Down On The Farm: The Dirtbag Is Tearing Up The Southern League

Richmond 8, Durham 1. Jeff Niemann was knocked out in the 6th inning after giving up 7 runs (5 earned) on 7 hits including 2 home runs. He struck out 6 and did not walk a batter. His ERA is now 4.10. Ben Zobrist committed 2 errors and went 0-4 in his second game since his demotion.

Montgomery 11, West Tenn 8. Evan Longoria homered for the third time in 4 games, after going 2-5. He is now hitting .320 with 9 home runs and 30 RBI in 36 games. The Rays are going to be hard-pressed not to promote the Dirtbag to Durham in the very near future. Greg Norton went 2-4 and is now 7-25 in his rehab assignment, but was restricted to DH duties again as he continues to experience soreness in his knee. With Carlos Pena’s performance to date, we wouldn’t not be surprised if Norton is shut down again for a couple of weeks. Derek Feldkamp was chased early after giving up 6 runs in 2+ innings.

Columbus 4, Rome 3. Quinn Stewart drove in the winning run with a walk-off double in the 11th inning. Maiko Loyola had 4 hits and Nevin Ashley hit his 2nd home run. Ryan Morse, struck out 6 in 6.1 innings and gave up 3 runs on 4 hits. He did not walk a batter.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• Wade Davis is posting some impressive numbers for Vero Beach and has already been named FSL pitcher-of-the-week twice this season. Davis is learning that it is not about stats at this level.

After Davis got off to a strong start last year, Lichtenstein said, “He was looking to move up, and he was wondering why it wasn’t happening. We had talks about that, that it’s not under our control and we need to take care of business where we’re at.

“I don’t think (the numbers) at all,” Davis said. “You look at them from time to time to see what you can improve on, but it’s not a big deal at this point in time. It doesn’t dictate what’s going on out there.”

• A Q&A session with Justin Ruggiano a prospect that came over from the Dodgers last season in the Mark Hendrickson and Toby Hall that also netted the Rays Jae Seo and Dioner Navarro.

AL East Roundup: Can Roger Clemens DH On His Off-Days?

AL EAST	W	L	GB	L10	STK	E#
Boston Red Sox	25	11	–	8-2	W2	—
Baltimore Orioles	18	20	8.0	6-4	L2	118
New York Yankees	17	19	8.0	5-5	L1	119
Toronto Blue Jays	15	22	10.5	2-8	L1	116
Tampa Bay Devil Rays	15	22	10.5	2-8	L1	116

Red Sox 6, Orioles 5. Sometimes a team just has one of those seasons. It might be a little early but the Sox are definitely having one of those seasons so far. Trailing 5-0 in the 9th inning, the Evil Empire Jr. rallied for 6 runs to take the rubber match of the series against the Orioles and all of the sudden the Sox have opened up a 8 game lead. The one bit of bad news was Josh Beckett being forced to leave the game early with skin inflammation of a finger. Any hopes of Beckett going 35-0 went right out the window.

Mariners 2, Yankees 1. The Yankees have now played 13 series this season and have only won 3 after losing 2 of 3 to the M’s this weekend. Derek Jeter is having another great year and Jorge Posada is hitting well, but outside of them, nobody is hitting, including Alex Rodriguez who has 1 home run in May. But hey, Maybe Roger Clemens can play DH on his off days. Well, on the off days that he doesn’t want to go golfing.

NOTE FROM AROUND THE AL EAST…

• Joe Torre has more important matters on his mind as his brother remains in critical care following a kidney transplant.
• Scott Proctor dropped his appeal of his 4-game suspension and will be able to return on Thursday.
• As if the Roger Clemens story wasn’t enough of a circus, it looks like if things go as scheduled, his first start for the Yankees will be in Fenway Park.
• Josh Beckett has a history of blisters on his fingers, but he is hopeful that this time he won’t be forced to miss a start.
• Miguel Tejada has now played in 1,118 consecutive games, giving him the 5th longest streak in history.
• Derek Jeter committed his 7th error on Sunday, but it was his first since the 11th game of the season.

Beasts Of The East Radio Show…Take 2

It has been a rough week in the Devil Rays universe and what the Rays really need is a rainout to clear their heads. Well, the Rogers Center in Toronto has a roof so we are raining out today’s posts and hoping for a bit of transference. But we still wanted to stop by and remind everyone that the second edition of the “Beasts of the East: An AL East Radio Show” will be tomorrow morning at 11:00 am. If you are awake, stop by and feel free to heckle from the cheap seats. The show will also be available as a podcast afterwards.

Beasts of the East – An AL EAST Radio Show – Episode 2 [My Baseball Bias]

The Hangover: Aubrey "Friggin" Huff

Orioles 1, Devil Rays 0.
Ok, we have ignored this post long enough. Quite frankly (I hate when I quote Steven A.) we we weren’t sure if we would be able to write a “Hangover” today. Last night hurt on so many levels. Let’s count them:

1. For the second time this season, James Shields had a masterpiece go for naught. He was brilliant. Nearly unhittable. 9 innings, 3 hits and only 1 walk.
2. For the umpteenth time (actually 4th) Brian Stokes gave up a game-deciding home run in the 9th inning or later. We think it is probably time to stop giving Stokes the ball in the 9th inning or later. He is brilliant in the 7th and 8th. At this point, we would have more confidence if Andrew Friedman was pitching in a tie game.
3. It was another loss to the Orioles. This is the ONE TEAM that the Rays have to start beating. The goal’s for the 2007 season should be simple ones. Get out of the cellar first and then shoot for The Charlie Hough Line. Neither of those will happen if the Rays can’t beat the Orioles. And with the way the Jays are playing third place in the AL East is legitimately up for grabs.
4. Aubrey “Friggin” Huff. We heard a stat, but unfortunately do not remember the exact numbers. Over the last X years, Huff has the lowest percentage of home runs that have given his team the lead. In other words Huff hits a lot of home runs, but rarely hits a home run with the game on the line. We can remember one big homer for the Rays, when he hit a walk-off home run against the Marlins last season. That is not completely fair, as we are sure there are a couple of others. But the fact remains, Huff never left an impression that he was a clutch hitter. Why did it have to be Aubrey “Friggin” Huff.

Ok, the blood is starting to boil again. We thought we were getting over the loss, but the sound of the fingers on the keyboard is getting progressively louder. So, let’s go back to what was making us feel better a little earlier. First of all, we are NOT ones for moral victories. Either you win or you don’t. We hate excuses. We hate the “One mistake” line. But after Jae Seo’s latest implosion and the heart-breaker last night, and with Casey Fossum taking the mound tonight, we need something positive…ANYTHING positive. Last night there were some positives to take home…

1. Is it us or is James Shields getting better every time out. You can see the confidence grow in his face and his demeanor. He is 3-0 (should be 5-0) and has a 3.10 ERA good for 12 the in the AL and has given up less than a baserunner per inning. The Devil Rays now have two legitimate major league starting pitchers, which is one more than they had last year and in Spring Training this year. There are 5 legitimate prospects at Durham. The Rays are not dependent on a AAA prospect being a sure-thing. because there are others if one fails.
2. The anger after Tuesday’s debacle and the pain of last night’s loss may actually be a good sign. Losses are no longer expected. Mediocrity is no longer accepted and bad performances are no longer shrugged off. The Rays lost 101 games last season and not one of them was as blood-boiling as Tuesday’s and not one was as heart-breaking as last night’s. These are new feelings for baseball and the Rays. This could be a good thing, but it sure doesn’t bode well for our drinking or sleeping habits.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• Last night’s game marked the third time in the Rays 10-year history that they entered extra innings in a scoreless tie.
• Last night was the Rays 8th loss by the bullpen, second in the majors (KC-9).
• It has been 8 games since the Rays stole a base (0-3).
• Elijah Dukes is clearly better when he is playing the field, which is creating an interesting problem for the Rays. Just when everyone thought that roles for the Rays “five” spring training outfielders (including BJ Upton) had been established, this may force a move by the team. As long as Rocco Baldelli is healthy he is the team’s most days center fielder. Dukes needs to make an adjustment or he may be forced to sit on days that Rocco is in center.
• Juan Salas made his first comments since being suspended for being an idiot. He earned back a couple of points for not making any excuses.

I deeply regret that this situation occured and appreciate the outpouring of support around me. I also regret any distraction or embarrassment that I have caused to my family, my teammates, the Devil Rays organization and the fans. I remain fully committed to the Devil Rays organization and to the game I love.–Juan Salas

• Hillsborough County commissioner Jim Norman made it clear that a new stadium on the Tampa side of the bay would not be on the agenda anytime soon.
• In a surprise statement Joe Maddon says that Akinori Iwamura could be ready to being a rehab assignment as soon as next week.

Down On The Farm: Andy Sonnanstine Doing What He Does Best

Durham 3, Norfolk 2. All AndySonnanstine does is win. Sonnanstine worked into the 8th inning and gave up only 2 runs on 5 hits and no walks. He struck out 5. In the first 7 innings, he gave up only 3 hits including a solo home run. Shawn Riggans was 2-4 with a 2-run home run.

Tennessee 9, Montgomery 0. Chris Mason had his second straight bad start after a strong beginning to the season. He gave up 7 runs (5 earned) in 4.1 innings.

Clearwater 3, Vero Beach 1. Wade Davis gave up 1 run in 5.2 innings but struggled with his control as he walked 4 and gave up 4 hits.

Columbus 4, Augusta 0. Ryan Royster continues to tear up the SALy with his 5th home run to go along with his .352 batting average. Woods Fines pitched 6 scoreless innings.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• Greg Norton was back in the lineup after missing two of the previous three games with a sore knee.

AL East Roundup: Yankees And Red Sox Continue To Roll Towards October

AL EAST	W	L	GB	L10	STK	E#
Boston Red Sox	22	10	–	7-3	W3	—
New York Yankees	16	16	6.0	7-3	W2	125
Baltimore Orioles	16	18	7.0	4-6	W2	123
Tampa Bay Devil Rays	14	19	8.5	4-6	L3	122
Toronto Blue Jays	13	20	9.5	2-8	L8	121

Yankees 6, Rangers 2. The Yankees scored 4 in the bottom of 1st and never looked back as Mike Mussina worked 6 and said “We don’t need no stinkin’ Rocket”

Red Sox 9, Blue Jays 3. $100 million? So that is what a #3 starter goes for these days? Daisuke Matsuzaka struck out 8 in 7 innings and now has three good starts this season. One was versus KC on opening day and two against the Blue Jays, both of whom are among the worst teams in baseball.

NOTE FROM AROUND THE AL EAST…

• Jays manager John Gibbons and the rest of his coaching staff were given a vote of confidence despite recent discussions by JP Ricciardi about the staff’s performance.
• Roger Clemens faced his son in a workout session in Lexington, Kentucky.
• Terry Francona has asked Curt Schilling to tone down his comments to the press. Any chance it will work?

[THE HANGOVER] Jae Seo Reaffirms His Position As Worst Pitcher In Baseball

Orioles 8, Devil Rays 3.
The headline at DevilRays.com reads “Seo shaky in loss”. Shaky? 6 innings with 9 hits and 3 runs is shaky. Seo was awful. The headline in the Tampa Tribune reads “Seo Takes Step Back“. A step back? From what? From his last start, when he only gave up 2 runs in 6 innings? This was not a step back. Last night was the true Jae Seo. The last start was the aberration, not this one. He has now given up at least 5 runs in 5 of his 7 starts. Yesterday Gary Shelton of the St. Pete Times told us we need to be patient. He pointed to Seo’s last start as an indication that he is getting things together and that he will be fine. HE’S NOT FINE! AND QUITE FRANKLY WE ARE GETTING SICK OF IT. HE STINKS. Why is he is still in the rotation? For what purpose? Somebody please answer us that. We are begging to know. There must be something that Joe Maddon and Andrew Friedman see.

How bad has Jae Seo been? Just so you don’t think we are ranting about a couple of starts, let’s take a look at his numbers. There are 145 pitchers in baseball that have thrown at least 20 innings this season, let’s see where Seo ranks in some very telling statistical categories…

Statistic	Jae Seo	Rank (out of 145)
ERA	8.82	144
Hits	56	T144
H/9	15.17	145
Runs	37	145
K/9inn	4.41	122
HR	7	128
HR/9	1.32	131
WHIP	2.02	140
BAA	.384	145
OBPA	.430	144
SLGA	.596	145
VORP	-13.2	T144

How bad has Jae Seo been? THE WORST PITCHER IN BASEBALL. GET HIM OUT OF HERE. SEND HIM TO THE BULLPEN. SEND HIM TO THE MINORS. SEND HIM TO THE GOD DAMNED ALASKAN PIG FARMERS LEAGUE. We don’t care where, but get him out of the rotation. The 2007 Tampa Bay Devil Rays could be a decent team, but they have zero chance of winning on nights Seo pitches, and we have had it. He is an automatic L.

Are Maddon and Friedman trying to give the guys at AAA more seasoning? JASON HAMMEL ALREADY HAS MAJOR LEAGUE EXPERIENCE. And he is dominating IL hitters. He couldn’t be any worse than Seo but at least their is hope and promise in his arm. GET HIM UP HERE. We know, we know. The most popular player on the team is always the backup quarterback. But this is not one start we are talking about. Maddon loves to talk about how well Seo pitched last year despite going 1-8 with the Rays. Maddon points to the lack of run support. LACK OF RUN SUPPORT? What does that matter if a pitcher’s ERA is 5.00? We are now two years removed since Seo was a decent pitcher. Believe us, we have no idea how Seo went 8-2 with a 2.59 ERA in 14 starts in 2005. BUT IT WAS 2005!

This is not only hard on the fanbase, but it must be hard on the rest of the team as well. How demoralizing must it be for a young player to know that the team is basically down 5-0 when the game starts. Maddon is trying to preach a team concept to the young players. Watch how quickly that goes out the window when players think there is ZERO CHANCE TO WIN.

Jae Seo….Jae Seo…Jae Seo…Where did that bottle of Jameson go?

[UPDATE: DevilRays.com has changed their title to “Seo struggles against Orioles”. That is the second time they have changed a title after we commented on it…hmmmm?]

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• It must be hard when you find out one of your favorite players is busted for using steroids. We can only imagine how devastating it would have been if George Bell was caught after his 1987 MVP season. We would probably still be sitting in a corner rocking back and forth and mumbling “Why George? Why?”
• We knew that $28 million figure that the Yankees are paying Roger Clemens sounded familiar.
• We linked yesterday to the New York Times article on the Devil Rays. We read Stuart Sternberg’s quotes about the life expectancy of Tropicana Field and were not nearly as floored as many other people appear to be. So much fuss has been made that Sternberg needed to clarify his statements as some felt that he might be hinting at moving the franchise away from the Tampa-St. Pete area. In short, Sternberg said that the team will not be able to remain at the Trop through the conclusion of their current lease and that a new stadium will be needed and state and local funding is a must. However, he indicated that it is not a priority issue.

We’ll focus on it more as time goes by…Something of this magnitude, it really isn’t anything I’ve spent a lot of time on. I have thought about it. Nothing can be done overnight. It’s in the background. We know it’s there. We chat about it – how and what. — Stuart Sternberg

• Several of the Devil Rays reacted to the news of Juan Salas’ suspension. Basically, it is a lot of politically correct answers, but we have to wonder how many of the players are angry and if Salas will be welcome back in the clubhouse.
• Rocco Baldelli is 0 for his last 17.
• The pink bats are coming! Somebody queue Paul Lukas.
• Greg Norton missed his second straight rehab game with soreness in his knee.

Down On The Farm: Wade Davis Pitcher-Of-The-Week Redux

Durham 9, Norfolk 3. Justin Ruggiano was 3-5 with a double, a grand slam and 5 RBI. He has 13 hits in his last 6 games and has raised his average to .316. Jeff Niemann picked up his 3rd win with 6 innings of 2-run ball. He struck out 5.

Montgomery 12, Tennessee 1. Gabriel Martinez hit his 3rd home run and drove in 4. Chris Nowak. John Jaso was 2-5 with 2 RBI and Evan Longoria was 0-3 with 2 walks. Derek Feldkamp scattered 7 hits and 3 walks over 5 innings and some how only allowed 1 run.

Vero Beach 4, Dunedin 3. The Rays were down 3-0 heading to the 9th with only 2 hits, but with the help of 2 errors and 2 walks, accompanied by 3 hits, the Rays rallied for the win. Jacob McGee gave up 3 runs in 5 innings on 3 hits and 4 walks. He struck out 5.

Augusta 5, Columbus 1.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• Wade Davis, who threw a 7-inning no-hitter, was named FSL pitcher of the week for the second week in a row. It is the third tome a Vero Beach pitcher has won the award this season.
  
• Fernando Perez does not have any torn ligaments in his knee but will still miss considerable time. Also, James Houser has now missed two starts with a strained oblique.

AL East Roundup: Prodigal Rocket Swayed By King George

AL EAST	W	L	GB	L10	STK	E#
Boston Red Sox	21	10	–	7-3	W2	—
New York Yankees	15	16	6.0	7-3	W1	126
Baltimore Orioles	15	18	7.0	4-6	W1	124
Tampa Bay Devil Rays	14	18	7.5	5-5	L2	124
Toronto Blue Jays	13	19	8.5	2-8	L7	123

Yankees 8, Rangers 2. How huge was Alex Rodriguez’s April? Last night he hit his first home run of May and he still leads the majors by 4 home runs over the nearest slugger. Meanwhile, the Yankees got a much-needed strong performance from Andy Pettite, who was obviously in a homoerotic state of euphoria now that his buddy Roger Clemens has signed with the Evil Empire once again.

Red Sox 9, Jays 2. The Jays have now lost 7 in a row and are the only thing keeping Rays fans from jumping off the band wagon completely. The bad news for the Jays is that they now know why Victor Zambrano doesn’t like to throw strikes. Before he was yanked with 2 outs in the 3rd inning, Zambrano had only walked 2 (that’s good for him) but he managed to give up 8 runs, courtesy of 4 home runs. Oh, by the way Josh Beckett now has 7 wins ins 7 starts this season. Can we just give him the Cy Young award now? We better, or soon the Pink Hat nation is going to want the award renamed in his honor.

NOTE FROM AROUND THE AL EAST…

• David Ortiz is not sure if he took steroids as a youth. If he did, it sure didn’t help him in Minnesota.
• Troy Glaus was named AL Player of the Week, which of course helped the Jays to exactly 0 wins during the week.
• Roger Clemens will pitch at least one game in Tampa for the Tampa Yankees as he prepares for his coronation as the savior of the historic franchise.
• Roger Clemens says that he was swayed to pitch for the Yankees based on something that George Steinbrenner said to him. Clemens refuse to elaborate about what was said until at least after the season. This make one wonder if this is not King George’s last season as the principal owner of the Yankees. He has been conspicuously less present in recent years and many have speculated on his health.

[THE HANGOVER] Juan Salas Caught Injecting Himself With Idiot Enhancing Drugs

With an off-night last night, we were all set to sing a little diddy to you about BJ Upton and his hot start. But then came word the Juan Salas had gone all “Jose Canseco” on us. We, like most Devil Rays fans have been shouting at the top of our lungs for a change in the bullpen. Demoting Ruddy Lugo on Sunday was the first shake-up all season for a team that has the worst bullpen in baseball. The move was not surprising except in its timing. Lugo had actually looked a little better his last couple of appearances. Still, he has been overmatched by major league hitters more often than not and a change, any change, in the bullpen was needed.

But now all of a sudden the Rays have two openings in the bullpen as Salas was suspended for the 50 games for testing positive for performance enhancing drugs. Salas is the second Devil Rays player to be suspended for steroids. The first was Alex Sanchez who was actually the first major leaguer to receive a suspension in April 2005.

The perplexing thing to us is that we cannot figure out why he was using steroids. Salas is a pitcher that already throws hard with great natural movement on his fastball. Unless those steroids were going to help him locate his fastball better, they weren’t doing him any good. His fastball is already hard enough, a couple of extra inches were not going to make him a better pitcher. All we can hope for at this point is that Salas doesn’t try to feed us the “somebody must have spiked my gatorade” line or try to convince us that “it was an over-the-counter supplement that he didn’t realize was illegal.

So now Tim Corcoran and Chad Orvella will be making their 2007 debuts for the Devil Rays. Corcoran was serviceable last season as a long reliever. Orvella is the big question mark. Most had him pegged as the Rays opening day closer in 2006 after dominating at all stops in the minors. This year hasn’t been any different. After a couple of shaky outings out of the box, Orvella has been nearly unhittable in his last 10 appearances. This may be his last chance to prove that he is not a AAAA pitcher.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• Let’s get this straight…Jae Seo and Casey Fossum each have one decent start and now all of the sudden we are supposed to pretend like they didn’t have 5 bad starts before that? Gary Shelton of the St. Pete Times thinks so.We fully expect each of them to have a handful of decent starts over the course of the season. Bob Gibson could do that and he is 71 years old. A veteran, middle-of-the-rotation pitcher should be unbeatable once every five starts, give the team a chance to win three out of every five and are allowed one stinker the other start. Seo has tossed a stinker in 5 of his 6 starts and Fossum crappy starts number 3 of 6. You do the math, because Andrew Friedman sure isn’t, and neither is Gary Shelton.
• Carl Crawford‘s legs are sore and he is blaming it on the new Field Turf II. Uh oh. Didn’t anybody test this stuff with human beings?
• Do we really need to be rehashing all the problems down at Durham during the 2006 season. It’s old news. The players have moved on and have been great. We should move on also.
• The MLB draft is just around the corner and this year it will be televised on ESPN2. How bad could it be?
• The New York Times ran a feature article recently. There is not a lot to learn if you are an informed Rays fan but it is interesting to see that perceptions of the franchise are changing. Within the piece, is mention of Rays upcoming trip to Orlando to play three games against the Rangers. Stuart Sternberg says that if the Rays do not draw a big crowd, it will be his first significant disappointment since becoming owner of the Devil Rays.
• The Orioles are up next for the Rays. The O’s have lost 11 of 14 and now sit 7 games behind the Red Sox and a half game behind the Rays. Baltimore has beaten the Rays in 8 of the past 10 and 14 of the last 18 at Camden Yards.