[THE HANGOVER] Pitchers And Catchers Report: All Is Right In The World

Tampa Bay Rays (46 days until Opening Day)
Today is the first official day of Spring Training as pitchers and catchers are required to report. However, according to Marc Lancaster, this is a mere formality as players have been reporting to the Naimoli Complex, three days a week for weeks now.

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, beginning last fall, Rays players have convened for workouts. According to Scott Kazmir, a dozen or so players have been present regularly throughout the winter. In recent weeks, that number has swelled considerably.

James Shields participated in his first full workout at the complex last Wednesday and was stunned by what he saw.

“I swear to God there were 40 guys,” said Shields. “It was amazing. I normally come back a week before spring and I see maybe 10, 12 guys. But it was a full squad out there. It was crazy.”

Of the 35 pitchers and catchers required to report today, 34 will be on time, as only Juan Salas, who is having visa problems will be late.

Lancaster speculates that the level of participation could be a sign of maturity and anticipation.

The level of participation could be interpreted as a sign of maturity among a still-young group, but anticipation of the upcoming season has been a driving force as well. Especially for those who have suffered through one losing campaign after another, there is a sense that this could be the breakthrough season everyone has awaited.

Kinda makes us want to grab a mitt and some spikes and see if James Shields wants to warm up.

Rays Ready For Reporting Day [Tampa Tribune]

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• Evan Longoria welcomes the challenge of winning the third base job in Spring Training. [The Heater]

“That’s basically what I came into spring hoping would happen,” Longoria said. “If they would have made the decision early, obviously if I was in the big leagues that would be good, but I feel like now it just puts a little more added pressure on me, which I like. It’s going to make me work harder.”

• Anaheim Angels All the Way ran a full season simulation using the CHONE projections. The Rays finished the “regular season” at 89-73, just 3 games behind the Yankees and the Red Sox in the AL East. Don’t put too much weight on this projection as it was only run once. Every March Replacement Level Yankees runs a series of simulations. One of the projections used is CHONE. The difference is they will run the projections 1,000 times. Last year, after 1,000 projections the Rays averaged 71.3 wins per simulation. However, at least once the Rays won 93 games. They won the division two times and were the AL Wild Card winner three times. When running simulations like these, anomalies happen. Let’s wait until RLY gets a chance to run the 1,000 simulations and then we will have a better idea what to expect from the 2008 Rays. [Angels All the Way via DRays Bay]
• RaysBB has finished their round-table rundown of the Rays top prospects. 13 people participated and we were the only one that did not have Evan Longoria in the top spot. To us it is really 1a and 1b and since we have little experience actually seeing any of these guys play we consider “value to the organization” as the top criteria and to us winning is always about pitching and the pitcher gets the slight edge. [RaysBB]
• Bill Chastain wraps up his “Around the Horn” series by taking a look at the Rays DHs and Bench. [RaysBaseball.com]
• Refrigerator Logic lists the reasons fans should pay attention to the Rays in 2008. [Refrigerator Logic]
• Outs Per Swing questions why Rob Neyer leaves Scott Kazmir off his list of top young pitchers even though Kid K meets the criteria set forth by Neyer. [Outs Per Swing]
• Baseball Analysts concludes their break-down of the best young players by age. The latest lists look at 20 and 21 year old. Desmond Jennings(#7) and Jake McGee (#9) both make the list of top 21-year olds. [Baseball Analysts]

[THE HANGOVER] New Deals For Shields And Pena May Keep Both From Being Traded During Arbitration Years

Tampa Bay Rays (18 days until pitchers and catchers report)
Just the links today as we mourn the 15th anniversary of the passing of one of our childhood faves, Andre the Giant, and wish a happy birthday to another one of our childhood faves, Keith Olbermann. What better way to celebrate then to bake a chocolate cake on National Chocolate Cake Day!

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• In Marc Topkin’s latest piece, he speculates on what James Shields’ deal means for Scott Kazmir. Kazmir says that the deal has little bearing on his contract status as they are in difference situations (Kazmir is in his arbitration years). Later on in the piece Topkin raises a good point we had not considered before in regards to the recent deals for Shields and Carlos Pena. He states that even though the deals only take away a minimal number of free agent years, the contracts will also keep the Rays from being forced to trade one or the other at any time during their arbitration years. So while the players were locked up for X number of years prior to the deals (five years in Shields case) the deals do make it easier for the team to keep the players during those locked-up years. [St. Pete Times]

Shields’ deal technically would only keep him around for two extra free-agent seasons, but another benefit of these type of deals is cost certainly during arbitration years, which could prevent the Rays from having to trade him, as the Marlins did when arbitration-eligible Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis became too expensive.

• The Bradenton Herald says that the moves made this off-season are not a ploy by the team to earn support for a new stadium, and the timing is just a coincidence. [Bradenton Herald]
• Jim Hickey expects the bullpen to be much better in 2008 (Couldn’t be any worse). But what is interesting in the piece, when Hickey speaks of Troy Percival, Al Reyes, Dan Wheeler and Gary Glover. “When I end up talking about bullpen guys, you always talk about if you’re comfortable sending a guy out there, and right there are four guys I’m comfortable sending out there in pretty much any situation at all.” It is pretty clear from that quote, that Glover will be on the opening day roster. In our most recent 25-man roster projection (in the sidebar), we did not have Glover’s position listed as “secure”. We will have to change that in our next evaluation. That leaves three spots in the ‘pen. Long Reliever is likely to be one of the starting pitchers that does not win a spot in the rotation. Lefty-Specialist is a player-to-be-signed later. The final spot is up for grabs with Juan Salas and Scott Dohmann being the leading candidates (Salas has a minor league option remaining). [TBO]
• DRays Bay takes a look at every player invited to Spring Training and what each player’s chances are of making the team. [DRays Bay]
• Fox Sports lists Andy Sonnanstine as one of ten players that could break out in 2008. [Fox Sports]

With guys like Scott Kazmir, James Shields and Matt Garza in the Tampa Bay rotation, it’s easy to forget about Sonnanstine. However, he’s impressive in his own right. Sonnanstine boasts a low arm angle, an array of pitches, and an ability to change speeds. None of his offerings wow scouts, but in four minor-league seasons he logged a 2.56 ERA and a stellar strikeout-to-walk ratio of 6.2 to 1. Last season in Tampa, Sonnanstine struggled in terms of keeping runs off the board, but he did strike out more than three times as many batters as he walked. Given his command skills, Sonnanstine is one to watch in 2008.

• Evan Longoria will wear #3 in Spring Training. He wears #6 in the minors.
• The Rays have signed relief pitcher Scott Munter to a minor league contract. Munter was a 47th round selection of the Giants in 2000 and somehow has managed to earn three different stints with the Giants despite a career minor league record that includes almost as many walks (134) as strikeouts (175 in 334.1 innings). [Baseball America]
• RotoAuthority has their projection for James Shields numbers in 2008. Interestingly, the projection calls for a year not quite as a good as last year, with 13 wins and a 4.06 ERA. [RotoAuthority]

[THE HANGOVER] Winter Meetings Are Underway In Nashville

Tampa Bay Rays (66-96)
Correction: On Friday we mentioned that Saturday was the deadline for offering arbitration to all players that are arbitration eligible. In fact, the deadline was only for teams to offer arbitration to their free agents. Players with at least three years, but less than six years of major league experience, are also eligible for arbitration, but there is a separate deadline for teams to offer those players arbitration. That would be the non-tender deadline of December 12…Trying to understand baseball’s contract rules is often like trying to understand the tax code or Joe Maddon’s starting lineups.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• We have yet another new Tampa Bay Rays website in the blogosphere, The Rays Way. The new blogger is younger, but he is a diehard Rays fan, which is not always the case with some of these sites. We are not saying a site cannot be good if it is not run by fans, but there is something that is added to the mix when the writer(s) have an emotional attachment to the team they are covering. So if you have a moment, stop by and welcome The Rays Way to the neighborhood. [The Rays Way]
• We think Marc Topkin is in Nashville for the winter meetings. We say “think” because there is no by-line on the blog post. We also assume it is Topkin (and not Eduardo Encina) because the writer announces that he will not report on every rumor because “so many of them are made up”. And we already know that Topkin is the one person that always just knows what rumors are true, and which are not. [tampabay.com]
• Marc Lancaster thinks the Rays will not be very active at the winter meetings (despite still needing a left bat, a lefty reliever, a backup catcher and a right fielder, not to mention possibly adding a veteran starting pitcher). [TBO]

But when the Tampa Bay contingent rolls into the Opryland Hotel this morning for four days of non-stop talk, if not necessarily much action, the group can take comfort in knowing most of its frontline needs already have been addressed.

• On the other hand, Roger Mooney believes the Rays may actually open up their wallet. This seems to be a bit far in the other direction. Based on the moves already made and speculating on arbitration values, the Rays 2008 Payroll is in the neighborhood of $38 million already, which is already a couple of million over their projected payroll increase of 20%. More likely the additions will come via trade [Bradenton Herald]
• The St. Pete Times has a story that shows the Rays have a lot of hoops to jump through before they get approval to build a new stadium. IF they can successfully maneuver the gauntlet, they will break ground in less than 500 days. [St. Pete Times]
• The Rule 5 Draft is on Thursday and the Rays have the first pick, should they decide to use it. MLB Trade Rumors has a source that the Rays may select outfielder Brian Barton, and outfielder in AA for the Indians. He is a speedster that has posted strong OPS numbers throughout the minors, but some worry that the numbers may be skewed because he has always been older than most of his competition and may not be a major league talent. It would cost the Rays $50,000 to select Barton and would have to keep him on the 25-man roster all season long or offer him back to the Indians for $25,000. In addition there are several Rays players that may be selected by other teams, including Dale Thayer and Nick DeBarr. [MLB Trade Rumors]
• A statistical look at Brian Barton and the other top prospects that are available in the Rule 5 draft. [Beyond the Boxscore]
• The Rays have already had one of their busiest off-seasons in team history, but there is still plenty of work to do. All of the sudden there is a glaring hole in right field that may or may not be able to be filled by some combination of Rocco Baldelli, Jonny Gomes and Justin Ruggiano, none of whom screams huge 2008 numbers. The team also needs a left-handed bat, a veteran catcher to back up Dioner Navarro, and a lefty in the bullpen. [Devil Rays]
• If the goal of the Tampa Bay Rays brass was to get more people to pay attention to the Rays, it looks like it is working. The Tampa Bay Bucs are now 8-4, following a game that I am fairly certain took a couple of days off of my life, and are playing their best ball since the Super Bowl season…yet Best Bucs Blog took time to write a post about the Tampa Bay Rays and all the changes that have occurred or have been proposed, entitled “Cautiously Optimistic”. The title is an apt one. There is still a lot of work to do. [Best Bucs Blog]
• Before last season we called for people to jump on board the Devil Rays Bandwagon, so as to enjoy the ride to the top. With all the recent changes others are starting to take notice and are ready to jump on board. [New University]
• It was no surprise, but on Friday, Joe Maddon named Troy Percival the team’s 2008 closer. While Al Reyes is the most directly affected, Juan Salas will also have a considerably different role in 2008. If Reyes were to be the closer in 2008, the Rays would have likely given Salas occasional save opportunities with the purpose of auditioning as well as training Salas to be the closer for 2009 and beyond. With Percy on board for the next two seasons, Salas, who has options remaining, may now begin the season in Durham as the Bulls’ closer. [TBO]
• We have no doubt that Troy Percival is great in the clubhouse, and he may be a great presence for the other relievers, but lets ease up on all the talk of the “leadership” effect from a player that spends at least 8 innings of every game sitting in the bullpen. [TBO]
• Dennis Maffezzoli thinks that the Rays added a couple of big pieces in Matt Garza and Jason Bartlett, in addition he believes trading Delmon Young might have been addition-by-subtraction. [Herald-Tribune]
• With the loss of Delmon Young, the price for Carl Crawford just went up. We wouldn’t go so far as to say he is “untouchable” as the Chicago Tribune suggests, but the bounty would be great. [Chicago Tribune]
• Oh, It’s THOSE Girls wrote an open letter to new Rays shortstop Jason Bartlett. Apparently they are going to miss his baseball skills and his cuteness, and have named him an “honorary boyfriend”. [Oh, It’s THOSE Girls]

[THE HANGOVER] Evan Longoria And Justin Ruggiano Key Players In Team USA World Cup Title

Team USA 6, Cuba 3.
Team USA won all three games over the weekend including a 6-3 victory over Cuba on Sunday in the final to win the 2007 World Cup. Both Evan Longoria and Justin Ruggiano contributed in the final, with Longoria going 2-5 with 2 runs scored and Ruggiano had 3 hits in 4 at bats with an RBI single and a run scored. Ruggiano added a stolen base.

Team USA finished 9-1 in the tournament. Longoria was 11-38 (.289), with 3 doubles, a triple, a home run and 5 RBI. Ruggiano was 10-30 (.333) and 8 RBI. He tied Andy LaRoche with a team best 3 home runs.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• Can we please ease up on the talk about Barry Bonds playing for the Rays? Let’s say for a moment that the Rays could sign Bonds for a reasonably cheap price…and let’s say for a moment that at 44 years old he can still hit 30 home runs and post a .450 OBP…and let’s say he does not get suspended or spend any time in jail…there is still ZERO chance the Rays will sign Bonds. Yes, he might still be effective and yes he would help increase attendance, but if there is one thing we can all agree on about the Tampa Bay Rays front office…it is that they are very image conscious. This is a team that just became the first team since the Houston Colt .45s to change their name without moving because some people react “negatively” to the term “devil”. And some people still think that it is possible for the Rays to sign a player that is A) a cheater; B) under indictment for perjury; C) universally hated by baseball fans. Let us put it this way. The Rays would not sign Barry Bonds even if he came to the Rays with a blank contract ala Andre Dawson to the Cubs in 1987. [DRays Bay]
• We still think the Rays hope that Juan Salas steps up and claims the closer role in the near future, but TBSF says that the closer-in-waiting might be Calvin Medlock. [Tampa Bay Sports Fanatic]
• The St. Pete Times has generated an artists rendering of what the Tampa Bay Rays proposed stadium might look like. [TampaBay.com]
• Tampa Bay’s 10 obtained documents that detailed discussion the Rays have had with the city of St. Pete in regards to the proposed new stadium on the site of Al Lang Field. They show that the city has (not surprisingly) expressed concerns over the financing of the new stadium. [TampaBays10]

While the Rays paint a rosy picture about moving from Tropicana Field to Al Lang stadium in downtown, the city says there are many uncertainties including the recent Florida Supreme Court decision about using what’s called tax increment funding to finance the facility.

St. Petersburg is also worried about the uncertainty of the statewide tax referendum that could reduce the available tax dollars to the city as well as the need to maximize retail space at the current Tropicana site.

Tthere is uncertainty about traffic circulation, parking and other impacts at the new downtown site. The city is also concerned about financial terms that will be acceptable to everyone.

• The Tampa Bay Rays believe that a new stadium could generate $1 billion in new revenue for the city of St. Pete, along with 2,500 new permanent jobs and 14,000 temporary jobs. [MLB News Blog]
• The Rays sent new personalized jerseys to several legislators, but claim they were not intended to sway their vote on a stadium subsidy. [tampabay.com]

“It’s the $60-million jersey,” joked Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, who got one in the mail Friday.

• Joe Maddon thinks that several voters did not vote for Delmon Young on their Rookie of the Year ballots because of his reputation and personal prejudice. Young finished second in the voting and received three first place votes, but eight voters did not include Young in their top 3. [tampabay.com]

“It’s really disturbing,” Maddon said Friday. “I can see him not winning the award, but leaving him off eight ballots is just a sign of personal prejudice.”

• Of course, it may have been because Delmon Young posted the lowest OPS (.724) for any right fielder in baseball in 2007. [Recondite Baseball]

The Hangover: Devil Rays Lose The Old-Fashined Way

Orioles 3, Devil Rays 0.
It was nice of the Devil Rays to get back to losing in a fashion with which we are more familiar. You know the kind where Scott Kazmir pitches lights out for 5 innings and then wears down in an effort to pitch just well enough to lose. That is of course followed by a reliever throwing gas on the fire. In this case it was Juan Salas pleading innocent of steroids but guilty of being unable to throw strikes with the bases loaded.

All the while the “almighty” Rays offense thought it was “Turn Back The Clock” night as they were shutout by a pitiful Orioles pitching staff despite having runners on base in 7 innings. Entering last night’s contest, the Rays had the 4th highest team batting average since the all-star break (.315) yet, in a game during which the pitchers gave them a chance to win, the offense managed to ground into more double plays (4) than they had hits (2).

When is the Bucs first pre-season game? Maybe we should just start Bucs Index now.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• Carl Crawford was back in the lineup last night after missing two games with a minor ankle injury. [tampabay.com]
• Juan Salas made his first appearance for the Rays since being suspended by the league for testing positive for performance enhancing drugs. He could instantly step into the role of 7th inning pitcher. Considering he is one relief pitcher with an ERA below 4, maybe he should be the 8th inning guy and closer-in-waiting if/when Al Reyes is traded. [TBO]
• Juan Salas spoke about why he was suspended for the first time. Of course, rather than take responsibility, he took the same low road most players take. He claims he has no idea how he tested positive. We believe him. We think it must have been the invisible steroid fairy that haunts idiot baseball players in their sleep. The fairy looks like Jose Canseco with wings and instead of a wand, it carries a needle to stick in their ass. [tampabay.com]

“It was an accident,’’ Salas said. “I was not aware. I didn’t do it knowing what was going on. It must have been something in a drink. I don’t know.’’

• Jay Witasick believes he will be throwing in a couple of days and will be off the DL when he is eligible. [Devil Rays]
• Casey Fossum should be back with the club on Thursday. That sound you heard was a sigh-of-relief from Devil Rays Red Sox fans. [USA Today]
• Before last night’s game, the Baltimore Orioles honored Cal Ripken, Jr. on his induction to the Hall of Fame. We tip our caps and hope that someday we can have a player half as good and half as classy play 21 years for the Devil Rays. [Baltimore Sun]
• Instead we get to “root” for players like Elijah Dukes. It is like Dukes is trying to get released by the Devil Rays. Why would anyone want to be released by the Devil Rays? [TBO]

The Hangover: The Devil Rays Allowed No Runs Yesterday!

Devil Rays (off day)
The schedule makers must have seen this past weekend coming and mercifully gave the Rays and their dwindling fans base a much needed day off.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• BJ Upton and Robinson Cano were selected as AL co-players of the week. Upton hit .414 with 2 home runs and 8 RBI. [The Sports Network]
• The Devil Rays at their current pace would finish the season 54-108 and become just the 12th team in history to allow 1,000 runs. Since June 12, the Rays are 9-27 and have allowed 7.26 runs per game. [The New York Sun]
  
• Jay Witasick was placed on the 15-day DL and JP Howell was optioned back to Durham. Jason Hammel, who never even left the ballclub is back on the active roster and Juan Salas was promoted back to Tampa for the first time since being suspended for 50-games for steroid use. Hammel who was being sent back to Durham so that he could return to being a starter, will instead take Howell’s spot in the rotation and be a starter for the Rays. [tampabay.com]
• Casey Fossum will miss a couple of games to be with his family after the birth of their child on Tuesday. That sound you just heard was the moan from Orioles hitters. [tampabay.com]
• What happened to James Shields, indeed? We doubt it is a hidden injury. The Rays are going to be extra careful with guys like Scott Kazmir and Shields. An injured arm is usually easy to spot in a young pitcher. They will change their mechanics or they will be afraid to throw a certain pitch. More likely, Shields is just fighting through a “dead-arm” period. [armchairgm]
• A new low for the Devil Rays? How about a power ranking of #32. For those of you that haven’t had your coffee yet, there are only 30 teams in baseball. And frankly, we are in no position to argue. [Chicago Tribune]

The Hangover: Carl Crawford Correct Choice To Represent Rays In All-Star Game

Indians 3, Devil Rays 2.
On a day when the Rays would lose their season-high seventh straight game, there was some good news that came from the Devil Rays clubhouse. While one could argue that there were 3-4 players with statistics more worthy of the All-Star game, when manager Jim Leyland needed to select a player to represent the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, he chose Carl Crawford…and it was absolutely the correct choice.

Crawford has strong numbers so far this season, but they are below what many have come to expect to the young left fielder. At the half-way point of the 2007 season, in a year many expected Crawford to breakout, his numbers are down across the board. Leyland could have easily selected another player like Carlos Pena (3rd in AL in home runs despite 80 fewer at bats than most full-time players), or Al Reyes (17-18 in save opportunities) or Brendan Harris (.308-8-34). But there would have been no benefit to the franchise to have a 37 year old journeyman reliever or two players that were cast-offs from other teams, represent the Devil Rays in the All-Star game.

In the end, Leyland went with the most talented player on the team. Leyland went with the future of the team and the face of a franchise that desperately needs a new national image. For the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, the pieces are starting to fall in place and this is a team on the rise. But to the casual fan, the Devil Rays are still the same unlovable losers they have always been.

As the team’s most talented and most recognizable player, Carl Crawford is the face of the franchise. With a contract that will have him in a Devil Rays uniform through at least the next three seasons, Carl Crawford is the future of the franchise. He is the one player that Devil Rays fans will be excited to see playing in the All-Star game. He is the one Devil Ray that casual fans will be interested to see play, perhaps for the first time. And if Crawford can hit one of his trademark triples and a national TV audience can see the speed and the talent, maybe…just maybe…the Devil Rays can take a step towards no longer being the laughing stock of the Major Leagues.

Of course then we get to hear all the Yankees, Mets and Red Sox fans talk about how such a talented player like C. C. should be playing for their respective teams. And we will have to deal with laughable trade suggestions of six mediocre AA pitching prospects, and how the Rays would be “crazy” to turn it down. So let us save them some trouble now…Why don’t you throw in one or two of your six over-the-hill, over-priced, under-performing, oft-injured veterans that you can’t stand anymore and we have a deal.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• Apparently, having to travel all the way to Legends Field and having to play five innings in a rehab assignment for the Vero Beach Rays, can be taxing on a player . BJ Upton say out his second scheduled rehab start because he was “fatigued”. He returned to the lineup on Saturday and went 0-2. He did not return to the game after a rain delay. Our assumption is that he was asleep in the clubhouse. Upton will now report to Durham and his scheduled return on Tuesday has been pushed back.
• Juan Salas has been transferred from Montgomery to Durham. He is eligible to return to the Devil Rays on Tuesday.
• David Price was named the winner of the 2007 Golden Spikes award given to the best amateur baseball player.

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.

Down On The Farm: Wade Davis Promoted; Rocco Baldelli Homers In Return

Durham 7, Indy 3. Rocco Baldelli didn’t waste anytime getting his bat warmed up. In just the second at bat of his first live action in over a month, Baldelli hit a solo home run. He finished the game 1-3 with a walk as the Bulls’ DH. Justin Ruggiano went 3-4 and is now hitting .296. He also stole his 11th base. Ben Zobrist was 0-4 and committed his 9th error…On the mound, some guy name Jae Seo made his second minor league start giving up 3 runs in 5 innings.

Jacksonville 5, Montgomery 4. James Houser returned from a strained quad and gave up 3 runs before being pulled with 2 outs in the 5th. Reid Brignac was 1-4 and Evan Longoria was 1-2 with an RBI. John Jaso hit his 6th home run.

Greenville 12, Columbus 7. Heath Rollins was pounded for the 3rd straight start. This time he allowed 9 runs (8 earned) in 3 innings on 8 hits and 2 walks. Desmond Jennings was 4-4 with 3 doubles to raise his average to .297.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• Wade Davis has been promoted do AA Montgomery. Davis was 3-0 with a 1.84 ERA in 13 starts with Vero Beach. He struck out 88 in 78.1 innings.
• Doug Waechter will join the short-season Hudson Valley Renegades for a rehab assignment.
• Juan Salas will join AA Montgomery in order to prepare for his return from his 50-game suspension.
• An interview with Ben Zobrist on his demotion to Durham.
• Evan Longoria hit his 15th home run on Saturday.
• Jeremy Hellickson gave up 5 runs in 6 innings on Saturday.

The Hangover: Not Your Older Brother’s Devil Rays

Devil Rays 11, Padres 4.
Shhhh. *in a hushed tone* The Rays have now won 7 of 9. We are afraid to say it too loud. If other people find out, they may think it is some sort of mistake and take some of the wins back. Last night it was the Scott Kazmir from the first half of 2006…at least for the first 5 innings. He was sharp. His slider was great. He was striking batters out and not walking anybody. Most importantly, he was managing his pitches. After 5 innings, he only had 77 pitches, which is not great, but is good for Kid K. Then came the 6th inning. 40 pitches (!) and 2 runs later, Kazmir had 117 pitches and couldn’t come out for the 7th. baby steps.

And of course Carlos Pena. El Gato. For those that want to knock Joe Maddon and his staff, you have to give them credit for resurrecting Pena’s career. Once considered one of the top prospects in baseball in the Rangers organization, he bounced around to 5 different organizations in 6 seasons. Coming into this season he had a .243 career batting average and a .790 OPS. He was reduced to accepting a minor league contract from The Tampa Bay Devil Rays with only the promise that he would have a chance to compete for a roster spot. Then Joe Maddon and George Hendrick convinced Pena to use the whole field. They reminded him that he has enough power to hit home runs to the opposite field and straight away. Now? Pena is hitting .311 with a 1.055 OPS. He is 5th in the AL in home runs despite having 50% fewer at bats than anybody else in the top 10. His .656 SLG would be good for 3rd in the AL if he had enough at bats to qualify.

A look at the standings and the Rays are now tied with Toronto for 3rd place in the AL East, a game ahead of the Orioles. The Rays are actually a game up on the Jays in the loss column and only 2 games behind the Yankees. Is it a mistake? Others will think so. It is now the middle on June and the Rays should be in their customary last place position…right?

Rather, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays are now only 4 games below .500. Only 4 games below The Charlie Hough Line. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays are 4 games below Charlie with 31 starts by the Axis of Evil (Seo/Fossum/Jackson). 4 games below .500 with one reliable relief pitcher who can’t pitch every day.

But like they say in baseball…Momentum is only as good as tomorrow’s starting pitcher. So our excitement is tempered by the knowledge that Edwin Jackson is on the mound tonight and the Rays must face Jake Peavy who is 7-1 with a 1.97 ERA. In Jackson’s defense, the Rays have actually won 2 of his last 3 starts, despite his 0-7 record. And should the Rays lose tonight? Tomorrow it is JP Howell, and we’ll take that over Jae Seo.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• The Rays made it official yesterday and signed Jay Witasick to fill the vacancy in the bullpen.
• Joe Maddon stated that Jay Witasick will be the 7th inning set-up man. Of course, knowing Papa Joe, that might last as long as a Delmon Young at bat.
• The Rays designated Ruddy Lugo for assignment to make room for Jay Witasick. They will need to remove another player from the 40-man roster in two weeks when Juan Salas returns from his suspension and a second player will have to be designated if David Price signs a major league contract, which is the standard for top picks. It would not surprise us if a trade is made in the next two weeks to free up at least one of those roster spots.
• According to Heath Bell, the Rays tried to acquire him from the Padres after the Padres acquired him from the Mets. The Rays were interested in making Bell the closer and from the sound of it, Bell would have liked the move.

“I eventually would like to be a closer,” said Bell, who lives some two hours from Tampa Bay, in Port St. Lucie. “The Devil Rays didn’t have a closer. I would have been pretty fine with that. I was a closer in the minors. It was just so much fun doing it.”

• This must be a mistake…Every week SI.com releases their “MLB Power Rankings”. The Rankings actually cover three pages with 10 teams on each page. We always go straight to page three to find out exactly where the Devil Rays are ranked that week. Well, this week, the Rays were no where to be found on the third page. They have jumped up from #24 all the way to #19. PAGE 2 BABY!