Aki back in 6-8 Weeks? BJ Wins AL Player of the Week!

The Rays just finished a decent road trip having split the 6-game trip 3-3. They easily could have taken 4 or even 5 games with a couple of good breaks, but I will take 3-3 given we played the hottest team in baseball (Rockies have won 16 of last 17 games) and a solid Mets team on the road.

In other interesting news, it looks like Akinori Iwamura could be back by mid-August! Doctors originally thought he had a full tear to his ACL, but it turns out that it was only a partial tear AND he only needed to have his knee scoped. This is HUGE news as the Rays believed he was done for the year, yet he may only be out 6 to 8 weeks. Aki is a great player and could be a huge lift to the Rays come September (and hopefully October) if he can get back.

Secondly, BJ Upton has quietly (until today) started hitting the ball! He's hitting a very strong .329 BA with an OBP of .386 in the Month of June. Also in June, BJ has scored 13 runs, hit 6 doubles and 3 home runs, and stolen 11 bases (and that's only through June 21st). It's really nice to see BJ coming around and he is now getting the recognotion for it by taking home the AL Player of the Week for last week. Nice work, BJ!

The Rays are only 2.0 games back of a playoff spot and the team is just now getting Burrell and Bartlett back to full strength! Go Rays!

Tampa Bay Rays finding their MoJo?

OK – so I was a game early with my last piece, but I can honestly say I saw the Rays making some good progress towards RaysBall. I'm even seeing some serious energy and excitment in the dugout for the first time in a while. Lots of creative handshake/fist/body bumps, etc. That's the sign that this team is starting to get into it a bit. There is no substitution for good MoJo.

I like what I am seeing from the Rays:

Rays batters are really grinding down the opposing pitchers. In the last 5 games, the Rays have forced the opposing team to through 153, 140, 146, 198, and 142. That’s over 17 pitches per average inning. The Rays are really working the count well and are grinding out at-bats. While this may not always lead to runs, this type of play is the hallmark of a good team. The hits will come if the Rays keep grinding out at-bats like they have been.

Starters are getting it done (even on off nights). Even after Kazmir’s tough night (he was off, but he also got some really tough breaks), the Rays starters are looking better by the game. Garza’s performance goes without saying…a TRUE GEM. Sonny didn’t want to come out and look silly after what Garza did the night before. So, he took the mound and put in a gutty performance. Yeah, he got into some trouble, but never big trouble (didn’t give up the long ball with guys on base). Most innings seemed to go out-hit/walk-out-hit/walk-out. And, that’s OK if you don’t give up extra bases, which he did not. Sonny wasn’t sharp, but the sign of a good pitcher is being able to win when you are having an off night. Sonny did just that (with the help of some stellar defense as well) and let’s hope this builds his confidence and gets him going.

Bullpen is rounding into form. After starting the first 10 games of 2008 as one of the worst bullpens in the AL by ERA, they are now one of the best for the entire season (slow start included; as measured by ERA). In my last post, I wrote about the bullpen’s 3 earned runs over the last 17 innings. Well, they’ve added to that inning total by throwing another 4 2/3 innings with no earned runs. So, over the last 22 innings or so, the Rays bullpen has given up a measly 3 earned runs. That’s an ERA of 1.22 or so. Additionally, they look very sharp. [Side Bar: on paper, these guys are better than 2008. Now, they are starting to prove that to be the case].

BJ seems to be finding his swing. He’s 3-for-8 with 3 walks against the Red Sox in this series. So, his OBP is .500, he’s stealing bases and scoring some runs… and the Rays have won both games. He also looks much beter at the plate. BJ is a key part of the Rays offense because he is so disruptive to pitchers and he has a knack for scoring runs when he’s on base (note Masterson and Beckett in the last 2 games when BJ is on base). It’s no coincidence that BJ was on base against Beckett when Carl drew the walk to load the bases (before Longo broke the game open with a bases clearing double in Game 1). When BJ is hitting, he makes the bottom of the lineup better (Bartlett and Aki) as well as the guys that follow him. His average is rising as is his OBP (which is still a staggering .150 or so above his batting average). I still contend that if BJ gets it going (and things are looking promising of late), the Rays are going to win a lot of games.

The Rays building momentum now rests with Jeff Niemann. Let’s hope that Rays can string a few together on this run through the AL East.

Getting back to "Raysball"?

Last night was the first night all season where I recognized the team I’ve come to love. No there wasn’t an explosion of home runs (at least HRs that mattered, sorry Carlos and JB) and there wasn’t anything fancy about the way the Rays chipped away at the Twins on offense with regular old timely base hits. The win was a combination of great starting pitching (hey, this Niemann guy sure has quieted down the “where is David Price” crowd with his stellar pitching after the first inning of his first outing), solid defense (no real blunders except the ball that Aki misplayed a bit) and a shut-down bullpen (no runs allowed). Were it not for the icing on the cake homeruns from Carlos and JB, this game, at 4-1, looked a lot like the Rays from 2008 (and that makes me very happy).

I’ve also noticed a couple of very positive trends:

1) the bullpen is really starting to come around - after a rough start, the Tampa Bay Rays bullpen has given up only 3 earned runs in the last 6 games over a total of 17 innings pitched (that’d be an ERA of 1.59 for those of you that are math challenged)

2) The starting pitchers are showing signs of progress. After a slow ramp up to full speed, intentionally done by Joe Maddon given the post-season run of 2008 (oh, the good old days), the Rays starting pitchers have not quite been themselves over their first few starts (you might equate these to what would normally be their last few starts of a normal spring training period).

• Shields looked a little rough in his first start against the Red Sox, came out smoking in his second start giving up only 3 hits in 7 innings, and then gave up 5 runs in his third start. Shields was anything if consistent in 2008. In his 4th start, Shields appeared to have very good control of his pitches, seems to have his velocity back up into the 92 MPH range and was mowing hitters down on his way to a 0-1 loss to Seattle.
  
• Kazmir has actually been pretty good with a few rough innings here and there (remember the 10 straight balls to begin the White Sox on 4/18…ugh). Well, he bounced back with 6 shutout innings against the A’s.
  
• Garza took a little while to get going last year, but his stuff is just plain nasty. I’ve not really seen Garza come around, but I am confident he will.
  
• Sonny has been roughed up pretty good in his first 4 starts. He’s simply not locating his pitches. But, Sonny is a feel pitcher and I’m hopeful that he’ll get the touch back soon.
  
• And, what can we say about Niemann? He has been more than we ever could have hoped for. Despite his record of 2-2, he’s kept the Rays in the game. With the exception of his first, very shaky inning, Niemann has been one of the Rays most consistent starters so far. If he can keep this up, I suspect you will see him in this rotation for a while in 2009.

3) Burrell is starting to hit and he is clearly seeing the ball better. Burrell was brought in to improve the Rays chances against lefties (especially the likes of Jon Lester, CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitt). But, he’s also served as very valuable protection for Carlos Pena, who is currently leading the AL in home runs and RBIs. That’s no coincidence. When pitchers had the luxury of working the black on Carlos, he was not as potent. But, if they have to throw strikes to him, he’s going to make them pay. You could make the same argument for Longoria, who is also off to a very hot start. He's got Carl Crawform on one side and Carlos Pena on the other. Well, despite his .238 average, Burrell has an OBP of .364 for the 2009 season, AND, he’s hitting .272 over his last 10 games with an OBP of .429. Those aren’t eye-popping, but they are up significantly from the .100-something he was hitting in the first 10 games (it was so bad, I don't even want to calculate it). In addition, he’s drawn 9 walks in the last 10 games. When hitters are walking, they are hitting. Burrell is starting to come around and is likely about to break out for the Rays (that’s my prediction).

So, what am I worried about? Well, other than being in last place 12.3% into the season, I am most worried about BJ Upton. He’s been in a severe slump and it makes me wonder if his shoulder is just not quite right, yet. Maybe it would serve him well to hit #7, #8 or #9 for a couple of weeks to take some pressure off. After all, Aki and JB have been very strong in April and have both proven they are able to handle the leadoff spot. BJ is the future leadoff guy for this team and he has the potential to be a Ricky Henderson type leadoff guy (unique combination of power and speed). But, he can’t do it until he gets his head right. If BJ is not hitting, that hurts in a big way. In a lot of ways, the leadoff guy sets the tone for each game. Let’s recall BJ’s first game back against the Yankees on 4/13. He walked on 6 pitches to start the game. He then stole second AND third base! He then scored on a hit by Carlos Pena. That set the tone for a game that ended with the Rays a big winner 15-5 (BJ finished 1-3 with 3 walks, 2 SBs and 2 runs scored). BJ ate up 30 pitches in that game! For comparison’s sake, Game 2 of the Yankees series was a different story. BJ struck out swinging in his first at bat and was on his way to an 0-4 game with a hat trick (3 Ks and he only saw 16 pitches in that game). The Rays lost the game 7-2, collected a meager 3 hits and didn’t score until the 7th inning. Now, I am not blaming that loss on BJ since the bullpen was the real culprit that time, but I make the point that an impactful leadoff guy can get a team going early. BJ has the potential to shape each and every game right out of the gate.

Let’s all hope that BJ gets back into the swing of things soon (or just finds ways to get on base). We should all keep an eye on his progress. With some of the other pieces starting to come together, I strongly believe that BJ is the lynch pin that could ignite a nice run by the Rays in 2009.

Rays Look Impressive in Opening Series Against the Boston Red Sox

After dropping their Opening Day game 5-3 to the Red Sox (and a dominant Josh Beckett), the Rays answered with strong pitching performances by Scott Kazmir and Matt Garza, both of whom picked up a win at Fenway. Lest we forget that it took until mid-September in 2008 for the Rays to pick up a single win on the road against the Red Sox, this was an impressive couple of wins for the Rays and a great way to kick off the 2009 season.

Key take-aways from the opening series:
1) Rays first 3 starters looked very strong. Shields was roughed up a little bit, but he never lost control of the game even though he gave up a few more than we would have liked. The Rays were still very much in Game 1 and could have tied/won the game with one or two timely hits late in the game. Kazmir's fastball was alive and well. He had some crazy movement on his consistent 92+ MPH fastball and was very much on with his change-up. We saw a few good sliders, but I hope to see more of them this year. Garza looked like he hasn't missed a beat since the ALCS. He is really tarting to come into his own. His stuff is just nasty!

2) Rays bats were alive and well after a quiet, 3-hit showing against Beckett. In total, the Rays put up 26 hits (including 13 for extra bases) and scored 14 runs. Notables include Longoria who was 6 for 14 with 2 doubles, 2 homeruns and 5 RBIs; Iwamura who was 5 for 10 with 2 doubles and 3 walks (on-base of .615). Carlos Pena had a rough start to the season going 0 for 5 with 5 Ks, but he contributed a 2-run homerun in Game 2 as well as a single and 3 BBs. His on-base is still nearly .400 even with his very weak start. Finally, Matt Joyce collected his first hit and his first homerun as a Ray in Game 3 when he launched one over the right field fence at Fenway. I like the way this kid looks a lot. As a side note, Edwin Jackson (whom the Rays traded for Matt Joyce) pitched lights out in his Detroit debut (April 7th - pitching as Detroits #2 starter) in what was probably his career best performance. He pitched 7 1/3 innings allowing only 2 hits and only 1 earned run. I hope we didn't let one get away....

3) Rays defense was a little shaky in the outfield, but got the job done. Both Kapler and Joyce had a little bit of trouble in CF. CF at Fenway is no easy task, to be fair, but the Rays will be vastly improved when BJ Upton returns to his post in CF and Joyce and Kapler can spend more time in RF.

Up next for the Rays are the very potent Baltimore Orioles offense (just ask CC Sabathia and Chien-Ming Wang). The Rays should not take these guys lightly as they clearly have the ability to put some runs on the board quickly. I will be keen to see how Sonnanstine's new Changeup performs as well as how the back end of the Baltimore rotation holds up. While the Orioles have plenty of offensive fire power, their purported weakness is the starting rotation. Game time is 7:05PM tonight, 7:05PM tomorrow and 1:35PM on Sunday. Happy Easter!

Rays Looking for Right Fielder - Who Fits the Bill?

UPDATE - EVAN LONGORIA WINS ROOKIE OF THE YEAR - CONGRATS, LONGO!!!

Arguably the Rays biggest need is an everyday right fielder (the Rays also talked recently about wanting to shore up the bullpen and add a starter - but I think the latter is likely to include David Price). Closer is a spot that has some questiosn marks (for obvious reasons), but the Rays are a bit hamstrung there as they have Percival under contract in 2009 for $4 million and he's shown that he can still pitch effectively when he's healthy. Thus, the Rays seem unlikely to make a big bet on a top shelf closer this offseason.

A much more likely scenario is that the Rays go for a strong right fielder / right handed bat to fill their biggest need. There are a number of potential guys that fit the bill, so here goes:

1) Matt Holliday is one of the biggest names out there that might fit within the Rays organization. He's a very high quality player even though he does have better home numbers (Coors Field effect) than he does road numbers. Even so, his road number are still pretty strong (.891+ OPS vs. .997+ OPS at home) and he is a very good all around player. The Rockies need pitching and the Rays have a ton of it. So, why not trade for him? Well, he only has 1 year left on his contract and he's likely to draw BIG BUCKS in the free agent market after the 2009 season. It's possible the Rays could try to resign him before 2009, but do they really want to make a large bet on a guy who has some risk (being away from Coors Field could make him more average)? Also, what would the Rays have to give up to get him?

2) Manny Ramirez is THE single best OF hitter available. But, I am not going to spend any time on him because he's simply not a fit with the way Joe Maddon and the Rays organization run things.

3) Magglio Ordonez is a relatively new name in the trade talks. He has been a very strong everyday player for the Tigers and is under contract making $18 million in 2009 with options of $15 million for 2010 ($3 million buyout) and $15 million for 2011 (no buyout). (Side note - Ordonez's salary in each of the option years would become guaranteed if he has 135 starts or 540 plate appearances in the previous season or 270 starts or 1,080 plate appearances in the previous two seasons. If his 2010 salary becomes guaranteed under this provision, it would be at $18 million. The 2011 salary would be $15 million). That's a lot of money for the Rays to spend on a right fielder, but Ordonez is the real deal and he has proven that he's healthy and is a premier hitter in MLB. Interestingly, his home/road splits are actally more severe than Holliday's (.771 OPS on the Road vs. .974 at home in 2008).

4) Bobby Abreu is a free agent and can still play a decent right field (very strong arm). But, he's a left handed bat and the Rays would really like to pick up a solid right handed bat in their new right fielder. Abreu also made about $16,000,000 in 2008 and he may draw something close to that number this year given his consistent bat and acceptable RF play. The big upside is that he is a free agent and won't cost the Rays any talent to acquire. The downside is that he's just not as good as the guys mentioned above.

5) Fernando Perez, Rocco Baldelli, Gabe Gross, Ben Zobrist and Justin Ruggiano. The Rays used a platoon in 2008 in RF and they got to the World Series. Would the Rays be better off using their considerable farm talent to fill this hole instead of giving up some of their prized pitching in a trade? For example, the Rays might consider moving Upton to RF and putting Perez in center (his natural position). BJ plays a very good CF and I am not sure it'd be the best thing to move him into yet another position in 2009, but it's certainly an option. Or, they could utilize Rocco as their DH/RF and platoon him with Perez or Zobrist. Ruggiano is another contender although he went ICE COLD at the plate when he had opportunities in 2008. But, he's got some talent, no doubt about it.

So, the Rays have some thinking to do here and there appears to be only upside at the right field position in 2009. The Rays were able to get to the World Series in 2008 largely with the team that's returning in 2009. Any upgrade in the starting pitching rotation (e.g. David Price) is a big bonus as well as any upgrade in RF. Personally, baseball games are won with pitching, so I'd like to see the Rays tread carefully with their very good, young arms (esp. Sonny and Jackson). The Rays were blessed with very few pitching injuries in 2008, but you can't count on that happening every year (just as the Yankees). As for Right Field, I don't expect any sort of blockbuster deal, but I also did not expect to see the Rays ship Delmon Young out last year, so you never know!

Pena Wins First Gold Glove; MLB Salary Arbitration Explained and more...

First of all, 9=8.com wants to extend a congrats to Carlos Pena for winning his first (and a Rays franchise first) Gold Glove for his defensive play at first base. Not only did Carlos lead all first basemen with only 2 errors all year, but he made a meaningful number of very tough plays during the regular season. As we saw this year and last, Carlos is one of the best first basemen in all of MLB (offensively and defensively) and has emerged as a leader for the Rays.

Evan Longoria and Joe Maddon look poised to collect some well-deserved hardware next week as well, so stay tuned!

On another note, there has been a lot of talk about what's going on with the Rays, salary arbitration, trade talks, etc. I am working on another post to talk about the Rays needs and potential deals (for free agents as well as trade rumors/ideas), but I'll save that for another day. Today, I wanted to share some details on salary arbitration as it can get a bit confusing. The Rays have the following players elgible for salary arbitration and this will definitely raise the payroll for the 2009 Rays with their 2008 salary noted (hopefully not to the point where they can't get the everyday RF or closer that they need):

• Grant Balfour ($500,000);
• Edwin Jackson ($412,700);
• Dioner Navarro ($412,500);
• Willy Aybar ($401,200);
• Jason Bartlett ($416,600);
• Jonny Gomes ($1,275,000); and
• Gabe Gross ($414,000)

The Rays will need to address these players through arbitration assuming they wish to keep them for 2009. Of those on the list above, it's very possible that the Rays let Jonny Gomes go on his way (or at least offer him much less than his $1,250,000 salary). Other notable salary relief the Rays will get include the following players who might not return in 2009 (or, if they do, they will likely earn less than in 2008): Rocco Baldelli ($2,250,000), Cliff Floyd ($2,750,000), and Trevor Miller ($1,600,000). Also, Troy Percival ($3,897,797) will be done after 2009 when his contract expires, so the Rays know they will have that money rolling off next year. There are lots of things to consider this off-season (per this article in the St. Pete Times yesterday). Will the Rays trade BJ Upton? Will they trade Edwin Jackson or Andy Sonnanstine? Maybe Scott Kazmir? Lots of crazy rumors have been flying around, so check back for my post on possible trades the Rays could make or free agents they could sign. In the mean time, here's the breif education on Salary Arbitration in MLB.

Salary Arbitration (from Wikipedia)
If a player is drafted and is offered a contract by his drafting team (or any team he is traded to) each year, he may not become a free agent until he has been on a major league roster or disabled list for at least six years. Otherwise, any player without a contract may become a free agent and sign with any team.

A player is eligible for salary arbitration if he:

• is ineligible for free agency
• is without a contract
• cannot agree with his current team on a new contract
  has been on a major league roster or disabled list for at least three years

"Super Two" exception - A player with at least two years of experience may be eligible for salary arbitration if he:

• Meets the first three requirements from above
• Played in the majors for at least 86 days in the previous season
• Is among the top 17 percent for cumulative playing time in the majors amongst others with at least 2 years, but less than 3 years experience
• In this process, the player and the team both submit a salary offer for a new contract; the arbitrator chooses one number or the other, whichever is thought to be most "fair" given comparable wages among players with similar ability and service time. Players thus rely on arbitration and free agency to increase their salaries.

Players eligible for neither free agency nor salary arbitration are very seldom offered contracts for much more than the league minimum salary, as the player has no recourse to try to obtain a better salary elsewhere. For this reason, in the first three major league years of their careers, players accept comparatively low salaries even when their performance is stellar. This is an accepted practice; talented, young players are usually content to "pay their dues" in this way and earn a chance to negotiate for more in their fourth year. Occasionally, a team may wish to sign a player in his second or third year to a long-term contract, for which negotiation can take place for a much higher salary.

RAYS WIN ALDS, Advance to ALCS!!! Petition to Remove the Tarps!

Wow, what an exciting series. BJ Upton came alive and Cliff Floyd hit a key RBI double to close out the 5-game series against the Chicago White Sox.

What can you say about this team? It always seems to be a different guy. Game 1 was the Shields/Longoria show. Game 2 it was Kazmir battling through a tough start and Aki launching a HR that proved to be the difference. Game 4 was Sonny pitching a gem and BJ Upton coming alive and Cliff Floyd making himself known.

I honestly feel like this team is starting to get things going at the right time. They are healthy (except for Percy, of course) and they believe. Is it just me or does this team believe that it belongs in the hunt? I'm looking forward to the ALCS and will post lots of pictures from those games as well. Stay tuned to 9=8.com as we might have more giveaways on here as well.

On another note, there has been a lot of talk on other blogs about how badly the ALCS ticket sales went (i.e. people that did not get tickets are unhappy). Someone suggested we start a petition to have the Rays remove the Tarps in the upper deck. So, I figured, why not? Here is the petition. If you want to see that Tarps removed for the ALCS, sign it and tell your Rays fan friends!

Credit Picture: [James Borchuck, Times]

Rays Win Game 2 of 2008 ALDS and take 2-0 Lead; 9=8.com Was There (again)! 50+ Photos

Game 2 of the ALDS was a tremendous game that included many gutty performances, clutch hitting and some great bullpen work by the Rays. Scott Kazmir, after throwing 37 pitches in the first inning (and loading the bases with 0 outs), was able to battle through his rough start to give 5 1/3 strong innings giving up only 2 runs. In doing so, he earned his first career post season win and the Rays left for Chicago with a 2-0 lead in the ALDS. 9=8.com was there and we took 50+ pics that I wanted to share with all of you Rays fans (entire slide show is embedded below)! Oh, and it was LOUD at the Trop today. Someone said it was the 3rd loudest crowd in MLB history (that's been measured) and I believe it. It's certainly the loudest one I've ever been to.

As has been typical for the Rays all season, it was a total team effort. At the plate, every Rays starter collected a hit (there were 12 hits in all for the Rays). This balanced offensive attack was complemented by strong defense (as usual). Fernando Perez made a crucial out in the 2nd inning; an out that I believe made a huge impact on Kazmir as he was looking to get things on track. That catch is not supposed to be made and only a handful of major leaguers could have made that play. Truly sensational for the rookie’s playoff debut! The trio of Crawford, Upton and Perez in the outfield has to be a big concern for MLB. Those guys are SO FAST, that it is much tougher to get hits against this alignment.

And, what can you say about our bullpen? Whether it’s JP Howell, who is probably the top middle reliever in ALL OF MLB, Grant Balfour (he shut down a 2-baserunner situation in the fifth, which was a key moment in the game) or even Chad Bradford, they were all outstanding. Chad Bradford closed things out for the Rays allowing Dan Wheeler to get some rest before Sunday’s game.

I had the pleasure of attending this game again with my father and son (3 generations). We will remember these first two games forever and are looking forward to more Rays baseball (hopefully in the ALCS, but Game 5 of the ALDS is worst case). We already have our tickets and hope to see you there. Enjoy the pictures I took below!!!

Blue Jays Starting Top 3 Pitchers vs. Red Sox on Short Rest

Some good news for the Rays (if you are into scoreboard watching, that is). The Blue Jays announced that A.J. Burnett, Jesse Litsch and Roy Halladay all will pitch on three days' rest against Boston. In addition, the Red Sox are going to have to face the hot LHP David Purcey (at least, he's hot against the Rays having given up 1 run in 16 innings against us in his last 2 starts) in their first game tonight (Wakefield is pitching for the BoSox). This is great news for the Rays for several reasons.

1) The Jays have a top 2 (Rays are #1 in my opinion) starting rotation in the MLB and the Jays are red hot - good opportunity for the Rays to gain some ground if we can take the series from the Yankees (will not be easy, but the Rays can do it for sure).

2) The Jays believe they are in the Wild Card hunt (and they are if they can win or sweep the Red Sox series) and will be playing for their lives. The Red Sox know they needs to string some wins together before coming down to the Trop. That means both sides will be playing some very intense baseball for 3 days before having to fly down and play a 3-game set at the Trop. The Red Sox will not be able to preserve their bullpen as they cannot afford to conserve for the Rays series. Let's hope for some extra innings battles in this series!

3) The Rays/Red Sox series is going to be no picnic for Red Sox hitters either as they will face Scott Kazmir right out of the gate. They also have to deal with the mental block of having lost all games they've played at the Trop thus far. I am not sure how big an issue this will be, but it is something that will be in their minds, for sure.

The Rays do not have an easy task at hand either with their visit to Yankee Stadium, but I believe we have a very good chance to win this series. Here are the Rays matchups for the weekend:

Friday - Garza vs. Ponson
Saturday - Shields vs. Mussina
Sunday - Jackson vs. Pavano

No easy task for sure, but they are all RHPs and the Rays are fired up after the Red Sox series. Perhaps we will see BJ Upton and Evan Longoria in the lineup as well, which would be outstanding news! There is going to be some GREAT baseball for the next week!

WOW: Believe in the Tampa Bay Rays - a Season of Destiny?

First some business - sign up for our blog via email (click here) and you will have a chance to win 2 tickets to see the Rays play the Twins. Drawing will be on Monday, September 15.
Also, let's fill the PIT for the Red Sox and Twins series.

GREAT SEATS AVAILABLE ON STUBHUB - CLICK HERE!

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First it was Carl Crawford (our #3 hitter), the defensive stalwart and key member of the Rays offensive attack. No problem, we have Rocco Baldelli, Ben Zobrist, Eric Hinske, Justin Ruggianno, Gabe Gross, Dan Johnson...

Then, it was Evan Longoria (our #4 hitter and team leader in HR, RBIs and Slugging %). No problem, we have Willy Aybar.

Then, it was BJ Upton (our #2 hitter and team leader in walks, OBP as well as the AL leader in outfield assists), who has been playing with a torn Labrum in his left shoulder, who strained his quad chasing a ball on Monday at Fenway Park (in the biggest series the Rays have had in FRANCHISE HISTORY). He misses Tuesday and Wednesday's games. No problem, we have Fernando Perez, Ben Zobrist, Dan Johnson, Gabe Gross, etc.

Then, it was Troy Percival. Troy has been hurt for months now and doesn't seem to be getting any better (despite what he is telling Maddon and the trainers). No problem, we have Dan Wheeler, and...JASON "the Hammer" HAMMEL!

The Rays just continue to find ways to win. Anchored by the #1 starting pitching staff in the AL and maybe the majors (sorry, Blue Jays, the Rays are the best) and the #1 bullpen in the AL and probably the Majors (if we had a closer), the cast of characters that have scored runs for this team seems to change every night.

Tuesday, it was Dan Johnson, who, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, after hitting a game-tying HR in the top of the 9th inning Tuesday night after being recalled from Triple-A, became the first player in the last 50 years to hit a September home run in the 9th inning (or later) in his first at-bat for a first-place team. I was listening to Boston Sports Radio during the game and the commentators couldn't even figure out who it was that tied the game! Then, it was Fernando Perez who, despite having some serious challenges hitting from the left side of the plate, smokes a near home run off of the Green Monster for a double. Navarro drove him in on the next at bat and Perez ended up being the winning run. Both Perez and Johnson were not even on this team a few short days ago (Perez joined on 9/1).

Last night, Carlos Pena came through with a CLUTCH home run in the 14th inning. Perhaps this was the least surprising hitter to do so as he's the only guy left standing in the heart of the Rays order. But, even this was not routine as Carlos hit the HR to the OPPOSITE FIELD! If you follow the Rays, you know that many teams play "the Shift" against Carlos because he always pulls the ball. Opposite field homer in the 14th inning?

Finally, our mop-up reliever, Jason Hammel, came into the game with bases loaded and nobody out. He promptly notched his FIRST CAREER SAVE with a strong showing against the heart of the Red Sox order (Kevin Youkilis - an AL MVP contender, Jason "should have been a Ray" Bay and Alex Cora). He threw some nasty pitches to "Not a Ray" Bay (first Red Sox player to go 0-for-7 in nearly 10 years) and stayed strong against Youk and Cora. JASON HAMMEL, Rays fans!!!

The only conclusions I can draw from these dramatic events of Tuesday and Wednesday (not to mention a bunch of other amazing comebacks, walkoffs and leaping, game-saving catches (Gabe Gross, Justin Ruggianno, BJ Upton, etc.) are the following:

1) This team has incredible heart. After starting September slow and hearing all the pundits say "I told you the Rays would fold..." this team picked itself up and notched the 2 biggest wins in franchise history! AND

2) This is a team of distiny. The Rays have found a way to win despite not having their #2, #3 and #4 hitters in the line-up and despite having no closer (sorry, Percy, you don't count right now). This is only possible

The Rays still have plenty of baseball left to play, but Tuesday and Wednesday may just prove to be the pivital moment in the 2008 Rays season. GO RAYS!!!

Rays Fans, We Have A Problem: TB on the Wrong Side of Too Many Ridiculously Bad Calls

The Rays have been on the wrong side of two very mysterious calls over the last few days (not to mention a whole host of other "close calls" that went against them throughout this year). The first incident involved a phantom turn toward second by BJ Upton on Tuesday, August 19th against the first place LA Angels. BJ Upton busted it down the line and beat out a ground ball. The umpire called BJ out when he ruled that BJ made an attempt to head towards second. Joe Maddon lost it and was thrown out of the game for arguing the call. Incidentally, the Rays came back to win the game despite this unbelievably bad call.

Tonight, the Rays headed into extra innings against the Chicago White Sox. In the bottom of the 10th, A.J. Pierzynski reached base on a single and advanced to second by tagging up on a fly ball to deep center field. On the ensuing at bat, Jermaine Dye hit a hard ground ball to shortstop Jason Bartlett who promptly got Pierzynski into a run down between 2nd and 3rd. When Aybar (playing 3B) threw the ball to Bartlett, he clearly moved to the left to get out of Pierzynski’s way, but Pierzynski threw his arm out to the side making contact with Aybar (albeit very slight contact). The umpire (Eddings), stopped play and called obstruction awarding 3B to Pierzynski. This ended up being the winning run and the Rays lost the game in the bottom of the 10th.

VIEW THE VIDEO OF THE PLAY HERE

Here is what one of the other esteemed members of the umpiring crew had to say about the call after the game:

"What Doug ruled at second base was, even though A.J. did kind of stick his arm out to make contact, Aybar was still in his way, so A.J., if he would have turned, he wouldn't have been able to continue on to third," said third-base umpire Ted Barrett, who addressed the situation after the game. "So after making the throw, Aybar is no longer in the act of fielding and he can't obstruct the runner, which is what Doug ruled happened. In a rundown, even though A.J. was going back to second, the rule of obstruction during a rundown is he gets his next advanced base and that's why he was rewarded third base."

So, a baserunner can legally “kind of stick his arm out to make contact” with a fielder and wind up being awarded a base? Are you kidding me? To make things even worse, the umpire said "if he would have turned, he would not have been able to continue to third." So, according to Mr. Barrett, baserunners can legally stick their arm out to make contact with a fielder AND they don't even need to turn around and run towards 3rd to get an obstruction call!!! Icing on the cake is that Burnett did not fully cover Eddings' back on the call (note the bolded section above). He simply says that this is what Eddings ruled and did not affirm that the ruling was correct.

Regardless of the crew's explanation above, I thought I would do a little research and here is what I found in the MLB rulebook regarding the definition of offensive interference:

INTERFERENCE
(a) Offensive interference is an act by the team at bat which interferes with,
obstructs, impedes, hinders or confuses any fielder attempting to make a play.
If the umpire declares the batter, batter-runner, or a runner out for interference,
all other runners shall return to the last base that was in the judgment of the
umpire, legally touched at the time of the interference, unless otherwise
provided by these rules.

The umpire says Aybar was not in the act of fielding, but the rule book does not say that. The rule book says “any fielder attempting to make a play.” If it weren’t bad enough that Aybar clearly would not have made contact with Pierzynski had Pierzynski not stuck his arm out, the umpire misquoted the rule book (or so it appears from one spectators chair). You can check out the rules for yourself HERE. Comments encouraged.

Rays Win and Take Over MLB's Best Record: A Win to Remember

I wasn’t at the game tonight since I am out of town, but I was able to catch it on TV. WOW! I believe we are going to look back on this game and realize that it was clear statement game for our young team. This game is classic 2008 Rays. There were so many things worth noting:

1) Stellar starting pitching: James Shields had great stuff tonight pitching 8 innings giving up only 2 runs and Dan Wheeler closed it out with a strong 9th inning.

2) Great defense: not only were there no errors by the Rays, but Gabe Gross made a leaping catch up the left field wall (Web Gem #4), Jason Bartlett made a great leaping grab doubling up the runner at first and BJ Upton made a sensational throw to home plate saving a key run (can you say laser show? - Web Gem #2).

3) Very timely “hitting”: hitting is in quotes because the game was actually tied on an RBI walk to Carlos Pena (3 walks on the night). Appropriately, Willy Aybar stayed hot (the Rays fill in player for Longoria) and stepped in and drove in 2 runs with 2 outs in the 8th to seal the victory. He is now batting .364 with 3 HRs, 9 RBIs and 6 extra base hits since taking over 3rd base for the injured Evan Longoria on August 8th (11 games).

4) Finally, you had Joe Maddon aggressively back up BJ Upton when the first base umpire made one of the worst calls I’ve seen all year. Maddon was ejected and BJ now knows that his coach and team mates have his back despite the couple of rough weeks he’s been through. This year is all about TEAM and this aspect of the Rays showed up big tonight.

This game puts the Rays into first place in all of MLB and it is appropriate that it happened the way it did. Remember this game as the year nears a close. I’ll be at the game tomorrow night with my brooms. Go Rays!


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The Saga that Has Become BJ Upton: Let's Give the Guy a Chance

I expect to receive a lot of negative commentary on this posting, but I believe it's a perspective that needs to be shared given all of the radio host and blog comment rantings by many fans (and I am sure those that are not Rays fans) recently.

If you were fired for every less than 100% effort at your job (think about that 2 hour lunch you take every now and then), I think we'd all be jobless. We should certainly have a very high standard for our baseball players, but don't crucify them when they make a couple of mistakes. I don't excuse what BJ Upton has been doing on these occasions, but I do think that Joe Maddon is handling this appropriately at this point (the punishment for the "relapse" has being escalated to get through to BJ).

But, rather than make this a purely emotional argument, let's take a more analytical approach. If you look at all instances where Joe Maddon or others are unhappy with BJ Upton, they are situations that have highly likely outcomes (routine ground balls, routine gap doubles, etc.). BJ Upton seems to think it's OK to dog it to first on sharply hit, cleanly fielded ground balls or on balls to the gap that will be doubles whether he sprints to the ball or half speeds it. Joe Maddon is clearly addressing that mindset and has let BJ know that he is entirely wrong to think that way. From the way folks talk on the message boards or on the radio shows, you'd think BJ is walking to first on every play and never hustles in the outfield (that is simply not true and any fan who has watched any meaningful number of games know).

Let's recall BJ's first benching. BJ was benched for not running out a ground ball against Cleveland on August 5th. But, also recall that he very likely won that game for the Rays when he made a SPECTACULAR catch in the deep left center field gap (I think it might have even been a Web Gem). BJ runs hard on the vast majority of plays and makes some ridiculous catches, so it does not appear to be a total laziness or unhappiness thing to me. I also don't think it's BJ wanting out of Tampa Bay (as some have suggested) as building a reputation as a lazy dude is not going to help him sign a big deal with a different team. I honestly think he believes it's OK to give half effort on balls blasted into the gap (that will probably be doubles anyway) or if he hits a routine ground ball out (where he will be out 95% of the time regardless of his effort. Maddon and BJ's team mates need to get through to him and change that mindset. This mindset might be acceptable in some clubhouses, but Maddon and the Rays are playing a different kind of baseball and BJ needs to get on board.

I think it's time our local radio hosts and blog commentators should give the "get rid of BJ" talk a rest and let things play themselves out. I have confidence that Maddon and the team are going to work on BJ and he is going to be a key member of the team for this pennant race. A talent like BJ Upton does not come along very often (just look at the guys in our farm system now - some decent talents, but no one with BJ's potential). The intelligent decision is to give this some time, let Joe and the team work with the guy and see how BJ develops as a person and as a ballplayer. Some things are fixable (effort and mindset) while others are not (lack of talent or injury). Let's get behind BJ and encourage him to join the team.