glaus and BJ Ryan were also placed on the DL.
• Marshall Bradway of RealGM Baseball suggests that the Devil Rays sacrifice long-term success in an effort to field the best possible team now. Hmmm? Not likely to happen.

The Hangover: Growing Pains

Orioles 9, Devil Rays 7. We don’t want to talk about it. OK, we will say this. We better get used to it. This is a team that will look like a playoff contender on some nights and the Bad News Bears on others. During last season’s post-all-star break swoon, the Rays lost a lot of games before the lineups were exchanged at home plate. Final scores such as 9-1 were not uncommon. There is something imminently unpainful about those types of losses. When you see the punch coming, you can brace for it. After a weekend in which the Rays beat Johan Santana and got to Joe Nathan in the 9th of another game, and with the Orioles coming to the Trop where the Rays should be a favorite, we never saw this type of loss coming. Fool us once…

• The only moment worth watching in last night’s game was a play in which Aubrey Huff committed two errors and the Orioles committed three total, leading to a run. It made us giggle.
• Delmon Young had his 12-game hitting streak snapped. The team record is 18-games, by Quinten McCracken in 1998.
• The Rays streak of 12 consecutive games with a home run was snapped last night, although Ty Wigginton came within inches of extending the streak.
• We will know early on tonight if Casey Fossum will pitch a good game. In his first start of the season he gave up 4 flyball outs and 3 ground ball outs and was pulled in the 4th inning. In his last start he recorded 13 groundball outs and only 6 flyball outs and worked 7 innings. The difference is effectiveness of Fossum’s sinker. If his sinker is on and he is inducing groundballs, he has a chance to be effective.
• Devil Rays haven’t moved in the latest ESPN power rankings. Obviously these rankings came out before last night’s debacle.

Tidbits: Devil Rays vs. Baltimore Orioles

The Devil Rays come home to face the Baltimore Orioles for three games in what is the most important series so far in this young season. If the Rays want to show they have improved they need to be competitive in the AL East. That means they have to beat the team that they have the best chance of finishing ahead of this season. With the offense clicking on most cylinders right now and James Shields and Scott Kazmir going to the mound, the Rays must win at least two games in this series if they want to start moving up the standings and possibly reach 81 wins.

• The Orioles are 6-6 after taking 3 straight from the Royals before having Sundays match rained out. Baltimore was 13-6 against the Rays in 2006 including 6-4 at Tropicana Field.
• Center fielder Jay Payton and catcher Ramon Hernandez are on the DL. Hernandez is eligible to come off the DL for this series. Outfielder Corey Patterson will miss the first two games of the series after the death of his grandfather.
• The Devil Rays return home and will begin a stretch where they will play 30 of their next 44 in the state of Florida.
• Aubrey Huff will return to the Trop for the first time since being traded to the Astros. He does not regret playing for the Rays, but he doesn’t regret leaving either.

But in the end, it started getting old for me as far as the losing. It was time for a change of scenery for me. — Aubrey Huff

We are curious. Is Huff aware that the Orioles haven’t had a winning record in 10 years? That is the third longest streak in baseball.

• The Rays have homered in all 12 games. The record for most consecutive games with home run to start the season is 14, set by the 2002 Cleveland Indians. The overall record for consecutive games with a home run is held by the 2002 Texas Rangers (27).

PROBABLE STARTERS
Monday, 7:10 et
Baltimore Adam Loewen, LHP (1-0, 1.80)
Devil Rays James Shields, RHP (1-0, 4.61)

Tuesday, 7:10 et
Baltimore Steve Trachsel, RHP (0-0, 2.63)
Devil Rays Casey Fossum, LHP (0-1, 7.59)

Wednesday, 3:10 et
Baltimore Eric Bedard, LHP (2-1, 5.09)
Devil Rays Scott Kazmir, LHP (1-1, 4.59)

The March To .500: A Look Back At The First Two Weeks

Tampa Bay Devil Rays owner Stuart Sternberg indicated earlier this month that the first two weeks of the season could make or break the Rays. If it is true that a team cannot win anything early, but that they can lose a lot, then these first two weeks could determine if the Rays still have a chance for a respectable season and a shot at .500. With nine of their first 12 games on the road, where the Rays went 20-61 in 2006, the results of the first two weeks could go a long way to setting the tone for the season and any successes or failures the team will experience in 2007. So now that the Rays have completed their first 12 games, let’s take a step back and see what we have learned about this incarnation of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

1. Pitching, pitching, pitching. 6.20 ERA. We could really stop there and move on. The pitching staff is just not getting the job done. The team ERA is the worst in baseball, by more than a run. The staff has actually done a decent job, by cutting down on the number of free passes (despite Edwin Jackson’s performance on Saturday). As a team they have given up the third fewest walks in the American League, but they have been hittable. As a team they have allowed nine more hits than any other major league team. Most of the problems can be found in the middle relief. Ruddy Lugo and Shawn Camp have combined to give up 25 base runners in 5.2 innings which have led to 13 runs and an ERA of 20.65. If we remove Lugo’s and Camp’s “contributions” the team ERA is a little better at 5.36. however, that would still be the worst in baseball so we can’t lay the blame completely on Camp and Lugo. We have seen signs of promise. It seems simple, but when the Rays starting pitchers are able to pitch into the seventh inning and hand the game over to Brian Stokes and Al Reyes the team has been successful. The Rays are 5-2 in games where the starting pitcher works into the seventh inning. They are 0-5 in the rest of the games.
2. Right now, James Shields is the Devil Rays best pitcher. Scott Kazmir is the ace and deservedly so, but he will not be a true #1 pitcher until learns to trust his stuff and start throwing fewer pitches and working deeper in games. On the flip side, James Shields continues to surprise us. His stuff is good, but it is not great, but he lacks in that area he more than makes up for. When Shields is on the mound, he has a presence to him. He always looks like he has the game under his control and never appears to get fazed. He is also consistent. When Shields takes the mound we expect him to go 7 innings and give up less than 4 runs. With this offense, that should be enough on most nights. We do not have the same confidence in any of the other starters, including Kazmir. Every time Kid K takes the ball, we worry that he will have 110 pitches in the 5th inning and have to come out of the game.
3. The Rays will score runs. Only one team in the American League (Toronto Blue Jays) has scored more runs than the Rays (62) or a higher batting average (.279). And the Rays have not had the privilege of having six games against the Royals and D-Rays pitching staffs (as the Jays have). The Rays also lead the all teams with 19 home runs. The Rays have three players tied for 5th in the AL with 3 home runs and Akinori Iwamura and BJ Upton are 1-2 in the AL in hitting.
4. Akinori Iwamura is the real deal. In the first two weeks Iwamura has been the team’s MVP. Muu-Rah’s glove has been all we expected and more. Offensively, he has been exactly what the Rays have needed. All he does is find ways to get on base. He had a hit in each of his first 9 games and leads the AL in hitting. And those aren’t even his best offensive numbers. In the first 12 games he has 12 walks and a .540 OBP. He will also steal 30+ bases this season.
5. Delmon Young is already one of the best hitters in baseball and he isn’t even that good yet. Delmon Young is picking exactly where he left off in 2006. .347-3-10 is a pretty good line for a rookie in the first two weeks of the season, but it could be so much better. Imagine how good he will be when he learns pitchers and learns how to wait for his pitch. Eventually pitchers are going to stop throwing first pitch strikes and if Young can lay off those pitches, he see will a lot more hitter’s counts and hitter’s pitches.
6. The Rays have lots of great athletes with poor fundamentals. These are the moments when we bang our head on the desk. Too many times this season the Rays have mental blunders that have cost the team runs. In this most recent series with the Twins, We saw a player fail to get down a sacrifice bunt, base running gaffes and plenty of fielding mistakes. Twice, the team failed to turn what should have been a routine double-play, extending innings for the Twins.
7. The Rays may be the fastest team in baseball, but they are the worst base stealing team. Tampa Bay is 4th in the majors in stolen bases (11), but they have only been successful on 50% of their opportunities. We suspected that Carl Crawford would steal fewer bases in 2006 if he was in the 3-hole, but we didn’t expect this. So far in 2007 he is only 2-5 on steal attempts, including the first game of his career in which he was caught twice. He is on pace 27 steals. Iwamura is 3-5 and Delmon Young is 0-2.
8. BJ Upton is still a work in progress. Upton fooled us all when he committed only one error in 58 spring innings at second base. In 77 regular season innings he has already committed 5 errors in only 56 total chances. His strong play in the spring led Joe Maddon to scrap his plan for Upton to be a “super-utility” player and make him the most-days second sacker. The good news is that Upton seems to have rediscovered his swing and is second in the AL in hitting. As long as he keeps hitting Maddon will find a place for him in the lineup, but with Upton’s renewed defensive struggles, Papa Joe may have to revisit his earlier plan.
9. Brendan Harris may start stealing time from Ben Zobrist. Brendan Harris is hitting (.300, 2 hrs). Ben Zobrist is not (.186, 1 hr). BenZo has also committed 2 errors already while Harris has been dependable in his limited playing time and displayed a much stronger arm. There is a lot of pressure on BenZo this season. As Evan Longoria continues to tear up the lower levels, the team may be force to find a spot for the Dirtbag in 2008. Most likely that would be at third base which mean Iwamura would have to find a new home at short stop or second base. Reid Brignac is also lurking not far behind.
10. Al Reyes and Brian Stokes have stabilized the bullpen. The Rays will continue to blow leads, but fewer will occur in the 8th and 9th inning. For the first time since Danys Baez was the Rays closer, we have confidence with a lead at the end of the game. We
    still are not sure if Reyes will be able to work back-to-back games very often, which means Stokes is going to get save opportunities this season. It will be interesting to see if Stokes can be as successful with the extra pressure of the 9th inning.
11. Edwin Jackson will win 20 games one of these years and it will probably be with another team. Edwin Jackson may be the single most frustrating player in baseball. His fastball is electric. It just explodes out of his hand, regularly hitting 96-97 on the gun. But he still seems to have no idea where the ball is going. His plan appears to be to aim at the middle of the strike zone and hope it hits a corner. On some nights he will find the spots and he will be effective and will give the Rays a chance to win. On other nights, he will look like Nuke LaLoosh. With Jeff Niemann, Mitch Talbot and JP Howell knocking on the door, we doubt that the Rays will be patient enough to hang on to Jackson long-term. One of these years, everything will come together for Jackson. He will find his zone and he will be great almost every time he goes to the mound and he will win 20. And if it is with another team, we will be fine with it, because we know he will be a one-hit wonder.
12. So far the Rays seem to have more mental toughness in 2007. This may be the single most important trait of the 2007 Devil Rays. In the second half of the 2006 season, the Rays went approximately 0-232 on the road. In most of the games, the Rays lost the game before the first pitch was thrown. Whether they were tired or frustrated by another losing season the team appeared to lose focus in the second half. That led to a number of losing streaks. A loss in 2006 like Saturdays blowout at the hands of the Twins would have led to a 5 or 6 game losing streak. This time the team bounced back with a solid win. We will have to wait and see if the team can stay focused all season.

The Rays are an unimpressive 5-7, but considering the team’s schedule over the first two weeks, it could have been much worse. So far the team has not lost anything yet. Still, the 2006 Devil Rays fell apart after all-star break. If this young team can avoid prolonged losing streaks, continue to improve, and stay focused on the prize, they still have an excellent shot at .500.

Down On The Farm: Jason Hammel Refuses To Get Lost In Durham Mix

Durham 8, Toledo 0. Chris Richard continues his torrid start with 3 more hits including his 4th home run. He is now hitting .355. Jorge Cantu went 1-4 with 2 RBI and Wes Bankston added 2 hits including his 2nd home run. Jason Hammel had his third straight strong outing pitching 6.2 scoreless innings. He struck out 9 and lowered his ERA to 0.54. With all the talk about Mitch Talbot, Jeff Niemann and JP Howell, Hammel has been lost in the mix a bit. He’s got our attention back.

Montgomery 7, Chattanooga 6. Mike Prochaska struggled again, giving up 4 runs in 4.2 innings. Evan Longoria was 1-3 with a 2-run double and is now hitting .333. Shaun Cumberland was 2-4 with his first home run of the season. He is now hitting .342. Reid Brignac was given the day off to rest his injured foot.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• Reid Brignac had to be removed from the game Saturday night after fouling a ball off of his foot. He did not play on Sunday.
• Montgomery pitcher Evan Meek was hit in the head by a line drive while sitting in the dugout. He suffered a concussion and was placed on the DL.
• The Columbus Catfish were rained out Sunday (there is something weirdly ironic about that statement) and will play a doubleheader today.

AL East Roundup: Marcus Scutaro Helps Mariano Rivera Honor Jackie Robinson

AL EAST	W	L	GB	L10	STK	E#
Boston Red Sox	6	4	–	6-4	W2	—
Toronto Blue Jays	7	5	–	6-4	W1	—
Baltimore Orioles	6	6	1.0	6-4	W3	150
New York Yankees	5	6	1.5	4-6	L1	150
Tampa Bay Devil Rays	5	7	2.0	4-6	W1	149

A’s 5, Yankees 4. Mariano Rivera is the only player in baseball that is still allowed to wear #42 regularly, so it was fitting that Rivera picked up his first save on Jackie Robinson Day. What? oops. our bad. Apparently Marcus Scutaro didn’t get the memo that said the A’s were supposed to let Mariano pick up the save so that SportsCenter could have their feel-good moment.

Blue Jays 2, Tigers 1. Josh Towers worked into the 8th inning and allowed only 3 hits, a walk and an unearned run.

NOTES FROM AROUND THE AL EAST….

• The Yankees placed Mike Mussina and Carl Pavano on the DL. AA pitcher Chase Wright will be called up to start on Tuesday.
• Derek Jeter has committed more errors (6) than BJ Upton (5). That’s not an easy thing to do.
• Yet another big name pitcher goes to the DL in the AL East. This time it is Jays’ closer BJ Ryan.
• Selling Japanese players to the Japanese market is easy. Selling teams to Japanese baseball fans is not as easy, but that is exactly what MLB is trying to do.
• Boston is hoping that Diasuke Matsuzaka will boost local tourism.
• Willy Mo Pena is the odd man out in Boston.
• The baseball schedule features one morning tilt every season, on Patriot’s Day in Boston. Make that zero games this season as the game has been rescheduled for noon.

The Hangover: A Big Bounce-Back Win For The Rays

Devil Rays 6, Twins 4.
The Rays entered Sunday’s game having played 8 of their first 11 on the road where they had only won six of their last 35. Sunday’s win was an important victory on many levels. First the team rebounded from an ugly loss the night before. In the past, a game like Saturday’s could have easily led to a 5-game losing streak. Second, the win gave the Rays a split of a 4-game series on the road against a playoff-caliber team. It is one thing to think that last season’s road failures were an exaggeration. but the team needs to show they can win on the road if they want to be competitive. A string of early season road losses and pressure would start to mount on this young, impressionable team. Third, the win gives the team confidence. For the second time this season, the Rays were able to get to one of the top closers in the league in the 9th inning. Blowing leads late has been the MO for this franchise. But with the consistency from the back end of the bullpen and the Rays ability to score runs at any given time, they now have the confidence to come from behind and win games late rather than lose them. The win also gives the Rays momentum heading into a stretch in which they will play eight straight at home and 30 of 44 in the state of Florida.

• Jae Seo has now made 19 starts for the Devil Rays since being acquired from the Dodgers. He has one win.
• Jonny Gomes and Brendan Harris made only their second starts of the season yesterday. Both contributed to the win as Harris hit a home run and Gomes had an RBI single.
• The Devil Rays are the only team in baseball to have a home run in every game.
• Joe Maddon wants to see his young team bounce back better after tough losses like the one on Saturday and predicted that we would see a different team on Sunday.
• Scott Kazmir thinks his mechanics have improved significantly and that went a long ways towards his performance on Friday night.
• Rocco Baldelli displayed some veteran leadership that the team desperately needs by calling out his teammates after their lackluster performance on Saturday.
• MLB Trade Rumors comments on the speculation that the Astros may not want to trade Brad Lidge to the Rays if indeed they decide to move him. The reason being that the Astros would look bad if Lidge rebounds with his new club and with his former pitching coach, Jim Hickey, the Devil Rays would be the most likely place for him to be successful.

Down On The Farm: Chris Mason Proving Worthy Of 2nd Round Pick

Toledo 6, Durham 4 After pitching 6 hitless innings in his AAA debut, Mitch Talbot came back to earth a bit, giving up 6 hits and 4 runs before being pulled in the 4th inning. Steve Andrade and Chad Orvella combined for 3 hitless innings of relief. Jorge Cantu and Wes Bankston each went 3-4 and combined for 3 doubles. Cantu is now hitting .278.

Chatanooga 4, Montgomery 3. Evan Longoria went 1-2 with 2 walks and his second home run, a solo shot. Chris Mason gave up 2 runs and struck out 5 in 5.2 innings. Nick DeBarr blew a 3-2 lead in the 8th by giving up consecutive run-scoring doubles.

Palm Beach 10, Vero Beach 2. Matt Walker gave up 5 runs in 4 innings. Jackson Brennan went 3-3 from the lead off spot and scored both runs.

Asheville 5, Columbus 4. Catching prospect Nevin Ashley went 1-4 and is now hitting .375.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• Chris Mason, the Rays 2005 2nd round pick, still has some cockiness in him, but the minors appear to have humbled him a bit. Despite a 5.02 ERA for Visalia in 2006, the organization saw enough to move him up to AA this season. So far he has been solid with a 2.53 ERA in his first two starts.