The Hangover: Even Without Long-Term Deals, Look For Carlos Pena And Scott Kazmir To Avoid Arbitration

Devil Rays

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• The Ledger takes a look at the upcoming arbitration cases of Scott Kazmir and Carlos Pena. Another thing to always consider when teams deal with arbitration and their top players. A big incentive to avoid arbitration is that teams do not like having to go into an arbitration hearing and trash their top players in an effort to show why the player does not deserve more than they are offering. It can lead to hurt feelings and increase the chances of the player leaving the team once they hit their free agency years. While the Rays will try to work out long-term deals with both, if that does not happen, it does not necessarily mean they will automatically go to arbitration. Once each side submits a salary to the arbitrator, they will often find a middle number and agree on a one-year contract avoiding the arbitration hearing. This was the route taken by the Marlins and Dontrelle Willis last season when they agreed on a 1-year deal for $6.5 million. Look for Kid K’s number to come in just south of that one. Let’s say $5-5.5 million. [The Ledger]
• Evan Longoria was named to the USA National Baseball Team that will compete in IBF World Cup in November. [tampabay.com]
• Andy Sonnanstine. Yuo have never looked so good. Not sure. We think the first attempt is a more accurate mugshot. Either way, willing to bet Jim Hickey’s mugshot looked half as good as either of these. [Baseball Mugshots]
• A look at David Price’s already impressive career. [Prospect Spotlight]
• Tampa Bay Sports Fanatic believes the Rays should pursue Pudge Rodriguez if the Tigers decide not to exercise his option. First of all, his salary demands would not fit into the Rays projected payroll for 2008. Second of all, Dioner Navarro firmly established himself as a major league catcher in the second half of this season. His defense is already strong and getting better, and he already knows the young pitching staff very well. And finally, we are talking about Pudge Rodriguez. Hall-of-Famer? Sure. Over-the-hill? Probably. Not to mention his defense has always been slightly over-rated, and has a long reputation of not being much of a team player. This is a guy that would call fastballs when the situation demanded something different, just so he would have a better chance of throwing out a base stealer. [Tampa Bay Sports Fanatic]

The Hangover: Devil Rays Seek Relevancy

The Devil Rays open the second half with a four-game set against the New York Yankees at Tropicana Field. In baseball, momentum is only as good tomorrow’s starting pitcher which doesn’t usually bode too well for the Rays, but this series is huge for both Tampa Bay and New York. The Yankees need to get off to a good start with three or four wins against a last place ball club if they have any hopes of making a playoff run this season. On the other hand, the Rays, losers of 13 of 14 before the break need to two or three wins in this series to gain any confidence for success in the second half.

Losing this series would be a demoralizing blow to the young club and could make the second half of the season irrelevant to Devil Rays fans, or at least until Jeff Niemann and Evan Longoria make their major league debuts. In the meantime we will be forced to unveil our Tampa Bay Devil Rays Drinking Game as a way of coping with another 100-loss season, which will be followed shortly thereafter by a second half full of The Justin Smoak Sweepstakes posts and soiled underwear.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• If the Devil Rays finish with the worst record in baseball (again), they will once again make history for all the wrong reasons. The Rays would become the first team in major league history to have the top pick in the amateur draft two consecutive years. Until recently, the top pick alternated between the AL and the NL. The top pick is now “awarded” to the team with the worst overall record regardless of league affiliation. It will also mark the fourth time the Devil Rays would pick #1 overall, leaving them one shy of the Padres and the Mets for most top selections in the history of the draft.
• Was the home run in the All-Star game Carl Crawford’s “coming-out party”? Personally, we would have rather seen Crawford hit one of his trademark triples and steal second and third after a single. Only then would the rest of baseball have seen the C.C. that we have grown up with…On a side note, is anybody else annoyed by the idea that Crawford’s home run may have helped the Red Sox win the world series this year by giving the AL home field advantage? It has been two days and we still can’t truly enjoy Crawford’s home run. Thanks Fox and Bud Selig. Next time why don’t you just take a dump in our Wheaties. [tbo.com]
• JP Howell was optioned to AAA Durham but will be back for his next scheduled start. Joe Maddon decided to skip Howell the first time through the rotation with the off-day on Monday. Rather than use Howell out of the bullpen, he will make a spot-start for the Bulls. We assume that BJ Upton will take Howell’s spot on the roster. Of course, Maddon may decide to ad an extra arm to the bullpen for the first week of the second half in which case somebody else will need to be demoted. [St. Pete Times]
• David Price had a chat session yesterday at Baseball America. Among the topics that Price covers is modeling his game after Dontrelle Willis, and the adjustments he needs to make in order to jump from AA to the Majors. We may be reading too much into the last quote, but it does seem likely that Price will make a few low-A starts this season (when signed) and will begin the 2008 campaign at AA Montgomery. [Baseball America]
• The bullpen is what it is, and they could get a lot of help of if the rest of the rotation can take James Shields’ lead and work later into games. [DevilRays.com]
• Bill Chastain hands in his midterm report, naming James Shields the first half MVP. [DevilRays.com]
• Delmon Young is not worried about his numbers, but he is quietly building a rookie-of-the-year resume. [Florida Times-Union]
• Kevin brings us “The ‘Top’ 10 Moments in Devil Rays History”. It is demoralizing to think that someone thinks that new uniforms and winning 70 games are two of the top 10 moments in the history of a franchise. It is a kick to the groin when we realize that he is probably right. [MySpace]