A Look At The Future…Yesterday On The Farm

Rochester 5, Durham 3. The Bulls managed only 4 hits, but one of them was Kevin Witt’s 30th home run of the season. At this point, it looks like Witt is trying to hit Andrew Friedman in the back of the head with every swing. This is starting to get ridiculous. We understand that their is politics involved and other factors that are keeping Witt in Durham right now, but what else does he need to do? Witt has 11 more home runs than anybody else in the International League. B. J. Upton stole his 45th base.

Birmingham 5, Montgomery 3. Yet another strong outing for Jeff Niemann who continues to work his arm back into shape. He pitched 5 scoreless innings, allowing 2 hits and 4 walks. He struck out 6. At this point Niemann is showing that he has not lost his electric “stuff”. The only thing holding him back now is arm strength and control. We could not have imagined that he would be this overpowering so quickly after being out so long.

Visalia 11, San Jose 7. Evan Longoria picked up two more hits and went 2-5 with a double and 2 RBI, but did strike out 3 times. He is now hitting .361 with the Oaks. Reid Brignac went 1-5 with an RBI and 3 strikeouts. He is now hitting .313, but also committed his 26th and 27th errors of the season.

SW Michigan 3, Ft. Wayne 2. The “other” pitching prospect for the SW Michigan D-Rays pitched a strong game. Matt Walker worked 6 innings, allowing 4 hits, 2 walks, 2 runs (1 earned) while striking out 6.

The Hangover: Last Night In The AL East

D-Rays 19, New York 6. Our Hangover feature takes on a new meaning today. Maybe you decided to play a little D-Rays drinking game yesterday as a way to warm-up for your Saturday night shenanigans, and decided to take a shot every time the Rays scored a run. Since the All-Star break, that is a game that would be safe for a recovering alcoholic. Well, if you did decide to play that game, you probably did not make it out Saturday night, you probably passed out in a pool of your drool and today you have tied for the worst hangover in the history of the D-Rays drinking game. As Rays fans, we can not help but feel snake-bitten since the break. The team entered the game 3-11 since the break and had the second worst batting average as well as the worst ERA in the major leagues over that span. They had just come off a game in which they were shutout 6-0 and managed only 2 hits. On Saturday they were playing their 2nd game of the series in Yankee stadium, a place the team has never fared well and were facing one of the great pitchers of all-time, in Randy Johnson. The game started off much the same way as every other game over the past few weeks. Randy Johnson retired the first 5 D-Rays he faced. In the midst of that stretch, the Derek Jeter and Jason Giambi hit back-to-back and belly-to-belly home runs, to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead. Then something strange happened…After the first 5 Rays were retired, the floodgates opened. Over the course of the next 7 innings, Devil Rays hitters went 17-31 (.548) and scored 19 runs. Tomas Perez tied the major league record, held by hundreds of people, by hitting 4 doubles in one game and was 5-5 overall. The 5 hits was more hits than Perez had in May (4) and more hits than he had in June (4).

Hidden amongst the stellar hitting performance by the D-Rays, was another shaky performance by Jae Seo, who despite picking up his first win with the Rays, is in danger of losing his spot in the rotation. With J. P. Howell continuing to pitch well at AAA Durham, and Andrew Friedman on record as stating that he would like to see Howell pitching for the Rays this season, Seo looks like he would be the odd-man out at this point. Seo worked into the 6th inning and gave up 9 hits, 2 walks and 5 runs. He allowed 2 home runs in the 1st inning and struck out only 1. Not including his 2 inning relief appearance against the Marlins immediately after the Rays acquired Seo, he is now 1-5 in 6 starts with a 6.29 ERA. In 34.1 innings, he has surrendered 45 hits and 14 walks to only 10 strikeouts. Seo clearly does not have the same stuff he had last season with the New York Mets and it may be time to take him out of the rotation for the rest of this season. Give him the off-season to get his mechanics back in order and give him a shot at the 5th spot in the 2007 rotation.

The game dropped the Yankees 1.5 games behind the Red Sox in the AL East and a half game behind the White Sox in the wild card race. So what could possibly be worse than taking a brutal beating by the lowly Devil Rays in your home park and losing ground in the playoff race? How about having to sit through all 9 innings of the blow out while sitting directly behind a group of greased-up, sober, Long Island guys at the Stadium for a bachelor party…ouch.

Boston 7, Los Angeles Angels 6. For the love all things good and holy, WHY? Why do managers continue to pitch to Big Papi with the game on the line? We understand that there is an idiot savant batting behind Ortiz that knows only one thing…hitting baseballs very hard, but this is BIG PAPI! A manager could put all 25 players out in the field and a few in the stands and Ortiz would still find a way to win an important game. With the Spankees getting spanked all over Yankee stadium, the Red Sox won an important game to give themselves a bit of breathing room in the AL East. Surviving Grady summed it up the best. “Two words: Big Papi”. Of course, the Soxaholix suggest their is a “bigger” reason for the heroics.

Oakland 7, Toronto 4. The Jays lost to fall 6 games back as their playoff hopes are beginning to fade as well as their desire to add a bat to the lineup such as Julio Lugo.

Chicago White Sox 13, Baltimore 11. The O’s did not do the Yankees any favors. In fact we wouldn’t put it past Peter Angelos and his disdain for the Yankees to…nah.

A Look At The Future…Yesterday On The Farm

Durham 6, Columbus 2. The Devil Rays sure can’t beat the Yankees…but hey! our AAA team can beat up your AAA team. Delmon Young drove in 2 with a double and added a solo home run in the 7th, his 6th home run of the season. Ben Zobrist went 0-3 but had 2 walks and his 4th stolen base. B. J. Upton went 1-3 with 2 runs scored, an RBI and his 43rd and 44th stolen bases. Chris Seddon was very hittable. He gave up 5 hits and 2 runs in the first two innings, but settled down, working into the 8th inning without allowing any more runs to pick up his 8th win.

Jacksonville 3, Montgomery 2. Second base prospect Elliot Johnson is an extra-base machine. Last night he went 2-4 with his 14th home run. He is now 4th in the Southern League in home runs. He also has 15 doubles and leads the league with 10 triples. His .301 batting average is good for 5th and his .508 slugging is 2nd in the league.

San Jose 3, Visalia 0. The California League is known as a hitter’s league. That distinction did not help the Oaks last night as they only managed 2 hits. Really nothing worth mentioning here, so let’s move on.

SW Michigan 3, Fort Wayne 1. Right fielder James Hall hit a 2-run double in the top of the 10th inning. Greg Reinhard pitched a strong game, working 6.2 innings. The only hit he allowed was a 4th inning solo home run. He walked 2 and struck out 6.

Aberdeen 2, Hudson Valley 1. Jeremy Helickson was the Devil Rays 4th round pick in 2005. Hellickson is not a typical pitcher, which was one reason he fell to the 4th round in the draft. Hellickson is a right-handed pitcher that is only 5-11. The other reason was that in the state of Iowa, the high school baseball season is only a couple of weeks old when the amateur draft takes place, so scouts did not get a good sense of how Jeremy had progressed from his junior to his senior seasons. Last season, he struggled a bit in 4 late season relief appearances with Princeton. This season Hellickson is showing that good things can come in small packages. Yesterday, he made his 8th start with Hudson Valley. In 7 innings, he gave up 3 hits, no walks and 2 runs. He struck out 8. On the season, he has worked 41 innings, and allowed 24 hits and 9 walks. He has struck out 46 and has a 2.20 ERA. Jeremy Hellickson is very young and is still a long ways from pitching at the Pit, but he is off to a promising start.

D-Rays @ Yankees Tidbits

• Since the All-Star break *deep breath*, the Rays have the worst ERA in the Majors (7.04) and the highest oponents batting average (.369) having allowed 170 hits in 10 innings pitched. The bullpen has been even worse with a 7.38 ERA and a .380 opponents batting average.
• To make matters worse, the offense is next to last in batting average since the break (.241) ahead of only the L. A. Dodgers.
• Let’s see…hmmmm?…Can’t get the other team out? Can’t score any runs? O right! That is why the team is 3-10 since the break.
• The Yankees lead the season series 6-2 and are 2-1 at Yankee Stadium.
• Pardon us while we go watch the first 45 minutes of Major League and jot down notes of comparison.

Probable Pitchers
Friday, 7:05 et
Devil Rays Tim Corcoran, RHP (4-1, 3.09)
Yankees Chien-Ming Wang, RHP (11-4, 4.01)

Satuday, 4:05 et
Devil Rays Jae Seo, RHP (2-9, 5.71)
Yankees Randy Johnson, LHP (11-8, 4.80)

Sunday, 1:05 et
Devil Rays James Shields, RHP (4-4, 5.46)
Yankees Mike Mussina, RHP (12-3, 3.44)

The Hangover: Last Night In The AL East

Boston Red Sox. Luckily for the Red Hose, they didn’t play last night and hence didn’t lose any of their small lead to the Evil Empire which remain 1.5 games behind. The focus today over at the Boston Blogs is about the pending trade deadline. Could the Red Sox be back in the Julio Lugo sweepstakes? However, most of the focus is apparently on Corey Lidle to shore up their rotation. Then again maybe the best deal is the one the team doesn’t make.

New York Yankees. Things are a little more subdued in the Yankee Blogosphere. Apparently Chien-ming Wang is a practical joker. ok? And apparently Alex from Bronx Banter went to see a barber in Brooklyn. Really? That’s all you guys got? That is the mentality of a Yankee’s fan. They are 1.5 games out of first and they are acting like they are up 10 games. The young Yankees fan has been so spoiled. They just assume that by the time the dust settles, all order will be restored to the universe and the pinstripes will win the division and the Red Sox will be in second where they belong.

Toronto Blue Jays. The Jays opened a 4-game series in Oakland by dropping the first game 5-2. Toronto has now lost 3 of their last 4 and now stand 6 games back of the Red Sox. The Jays are dangerously close to falling out of the race in the AL East. This could have a profound effect on the D-Rays. The Blue Jays spent a lot of money in the off-season and may feel desperate to make a run a the division leaders. On the other hand, they may start to feel that their is too much ground to make up and decide to cut their losses. The team’s point of view at this time will greatly affect their decision to pursue or not to pursue Julio Lugo.

Baltimore Orioles. The O’s wrapped up a series with the Royals by taking the final game 6-4 and winning 2 of 3. I am sure that winning a series against the Royals and stretching their lead over the Rays will not do much to deter the protest of Peter Angelos.

A Look At The Future…Yesterday On The Farm

Columbus 4, Durham 3. This is getting ridiculous. Kevin Witt hit another home run. That is his 29th on the season and about 27 in the last week. Witt is now hitting .294-29-81 with a .963 OPS. Unfortunately Witt is a victim of a numbers game right now. We doubt there is a Devil Rays’ fan out there that wouldn’t rather see Kevin Witt manning first base for the Devil Rays instead of Travis Lee. However there are a couple of factors that are keeping Witt in Durham for the time being. First and foremost, Witt is not on the 40-man roster. If the team decided to promote Witt, the Rays would have to make room for him by either placing somebody on the disabled list or designating somebody for assignment (DFA). The team may not be ready to cut somebody loose and could be waiting for an opening to occur naturally (injury). The other factor is that Travis Lee is a free agent at the end of the season and the Rays may be auditioning him for contenders before the trading deadline. Lee could potentially be serviceable on another team as late-inning, defensive replacement and veteran pinch-hitter. A player like Lee could be worth a low-level minor ‘B’ prospect…B. J. Upton went 2-4 to raise his average to .270. Ben Zobrist went 3-5 and is now hitting .328. Devil Rays fans everywhere are working vigorously with their Casey Fossum and Jae Seo voodoo dolls as J. P. Howell had yet another strong start. Howell went 6 innings, allowing 6 hits, 3 walks, 1 run. He struck out 4 and now has an ERA of 2.11 in 7 Durham starts.

Jacksonville 2, Montgomery 0. The Biscuits managed only 3 hits and now have 8 hits and 0 runs in their past 2 games combined.

Bakersfield 5, Visalia 3. Two more hits for Evan Longoria who is now hitting .371. He also has a ridiculous 1.161 OPS in 23 games. Catcher John Jaso also went 2-4 and is now hitting .323. Patrick Breen added his 21st home run.

SW Michigan 4, Quad Cities 2. Another big start from one of the Big 3. Mike Wlodarczyk pitched 7 innings, allowing only 2 hits, 4 walks and 1 run. He struck out 4.

Why The Mets Can’t Just Enjoy Their Season

Earlier this season we thanked the Mets for Scott Kazmir and offered our condolensces to Mets fans. There was even a new blog started in honor of the lopsided trade that sent 22-year old All-Star Kid K to the D-Rays in exchange for Victor Zambrano. Zambrano has been shut down for the season and his career may be over after winning 10 games in 39 appearances for the Metropolitans. We knew there would be increased talk about the Kazmir deal as the trade deadline approached, but we didn’t see this coming. Now there is an entire article in Sports Illustrated this week that covers the prils of the trade deadline deal and the article features Scott Kazmir and the trade that brought him to the Devil Rays.

The article starts…

With each fastball that Scott Kazmir throws, a metropolis groans. With each slider that plummets through the strike zone like a tiny jet whose engines have failed, thousands of fans a thousand miles north bemoan their fate.

It must be tough to be a Mets fan right now. What makes the situation worse is that the team could really use another starting pitcher. Even Jose Lima has started games for the Mets this season. Jose Lima? Now that is desperate.

Beware The Deadline Deal. [si.com]
Hey Mets Fans…Thanks For Taking Us To Pleasure Town! [Rays Index]
I don’t blame Duquette. [Why Duquette Why]

Devil Rays To Offer Julio Lugo A Long-Term Contract?

In the latest twist to the Julio Lugo saga, The Tampa Tribune is reporting that the agent for Lugo, is expecting to receive an offer from the Devil Rays front office as early as today.
After months of speculation that the free agent-to-be would be moved before the trading deadline, it now appears that the team will look to see what it would take to keep Lugo in the middle of their infield and at the top of the team’s lineup. Recent talks that have stalled with the Blue Jays and a lack of other obvious suitors, may have team management re-examining their priorities. It is probably still a long shot that Lugo will be in a D-Rays uniform beyond this season. Reports have Lugo seeking a 4-5 year contract worth $8 million per season. We have a hard time imagining that the team will offer anything beyond $6 million per season to a player already in his 30’s. It would also be unlikely that the team would be willing to commit to anything beyond 3 years. This is likely to be a major stumbling block to a deal being reached. Another factor that could be difficult to overcome is any demand by Lugo for a no-trade or limited no-trade clause. The team most likely would not agree to any sort of no-trade and thus limit their options down the road. Another possibility is that this rumored offer, may be a way to get the Blue Jays to up their ante for the one player that they have set their sights on. Without another team with any strong interest in Lugo, the Jays have been happy to sit and wait for the D-Rays to lower there demands. A report that the Rays may not trade the shortstop after all could rattle the Jays cages a little bit.

Despite this latest report, at this point, there is no way to gauge exactly where Julio Lugo will end up next week or next season. The options at this point, trade him, re-sign him, or keep him and lose him to free agency are all still possible options. However, until July 31st comes and goes, we are still leaning towards the idea that the Rays and the Jays will reach an agreement in the next few days.

The Hangover: Yesterday In The AL East

Los Angeles 15, D-Rays 6. That picture to the left is a very fitting picture for this team. That wall could represent the entire second-half of the season. Last night, the Rays gave up 10 runs in an inning for the 86th time this season. OK, maybe it hasn’t been 86 times, but we are afraid to look up the actual number, because it will make us bang our heads on our desks…again. We are starting to think that it might be better for our hearts if we write the D-Rays posts first and then write the more positive sounding Minor League reports afterwards. O well, what is it to be a Tampa Bay sports fan if there is not some suffering involved.

The Good: Julio Lugo returned to the lineup after missing the last couple of games with a bruised fingertip. Rocco Baldelli hit his 5th home run of the season in the first inning. Carl Crawford hit his 11th triple and stole his 33rd base.

The Bad: Jonny Gomes. We have refused to jump on Gomes case so far during this prolonged slump because he is still young and slumps will happen for young players and for power hitters. But this is getting bad. Last night he went 0-4 and is now hitting .222. He only has 3 home runs and 9 RBI since June 11th, and Joe Maddon has dropped him to 8th in the lineup.

The Oh, So Ugly: Casey Fossum couldn’t hold an early 4-2 lead and was pulled with 1 out in the second. His final line…1.1 innings, 6 hits, 1 walk, 7 runs (5 earned) and a season ERA of 5.22.

New York 8, Texas 7. The Spankees pulled within 1.5 games of the Red Sox with a 2-run home run by Jason Giambi in the 8th. And we are telling you right now, if we hear somebody else call Giambi, The Giambino we will personally go to Babe Ruth’s grave and roll him over ourselves. We can’t think of a bigger insult to the Babe.

Oakland 5, Boston 1. Amazing the Red Sox fans. One day they are singing their team praises from atop the Green Monster after pounding out 18 hits and winning the first two games in Oakland. Then the lose one game and the apocalypse is upon them. There is no fan base in all of baseball that is more game-to-game then the Red Sox nation. So for all the the nuevo-members of the Nation let us tell you…You will never be true members. You can’t possibly understand the meaning. We promise.

O yeah, Toronto lost and Baltimore won…blah, blah, blah.

A Look At The Future…Yesterday On The Farm

Durham 16, Columbus 10. Once again, the minor league system is our remaining source of pride as a Devil Rays fan. Of course it is a sad and a bit extreme that we gain a sense of pleasure when our AAA team beats the Yankee’s AAA team. Last night…O Baby! Delmon Young is finally announcing to everyone with his bat (in a good way) that he is ready. Last night Young had his best game of what has been a very good season (statistically, not behaviorally). He went 4-5 with a triple, 2 home runs, 4 RBI and 4 runs scored. The home runs are only his 4th and 5th of the season, but all have come since his return from a 49-game suspension. Not to be outdone, Kevin Witt hit his league-leading 27th and 28th home runs, which is 9 more than anybody else. As for Young, he is now hitting .354 which would be good enough for the league lead if he had enough plate appearances to qualify. B. J. Upton, the man with million dollar talent and a 5-cent throwing arm, went 1-4 with 2 walks and swiped his league leading 42nd base. Unfortunately he continues to struggle at his new position with a throwing error, his 33rd of the year. Wes Bankston hit his first home run since being promoted to Durham two weeks ago. Darnell McDonald added 3 hits to raise his average to .313.

Jacksonville 8, Montgomery 0. Not a whole lot to talk about here. In fact nothing to talk about. Let’s move on.

Bakersfield 5, Visalia 3. Evan Longoria added 2 more hits including his 6th double to raise his average to .371. Patrick Breen hit his 23rd home run which is 2nd in the CL. Reid Brignac was given the night off.

Quad Cities 10, SW Michigan 2. Wade Davis pitched well, if not great before the bullpen imploded. Davis went 6 innings, surrendering 6 hits, 1 walk and 2 runs. He struck out 2.

State College 6, Hudson Valley 4. Josh Hamilton went 1-4 with an RBI single as the team’s DH. He is now hitting .271.