Devil Rays @ Yankees Live Opening Day Game Blog

Here we are for the first ever Devil Rays live game blog. We are now in the Belly of the Beast. We are in New York City, a stone’s throw from Yankee Stadium. We will be “broadcasting” from the comfort of a couch, a computer, a big TV, and a fridge stocked with beer. We really have no idea what we are doing. We kinda feel naked here. Who knows, if we drink enough, maybe we will be. So whether you are stuck at work or at home, follow along AFTER THE JUMP as the Devil Rays take their first step towards .500 and the 2010 World Series! We will also keep an eye on the Reds-Cubs game as Josh Hamilton will be making his major league debut.

OPENING DAY 2007 DEVIL RAYS @ YANKEES LIVE GAME BLOG
OK, here we go. We are less than half a mile from yankee stadium. We were tempted to find a bar near the stadium with wireless access. But then we realized that may not be so smart in the south Bronx with a bunch of drunken Yankees fans. We would probably end up with a shaved head, a Yankees tattoo and one less laptop.
CLICK HERE FOR LIVE GAME BLOG…
Here are today’s lineups. No surprises.

Carl Crawford, lf
Ben Zobrist, ss
Rocco Baldelli, DH
Ty Wigginton, 1b
Delmon Young, rf
Akinori Iwamura, 3b
Dioner Navarro, c
Elijah Dukes, cf
B.J. Upton, 2B
Scott Kazmir, p

We love BenZo in the #2 spot. He could really flourish there in a Jay Bell-mold. Getting on base a lot. Working pitchers. Taking pitches to give C C plenty of chances to steal. Lot of moving runners over with bunts or ground balls to the right side.

We are a little surprised that Delmon is in the #5 hole, but who else was Papa Joe going to put there?

BJ Upton in the #9 hole basically gives the Rays two lead off hitters.

Yankees
Matt Damon, cf
Derek Jeter, ss
Bobby Abreu, rf
Alex Rodriguez, 3b
Jason Giambi, dh
Hideki Matsui, lf
Jorge Posada, c
Robinson Cano, 2B
Josh Phelps, 1b
Carl Pavano, p

Basically an all-star at every position.

I thought about giving you everybody’s 2007 salary to show you the disparity between the Rays and Yanks, but by the time I got done with the Yankees, the Zero key on my keyboard would be broken. We will just say that A-Rod makes almost as much as the entire Rays 40-man roster

12:59 PM
Andrew Friedman was interviewed by Carl Ravich of ESPN a little bit ago. I am now convinced more than ever that he is 12.

During the interview they had a graphic that says the Rays pitching staff has 14 career saves. Mo Rivera could do that with his left arm.

Andrew Friedman stated that team wouldn’t ask to move out of AL East. Nobody thinks the team can compete, but the players and franchise accept the challenge of proving them wrong. He called it “entrepreneurial”. We call it crazy.

Also said that they will never be able to keep all the players (past free agency) but hopefully there will be enough young talent that the team CAN’T keep everybody. Need to continue having one of the best development systems in baseball. Most players enter free agency around their age 28 season, which is the middle of their prime. Hopefully the Rays can get some more of their players to sign long term deals at least past their first year or two of free agency. It will stink to see a player grow and develop for 6 years as a Ray, only to jump ship.

1:06
We are going to start with the local Yankee broadcast. We thought about going with the Rays radio with the game on mute, but i always love hearing what other teams announcers have to say about the Rays.

Carl Pavano is walking out and he hasnt pitched in a major league game in over 600 days. Surprising i didnt hear any boos as he was walking in from bullpen

1:09
MLB.com has a their gameday revamped and looks pretty nice.

TOP OF THE FIRST
First pitch is a ball to Carl Crawford and we are under way!

CC took the pitch to left and it goes in the books as a single, but lets just call it a double.

CC took off on the second pitch and there wasnt even a throw

BenZo has worked the count full…Fouled one off…Swing and a miss and BenZo is down on strikes. (1 out)

Nice to see Rocco (AKA Bubble Boy) in the opening day lineup for the first time since 2004.

Long drive to left center, tracked down by Matsui. Crawford tags to third.

Wiggy is up and he pops up to third in foul territory. AND AROD DROPS IT! And the boo birds are out already.

Wiggy bounces a 1-1 pitch back to the mound, and he is retired. (END OF THE FIRST)

Bottom of the first
Arod has the option to opt out of his contract and he said a few weeks ago that he would let the fans decide if he was staying. Id say he is in a new uniform next season

Kid K takes the mound…announcers are commenting on how too many strike outs is bad for Kazmir

Leadoff hitter, Damon gets a basehit to right

Joe Girardi just said he cant consider Kaz an ace because he throws too many pitches and desnt work deep enough in games. Arrggg

Jeter, AROD’s boyfriend, flies out to Delmon

(where the hell is the beer man?)

Abreu singles to right…Arod walks to the plate to a mixture of boos and cheers

Yankees are wearing black arm bands for Corey Lidle.

They just showed a fan in the stands with an ARod jersey. it has always bugged me that Yankees fans have the pinstripe jerseys with the name on the back when the team doesnt have names on their jerseys. How is that authentic? or even a replica?

Kaz is already up to 17 pitches as the count is full to Arod

Runners go and Arod strikes out. No throw from Navi. and the boos are getting louder for Arod.

2 outs, 2nd and third

Kaz looks a little bigger this year. His face looks like it has aged about 5 years. He finally looks his age.

Giambino just got a 2-run single. Well that was deflating. I think that is 19 pitches for Kaz. Looks like we will be seeing the bullpen by the 6th inning. thats not good.

its quickly 3-0 on Matsui

sorry…that is now 29!! pitches for Kaz. and #30 walks Matsui. Let me correct that earlier statement. We will be seeing our revamped bullpen by the 5th inning.

The announcers just predicted 1000 runs for the Yankees this season. In comparison, the Rays scored 689 in 2006.

Our first shot of Joe Maddon. We love day baseball games for a lot of reasons. Mainly it gives an excuse to start drinking in the afternoon. But we also love that Papa Joe puts his eyeglasses away and brings out the much better looking sunglasses. Of course, it is an overcast day here in NYC, so not sure why he needs them.

Kaz, finally gets out of the first by getting Georgie Posada to pop up to our new second baseman BJ “dont call me Melvin” Upton.

TOP OF THE SECOND
final tally for Kid K in the first. 35 pitches (18 stries, 17 balls)

Delmon young who never saw a pitch he didnt like, hacks at the first and flies out to Johnny Damon

Holy little people! Akinori Iwamura is a tiny guy. I’m talking Eckstein-small. I dont care how small the Japanese ba
llparks are, how did he ever hit 40 home runs.

Muu-Rah is on first after a throwing error by Jeter. rod looks at Jeter as if to say “you suck, i could have had that”

Navi is up, a former top prospect for the Yankees.

flies out to center. and here is the Man…Elijah Dukes

and here we go with the usual..”world of talent…attitude problems”

it amazes me that pitchers throw Delmon Young first pitch strikes, and Dukes they pitch around. he works the count full and gets a walk. Dukes has great plate discipline

and here is BJ Upton…all 120 pounds of him…BASEHIT! up the middle under Jeters mitt. Muu-Rah comes around to score and Dukes goes to third and Upton goes to second on throw.

Crawford flies out to center to end the frame. but it feels good to get the first run on the board.

BOTTOM OF THE SECOND (Yankees 2-1)
Thank you to those that pointed out that the JUMP wasnt working. I think we got it fixed.

Robbie Cano is up. must be rough to have a guy who almost won a batting title, batting 8th in the order. Kaz gets him on strikes.

Former Rays first baseman Josh Phelps is up. Wasnt given much of a chance of making team but hit over .400 in spring to earn opening day nod over Mientiviecz or whatver that guys name is. Kaz walks Phelps. another long count

Jesus just popeed out to Wiggy in front of the plate

Jeter is hit by pitch. Kaz is struggling with his control. cant tell if its nerves of opening day in Yankee stadium or the weather. maybe a bit of both.

Abreu grounds out on a slow roller to third and Muu-Rahs first chance is a good play but the throw was a little off. Kaz is out of the inning without any damage. Only 14 pitches that inning, but he is up to 49 already

TOP OF THE THIRD
Bobby Murcer is in the booth. Murcer, a former yankee slugger and current yankees announcer suffered from a brain tumor this off-season, but all signs are that he is going to be ok. one of the great voices in baseball.

BenZo grounds out to Jeter and amazingly he didnt boot it.

Rocco pops up to Josh Phelps and Wiggy grounds his seond offering to Arod. That was quick.

BOTTOM OF THE THIRD
Arod grounds out to BenZo and he is now one more plate appearance away from opting out of his contract at teh end of the year. Although the boos were lessened that time. Crowd is starting to get bored booing him

The Giambino went down on strikes

Matsui grounds out to first. Kid K’s first 1,2,3 inning. Only 14 pitches that frame. but he up to 63 for the game. Not good. looks like he will be 5 innings and out today. Hopefully the Rays will score 20 more runs before we have to unleash the fury of our bullpen.

TOP OF THE FOURTH (YANKS 2-1)
The weather still hasn’t cleared up. Overcast and chilly.

Delmon Young is up and I wouldnt have believed it if i didnt see it, but he took a Ball! Delmon had one walk in 128 plate appearances in 2006. And this time he goes down on strikes.

The Japanese David Eckstein is up…also known as Aki Iwamura.

Muu-Rah draws a walk and Navi promtly grounds into an inning ending double play. For a guy who hasnt pitched in 14 years, the rays sure are helping him look good today.

BOTTOM OF THE FOURTH (YANKS 2-1)
Where is that beer man?

Georgie Posada is up, and he just hit his 199th career home run to right field. 3-1 Yanks. It was a change up that just didnt get down. I like to call those 400-foot strikes.

Robbie Cano is up and he pops out to left.

Beer man…make it two.

Josh Phelps is up again. Not sure about Phelps. He has shown promise before. But he usually disappoints. If i had to guess, Phelps will be down on the farm by the all-star break and the more slick fielding Doug Mientjfoijfoijfijij will be manning the bag on the right side of the infield.

Phelps walks

Jesus walks

JOSH HAMILTON is NOT in the lineup today for the Reds. We will keep an out to see if he pinch hits at any point.

Kaz now has 4 walks and a hit batter and Jim Hickey just made his first visit to the mound as a Rays pitching coach. Boy he has his work cut out for him this season

Jeter goes down looking. thats Kid K’s 4th strikeout.

Abreu grounds out to end the inning

TOP OF THE FIFTH (Yanks 3-1)
Elijah DUKES HOME RUN!!!!
his first major league hit is a home run at Yankee Stadium. Dukes was the one player we were pumped to see play today and he is not dissapointing. He gave a big fist pump rounding first. You gotta love the emotion.

Upton follows with a basehit

Upton goes…and not even close. Thats what the Rays need from Bossman Junior. get on base. and wreck havoc with the speed. He has the talent to be Jose Reyes. We’ll see.

CC is up with no outs. groundball through the right side. Upton comes home, Crawford gets cought in a pickle between first and second, but Phelps throws it into center. all tied up 3-3.

Benny Boo Boo, he of the hot Christian rock singing wife, has a chance to give the Rays the lead for the first time. He is 0-2.

BenZo tries to move CC over, but instead of just making sure the bunt was down, he tried to drag bump and the ball hits him after he was out of the box. Joe Maddoncomes out to argue but it looks like a good call. Zobrist is out.

Wait…Maddon argued a call? He must be a fembot.

CC is almost picked off second. he is thinking third.

Rocco drives a ball into left field and Crawford comes around to score. Rays are now up 4-3 and th boo birds come out for Pavano. Joe Torre is going to mound. That will be it.

As he walks off the field, there is nice mix of boos and cheers.

Brian Bruney comes on to pitch, proving that the Yankees do have somebody that makes less than $14 million per season.

Rocco steals second. The rays third swipe of the day. Surprising as Rocco is the DH today bc he has a sore hamstring. Why is stealing bases if he is not healthy enough to play the field?

Delmon young, obviously mad about not hitting first pitch last time, deposits the first pitch into left field for an RBI single. 5-3 Rays.

with 2 outs, lets see if Delmon takes off for 2nd.

and he does and he is thrown out by a mile. end of the inning.

BOTTOM OF THE FIFTH (Rays 5-3)
before we get too excited about taking the lead, Kaz has 84 pitches in 4 innings. He will go 5, but can he go 6?

And just like that, Kid K puts the Yanks down 1-2-3 on only 10 pitches. The Rays needed that from their ace

TOP OF THE SIXTH (Rays 5-3)

Sean Penn comes on for the Yankees?

Sorry…Sean HENN

And Aki gets his first major league hit top left field.

Aki predicted he wanted 40 stolen bases this year. lets see if Maddon trusts him

Navi grounds into his second double play of the afternoon. and Dukes follows up his first major league home run by flying out to Abreu

BOTTOM OF THE SIXTH (Rays 5-3)
Shawn Camp is warming up in the pen, uh oh,

Johnny Damon has come down with a case of Rocco Baldelli-itus…he is out of the game with sore hamstrings…both of them? Melky cabrera take his place.

Georgie Posada has Kazmir’s number today. basehit to left

we are not th
e first to say it, but for those of you that are not old enough, Robbie Cano’s swing looks an awful lot like Rod Carew. except for the angle he holds the bat. the actual swing is identical.

and he does just what Carew loved to do. rifle a single to right field.

that will be it for Kazmir. Here comes Shawn Camp. Well, the lead was nice while it lasted.

Kid K’s final line 5 ip, 6 hits, 4 walks, 1 hit batter, 5 strike outs and 3 runs. but the most telling number was 107. the number of pitches it took him to go 5+ innings. its like deja vu all over again.

with the righty on the mound…Mientckdjfldkjf pinch hits for Josh Phelps and sacrifice bunts the runners over. 1 out, 2nd and 3rd.

Not content with only two runners on base. Camp hits Melky

Jim Hickey is back out to the mound. no word if anybody is warming. Check that, Brian Stokes is warming up.

Sun is starting to come out…3-1 to Jeter and there are no empty bags

basehit right up the middle and we are tied. Thats why Jeter is so great and so important. Big Papi is clutch with the late home runs, but I put mymoney on DJ every time. He is as clutch as it gets.

Thats it for Camp. Here comes starter-turned-reliever-because-the- Rays-have nobody-else-they can-depend-on Brian Stokes.

Still no sign of Hamilton in the Red game.

Tough spot for Stokes in only his second major league relief appearance

Stokes gets Abreu to fly out to Dukes and Melky stumbled faking a tag up and the Rays double him up. end of the inning.

the Rays will have Upton/Crawford/Zobrist in the top of the 7th

TOP OF THE SEVENTH (Tied 5-5)
Luis Vizcaino is on the mound for the Yanks

Upton fakes a bunt to bring ARod in a little more
then flys out to center

CC takes the first pitch to left field and flies out

BenZo flies out to center and thats the end of the inning.

BOTTOM OF THE SEVENTH (tied 5-5)
Stokes is still out there with Arod leading off. he is 0-3
make that 1-4, as ARod drives one past Zobrist. Zobrist is lucky to still be alive after that one.

to lefties coming up (Giambi and Matsui) and no lefties in the pen

ARod just stole 2nd. Close throw by Navi. Apparently that one was on Stokes for not keeping him close. And Giambi drives a ball through the right side and a good throw by Delmon could have had ARod but it was off-line and cut off by Wiggy. 6-5 Yankees.

Matsui is up (0-2). He flies out to CC in left. 1out

Georgie Posada is one Yankee sad to see Kazmir out of the game. He moves to the other side of the plate against Stokes. He is 2-3 with a home run

he flies out to right, and Delmon almost doubled up Giambi off first. what a throw.

Should I note now that the Rays have lost 31 of 34 on the road? I didnt think so.

Cano pops up to Upton. end of inning.

TOP OF THE EIGHTH (Yanks 6-5)
Better score here or else it is Mo Rivera in the 9th and lights out.

Kyle Farnsworth is on the mound and he is looking an awful lot like Britney Spears

Rocco is up. He is 1-3 with a ribbie.

Farnsworth gets him swinging. 1 out

Wiggy is 0-3

and he gets his first hit of the season. a line drive up the middle

Delmon Young is up. 1-3. and of course he swings at the first pitch. We read somehwere that he wung at the first pitch 67% of the time in 2006. Thats amazing.

Aki is up. 1-2 with a run scored.

And he grounds out to second to end the inning. Do we have to play the 9th inning?

BOTTOM OF THE EIGHTH (Yanks 6-5)
Doug Mientjsd;lfkjija gets an infield single off of new Rays pitcher Ruddy Lugo. could have been error on Upton. he tried to bare hand it and probably didnt have to.

Melky is up and he bunts Dougie Baseball over to second. Papa Joe is out of the dugout and thats it for Lugo.

We were just taken aback a bit. our stat page said we have had over 1000 unique visitors since the beginning of the game. that seemed an awful lot for a love blog. then we realized we were just listed on Deadspin.

Juan Salas comes on to face Jeter who is 1-3 with the tying and go-ahead RBI.

Salas apparently didnt shy away from the all-you-can-eat buffet this off-season

Jeter grounds out to Iwamura

Abreu is up. He is 1-4.

Abreu singles to left. doug mientsdfvsrev scores from 2nd. a good throw from CC and he is out.

And ARod just destroyed a pitch to center field. 2-run home run. 9-5 yankees. might as well warm up Frank Sinatra.

Yankees fans crack me up. They have booed ARod all day and now they give him a standing ovation. What have you done for me lately?

The Giambino flied out to Dukes. end of inning. Enter Sandman? with a 4-runlead? Tomorrow is an off-day.

TOP OF THE NINTH (Yankees 9-5)
And here comes the Sandman. The single most valuable player in baseball in the last 15 years.

Navi goes down swinging. And Big Mo made him look bad.

0-2 to Dukes. The crowd is on their feet. and he goes down swinging.

Upton is 2-3 with a run and an RBI.

And he goes down looking. Never had a chance.

Thats the game. 9-5 Yankees.

Feel free to check back here every little while over the next hour. We are switching over to the Reds game to see if Josh Hamilton gets an AB today.

Thanks for stopping by. It’s been fun and a learning experience.

BOTTOM OF THE 8th in Cincinnati. Reds up 5-1 and Josh Hamilton is making his major league debut.

Huge Standing ovation, and Lou Piniella is icing Josh by just now going out to change the pitcher.

#33 steps in

we are rooting hard for Josh

line drive to left, and Murton makes a sliding catch.

Welcome to the big leagues Josh. big hug from Griffey. And a huge smile on his face

2007 State Of The Franchise: The Rays of Summer

Mr. Sternberg, Mr. Silverman, Mr. Friedman and Mr. Maddon, our honored guests Mr. Vitale and Mr. Heckler, and my fellow Rays fans…I have the honor of reporting to you on the State of the Franchise.

There is nothing better than opening day. It is like Christmas morning. It is like the first day with a driver’s license. It is like the first few weeks of a new relationship. It is baseball season, and nothing beats it. It is opening day and every baseball fan has hope whether you are a fan of the New York Yankees (probably in the playoffs), the Minnesota Twins (hoping to be in the playoffs) or the Kansas City Royals (hoping hell freezes over).

Every baseball fan has hope, including Rays fans. But how much hope can a fan of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays have for 2007? The Rays are entering their 10th season and they are still a team without a history. Baseball is a game whose foundation is the game’s history. The records, the stats, the champions. The Rays don’t have a history, or at least no history worth remembering. As we embark on another season and sit here on opening day, there are very few games that Rays fans can look back upon fondly. There are very few players that Rays fans can look back upon and reminisce. We cannot sit in our seat and say “I was at the Trop that time….” Or “I remember going to the Trop and seeing so-and-so play. Wow, he was awesome.” We don’t have that history to fall back upon. But I am here to tell you today that this is the history. In 2007 we will begin to create those memories. We will begin to create those feelings of pride. Yes, the Rays finished in last place in 2006. Yes, the Rays will have a losing record again in 2007. But this franchise is moving in the right direction and soon, the pain and suffering and sacrifice will be rewarded.

My fellow Rays fans, I am here to report that the State of the Franchise is strong. Ok, ok. That might be a bit of an exaggeration. Let me try that again…My fellow Rays fans the State of the Franchise is getting stronger.

The Rays have been a losing franchise for nine years. They have been the punchline to many jokes and over the years critics have pointed at the Tampa Bay Devil Rays when the discussion of contraction is brought up. So why should Rays fans expect anything different in 2007 and beyond? The Rays have finished last in eight of their nine seasons of existence. The Rays have been compared to the New York Mets of the 60s and our very own Tampa Bay Bucs of the 80s and early 90s. But those two franchises have something in common. They emerged from their own darkness and became great.

My fellow Rays fans, things have changed. A dark cloud hung over this franchise from 1998-2005 in the form of an inept ownership group and front office personnel. We are now in our second season since stepping out of the The Dark Ages, and the cloud is lifting. The Dark Ages have left many scars on Rays fans, but the deepest scars are on the franchise itself. I call it the The Curse of LaMar-Naimoli. Former principal owner Vince Naimoli and former General Manager Chuck LaMar were as fit to run a Major League Baseball team as a fungoe. They tried it all, and it all failed. High-priced veteran free agents turned into overpriced veterans. A youth movement became a cheap movement. The result? Eight losing seasons and seven last place finishes. Can’t miss prospects missed on a regular basis. Josh Hamilton was lost to drugs, Jeff Niemann and Wade Townsend were lost to injuries. B. J. Upton forgot where first base was. Dewon Brazelton was just not very good. Does anybody even remember Paul Wilder, Jason Standridge or Josh Pressley? What do these eight players all have in common? They were first round draft picks during the Dark Ages.

Click here to continue reading…

Then hope came in the form of Stuart Sternberg and his Wall Street prodigies. They assumed control of the franchise from Naimoli following the 2005 season. At the time, the franchise was weakened by years of ineptitude. The fans were beaten into apathy or anger and mostly they were driven away. Any hope for the team to succeed was stripped away by Naimoli and LaMar. The fans were bitten by The Curse of LaMar-Naimoli.

Sternberg and Co. took over and hope was renewed. Promises to spend money were made. Changes to upgrade the Trop were implemented. The new front office preached a commitment to build a winner. We stood with them. We soaked it all in and wanted to believe every word of it. Hope was renewed. Opening Day 2006 in Baltimore was the most anticipated opening day for Rays fans since 1998. Then the Curse of LaMar-Naimoli reared its ugly head. The team lost two shortstops to injuries on opening day. Jorge Cantu and Jonny Gomes, two bright spots from 2005, both lost considerable time to injury and were never 100%. Ty Wigginton lost a month to a broken wrist. After making his first all-star appearance, Scott Kazmir was ineffective in the second half due to a sore shoulder. Rocco Baldelli missed the beginning of the season after missing all of 2005 and never really hit his stride until the last two months of the season. Even Carl Crawford who had a great season, was plagued by a sore wrist most of the year. LaMar and Naimoli were gone, but The Curse remai
ned.

But Sternberg and Co. have taken The Curse head on. The team announced that the franchise will change its name and colors. They have made a number of changes to the Trop, including new turf for 2007. Will that be enough to lift the curse? I have no idea, but I do own Vince Naimoli and Chuck LaMar voodoo dolls just in case. Chuck LaMar is now a scout for the Washington Nationals and they may be the worst team in baseball in 2007. Is The Curse transferable? We can only hope.

Most importantly, Sternberg and Co. are not afraid. In their first year at the helm, they took a hard look at what plagued the franchise and made efforts to correct them. There was some talent in the organization, but not nearly enough. In their first year on the job, they made more trades than Lamar and Naimoli made in the previous four seasons combined. Talent was sought and talent was acquired. It was no longer good enough to have one top prospect at each position. The new goal was to have several top prospects at each position and let them fight it out. At the beginning of the 2006 season Baseball America ranked the Devil Rays farm system as the 10th best in baseball. Not bad. But that is not going to get the job done if the team’s payroll is south of $80 million, and the Rays payroll is in Antarctica. As we enter the second year of Sternberg’s and Friedman’s reign, Baseball America now ranks the farm system as the best in baseball. Talent was sought, and talent was acquired. There is talent on the major league roster and there is talent funneling its way to the top ready to push the players already in place.

Sternberg and his Wall Street Assassins also brought in a new manger. Out was the fiery Lou Piniella, and in was Joe Maddon, his silly glasses and sillier defensive shifts. Compared to Piniella, Maddon is Mother Theresa. He is a player’s manager. He is not afraid to buck conventional wisdom and is a big believer in computer analysis. But Papa Joe came from a franchise that possessed a roster filled with dependable veterans that needed little guidance. Not only would Joe Maddon have to learn how to mange a major league ball club, he would have to do it with a much younger (and cheaper) roster than he was used to working with.

In the end, 2006 ended the same as the eight seasons of the Dark Ages…not good. The team finished last, with 101 losses and the worst record in all baseball. Too many injuries to overcome and despite the great performances by Crawford and Wigginton, the offense finished near the bottom of the AL. The starting pitching posted strong numbers, led by Kazmir, but they rarely worked deep into games which placed too much pressure on a over-worked and under-talented bullpen. The result? Too many blown leads. Papa Joe Maddon admits he spent most of 2006 just trying to get to know the players. He coddled the players much the same way a mother is afraid for their first child to get hurt or sick. The result was an immature and at times unprofessional clubhouse.

But there is reason for hope. My fellow Rays fans, I am here to tell you that the State of the Rays is getting stronger.

Free parking and cheap concessions are nice. The upgrades to the Trop are great (have you seen pictures of the Trop from 1998? It looked like the inside of an oil barrel). But it comes down to talent, and this team has talent. The Trop isn’t as bad as its reputation. Unfortunately, If you build it, they will come only works for some parks such as Camden Yards. Even there, without a good product on the field, they don’t come as much as they used to. The Trop has never been the problem. The Trop is a much better stadium to watch a baseball game than the Metrodome in Minneapolis, yet the Twins drew more than 2 million fans in 2006? Why? They were a good team.

This is not your older brother’s Devil Rays. Gone are the days of the Rainbow Warriors. This Rays squad has talent. The opening day lineup will feature ten players, of which seven have played or have the potential to play at an all-star level. Three of those players, Rocco Baldelli, Carl Crawford and Delmon Young, all have the rare combination of power, speed and defensive skills, and they all have the ability to someday win an MVP. The opening day starting pitcher has the ability to someday win a Cy Young Award. Crawford, Young and Kazmir have enough talent to someday be the first Devil Rays inducted to Cooperstown. Will they get there? Nobody knows. The Church of Baseball can be unforgiving sometimes, just ask Dwight Gooden and Daryl Strawberry.

This team has talent, but more importantly the talent is young. The opening day roster will feature a lineup in which only two players are over the age of 25. By mid-season, all five members of the starting rotation could be under the age of 25. Will one of these players someday be inducted into the Baseball hall of Fame? We don’t know, but that is the great part. When a free agent signs with a high payroll team, their fans already know what that player is capable of. Those players are proven and will perform at certain level. Sometimes they play at a lower level, but rarely do they play at a higher level. Rays fans have a lot of talent, but their packaging is unopened. We don’t know how good Carl Crawford can be. He is only 25. He is already great, but in baseball terms he is still two years away from hitting his peak seasons. How good can he be? I don’t know, but it is going to be fun finding out.

The Rays have talent and the talent is young, but most importantly, the talent isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Any hopes that the Yankees, Red Sox or Mets fans have of signing or trading for Crawford, Kazmir and/or Baldelli will just have to wait…a long time. Crawford is signed through 2010, Baldelli is signed through 2011. The team controls the rights to Young through the 2012 season and Kazmir until 2010. Barring a trade, those four players…the core of the team, will be together…will mature together…will grow more talented together, for the next four seasons.

And my fellow Rays fans, more talent is on the way, and it will be here soon. At the major league level, the outfield may already be the most talented in baseball and is set for the next few years. Yet Elijah Dukes, who is making his major league debut today, is knocking on the door and he may be the most talented of the group. The system is filled with top-level infielder prospects, led by 2006 first round pick Evan “Dirtbag” Longoria and California League MVP Reid Brignac, The Cajun God of Baseball. After his impressive rookie campaign Longoria is already considered by many to be a top-10 prospect in baseball, and should be manning one of the infield positions at the Trop in 2008. Brignac has improved his defense enough that he is no longer projected to switch positions and could be the Rays shortstop as soon as 2008.

And for once there are a number of top pitching prospects. 2004 first round pick Jeff Niemann is finally back to 100% and looks to again be the second top-of-the-rotation pitcher that the team desperately needs. We should see him pitching from the mound at the Trop by the All-Star break. Mitch Talbot, whom the team acquired from the Astros in the Aubrey Huff deal, is another top prospect that could be in the rotation sometime in 2007. The power lefty-righty combination of Wade Davis and Jacob McGee, who will begin the season at AA have a chance to be just as good as any of the others. And for the ten Rays fans that are obsessed with Andy Sonnanstine, yes, he is down there also. He doesn’t have major league “stuff” but all he does is win, and that can’t be ignored. The future of the Rays is bright indeed.

Still, we are here to see the 2007 Tampa Bay Rays and the 2007 squad still has its problems. There are still a number of question marks and there are holes that have yet to be filled, and the biggest hole of them all is on the mound. When it comes down to it, winning in baseball is about three things…pitching, pitching and pitching, and the 2007 Devil Rays do not have enough talented pitching. In 2006, the starting pitchers were above average, led by Kid K, but they posted the fewest innings of any team’s starting pitchers. Nobody knows how good Jae Seo or James Shields can be and Casey Fossum, despite being the only pitcher in baseball without a fastball, is destined to somehow end up on the DL. The bullpen on the other hand is just not good, and the Rays would win a lot more games if they were only five innings long.

There are also questions concerning the lineup. We still don’t know what to expect from a number of players. Jonny Gomes had a disappointing 2006 campaign, but we don’t know yet how much of that was due to injury and how much of it was other teams learning how to pitch to him. B. J. Upton has all the talent in the world but he never seems to be able to put it all together. In 2007 he will have a chance to be the most-days second baseman and super-utility player for the Rays, finding time in the lineup at a number of different positions. We still don’t know if the relaxed pressure on his defensive inefficiencies will allow him to finally begin to mature as an offensive force in the mold of Jose Reyes. Dioner Navarro enters the 2007 season as the everyday catcher for the first time in his career. He has experience in parts of three seasons and he is only 23 years old. Catchers are notoriously slow developers, but we don’t know if 2007 will be the season that Navarro will start show his potential that many have predicted for him since he was the Yankees top prospect.

The biggest question mark may be Japanese import Akinori Iwamura. Iwamura is a gold glove third baseman who was a power hitter in Japan’s smaller ballparks. Nobody knows how his game will translate to the major leagues. Only one other power hitter has tried to make the transition from Japan to America (Hideki Matsui of the Yankees) so it is difficult to predict how Muu-Rah will fare. We can’t even be sure what his ideal position is as he could eventually end up at second base in 2008 to make room for another top prospect, Joel Guzman.

In the end, this 2007 version of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays will continue to lose more games than they win. We know the Rays will win at least 60 games and they will lose at least 60 games. The other 42 games will determine their place in the standings. But the team’s final record means little. What is more important is how much the team progresses on the field and how much Papa Joe grows as a manager. This is the season that a number of players need to demonstrate that they want to be a part of the future. Players like Gomes, Jae Seo, Edwin Jackson and Ben Zobrist need to make significant progress or they will be replaced by the wave of talent that is on the way. The rest of the players need to demonstrate that they can compete at high levels on a more consistent basis. The top prospects in the minor leagues, such as Brignac, Longoria, McGee and Davis need to continue to show growth and progress. All of these players can be great. Several will fail, but for once we have enough depth that if one fails, there will be somebody else to assume the responsibility of taking this franchise to greatness.

As Rays fans we will not like the final record in 2007, but if the team shows progress and promise we can be happy with the results. And if looking forward to 2008 there are still holes at the end of the season , the front office will not hesitate to fill those holes through free agency and trades. In their first full off-season, Friedman and Co. di
d not sign a single significant free agent. Despite the team’s record, there was no need. The team is not ready to compete in 2007 and Papa Joe and Friedman need to have a better understanding of the talent that is already in place. There were no free agents or group of free agents that would have made this team a contender in 2007, but there could be in 2008. And that is when the team will be ready to make a jump forward.

My fellow Rays fans, we now have reason for optimism. I know we have been optimistic before and we have been let down. We sit in our seats at the Trop and we have no history to look back upon fondly. We have no proud memories of the first nine seasons. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays franchise has no history. But it is ok, because we are in the midst of the franchise’s history. These are the times that we will look back on with pride. These are the times that we will say “Remember when…”. This team will be a winner and all indications are that the winning will be sooner rather than later. We will look back on the 2007 season and we will not remember the team’s final record. Rather we will look back and remember that we were here when it all began. We were here when C. C. became “The Man”. We were here when Delmon Young first showed his Hall of Fame talents. We were here when Kid K became one of the dominant pitchers in baseball. We must be patient a little longer. Our day is coming and we will be able to hold our heads up high and say that we were there in the beginning.

My Fellow Rays, I am here to tell you that for the first time, The State of the Franchise is getting stronger.

Tidbits: Devil Rays @ The New York Yankees

• The Devil Rays were 5-13 versus the Yankees in 2006.
• Carl Pavano will be making his first start since the middle of 2006, and is likely to be booed lustily by the Yankee faithful.
• Former Devil Rays first baseman Josh Phelps earned his way on to the Yankees opening day roster and may actually get the nod to start on opening day. Phelps hit .442 with 4 home runs in spring training.
• Yankees fans are a demanding sort. Being the best player in baseball doesn’t make you a Yankee. You have to earn your pinstripes and Alex Rodriguez still hasn’t. He could hit 80 home runs this season, but the fans will still boo him if he doesn’t come through in the playoffs.
• Andy Pettite will get the ball on Wednesday in his first start for the Yankees since 2003.

PROBABLE STARTERS
(stats are from 2006)
Monday, 1:05 et
Devil Rays Scott Kazmir, LHP (10-8, 3.24)
New York Carl Pavano, RHP (0-0, 0.00)

Wednesday, 1:05 et
Devil Rays Jae Seo, RHP (3-12, 5.33)
New York Andy Pettite, LHP (14-13, 4.20)

Thursday, 7:05 et
Devil Rays James Shields, RHP (6-8, 4.84)
New York Mike Mussina, RHP (15-7, 3.51)

The Hangover: Opening Day 2007

• It’s Opening Day!
• The Rays will field the youngest 25-man roster in baseball. Today, will mark Rocco Baldelli’s first opening day assignment since 2004. The Rays are actually 5-4 on opening day.
• The Rays and the Yankees have markedly different expectations entering opening day.
• Manny Stiles has posted his Devil Rays preview. He hasn’t been on board long, but he has done his homework.
• The Rays defense should be much improved in 2007.
• Jorge Cantu is threatening to not report to Durham.
• Seth McClung blames his agent, Scott Boras for not informing McClung of the Rays unusual fourth option. The extra option allowed the Rays to demote McClung to Durham.
• No surprise here, but it is now official, Josh Hamilton has made the Reds opening day roster. He still needs to remain on the active roster all season but that will not be a problem for Josh or the Reds.
• Don’t forget to stop by later today for the first ever Devil Rays live game blog. We are now in the heart of the Belly of the Beast. We are in New York City, a stone’s throw from Yankee Stadium. We will be “broadcasting” from the comfort of a couch, a computer, a big TV, and a fridge stocked with beer. We really have no idea what we are doing, but we will give it a shot. We are still trying to figure out this world wide web thing. So whether you are stuck at work or at home, don’t forget to stop by as we will get started around 12:45, and follow along as the Devil Rays take their first step towards .500 and the 2010 World Series! We will also keep an eye on the Reds-Cubs game as Josh Hamilton will be making his major league debut.
  

Adopt The Tampa Bay Devil Rays As Your Favorite Major League Baseball Team…Seriously

We have been enough places in this country to know that a lot of baseball fans grew up without a favorite team. If this sounds familiar, we want you! Sure…maybe you latched on to one team or another at different times in your life, but face it, baseball is a sport built on it’s history. It is difficult to get on board when you haven’t been there all along. If you will grant us a few minutes, we will give you 14 reasons why you should adopt the Tampa Bay Devil Rays as your favorite Major League Baseball team. If the Rays are good enough for Jenn Sterger, then they should be good enough for you. If Manny Stiles can do it. So can you!

[Editor’s Note: This is NOT an April Fool’s joke. Seriously. And if you are finding us for the first time, let us assure you that we are not a homer for the Rays organization. We have no personal relationship and have never been afraid to be openly critical of the front office. You might also assume that we are drunk. We promise that we are sane and we are not too drunk]

1. THIS TEAM IS YOUNG AND TALENTED. The Rays will have the second youngest opening day roster (behind the Marlins) in which all but two of the opening day starters will be 25 or younger. Including the opening day starting pitcher, Scott Kazmir, the lineup will feature six players that have the potential to be All-Stars at their positions (Kazmir, Carl Crawford, Rocco Baldelli, Delmon Young, B. J. Upton, Dioner Navarro).

2. THE MOST EXCITING PLAYER IN BASEBALL IS A DEVIL RAY. Carl Crawford, the fastest man in baseball, may already be the best left fielder in baseball. In each of his 5 major league seasons, Crawford has raised his batting average, home runs and OPS. He has led the AL in stolen bases and triples three times each and is an underrated defensive fielder with an accurate if not strong arm. And look for Crawford to add more home runs to his already full arsenal in 2007. Playing with a sore wrist in 2006 he hit 11 home runs in one 30 game stretch. 30 home runs and 60 stolen bases with a gold glove are very realistic for 2007.

3. JENN STERGER IS A DEVIL RAYS FAN.

4. THE BEST OUTFIELD IN BASEBALL. Carl Crawford, Rocco Baldelli and Delmon Young are all young and all posses the rare combination of power, speed and defensive skills. Rocco Baldelli returned in 2006 after missing all of 2005 and got off to a slow start but his numbers in the last two months of the season, hinted that Rocco may be ready to breakout and give Rays fans the type of season, they have long hoped for. Delmon Young may be the best hitter of the group. A free swinger that will not hit a lot of home runs early on, but he should hit for a good average and has above average speed that should produce 20+ stolen bases. And those aren’t even the best part of his game. Last season Young threw out Ichiro trying to go from first to third on a single to right. Not many players in baseball have that on their resume. The scary thing is many scouts believe that Elijah Dukes, who will be the Rays 4th outfielder this season and will make his major league debut on opening day, could end up the best of the group. There is no room in the outfield for Jonny Gomes, so he will be the team’s DH. Gomes is just fun to watch and has an excitement level to him that is contagious. And besides he looks an awful lot like Mr. Kotter.
Click here to continue reading…

5. GOOD YOUNG PITCHERS. All the hitting talent in the world is great, but a team can’t win with offense alone. Winning is about three things…pitching, pitching, pitching. Scott Kazmir is a legitimate ace. James Shields had a very strong rookie campaign and an even stronger spring training this year. Edwin Jackson is a former Dodgers top prospect that has always had great stuff but struggled with control. Still only 22, he appears to have his control problems in check and may be poised to break out in 2007. Two more top prospects should be in the rotation by mid-season. Jeff Niemann is a 6-9 former first round power pitcher that looks an awful lot like Bruce Sutter. Mitch Talbot came over from the Astros in the Aubrey Huff deal last season and seemed to find another gear. By the all-star game the Rays rotation could consist of 5 talented pitchers, all under the age of 25.

6. THESE PLAYERS WILL BE IN PLACE FOR AT THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS. The Rays control Crawford and Rocco until 2010 and 2011 and D
ukes and Young are under the control of the team until 2012. Negotiations have begun with Scott Kazmir on a long-term deal. Even without a deal, Kid K is still three years from free agency. Most of the rest of the lineup are still several years from free agency. In the era of free agency, players come and go. That will not be the case with the Rays. There is only one regular that will be a free agent after the 2007 season (Casey Fossum) and nobody is going to shed a tear losing him or trading him before the deadline

7. MINOR LEAGUE SYSTEM RATED #1 BY BASEBALL AMERICA. With young talented players already filling the lineup already, there are several more on the way and the next wave is just as talented as the current crop. Shortstop Reid Brignac has a California League MVP on his resume, and Evan Longoria, the 2006 third overall pick was so dominating in his first professional season, that Baseball America already has him as top-10 prospect. Jeff Niemann and Mitch Talbot should both make their major league debuts in 2007 and there is another wave of talented pitchers right behind them (Andy Sonnanstine, Jacob McGee, Wade Davis, Jeremy Hellickson).

8. NEW OWNERSHIP AND FRONT OFFICE. For the first eight seasons of the Rays history, they had arguably the most incompetent owner and general manager in all of the major sports (no offense to Peter Angelos, Kevin McHale, Isiah Thomas or Matt Milan). The new group assumed control following the 2006 season and have made a number of changes. The previous ownership was known as a difficult group to deal with and the new group came in and made more trades in the first season than the previous group had made in the four previous seasons combined. They like to trade and they are good at it. The Rays went from a middle-of-the-road minor league system to the top system in baseball with top prospects at every position. The changes the owners have made have not been reflected in the standings yet, but the plan is in place. The idea is to give one more season to the young guys to see what exactly the organization has and also give a couple of minor leaguers a chance to catch up. Following this season, the team will decide what holes need to be filled and they will start writing checks in free agency to fill needs.

9. THERE ARE A LOT OF TEAMS IN THE AL EAST THAT ARE EASY TO HATE.

1. The New York Spankees? George Steinbrenner, the ARod-Jeter lovefest, $200 million payroll, 26 world championships, an all-star at every position. Hating the pinstripes is easy. And we are telling you from personal experience that it feels so good every time the Rays beat up on a team that has a third baseman with a salary equal to the Rays entire 40-man roster.
2. The Boston Pink Hats? We admit that we once had a soft spot for the Red Sox. We hated the Yankees and they always finished second to New York. They always lost to New York in the playoffs. Rooting against the Yankees led to us rooting for the Red Sox. Unlike the Cubs who nobody ever expects to win, the Red Sox were like the Little Engine That Could. But then they did beat the Yankees and they did win the World Series. And all of the sudden everybody was a Sox fan. New Yorker, Jimmy Fallon is making a movie about it. Women are seen everywhere wearing pink hats. Ben Affleck, of the Unintentional Comedy School of Acting, was the poster fan and always in the front row. And now the Red Sox have a payroll approaching that of the Yankees. Red Sox Nation? Or The Evil Empire, Jr.?
3. The Baltimore Horioles? Now that Vince Naimoli is no longer managing general partner of the Rays, Peter Angelos can resume his role of worst owner in baseball. The team just can’t get out of its own way. They spend like a big market team, but never seem to get any better.
4. The Toronto Grey Jays? We used to like Toronto until value of the dollar started falling.

10. THE RAYS FLEECED THE METS. Mets fans are like Pavlov’s Dogs. Just say the name Scott Kazmir and see how they react. It’s fun to tease them. For the record, Victor Zambrano won 10 games in parts of 3 seasons with the Mets. Kid K made his first All-Star appearance in 2006 and he is only 23.

11. THE TEAM IS GETTING NEW COLORS AND LOGO IN 2008. While the team name will officially change from Devil Rays to just Rays, this will be accompanied by a whole new color scheme and logo. Blue which is currently an official accent color for the team will most likely become the primary color. The official team website seems to be a preview of things to come.

12. THE TAMPA-ST. PETE AREA IS A GREAT VACATION DESTINATION. Warm weather, some of the best beaches in the country, close to Disney World, and plenty of strip clubs (if you are into that sort of thing).

13. THE TROP IS REALLY NOT AS BAD AS MOST PEOPLE SEEM TO THINK IT IS. It amazes us how many people talk of how bad the Trop is even though they have never attended a game there. First of all, the Tampa-St. Pete area was forced by Major League Baseball to build a stadium on the cheap. In the first round of expansion,
Miami was picked over the Tampa Bay area in part because the city did not have a baseball-ready stadium. So without a team to help finance a new park, the city built the Trop on the cheap. When it first opened, it was awful. It was basically a big empty warehouse. But since then a number of renovations have significantly improved the Trop to the point that it is now actually a fun place to watch a game. Yes it is a dome, but that really can’t be helped in the Tampa-St. Pete area. The weather would never allow for an open roof stadium. And while the field is obviously artificial, the Trop will debut the new FieldTurf2 this season which looks and plays much like real grass. On top of that, the infield is all clay, unlike many artificial turf field which only have clay around the bases. The field plays very much like an outdoor field.

14. THIS TEAM IS GOING TO BE GOOD IN 2008. Don’t be a bandwagon jumper. Get on board and feel the satisfaction of having been with the team before they were good. Baseball is a sport whose foundation is it’s history. The Rays have no history. Rather, the Rays history is being written now, in 2007. This is the season when we will look back and say “that’s when it all started.” We will be able to look back on this season and the seasons to come with pride. So give the Rays a shot and join as we watch the Rays march towards the 2010 World Series Championship. You won’t be disappointed. This is not your older brother’s Devil Rays.

14. IF YOU STILL AREN’T CONVINCED, OUR TEAM PRESIDENT MIGHT JUST PAY YOU TO ROOT FOR THE RAYS. Just ask Manny Stiles.

2007 Mathematical Definition Of ‘No Chance In Hell’

The good folks over at Replacement Level Yankees Weblog have finished their annual mathematical projections of the 2007 season. In short they run 1000 simulations for the 2007 season using player projections from four different sources including Dan Szymborski’s ZiPS, Baseball Prospectus’s PECOTA, Diamond Mind’s projections and Sean Smith’s CHONE system.

Last season only the first three projections were used and when combined, the Rays were projected to win 71 games and made the playoffs 17 out 3000 seasons or slightly more than 0.5% of the time. The Rays ended up losing 148 games and made the playoffs 0% of the time.

Let’s take a look at the Rays 2007 projections…

• CHONE: The Rays are projected to finish last in the AL East with an average of 71.3 wins, only 0.6 wins behind the Baltimore Orioles. The projections have the Rays winning the division two times and the wild card three times. According to CHONE the Rays will have a big jump in runs scored (689 to 823) but also a slight bump in runs allowed (856 to 915).
• Diamond Mind: The Rays are projected to finish last in the AL East with an average of 69.3 wins, 5.6 wins behind the Baltimore Orioles. The projections may be the most realistic as the Rays failed to reach the playoffs in any of the 1000 seasons. The only other tam with that distinction is Kansas City. According to Diamond Mind the Rays will have a similar runs scored and runs allowed as projected by CHONE (812/930).
• PECOTA: PECOTA has the most ambitious projections for the Rays with a 4th place finish and 77.5 wins, 2.9 games ahead of the Orioles and in the playoffs 36 times (8 division titles and 28 wild card births) or 3.6% of the 1000 seasons. PECOTA predicts a similar bump in runs scored (809) but differs from the others by predicting slightly better runs allowed (839).
• ZIPS: Zips is more similar to the first two projections with 67.6 wins, 11.1 games behind the O’s and in the playoffs four times (1 division and 3 wild cards). Zips predicts the lowest offensive output for the Rays with only a slight bump in runs scored to 758. Like the first two the pitching is expected to surrender more runs (879).

If the four datasets are averaged together, the Rays are projected to finish approximately 71-91, with 11 division titles and 34 wild card appearances in 4000 seasons (1.1%). The Rays are also projected to score 799 runs. As a team the Rays scored 689 runs in 2006, lowest in the majors. The Rays are projected to give up 891 runs. In 2006, the Rays pitchers surrendered 856 runs. Only two teams allowed more.

While it seems realistic that the Rays will score a lot more runs this season, we are not sure why three of the projections have the pitching surrendering more runs in 2007. The staff could not have pitched worse in 2006, yet somehow the projections think they will in 2007. Oddsmakers have the Rays over/under win total at 67. 71 wins is more in line with what we think is realistic for this team in its current form.

The Hangover: Carlos Pena Makes Opening Day Roster Afterall

• The Rays concluded spring training with an 8-3 win over the Mets at the Trop. It’s too bad that the Rays couldn’t have played the Mets on a day that Scott Kazmir started. It would have been fun to see all the Mets fans at the Trop crying. The Rays finished the Grapefruit League with a 10-19-2 record…not bad considering they started 1-14.
• With Rocco Baldelli limited to DH duty, Elijah Dukes will get the start in CF on opening day.
• While BJ Upton will be the most-days second baseman, Joe Maddon stated that Upton will still see time in center and right field.
• Greg Norton will begin the season on the 15-day DL. Carlos Pena was added to the 40-man roster and will take Norton’s spot on the roster. To make room for Pena, Jon Switzer was moved to the 60-day DL.
• Do the Rays have the best outfield in baseball? That may be a bit premature, but the potential is limitless.
• Don’t forget, tomorrow we will be in heart of the Lion’s Den. We will be in New York City and we will bring you the first ever Devil Rays live game blog. Not from the game, but from the comfort of a couch, a computer, a big TV, and a fridge stocked with beer. So whether you are stuck at work or at home, don’t forget to stop by as the Devil Rays take their first step towards .500 and the 2010 World Series!