The Hangover: Joel Guzman Does Not Homer Or Strikeout. We Are Confused

Devil Rays 4, Indians 3 (12 innings).

PLAYING A LIL’ PEPPER WITH THE RAYS (random thoughts on yesterday’s game)…

Joel Guzman hits singles? When did that start happening?

How many people watched the game-winning hit and thought there was no way Jonny Gomes was going to score. We still aren’t sure how he managed to cross the plate after Guzman hit the ground ball up the middle and Gomes’ first move was to start running back to second base.

We have talked a lot recently about the horrible Rays defense. In the 10th inning we saw a perfect example of how bad the defense can be without committing an error. With a runner on first base and 1 out, Trot Nixon is facing Al Reyes with the score tied 2-2. Reyes is not a hard thrower, so a lefty is more likely to pull the ball through the hole on the right side, so Brendan Harris was cheating a little in the direction. Nixon hit a routine ground ball to Harris’ right. Harris basically took one step and then fell down in what we can only assume was an attempt to dive for the ball. It should have been a tailor-made double play. Rather, it was now first and third with 1 out. Harris not only showed perhaps the worst range ever for a second baseman, but he also showed a lack of natural baseball instincts. While he needs to cheat a little towards the hole with Reyes on the mound, he should have noticed that Dioner Navarro had set up about six inches off the plate, away, from the batter. Even at 87 mph, there is no way Nixon is pulling that ball. Harris should have been leaning up the middle before the pitch was even thrown.

We know this is unlikely, but it was hard not to watch the game yesterday and wonder what if Joel Guzman could hit well enough to be a major leaguer and play defense well enough to be a 6’6″ shortstop? It would settle a lot of issues with the Devil Rays lineup in 2008 and beyond. Evan Longoria at third, Goose at short, Iwamura at second, Upton in center. Rocco in another uniform after being flipped for a middle of the rotation starter, and Brendan Harris as the utility infielder. Not a bad lineup…Not bad at all.

It is fun watching BJ Upton in center field, and it looks like BJ Upton is having fun playing center field. He must be kicking himself for being so stubborn about switching positions the last two years. He is basically Alfonso Soriano with a better glove.

James Shields needs a nickname. The problem is he is almost boring on the mound. But that is a good thing. He is a professional. Yesterday, he walked the first batter of the game, and Shields actually showed a little emotion, that we don’t recall ever seeing from him before. He was right to be upset. That walk led to a run, but he settled down and did not walk another batter.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• Ben Zobrist was placed on the DL with a strained oblique. Joel Guzman was called up from Durham to take Zobrist’s spot in the roster. [tampabay.com]
• Joel Guzman could see playing time at all four infield positions. [TBO]
• Some guy named Rocco Baldelli will begin a rehab assignment this week with the Vero Beach Devil Rays. We vaguely remember hearing about this kid. Supposed to be pretty good, but something happened to him…He will play four games this week, and will play a grand total of three innings in center field. The rest of the time will be served as a DH. [Devil Rays]
• Joe Henderson believes that bringing Joe Maddon is the right move. [TBO]
• Manny Stiles is back on the radar and he has set out to debunk 12 myths about the Devil Rays, including “Tropicana Field is horrible”, “Joe Maddon isn’t a good manager” and “The Devil Rays are the worst team in baseball.” We agree with most of Manny’s points, but know that the argument will fall on deaf ears to most. [Armchair GM]
• We are big fans of Paul Lukas of ESPN and UniWatchBlog. In his most recent ESPN column, Lukas tackles uniform prototypes for professional teams that never made it onto the field or the court. Two of the local teams were mentioned in the article. First, we are all familiar with and likely scarred by the Devil Rays Rainbow Warriors uniforms. And most probably remember the hideous patch that adorned the sleeves in the inaugural season as seen HERE. Apparently that trumped a patch that as produced, but never used, which would have been easier on the eyes, as seen HERE. Lukas also points us to some prototype helmets that the Buccaneers toyed with before settling on their current design. This reminds us too much of the Tampa Bay Bandits…The Black design is hideous…But we kinda like the white, that reminds us of the South Carolina Gamecocks helmets. And apparently distance does make the heart grow fonder, because sometimes we do miss Bucco Bruce. [ESPN]

The Hangover: Upton Stolen Bases Down In 2007

Indians 8, Devil Rays 1.
BJ Upton is hitting .313 with a .397 OBP. By our count he has been on base 160 times, between Tampa Bay and his rehab stint earlier this season. Yet despite the number of the high number of times on base, he has only stolen 13 bases in 19 attempts. His season totals of stolen bases prior to this year were 40, 24, 44 and 57. And granted he missed considerable time with a leg injury.

Joe Maddon may be hesitant to send Upton following the injury, but he was not even running before the injury. 13 of the stolen bases came before the injury. Upton was on pace for approximately 30 stolen bases for the year before going to the DL. That is a paltry total for a player with Upton’s speed that is having such an outstanding offensive season.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• Ben Zobrist was injured and had to be removed from the game. He is likely headed to the DL. [Devil Rays]
• Marc Topkin speculates that Joel Guzman could be called up to replace Ben Zobrist. [tampabay.com]
• Contrary to earlier reports, Fernando Cabrera has not signed with the Devil Rays. Rather, he turned down the Rays’ waiver claim and decided to become a free agent. [Devil Rays]
• A new Tampa Bay sports blog has started with an open letter to Stuart Sternberg. The author suggests that the Rays need to go after big names this off-season, listing several examples, such as Bartolo Colon. The problem with this is that if the money is equal, no big-name free agent is coming to Tampa Bay. Therefore, not only would the Rays need to open up the pocketbook, they will have to go above and beyond what other teams offer, by a considerable margin. [Tampa Bay Sports Report]

Down On The Farm: Joel Guzman And Wes Bankston Likely To Be Traded After Season

Durham 9, Columbus 8. Mitch Talbot struck out 7 in 5 innings, but allowed 6 runs (5 earned). Shawn Camp pitched the 9th inning for his first save. Evan Longoria made his AAA debut, playing third base and batting 6th. He was 0-3 with a strike out, but had a first inning sac fly to drive in a run. He also committed a throwing error which led to a run. Joel Guzman, who has been shifted to first base with the promotion of Longoria, was 2-4 with his 15th home run and 3 RBI.

Tennesee 5, Montgomery 3. The Biscuits committed to errors which led to 3 unearned runs being charged to Wade Davis. In all Davis allowed 4 runs in 6 innings on 7 hits and a walk. He struck out 3 and dropped to 4-2 at AA. Reid Brignac was 3-4 and hit his second home run in three games. He now has 15. Rhyne Hughes was 0-4 and is now 0-7 since being promoted.

Brevard County 5, Vero Beach 2. Doug Waechter dropped to 0-4 in 4 Vero Beach rehab starts. He allowed 5 runs in 4.1 innings. He gave up 9 hits but id not walk a batter.

Columbus 2, West Virginia 0. After missing a start, Wade Townsend returned and pitched 6 scoreless innings despite battling control problems. He allowed 3 hits and walked 5, while striking out 4. Cesar Suarez was 3-4 and drove in one of the Catfish 2 runs. He also stole his 25th base.

Tri-City 7, Hudson Valley 1.

Princeton 3, Greenville 2.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• Jeff Niemann’s shoulder is fine but he will miss two starts. While the setback is minor for the team, being shutdown for two weeks could be a big setback for the big right hander. In his last few starts, Niemann was beginning to show that he was ready to make the jump to the major leagues. With this latest shut-down, Niemann may have endangered any chances of making his big league debut in 2007 as the team will take every precaution. [MLB]
• Joel Guzman will continue to receive playing time at third base but he is comfortable with the move to first base. With Carlos Pena firmly entrenched at first base at the Major League level, we have to wonder what the long-term plans are for Guzman and Wes Bankston. We will have to wait and see how long the team will allow two spots on the 40-man roster to go to two players that appear to have no future with the ball club. We expect one or both to be traded this off-season. [Herald-Sun]

“I’m pretty comfortable over there,” he said. “I played winter ball down in the Dominican Republic, and I played first and third over there. Last year when I was with the Dodgers, I played pretty much around first, third and he outfield. It’s nothing new, not like I’m lost over there.”

Down On The Farm: Jorge Cantu Reports To Durham

Indianapolis 7, Durham 4. Mitch Talbot took the loss allowing 4 runs in 4 innings to drop to 7-8. Jeremy Owens was 3-4 with 3 doubles. Elliot Johnson and Ben Zobrist each hit solo home runs for the Bulls. Jorge Cantu did report to Durham and made his first start at first base going 0-4.

Mobile 7, Montgomery 3. Wade Davis struck out 7 in 6 innings and left with a 2-1 lead, but the bullpen allowed 6 runs in the 7th and 8th innings. Davis had allowed only 1 hit in the first 5 innings before being touched for his only run in the sixth. Tim Corcoran allowed 3 runs in the 7th inning in his first rehab appearance. Evan Longoria was 2-3 with a pair of RBI and Reid Brignac was 1-4 with an RBI.

Jupitor 4, Vero Beach 3. Doug Waechter dropped to 0-3 in three single-A rehab starts. On Monday he allowed 4 runs in 5 innings. He stuck out 1 and walked none. Sergio Pedroza had 2 of the Rays 5 hits including a solo home run in the 5th inning.

Kannapolis 10, Columbus 9. Woods Fines allowed 6 runs (5 earned) in 5 innings. He struck out 4 and walked 2. Desmond Jennings was 4-5 with 2 doubles to raise his average to .327. Matt Fields was 2-4 with 4 RBI including his 20th double and his 14th home run.

Burlington 6, Princeton 3.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• Uh Oh. Jae Seo was named IL pitcher of the week for the second time in three weeks. He has allowed a total of 2 runs in his last 5 starts. [Durham Bulls]
  
• Joel Guzman keeps tantalizing people with his potential but has yet to show any consistency. He started the season very slow but did hit .327 for the month of June. However, since the all-star break he is only 5-35 and is at .249 on the season. [The News & Observer]

“He’s still a kid (22 years old),” said Bulls manager Charlie Montoyo. “He’s one of those guys that gets to Triple-A real quick. That’s what you have to remember when you see a kid like that struggle. Just be patient and he’s going to do it.

• Yesterday we mentioned that Jon Weber was a recent acquisition by the Rays and playing for the Durham Bulls. We failed to mention how and when he was acquired. Weber is a 29-year old journeyman minor league outfielder that was most recently in the Rangers system after beginning the season in the D-backs system. We originally thought Weber was signed as a free agent, but rather it appears as though his contract was purchased from the Rangers. [In Forum Sports]

When Joel Guzman Makes Contact, The Baseball Says "Ouch"

We had heard about this home run hit by Joel Guzman a couple of weeks ago, but we just now came across the video. If you have never seen a game at the new DBAP in Durham, it may be difficult to appreciate exactly how far Guzman hit this ball. There is a “Blue Monster” in left field. While not as high as the Green Monster at Fenway, the wall is farther from home plate. Guzman hits this towering shot towards the center field end of the wall and clears not only the monster, but the billboard behind the monster above the 371-foot mark…

It is easy to see why scouts have drooled over Guzman since he was signed by the Dodgers at the age of 16. He was named the Dodgers #1 prospect at the beginning of the 2006 season. If he could ever learn to make more consistent contact (81 to 16 strike out to walk ratio) to go with his power and gold-glove caliber defense, Evan Longoria might have to find a new position.

Down On The Farm: Joel Guzman May Force Evan Longoria To Skip AAA

Durham 7, Rochester 5. Mitch Talbot gave up 5 runs (4 earned) in 7 innings. He struck out 4 and walked 1. His ERA is now 4.57. Ben Zobrist had 3 hits including a 3-run double in the 8th that gave the Bulls the lead for good. Justin Ruggiano added 2 hits in 4 at bats and hit a 3-run home run, his 11th in the 5th inning. Chad Orvella pitched another perfect 9th inning, with 2 strike outs for his 9th save.

Montgomery 9, Mississippi 5. Wade Davis picked up the win in his second AA start. He struck out 7 and gave up 2 runs in 5.1 innings. He allowed 5 hits and 2 walks, including a solo home run. Juan Salas gave up 3 runs in one-third of an inning in his first appearance since being suspended for steroids. Salas is allowed to pitch in the minors prior to returning from his 50-game suspension on July 3rd. Reid Brignac was 1-4 with a 2-run double in the Biscuits 5-run 4th inning. He also committed his 17th error. Evan Longoria was 2-4 with 2 strike outs. He is hitting .295. Fernando Perez and John Jaso each added 3 hits. Jaso is hitting .324.

Sarasota 9, Vero Beach 1. Josh Butler was roughed up in his second AA start. He allowed 9 runs (8 earned) in 4 innings. He surrendered 8 hits and 4 walks. Garrett Groce and Hunter Vick had 2 hits apiece. Rhyne Hughes was 0-3.

Columbus 10, Rome 1. Wade Townsend had his strongest outing as a professional. He allowed only 1 hit and 2 walks in 7 innings. He struck out 8 to pick up his 5th win. His ERA is now 3.95 on the season. Townsend faced the minimum through 5.2 innings before allowing his only hit. Ryan Royster hit his 12th home run and Matt Fields hit his 13th. Desmond Jennings added 2 hits, including his 13th double and his 33rd stolen base.

Staten Island 8, Hudson Valley 5.

Elizabethton 14, Princeton 3.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• Evan Longoria was named the Southern League hitter-of-the-week. We’ve lost count, but we are fairly certain that this is the 74th time he has been named player of the week. Next week they may just name him pitcher-of-the-week so that somebody else has an opportunity to be named hitter-of-the-week. It is fairly clear that The Dirt Bag is no longer a AA player. He would most likely be in Durham now or in the next two weeks if Joel Guzman was not clogging the path. We are not suggesting that Guzman is more deserving of the position at AAA. Rather, Guzman is just good enough that he can’t be moved. His defense is gold glove caliber and while his batting average is nothing to brag about (.253), it is not terrible and he is starting to show some pop (12 doubles, 11 home runs). Still, Guzman is not close to being major league-ready. He has a .283 OBP and a 73 to 11 strike out to walk ratio. If Guzman is not being moved from third base at Durham, what can the Rays do? We see two options. The first option is to promote Longoria and institute either a platoon situation with the off-player filling in at DH, or just make Guzman the temporary DH for month until Longoria has shown sufficient skill to warrant a promotion to the show. The other option is to keep Longoria in AA and skip AAA all-together. This option may seem like the less likely option, but The Dirt Bag may have shown enough that he will hit at the major league level with or without a stint at AAA. Either way, we now think there is a very good chance we see Longoria in a Devil Rays uniform before the end of the season.
• Ryan Royster was .254 hitter in his first 3 seasons in the Rays organization. This year he is hitting .309 with 12 home runs and 46 RBI. The improvement is attributed to medication to treat a previously undetected case of ADHD.

Down On The Farm: Josh Butler Has Solid Vero Beach Debut

Durham 5, Scranton 1. Mitch Talbot struck out 6 and walked none in 6.1 innings. He gave up 1 run on 4 hits. Chad Orvella struck out 2 in 1.2 perfect innings. Since his return to Durham, Orvella has struck out 7 and only allowed 1 hit and no walks in 4.2 innings. Joel Guzman was 1-4 and hit his 3rd home run in the past 4 games. He now has 11 on the season. Justin Ruggiano was 2-5 with an RBI and Ben Zobrist was 0-2 with 3 walks.

Mobile 10, Montgomery 4. Jonathon Barratt gave up 5 runs (4 earned) in 4.1 innings. He allowed 4 hits and 4 walks. Jason Pridie was 3-5 with his 16th double and his 7th triple. He now has 27 extra base hits on the season and is hitting .290. Evan Longoria was 1-5 with his 51st RBI, but committed his 9th RBI.

Vero Beach 3, St. Lucie 1. Josh Butler pitched 7 strong innings in his first start since being promoted from low-A Columbus. He struck out 4 and allowed 6 hits, 1 walk and 1 run. Sergio Pedroza was 2-4 with his 7th home run and Erold Andrus added two hits, including a triple and his 28th RBI. Rhyne Hughes was 1-4 with his 38th RBI. He is hitting .335 on the year.

Savannah 3, Columbus 2. Wade Townsend gave up just 2 unearned runs in 5 innings. He struggled with his control, walking 4 and only striking out 2. He now has an ERA of 4.40 on the year. Ryan Royster was 2-4 to raise his average to .305. He also drove in his 41st RBI.

Aberdeen 6, Hudson Valley 5.

Kingston 7, Princeton 6.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• Evan Longoria and Jeff Niemann will represent the US squad in the Futures Game at PacBell park during the major league baseball all-star game festivities. Las year, Juan Salas was named to the World roster.
  
• Reid Brignac was given the night off due to “soreness” after several minor scrapes in the previous game.
• Joel Guzman credits his recent surge to hitting coach Gary Gaetti and a change in his swing.

The Hangover: Devil Rays Still Looking For First Gear

• The Rays optioned Joel Guzman to AAA Durham on Monday. Guzman, who showed up to Spring Training slimmed down, impressed the coaches with his defensive ability at third base, but struggled with the bat. He was 4-29 with 2 doubles and a home run. Guzman has a long ways to go to prove he can hit at the Major League level. If he can be successful at Durham, the Rays could have a logjam at third base in 2008 with Guzman, Akinori Iwamura and Evan Longoria.
• Josh Hamilton hasn’t cooled off yet. He is hitting .487 with 19 hits in 14 games.
• Joe Maddon says it is time for the regulars to step up. The regular season is two weeks away and it is starting to gt close to that time when slumps will carry over.
• Papa Joe Maddon will also experiment with a new lineup today.
• Josh Paul just really likes wearing masks. Was he burned by acid or something?
• Stuart Sternberg and Co. have made a concerted effort to be more involved in the community.
  

The Hangover: Another Candidate For The Job Seth McClung Does Not Have

• Moral victory last night. The Rays were losing the entire game so the ‘pen did not blow the lead.
• We never gave Brian Stokes much of a chance to win the fifth spot in the rotation and…what? We had Stokes in the rotation’s 5th spot earlier this week? Never happened. Well Papa Joe Maddon made it official yesterday and Stokes is headed to the bullpen. What we didn’t expect was that Stokes is now a candidate to be the team’s closer. There are worse options. *cough, cough* Seth McClung *cough, cough*
• The second round of pink slips were handed out yesterday. No real big surprises on the list except possibly Jason Hammel. We knew Hammel was a long shot for the 5th spot in the rotation, but we thought he would be given more of a chance. In two appearances he allowed one run on four hits in three innings. The roster now stands at 42, with 17 more cuts to come.
• In theory, the fight for the final spot is now down to four, including Edwin Jackson, J. P. Howell, Jae-Kuk Ryu and Tim Corcoran. We still think the team has Corky pegged as a reliever and spot starter, so now we are down to three.
• The Peter Gammons love-fest continues here at RI. Gammons once again he throws some affection towards the Rays in his column “Ten spring questions left to answer“. Question #8 was to wonder aloud how all of the young talented players would eventually fit together. He states that the Rays could be the most fun team to watch of all the second-tier teams in baseball…He refers to the Rays outfield and says that Elijah Dukes may be the most talented of the group. Gammons also hints that the Rays are so impressed by the slimmed-down Joel Guzman that they may be reconsidering Akinori Iwamura’s roll with the team…We understand that Guzman is a good fielder, but so is Muu-Rah, and while Iwamura is struggling at the plate, Guzman is only hitting .150. Muu-Rah will be the opening day third baseman. But at some point, if Guzman can find consistency with the bat, Iwamura may be headed to second base. 2008?
• When we first heard that Joe Maddon was considering Al Reyes for the closer position, we were worried about putting that much pressure on his arm so soon after Tommy John surgery. Then we hear that Maddon is worried about pitching him on back-to-back nights. In that case, closer might be his best option on the Rays. Think about it, how often will the Rays being leading in the ninth on consecutive nights?
• The guys over at armchairgm have their Rays preview up.

The Hangover: Carl Crawford Wants You To Know That He Does Not Have Limp Wrists

• The Rays had another rough loss yesterday, falling to the Tribe 10-2. Joel Guzman hit his first home run of the Spring and Carl Crawford stole two bases. We may have jinxed Jeff Ridgway yesterday by saying that he could grab one of the last bullpen spots because he is left handed. He responded by giving up 3 hits, 4 walks and 5 runs in 1 inning. Not good.
• Jon Switzer took a line drive off his wrist from the only batter he faced. X-rays were negative.
• Josh Hamilton had his first rough game of the Spring going 0-3 with a walk against the Yankees. The o-fer included only his second strike out.
• The Rays made their first two “cuts” of the Spring by reassigning Doug Waechter and Shinji Mori to minor league camp. Both players are returning from surgery and will not be ready to pitch during the first part of the season.
• Rays fans will get a look at two future members of the Rays rotation this afternoon when Jeff Niemann and Mitch Talbot take the mound against the Pirates.
• Papa Joe Maddon’s new lineup with Rocco Baldelli-Delmon Young-Carl Crawford as the 1-2-3 hitters may already be old news as Maddon is now leaning towards swapping C. C. and Delmon permanently. The move makes sense. We have always thought that Crawford was a natural 3-hitter despite his speed. In this case, C. C. and Delmon are very similar hitters, but Crawford has a little more speed and Young has a little more power. The move also creates righty-lefty-righty situation with Baldelli at the top.
• Joel Guzman is excited to be back in the infield, having dropped 20 pounds in the off-season to increase his range and mobility at third base.
• Carl Crawford says that his wrists are fine but he is still treating them everyday for tendinitis. Let’s hope it is only precautionary.
• Yesterday we introduced many of you to Manny Stiles. His first rant on the Rays is up here. Enjoy. He says this isn’t just a shtick. He promises that he is a full-fledged Rays fan now. It’s a hard life Manny.