What Do You Like Better..Christmas Or Trading Season?

We are now only a little over two months from the trading deadline, but it is never too early to speculate on who the Devil Rays will move before July 31st. This past off-season, the Rays were expected to big players in the trade market with several of their young players rumored to be on the move to any of a number of different teams. When the dust settled, Rocco Baldelli, Carl Crawford, BJ Upton and Elijah Dukes were all still members of the team and only two minor trades for Brendan Harris and Jae Kuk Ryu were made (Brendan Harris was considered a minor acquisition at the time).

The hesitancy this past winter should not carry over to this season. Expect the Rays to be very active in the next two months and this upcoming off-season. And unlike seasons past, any trades made this season will not involve dumping free agents-to-be for minor league prospects that are 2-3 years away. Without any veterans with expiring contracts, there are a handful of veterans they may choose to move, but all are signed for 2008 or have team options at relatively cheap prices. In addition, the team will be looking for major league talent or players that are very close to being ready for the big leagues.

While the focus will undoubtedly be on acquiring major league-ready pitching, the team will be more willing to accept hitting talent this season. With a number of top hitting prospects already playing at the Trop, the pendulum of talent has shifted to the pitching side as the farm system is heavy with major league pitching prospects.

So today let’s speculate on who could be moved and why. We are laying odds on which Devil Rays are most likely to be moved before July 31...

Elijah Dukes 1:1
Before this week teams may have been holding tight and hoping the Rays would just release Elijah Dukes. That move appears to be dead and any team that is interested in Dukes will now have to reconsider what they would be willing to part with for the 5-tool talent and potential future all-star. Dukes can be had for cheap, but he won’t be free. If the Rays trade Dukes now, they will be lucky to get a decent relief pitcher for him which about the same as trading in a brand new BMW with a 2 flat tires for a used Taurus with a clean bill of health. But in the end it is our feeling that the Rays front office has had enough and there seems to be just enough interest out there from other teams that somebody may up the ante just enough to tempt the Rays and take a chance on either the next Lawrence Phillips or the next Gary Sheffield.

Al Reyes 3:2
The Rays have an option year on Reyes for 2008 at $1 million but can be as high as $2.5 million with incentives. For a top-tier closer that is a bargain. But Reyes will be highly sought after this July by contenders that are all looking for bullpen help. How far are the Rays willing to push a relief pitcher with two Tommy John surgeries and who will be 38 in 2008? Chances are not very far. His value will never be higher and while the thought of a bullpen without Reyes in August and September is scary, look for Reyes to bring the Rays back a solid young pitching prospect.

Casey Fossum 2:1
The Rays also have an option on Fossum for 2008 at a relatively cheap price of $3 million. However, there doesn’t appear to be a spot for Fossum on the 20o8 roster and while $3 million is cheap for a lefty starter, it is not what the Rays want to pay a lefty specialist out of the ‘pen. Fossum’s demotion to the bullpen most likely increased his value to the Rays. If he can show in the next two months that he can consistently get out lefties, some team will roll the dice and toss the Rays a AAA pitcher for a lefty that can work as a specialist out of the ‘pen and can also fill in as an emergency starter down the stretch.

Ty Wigginton 3:1
Wiggy is an interesting case. He has now proven that 2006 was not a fluke. He is a consistent bat that has proven to be a clutch hitter when it matters most. He also has exceptional positional flexibility and has started games this season at first, third and second. Arbitration eligible, Wiggy makes $2.7 million this season and will likely command $3-3.5 million in 2008. With the emergence of Carlos Pena, Wiggy is now expendable and would make a perfect fit for the Twins who are looking for an upgrade for Nick Punto at third. Wiggy would also free up a roster spot for the Twins as they are a rare team that carries three catchers and Wiggy could serve as the emergency third string catcher. He is also the type of player that the Twins love. A team player that will do whatever he is asked to do to help the club win. The Twins appear to have their collective sights on Mike Lowell of the Red Sox at this moment, but if that falls through they are likely to re-address Wigginton. The Yankees could also be an option, but if George Steinbrenner is involved it might not happen as King George would never take a chance on helping the Rays.

Carlos Pena 5:1
The odds are about 3:2 that the Rays would move Pena or Wigginton. It is just a matter of which one at this point. The Rays control Pena for two more seasons, but his arbitration case this off-season will give him a large raise in pay. Finally emerging as the great hitter that many had projected, the Rays will be willing to pay a higher salary for the next two seasons if they believe that this recent surge is not a fluke. If they think he is peaking, they may decide to sell high and a team like the Yankees that is looking for an upgrade at first base have some solid pitching prospects.

Jorge Cantu 10:1
Cantu…Cantu…Cantu…This is a player the Rays would love to move but it doesn’t look like they will find any buyers. It is not a good sign when BJ Upton goes on the DL and the team does not even have enough confidence in Cantu’s defensive or offensive abilities to give him any starts at second base in Upton’s absence. So right now he is a first baseman with no experience at first base, that may or may not be able to hit major league pitching. If Cantu is moved, he won’t bring much back in return.

Rocco Baldelli 30:1
Despite his continued struggles with hamstring injuries, teams are likely to approach the Rays and see how much it will cost to acquire the center fielder. Hamstring injuries are something that a player is capable of over-coming and Rocco showed in the second half of 2006 that he is still a formidable force when he is healthy. If Rocco was healthy and if Elijah Dukes wasn’t such a mischievous badger, this number would be much lower. But if we know one thing about the Rays front office, it is that they are smart businessmen and trading Rocco now is not a smart business move. His value could not be any lower unless he decides to send Joe Maddon a picture of a gu
n and/or impregnates Carl Crawford. The Rays are more likely to work with Baldelli to change his running style and improve his hamstrings and wait for him to once again be the great center fielder everybody knows he can be. Then again, the Red Sox are probably secretly drooling over the New England native with the light complexion and good looks, that would be an instant star in Beantown. If the Red Sox do try to acquire Rocco, it is more likely to happen in the off-season, rather than risk inserting an injury-prone player into the middle of a world series run.

The Hangover: Edwin Jackson Could Be Key To Chasing Charlie Hough

Devil Rays 9, Dodgers 4.
Early on, it looked like yet another typical performance from Edwin Jackson. After allowing 4 hits (including a home run) and 2 runs in the top of the first, Jackson settled down and held the Dodgers to 5 hits and a walk over the next 5 innings, and did not allow a run. It was not a great performance. The Rays should be able to expect more than just 6 innings and 89 pitches from a 23-year old that appears to be pitching well. However, Jackson was good enough to pick up his first win since 2005 and his first win as a member of the Devil Rays.

And while it was not a great performance it was all that the Rays need from a 5th starter. If Jackson can take the ball every 5th day and give the team 6 innings and hold the opposition to 3 runs or less, that should be good enough for the Rays to win half of the time and that is all you can ever hope to expect from a 5th starter. So maybe Jackson is good enough for the back end of the rotation. As long as he keeps the number of implosions to a minimum and begins to show progress towards becoming some semblance of the pitcher some seem to think he can be, then Jackson will remain in the rotation and Jason Hammel better get used to his role in the bullpen.

After winning 2 of 3 from the Dodgers over the weekend, the Devil Rays are now 14-12 since May 27 and are 4-3-2 in their last 9 series. Don’t look now folks, but the Devil Rays are a competitive team. The Charlie Hough Line is still within shouting distance, but the Rays will have a tough time getting any closer over the next 11 games, with 4 at the Trop against the White Sox, 4 on the road at Cleveland followed by 3 in Boston. Compounding the difficulty of this portion of the schedule is that the Rays are 3 games into a stretch in which they have 17 straight games without an off-day, the last 10 of which will be on the road. The only benefit is that the Rays will end the first half of the season on the road in Kansas City, with an opportunity to enter the all-star break on a positive note.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• Carl Crawford has 67 triples since the start of the 2003 season. That is 19 more than the next highest total. Crawford says the key to his success is thinking three right out of the box and taking very sharp turns at first and second base, which goes against traditional baseball thinking.
• The Devil Rays have several all-star candidates for the July 10th mid-summer classic. Al Reyes is nearly assured a spot. The question is whether the Rays can secure 2 spots on the roster.
• Stuart Sternberg addressed the media about the team’s decision to inactivate Elijah Dukes. Sternberg speaks of helping Dukes and that for the first time, Dukes wants to be helped and to be better. However, it seems clear that the team would have traded Dukes if an acceptable offer had been made and will now hold on to Dukes in the hopes that his value will increase in the future.

The Hangover: Devil Rays Blow Yet Another Big Lead

Diamondbacks 10, Devil Rays 8.
Remember the second moment that we were bracing for? Al Reyes blowing a save was that moment. We were starting to get a little too comfortable with Reyes at the back end of the bullpen. No closer is perfect and Reyes proved that last night surrendering a 2-run home run in the 9th inning to tie the game, and another in the 10th inning to give the D-Backs the victory.

We understand that the bullpen was thin and that only Brian Stokes was left, but we are big believers that once a closer blows the lead that they need to be removed from the game. Closers pitch on adrenaline more than any other pitcher and quite often once that lead is surrendered, there seems to be a little air that is let out of the balloon and they don’t pitch with the same intensity. Joe Maddon was worried about the game going deep into extra innings. A manager can’t think that way. If the game does go deep you worry about that when it happens. If Stokes tires in the 12th inning, then go to Josh Wilson if you have to, but a manager can’t worry about the 12th inning in the 10th inning. Most 10th innings never turn in to 12th innings.

On a related note, most teams will not blow a 5-run lead all season. The Devil Rays have now blown three 5-run leads in the month of June. If they win those three games, the Devil Rays are 34-35, only 1 game below The Charlie Hough Line, in third place of the AL East, only 6.5 games back in the wild card race and only one James Shields win tonight away from positive national news coverage…for once.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• It’s Wednesday, soooo…Alex we’ll take “Elijah Dukes is a mischievous badger” for $500…If you haven’t heard the radio “interview” with Mr. Dukes from yesterday, The Big Lead has it in all it’s glory.
• Not surprisingly the Rays front office is frustrated by the distractions caused both directly and indirectly by Elijah Dukes.
• It seems that every story we read mentions three options for the Devil Rays in regards to Elijah Dukes. They could trade him, release him or demote him to the minors. We would be absolutely shocked if the third option occurred, even though that may be the one the team prefers. The Rays and Bulls already have a shaky relationship after all the trouble that occurred there in 2006. With the current agreement between the two clubs set to expire following the 2008 season, the Rays are not about to rock that boat, and sending Dukes to Durham would do just that. Dukes was a major player in the problems that occurred in Durham in 2006 and his most recent transgressions are not going to endear him to the team management, coaching staff or fans any further. A demotion would certainly be viewed by the team and the fans as the Devil Rays “dumping their problem” on the Durham Bulls. While the team may want to do that, whether it be as a punishment or to get his head straightened out, we can’t see the Rays risking their already tumultuous relationship with the Durham Bulls. If they did, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays would almost certainly be looking for a new AAA affiliate in 2009.
• Joe Henderson doesn’t have any interest in seeing Elijah Dukes sent to Durham. He wants Dukes out of the organization and he wants him gone yesterday.
• Marc Lancaster reports that Elijah Dukes has told the Devil Rays that he feels he would be better off playing someplace other than his hometown.
• In related news, an online poll indicates that 78% of Devil Rays fans are sick of reading about Elijah Dukes and 100% of the writers at Rays Index are sick of writing about him.
• blah blah blah Rocco Baldelli blah blah blah hamstring blah blah significant setback blah blah frustrated blah blah.
• Rocco Baldelli’s latest “tweaking” could cost him another month on the DL.
• We were a little surprised that Joe Maddon’s favorite football team is the Arizona Cardinals. We are not surprised that Papa Joe thinks that the 5-11 team is on the verge of winning the Super Bowl. In other news, Joe Maddon thinks Dennis Kucinich will win the presidential election in 2008 and Harvard is only a decent kicker away from winning the BCS next season.

The Hangover: Shawn Camp Makes Us Want To Hurt Stuffed Animals

Rockies 12, Devil Rays 2.
Prior to last night’s game, there were two instances that had yet to happen, but for which we had been bracing ourselves to occur eventually. James Shields is maturing into a great pitcher, and before last night he had been nearly perfect on the season. He had yet to lose and was only the 2nd pitcher in the past 25 years to exit each of his first 13 starts with his team tied or ahead in the game. We knew a bad start was coming and we may have even foreshadowed last night’s performance in yesterday’s “Hangover”. For all the great things that Shields has done this season, he has been susceptible to the long ball and we were worried that would catch up to him in his first Coors Field start. And it did, in the first inning, when Shields surrendered back-to-back dingers and fell behind 4-0. We knew a loss was coming, we just wish it could have come after 2 straight wins, rather than 2 straight L’s.

Oh, and the other thing we are bracing ourselves for? We are not going to talk about it. Not usually ones for “jinxes”, but after yesterday’s “Hangover” and Shields loss, we are not taking any chances.

We were going to end our aching head thoughts with that, but we would be doing you an injustice if we didn’t take a moment to drag Shawn Camp out behind the woodshed and rough him up a little with our keyboard. Let’s see what fun numbers we can come up with today!

After his latest performance, Shawn Camp proved that he is perfectly capable of making his own messes instead of just making other pitcher’s messes worse. We have already shown that Camp is (by far) the worst reliever in baseball when it comes to stranding inherited runners. Well, maybe Joe Maddon finally noticed and last night he brought Camp out to begin the 7th inning. After retiring the first batter, the next 5 batters reached base and 4 of them would eventually score. Shawn Camp basically did everything bad except take a dump on the pitcher’s mound.

Camp’s ERA is now at 7.20. Not even Joe Maddon would dare try to put a positive spin on that number. But how bad is he really? ERA is often a tricky number for relief pitchers because many of the runs they allow are charged to other pitchers. Baseball Prospectus has a stat called FRA (Fair Runs Allowed). This number takes into account inherited runners that are allowed to score as well as unearned runs that score. Camps FRA is 8.28. That is 12th worst in the major leagues for all pitchers with at least 20 innings pitched. Only three of those 12 are relief pitchers.

This just in…Shawn Camp is not very good and every time we see him come in from the bullpen we want to club a stuffed baby seal.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• This Week In Baseball will feature David Price this week.

This Week in Baseball also sat down with Price himself to talk about his past, his big day and his future with the Tampa Bay organization. It seemed as though Price, a charismatic 21-year-old southpaw pitcher out of Vanderbilt, was eager to begin his professional career.

• David Price received The Dick Howser trophy as the nation’s best college baseball player.
• Vanderbilt pitching coach Derek Johnson gives an interview to Baseball Analysts. During the interview he discusses David Price’s workload this season and what Price can do to improve.

[On David Price’s workload at Vandy] I never felt that David was at a deficit. I never felt like David was that guy who you saw early in the game throwing 93-96 and then by the end of it was throwing 86-87. He maintained his velocity well. I kept very good track of what he did to prepare his arm, as I do with all of our guys. So, you know, I understand the criticism, but at the same time you have to understand where we were coming from and where we were at – where David’s arm was at – when we were making those decisions.

[On What David Price Needs to do to improve] From a pitchability standpoint, it’s about refining the third pitch, the change-up and being able to refine command. Last year he had okay command, this year he had very good command, so I still think he has room to improve and grow.

• Edwin Jackson will start on Monday against the D-Backs, but to hear the quotes from Joe Maddon one would think that Andrew Friedman wants Jackson out, but Maddon convinced him to give Jackson one more shot.

We just decided to give it another go. Again, he’s had some really good outings, some tough outings. If you look back at his game log, there’s some nice six inning [performances]– six-innings plus — with nine punchouts. I just have a tremendous feeling about him. So he’s going to go back out there against the D-backs to see if that works.

• Is Dioner Navarro the worst catch in baseball? One blogger thinks so. Of course this is what really bugs us. Show of hands…How many people think that defensive ability is very important to being a catcher? *Lots ‘o hands* OK. How many people think this blogger looked at a single defensive statistic when compiling his rankings? *no hands*. Very good. We always knew our audience was intelligent. Navarro has thrown out 8 of 26 would be base stealers. Not great. That is about average at 31%. By comparison, of the 16 catchers that have faced at least 25 base stealers, 8 of those catchers have worse caught stealing rates than Navi. Several of those catchers are not exactly Johnny Bench with the bat, including Jason Kendall (.219 BA, 1HR, 24% CS), Josh Bard (.252 BA, 2 HR, 14% CS), and Jason Phillips (.226, 1 HR, 10% CS). We’re not saying Navi is a great catcher. We are not even sure he is good yet. But he is not the worst.
• Nice little story here about Joe Maddon and his relationship with his father. But that is not why we are bringing you the link. The reason is this great picture of Papa Joe. The picture is from between 1997 and 2000 (The only years the Angels wore that color combination). Papa Joe is much thinner (it happens), but he actually looks older. Weird.
• Al Reyes has overcome a lot to become one of the league’s best closers in his 20th season of pro ball.
• Hey look. Somebody came up with another way to calculate the Rays chances of making the playoffs. What is the square-root of “no chance in hell”?

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.

The Hangover: Kyle Farnsworth To Close In 2008?

Devil Rays 5, Toronto 3.
We’re done trying to figure out this team. They do this all the time. Tuesday’s loss was the sort that can kill a team. It was the sort of game that can lead to a 6-game losing streak and a 7-28 stretch, and all of the sudden the season is over, and next thing you know the Rays have the #1 pick again next year. The Rays have had a few of these losses this season. And every time the team has bounced back big. On Tuesday night after that last runner stepped on home plate, did anybody think there was a chance in Hades that the Rays would win the series? Nobody would have been dumb enough to make that bet.

But there is a pattern here…

• Apr. 22. James Shields strikes out 12 and allows only 2 hits and 1 walk in 8 innings. Brian Stokes gives up a 3-run home run in the 9th and the Rays lose 6-4 to the Indians.
• May 4. Brian Stokes gives up a 3-run home run in the 9th inning of a 2-2 game. Rays lose 5-2 to the A’s.
• June 5. Rays take a 11-6 lead into the 9th against the Jays. Four relief pitchers combine to walk 64 batters and can only record one out. Rays lose 12-11.

In each case, the Rays rebounded to win the next day. And on two of those occasions, the Rays won the next two games. So what was the common denominator in the three games? In each case, Al Reyes was not available to pitch.

Reyes will not be with the Devil Rays in August and September and that scares the hell out of us. Might be a good time to plan that trip to Fiji.

Speaking of which. For those of you that actually read our “AL East Roundup” in the past, know that we are no fans of Kyle Farnsworth. He throws real hard, but his fastball is straight as an arrow and he does not have a good complimentary pitch. The Yankees have finally soured on Farnsworth and will probably do anything they can to get him off the team. He has one more season on his contract and is set to earn $5.5 million in 2008. As long as the Yankees stay within ear shot of the wild card, they will look to improve their pen down the stretch. Does a Farnsworth-Reyes trade make sense? Let’s say the Yankees are willing to pay $4 million of Farnsworth’s contract for the rest of 2007 and 2008 and throw in a AA pitching prospect?

Reyes is going no matter what. The Rays do not have a closer for 2008. Any potential closer on the market will only be slightly better than Farnsworth and will cost a lot more. Don’t get us wrong here. There will be games next season when we would burn Farnsworth in effigy. We will curse his name. But the Rays may also catch lightning in a bottle. Farnsworth can be a good closer and getting him out of the glaring lights of New York could be good for him…Just a thought.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• Al Reyes is now comfortable working three straight games. He believes he is close to being able to work four straight, depending on pitch counts.
• We are a little confused this morning. Marc Lancaster of the Tampa Tribune gives us this title yesterday afternoon: “Rays Pick Price; How Much Will He Cost?” And then the first paragraph of the story is this:

Now that the Devil Rays have eliminated the suspense and chosen Vanderbilt LHP David Price with the first overall pick in the draft, two questions loom: How quickly can Price be signed? And, how soon will be be in the majors?

So…Is that two questions or three? Math was never our thing, but we did learn to count. Mr. Lancaster does address the question from the title, stating that the Rays are willing to sign Price in the $3-3.5 million range. He also addresses the first question from the first paragraph by stating that the team has until August 15 to get Price signed. But for some reason Mr. Lancaster never addresses the third question. So was the third question not a question at all? Or was the first question not a question even thought he answered? Our heads hurt.

• These two wins are the first time the Rays have won two straight road games since June of last year.
• 13 more strike outs last night and the Rays are now second in the majors with 462. Tonight’s opponent, the Marlins lead the majors with 516. Of course they have the advantage of having their pitchers hit 2-3 times a game. What is the common factor between these two teams? They are the two youngest teams in baseball. Ahhh. Growing pains.
• Elijah Dukes is mired in an 0-21 stretch.
• Akinori Iwamura will be in the lineup tonight against the Marlins. He will return to the leadoff spot.

The Hangover: Rays Bullpen Likes To Start Fires

Blue Jays 12, Devil Rays 11.
It hurts. real bad. But it would hurt a lot worse if we were surprised. Is there anybody out there that didn’t think, with Al Reyes unavailable, that this bullpen was capable of blowing a 5 run lead? Bullpens are supposed to put out fires. That’s why closers are referred to as “Firemen”. The Devil Rays bullpen starts fires. Some pitchers have lightning bolts for arms. The Devil Rays relievers have arms made of lighter fluid.

And the worst Arsonist of the group? Shawn Camp. Hands down. Of course we could also make an argument for Joe Maddon for once again putting Camp in a situation to hurt the ballclub. Supposedly Papa Joe is a computer guy and a statistics guy and loves to look at trends and matchups. If that is the case we obviously don’t need to remind Papa Joe that Camp is THE WORST PITCHER IN BASEBALL WHEN IT COMES TO INHERITED RUNNERS. He has now inherited 40 runners (5 more than anybody else in baseball) and allowed 17 of those runners to score (42.5%). The major league average is about 30%. So not only is Camp horrible in these situations, but for some reason Papa Joe keeps bringing him in with runners on more often than any other pitcher in baseball. We can’t make it up.

And when we think about it, the bullpen is lucky that the Rays were only up 5 runs in the 9th. Last night the Arsonists would have blown a 15 run lead. We are still waiting for one of the 4 relief pitchers to record the second out of the 9th.

If there is a silver lining from last night’s game it is that this is the sort of performance that could lead to a shake up that is long overdue.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• This latest bullpen melt down came one day after devilrays.com mentioned that the ‘pen had been “stepping up” recently. oops.

After a rough start to the season, the Rays’ bullpen is starting to establish itself as one of the strengths of the team

• Is James Shields deserving of a spot on the All-Star team? At this point you would have to say ‘yes’. But BJ Upton and Al Reyes are also deserving and it is hard to imagine the Jim Leyland will take more than one member of the Devil Rays.
• One fan has had enough of the 2007 Devil Rays, and this latest implosion was the final straw. We understand the frustration but we have to say we knew this team had a terrible pitching staff when the season started.

The Hangover: Troy Percival To The Devil Rays?

Marlins 4, Devil Rays 3.
Give us a moment. We need to dig into our bag of previous posts. Let’s see how hard it will be to find a previous post that describes yesterday’s game.

James Shields pitches great…Bullpen blows lead..Rays lose…Rays lose series

Let’s just move on and pretend it didn’t happen…again.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• The Devil Rays are not ready to promote any starting pitchers from Durham.

It’s difficult. It is difficult. I’m not going to deny that. But we’re going to keep looking for answers. When we are ready to make moves based on different things, we will do that. But for right now, it’s not going to happen.-Joe Maddon

• Unfortunately Edwin Jackson will not be removed from the rotation, but he will be pushed back a couple of days due to the off day today. Jackson will now pitch on Saturday in Chicago against the White Sox. Is it too early to put an “L” in the standings for that game?
• Where would the Devil Rays be this season without Al Reyes closing games? Then again, maybe that question is too scary to ponder.
• Supposedly the Rays only have the 8th worst bullpen in baseball. The problem with statistics sometimes, is that they don’t watch the games.
• Unfortunately Al Reyes is the sole bright spot in one of baseball’s worst bullpens. One of Joe Maddon’s former Angels pitchers, Troy Percival, appears ready to make a comeback. Due to his close relationship with Maddon, the Rays may be in the running for Percival’s services.
• The definition of a #1 starter is fairly unimportant past the first week of the season, but Joe Maddon insists that Scott Kazmir is still the Devil Rays #1 starter despite the emergence of James Shields. Kid K maybe the Rays #1 starter, but Shields is currently the teams stopper. We have more confidence in Shields to stop a losing streak than Kazmir.
• More Mock Drafting! And everybody is still thinking that the Rays will pick Vanderbilt left-hander, David Price. Andrew Brackman, the 7-footer, has struggled this season and is no longer considered an option for the Rays.

The Hangover: Finally, A Reliever Loses His Job

A’s 5, Devil Rays 3.
After winning three of the previous four series, the Rays came back to earth a little by dropping the rubber match with the A’s. The good news is, that despite throwing both Casey Fossum and Edwin Jackson in the series, the Rays only allowed 12 runs in the three games combined. That marks the fewest number of runs allowed by the Rays in a 3-4 game series this year. In fact the on two different occasions the Rays have allowed 12 runs in a single game. In fact the bullpen was above par for the first time this season, with only 5 runs in 11.2 innings and have only allowed 2 runs in the last 9 innings of work.

The Rays have the day off today before beginning a a very important stretch of 6 games on the road and in the division. On Tuesday, the Rays will begin a 3 game set in Baltimore before heading to Toronto for 3 more. Both teams are reeling right now and if the Rays want to make a serious run at The Charlie Hough Line, they win games against the two teams that the Rays have a legitimate shot of finishing ahead of in the division. Three wins this week would be nice. Four would make us down right giddy.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• We have our first bit of roster shakeup this weekend as Ruddy Lugo has been optioned to AAA Durham. He had a 9.28 ERA in 11 appearances. The Rays have not yet announced who will replace Lugo in the lineup.
• BJ Upton is the first player since 1965 (Dick Allen) to lead a league in both hitting and strikeouts for more than one day.
• There are few players in baseball that can look an all-star one inning and a never-will-be the next as often or as extreme as Edwin Jackson. He is still young and already out of options, which forces the Rays to be patient. Joe Maddon states that he may allow JAckson to throw more pitches than his other young starters since Jackson appears to get better the deeper he works into a game.
• Joe Maddon stated that he hasn’t ruled out the possibility of using Al Reyes in three straight games.
• Scott Kazmir may be ready to start hitting his stride. After a couple of starts in which his fastball was topping out around 90, on Saturday it was back up into the mid-90s.
• Saturday’s 9th inning rally and extra-inning win marked the 3rd time this season the Rays have rallied to win when trailing in the 9th inning.
• The Rays will celebrate the opening of their new Venezuelan baseball academy today.

The Hangover: All Hail The King, Al Reyes

Al Reyes is 5 years older and has 4 years more experience than any other member of the 2007 Tampa Bay Devil Rays. After a second Tommy John surgery and missing most of 2006, nobody knew what to expect from King Reyes in 2007. So far his performance has been better than even the most optimistic Rays homer could have expected. In 2007 the King already has more saves in April (9), than he had in his entire career entering 2007 (6).

Bill Chastain describes his calm demeanor on the mound. We are not sure he is calm, but we would say he is under control. In fact, as the season progresses we are starting to see more and more emotion from Reyes when he takes the mound. Nothing big…But you can see it in the intensity in his face and the subtle gestures after striking out a batter. He is pitching with the utmost confidence right now which is an absolute requirement to be an effective closer. Next time he takes the mound see how quickly he is ready to throw the next pitch after getting the ball back from the catcher. That is a sign a pitcher is pitching with confidence. Watch what happens when a batter calls time with Reyes on the mound. He leans back and looks away in subtle little sign of anger, but never steps off. He is ready to throw.

Even though he rarely tops 90 mph, the look on his face indicates that he knows nobody can touch him right now. Hopefully that is something that is not lost on the rest of the Devil Rays pitching staff. Life is easier for a pitcher if he throws in the upper 90s, but major league hitters can hit a good fastball if it is in a bad spot. Being a successful pitcher is about hitting spots and changing speeds. It is why a pitcher like Greg Maddux continues to win games even though he only throws in the mid-80s. He doesn’t have a nasty slider or a big 12-6 hook or a split-finger. He throws strikes, hits his spots and changes speeds. King Reyes knows this and it has been impressive.

• Al Reyes is one of the top 10 surprises of the first month in the AL.
• It is amazing to see how many people are jumping back on the BJ Upton bandwagon. Two months ago, all anybody read was that he would be lucky if he was ever a serviceable major leaguer and that it could only happen if he was in the outfield.
• As for BJ Upton himself. He is scared. Why? Because he never hits well early in the season. Wow. This is going to be fun to watch. Then try imagining Upton with 10-15 extra pounds next season.
• Joe Maddon does not see a need to change the team’s pre-game routine, despite a number of games recently in which the Rays fell behind early. Papa Joe blames it on youth and believes the players will grow out of it.
• An in depth look at the first month of the Devil Rays season. In summary, it is too early to condemn this team. Brendan Harris is the player named as “who’s hot” and Edwin Jackson is the player named as “who’s not”. They probably could have thrown 8 pitchers names in a hat and picked one and they wouldn’t have been wrong on the second one.