Tampa Bay Sports Blog

Technorati Tags: Akinori Iwamura, Andrew Friedman, Andy Sonnanstine, Ben Zobrist, BJ Upton, Boston Red Sox, Brandon Lyon, Brian Fuentes, Carl Crawford, Carlos Guillen, Carlos Pena, Chad Bradford, Dan Wheeler, David Price, Dioner Navarro, Edwin Jackson, Elijah Dukes, Evan Longoria, Francisco Rodriguez, Gabe Gross, Gary Sheffield, Grant Balfour, J.P. Howell, James Shields, Jason Bartlett, Jason Hammel, Jeff Niemann, Joe Beimel, Joe Maddon, Jonny Gomes, Los Angeles Dodgers, Magglio Ordonez, Matt Garza, Miguel Cabrera, Mitch Talbot, Pat Burrell, Philadelphia Phillies, Reid Brignac, Rocco Baldelli, Scott Kazmir, Shawn Riggans, Tampa Bay Rays, Trever Miller, Willy Aybar

   Time to wrap up the Rays season. What a season we had here, never saw this coming. I thought, the same as everyone else, the Rays would improve but not to this extent. Let’s wrap it up…

• The defense: The most dramatically improved thing on this team was the defense. The arrival of Jason Bartlett and Evan Longoria made this into the best left side defense in baseball. I was skeptical of Bartlett in the beginning (no need to bring my stupidity there again) as he had some unexplained throwing errors early but recovered to have a great season (should’ve got the gold glove over Young in my opinion). Longo was great defensively from day one and that’s that. Aki transitioned nicely over to second and Pena (won gold glove) was phenomenal. Having Pena at the corner saved Barty and Longo at least 5 errors a piece. Navarro’s improvement behind the plate was far and away the most amazing difference I saw. He was such a different player all around this year that I want to compare images from last season to see if this is the same guy. Unreal! Crawford and Upton were very good and have the speed to make up for other mistakes they might make. Right field was our problem child but Gabe Gross, Eric Hinske, Nathan Haynes (remember him?), Jonny Gomes (worst of all), Rocco and Fernando Perez did good enough to stay out of the conversation. Riggans did fine as a backup and Ben Zobrist was also good enough in learning new positions that he warranted to complaints. Willy Aybar was a godsend. He started the year at third and gave up his spot to Evan after getting injured. When he returned he helped fill the voids left by Pena and Longoria while they were injured (separately of course).
• The starting pitching: The pitchers improvement was made by maturation and the defense if you ask me. James Shields continued his development into an innings eating machine who we can count on every fifth day to give us a quality start. Kazmir started great after his injury and reverted back to the 5 inning 100 pitch nightmare we’ve gotten too used to. I still think he was pitching through injuries as his slider was gone and we saw hitters make better contact off of him than ever before. Matt Garza was better than advertised and he should improve as he gets his emotions under control. Sonny ate innings as we expected and showed the mental toughness of an ace. Edwin Jackson pitched better than anyone expected. I would like to see more strikeouts from a power arm like his, but it’s hard to complain about 14 wins. We also saw the arrival of David Price. Not much to say there except, hello king David! Now either Sonny or EJax has to give way to Price, one of those nice problems we’ve heard about but rarely seen here. We also saw Jeff Niemann, Mitch Talbot and Jason Hammel make starts. Hammel should be a starter, just not here. Niemann and Talbot could be swingmen or trade bait. We also were lucky here in that there were no major injuries and we basically saw the same five guys all year. That’s a great accomplishment for that reason and for the fact that all five guys performed well enough to stay in the rotation.
• The bullpen: The second most surprising turnaround to me. JP Howell went from prospect on the bubble to a dominating short inning reliever who has become invaluable to this team. I gotta admit, I didn’t see that one coming. Howell not only dominated lefty’s but he shut down righty’s as well. Dan Wheeler rebounded from his bad showing after getting him back from Houston last season and was very good at the setup and closer roles. Grant Balfour was unhittable after his early season demotion and Trevor Miller did enough to get by. Troy Percival was very good until his age and weight caught up with him and his career should be over now. Jason Hammel played the villain role as the mop up/long relief guy and was doing decent until the meltdown against the Yanks. Chad Braford was a nice late season acquisition who performed well in his first round with the team. We saw Juan Salas, Mitch Talbot, Scott Dohman and Kurt Birkins make appearances and we said goodbye to Gary Glover and Al Reyes (yay!). Again this historical improvement I attribute to maturing and the defense.
• The offense: The offense was average for the most part all year and did enough to win. Longoria should be rookie of the year, Pena performed as expected and Aki continued his transition into the leadoff role. We saw down seasons from Upton (until the playoffs) and Crawford, mostly due to injuries. We saw marked improvement from Navarro who finished with the highest batting average at .295 (not .300 though, sorry Cork) and Jason Bartlett. Both of these guys shut me up with authority and became two guys I really like having now. Aybar was awesome off the bench filling in when needed. Gross had some big hits that we didn’t count on out of him. Zobrist and Hinske were good for some bombs at the right times. Floyd was decent at the DH role. Gomes played his way back to the minors (hopefully out of town) and Riggans did what a backup catcher should do. This is the area of the team you could say disappointed and needs to be improved on in the off-season.

   Overall it was the best season we’ve had and looks to be the start of something very special here. These guys are young for the most part and are still learning. Much of the way Her Rays thinks now, maybe there’s something to the fact that this was my first year blogging, it was the first winning season in Rays history. I only hope that I can improve as much as these guys did. It was a season that was great for me as I said it was my first year doing this site, it was the first year my son really got into baseball and it has given us all a sense of excitement that we’ve never had here before. I’ve heard people telling me that they can’t wait for next year already, that’s never been said to me before! Thanks to everyone out there who supported me, especially Rays Index.  Great season guys!

Technorati Tags: Akinori Iwamura, Al Reyes, Andy Sonnanstine, Ben Zobrist, BJ Upton, Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, Chad Bradford, Cliff Floyd, Dan Wheeler, David Price, Eric Hinske, Evan Longoria, Fernando Perez, Gabe Gross, Gary Glover, Grant Balfour, J.P. Howell, James Shields, Jason Bartlett, Jason Hammel, Jeff Niemann, Jonny Gomes, Juan Salas, Kurt Birkins, Matt Garza, Mitch Talbot, Nathan Haynes, Rocco Baldelli, Scott Dohman, Scott Kazmir, Shawn Riggans, Tampa Bay Rays, Trevor Miller, Troy Percival, Willy Aybar

   There are a ton of rumors swirling around the Rays as the deadline approaches this Thursday and they’ve got everyone guessing as to what they’re gonna do. I know my stomach dropped Friday when I saw the Yankees had obtained Xavier Nady and Demaso Marte from the Pirates. I really wanted Nady and thought the Rays could’ve gotten him using some sort of package involvingguys like Edwiin Jackson, Jason Hammel, Jeff Niemann or Andy Sonnanstine. The Pirates need pitching and the Rays have some to spare, so what happened? It’s anybone’s guess. This is hard for me to swallow for two reasons. It really helps the Yanks, who are coming fast, and it blocked the Rays from the deal. They killed us twice so to speak. This all leaves me wondering what the Rays plan to do. They’re being linked to guys like Brian Fuentes, Ron Mahay, Clint Barmes (god no), Jason Bay (no way that’s going to happen), Matt Murton, Mark Texiera and Matt Holliday (just for fun on the last two). I’m getting more frustrated with this because they don’t seem to be actively trying to move a Jackson, Hammel or Sonnanstine the way they should be. When David Price is ready to come up, one of these guys needs to be gone and they’re not looking to create an opening. This makes me think that we won’t see Price this year until September at the earliest. Their lack of moves also makes me believe that they’re are counting on Rocco to make an impact and that’s just crazy. I love Roc but we all know he’s one step away from a hospital bed at all times. I’m really curious about this whole thing. If they do get a Brian Fuentes, who’s gone? I would like to see Trevor Miller take a walk as he’s been disappointing. Any move they make for a bat must involve Gomes’ removal from the roster (finally!). If they don’t want to mortgage the future for today then they need to start using some of that future to see if it fits. Gomes has to go and Ruggiano should be given a shot to replace him if no trade is made. There is no trade market for Gomes so a DFA should be made asap. I would love to have seen the Rays capitalize on Jackson’s improvement this year and move him to make room for Price. I would like to see Sonnanstine stay because we do need an innings eater and Jackson isn’t it. I will be following these rumors closely this week and I’ll begin to list what I see as it’s close enough to watch now. I really do hope a move is made, even if it’s not a trade but a move to bring someone up and try to improve this team.

Scott Brannelly

Technorati Tags: Andy Sonnanstine, Brian Fuentes, Clint Barmes, David Price, Demaso Marte, Edwin Jackson, Jason Bay, Jason Hammel, Jeff Niemann, Jonny Gomes, Justin Ruggiano, Mark Texiera, Matt Holliday, Matt Murton, New York Yankees, Pittsburg Pirates, Rocco Baldelli, Ron Mahay, Tampa Bay Rays, Trevor Miller, Xavier Nady

    After a weekend series in St. Louis there are still some problems that need immediate attention.

• The baserunning is terrible. There are still way too many mistakes being made on the basepaths that are unforgivable. There is no excuse for the mistakes that are being made. It would be one thing if they were just being over aggressive sometimes or the occasional blunder but these are little league mistakes. These are things guys should know by the time they’re in high school much less the major leagues. I’m tired of hearing what a great “teacher of kids” when these guys are making little league mistakes. This needs to be fixed.
• Still too many strikeouts! They are second in the A.L. in strikeouts and it is aggravating. I know I keep beating a dead horse here but it is so frustrating to watch guys take so many good pitches and leave themselves in horrible hitters counts. If someone could possibly teach B.J. Upton to cut down his swing with two strikes or even teach him it’s ok to swing at a fastball down the middle early in the count it wouldn’t be near as bad. Carlos Pena needs to flatten out his golf swing a little or pitchers will keep abusing him above the knees. Carl Crawford, blah blah blah… I’ve been through this way too much and I can’t let it go. Someone help them please!
• The pitching is starting to level out. I hear everyone complaining about Wheeler blowing a couple games and oh no! Gary Glover. These guys aren’t bad and things will get a little worse but they are fine. The defense is holding them in games and guys are improving, namely Howell and Sonnanstine, so all will be good here but they can’t carry the load all year. The offense needs to show up.

   All the bitching will commence when these guys drop a few more games but they are improved and I would just like to see them expect a little more from themselves now. The Rays need not settle now on being better, they need to improve on what they’re doing. It’s still all good in Rays land though, have fun boys.

Scott Brannelly

Source: ESPN

Technorati Tags: Andy Sonnanstine, BJ Upton, Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, Dan Wheeler, Gary Glover, J.P. Howell, Tampa Bay Rays

   I’m confused by the lack of attendance at the Rays games. The Rays have yet to start hitting yet they win. You could go watch Shields, Kazmir and Sonnanstine. You don’t have to see the crap that was continuously rotated out of the bullpen last year. You can see one of the best defense’s in baseball every night. Every game seems to be close and for the first time in our history they are winning more than they are losing. Where is everyone? I know it’s too much too ask for people to go every night, hell I can’t do that, but is it too much to ask for more than 12,000 people to come see our second place Rays? There are no more excuses for you right now. It’s still easy to find parking. It’s not a long drive for anyone from Tampa to Sarasota. What’s your excuse people? Every day I hear on the radio people calling in to the local shows and they say “when they win I’ll go”. They’re winning now so where are you? It’s time for the fans to stop making excuses. We can still bitch and moan about the dumb moves our retard of a manager makes and the stupid moves the ownership group makes but they’re winning in spite of it. I’m not saying we’re going to make the playoffs this year but it’s not out of the question either. Sternberg and his crew have assembled a quality team here. They seem to be poised for a good run as well also. Think about it for a second. The bullpen is pitching way above expectations and when they come down to earth the bats might come alive and save them. We have yet to see the real Carlos Pena, Carl Crawford, B.J. Upton and even the real Evan Longoria. It looks as if the Rays might get so lucky that when the arms start faltering the bats might save them. At this point you couldn’t ask for more from this over-achieving team right now so GO WATCH THEM!!!!

Technorati Tags: Andy Sonnanstine, BJ Upton, Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, Evan Longoria, James Shields, Scott Kazmir, Tampa Bay Rays

   Eric Hinske continued to beat up on his old team tonight going 2 for 4 with a homer and a stolen base in the Rays 5-4 victory in Toronto. This breaks the Rays three game losing streak as Andy Sonnanstine has become the team ’stopper’ of late. Sonny has been on a roll and he pulled out his 5th victory of the season. It wasn;t pretty but he did enough to get the job done with a line of 6 IP, 10 H, 4 ER, 1 BB and 2 K’s. Not pretty but it works. Upton and Aki had decent nights chipping in with 2 hits each. We need to stop and recognize this bullpen though. It’s gotten to the point this year where we, as fans, are confident that things are going to be fine when the game gets turned over to the bullpen. Remember last year? It’s a good thing I shave my head because I would’ve pulled my hair out with Camp, Lugo, Stoksie, blah blah blah! Troy Percival picked up his 7th save and Dan Wheeler gave us another two scoreless innings. What a difference. Did you see Shawn Camp by the way? He’s gone 5+ innings so far this year without giving up a run. Amazing!

Technorati Tags: Akinori Iwamura, Andy Sonnanstine, Dan Wheeler, Eric Hinske, Tampa Bay Rays, Troy Percival

   Andy Sonnanstine threw another gem tonight as the Rays beat the Oriole’s 8-1 to even the series at one. This is creating a nice problem for the Rays as Sonny has pitched very well so far to the tune of four wins in the first month. Jackson is still up and down and Hammel had a rough night last night but they seem to be locked into spots due to the lack of options. We have harped on this but what are the Rays going to do when Kaz comes back Sunday? I’ve been on board with shopping and moving Edwin Jackson (I still am) but that’s not likely to happen so I have thought of something and I would like some opinions on it. I’m not sure so I would like someone to tell me but I believe that Matt Garza has more options. If that is so I would love to see the Rays send him down when Kazmir returns. I like Garza and think he’ll do fine here and I understand the pressure on the organization to keep him up here because of the trade but it makes more sense to me to send him down if possible. He’s coming off an injury that we aren’t sure is fixed, he hasn’t pitched that great and I think it would be good for him to sort this out in AAA rather than in the bigs. I know Kirk Birkins is expendable but that doesn’t create a spot in the rotation. We’ve seen Hammel and Jackson in relief and it doesn’t seem to suit them. Sonnanstine has earned a spot so why not Garza? If there are no more options on him then this is irrelevant as Sonnanstine will be the odd man out, but if not then Garza should go. What do you think?

Technorati Tags: Andy Sonnanstine, Edwin Jackson, Jason Hammel, Kirk Birkins, Matt Garza, Scott Kazmir, Tampa Bay Rays

   There is a conundrum for the Rays they have never had to deal with before. They might have too much pitching. I’ll say it again, they just might have too much pitching. Crazy right? With Matt Garza due to come off the disable list and make a start on Friday and Scott Kazmir due back in early May the Rays have to make some tough decisions. The easiest choice I’m guessing would be to option Andy Sonnanstine to AAA Durham and stick with the rotation of Shields, Kazmir, Jackson, Garza and Hammel. What if Sonnanstine puts up another performance like he did Saturday? This is a good problem to have and we can only hope it works out for the Rays. Personally I think Jason Hammel is noticeably improved and from what I’ve seen from him mechanically and situational pitching he is for real and should be a good 4 or 5 starter in this league. The jury is still out on Matt Garza on whether the Twins pulled a fast one on us or not. I like his stuff but the rest leaves a lot to be desired. His mechanics are a little off and I’m not sure what to make of his poise on the hill yet. I would like to think the best is yet to come from him and the injury was the cause of his problems. Sonnanstine has smooth mechanics and is a strike throwing machine which is nice to see from our staff. His issue is his stuff. He doesn’t have one great pitch and can easily be lit up. I love his toughness and mound presence , he holds runners on well and history tells us that you don’t have to have great stuff to be productive. I like him for our rotation better than Jackson. It’s easy to fall in love with the high powered fastball Jackson throws but that is not going to get it done for him. I would love to see Sonny and Hammel remain in the back end of the rotation as both of these guys need major league innings to improve and Sonny especially can be a huge innings eater that will help out the bullpen dramatically. Obviously I’m getting to the point where I believe Jackson should be the odd man out. Part of me wants the Rays to try again to convert him into a reliever because of the stuff but he would be a nightmare one inning at a time. DRaysBay made a case for the Rays to trade Jackson a while back and I’m on board with them here. If there is some middle infield help or bullpen upgrades that could be had for this guy the Rays should jump on it. The most likely scenario is that Sonnanstine is optioned down but I don’t believe that helps him. He knows how to pitch in general, he needs to learn how to pitch at the Major League level. I know I’m not mentioning Jeff Niemann here but he still has a lot of work to do. I’ve stated before I think he’ll be a bust but we’ll have to wait and see there. It will be interesting to see what happens and the Rays are sure to take their time in making any major moves as they’re going to want to make sure Kaz and Garza are healthy before doing anything but it will be fun to speculate in the meantime.

Technorati Tags: Andy Sonnanstine, Edwin Jackson, Jason Hammel, Jeff Niemann, Matt Garza, Scott Kazmir, Tampa Bay Rays

   I couldn’t wait to write about this one. I’ve been very critical of the Rays so far this season and with good reason. Tonight there is nothing but good to talk about. Andy Sonnanstine threw a picture perfect ballgame and the entire team played well behind him. Everyone looked good on the field and at the plate. Longoria had a tough night with the stick and Upton made another dumb mistake on the bases but that’s minor within the whole show tonight. Jason Bartlett didn’t meet me at the bar but he showed signs of snapping out of his funk. The whole team should feel good about things tonight. It’s nice to have nights like this and, with the fight coming on in half an hour, this two hour game is exactly what the doctor ordered.

Technorati Tags: Andy Sonnanstine, BJ Upton, Evan Longoria, Jason Bartlett, Tampa Bay Rays

   The Rays may have a good problem on their hands here. With Jason Hammel and Edwin Jackson seemingly improved and making consistently good starts the Rays are holding down the fort pretty well with Kazmir and Garza out. Then Jeff Niemann comes in and performs nicely in his first major league start adding to the promise. Now Matt Garza and Scott Kazmir are heading to Vero Beach for rehab and may be back soon. When they come back the Rays have a dilemma, what to do with all this pitching? This is a little exaggerated as we all know these guys could revert back to last years form at any time and there is no such thing as too much pitching. This is nice to see with the Rays after all these years of horrid pitching and bad draft picks. There is a ton of pitching on the farm on the way and with everyone doing fairly well there could be some interesting things to deal with. Andy Sonnanstine has seemed to pitch his way back to Durham so that should be an easy one. If Niemann performs well again today it’s going to be hard to send him back down. Jackson and Hammel have both proved to be good enough at this point and neither one seems to do well out of the bullpen, Hammel especially. This leads me to think a possible trade announcement is coming today. The Rays have been linked to the Cubs Matt Murton for some time now over at MLBTR and this could be possible. A lot could go down and it’s nice to see the Rays having some good problem’s, especially with the injuries we’ve seen so far.

Technorati Tags: Andy Sonnanstine, Edwin Jackson, Jason Hammel, Jeff Niemann, Matt Garza, Scott Kazmir, Tampa Bay Rays

   On Friday and Saturday the Rays looked like the team everyone was hoping to see. Andy Sonnanstine pitched well Friday and the new bullpen didn’t have to do much as the Rays exploded for seven runs in the eigth inning to put down the vaunted Yankees at home. Dioner Navarro was hurt, in the goofiest way possible, but backup Shawn Riggans stepped in and showed a glimpse of the talent that we’d like to see from a starting catcher. Carlos Pena and Cliff Floyd delivered homeruns in the rout. On Saturday the Rays jumped on an HGH-less Andy Pettitte and never looked back. Jonny Gomes thought he hit a homerun early and looked pretty stupid getting tagged out as he rounded the bases but redeemed himself later by actually hitting one. It was a strange baseball day all around but the big thing was how bad Pettitte looked. I guess Brian MacNamee, oh I mean Andy Pettitte’s dad, didn’t have any tough juice for him. Too bad. Anyway those were the good Rays.

Technorati Tags: Andy Sonnanstine, Carlos Pena, Cliff Floyd, Dioner Navarro, Jonny Gomes, Shawn Riggans, Tampa Bay Rays

   Obviously by reading what I do here I’m a fan of DRaysBay and I think they do a great job at what they do. I have a problem with some of their opinions in a recent interview now though. They did a nice Q & A with Keith Law of ESPN regarding the status of the Rays and after reading that I have a problem with some of their opinions. First off I’m in agreement with them regarding Evan Longoria in thinking that he should be the Rays opening day third baseman. I think the Rays are stupid here because it appears that they want to send Longoria down to delay his free-agency a year by bringing him up later. This is correct in theory and I understand the financial responsibilities involved in doing this but what everyone doesn’t seem to understand, including the Rays, is that even if the Rays send Longoria down to delay his arbitration eligibility a year he still can qualify as a ’super 2 ‘ player. If Longoria is half the player we think he is he will qualify as a super 2 and this is all meaningless then because he will then be arbitration eligible before the Rays want him to be. Stupid! Now back to DRaysBay. They are dogging Willy Aybar as a bad player, I’m assuming because of their love for Longoria, and they’re 100% wrong there. We all have opinions about people and players and you can judge this in many ways but to call Aybar a bad player is ignorant. He’s an above average hitter, average defensively yet apparently he’s a bad guy. I’m not defending his actions as a person, if you beat your wife you’re a piece of crap, but to say he’s not a good player because of that is stupid. Michael Pittman had domestic violence issues but was he good enough to win a Super Bowl with? Yes. Julio Lugo had domestic violence issues but did he perform well here? Yes. So why are they tagging someone as a bad player because he’s got domestic violence issues? I don’t know. Next there was the issue they brought up saying the Yankees were a “train-wreck waiting to happen”. What?! No matter what you think of the Yanks, and I’m no fan, they’re not a bad team. To pick on a team like the Yankees,with the firepower they still have, for banking on three young starting pitchers and thinking that they can’t overcome those guys not working out this year is dumb! Why pick on them when we’re doing the same thing but worse. If Hughes doesn’t work do you think the Yanks won’t trade for someone to replace him? If Chamberlain implodes do you think they’ll just quit? No! Focus on the Rays guys. If Kazmir gets hurt (which he already is) what will the Rays do? Can they replace him? What if Shields gets hurt, will we trade for a proven player to replace him? I’m not an idiot thinking the Rays can compete with the Yankees and Red Sox now but I do think they’re better. By the development of the team to this point of the Sternberg era this is the year they officially move forward and are taken seriously. This is the year you truly find out what your pitching staff is made of, what to expect from guys like Upton and Iwamura and even Carlos Pena as they all have had one good season. See if you can count on them again and if they can’t find who may be able to fill in. There’s alot of question marks on this team even though the baseball world sees the improvement and future possibilities. Think of these things. We got Matt Garza but was he great last year? No, he was average with great potential. Other than last year how much do we know about what Upton, Iwamura, Pena, Reyes and Garza are going to do this year? What have Navarro, Edwin Jackson, J.P. Howell, Jason Hammel, Andy Sonnanstine, etc… done to make us or anyone think they’re going to be good now? I’m not dogging these guys and I’m not trying to sound like I’m rooting against them. I’m optimistic and excited about the possibilities of the Rays future but what makes any Rays fan think it’s time to start picking on the Yankees? Let’s all continue to be happy about the future of the Rays, let’s be excited about this season because they do APPEAR to be better but let’s all check ourselves a little bit in the reality of what things really are. The Yankees don’t ’suck’ and the Red Sox are the defending champs still so chill on the trash-talking! I can’t wait until it’s actually time to run my mouth about the Sox and Yanks but we’re not there yet. My old coach always told me “confucius say, he who gets cocky gets doo-doo on face”. Remember that everyone as things go on. I’ll be right there with you yelling at every Sox and Yanks fan in and out of the stadium when we’re above them in the standings, but until then they still have scoreboard!

Technorati Tags: Akinori Iwamura, Al Reyes, Andy Sonnanstine, BJ Upton, Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, Dioner Navarro, Edwin Jackson, Evan Longoria, J.P. Howell, Jason Hammel, Matt Garza, Tampa Bay Rays