Rays Index

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Cork Gaines — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:51:26 +0000

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Click on through below to learn more about the best deal in Tampa Bay sports, the No Excuses Tour to Tropicana Field. Find out how nearly 1,000 fans have enjoyed Rays games since 2011.

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Moore’s Best Start, Loathing National Broadcasts, And Pitching Depth

Cork Gaines — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:30:27 +0000

The GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.

RAYS 3, Orioles 1 (boxscore)

THE GOOD: Matt Moore. Sunday was perfect, albeit odd, Matt Moore. His fastball was only 92-93 most of the day. But it was still dominant and he still had a solid 8 swing-and-misses. And yet he only had 3 strikeouts. The upside was that he worked 7 full innings. And that is all the Rays need from Moore: 7+1+1. That is, 7 from Moore, 1 from Joel Peralta and 1 from Fernando Rodney. Game over, turn the lights out…Luke Scott. Luke Scott wont play 162 games. But if he did, he’d be on pace to hit .298 with 29 HRs and 114 RBI. His bat has never been in doubt. Just his ability to stay in the lineup.

THE BAD: Fox National Broadcast. I like Dick Stockton. But it is hard to be a part-time play-by-play guy in baseball. It is one sport that you need to be committed to everyday if you are going to do it. And if you watched Saturday’s national broadcast of the Rays games you saw why. I’m sure you guys will come up with other examples. But the clearest example came in the 9th inning when Sam Fuld made a nice running catch. Stockton kept calling him Kelly Johnson, not realizing Fuld had come in to the game that inning. OK, Stockton missed the substitution. But the camera was zoomed in on Fuld for several seconds and Stockton kept referring to him as Johnson until Brian Anderson corrected him. Brutal.

THE TELLING: Jake Odorizzi will make his first start for the Rays this afternoon…The Yankees traded for Reid Brignac, who was DFA’d by the Rockies last week…The Rays were 3-12 before Sunday in games in which they scored less than 4 runs…Jeremy Hellickson was the first pitcher since 2007 (Andy Pettitte) to give up 8 earned runs and win the game…Rays are now 23-20, tied with the Orioles for third place, 4 games behind the Yankees and just a half-game behind the Red Sox…

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

A scout recently told Peter Gammons that the Durham Bulls rotation is the “best AAA rotations he’s seen.” [Twitter]
Mark Topkin takes a look at the Rays’ history of reclamation projects with James Loney as the latest. [TampaBay.com]
The 8 Richest People In Baseball. [BI Sports]
is Mike Glennon a legit candidate to start for the Bucs this season? Maybe. Maybe not. [JoeBucsFan]

DOWN ON THE FARM…

Norfolk 3, DURHAM 2. JD Martin struck out 7 and walked 1 in 7 innings, giving up 3 runs (2 earned) on 9 hits…Wil Myers went 1-2 with a walk and no strikeouts…Tim Beckham committed his 10th error.

MONTGOMERY 3, Huntsville 0. Merrill Kelly went 6.2 innings without allowing a run. He struck out 5 and walked 2…Mikie Mahtook went 1-4. He’s hitting .238.

CHARLOTTE 2, Fort Myers 0. Felipe Rivero toseed 5.2 shutout innings. He struck out 4 and walked 3…Richie Shaffer was 2-4 with 2 strikeouts. He’s hitting .254.

BOWLING GREEN 8, West Michigan 0. Taylor Guerrieri tossed a career-high 6 innings, giving up just 1 hit, 1 walk, and no runs. He struck out 3…Andrew Toles stole his 22nd base.

West Michigan 5, BOWLING GREEN 1. Andrew Toles went 2-8 in the double-header. He’s now hitting .319.

A Rat Tail, Some Outfield Derp, A Sweet Sweep, And Other Images From Last Night’s Game

Cork Gaines — Mon, 20 May 2013 12:30:59 +0000

We’ve got the highlights you won’t see on SportsCenter…

Luke Scott fulfills his high school yearbook prophecy of 'Most likely to be only major league with a rat tail'

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Postgame Shot Of Joe: Matt Moore Brooms The Orioles

Joe Rays Fan — Sun, 19 May 2013 20:59:17 +0000

Joe is back with his postgame thoughts…

Thank you, Matt Moore, the ace of the Rays. Well, maybe Moore is Ace II along with Ace I Alex Cobb? Or is it the other way around? Who cares, they both pitch for the Rays and are thus far dynamite in 2013.

Moore was especially strong today, holding the pesky Orioles to a mere run on five hits through seven. Folks, that is dominating pitching.

That broom is sure sweet, huh?

It sure is nice to see Matty Joyce get warmed up. Two long balls in as many games, this time playing pinball with an unpainted foul pole (structure?) in right. Hey Bucky, don’t blame the umps. Blame your front office for not painting whatever the hell that is out there in right down the line.

The Rays are on a roll. Now to expose the Blue Jays in Canada!

Matt Joyce Double Is Overturned And Ruled A Home Run [GIF]

Cork Gaines — Sun, 19 May 2013 20:07:53 +0000

Matt Joyce hit what was initially ruled a double against the Orioles today.And in one of the stranger scenes you will see, both managers wanted the call changed.

Both Buck Showalter and the Orioles broadcast team initially thought it was a foul ball. But Joe Maddon and Matt Joyce thought it was a home run. After an extended conversation on the field, the umpires went to the replay and changed it to a home run (you can see the entire video here).

At issue was a small portion of the foul pole that is not painted yellow. That part of the pole is actually recessed from the wall. Replay seemed to show that the ball hit off the black portion and may have even left a mark…

Here is a GIF of the ball which seems to show it hitting the black portion..

And here is another view of what appears to be a mark left by a ball…

Tailgating With The Rays: Discussing Another New Reliever For Game 43

Cork Gaines — Sun, 19 May 2013 15:33:58 +0000

Playing A Little Pepper…

The Rays have sent Alex Torres back to Durham and promoted left reliever Jeff Beliveau just for today’s game. He is expected to be sent back down tomorrow and replaced by Jake Odorizzi who will start tomorrow’s game in Toronto. Odorizzi will be just the 17th different starting pitcher for the Rays since the start of the 2008 season. That is 8 fewer than any other AL team and 3 fewer than any other MLB team. The Orioles have used 39 starting pitchers over that span…Tomorrow’s game starts at 1:07 because it is a holiday in Canada (Victoria Day)… The Rays are now 17-10 over their last 27 games.

Game Graph…

[Will be up at game time]

Source: FanGraphs

Lineup…

Flash Jennings, CF
Matt Joyce, RF
Ben Zobrist, 2B
Evan Longoria, 3B
James Loney, 1B
Luke Scott, DH
Kelly Johnson, LF
Jose Lobaton, C
Yunel Escobar, SS
Matt Moore, SP

Postgame Shot Of Joe: Beautiful Win

Joe Rays Fan — Sat, 18 May 2013 23:51:55 +0000

Joe is back with his postgame thoughts…

What a beautiful comeback by the Rays for a critical win!

Man, Joe was getting ready to rag on the Rays pitching for being subpar… again. Joe was getting ready to rag on Jose Molina for being a lummox on the basepaths and being so friggin’ overweight he pulls a hamstring on a double that most nursing home residents would be able to stretch into a triple with their walkers. Joe was getting ready to rag on Yunel Escobar for being a waste. Joe was getting ready to drown his sorrows over what appeared to be an ankle injury by Matt Joyce in making an out.

But no! Six runs in the ninth — SIX!! — and the Rays reversed an ugly, depressing loss into a win.

Sadly, with the pitching being an obstacle this year for the first time in years, this is the kind of game the Rays are going to have to win. They are going to have to have strong offensive outputs to overcome the bad pitching.

Thankfully, Merlot Joe decided to leave Jake McGee in the pen, instead letting Josh Lueke close out a beautiful ninth-inning rally for a memorable win.

Postgame Shot Of Joe: “One Pitch” Worked For Rays

Joe Rays Fan — Sat, 18 May 2013 11:07:39 +0000

Joe is back with his postgame thoughts….

Fernando Rodney moaned about “one pitch” costing the Rays and him in the Sox debacle on Thursday night. So it was fitting that one pitch really turned the Rays to wacky 12-10 win in Baltimore on Friday.

In the third inning, Kelly Johnson looked at an absolutely sure strike-3 with two outs, but the home plate umpire choked in the Rays’ favor and Johnson drilled the next Jason Hammell pitch for a three-run homer.

What a beautiful thing.

Joe felt like a couple of early-season wrongs were righted there by the baseball gods.

So when is the Derek Shelton statue going to be erected?

The Rays went 17-for-39 at the plate Friday, plus five walks, and they’re actually a well-above average hitting team at this point. It’s no typo that the Rays are 11th in batting average, fourth in OBP, and eighth in runs scored in MLB.

Luke Scott continues to look like a polished hitter — though not on the bases — and even Yunel Escobar has climbed out of Karlos Pena territory.

The Rays don’t look like the Rays. Joe can’t figure out if that’s a good thing or not.

This Wil Myers Quote Suggests It Is Going To Be A While Before We See Him In The Majors

Cork Gaines — Fri, 17 May 2013 21:27:13 +0000

Playing A Little Pepper…

The Rays will face former Rays pitcher, Jason Hammel. Speaking of former Rays pitchers, the Cubs will pay Edwin Jackson $19 million this year ($11M salary, $8M signing bonus). The entire Rays rotation makes $15.4 million…The Rays already have two losses this season in which they led in the 9th inning. That equals the entire total for the 2012 season…The Rays didn’t land in Baltimore until 3:00 AM…David Price’s stint on the DL is just the 13th for a Rays starting pitcher since 2008. Only the Marlins (10) and Tigers (12) have fewer…Tomorrow’s game is on Fox. Brian Anderson will call the game with Dick Stockton…Joe Maddon has already used 38 different batting orders in 40 games.

Game Graph…

[Will be up at game time]

Source: FanGraphs

Lineup…

Flash Jennings, CF
Matt Joyce, RF
Ben Zobrist, 2B
Evan Longoria, 3B
James Loney, 1B
Luke Scott, DH
Kelly Johnson, LF
Jose Lobaton, C
Yunel Escobar, SS
Jeremy Hellickson, SP

This Wil Myers Quote Suggests It Is Going To Be A While Before We See Him In The Majors

Cork Gaines — Fri, 17 May 2013 20:47:18 +0000

Is Wil Myers’ still in the minors just to delay his arbitration eligibility? Maybe not. It might also have to do with his high strikeout totals and his complete disregard for the way the Rays want their players to approach hitting.

In a recent column for NewsObserver.com (via WatchingDurhamBullsBaseball), Myers explained that he strikes out a lot because he “is not a good two-strike hitter at all.” In Myers’ mind, his job as a run producer is to drive the ball and he refuses to shorten his swing with two strikes.

“I’m not looking to ‘choke and poke’ up there with two strikes. I’m looking for a ball to drive still. You always hear ‘choke and poke’ with two strikes, but as a middle of the order guy, one of the guys that drives in runs, you’re not really looking to just slap the ball around, just put it in play…If I have a runner on base with two strikes, I’m looking to drive the ball, even with two strikes. I’m looking to put the ball in play hard somewhere to drive the run in.”

The result is Myers has struck out in 29.6% of his plate appearances this season, the highest rate of his career, and not a good sign for his future in the big leagues. Joe Maddon just said yesterday on the MLB Network that he wants his young hitters to balance their strikeouts and walks. Myers has struck out 50 times and walked just 21 times.

But as a run producer, is Myers held to a different standard? Not according to his own manager. When told of Myers’ comments, Charlie Montoyo was described as having the “expression of a frustrated father”…

“We teach the same thing everybody else teaches…We stress it all the way from rookie ball to the big leagues: You have to shorten your swing with two strikes, try to put the ball in play. You would think it makes sense, man, I don’t want to be striking out, there’s no chance for anything. No error, no infield hit or nothing. I wouldn’t say nobody cares (about striking out). Nobody likes striking out, for sure. It’s just the approach: some people are just taking the same hack day in and day out with one strike or two strikes…You have to keep preaching it. You have to say it a thousand times, maybe a thousand and one times until they start listening. Just because a guy doesn’t do it, that doesn’t mean you’re just going to say, never mind. You’ve got to keep saying it, keep working on it.”

So what now? This is an easy fix, but one that will only work if Myers is willing to change. But if he continues to be stubborn, he might be in Durham a lot longer than many of us imagined.