The Hangover: And The Hits Just Keep On Comin’ For Evan Longoria

Scottsdale Scorpions (1-10)

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Mesa 6, Scottsdale 2. Reid Brignac led of for Scottsdale, going 2-3 and hitting a olo home run, his first in the AFL. Evan Longoria was 2-3 with 2 doubles and a walk.

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Scottsdale 9, Peo Javelinas 3. Evan Longoria was 3-4 with 2 doubles, a home run and 3 RBI in Scottsadale’s first win. It was Longoria’s 4th home run. John Jaso also homered for the Scorpions, going 1-2 with 2 RBI. Reid Brignac was 0-4. Mike Prochaska started and picked up the win, going 3 innings, and allowing 1 run on 3 hits, and a walk, while striking out 2. Calvin Medlock relieved and pitched 2 scoreless innings striking out 2.

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Phoenix 3, Scottsdale 2. Evan Longoria went 1-4 and is now hitting .317. He also committed his 3rd error of the AFL.Longoria is 4th in the AFL with a 1.063 OPS. He is tied for the league lead with 4 home runs, is third with 8 RBI and second with 4 doubles. Chris Nowak started at first base and went 1-3 with an RBI. Nick DeBarr and Evan Meek each pitched in relief. DeBarr threw 2 perfect innings with a strikeout, while Meek strike out two, but gave up a hit an a walk in two-thirds of an inning.

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OFF DAY

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• 2007 has been unkind to the state of Ohio. [The Sporting Orange]
• Was anybody esle disturbed a little to see a member of the Orioles in the Boston dugout and throwing the first pitch in game 7? [The Kansas City Star]
• We believe the Dustin Pedroia should be and will be AL Rookie of the Year…But Baseball America thinks that Delmon Young was only the 13th best rookie (5th best in the AL)…seriously. [ArmchairGM]
• Yet another blogger that thinks Joe Torre should take a year off and then replace Joe Maddon as manager of the Devil Rays. After hearing Torre refer to the Yankee’s contract offer as an “insult”, we are starting to warm to the possibility if Maddon gets off to a bad start in 2008 or if the Rays fail to reach .500 at the end of the season. It is not a secret that George Steinbrenner considers Tampa his home turf and has never been fond of the Devil Rays franchise. Taking the Tampa job and beating the Yankees could be the ultimate answer from the manager that is a lot more fiery and calculating than his public persona would suggest. [Quick Hits From The Sidelines]
• Keep in mind that Joe Torre and Don Zimmer are close, and Zim was none-too-happy about the way the Yankees handled his pal Torre. [tampabay.com]
• More funky baseball math. This time, Roto Authority suggests that Andy Sonnanstine was the 4th unluckiest pitcher in 2007 which suggests he could be much better in 2008. [Roto Authority]
• Minor-ity Report take a look at David Price and compares his numbers to Mark Prior. Not the first time we have heard the comparison, but Price’s numbers in college were actually better than Prior’s and Price has an extra year of college under his belt. And did we mention that Price is left-handed. We are starting to get giddy. [Minor-ity Report]
• Despite a big dropoff in production in 2007, the Devil Rays still believe that Reid Brignac is their future shortstop. It just won’t be in 2008. [TBO]
• “The only thing that keeps this organization from being recognized as one of the finest in baseball is wins and losses at the major league level.” – Devil Rays GM Chuck Lamar…We are not sure why this is one of “The 35 Dumbest Sports Quotes Ever”. Isn’t it true? [LiveJournal]
• Jon Garland or Jose Contreras for Carl Crawford? Contreras? No. Garland? Not likely. He is set to make $12 million in 2008 and will be a free agent at the end of the year. [Mets Blog]
• Then again, MLB Rumors cites “industry sources” that “The Devil Rays and White Sox have worked over the past couple months on possible deals this off season that involve Jon Garland and Carl Crawford”. Maybe THIS GUY qualifies as an “industry source” [MLB Rumors]
• In the four professional sports leagues in North America, there are 92 teams. Sports Frog ranks the Devil Rays 89th, ahead of only the Memphis Grizzlies (90), Charlotte Bobcats (91) and the Houston Texans (92). See? The Rays don’t always finish last. [Sports Frog]
• RJ Anderson discusses his upcoming book about Chuck LaMar. [The Stat Pack]
  

The Hangover: The Green Uniforms Have Not Yet Been Retired

Surprise 9, Scottsdale 6.
Reid Brignac was 0-4 and is now hitting .118 (2-17) and Evan Longoria was 1-3 with a single and a walk with 2 strike outs. Calvin Medlock pitched a perfect 4 outs with 1 strike out. He now has a 5.06 ERA in 5.1 IP covering 3 appearances. He has struck out 7 while only walking 1.

Here is footage of Evan Longoria’s first AFL at bat. You need to fast forward to the 2:00 mark. It is only a flyball but it is nice to see the Dirt Bag in a Rays uniform swinging the lumber.

Here is footage of Longoria’s only base hit in the AFL’s first week that was not a home run and the swing was not his best

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• The latest mailbag by Bill Chastain originally stated that the new Rays uniforms would be available in local Champs stores on November 9. Now the original question and answer are no longer found in the mailbag. Either the news was inaccurate or more likely, the Rays front office did not want the information made available yet. Oops. So for those of you looking for discounts on the old green uniforms, or for those of you that are looking for expensive material for your winter fireplace, November 9 is your target date. [Devil Rays]
• For those of you that hate the new uniform designs, it could be worse. They could have hired one of these “designers”. [Cleveland Plain-Dealer]
• With the Colorado Rockies advancing to the World Series, the Rays are now one of only three four teams to never appear in the Fall Classic, along with Seattle, Washington and Texas. [6 Things To Consider]
• Ever want to know what Joe Maddon thinks about Bruce Springsteen? Neither did we, but Marc Lancaster seems to think we would be interested. Lancaster lands a 1-on-1 with Maddon in the off-season and he does not ask a single baseball question. [TBO]
• We rarely talk fantasy around these parts. We still haven’t recovered from the Wally Joyner ruining our Rotissirie team ever season. But we need to say something when one person ranks Dioner Navarro as only the 28th best catching option entering 2008. Now we are not saying that Navi is going to have the 3rd highest OPS for catchers in 2008 (as he was in the second half of 2007) but there are at least 15 catchers ranked ahead of Navi that he could out-perform with Don Zimmer strapped to his back. [San Antonio Express-News]
• Jonny Damon has a limited no-trade clause and he has listed the Devil Rays as one of 12 teams that the Yankees are allowed to trade him to. Sounds an awful lot like Judas was forced to list 12 teams and filled the list with teams that would never be interested in trading for the veteran outfielder. Along with the Rays, he also listed Royals, Marlins and Twins, teams that would never be interested in his diminished talent or the $26 million in salary he is due the next two seasons. [Times Herald-Record]
• David Price has reached an agreement to appear on Donruss baseball cards. [Dave and Adam’s Card World Blog]

The Hangover:

Devil Rays 2, Red Sox 1.
The Devil Rays struck out 9 times last night. How unusual is that? Not at all. The Rays lead the AL with 986 strikeouts. The AL record was set by the 1996 Detroit Tigers who whiffed an amazing 1,266 times. They are averaging 7.8 Ks per game. At the current pace, the Rays would go down on strikes 1,268 times, breaking the previous record.

There are some that would argue that a strikeout is not necessarily a bad way to get out. After all it is still just one out. Obviously a double-play is worse. Still, for all the ways a batter can make one out, the K may be the worst.

A strikeout is a rally killer. With runners on base (except for a double-play) a strikeout is the worst thing a batter can do. It does nothing except move the other team closer to getting out of a jam. A strikeout does not move runners. A strikeout does not force the defense to make a play. A strikeout pumps up a team. It rallies a road stadium or it deflates the home field.

A good pitcher doesn’t necessarily pitch for strikeouts as a large number of Ks translates to a large number of pitches. But there are clearly times when a pitcher needs a strikeout with runners on base and all-too-often the Devil Rays kindly oblige.

Rays on record strikeout pace; Bedard dominant [USA Today]

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• The Devil Rays are now 3-1 against Boston in games in which Daisuke Matsuzaka is the starting pitcher. They are 0-9 in all other games against the Red Sox. [tampabay.com]
• BJ Upton has batted cleanup before last night, he just doesn’t remember when. Upton took to the new role as well as can be expected hitting a home run and driving in both runs. [TBO]
• Sure sounds like we can expect to see Jeff Niemann added as a sixth starter in September. [TBO]

“If the whole group feels that it’s appropriate to bring him here, I could see value in that,” Maddon said. “No question about it. A lot of times a guy will come up in September like that, and that one month of experience really can catapult you into the next year.”

• Grading any draft immediately after it happens is rediculous, but even more so in baseball where most prospects require 3-4 years of development and most first round picks will never make a significant impact. So please tell us why in hell the Hardball Times feels the need to give out “The DRAFTYs:The 2007 MLB draft awards”. [The Hardball Times]
• Carlos Pena is having a career year, having bested his previous career-best with his 28th home runs. He is now six home runs shy of Aubrey Huff for the franchis record. [Devil Rays]
• Don Zimmer will have to change his number next season to #60 as he is planning on returning to the Rays for his 60th season in major league baseball. [MLB News Blog]

The Hangover: Josh Hamilton Is Now About 500′ Farther From The Rays

• Josh Hamilton is not the only former Rays first round pick that is trying to stick with another major league club this spring. One time opening day starter, Dewon Brazelton is in camp with the Kansas City Royals as a non-roster invitee. Don’t the Royals employ scouts? Then again, it couldn’t possibly turn out as bad as his stint in San Diego last year…could it?
• Josh Hamilton hit his first home run in a game since 2002. Seriously, 2002. And it was prodigious.
• Papa Joe Maddon wishes that nobody had to compete for a job in Spring Training. Can’t we all just get along?
• Greg Norton will DH again today in the first Spring Training game. Maybe our prediction of 300 ABs for Jonny Gomes was actually too high.
• The fifth spot in the rotation may come down to who can throw strikes the most consistently.
• Andrew Friedman promises not to rush Jeff Niemann, Mitch Talbot and Andy Sonnanstine. All three are likely to start at AAA and when they are ready, Friedman promises to find a spot on the Rays for each of them.
• Several spots are still up for grabs, but it is going to take more than just gaudy numbers this Spring to win those spots. Papa Joe and Andrew Friedman will also be looking at intangibles. That leads us to believe that they probably already have a sense of what the roster is going to look like and the other players will have to force them to change their minds.
• Hey! It’s another Delmon Is Soooo Mature story. On top of that, for those of you that are familiar with the website Fire Joe Morgan they would have a field-day with this story. There are about 20 single-sentence paragraphs.
• We made an oopsy last week. This will actually be Don Zimmers 59th season in the major leagues (not 58th as we had previously reported) and hence he will be wearing #59 on his uniform this season. A truly impressive feat.
• A pleasant interview with Stuart Sternberg just don’t expect him to say anything.

The Hangover: Lil’ Zimms Disses A-Rod, Drive-bys To Ensue

• The Hardball Times have made a gallant effort to try and project Akinori Iwamura’s stats for 2007. The problem they face is that there have not been many comparable players that have made the jump from Japan to the Majors. The only similar player (ie. slugger) was Hideki Matsui. Well, Matsui was Matsui has become a solid contributor, but did struggle his first season. Using several predictive measures, it looks like we can expect .292/.348/.446 with about 20 home runs. Like many of us expected his batting average should be similar, with a slight dip, and a big fall off in power.
• Baseball Prospectus noticed that Dioner Navarro had some decent projections for 2007 and were surprised. That take a closer look and determine that major league experience at a young age for catchers almost guarantees that they become a good hitter.
• Earlier this week we worried aloud about Elijah Dukes’ weight. He is apparently at 245 pounds even though he has publicly said he would prefer to play at 220. Well we received some first hand accounts from the first day of workouts and the general consensus is that we should shut up and stop worrying. He is in shape. Just a little bigger. Also another feel-good story about leaving his problems behind. This one was an AP article and ran all over the country. If Dukes makes the team and plays in an all-star game some day look for a Sunday night movie.
• How bad is the Rays bullpen? Well apparently a 2006 campaign with a 4.68 ERA and 1.493 WHIP guarantees you a spot in the 2007 pen without having to compete in Spring Training. We thought Shawn Camp had a shot at the big league club, but figured he would at least have to work for it.
• The Trop. Only the 28th worst stadium in baseball! Wait…Taking the entire package into consideration (Ticket prices, concession prices, etc.) and The Trop jumps up to 25th. At least Ken Macha understands the need for domes. Personally we are sick and tired of the knocks on the Trop. The city was blackmailed by Major League Baseball into building a stadium on the cheap without a team to help foot the bill. And how many teams out there owe their new state-of-the-art stadiums to the threat of moving to the Tampa Bay area back in the 80s and early 90s? San Fran, Seattle, the White Sox, etc. So back off! Or we will shoot the stuffed animal.
• Don Zimmer, who will wear #58 this season to mark his 58th season in baseball, has spoke out on the on-going Derek Jeter-Alex Rodriguez story. This is what cracks us up about New York sports. For various reasons, we spend a lot of time in New York City and read the newspapers and listen to sports radio and talk to the local fans, and New York fans can get crazy about silly things. But this story has us shaking our collective heads. Seriously? Would we care if Rocco Baldelli and Carl Crawford used to be buddies but no longer hang out together? The way the New York media is spinning this story, we half expect both of these guys to die in drive-by shootings in the next year or two.
• This is a bit stale, but Baseball America has released their annual “Top 10 Prospects” list for the Rays. Delmon Young’s eligibility as a rookie keeps him at the top of the list. Evan Longoria debuts at #2. The best news? With all the talent in the minors these days, five of the top ten are pitchers, led by Jeff Niemann and Jacob McGee at four and five. And the list doesn’t even include Mitch Talbot who came on strong at the end of 2006. They also provide a projected 2010 lineup.
• Baseball Prospectus has ranked the minor league systems of every major league team. Not surprising is that the Rays top the list. Surprising is that the Rays not only rank first among hitting prospects but fourth among pitching prospects. To quote The best system in baseball and it’s not even close.