Julio Lugo Traded To The Los Angeles Dodgers

The Julio Lugo saga has finally ended. Early on, it appeared that the Toronto Blue Jays were the only serious bidder for the services of Lugo for the final two months of the season. With the Jays starting to slip in the standings and no other teams interested, the Jays stood pat on their refusal to part with any of their top pitching prospects. This led to an 11th hour attempt by the Devil Rays’ front office to sign Lugo to an extension. Negotiations never reached serious stages as the two sides were just too far apart.

Then something happened to help the Devil Rays trade the free agent-to-be…Peter Angelos bought the Baltimore Orioles. OK, so he bought the team in 1993, 5 years before the Devil Rays would even play an official game. But in the last two days Angelos showed what a terrible owner he is by turning down at least two offers from other teams that would have landed the Orioles top pitchers in addition to other players. As a result, several teams that were looking for a shortstop with a strong bat, turned their attention to Julio Lugo. In the last 24 hours before the trade deadline, the Red Sox and the Astros were rumored to be in negotiations with the Devil Rays. What was clear, was that nobody was going to budge on their top pitching prospects, so the Devil Rays front office turned their attention to the best prospect(s) available. In the last hour before the deadline, the Rays worked out a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers for two minor leaguers, Joel Guzman and Sergio Pedroza.

We have to admit…we never thought the Rays would be able to get a very strong prospect for Julio Lugo. We would have been happy with a mid-level pitcher with potential and maybe a throw-in position player and hope for the best. In fact the Rays were able to land Guzman, who was rated in the preseason by Baseball America as the Dodgers’ top prospect. Guzman, who is listed at 6-6, 260 (he’s a big boy) has come up through the Dodgers’ system as a shortstop, but this season he had been moved to the outfield in an effort to get his power bat to the majors. He appeared in 8 games for Los Angeles earlier this year, going 4-19 with 3 RBI. First and foremost, Guzman is a hitting prospect. His most likely position with the Devil Rays would be first base, where there is an immediate need in 2007. He could also end up at third base if Upton ultimately moves back to shortstop. Guzman’s strikeout totals in the minor leagues have been high, but his bat is believed to be major league ready or near major league ready. During last night’s game against Detroit, Andrew Friedman stated that Guzman would start with the Durham Bulls, but that there is a good chance he would be in a Devil Rays uniform in September when rosters expand.

The Devil Rays were not able to land a top pitching prospect at the deadline, but they obtained the next best thing. They acquired a top hitting prospect that could ultimately fill a void in the team’s lineup for 2007 and beyond.

The Hangover: Last Night In The AL East

D-Rays 7, Detroit 3. Some things change…Julio Lugo is out as the Rays shortstop…Kid K and Wiggy are on the DL…B. J. Upton, Ben Zobrist and J. P. Howell are on their way…All of those changes? Nothing compared to what happened last night at The Pit. It is not that strange for the Rays to have beaten the best team in baseball and the All-Star game starter. After all, bad teams win at least 60 games every year and good teams lose at least 60 every year. It was a little strange that the Rays seemed to handle the Tigers as easily as they did. But, what was very strange was how they managed to do it. The Rays beat the best team in baseball (a team the Rays were 27.5 games behind in the standings) behind the pitching of Casey Fossum and the hitting of Travis Lee. Casey Fossum and Travis Lee? Lee hit a 2-run home run in the 6th to put the game out of reach. Fossum struck out a season high 10 in 7 innings of work allowing 6 hits and no walks. And herein lies the problem with Fossum. He is just good enough, just often enough to give you a sense that he could be better than he is. Of course it doesn’t hurt that he is left-handed. In other words, he is the younger version of Jamie Moyer. Some numbers on Jamie Moyer. In 506 starts, he has managed to win only 211 games. For his career, it took Moyer more starts than any other pitcher in history to win 200 games. He has been All-Star one time and only 2 times has he finished in the top 5 in the Cy Young balloting. Yet somehow he has managed to put together a 21 year major league career.

But let’s be honest, last night’s game was merely a warm up for the main attraction. Tonight is the night that many fans have been waiting for. J. P. Howell will be on the mound going against one of the better young pitchers in the American League and the left side of the infield will have a decidedly new look with Ben Zobrist at shortstop and B. J. Upton at third base.

Boston 9, Cleveland 8. …and some things stay the same. A good home run hitter in the Majors might hit a home run every 15-20 at bats. A great home run hitter might hit one every 10-12 at bats. The number of home runs that are hit in pressure situations is probably less than that. Given those numbers, a home run hitter has approximately a 5% chance to hit a home run in a pressure situation. Not the best odds in the world. That being said, it is still not surprising that we immediately switch over to the Sox game when our budy calls up to tell us the Sox are in the bottom of the 9th and if one or two guys get on, Big Papi will have a chance to tie or win the game. What is amazing is that when Big Papi does come up with 2 on, we expect him to hit a home run and win the game. At that very moment all we could do is put our hands on our head and smile. Still, our reaction does not give it justice. Here is the reaction from a couple of Red Sox sites.

It’s official: David Ortiz is f–king ridiculous. [Surviving Grady]

Superman of baseball. [Boston Dirt Dogs]

Papi dwells in the ancient ethah before light and dark were separated. He’s the fucking big bang. [Soxaholix]

Seattle 10, Baltimore 5. Oh yeah. The Horioles lost. And Peter Angelos lost his mind. In the span of 24 hours, Angelos rejected a trade for Miguel Tejada from the Angels that would have given the Orioles a great young pitcher in Ervin Santana and and a top shortstop prospect, Erick Aybar. He then rejected an offer from the Astros for Tejada that would have given the O’s Roy Oswalt, Morgan Ensberg and Adam Everett. That’s right folks, he turned down a trade that would have given the O’s the only pitcher to win 20 games the last two years! We’re speechless.

A Look At The Future…Yesterday On The Farm

Rochester 10, Durham 6. It must have been a strange site last night in Durham when the fans arrived at the park. Before the game, B. J. Upton, who has spent most of the past three seasons wearing a Bulls uniform, was not at the ballpark, having been promoted to the Devil Rays (more on that later today). In addition, Ben Zobrist, who had replaced Upton as the Bulls shortstop was also called up to the Tampa Bay roster. Darnell McDonald, who replaced Upton at the top of the lineup went 2-5 with a double and 2 runs scored. He also stole his 23rd base and is now hitting .311. Kevin Witt hit another home run, his 31st, as he went 3-5 with 3 RBI.

Birmingham 4, Montgomery 1. Speaking of promotions, Jim Magrane, who has been outstanding for the Biscuits was promoted to AAA Durham to replace J. P. Howell, who was promoted to Tampa. Our heads are starting to spin.

Visalia 4, San Jose 2. Evan Longoria had his second straight 0-5 night, as his average falls to .327. Reid Brignac went 2-4 with his 12 stolen base and is now hitting .322.

Fort Wayne 11, SW Michigan 4. Rough night for Wade Davis who gave up 6 runs (4 earned) in 4 innings. He allowed 9 hits and 2 walks and only struck out 2.

Staten Island 11, Hudson Valley 7. Josh Hamilton missed his second straight game after being pulled for a pinch hitter on the 29th. No word yet on why he has been missing from the lineup.

D-Rays vs. Detroit Tigers Tidbits

• The Devil Rays are 43-62, 20 games behind Boston in the AL East, and are 4-12 since the All-Star break. In the 4 wins, the Rays have scored 52 runs. In the 12 losses, the Rays have scored 31 runs.
• The Tigers have the best record in baseball at 70-34 and have opened up an 8.5 game lead over the White Sox in the AL Central. They even have a better road record (37-17) versus home record (33-17).
• At the beginning of June, the Rays lost 3 of 4 to Les Tigres in Dertoit. Three of those games were started by Mark Hendrickson, Casey Fossum and Seth McClung. Not exactly Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale and Johnny Podres. Hell, its not even Tim Corcoran, James Shields, and J. P. Howell.
• Speaking of J. P. Howell, he will be making his Devil Rays debut on Tuesday night. Howell who was acquired from the Royals for Joey Gathright was a 2004 1st round draft pick that may have been rushed to the majors last season as he struggled with the Royals. He has been lights out at AAA Durham and may have the rest of the season to audition for a spot in the 2007 rotation. He faces Justin Verlander who has won 3 straight since the All-Star game.
• The Tigers just picked up Sean Casey from Pittsburgh for a minor leaguer. Casey should make his debut tonight or tomorrow.
• Still no word on who will replace Ty Wiggington on the roster. The leasding candidate is still B. J. Upton although management may not be ready to call him after his latest incident.
• Tonight, Kenny Rogers faces Fossum. Rogers has struggled since being the starter for the AL in the All-Star game. He has given up 27 runs in his last 26 innings. Fossum sucks has struggled.

Monday, 7:15 et
Detroit Kenny Rogers, RHP (11-4, 4.45)
Devil Rays Casey Fossum, LHP (4-4, 5.22)

Tuesday, 7:15 et
Detroit Justin Verlander, RHP (13-4, 2.69)
Devil Rays J. P. Howell, LHP (0-0, 0.00)

Wednesday, 7:15 et
Detroit Zach Miller, RHP (6-2, 3.95)
Devil Rays Tim Corcoran, LHP (4-2, 3.57)

Thursday, 7:15 et
Detroit Nate Robertson, LHP (10-6, 3.87)
Devil Rays Jae Seo, RHP (3-9, 5.84)

The Irresponsible Reporting Of The Tampa Tribune And The St. Pete Times

We have actually been trying to avoid this story, becuase quite frankly (did we just quote Steven A. Smith? crap) the story about the “troubled” prospects bores us. However, the story has garnered much more reaction than we would have liked and the responses from the team seem to be a little too politically correct, and the coverage in the local media has been nothing short of inflammatory for the sole purposes of making this into a bigger story than it should have been…On July 28, USA Today ran a cover story about the talented trio of Devil Rays prospects, B. J. Upton, Delmon Young and Elijah Dukes. The article covered the recent troubles experienced by all three and their frustration at still being in AAA and not in Tampa. When we first read the article, all we saw was three kids in the minors that are anxious to get to the big leagues. Since the article came out, much has been made of the story among Devil Rays fans and in the local media. The Tampa Tribune ran an article entitled “Prospects blast organization”. The St. Pete Times ran an equally inflammatory article entitled “Maddon rips disgruntled Rays prospects”. Carter Gaddis of the Tribune and Damian Christadero of the Times both seized upon several apparently inflammatory remarks in the USA Today article, while ignoring or minimizing other quotes that left the story in a better light…

I still can’t believe I’m here. The three of us all thought we’d be all up in Tampa by now. –B. J. Upton.

I don’t know what they’re waiting for…They’re what, 30 games out of first place? They think we’re going to mess up their clubhouse chemistry. B.J. should be up there. What are they waiting for? They always have excuses. – Delmon Young

Delmon’s comments probably should not have been made, however he was simply sticking up for his teammate. Is it that terrible that Delmon believes Upton is ready for the major leagues? The Tribune article barely mentions, and the Times article completely ignores that Young immediately backtracked from the comments…stating that he “said too much” and wanted it to be known that he was “just venting” and to not “take him seriously”…

I just want to show up for work and go about my business…That’s all. – Delmon Young

We still aren’t sure what was wrong with Upton’s comment. There is no animosity in the quote. He simply thought they would all be in Tampa by now. Show me a minor leaguer that doesn’t think he will be in the majors sooner rather than later. If an 18 year old prospect doesn’t believe he will be in the majors by 22 than he needs to find a new profession. Not all will make it and not all that do will by such an age, but that should be the goal and that should be their own expectation.

Of course Gaddis and Christodero don’t mention a couple of other telling quotes in the USA Today article…

The only thing holding me back is me. – Elijah Dukes

They want to see whether I can stay away from trouble…If I can just do that, if I can just keep my cool, I’ll be fine. Because when there is trouble…I’m the one who’s got to pay the consequences. – Elijah Dukes

We are not really sure how those quotes “blast the organization”. In fact Christodero begins his column with the inaccurate statement “Dukes, Upton and Young – who else? – trash organization in USA Today over their lack of promotions to parent club.” At no point does Upton “trash” the organization or make any comments at all directed at the organization. Dukes does make some comments about the conditions in Durham as compared to the major league level, but is it any mystery that minor league ballclubs don’t have the same budget as a major league club and hence the amenities are not the same? As for Young’s comments. Yes, they were inflammatory in nature, and should not have been made, but he quickly retracted them and indicated they were made out of frustration, a distinction barely mentioned in the Tribune article and not mentioned at all in the Times article.

Personally, we love the desire…We love the apparent fire in their bellys…We love the intensity that these guys clearly take out to the field and have in their everyday life. Not only do they want to be in the big leagues, they want to be great. They expect to be great. This is an element that is clearly lacking at the major league level. It is worth mentioning that Lou Piniella would havde been more successful and likely still coaching the Rays if he had more players like Upton, Dukes and Young, and it has nothing to do with talent. It has everything to do with intensity. What drove Piniella nuts was that his team did not have the same intensity that he had. He would have had it in these three.

These kids, and they are just kids in baseball years, ust want to be playing in the big leagues. They are frustrated and quite frankly we are glad that they frustrated. If they were content with where they were, we would worry. We agree that being quoted in such a way in a prominent national publication was not the best way to express those desires and frustrations, but how many minor leaguers are thrust into the spotlight at such an age.

D-Rays’ kids set for major promotions. [USA Today]
Prospects blast organization. [Tampa Tribune]
Maddon rips disgruntled Rays prospects. [St. Pete Times]

The Hangover: In The AL East

New York 4, D-Rays 2. Judas Damon betrayed Jesus and then hit 2 home runs. The Rays apparently cashed in all of their hit chips on Saturday as they could only manage 2 runs and 6 hits, one day after scoring a team record-tying 19 runs on 17 hits. Tampa is now 4-12 since the All-Star break. In the 4 wins, the Rays have scored 52 runs. In the 12 losses, the Rays have scored 31 runs. ouch. Of a more urgent matter is the pending roster changes. Ty Wiggington and Scott Kazmir were both placed on the Disabled List. As speculated, J. P. Howell will be called up to replace Kazmir and is slated to start Tuesday night’s game against the Tigers at the Pit. This will be Howell’s first appearance for the Devil Rays since being acquired for Joey Gathright earlier this season. The 2004 1st round draft pick made 15 starts for the Royals last season going 3-5 with a 6.19 ERA. In 7 starts at Durham, Howell is 3-2 with a 2.11 ERA. There has been no official word on the replacement for Ty Wiggington, although it is expected to be B. J. Upton.

Los Angeles Angels 10, Boston 4. The Red Sox loss, coupled with the win by the Evil Empire and Boston’s lead is down to a half game. Big Papi failed to hit a 7-run home run in the 9th inning, although we fully expected him to.

Oakland 6, Toronto 5. The Blue Jays blew a late game rally as B. J. Ryan (no relation to B. J. Upton) surrenderd a 3-run home run to Milton Bradley in the 9th inning. Not only did they blow the game, but the Jays blew an opportunity to gain a game on the first place Red Sox and remain 6 games back.

Baltimore 8, Chicago 7. We’re certain that Peter Angelos was not happy with this win. Baltimores victory moved the Yankees into first place in the wild card chase and the Twinkies moved to within 1.5 games. This could explain why Angelos has turned down the Angels offer for Miguel Tejada that included Ervin Santana and shortstop prospect Eric Aybar. Then again, Angelos has never been able to figure out that pitching wins championships. Which just means that the Devil Rays no longer have the mot incompetent owner in the division.

A Look At The Future…Yesterday On The Farm

Durham 3, Rochester 2. First off, we are not sure how we missed this little bit of news, but surprise, surprise…Elijah Dukes has been suspended again. This time it is 5 games and the suspension was handed down by the International League. Dukes was ejected for arguing balls and strikes the past Thursday. Apparently his actions during the argument were enough to warrant a suspension. Dukes’ previous run-ins with authority figures probably did not help his cause. He is set to return to the field on Wednesday. Last night, Ben Zobrist went 2-4 with a double. B. J. Upton who may have played his last game in Durham went 1-3 with 2 runs scored and his 46th stolen base. Delmon Young went 0-2 and stole his 19th base. Doug Waechter had his strongest outing since being sent back down to Durham. He struck out 8 in 6 innings allowing 2 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks. The big 3 relievers Juan Salas, Chad Orvella and Seth McClung combined to pitch 3 scoreless innings.

Montgomery 3, Birmingham 0. Andy Sonnanstine continues his dominating run in AA. Last night he won his 9th straight start. And while he did not pitch a complete game shutout (he has 4 over that span), he did pitch 7 scoreless innings. He gave up 4 hits, and struck out 7 with no walks.

Visalia 6, San Jose 2. Big night for the Cajun God of Baseball. Reid Brignac went 4-4 with his 25th double and 20th home run of the season. He drove in 6. He also stole his 11th base of the season. Evan Longoria went 0-5.

Fort Wayne 5, SW Michigan 4. Jacob McGee gave up 2 runs in 5 innings.

Julio Lugo Sweepstakes Are Heating Up

Late last week word came down that the Devil Rays front office would offer Julio Lugo a contract extension. This was announced only after negotiations between the Blue Jays and the Devil Rays appeared to reach an impasse. At the time we believed that the offer was merely a negotiating ploy by the Rays to loosen up the Blue Jays. Without any other apparent suitors for Lugo, there was no reason for Toronto to offer up the prospects that the Devil Rays were seeking. The negotiations between Lugo’s agent and Andrew Friedman appear to be no closer than those with the Blue Jays, strengthening our belief that the contract offer was a “token” offer on behalf of the team. We were beginning to believe that the Rays were going to be content to let Lugo remain with the team for the rest of the season and let him leave this winter via free agency. In doing so, Tampa would be awarded an extra draft pick at the end of the first round in 2007.

Now word is coming down the wire that other teams are getting involved in the pursuit of Julio Lugo. We still don’t believe that the Mets are seriously considering Lugo (although they may be interested in one or two of the Rays pitchers). Now the frontrunner may be the Boston Red Sox, but not to play shortstop. Rather the Red Sox want Lugo to play second base and it is believed that the only thing holding up the deal is getting Lugo to agree to play second base.

The wild card team may be the Houston Astros. Apparently, the ‘Stros have their sights set on Miguel Tejada, but if that falls through, they may change their attention to Lugo. The two teams have already shown that they can work out a deal as evidenced by the Aubrey Huff deal just recently. Also, because of the Huff deal, the Rays already know the Houston farm system a little better than some other teams and may have their sights set on one or two players.

Yesterday we would have bet that Lugo was staying in Tampa and leaving as a free agent. Now the odds are more likely that a deal will get done before 4 pm tomorrow and Lugo will playing for somebody else on Tuesday.

Julio Lugo to second at Fenway. [El Guapo’s Ghost]
Its that time of year again. [Baseball Prospectus]

Those Crazy Kids Just Can’t Keep Their Mouths Shut

We just got finished writing up a post over the most recent comments to come from B. J. Upton, Delmon Young and Elijah Dukes that were printed in a USA Today article last week (we will have that post for you tomorrow). But no sooner had we finished writing the post, and we hear that B. J. Upton has gone and screwed up again…

We want to make it clear that this is just a rumor at this point and we have been unable to confirm the story yet.

Apparently, during the Bulls game against Rochester last night, the Durham Bulls public address announcer was refusing to play the requested music of the “Big 3” as a protest against the article that appeared in USA Today. In the top of the 4th inning, after a close play at the plate, catcher Shawn Riggans and manager John Tamargo were ejected for arguing with the home plate umpire. In the bottom of the 5th B. J. Upton was called out on strikes for the 2nd time in the game. Afterwards, Upton alledgedly called up to the press box from the clubhouse to protest the decision to not play his song before his at-bats. Apparently Tamargo was in the press box looking for a replay of the close play at home plate when Upton called and overheard Upton’s complaints. As expected, Tamargo was livid pissed off friggin’ insane extremely upset and after the game gave Upton a spanking had a one-on-one meeting with Upton concerning the incident.

With Ty Wiggington on the DL and an open roster spot, Upton was the leading candidate to be called up to replace Wiggy. While there was no certainty in this move, it seems to be less likely now after the USA Today article and this latest incident of immaturity.

The Curse Of LaMar-Naimoli Rears Its Ugly Head

Devil Rays fans were not able to enjoy Saturday’s 19-6 win very long. During the game Ty Wiggington was hit on the hand by a pitch from Shawn Chacon. The pitch broke a bone in Wiggy’s hand and he was placed on the DL and will be out 4-6 weeks. In addition, Scott Kazmir, who had his Friday start bumped back to Tuesday because of shoulder soreness, also appears headed to the DL. This appears to be a precautionary move on the part of the Devil Rays. There is no sense taking any risks with Kid K’s arm at this point in the season, so it appears to be a good idea to shut him down for a couple of weeks and give him some rest. We expect J. P. Howell will be called up to replace Kaz in the rotation. He has major league experience and has dominated at AAA Durham since being acquired for Joey Gathright. As for Wiggy, this setback has a profound and immediate impact on the ballclub. First and foremost, Wiggington had been mentioned in trade talks the last few days. This injury eliminates any possibility of picking up a prospect for the infielder who was having a career year. In addition, this frees up yet another spot on the roster that management needs to fill. The obvious choice is B. J. Upton. Upton has continued to struggle defensively since being moved to thirdbase following the Aubrey Huff trade, but the team may want to see what he can do at the major league level. Another possibility is Kevin Witt, who leads the IL in home runs with 30, and has some experience at thirdbase at the major league level.

Rays place Wigington on DL [ESPN]
Notes: Kazmir headed to DL [mlb.com]