[THE HANGOVER] Manatees Anticipating Carlos Pena’s Home Runs

Tampa Bay Rays (36 days until pitchers and catchers report)
Like any major redevelopment, the Tampa Bay Rays will have to win a lot of fights along the way as opposition will pop up everywhere. After removing their request for $60 million in state subsidies, the next fight that is starting to brew is the quest to protect the Manatee and how filling a portion of the St. Pete waterfront will affect the endangered species.

“The manatees need to be protected,” said Cathy Harrelson, chairwoman of the coastal task force for the Suncoast Sierra Club. “It is a very big concern.”

“The environment is just the tip of it,” said Lorraine Margeson, an environmental activist opposed to the ballpark. “To me, right now this gives every reason to take this plan right off the map, not even waste our time talking about desecrating the city’s waterfront when there is no need for the city to do this.”

Stadium plans call for dumping fill dirt over six-tenths of an acre of Tampa Bay to create about 26,000 square feet of new land, the equivalent of three house lots. The Rays would then reroute Bayshore Drive across the new land, making the road bow out into the bay.

For those that are not familiar with my daytime job, I work directly with endangered sea mammals. So I am very familiar with the plight of the Manatee and always err on the side of caution when it comes to endangered animals. BUT…this fight reeks of rich people suddenly giving a shit about an animal, only because it suits their needs. As soon as the stadium issue is resolved…either way…these people will be fighting for the Manatees as much as OJ Simpson is searching for the real killers.

Opponents say Rays, Manatees don’t mix [TampaBay.com]

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• The Sporting News ranks the AL starting rotations. The Rays quintet comes in at #10 (out of 14). We are torn here. Before we read the list, we were worried that this would be another writer that jumped on the Rays rotation bandwagon. We have seen some say that the Rays now have one of the best. And with Scott Kazmir, James Shields and Matt Garza, the Rays have one of the better trios. But those seem to ignore Edwin Jackson and Andy Sonnanstine. And while both have the potential to be much better, the truth is, the Rays will be an underdog in almost every single one of their starts. That is 40% of the schedule. Now saying that, #10 seems a bit low, but looking at the list, we are not sure who we would bump. So maybe #10 is about right. [Sporting News]
• The Hardball Times used some fancy math to calculate how many runs each outfielder prevented based on their arm in 2007. BJ Upton was rated as the best arm in center field. Delmon Young rated as the fourth best right fielder and Carl Crawford came in as the 20th “best” left fielder…Nobody has ever questioned Upton’s arm strength, but when Bossman Junior was playing shortstop, he often threw the ball as if he was trying to give a souvenir to every fan behind the first base dugout. In the outfield he has more room for error, and psychologically, he probably thrives with the freedom to just “let ‘er rip”. Crawford’s poor ranking is no surprise as he does have below-average arm strength and often has the accuracy of a blind man. Still. 20th? Among left fielders? The left fielder is generally the outfielder with the weakest arm and Crawford is one of the worst of the bunch, meaning CC ranks among the worst arms in baseball. Maybe he should try throwing right-handed. [The Hardball Times]
• And yet, one blogger lists Carl Crawford as the third best outfielder in baseball. [Dionne’s Dugout]
• Rays Anatomy excerpted an interview with Jim Callis in which he covers the Rays farm system in depth. The most telling point is the prediction that David Price will be in the majors by September at the latest. [Rays Anatomy]

The Devil Rays Rotation Is Set And Edwin Jackson Appears To Be In

We are one week from opening day and based on the pitching assignments that manager Joe Maddon has utilized recently, we now know the order of the Rays starting pitching rotation and it hints at who the 5th starter is. First let’s look at the slots…

1. Scott Kazmir
2. Jae Seo
3. James Shields
4. Casey Fossum
5. Edwin Jackson/J. P. Howell
   

We already know that Scott Kazmir is going to be the opening day starter. Kaz made a start on Friday and will get the ball again on Wednesday, which will put him on normal rest for the opening day start in Yankee Stadium. Jae Seo pitched yesterday and will likely get the ball again on Friday. That will put him on a normal four days rest heading into the second game on Wednesday, after the off-day on Tuesday. James Shields is in the third slot, as he is on schedule to pitch the final game of the Yankees series, with Casey Fossum slotted to be the fourth starter. With Fossum pitching last Thursday and again this upcoming Tuesday, a normal four-days rest schedule would have him taking the mound in the Rays home opener against the Jays on Friday.

Kazmir and Seo as the first two starters is a surprise to nobody, but Maddon’s decision to go with Shields in game 3 is a telling one. This could be an indication that Papa Joe is leaning towards Edwin Jackson for the final spot in the rotation. If Maddon had gone with Fossum in the third slot, it would have given the Rays a lefty-righty-lefty-righty rotation at the top. However, given the current order of starting pitchers, if J. P. Howell were to earn the final spot, the Rays will send out lefties on three straight days (Fossum, Howell, Kazmir). That is a situation most managers would try to avoid. Jackson in the 5th spot would break up the two lefties.

Jackson and Howell two have very similar spring numbers. Howell has given up 13 hits, 5 walks and 1 hit batter with 9 strikeouts in 15 innings (1.80 ERA). In 14.2 innings, Jackson has allowed 10 hits, 8 walks and struck out 13 (1.84 ERA). With Jackson out of minor league options Howell probably would have needed to be markedly better than Jackson this spring to win the final spot. Maddon will probably make his decision official on Thursday. Whoever starts on Thursday will be on schedule to pitch the 5th game of the season.

With the off day the first week, the Rays may choose to skip the fifth spot in the rotation the first time through. If that is the case, the Rays will not need a fifth starter until the ninth game of the season, against the Rangers. However, last season Maddon chose to give Kazmir an extra day of rest the first week as he did use the teams 5th starter the first time through the order.

The Hangover: The Rays Are On The Bubble (What is their RPI again?)

• Another solid performance by one of the Rays starting pitchers. James Shields allowed only one base runner in two innings of work with two strikeouts. At the plate, Joe Maddon tried a new lineup with Carl Crawford and Delmon Young switching spots in the order. The move paid off in the first with Crawford stealing second and Delmon driving him home.
• Yesterday we speculated that one of the final two spots in the bullpen would go to Al Reyes and the final spot was up for grabs. Papa Joe Maddon indicated that there was a very good chance that Reyes would make the team and Juan Salas was the leading candidate for the final spot. One guy we might be forgetting about is Jeff Ridgway. Maddon went the first half of 2006 without a lefty in the bullpen. He has always said having a lefty is not a priority. Rather, he just needs a guy that can get lefties out. Still, if Maddon does decide to include a lefty in the pen (like the other 29 managers in baseball) Ridgway might be the guy.
• In a classic non-story-story, the Lakeland Ledger says that the Rays should not be tempted to rush Jeff Niemann to the majors. The Rays have one spot open in the rotation (two if Casey Fossum can’t go the first week or two) and five pitchers competing for that spot. Niemann is not one of those pitchers. The team has been emphatic that Big Righthander would start the season at AAA. Trust us, they are not tempted.
• Last season there was one of those classic New York sports stories (by typical we mean silly) that made a controversy over the use of the song Enter Sandman by the Mets new closer Billy Wagner. You see the song had been used by the Yankees Mo Rivera for years and for a lesser human being like Wagner to use it was heretical. Well, even though he is a starter, J. P. Howell’s favorite musician could trump them all. Who wouldn’t get fired up when Howell came jogging in from the bullpen with PA announcer blaring…Mozart?
• The Hardball Times ranks the top 3 benches in the American League. The Rays did not make the cut, but they did receive honorable mention. Now if the team could just get some pitching depth.
• Baseball Analysts takes a look at how often Rule 5 picks stuck with their new teams for an entire season from 1998-2006. Interestingly, outfield selections have the highest failure rate. Of the 23 outfielders chosen from 1998-2006, only five were with the team that selected them for the entire season. One of those to not stick with their new team was Rays farmhand Jason Pridie. Will Josh Hamilton become just the sixth? We thinks yes.
• Could the Rays be Major League baseball’s version of George Mason this season? Only if the league decides to allow 65 teams into the playoffs, and even then they better hope that the selection committee considers the Rays strength of schedule.