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What’s Important Now: Jeremy Hellickson, Big League Pitcher

Devon Rogers — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 11:02:11 +0000

The Rays picked up their second straight victory after that 5 game losing streak last night. The offense kept it going for the Rays and Jeremy Hellickson pitched a gem in only his second start in the bigs. Hellickson went 7 shutout innings to pick up his second Major League win in only his second start. He allowed 3 hits. After a leadoff hit, he retired 18 straight batters for the Tigers before allowing another hit. Hellickson walked nobody and struck out 7. Through two starts, Hellickson is 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA. If he keeps pitching like this, he could find himself in the rotation by the end of these DL stints. Joaquin Benoit and Mike Ekstrom pitched scoreless innings to end the game. For the offense, John Jaso was 1 for 5 with a run and a RBI. Evan Longoria went 2 for 5 with a RBI. Jason Bartlett went 3 for 5 with a run.
The Rays play a day game with a prime matchup today in Detroit. The Rays will send Matt Garza to the mound. Garza is 11-6 with a 3.88 ERA on the season. We all know what happened the last time Garza took the hill against Detroit, and while it will be hard for Garza to replicate that performance, we hope he can at least come close.
The Rays will have the tough task of facing JustinVerlander for the Tigers. Verlander is 12-7 with a 3.81 ERA. Both Garza and Verlander are having similar seasons by the numbers, but this is not one of his best seasons. The Rays offense has done well the last two games, so hopefully they will be able to keep it going today and pull off the sweep.

Rays Farm Report for Saturday, July 24

Michael Emdeyar — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 08:30:05 +0000

Triple-A Durham Bulls (60-40, 1st place) - Beat Syracuse 5-1

Jeremy Hellickson had a good start, allowing just one run on three hits and four walks over 5 2/3 innings while striking out nine. The win improves his record to 12-3.
Dan Johnson hit his 28th home run of the season.
Elliot Johnson and Justin Ruggiano had three hits each for the Bulls.

Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (16-13 / 52-42, 2nd place tie) - beat Carolina 6-5

Emeel Salem singled in Chris De La Cruz in the bottom of the ninth to lead the Biscuits to this walkoff win.
Leslie Anderson was the star of the game, going 3 for 4 with his fifth home run and two RBI.
Alex Torres had a shaky start, allowing five runs on eight hits over six innings.
Reliever Dane De La Rosa got the win, improving to 7-2 on the season. He pitched a scoreless ninth, allowing just one hit.

Single-A Charlotte Stone Crabs (11-17 / 53-41) - rained out in Clearwater

Single-A Bowling Green Hot Rods (13-15 / 43-51, 5th place) - beat Clinton 5-3

3B Bennett Davis went 2 for 3 with two RBI to lead the Hot Rods. He also stole a base.
Tyler Bortnick was also 2 for 3 with a run scored.
Tyree Hayes, pitching in relief of Albert Suarez, won for the first time this season. He allowed two runs on three hits over 3 2/3 innings.
Aaron Dott recorded his first save, throwing the final 3 1/3 innings and allowing just a run on four hits.

Short-season Hudson Valley Renegades (16-16, last place) - beaten by Aberdeen 5-4

DH Phillip Wunderlich hit his third home run of the season for the Renegades. He finished 1 for 4 at the plate.
Starting pitcher Miguel Sierra allowed three runs on six hits over five innings while striking out five.

Rookie League Princeton Rays (13-15) - beaten by Bluefield 8-3

Rookie League GCL Rays (13-15) – Lost two to the GCL Orioles, 9-0 and 3-2

In Defense of BJ

Michael Emdeyar — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 23:54:03 +0000

Clearly, BJ Upton loafed after the ball hit by Rusty Ryal. That lead to a verbal conflict between he and Evan Longoria between innings. The world will make a big deal about the obvious disagreement between the two, but I’m not sure it needs to be a big deal.

I’m probably the last person that would come to the defense of BJ Upton. But, as quoted to St. Pete Times beat writer Marc Topkin, he has a point:

“You know what, where I was positioned, it’s a long way to go. Joe’s always said it to me that you shouldn’t assume, but I assumed the leftfielder (Matt Joyce) might be there, but he wasn’t and maybe I should have cut it off. But it’s over with now.”

In an odd way, I get that. I’ll guess that he and Carl Crawford can play the field together without even thinking. BJ probably knows where Carl will be in just about any sitiuation, and vice versa. This was just the third game with Matt Joyce in left field. That’s no excuse…but, in normal circumstances, this would be a non-issue.

The Longoria-Upton disagreement will be blown out of proportion all over TV over the next 24 hours or so. BJ is known for his less than full-speed play. But, the Rays need to move on. The Red Sox await.

What’s Important Now: Struggling with Interleague

Michael Emdeyar — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 13:02:21 +0000

At least the Yankees lost, too. But, the Red Sox are closing fast, just two games back. Things are getting tight in the East.
Matt Garza goes to the mound tonight in Miami facing lefty Nate Robertson who is 4-5 with a 4.57 ERA.
In his career, Robertson is 0-4 with a 4.24 ERA against the Rays. Kelly Shoppach is a career 6-10 against him and Navi has a home run. On the other hand, Jason Bartlett is an eye-popping 0-24 against Robertson. Looks like Reid Brignac should play shortstop tonight, although Joe said Thursday that Bartlett will start the first two games of the series.

What’s Important Now: Big Game for James

Michael Emdeyar — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 13:34:16 +0000

After last night’s 6-2 loss, the Rays really need James Shields to bounce back from what might have been his worst game of his career.

The Rays didn’t end up losing any ground to the Yankees, as the Phillies knocked off New York to maintain the tie atop the AL East.

The Rays face Tim Hudson, who is 6-2 with a 2.43 ERA so far this season. And, he’s been a killer on Tampa Bay in his career, going 6-1 with a 2.85 ERA.

Rays Draft So Far

Devon Rogers — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 17:27:59 +0000

The draft is now in the middle of round two. The Rays have made 6 picks and appear to be winners to this point. Josh Sale, their first round pick out of high school in Washington, appears to be a steal. He should have been a top ten pick. He has a great bat and developing fielding skills.

With the 31st pick, the Rays took Justin O’Conner, a high school catcher out of Indiana. O’Conner is said to be one of the best high school catchers of the draft class. This pick shows that the Rays have some faith in John Jaso and who they already have, since a high school catcher would take a while to develop to major league level.

With the 42nd pick the Rays took Drew Vettleson, a high school outfielder, also out of Washington. He is also a great pitcher, reaching 93 as a righty and 88 as a lefty. The Rays could use him as a pitcher or an outfielder, as they see fit. He is also a great contact hitter, some see him as a future .300 hitter.

With the 66th pick, the Rays took Jacob Thompson, a right handed pitcher out of Cal State Long Beach. Thompson. He could become a short option for the Rays, having a great fastball-slider combination.He left high school a year early and is now a junior in college.

At 79, the Rays took Derek Dietrich, a shortstop out of Georgia Tech. He is a guy many thought the Rays could take at 31, but he fell to them at 79. His bat is still developing, but he could play short or third, most likely short for the Rays.

At 98, the last pick for the Rays at the time of this post, the Rays took Ryan Brett, a high school shortstop, a third high schooler out of Washington, after Sale and Vettleson. He is a switch hitting leadoff hitter who runs well and can steal bases. He has great hitting skills and could excel as a second baseman, where he might end up moving.

The Rays are winners so far. You have to wonder whether all the Washington players is a ploy to get Sale to sign. I guess we will wait and see how this all plays out.

What’s Important Now: We Will Win Eventually

Devon Rogers — Tue, 11 May 2010 09:54:23 +0000

With last night’s tough loss, the Rays have now lost three straight and turned an outstanding road record into a good road record. The Rays are still holding first place through all this as the Yankees have helped us and lost. The sac fly to end the game brings up a question. I know BJ is back here for his child, but if BJ was in center, could he have thrown Morales out? Kapler caught the ball flat footed to throw it in and was slow getting it in. In fact, it looked like he gave up. I think BJ would’ve made a play for the plate and at least made it close.
Matt Garza went 7 and 2/3 innings, but he allowed 4 earned on 7 hits. Balfour gave up the other run to end the game. For the offense, Zobrist was 2 for 4 with a run, Longoria was 2 for 6 with 2 RBI’s and a run, Jaso was 3 for 5 with a RBI, and Willy Aybar was 1 for 3 with a solo homer after pinch hitting for Sean Rodriguez.
The Rays will look to get back on the right track with Jeff Niemann on the mound. Niemann has had a good start at 2-0 with a 2.23 ERA. The Rays will need a good performance so they do not lose their 4th in a row.
The Rays will face former ace Scott Kazmir. Kaz has had a rough start at 2-2 with a 7.11 ERA. This will mark the first time the Rays will face Kaz, who was so big to all Rays fans when he was here. I know he was one of my favorite players which will make it tough to watch this game. The Rays will need to beat up on him to get this win. It will be the first time most of them have faced him, but they should be able to get some help from Jim Hickey, Dioner Navarro, or Derek Shelton, who’s teams have faced Kaz.
Be sure to check out the new forum for some friendly discussion.

Rays Farm Report for Friday, May 7

Michael Emdeyar — Sat, 08 May 2010 06:29:07 +0000

Triple-A Durham Bulls (19-10, 1st place) - beat Scranton-Wilkes Barre 9-3

Joe Dillon was 3-4 with his fifth home run and two RBI to lead the Bulls.
Jose Lobaton hit a home run for the second night in a row. He now has two on the season.
Rashad Eldridge was 3-4 in the game.
Starter Richard De Los Santos picked up his first win of the season, going 6 2/3 innings while allowing three runs on five hits.

Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (16-11, 2nd place) – hammered by Jacksonville 13-1

Starter Rayner Oliveros gave up eight hits and six runs in four innings in dropping his record to 0-3.
SS Chris De La Cruz hit his 2nd home run of the season to account for the Biscuits only run.

Single-A Charlotte Stone Crabs (16-11, 2nd place) – beaten by Bradenton 6-1

Starter Joseph Cruz had a rough night, allowing five runs (four earned) in four innings.
Matt Sweeney was 2-4 with a double.

Single-A Bowling Green Hot Rods (9-19, last place) – beat West Michigan 4-1

The Hot Rods are on a roll, winning their fourth straight game, knocking out 14 hits in this game.
CF Ty Morrison was 3-4 with a double and triple.
Starter Jason McEachern won his first after four losses, going six innings while allowing just one run on seven hits.

Rays Farm Report for Thursday, May 6

Michael Emdeyar — Fri, 07 May 2010 06:46:11 +0000

Triple-A Durham Bulls (18-10, 1st place) – beat Scranton-Wilkes Barre 13-8

The Bulls scored five runs in the bottom-half of the 8th to win 13-8.
The big blow was a 3-run home run by Hank Blalock, his third of the season.
The catching tandem of Alvin Colina and Jose Lobaton also homered in the game.
Starter Aneury Rodriguez was hammered for seven hits and four walks resulting in three runs in 2 1/3 innings.
Reliever Mike Ekstrom continues to shine at Durham, picking up the win. He’s now thrown 6 2/3 scoreless innings since being demoted to Durham.

Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (16-11, 2nd place) – beaten by Jacksonville 9-3

Four errors did in starter Alexander Torres, who lasted only three innings. He gave up five runs, but only two earned, on six hits and three walks.

Single-A Charlotte Stone Crabs (16-10, 1st place tie) – beat Bradenton 8-1

Starter Nick Barnese pitched a gem, allowing just three hits and a run over 7 2/3 innings to improve his record to 3-1.
Henry Wrigley hit his 5th home run of the season and improved his batting average to .347 on a 2-3 night.
Matt Spring also homered, his 2nd on the season.

Single-A Bowling Green Hot Rods (8-19, last place) – beat Fort Wayne 1-0

Starter Shane Dyer threw seven no-hit innings in improving his record to 2-2 with a stellar 1.25 ERA. He struck out eight.
Reliever Kirby Yates pitched the final two innings, allowing only one hit, in notching his third save.
Chris Murrill continues to be an offensive star, driving in the only run of the game. He’s hitting .310 on the season.

What’s Important Now: WD-40 A Little Squeaky

Devon Rogers — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 09:40:02 +0000

The Rays did come out with the win, but it was not pretty. It seemed like everytime the Rays would score, the A’s would answer. It did not help that Davis did not have his best stuff last night, but at least the Rays were able to keep the lead and win the game.
The A’s will send Dallas Braden to the mound tonight. Braden has had a great start at 3-0 with a 2.77 ERA. I’m sure most of you have seen his little tantrum directed towards A-Rod from his last start. He could be a little mad coming out to this start, but it will be seen if that is good or bad.
The Rays will send James Shields to the mound in search of the Rays 4th straight win and to go 11 games above .500. Big Game James is 2-0 on the season with a 3.96 ERA. His ERA doesn’t show it and he has had a couple off games, but Shields has hung in there. Hopefully he will be on it tonight and give the Rays a W.