The Hangover: Innings Start To Pile Up For James Shields And Scott Kazmir

Red Sox 3, Devil Rays 0.
Well, you saw that one coming. Not only did the Rays not get to their hotel until 6:30 in the morning, but Red Sox fans are so desperate these days that one panicked member of Pink Sox Nation felt that the Scarlett Ho’s needed help against the team with the worst record in baseball. That’s right, at 8:00 AM the fire alarm at the Rays’ hotel “mysteriously” went off.

We never thought we would do this…but we are openly rooting for the Yankees to overcome the last few games so that the 2007 Red Sox go down in history as the team that blew a 14.5 game lead.

With James Shields throwing 6 more innings last night and Scott Kazmir on the mound tonight, the biggest concern for the last few weeks of the season is the number of innings pitched by each pitcher. After tonight, if Joe Maddon sticks to his five-man rotation for the rest of the season, both pitchers will have eight more starts. Kazmir is averaging 6 innings per start which puts him on pace for 205 for the year. Shields is averaging 6.8 innings per start and is on pace for 225.1 innings.

Young pitchers are notorious for having off-years after seasons in which they throw considerably more innings than they are used to. Kazmir’s professional career high is 186 innings in 2005, and if he throws 205 this year, that would only be a 10.2% increase over his previous career high. However, Kazmir may have felt the effects of throwing all those innings in 2005 by experiencing a tired shoulder in the second half of 2006.

Shields threw 186 innings last year which bested his previous career high by 43 innings. We may have seen the effects during a recent 8 start stretch in which he went 2-6, during which he may have been suffering from a “dead arm”. Still, Shields is on pace to top last years’ innings total by 21.1% which must be of concern for Joe Maddon, Andrew Friedman and Devil Rays fans everywhere.

It will be interesting to see how Maddon handles both pitchers down the stretch. We could see Maddon limit their pitch counts with both pitchers being pulled after 80-90 pitches in an effort to save their arms. The other option which may be more likely, is to see Friedman promote Jeff Niemann and go with a 6-man rotation for the final month of the season. Such a move would mean 1-2 fewer starts and 12-13 fewer innings in 2007.

Spring Training 2008 has already begun and several pitchers are auditioning for jobs. Such is not the case for Kid K and James Shields. Those two can already be penciled in at the top of the rotation so there is nothing left to prove in 2007 and no reason to push them too hard. Let them continue to work and continue to improve, but it is time to reel them back a little bit and ease up on their workload as a preventative measure for 2008.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• Tim Wakefield had a no-hitter through 6 innings that was broken up by Carl Crawford. [TBO]
• Both David Price and Fernando Cabrera remain unsigned. Why is everybody all worked up about Cabrera, a pitcher with a 5.00+ ERA each of the last two seasons? We have no idea. Could he be good? Sure. But people are acting like this guy is a savior. Calm down folks. His numbers mirror Chad Orvella. [TBO]
• Remember the crazy Canadian that tortured himself by writing about (pronounced “A-BOOT” in Canadian) the history of the Devil Rays? Well he is back today with a look at how things are getting better. [Jack Jock’s Thought]
• According to The Pig Pen, the Devil Rays have the worst uniforms in the American League. Certainly they do not have the history of the Yankees or the Red Sox, but the Rays green and grey are not that bad. In fact, we are hesitant to see the change of colors to be presented this fall. [The Pig Pen]

Down On The Farm: We Better Start Remembering The Name Ryan Royster

Durham 4, Charlotte 0. Mitch Talbot moved to 11-8 with 7 shutout innings. He is 5-1 in his last 6 starts and now tied with teammate Jeff Niemann for the IL lead in victories. Wes Bankston hit his 11th home run. Evan Longoria was given the night off.

Columbus 5, Hickory 2. Ryan Royster hit his 9th home run in the last 10 games. In those 10 games, he is 16-40 (.400) with 21 RBI and 15 runs scored. On the season he is 5th in the league with a .323 average and a league-leading 25 home runs. He has 87 RBI with a .951 OPS. Heath Rollins picked up his 14th win, allowing 2 unearned runs in 5 innings on 5 hits and 3 walks. He struck out 6.

Bristol 4, Princeton 1.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• Montgomery, Vero Beach and Hudson Valley all had the night off.
• Devil Rays farmhands have the most wins in the International League (Jeff Niemann/Mitch Talbot, 11), the Southern League (Chris Mason, 13) and the third most in the South Atlantic League (Heath Rollins, 13).

The Hangover: Jason Hammel Pitching Himself Out Of The 2008 Rotation

Rangers 9, Devil Rays 1.
Jason Hammel deserved a few starts worth of buffer from criticism as he adjusted back to being a starting pitcher. After making 13 starts in Durham, Hammel was called up to the Rays and inserted into the bullpen. At first it appeared as though he was one or two appearances away from replacing Edwin Jackson in the rotation, but then Jackson started to pitch a little better and Hammel was stuck in the ‘pen. With the demotion of JP Howell, Hammel finally got his opportunity to start again at the major league level after 10 relief appearances.

Hammel was going to need a few starts to lengthen out his arm and increase the pitch-load that he could sustain. We are now 5 starts into the conversion process and the reigns now come off and the pressure is on. Joe Maddon has made it clear that players are more likely to win positions for 2008 by their play in 2007 rather than their play in Spring Training. With at least two spots open, Hammel is auditioning for a spot in the 2008 rotation and he is off to a bad start. His numbers at Durham were solid (3.42 ERA), but he did have occasional bouts of control problems. He averaged 3.30 walks per 9 innings to go with 7 wild pitches in 13 starts. The problem has only gotten worse at the major league level, as he is averaging 5.92 walks per 9 innings after walking 4 more last night in his 4 innings of work.

In two stints as a starting pitcher with the Rays, Hammel’s numbers have failed to impress and they are only exasperated by his inability to find the strike zone. Nothing irks a manager more than a walk. If Hammel has any hopes of being a starting pitcher at the major league level in 2008 he needs to start hitting the strike zone on a more consistent basis. Otherwise, one of those “?”s in the 2008 rotation will not be replaced with the name “Jason Hammel”.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• A little overdue but the CorkBoard (in side panel) has been updated. Enjoy.
• With two days left to sign David Price we have upped our alert level to “scared shitless”. Pressure from Major League Baseball could be making the negotiations more difficult than they need to be. If the Rays fail to sign Price, the team will receive a compensatory pick next year after the #1 pick, and we will award the team and Major League Baseball a compensatory middle finger. [tampabay.com]
• We would like to present Ken Daley with this weeks “Captain Obvious Award” for pointing out that the Devil Rays are not likely to have a 20-game winner this season. Considering the franchise record for wins in a season is 14 (Rolando Arrojo, 1998) and that the team is now 3/4 of the way through the season and the team leaders have 9 wins, we would be happy if either Scott Kazmir or James Shields won 15. Of course with only 6 weeks remaining, that would require 6 wins by one of the young hurlers in their final 9-10 starts. [Devil Rays]
• The runner up for the “Captain Obvious Award” goes to Matt Silverman when asked about the negotiations with David Price as the Wednesday deadline approaches. [TBO]

“If he ends up not getting signed, it’s because we couldn’t reach an agreement with him,” said Silverman.

• Marc Topkin redeems what little faith we had in Rays writers with something “not-so-obvious”. Jonny Gomes was inserted into the leadoff spot last night by Joe Maddon and Topkin cited Gomes’ OBP and that he “has some speed”. Gomes has some speed? Huh-wah? We were ready to jump on Topkin for this guffaw but we decided to looked it up first. Did you know that Gomes was 23-25 in 2003 with AA Orlando? Neither did we. And with his stolen base last night (albeit a terrible throw), Gomes is now 9-11 this season combined between Durham and Tampa Bay. Who knew that Mr. Kotter could gets those legs moving between first and second? [tampabay.com]
• A scheduling quirk had the Rays playing a night game on getaway day. The late time, meant the team would not likely be in their Boston hotel rooms until about 6:00 am. With noontime temperatures approaching 105, the late start was understandable, but will likely leave the team sluggish in their series opener against the Scarlett Hose. Tonight’s starter James Shields made the trip a day ahead of the rest of the team so that he may be well-rested. [TBO]
• The Red Sox lead in the AL East is down to 4 games. Is there panic in the land of pink hats? I didn’t know there was baseball in Ireland?! reviews the various panic levels in the Red Sox blogosphere…HA! There was panic when the lead was back to single-digits. It is the nature of Red Sox nation. How much fun would it be if the Red Sox lost another game or two at the hand of the Rays. Oh boy! We are starting to get giddy for this series. [I didn’t know there was baseball in Ireland?!]
• Red Sox Chick lists the “Reasons to be cheerful”, with number 6 being that the Devil Rays are in town. The list sounds like she is trying just as much to convince herself as much as she is trying to convince the rest of the Pink Hat Nation…Can this be? Are we openly rooting for the Yankees to catch the Red Sox? Ahhh, the Evil of Two Lessers. [Red Sox Chick]
• HAHAHAHA! [Over The Monster]
• A Canadian blogger looks at the history of the Devil Rays in part 1 of a 2-part series. Who knew it could take so many words and two entire posts. We could do it in four words…”Big pile of poo”. [Jack Jock’s Thought]

Down On The Farm: Durham Bulls Making A Playoff Push

While we try to bring the goings on with the Rays’ minor league affiliates, there is only so much we can talk about when we rarely, if ever, see these prospects play. The other problem we face with the minor league affiliates is the duality of these teams. They exist to serve the major league franchise. But at the same time, each of these teams have their own fans that root hard for their teams to do well.

With 21 games remaining in the regular season, the Durham Bulls are 66-55, 2.5 games behind Richmond in the IL South division and only 1 game back in the wild card race.

Today we bring you guest writer Chris Wise, a Durham Bulls fan, who gives us a late-season look at the “State of the Team”. His words follow the normal links…
—————–

Durham 4, Charlotte 3. Jae Seo struck out 7 and walked none in 7 innings. He was touched for 3 runs on 7 hits. Chad Orvella gave up a hit and 2 walks, but settled down to pick up his 17th save. Evan Longoria was 1-3 with a double and an RBI. Jason Pridie was 1-3 with 2 walks. He stole his 7th base.

Chattanooga 8, Montgomery 3. Reid Brignac was 2-4 and hit his 16th home run. He drove in 2. Chris Nowak was 2-3 and homered in his first action in a month.

Vero Beach 8, Lakeland 2. The Rays scored 6 runs in the final three innings to break a 2-2 tie. Doug Waechter allowed 2 runs in 4.1 innings. He gave up 7 hits and struck out 5 while walking none. JT Hall homered for the third time in four games. Sergio Pedroza was 3-5 with 2 doubles and 2 RBI.

Hickory 17, Columbus 3. Rough night for Will Kline in only his sixth professional start. In 2 innings, Kline gave up 12 hits and 11 runs including 3 home runs. The Catfish picked up only 4 hits.

Lowell 2, Hudson Valley 1. Jason Ragan pitched 6 innings, and gave up only 2 runs but the Renegades managed only 3 hits, 2 by shortstop Shawn O’Malley.

Princeton 14, Bristol 8. Nick Barnese gave up 5 runs in 3 innings, but Austin Hinkle came on and pitched 5 scoreless innings of relief. He gave up 2 hits and walked none while striking out 4. Catcher Mark Thomas was 4-4 with 2 doubles and his second home run. He drove in 5. Kyeong Kang was 3-4 with a double and his second home run. He scored 4 runs.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• Ryan Royster did not homer yesterday for the first time in 7 games. [MiLB]

DURHAM BULLS State of the Team [By Chris Wise]
Obviously, the Bulls are a pretty good AAA team. We’re in the hunt for a playoff spot, mostly because we’ve had a very good run since breaking through the .500 barrier on the 24th of June (24-16 since then). We’re now 8 games over .500 and have a shot at either a wild card spot or winning the Southern division.

We’ve got a good mix of young and veteran position players. None has a stellar batting average or any other great individual stats. But together they’ve been winning games. [a detail not lost on us. Winning is often an attitude and several of these players were involved with the Montgomery team that won the SL last season. Maybe the attitude will carry over to the big leagues next season-RI]

Coaching/Managing: Such an improvement from last year. I started keeping a chart of “ejections” last year. Manager/coach crew could not keep the youngsters under control and it showed on the field. Manager himself thrown out quite a bit. This year the crew seems to know their stuff and seems to make mostly good decisions…Notable is the performance of the pitching under the management/coaching.

Catcher: I thought that was going to be this year’s problem position. Shawn Riggans was with us last year, but in and out of the lineup and that’s the way he’s been this year both before and after being called up. At first I thought the veteran Raul Cassanova was going to be the stabilizing influence, but Tampa called him up. Fortunately, Michel Hernandez was found and signed. A real pro, he’s probably made as much difference as anyone in these last few weeks, because the backup catcher, Josh Johnson, just hasn’t been able to handle the job all that well. Johnson’s been around for all of last year and this. Our section of the stands calls him the “ghost” catcher since he’s often assigned to Hudson Valley on paper to make room on the roster. On the other hand, Johnson is among the leaders in pitching stats (ERA of 0.00 in two appearances in desperate circumstances).

First Base: Hasn’t settled down all year. Wes Bankston is having a streaky year and spent almost a month on the DL. Chris Richard has played 1st and outfield and is a fine player. Another veteran (29) he’s now on the DL ,but should be back soon. And then there’s Jo-el. (Guzman). Since the arrival of Longoria (and for a few games before that) Guzman has been playing 1st, DHing, and playing an occasional 3rd. He’s a surprisingly good 3rd baseman. He just doesn’t look like a 3rd baseman (6’6″, 250). He’s got a very awkward running style, and ev
en more awkward look at the plate. And he hits in streaks. Often looks like he’s not even paying attention and then he’ll whack the ball way over the Monster, once dinging the steel in the building under construction across the street. [Video can be found HERE-RI]

Click here to continue reading…

Second Base: Mostly handled by Elliot Johnson who I’d say if the fans’ biggest disappointment this year. Only hitting .209 and a thoroughly unreliable leadoff batter (not sure why he’s being kept there, but that’s where he’s played since the departure of Zobrist). Not a great glove either. [Likely being kept there at the request of the parent club-RI]

Shortstop: Now handled by Jorge Velandia. Yet another solid veteran ballplayer. If within his range, he gets the ball and makes the play, and his range is pretty good. Not a great hitter, but seems to do well in clutch situations. Was mostly disappointed in Zobrist this year, but that was tempered by the fact that finally we didn’t have to watch BJ any more. Two years of seeing him make the spectacular play and botch the simple ones was more than enough for us. But Zobrist was really coming around in the weeks before being called up. Particularly good at getting on base. Was making a difference since he was batting leadoff.

Third: Have only seen Longoria in a couple of games so far and appreciate the he’s Tampa’s great hope for the future. Looks pretty good. Hope that he gets the chance to settle in and make a real contribution.

Brent Butler is another Bulls stalwart. Has played every infield position and left field this year. Gets a clutch hit from time to time. May never see the majors, but keeps things on track down here.

Outfield: Latest addition, Jon Weber, is a real find. Full of energy. Serious threat at the plate. Doing a fine job in left field…Jason Pridie came up from Montgomery a few weeks ago and is doing a good job at the plate and in the field. I’d consider him a solid prospect and I’m so happy that Tampa doesn’t need him. I really like the way he and Weber and the next two handle themselves.

Justin Ruggiano is also doing a fine job. Covers the field nicely. Can hit a timely home run. And has some speed on the bases. Jeremy Owens is another solid player. Been around for a while. Something of a utility outfielder, but decent bat, arm, and slugging capability.

Pitching: Until the last couple of days I was more than pleased with this year’s pitching, both starters and relievers. Not sure what’s happened in the bullpen recently, but think I’ll blame it on the manager for leaving starters in too long (that’s certainly what’s happened to Seo in his last two starts. He needed to come out sooner.) In my opinion Tampa did a real disservice to Andy Sonnanstine by calling him up this year. I don’t think he was ready. Not sure that TB had a real choice in the matter since he was probably the better of the ones down here at the time.

Two of our starters, Talbot (who’s been here all year) and Prochaska (who’s only been here a short while) show some real promise. You know about Seo and Ryu and Howell. Niemann is another who just needs to be left alone with a good coach and challenging batters and a veteran catcher for a while. Very promising.

Tampa knows our bullpen too. Up until the last few games, we were getting really solid work from both Ridgeway (set up) and Orvella (closer), but not lately. Here’s hoping they get back on track, or we won’t make the playoffs. New guys, Shackleford, Medlock, and (for us) Camp haven’t had much of a chance yet. Switzer has always done a fine job down here. Not sure why he’s had so much trouble down Tampa way.

Pitching is, of course, where we are most hostage to the vagaries of Tampa. Realize that it was time to let him go, but it sure was fun to watch Seth McClung on the mound. Not sure that he was ever really sure where his ball was going, but he sure could throw it hard.

So how do we get into the playoffs this year? Sure would be nice to hope that Tampa will leave us alone, but given their troubles, that’s not likely. On the other hand, barring injury, really no place for our position players to go. So that leaves the pitching. Really no good reason to screw up Neimann’s development (but I’m betting they will). Niemann could win a couple of games for us that might make all the difference. Even if he could win a couple for Tampa, it won’t make a difference. But I’m resigned to the probability that he’ll be gone in a couple of weeks. Here’s hoping that whomever they send down has his head screwed on right and will win a couple of games for us.

The Hangover: Edwin Jackson? Seriously?

Devil Rays 3, Rangers 0.
Don’t do this to us Edwin. Don’t you dare do this to us. There have been too many pitchers with “promising” careers that would go out and throw one great start and we would think “maybe, just maybe.” We don’t have the stomach for it anymore. We want you to look all of our friends and family in the eyes and tell them you are serious. Tell them that you are for real, because they are the ones that have to deal with our moody selves and pick up the pieces after every game when you have given up 6 runs in 3 innings and we scream your name in pain. If last night was an aberration then do us a favor and just get knocked out of your next start in the first inning so that we won’t get our hopes up. The Rays need a third starter. Jeff Niemann has yet to dominate AAA and David Price, Wade Davis and Jake McGee are all still more than a year away. Mitch Talbot and Jason Hammel? We have no idea yet. But we do know that none of them have your “stuff”. You are the one if you can make it work.

That is why we call him “Nuke”. The kid has a million dollar arm and that was never more evident than last night. Has there ever been a more improbable 4-hit shutout? Edwin Jackson entered last night’s game with a 2-11 record and a 6.06 ERA. And that does not even consider that Jackson had not pitched past 1 out in the 7th inning in his previous 23 starts this season. Jackson had never finished the 8th inning in his major league career and he had never pitched a 9-inning complete game, much less a shutout, in his entire professional career.

But on this evening, Nuke Jackson struck out 8 and walked only 1. On this night Nuke was touching 99 on the gun in the 9th inning. IN THE 9TH INNING!

Either make the step forward Nuke, or get out of the way. But whatever you do. DO NOT TEASE US.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• It has long been suspected that the Devil Rays would change their name to just “Rays” after this season. The acquisition of a new domain for the team’s website appears to confirm this move. [TBO]
• Scott Dohmann has not been scored upon in his last 8 appearances. Those games cover 8 innings, in which he has given up 2 hits and 5 walks. [Devil Rays]

Down On The Farm: Shawn Bleepin’ Camp Is Closing Games In Durham

Durham 3, Charlotte 2. JP Howell continues to perform well at the AAA level. Yesterday, he struck out 9 and walked none while allowing 2 runs in 7.1 innings. He gave up 9 hits and improved to 5-6 with a 3.20 ERA. In an interesting move, the organization has been using Shawn Camp to close games since being demoted. He picked up his third save with 4 strikeouts as he recorded the final 5 outs. He allowed 2 hits and a walk. Wes Bankston was 3-4 and hit a solo home run in the Bulls’ three-run third. Evan Longoria was 1-3 with a walk and a strikeout. He is hitting .300.

Montgomery 5, Chattanooga 3. James Houser struck out 7, but gave up 6 hits and 4 walks in 4 innings. Tim Corcoran picked up the save with a perfect 9th. Three Biscuits picked up two hits apiece, including Rhyne Hughes who is now hitting .343.

Vero Beach 5, Lakeland 1 (7 innings/Rain). Jay Witasick started the game for his second rehab outing. He worked one innings, striking out 1 and walking 1, giving up no hits or runs. Josh Butler came on in relief and pitched 3.2 scoreless innings allowing 2 hits and 2 walks. Jackson Brennan was the only Rays hitter with more than one hit, going 2-3 with a walk.

Columbus 8, Greensboro 6. Woods Fines started and gave up 8 hits and 2 runs in 4 innings. Ryan Reid, the Rays 7th round pick in 2006, pitched the final 3 innings without giving up a run to pick up his 6th win. Ryan Royster (24), Quinn Stewart (20) and Matt Fields (15) all homered for the Catfish and drove in 2. Royster was 3-5 and is now hitting .321.

Lowell 2, Hudson Valley 1. Alex Cobb, the Rays 4th round pick last year, made his 11th start, throwing 6 shutout innings. He struck out 1 and walked 3, giving up 3 hits. The bullpen blew the lead giving up single runs in the 8th to tie and the 9th for the loss.

Johnson City 3, Princeton 1 (11 innings). Jeremy Hall pitched 7 shutout innings, giving up 5 hits and striking out 6 while walking none. He is now 3-1 with a 1.46 ERA in 10 starts, allowing only 1 run in his last three starts.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• Mike Potter sits down with Joel Guzman and talks to the slugger about being traded, changing positions and getting off to a slow start [Durham Herald-Sun]
• If you want to know what kind of person Montgomery pitcher Chris Mason is. All you need to know is that in his next start, he will be sporting his 4th hair color of the season. However, this incarnation will be for a good cause as he will dye his hair pink to raise breast cancer awareness. Mason leads the SL in wins and ERA. [Montgomery Advertiser]
• Baseball America’s JJ Cooper and Matt Eddy discuss the Durham Bulls and their young prospects, including Evan Longoria and Jason Pridie. [Durham Bulls]
• Rays Digest takes a close look at Jeremy Hellickson. [Rays Digest]

The Hangover: Casey Fossum Tries Not To Let Door Hit Him In The Ass On The Way Out

Rangers 7, Devil Rays 4.
Remember that 2-game winning streak and series-split in Detroit? Seems like a distant memory after last night’s loss and knowing that Edwin Jackson is on the mound tonight.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• Andy Sonnanstine is learning that what worked in the minors is not necessarily going to work in the majors and that he will need to take a different approach on the mound. The Duke is learning that he cannot get away with bad breaking pitches like he could at other levels. The breaking balls were so bad last night that even Joe Maddon was critical. [TBO]

“The breaking ball’s what’s getting him in trouble right now,” said Maddon. “He did a lot better job with his fastball today and he made some bad pitches with his breaking ball that they hurt us with. … We have to get beyond that with him. We have to make better pitches in those moments and he’s got to get his breaking pitches to better locations.”

• Did the Devil Rays cost the Red Sox a World Series title in 2005 and a shot at back-to-back championships? Gee we hope so. [Sully Baseball]
• Casey Fossum had to choose between being sent to AAA Durham and free agency. He opted for Free Agency and the Rays released the veteran on Friday. Fossum may choose to stay home for the rest of the season with his newborn as the Rays are still on the tab for the rest of Fossum’s 2007 salary as well as his 2008 buyout of $300,000. [Bradenton Herald]
• In the latest Baseball Prospectus Power Rankings (Devil Rays are 29th), they summed up the 2007 version of Casey Fossum better than we could have ever hoped. We would have chosen “vomit-inducing”. [Baseball Prospectus]

The Rays finally take mercy on their fans and demote Casey Fossum, whose VORP is so low we have to get special permission from Keith Woolner just to display it (if you’re looking at just the Rays staff, you’ll want to invest in appropriate protection). Fossum’s 7.70 ERA may be dreadful, but consider that it’s dressing up a major-league worst 9.21 Fair Run Average. Kudos to the Rays for taking only until the first week of August to figure out that wasn’t working.

• Carl Crawford was named the MVN “MLB Power Slugger of the Week”. [Power Rankings]
• There is a lot of talk that the Rays are interested in released relief pitcher Fernando Cabrera. We don’t mind taking a flyer on the kid, but we are weary. He has impressive minor league numbers but has been given several chances to succeed at the major league level. In 33.2 innings this season he has a 5.61 ERA and 39 strikeouts to go with 22 walks. Last season he posted a 5.19 ERA in 60.2 innings with 71 strikeouts and 32 walks. [tampabay.com]
• Rocco Baldelli is hoping to make a rehab appearance by the end of the month and be back with the parent club soon thereafter. But when he does return he will not resume his role of starting center fielder. BJ Upton will continue to be the regular center fielder and Baldelli will get spot starts there occasionally. He will also see time in right field and left field when Carl Crawford and Delmon Young need days off. [TBO]
• Marc Lancaster says that “all indications are the Devil Rays will be able to work out a deal with top overall draft pick David Price by Wednesday’s deadline…” yet he does not let the readers know what those indications are. No quotes. No hunches. No actions. If Price does sign there is no indication as to whether or not he will make his professional debut this season. The minor league seasons end in 2-3 weeks. [TBO]

“If he does sign with the Rays,” [Bo] McKinnis said (David Price’s representative), “then he is definitely in shape to pitch in games, if the Devil Rays choose for him to do so…David is extremely competitive,” McKinnis said. “He hasn’t been in competition since early June, so he’s anxious to pitch in any game – a Vanderbilt game, a Hudson Valley game, a Columbus game, etc.”

Down On The Farm: Dirtbag May Bring Home Southern League’s Top Honor

Toledo 4, Durham 0. Mike Prochaska walked 6 in 5 innings and allowed 2 runs (1 earned). The Bulls collected only 4 hits, 2 by Justin Ruggiano who also stole his 22nd and 23rd bases of the season. Evan Longoria was 0-4 with 3 strikeouts.

Montgomery 7, Chattanooga 4. Gabriel Martinez broke a 3-3 tie in the 7th inning with a 3-run home run. He had 4 RBI total. Josh Arhart added a solo home run later in the inning, his first since last year. Arhart missed considerable action this year with a back injury.Rhyne Hughes was 2-3 with an RBI and he is now hitting .323. Reid Brignac was 1-3 with 2 walks and scored 3 runs. He also stole his 13th base.

Lakeland 7, Vero Beach 6. JT Hall was 3-4 and hit his 8th home run and his 15th double. The Rays rallied to score 3 in the 9th to tie the game, but Kevin Lynn allowed an unearned run in the bottom half of the inning when first baseman Shawn Williams committed an error with two outs that allowed the runner from third to score.

Columbus 15, Greensboro 9. Jeremy Hellickson is now 11-2 after striking out 10 and walking only 1 in 5 innings. He did struggle and allow 6 runs including 2 home runs. He received plenty of offensive support as the Catfish scored in 7 different innings. Ryan Royster hit 2 home runs and drove in 6. He now has 23 on the season. Six other players added at least 2 hits apiece, including Quinn Stewart who hit his 19th home run and Cesar Suarez who was 3-6 and drove in 3.

Hudson Valley 6, Lowell 5. After only 4 extra-base hits in his first 40 hits, Stephen Vogt has a double and a home run in his last two games. Last night he went 3-4 with his 3rd home run and he drove in 4. Jesse Darcymoved to 4-4 after holding Lowell to 2 runs in 5 innings.

Johnson City 6, Princeton 0. Tyree Hayes dropped to 3-5 after giving up 6 runs in 5 innings. No Rays were able to manage more than one hit and all six hits were singles.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• Although he may never where a AA uniform again in his professional career, Evan Longoria is still a strong candidate to win the Southern League’s MVP award this year. [Montgomery Advertiser]

Longoria left the Biscuits with a .307 average, 21 home runs and 76 RBIs — all among the league leaders in the high-profile Triple Crown categories.
Entering Friday, more than a week after his departure, he was seventh in batting average, second in home runs and second in RBIs. Longoria’s double-figure lead in runs scored had been whittled to five by Friday.
“He’s a legitimate candidate,” Huntsville Stars manager Don Money said. “He’s got good power, he plays third base well. Everything he does is good. He’s got a good approach at the plate.
“I’d have no problem if he won.”

Remapping Florida Within The United Countries of Baseball

Earlier this week, this map representing the “United Countries of Baseball” made the rounds on these here internets. The map comes to us from a Niketown location (where?) via Strange Maps.

The map is quite intriguing in mapping out the dominant loyalties of baseball fans and how far they extend beyond the city and state within which the individual teams play. It is our feeling that based on our time throughout the country, most of the boundaries are at least fairly accurate representations. For example, having spent our formative college years at the University of Iowa (don’t ask) in Iowa City, Iowa, we can tell you for certain that 90% of Iowans are Cubbie fans.

However, we have to take issue with the representative boundaries for the state of Florida. In short, they were far too generous to the in-state teams, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and the Florida Marlins.

Here is a close-up of the state of Florida as represented in the United Countries of Baseball.

As most people know, Florida is a melting-pot of people that have moved there from all of the country with most coming from the Northeast. Most of these people, if baseball fans, come with predetermined loyalties.

We felt the need to correct the boundaries as depicted above and lay out the true fandom boundaries within our beautiful state.

The Braves continue to dominate northern Florida. In fact, we would argue that the Braves are underrepresented throughout the country. Much of the unincorporated territory in the west is probably Braves and/or Cubs country as both of those teams gained healthy followings in the ’80s due to the daily national broadcasts of their baseball games.

While the New York Yankees play in the South Bronx, Tampa is clearly Bronx South. Anybody that has ever been to the Trop for a D-Rays-Yankees match, can certainly tell you that 75-80% of the fans in attendance are rooting for the pinstripes. In fact, the Devil Rays have only had three non-opening day sellouts in the history of Tropicana Field. All three of those games were against the Yankees. This is not surprising considering the number of New Yawkers that have moved to the area as well as the number of people that jumped on the bandwagon in the late 90s.

The Mets dominate the Miami area. Again, this is due to the large number of Long Islanders in the Miami area and the draw of the NL East rival which leads to 9-10 Mets games in Miami every season. We also would not be surprised if most Mets fans list “Scarface” as their favorite movie.

The Red Sox? Sure they draw large numbers to the Trop when they come to town, but most of those fans wear pink or green hats and don’t know that the Mets had already tied Game 6 of the ’86 World Series before the ground ball that went through Bill Buckner’s legs. In short, they really don’t count, but we will give them a little bandwagon out in the Gulf of Mexico.

As for the Devil Rays and the Marlins. The contingencies are small but growing. OK. Maybe the Marlins fanbase is not growing. How else can you explain the attendance levels for a team that has won more World Series in the past 10 years, than the Red Sox have won in the past 88 years? On the other hand, there is is a strong baseball fan base in the Tampa-St.Pete area that is just begging for a competitive team. When that happens, the Devil Rays nation will grow and be able to compete (at least locally) with the Yankees.

The United Countries of Baseball [Strange Maps]

Joe Maddon Knows As Much About The Rays Minor Leaguers As Your Mom

Joe Maddon commented on minor league relief pitcher Dale Thayer before yesterday’s game. Thayer was recently promoted from AA Montgomery to AAA Durham. Of course, to say he “commented on” is being generous. Rather, it was more like Papa Joe telling us that he knows nothing about Dale Thayer.

All I know is he puts up great numbers. He pitched that one inning for us in spring training [against the Mets on March 31] and I liked his aggressiveness. His fastball was like a 92-93 mile an hour fastball, it looked like he pitched up in the zone a little bit. I’m not really sure about his breaking stuff, exactly what that’s all about, but I saw an aggressive guy. You look at his numbers in Double-A the last two years and they’re crazy good. [Joe Maddon]

How is it that the manager of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays does not know any more about one of the team’s top pitching prospects than the average fan? Thayer owns the Southern League record for saves in a season and the only thing that Papa Joe knows about Thayer comes from one inning in Spring Training when it looked like he pitched up in the zone a bit. Has Papa Joe ever read a scouting report on Dale Thayer? We know more about Dale Thayer just by googling his name.

[From Scout.com] “He has a power fastball,” Tye Waller, the Padres Director of Player Development, said. “When he can command that breaking ball and locate that breaking ball he is tough to deal with. Hopefully we can make that improvement so he can do it at the next level.” His fastball sits in the low-nineties and besides the curveball, Thayer also throws a slider which is quite effective. He also sports a changeup that he would like to throw more often. Thayer admits his breaking ball needs some work, “to get a better breaking pitch, so I am not always just throwing fastball.”

We love Joe Maddon. We really do. But even we are starting to question if being a major league manager is right for him. Whenever others speak of Maddon, they always praise his player development skills. So why does he know so little about the Rays minor league system?

when discussing potential changes? For a team that is so reliant on their farm system, wouldn’t it be a good idea if We understand it is not his focus and it is Andrew Friedman and Co.’s job to scout the minor leaguers. We also understand there is plenty of “player development” to be done at the major league level with such a young team. But is it too much to ask for that Papa Joe read a scouting report every once and a while? Doesn’t Friedman consult with MaddonMaddon knew something…anything about these players before he sits down in Friedman’s office?

The Professor: Hey Joe…There is a kid at Durham. He is name is Evan Longoria. Heard he is pretty good with the bat. Considering his bat speed, would you trust him late in a game against power pitcher?
Papa Joe: His numbers in the minors are crazy good.
The Professor: Eh, nevermind.

Maddon on Thayer [TBO]
Scouting Report: Dale Thayer [Scout.com]