Show Your Love: Rock The Raymond Vote

The folks over at Home Run Derby have a tournament-style bracket running in an effort to determine the best mascot in baseball featuring 40 mascots from the past and present.

HRD has assembled a Menangerie of 40 Mascots (39 anthropomorphic and 1 obnoxious monkey) from Major League Baseball’s past and present … and set them against each other in an NCAA-style single elimination winner-take-all tournament.

The “2007 MLB Mascot Brackets” were very kind to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays mascot, Raymond. Despite being the harriest fish in the world, Raymond has garnered a #2 seed in the “Furrie Division”. He is matched up, head-to-head, with the Chicago White Sox mascot, Southpaw.

You can go HERE TO VOTE, and show your Raymond-love.

Home Run Derby presents: MLB Mascot Brackets [Home Run Derby]
MLB Mascot Brackets – Raymond vs Southpaw [Home Run Derby]

Writers That Cover The Devil Rays Have ADD

Yesterday was the trading deadline for Major League Baseball. The Rays did not make any additional trades. The key word is “additional”. Over the course of this past weekend, Andrew Friedman made three trades moving Ty Wigginton, Seth McClung and Jorge Cantu to other clubs in order to strengthen the bullpen. Of course, a quick look around the internets and you would think Friedman and Company spent the past week on the golf course.

The Headlines…

No deals, no problem [tampabay.com]

The Rays didn’t make any trades by Tuesday’s 4 p.m. deadline

Yes they did. In fact, they made three.

So uh…That’s it? [DRays Bay]

The deadline has came and gone without any moves

They actually made a bunch of moves. Three trades in addition to several other roster moves.

Rays Stand Pat As Trade Deadline Passes [TBO]

Pleased with the bullpen he remade during the weekend, Andrew Friedman was dealing from a position of strength as the phone calls swirled around him Tuesday.

In defense of TBO, Marc Lancaster did acknowledge the trades made previously in the opening paragraph unlike the others. However, we would hardly call an overhaul of the bullpen as standing pat.

Rays listen, pass at trade deadline [tampabay.com]

For all the talking, all the thinking, all the projecting and analyzing, when it came down to Tuesday’s 4 p.m. deadline for non-waiver trades, the Devil Rays didn’t have another deal they considered worth making.

People…THE DEVIL RAYS MADE THREE TRADES THIS WEEKEND.

But we save the best for last.

Shelton: Rays sit out deadline, and that’s standup move [St. Pete Times]

Gary Shelton argues that not making any trades was the correct move.

Not trading any of their coveted relievers was the right message to send to fans and players

Gary Shelton believes that Andrew Friedman is more worried about team image than team talent. Gary Shelton is saying that no matter what was offered to the Rays, they would not have traded one of their relief pitchers because that was the “right message to send to the fans and players”. Umm. No. The Devil Rays did not trade the players because they did not have to make a move (Reyes and Wheeler are not free agents-to-be) and other teams did not make an offer worth accepting. If a strong offer had been made that would have improved the ballclub, the team would have made a deal.

Of all of the do-nothing days in the history of the Devil Rays, this one was the best.

They didn’t trade Al Reyes.

They didn’t trade Dan Wheeler.

How about all the days this past off-season when the team did not trade BJ Upton? Having Upton around these parts for the next 4-5 years might be slightly more important than having Al Reyes and Dan Wheeler around until the trading deadline next season. Or how about all the days the team turned down offers for Carl Crawford even though every team between here and Walla Walla inquired about his availablity? And how about the time last year when the team did not cave into Julio Lugo’s contract demands? This year Julio Lugo is hitting .221 with a .612 OPS and a brick for a glove. Right now Red Sox fans hate Julio Lugo more than Bill Buckner. And Lugo is making $8.25 million. Brendan Harris is hitting .301 with a .800 OPS to go along with an average glove. He is making $386K.

They didn’t trade the largest contract in the room in exchange for not having to pay it.

Hmm? Reyes has a $1 million option for 2008 (An extremely cheap price for a closer) while Wheeler made $2.1 million this year and is set to make approximately $3 million in arbitration. On the other hand, Wigginton is making $2.7 million this season and is likely to make $3.5-4 million in arbitration next season. It has been a while since we took first grade math, but we think Wiggy’s contract is bigger.

In other words, on trade deadline, the Rays didn’t do anything. And bully for them for resisting the urge.

[For those not familiar (we had to look it up) “Bully for them” is an old western slang that means “Good for them”. We envision Gary Shelton sitting in his one-room studio somewhere in Carrolwood typing on his computer wearing Billy the Kid underoos. And we are frightened.]

Actually, they did make three trades, demoted Shawn Bleepin’ Camp, and activated Josh Paul. We needed an abacus to figure out who was on the roster Tuesday night.

Is Gary Shelton saying that a team on their way to their second consecutive 100-loss season, should not try to improve the team? Apparently the Devil Rays are ready to contend with this roster.

If no deals could be made to make the team better t
hen don’t make a deal. But we are fairly certain that not making a trade for the sake of “standing pat” is not exactly what Andrew Friedman had in mind yesterday.

The All-Time Tampa Bay Devil Rays: 10 Years Of Sucktitude

We had this idea a little while ago that in honor of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 10th Season, we would feature the best players at each position from throughout the long, storied short, awkward existence of the franchise. Hindsight is 20/20 and in the end we had a hard time filling out the roster. When Victor Zambrano has a very real chance of making the starting rotation, that is a clue that the roster is not exactly awe-inspiring.

So with the 2007 Tampa Bay Devil Rays well on their way to their 9th last place finish in 10 seasons, we decided that it makes more sense to honor the worst players to ever don a Devil Rays uniform.

Think of it as similar to the New York Yankees monument park, only the exact opposite and with headstones instead of plaques.

The Rules:
Position players were only considered for a position if they appeared in at least 81 games during the season and started more games at the respective position than any other player on the roster OR high-priced free agents.

Pitchers were considered if they started at least 18 games or made at least 30 appearances as a relief pitcher.

C: John Flaherty/Mike Difelice (1998)
There were several worthy candidates for catcher and in the end we decided to go back to the inaugural season for the inaugural position and selected the 1998 platoon. Flaherty and Difelice combined for .217-6-47 in 552 at bats. On top of that, Difelice committed 13 passed balls in only 84 games while Flaherty had a $1.6 million price tag.

1B: Travis Lee (2006) Travis Lee was an exceptional defensive first baseman, but first base is an offensive position and Lee was offensive, but not in a good way. In 2006, Lee ranked last or next to last in every offensive category for first basemen with at least 300 plate appearances. After hitting .224-11-31 in 114 games with a .676 OPS, the team finally cut him loose.

2B: Brent Abernathy (2002) Who can forget the Brent Abernathy era! He was gone too soon. A .242 average and 2 home runs with 40 RBI can be forgiven for a second baseman. Offensively, all that you really ask is they move runners over and get on base to start rallies. Well, Abernathy picked up only 8 sacrifices in 117 games and got on base at a .288 clip. Ouch. Oh yeah. He also committed 12 errors.

3B: Vinny Castilla (2000) We were very tempted to put BJ Upton here from 2006, considering he only hit .246-1-10 in 50 games and committed an amazing 13 errors, but in the end we just couldn’t get past one of the original members of the Shit Parade. Vinny Castilla hit .254 and managed only 6 home runs and 42 RBI to go with a .562 OPS that made Brent Abernathy look like a slugger. All that and for the low, low price of $6.25 million.

SS: Kevin Stocker (1998) Felix Martinez from 2000 (.214-2-17) was a strong candidate but he actually was a half-way decent glove if you watched him with your eyes covered. But Stocker’s 1998 season (.208-6-25) in 112 games was just as bad and he played defense like he had cement shoes. There was also the issue that the Devil Rays paid Stocker $1.8 million that season or roughly $300K per home run. And did we mention that the Devil Rays traded Bobby Abreu for Stocker? Ooops.

LF: Ben Grieve (2001) Outfield was a little tougher as the Rays have actually had some decent players over the years, especially recently. With Carl Crawford manning left field at the Trop since 2002, we were limited in our options but Ben Grieve is a good one. In 2001 Grieve hit .264-11-762. He did have 30 doubles and got on base at a .372 clip, but 11 home runs and zero range in the outfield with no arm is not what a team wants in a left fielder. Especially one that is making $2.75 million.

CF: Damon Hollins (2005) Center is another position that has seen some decent contributors (Baldelli, Wynn). Hollins was a serviceable player that was a career minor leaguer that finally found regular playing time with the Devil Rays thanks to the fragile nature of Rocco Baldelli. In 120 games, Hollins hit .249-13-46 with a .296 OBP. This was clearly a situation where the Rays had their hands tied expecting Rocco back in 2006.

RF: Jose Cruz, Jr. (2004) Its hard to imagine that a guy that hit 21 home runs would make this list, but the .242 average and .433 slugging percentage help. And so does the $2.5 million price tag that the Rays paid for their key off-season free agent acquisition, in the hopes of sparking an anemic offense. But hey…At Least the Rays were able to trade Cruz to the D-Backs for a promising young left hander named Casey Fossum. Whatever happened to that guy?

DH: Greg Vaughn (2001/2002) Plenty of great candidates at DH. In 1998, Paul Sorrento made $2.5 million and produced a .225 average and 57 RBI. In 2000, Jose Canseco played in only 61 games, hitting 9 home runs while taking home $3.0 million. But both of these pale in comparison to the pile of poo named Greg Vaughn. A player that hit a combined 95 home runs in the two seasons prior to signing with the Devil Rays, Vaughn would hit a grand total of 60 home runs in three years in St. Pete. So which season was worse? Take your pick. In 2001, Vaughn played a full season (136 games) hitting .233 with 24 home runs and 82 RBI, while raking in $8.25 million. In 2002, his salary went up to $8.75 million and his playing time went down to 69 games and a whopping 8 home runs and 29 RBI.

STARTING PITCHERS: Unfortunately we had to leave a lot of deserving players off this list. The talent level has just been too great, and of course by “talent” we mean “puke-inducing”. The biggest indication of
the depth is that Tanyon Sturtze, who went 4-18 in 2002 does not make the cut. Also Jae Seo and Casey Fossum were well on their to making the list this season, but alas, they did not record enough starts.

Edwin Jackson (2007) 1 win in 17 starts. A 7.14 ERA. A WHIP of 1.85. Only Joe Maddon could love a canvas this ugly. It is only the half-way point of the season and Jackson is well on his way to the worst season by any starting pitcher in the history of the franchise (and that is saying a lot).

Ryan Rupe (2001) We try to block the Ryan Rupe-era out of our head. A 6.92 ERA in 18 starts in 2000 apparently earned him a regular gig in 2001. How did he show his appreciation? 5-12 with a 6.59 ERA.

Hideo Nomo (2005) This guy threw a no-hitter? At Coors Field? Huh? Nomo started 19 games for the Rays in 2005 and somehow managed 5 wins despite an ERA of 7.24 and a sparkling strikeout to walk ratio of 59:51.

Joe Kennedy (2003) Ahhh, Joe Kennedy. The lefty that never lived up to the hype. 3-12 with a 6.13 ERA was his line in 32 starts for the 2003 Rays.

Dewon Brazelton (2005) We know we said a minimum of 18 starts. But an exception must be made for Brazel-bum. For starters, he was a third-overall pick in the amateur draft. Second of all, if anybody needed any evidence that Lou Piniella is occasionally INSANE, they need look no further than his decision to make Brazel-terd the opening day starter in 2005. Luckily, Lou came to his senses after 8 starts (1-8, 7.61 ERA) and banished DeLOSS to the bullpen and eventually traded him to the Padres in a classic case of addition-by-subtraction.

CLOSER: Bullpen-by-numbers (2006)
Another tough position to fill as the Rays have employed some decent closers over the years. In fact, in 10 years, the Rays have sent three closers to the all-star game (although Lance Carter was about as deserving as your mom). Still, there have not been any horrendous seasons by a closer that held the position for any length of time. So in this case we are naming the entire 2006 bullpen. Six different players recorded saves in 2006 and they recorded a combined 33 saves and blew 21 save chances. When that list of “closers” includes Shawn Camp, Dan Micelli and Seth McClung…well that is just not very good.

RELIEF PITCHERS: This list will give us a heart condition well before our time so we will just glaze over it and get to the end.

Shawn Camp (2007) 5.80 ERA in 46 appearances and leads the league in number of inherited runners that have scored.

Brian Stokes (2007) We don’t even need to point to his 6.33 ERA. We only need point out the multiple walk-off home runs allowed.

Travis Harper (2005) 6.75 ERA in 52 appearances.

Jorge Sosa (2004) 5.53 ERA. 7 losses. 54 walks in 99.1 innings.

Jesus Colome (2002) 8.27 ERA. How in the world did he get in to 32 games? It must have been his 33 to 33 strikeout to walk ratio.

Esteban Yan (2000) Apparently a 6.21 ERA in 43 appearances with 8 losses earns a player the closer job the following season as Yan became in 2001.

MANAGER: Hal McRae (2002)
113-196 in two seasons including 106 losses in 2002.

So tonight when we crack open our first beer, we will look back at the first 10 years of this sad franchise and raise our glass to the ineptitude of these bums that have caused us so much agita over the years.

Down On The Farm: Reid Brignac And His Bat Are Waking Up

Montgomery 8, Mississippi 7. With two outs in the bottom of the 9th, Reid Brignac hit a walk-off solo home run to give the Biscuits the win. He was 0-4 before the final at bat, but 13 hits and 3 home runs in his last 6 games. He did commit his 18th error, his first in over 2 weeks. Evan Longoria was 2-3 and scored 2 runs. He has his average up to .304. Wade Davis struck out 5 in 5.2 innings, but was charged with 6 runs (3 earned) on 7 hits and 5 walks.

Dunedin 3, Vero Beach 2. Mike Wlodarczyk pitched 5 shutout innings. He struck out 5 and gave up 6 hits and 2 walks. Greg Dupas gave up a walk-off 3-run home run with 1-out i the 9th. It was his 5th blown save of the year. BJ Upton went 1-3 in what may have been his final rehab game. He is 6-21 with 2 home runs in 8 games.

Charleston 3, Columbus 1. Nevin Ashley had 1 of the Catfish’s 3 hits and drove in the only run.

Jamestown 5, Hudson Valley 0.

Elizabethton 15, Princeton 1.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• Justin Ruggiano pinch-hit in the 9th inning of last night’s AAA All-Star game. He flied out to center field. [MiLB]
• Reid Brignac recently lost a close friend. [Montgomery Advertiser]

[THE HANGOVER] The Professor’s New Cap

Indians 10, Devil Rays 2.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• We would rather be sexually harassed by Jay Mariotti than read about the Devil Rays today.

Another Open Letter To Elijah Dukes

Dear Mr. Dukes,

Sincerely,

The Professor

Teen: Dukes got me pregnant [St. Pete Times]
An Open Letter To Elijah Dukes [Rays Index]

Playing For The Rays Is Not Why Elijah Dukes Is A Mischievous Little Badger

In Peter Gammons latest blog entry, he notes that the Rays have started to entertain offers for Elijah Dukes…

Tampa Bay will start listening to offers on Elijah Dukes, simply to get him away from the environment of his Tampa neighborhood.

This was the same sentiment reported by Jayson Stark last week in his latest Rumblings and Grumblings…

We’re hearing the Devil Rays have been floating the name of troubled Elijah Dukes to see whether a trade can (A) get Dukes a fresh start away from his hometown and (B) bring them a decent, badly needed bullpen arm.

This must be a publicity ploy by the Rays to beef up Dukes trade value by trying to convince teams that he will be well-behaved in another organization. There are several reasons why a “change of scenery” won’t be the deciding factor in Dukes behavior

1. He will still be in Tampa during the off-season and is likely to still have the same friends.
2. Consider that his latest incident, in which he threatened his wife and children happened with a cell phone. Pretty sure he could still do that even if he was playing in Manitoba.
3. All of Dukes’ suspensions have been the result of incidents in the ballpark. Whether it was fights with teammates or coaches or tirades directed at umpires. None of these suspensions had anything to do with which organization he was playing for.
4. And of course, since Elijah Dukes was drafted he has played 518 games (including spring training). Of those 518 games, he has played a grand total of 77 games in the state of Florida (including spring training). In other words he has spent 14.9% of his professional career in the state of Florida.

In other words, if Elijah Dukes is going to get in trouble again, it won’t make a difference where he is playing and who he is playing for. And if a lil’ ole blog like ours can figure that out, we are fairly certain that 29 major league general managers and owners can figure it out also. OK, maybe not Peter Angelos.

The 2006 Draft: A Look Back

With the 2007 MLB draft two days away, the Devil Rays front office is busy preparing for their second rodeo. Now is a good time to take a look back and make an an early assessment of how the organization did in their first draft. We all know about Evan Longoria, but what about the rest of the picks.

While analyzing each pick we took a look at the next 5-10 players picked and how they are performing to see if there are any gems the Rays missed. We are only looking at the next 10 picks because once you get past that mark, we start looking at players that many teams missed out on, not just the Rays. One of our biggest draft analysis pet-peeves it to give too much credit to teams that get a superstar in a later round. For example, the New England Patriots are always credited for drafting Tom Brady in the 6th round. That pick should not be used to show their drafting prowess. They got lucky. If they knew how good Brady would turn out to be, they would not have risked waiting until the 6th round to select him.

Without further ado, we present you the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 2006 top 11 draft picks recap…

1. Evan Longoria. The Dirtbag was simply an outstanding selection. Already a top-10 prospect in baseball, he hit .315-18-58 in only 62 games covering three levels. This year he has picked up right where he left off, hitting .291-12-43 in 55 games. Their are rumors circulating that the Rays are considering a second-half call-up for Longoria. Player missed: Tim Lincecum Reportedly, the Rays second choice was Lincecum. Lincecum was 4-0 in 5 starts at AAA with a 0.29 ERA and 46 Ks in 31 innings. He is now a permanent member of the Giants rotation and is 2-0 in 6 starts.
2. Josh Butler. Butler made only 2 starts and 3 relief appearances in 2006 with mixed results. This season, Butler has been outstanding. At low-A Columbus he is 4-1 with a 2.14 ERA. For a big right hander in low-A his strikeout totals are not what you would like with only 45 in 63 innings with 17 walks. Player missed: Sean Watson (Reds) is 4-2, with a 1.81 ERA in low-A, with 74 Ks in 59.2 innings.
3. Nicholas Fuller. As good as the Rays first two picks were, this one was nearly as bad. Fuller never signed with the Rays and chose to attend college. Player missed: Aaron Bates (Red Sox) is a slugging first baseman hitting .302-13-46 (nearly identical to Longoria) in high-A.
4. Alexander Cobb. Made 6 appearances (1 start) in rookie ball in 2006 and has not appeared in a minor league game yet this year. Is likely to begin 2007 at Hudson Valley. Player missed: Ben Snyder (Giants) is a lefty with 63 Ks in 59 innings with a 2.14 ERA at low-A.
5. Shawn O’Malley. Shortstop hit .213 with 1 home run and 10 stolen bases in 50 games for Princeton in 2006. Has not appeared in a minor league game yet this year. Is likely to begin 2007 at Hudson Valley. Player missed: No notable players
6. Nevin Ashley. Catchers are notoriously slow developers but Ashley has held his own. After a .333 rookie campaign, this season he is hitting .286 with 15 extra-base hits and 8 steals for Columbus. Player missed: Adam Moore (Seattle) is a catcher chosen two picks after Ashley. He is hitting .278-10-39 in the hitter-friendly Cali League. We can’t knock the selection of Ashley because we have no clue how either catcher is defensively.
7. Ryan Reid. Reid made 12 starts for Hudson Valley after being drafted, but this year he is filling the roll of closer for Columbus and doing it quite while. In 32 innings, he has 38 strikeouts with 5 saves and 3.38 ERA. Player missed: No notable players
8. Tyree Hayes. Hayes was solid if unspectacular in 7 starts at Princeton in 2006. He will begin the 2007 season at Hudson Valley. Player missed: Chris Cody (Tigers) has 79 srtikeouts in 76.2 innings with only 13 walks and a 1.76 ERA.
9. Eligio Sonoqui. First baseman hit .201 with no homers for Princeton in 2006. Will likely begin season with Hudson Valley. Player missed: Brian Bockock (Giants) a shortstop has 27 steals in 37 attempts this season while hitting .291 between low-A and high-A.
10. Desmond Jennings. Jennings had 32 steals in 56 games in rookie ball last year and this season he is 22-31 in 49 games. He is hitting .283 with an excellent 23 to 29 walk to strikeout ratio. Player missed: No notable players
11. Heath Rollins. OK, so we were originally only going to rate 10 rounds, but the Rays 11th pick was too good to ignore. sue us. If you read this site on a regular basis, you know we have been a bit enamored with Rollins recently. On the season he has a 1.09 ERA in 11 appearances. He has been even stronger recently with only 2 earned runs in his last 56 innings (9 starts). Player missed: No notable players

In the first 11 picks, the Rays selected a future all-star (Longoria), two pitchers that project as major league starting pitchers (Butler, Rollins), major league relief pitcher (Reid) and a guy that could steal 50 bases in the majors with an excellent OBP (Jennings). The Fuller pick was a big blow, but 5 future major leaguers in 11 picks is a solid first effort.

Bill Chastain Pretends To Cover The Devil Rays

Bill Chastain writes regularly for devilrays.com. We would like to think that a writer that specializes in a certain topic, in this case it is the Tampa Bay Devil Rays…would know more about the topic than the average fan that is reading his articles. No? OK, then is it too much to ask that he know at least as much as the average fan? Apparently it is too much to ask.

Yesterday, Chastain gave us an article entitled “With No. 1 pick, Rays sit atop 2007 Draft“. The first part of the story is a nice little Kansian piece about the When, the Where and the Who. Towards the end, Chastain decides to give us a Devil Rays Draft history lesson, during which he recaps what has happened to several of the recent draft picks since they became Devil Rays. There was just one small problem…We take that back…There were only several large errors…

[On Jeff Niemann] Neimann has struggled with injuries, but is now at Triple-A Durham and appears on the fast track to reach Tropicana Field. He has three quality pitches, he throws strikes and he’s working on a changeup and a splitter. If healthy, he could dominate.

Niemann has never struggled with injuries. Yes he did have one surgery that caused him to miss considerable time and has delayed his arrival to the big leagues. BUT, that was not really an injury as much as it was preventative maintenance. Niemann had the bone shaved down in his shoulder so that it would not cause problems in the future. Even if you do want to call that an injury. That is but one injury. Not injuries.

[On Wade Townsend] Townsend spent the 2006 season rehabbing from Tommy John surgery that was performed on Nov. 21, 2005. He is now pitching for Class A Columbus. Prior to his surgery, he had a good fastball, which is expected to come back.

Townsend did have a mid-90s fastball when he was drafted but most scouts thought his best pitch was his knuckle-curve. Two plus-pitches is why many scouts projected Townsend as a closer in the majors.

[On Reid Brignac] Rising fast: Reid Brignac, a shortstop, was the Rays’ Minor League Player of the Year in 2006 after combining to hit .321 with 24 home runs and 99 RBIs at Class A Visalia and Montgomery. He is earmarked to be the team’s shortstop of the future, a player known for his bat but one who has come a long way with the glove.

We know it is early, but Brignac has regressed with the glove. He has 13 errors in 54 games. 2006 looks like the exception more than the rule.

And our personal favorite…

[On Andy Sonnanstine] Cinderella Story: Andy Sonnanstine, a right-handed pitcher taken in the 13th round of the 2004 Draft, was named the organization’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2006 after setting a Minor League single-season record with 15 wins. What he lacks in physical gifts he more than makes up for with mound savvy and pinpoint control. He is currently pitching at Durham.

Please keep in mind that this article went up on the website on Monday. We guess we can forgive Mr. Chastain for missing the news that the Rays promoted Sonnanstine last Friday and is starting for the Rays tonight in Toronto.

Other Rays news that Mr. Chastain may have missed:

• That short Japanese guy that is playing third base, is not Aubrey Huff.
• No, Lou Piniella is not much calmer these days. That is Joe Maddon in the dugout.
• The Rays are not tied for first place in the AL East. The Yankees really suck this year.
• The team in green is the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
• Bill Chastain is paid to cover the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, not the 4-H hog-tying festival.

With No. 1 pick, Rays sit atop 2007 Draft [DevilRays.com]

Down On The Farm:

Rochester 3, Durham 0. For once this season, Andy Sonnanstine was hittable. He allowed 8 hits and 3 runs (2 earned) in 6.1 innings. He struck out 5 and walked 1. The Bulls managed only 4 hits.This was the second straight game the Bulls were shutout.

Mississippi 3, Montgomery 0. Jonathon Barratt allowed 9 hits and 3 walks to go with 3 runs (1 earned) in 6 innings. His record drops to 0-3 despite a 2.84. Derek Feldkamp had his second strong outing since being moved to the bullpen, working 2 scoreless innings. Reid Brignac went 2-4 for his first multi-hit game in a long time. Evan Longoria was 1-4 with his 11th double.

Vero Beach 2, Tampa 1 (14 inn). Wade Davis struck out 8 in 6 innings. He allowed 1 run on 6 hits and 1 walk. Matthew Devins’ 3rd home run won it in the 14th.

Savannah 4, Columbus 3. Jeremy Hellickson was pulled after 4 innings, after allowing 4 runs on 7 hits and and a walk.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• We got nuthin’ today.