The Hangover: Ruddy Lugo Ready To Unleash His Reading Prowess On Oakland Area Children

Padres 7, Devil Rays 1.
JP Howell did his job. After a shaky first in which he gave up an unearned run on 1 hit and 2 walks, Howell settled down and faced only one over the minimum over the next 6 innings. Unfortunately, as soon as Gary Glover allowed the first run in the 8th, and the Rays fell behind 2-0, you sensed the game was probably over.

Despite the loss, Howell has now solidified his spot in the rotation for the near future.

Tonight it is James Shields turn. One of the roles of an ace is to be the team’s stopper. The Rays have now lost two straight and it is Shields job to keep this from becoming a losing streak. Shields needs to be careful. Pitching in Coors Field is never an easy task, even since they started using the humidor to weigh down the baseballs. Despite a sinking change-up as his best pitch, Shields has more flyball outs than groundball outs on the season (107 to 100). He is also prone to the long ball, having allowed 12 in 13 starts. That’s tied for 10th in the AL. However, Colorado is only 28th in the majors in home runs. As a team they have hit 45 (The Devil Rays have hit 75).

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• And the Lugo era in Tampa Bay comes to an end. First the Rays shipped Julio Lugo to the Dodgers. Then the Rays designated Ruddy Lugo for assignment. Yesterday he was claimed off of waivers by the A’s. We won’t miss his pitching. If only he could pitch as well as he could read…oh wait. Our advice to Oakland area parents. If the A’s decide to have a promotion for local school children in which a member of the A’s will “read” to the kids. GRAB YOUR CHILDREN AND RUN.
  
• James Shields is only the second pitcher in the last 25 years to leave each of his first 13 starts with his team tied or ahead.
• Joe Maddon calls James Shields the “poster child for proper development.”
• Who is this Rocco Baldelli that you speak of? Nobody here by that name. The name is familiar. Sounds like a guy that used to play one of the outfield positions back in ’03 or ’04. If we remember correctly, he was a pretty decent prospect.
• Armchair GM calls Carl Crawford one of the six most underrated players in all of sports.
• There’s another new site in the Blogosphere dedicated to Tampa Bay area sports. [Tampa Sports Review]

Down On The Farm: Jeff Niemann Rediscovers His Slider

Durham 5, Indianapolis 0. We had a couple of things going on so we were going to skip this feature today. Of course by a “couple of things” we mean we didn’t get to sleep til real late. But nooooooo. Jeff Niemann has to go and toss 6.1 innings of 1-hit ball with 8 strike outs for his best start of the year. It’s the Niemann performance that we have been waiting for. The only hit came with 1 out in the 4th on an infield single. Interestingly, Niemann was pulled with 1 out in the 7th with 1 runner on first and the Bulls leading 4-0. He struck out the last player he faced, which was his 100th pitch. It is interesting because it means that Niemann is still on a very strict pitch count. The idea of it is fine, but it also leads us to believe that even if Niemann was pitching like this every time out, the Rays don’t think his arm is ready for the major leagues…Chad Orvella pitched a perfect 9th and struck out 2. Ladies and Gentlemen…Chad Orvella, AAAA pitcher…Wes Bankston left the game with a wrist injury after a collision at first base.

Jacksonville 7, Montgomery 5. Chris Mason had his second straight less than stellar outing. This time he gave up 3 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks in 6 innings. Mason either is battling a bit of a tired arm or he got a little cocky after Peter Gammons mentioned his name during the MLB draft broadcast, which was just before this two game losing streak. On a brighter note, Reid Brignac was 3-5 and hit his 7th home run and 12th double. He also stole his 7th and 8th bases and did not commit an error. Baby steps. Evan Longoria had 2 singles in 5 at bats with an RBI. His single in the 3rd broke an 0-24 stretch.

Vero Beach 7, St. Lucie 2. Matt Walker gave up 1 run in 6 innings on 4 hits and 3 walks. He struck out 3. Garrett Groce was 2-4. He hit his 3rd home run and stole his 5th base. He has only played in 21 games because of time on the DL.

Greenville 11, Columbus 5. Wade Townsend did not have nearly the same success as his former Rice teammate. He was pounded for 8 runs in 5 innings. He gave up 9 hits and only struck out 2. Of the 23 batters that Townsend faced, 5 hit home runs. Nevin Ashley was 2-3 and hit his 6th home run.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• Reid Brignac almost hit a second home run last night. His ground rule double was ruled to have gone through the fence, instead of over it.
• Jeff Niemann based his performance on the return of his slider.

My slider was really working tonight…It’s finally back to where it was when it was my very best pitch.

[THE HANGOVER] Edwin Jackson Quits When It Matters Most

Padres 9, Devil Rays 0.
That should about do it for Edwin Jackson. We have tried to defend Jackson, even though he has been as bad as Jae Seo and Casey Fossum. We wanted the other two members of The Axis of Evil out of the rotation, but not Jackson. The reason was that Jackson has talent and he is young. There was room for improvement in Jackson that was not present in the other two. But after giving up 5 hits and 2 walks to the only 8 batters he faced last night, we now know that Jackson needs to be out of the rotation with no desire to ever see him there again.

Our change of heart is not based on how bad he looked as much as it was the timing of the performance. This was the single most important start in Jackson’s young career. The Rays had just sent Jackson a very clear message by recalling Jason Hammel from Durham. Andrew Friedman and Joe Maddon had given Jackson an ultimatum. Either show some improvement or your spot will go to Hammel. So instead of accepting the challenge, Jackson mailed it in. The biggest start of his career. His job as a major league starting pitcher on the line and he gave up. Didn’t even compete. He doesn’t even get two outs, before Maddon made a very symbolic move by yanking Jackson and replacing him with Hammel.

Pitchers have bad starts. They even have awful starts. We would be willing to bet that a lot of hall of fame pitchers had at least one start where they did not survive the first inning. It happens. But it should never happen in a big game. And this was a big game for Jackson. He quit on himself and he quit on his team. That is not the type of the pitcher you want on a team that is trying to build a winning mentality. When the pressure was greatest, Jackson wilted like Elijah Dukes’ bank account after another one-night stand.

We would be shocked if Jackson makes his next start. Good riddance.

This afternoon it is JP Howell’s turn. Pressure is not as great on Howell. His job is secure for the time being. But being a winning baseball team is about winning series and the Rays have a chance to win their third straight. The Padres are not a good offensive team (only Jackson can make them look like the Yankees). After such a strong first start, Howell was disappointing in his second outing. There is a bit of pressure on Howell this afternoon to go out and show he belongs by shutting down the Padres and winning the rubber match.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• Elijah Dukes was given the night off yesterday. It was a move that was clearly related to his latest non-baseball headlines as the Rays were without another center fielder on the active roster.
• BJ Upton was placed on the DL and Jonny Gomes was recalled from Durham.
• The pitching staff recently has been like musical chairs. The opening paragraph of this article will make your head spin.
• Ever the team player, Delmon Young made it clear that he was not happy about having to play center field in the absence of Elijah Dukes.

I’ll do it because I have to, but I prefer to be in right

Mr. Young. We would like to introduce you to Mr. Wigginton. He is the dumpy looking white guy that often plays second base, even though he probably prefers not to. He may not like it, but we wouldn’t know because he never complains and he knows that his job is to do what is best for the team. Mr. Young, you are basically the 5th string center fielder, behind Upton, Dukes, Baldelli and the batboy. Two are hurt, one is an idiot and the 4th had a bar mitzvah last night. The team doesn’t want you playing center field any more than they want Danny DeVito being the closer. But sometimes these things happen. We love Mr. Wigginton because he is a gamer. Don’t get us wrong. We love you too, but only because you can hit the ball real hard and throw the ball real far. But we would like you to do us a favor. JUST SHUT THE HELL UP AND PLAY. Thanks. Have a good day.

Down On The Farm: Seth McClung Bobblehead Night. Full Of Promise, Certain To Disappoint

Jacksonville 4, Montgomery 0. Derek Feldkamp dropped to 1-5 despite allowing only 3 hits and 1 walk in 6 innings. One fo the hits was a solo home run. The Biscuits managed only 4 hits, 2 by Fernando Perez. Jason Pridie had a triple, his 24th extra base hit of the season.

Vero Beach 2, St. Lucie 1 (gm. 1, 8 inn). Jeff Kamrath, making only his 5th start of the season, struck out 13 in 6.2 innings. He gave up 4 hits and walked 3 and allowed 1 run. Patrick Cottrell had a walk-off infield single in the bottom of the 8th.

Vero Beach 4, St. Lucie 2 (gm 2). Jino Gonzalez made his first start of the season and gave up just 1 run in 4 innings.

Columbus 5, Rome 4. Ryan Royster hit his 10th home run, a 2-run shot in the first and had a double to lead off the top of the 9th. Pinch-runner Desmond Jennings would come around to score on sac fly by Joey Callender. Josh Butler gave up 4 runs (3 earned) in 6.1 innings. In the first 6 innings, Butler was cruising, having only allowed 2 hits and 1 walk and 1 unearned run.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• The Princeton Rays will begin their season next Thursday. Not quite Cal Ripken, but the Rays have had a promotion or give-away, for every home game since 1991. This year’s games will include 5 bobblehead night for the “Legends of Princeton Baseball” series. Be sure to mark your calendars for Seth McClung bobblehead night.
• Former Biscuit Chris Seddon was claimed off of waivers by the Marlins after being designated for assignment.
• Columbus turned a triple play in the 8th inning. With runners on first and third, a ground ball was hit to second baseman Brett Grandstrand. Grandstrand stepped on second for the force, and threw home to get the runner trying to score. The original batter then tried to advance to second on the throw and was tagged out for your standard 4-2-4 triple play.

Another Open Letter To Elijah Dukes

Dear Mr. Dukes,

Sincerely,

The Professor

Teen: Dukes got me pregnant [St. Pete Times]
An Open Letter To Elijah Dukes [Rays Index]

The Hangover: Not Your Older Brother’s Devil Rays

Devil Rays 11, Padres 4.
Shhhh. *in a hushed tone* The Rays have now won 7 of 9. We are afraid to say it too loud. If other people find out, they may think it is some sort of mistake and take some of the wins back. Last night it was the Scott Kazmir from the first half of 2006…at least for the first 5 innings. He was sharp. His slider was great. He was striking batters out and not walking anybody. Most importantly, he was managing his pitches. After 5 innings, he only had 77 pitches, which is not great, but is good for Kid K. Then came the 6th inning. 40 pitches (!) and 2 runs later, Kazmir had 117 pitches and couldn’t come out for the 7th. baby steps.

And of course Carlos Pena. El Gato. For those that want to knock Joe Maddon and his staff, you have to give them credit for resurrecting Pena’s career. Once considered one of the top prospects in baseball in the Rangers organization, he bounced around to 5 different organizations in 6 seasons. Coming into this season he had a .243 career batting average and a .790 OPS. He was reduced to accepting a minor league contract from The Tampa Bay Devil Rays with only the promise that he would have a chance to compete for a roster spot. Then Joe Maddon and George Hendrick convinced Pena to use the whole field. They reminded him that he has enough power to hit home runs to the opposite field and straight away. Now? Pena is hitting .311 with a 1.055 OPS. He is 5th in the AL in home runs despite having 50% fewer at bats than anybody else in the top 10. His .656 SLG would be good for 3rd in the AL if he had enough at bats to qualify.

A look at the standings and the Rays are now tied with Toronto for 3rd place in the AL East, a game ahead of the Orioles. The Rays are actually a game up on the Jays in the loss column and only 2 games behind the Yankees. Is it a mistake? Others will think so. It is now the middle on June and the Rays should be in their customary last place position…right?

Rather, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays are now only 4 games below .500. Only 4 games below The Charlie Hough Line. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays are 4 games below Charlie with 31 starts by the Axis of Evil (Seo/Fossum/Jackson). 4 games below .500 with one reliable relief pitcher who can’t pitch every day.

But like they say in baseball…Momentum is only as good as tomorrow’s starting pitcher. So our excitement is tempered by the knowledge that Edwin Jackson is on the mound tonight and the Rays must face Jake Peavy who is 7-1 with a 1.97 ERA. In Jackson’s defense, the Rays have actually won 2 of his last 3 starts, despite his 0-7 record. And should the Rays lose tonight? Tomorrow it is JP Howell, and we’ll take that over Jae Seo.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• The Rays made it official yesterday and signed Jay Witasick to fill the vacancy in the bullpen.
• Joe Maddon stated that Jay Witasick will be the 7th inning set-up man. Of course, knowing Papa Joe, that might last as long as a Delmon Young at bat.
• The Rays designated Ruddy Lugo for assignment to make room for Jay Witasick. They will need to remove another player from the 40-man roster in two weeks when Juan Salas returns from his suspension and a second player will have to be designated if David Price signs a major league contract, which is the standard for top picks. It would not surprise us if a trade is made in the next two weeks to free up at least one of those roster spots.
• According to Heath Bell, the Rays tried to acquire him from the Padres after the Padres acquired him from the Mets. The Rays were interested in making Bell the closer and from the sound of it, Bell would have liked the move.

“I eventually would like to be a closer,” said Bell, who lives some two hours from Tampa Bay, in Port St. Lucie. “The Devil Rays didn’t have a closer. I would have been pretty fine with that. I was a closer in the minors. It was just so much fun doing it.”

• This must be a mistake…Every week SI.com releases their “MLB Power Rankings”. The Rankings actually cover three pages with 10 teams on each page. We always go straight to page three to find out exactly where the Devil Rays are ranked that week. Well, this week, the Rays were no where to be found on the third page. They have jumped up from #24 all the way to #19. PAGE 2 BABY!

Down On The Farm: Jae Seo Remembers His Job Is To Get Batters Out

Scranton 2, Durham 1. Wouldn’t you know it. Jae Seo sucks (you know what) with the Rays, gets designated for assignment, accepts it, makes his first start for Durham and looks like Sandy friggin’ Koufax*. Granted it was only 4 innings, but he only gave up 1 run on 1 hit and 1 walk. So…as soon as the Rays finish their inter-league schedule and start playing their International League schedule, we say “call him up”!

*not really

Vero Beach 5, Jupiter 0. Mike Wlodarczyk had his best start of the season and may be turning the corner as he has been strong in each of his last 5 outings. This time he pitched 6 scoreless innings on 3 hits and 3 walks. He struck out 5. Rhyne Hughes was 2-4 and is hitting .340.

Rome 8, Columbus 0. After allowing only 2 earned runs in 8 starts, Lewis Rollins suddenly remembered he is not Sandy friggin’ Koufax (he’s still better than Jae Seo). Last night he allowed 6 runs in 3 innings and has now allowed 10 runs in his last 8 innings pitched.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• Jake McGee makes Baseball America’s latest “Prospect Hot Sheet”. And the praise could not be any higher.

Question posed to an American League scout: “Do you like McGee?” His answer: “How can you not? You’d have to be stupid not to with the stupid numbers he’s been putting up, the stupid 95 mile-an-hour fastball from the left side . . . It’s stupid. He’s a monster. You get chills just watching him.” We’ll leave it at that. Oh, and McGee struck out 11 in just six innings last week.

• A first-look at the 2007 Hudson Valley Renegades, and a few of the draftees that have already signed with the Rays.

The Hangover: Jason Hammel To The Bullpen…For Now

Devil Rays (off day)
The Devil Rays made an interesting and unexpected move yesterday. With two openings in the bullpen, the Rays recalled Jason Hammel from Durham. Having already dipped into the Durham relief corps and drawing two blanks, Andrew Friedman decided on an alternative solution to the Rays abysmal bullpen. Hammel was having a strong start to the season as a starting pitcher for the Bulls and was considered an option to fill one of the holes in the rotation. Now he is being called upon to shore up the leaks in the ‘pen. And of course by “leak” we really mean holes the size of the Trop.

This move means that the Rays have already seen enough in two starts from Andy Sonnanstine and JP Howell that they will stay in the rotation for the time being. It also means that Edwin Jackson is now officially on notice. If the team truly sees Hammel as a starting pitcher in the long run, they will not want his stay in the bullpen to be an extended one. Moving from the bullpen to the rotation can be a difficult adjustment for some pitchers and for most pitchers it can take several starts before they build up the endurance to be able to pitch deep into games. If Jackson fails to show improvement in his next 2-3 starts, look for Hammel and Jackson to switch roles.

Hammel has proven that he deserved another shot at the majors. Friedman and Maddon needed an arm in the bullpen and they went to Durham and chose the best arm that was available. It just happened to be a starting pitcher.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• To fill the other open spot in the bullpen, the Rays will sign Jay Witasick who was released by the A’s last week. Witasick struggled with his control in Oakland. In 15 innings, he walked 9 batters and gave up 14 hits.
• Surprisingly, Jae Seo has accepted his demotion to Durham rather than become a free agent.
• Dioner Navarro could return to the lineup as early as tonight. And yes, we are aware that Raul Casanova has homered in two straight games, but there is no reason for Navi to worry about his job. Casanova has been a role player in parts of 8 major league seasons. Entering 2007, he had 28 home runs in 960 at bats and a career .233 batting average. That would equate to about 15 home runs over a 500 at bat season. Oh yeah…and he is 34 years old. He is not all of the sudden Johnny Bench.
• Al Keck and Tom Korun of ABCActionNews have a new blog that covers the local sports teams including the Rays. It’s worth checking out. [Sports Talk]
• Scott Kazmir feels that is on the verge putting everything together.
• In two starts Andy Sonnanstine has 15 strike outs and no walks. In the minor leagues he posted a 6:1 strikeout to walk ratio. Only 28 pitchers in the history of baseball have posted a ratio of better than 3:1 with a minimum of 1000 innings pitched. Will The Duke be able to keep up his success as a major league pitcher? Our guess is that if Sonny can stay in the majors for 1000 innings, he will be definitely end his career in the top 30 all-time. Not bad.
• Remember Shinji Mori? The free agent relief pitcher the Rays did sign? We can’t blame you if your memory is a little hazy. He never threw a single pitch in a regular season game. Yesterday he was released by the Rays.

Down On The Farm: Is Desmond Jennings The Next Troubled Rays Prospect?

Scranton, 6 Durham 4. Mitch Talbot gave up 3 runs (1 earned) in 5.2 innings. He only struck out 2 and allowed 8 hits and 3 walks. Seth McClung was up to his old tricks. He walked 4 and gave up 2 runs in 1.1 innings. Jonny Gomes had a 3-run double and went 2-4. He is hitting .282-1-7 in 12 games. And how happy does Jonny look in his new Durham Bulls mugshot? Ben Zobrist was 2-3 but committed his 8th error in 26 games.

Mobile 6, Montgomery 5. Mike Prochaska continues to struggle at AA. Yesterday afternoon he gave up 6 runs in 4 innings. Reid Brignac and Evan Longoria each went 0-4. Brignac committed his 14th error. Longoria is 0 for his last 20. Jason Pridie was 2-5 and hit his 4th home run, a grand slam.

Vero Beach 6, Jupiter 2. Yesterday Jake McGee struck out 11 in 5.2 innings. His partner in crime Wade Davis one-upped McGee by striking out 13 in 6.2 innings last night. He allowed 2 hits and walked none. After allowing 2 hits in the first including a leadoff home run, Davis retired the next 13 batters in a row.

Columbus 9, Rome 2. Jeremy Hellickson did not allow a hit until a 1-out single in the 6th inning. It was the only hit he would allow in 6 innings. He struck out 5 and walked 3.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• David Ching of the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer wrote was supposed to be a feel-good piece about Desmond Jennings. Jennings, an outfielder at Columbus, was the Rays 10th round pick in 2006. He was named the Rays minor league player of the month for April and is 3rd in the SAL with 26 stolen bases. Ching writes about all the struggles that Jennings has overcome, including the recent death of his grandmother, whom Jennings refers to as his his best friend. But then Ching references other issues that Jennings had to overcome. First of all, Jennings originally signed to play wide receiver at Alabama, but he did not qualify academically, so he enrolled at a junior college. While at the JC, he faced charges (unspecified) that were eventually dropped…We don’t mean to pass judgement on Mr. Jennings. He may have been absolutely innocent in the court case and may be the greatest guy in the world, but how many players are the Rays going to draft and/or sign that have these character issues hanging over their heads. We understand taking a chance where others won’t and if it works out, the talent will exceed the price. But if you keep on knocking on the Devil’s door, eventually somebody is going to answer.
• Major League teams often keep career minor league catchers in their system, as it is the one position that is difficult to fill and regulars often are nicked up or hurt. These professional catchers often bounce from team to team and it is very common for one of these guys to play for three or four minor league teams in one season. These moves are based more on need by the individual teams than talent by the player. Josh Johnson is that guy for the Rays. Johnson, a Tampa native, has already been assigned to four different minor clubs this season and is currently the backup catcher in Durham. Johnson has even been used as a relief pitcher on several occasions. Mike Potter of the Durham Herald-Sun has an interview with Johnson and what it is like to be the Rays professional catcher.

The Hangover: Andy Sonnanstine Earns First Win And A Nickname

Devil Rays 9, Marlins 4. It is all about winning series. Find a way to win 2 of 3 every time out. The win yesterday gave the Rays their second straight series win and both were highly improbable. After losing the opening game of each series with bullpen melt-downs of historic proportions, the Rays bounced back to win the final two games of both match-ups (Did you realize that the Rays are two nuclear melt-downs away from an 8-game winning streak?).

Yesterday it was Andy Sonnanstine to the rescue with his first major league win. Sonny will never be an ace and some nights he will get knocked around pretty good, but he is very capable of performances like Sunday. We just need to wait and see how often we see a performance like Sunday’s. If that turns out to be the rule more than the exception, Sonny will be a legitimate #3 or #4 starter in the Rays rotation for years to come. Still, at this point, just the fact that he is capable of a start like this is an indication that he is a far better option than Jae Seo or Casey Fossum ever were.

Before Sonnanstine was promoted, we heard that it was difficult to compare Sonnanstine to any major leaguers because of the accuracy and the movement of the pitches and the different arm angles. The most common name we head was a poor-man’s Greg Maddux. After his first start, we thought Paul Byrd was a more accurate representation. That is to say that he is a crafty right hander. Rare indeed. But Sonny throws much harder than Byrd, who rarely breaks 85 nowadays. So is there another player we can come up with? Well, we were watching the Marlins broadcast of yesterday’s game and the announcers tossed out a third name which we had not thought of before. Orlando Hernandez…We like it. El Duque is the only other pitcher that we have ever seen that uses as many different arm angles. Also, it seems as if El Duque has never thrown a straight pitch in his life. So, if Hernandez is 58 years old as rumored, is Andy Sonnanstine the second coming? Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez…Andy “The Duke” Sonnastine? Only time will tell, but we must admit The Duke is fun to watch pitch.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• Andy Sonnanstine set a Devil Rays team record with 7 straight strike outs on Sunday.
• The Devil Rays had no choice but to shake up the bullpen, if for anything just to send a message to the rest of the team. On Sunday Chad Orvella and Tim Corcoran were optioned back to Durham.
• Buster Olney gives us a Q&A with James Shields. The interview is hidden behind the walls of ESPN’s “Insider”.
• Rocco Baldelli participated in an extended spring training game on Saturday. He is likely to play in four more before the team decides whether to activate Baldelli or send him on a rehab assignment.
• OK, maybe not the best reliever, but is Josh Wilson the second best?
• Maybe not, but we do like THIS SUGGESTION of making the rest of the staff watch the video of Josh Wilson’s performance. Maybe Joe Maddon could lock them in a room with the one inning on loop.
• Al Reyes and James Shields have much better chances to make the All-Star roster as pitchers than BJ Upton or Carl Crawford do as position players.
• Josh Vitters is NOT as good as Alex Rodriguez was in high school. So to compare the choice of David Price over Vitters as the same decision the Mariners made when they picked A-Rod over Darren Dreifort is ridiculous.
• According to Scott Kendrick the Devil Rays made a mistake by drafting the college pitcher over the high school hitter. He notes that the best #1 overall picks have been high school position players, pointing out the lack of a success among pitchers selected at the top of the draft. So, according to Kendrick, college pitchers should NEVER be drafted or David Price had a better chance of a solid major league career if he was drafted #2 or even in the 36th round. Neither makes sense. Mr. Kendrick…what we have here is what smart people call a “very small sample size”. Some pitchers succeed. A lot don’t. Whether or not a pitcher is going to be great has nothing to do with where he is drafted. It depends on the player and the team that drafts him. Maybe the position player is “safer” but hitters don’t win championships. Pitchers do.
• Based on the Rays drafting history only 2 or 3 of the 50 players selected
  will ever appear in a major league game.
  
• The Washington Nationals are reportedly pursuing Elijah Dukes.
• MLB Trade Rumors indicates that the Twins may be interested in acquiring Ty Wigginton. With the emergence of both BJ Upton, and Carlos Pena, this move makes sense.
• Off day today with an intriguing match-up tomorrow as the Padres come to town and will send out Greg Maddux against Scott Kazmir.