Hellickson Optioned to Port Charlotte, Jeff Beliveau Recalled

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The Rays optioned RHP Jeremy Hellickson to Single-A Charlotte, recalling Jeff Beliveau from Triple-A Durham.

Hellickson is expected to stay in Port Charlotte for the duration of the Stone Crabs season which ends Sunday, though he isn’t expected take the mound with the exception of a regularly scheduled bullpen session — Hellickson’s brief sabbatical is meant to clear the proverbial cobwebs from his head.

Being optioned gives the Rays some flexibility, in that he can return in 10-days as opposed to 15 had he been placed on the DL.

Beliveau’s posted a 2-3 record with a 2.82 ERA, 78.3% LOB, and a 15.31 K/9 in 44-2/3 innings pitched with Durham.

Further Reading

The New What Next: Rays vs. Angels, A Series Preview of Sorts

Jeremy Hellickson throws in the first inning against the Kansas City Royals. (Photo courtesy of Ed Zurga/Getty Images)
Jeremy Hellickson throws in the first inning against the Kansas City Royals. (Photo courtesy of Ed Zurga/Getty Images)

Oof… Just oof. The Rays return home on the heels of another big loss to the Royals. This time Tampa Bay got slammed 11-1, after Jeremy Hellickson put together a 2-2/3 inning, five run, outing. Cesar Ramos wasn’t much better in relief, relinquishing five runs in one inning. If someone can explain how a team, that was 20 games over .500, loses to a team that’s coming off a five game losing streak (a game removed, that is), I’m all ears. Moving forward, enter the Angels.

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim haven’t fared to well in 2013. Marred by injuries, the 58-71 Angels are 6-9 in their last 15, having been outscored 73-62 in that span. It doesn’t help that Josh Hamilton is hitting .235 and the team has a 4.40 ERA — though they’ve posted a 1.27 ERA in the last five games. The Rays are mildly better in the same span of time, having gone 8-7. However when you stretch things back 18 games, the Rays were in the throes of their worst losing streak of the season. That they bounced back from that and haven’t lost their relevance is a positive.

Tampa Bay has averaged 5.2 runs in taking 12-of-13 in the series against the Angels, including the last six by a 42-14 margin. However, the Rays have some offensive holes that need to be filled — namely Wil Myers and Desmond Jennings. Myers is 5-for-his-last-37 (all singles) with only two RBI, while Jennings is 5-for-his-last-54 with five runs. On the other hand, David DeJesus is 5-for-12 with two runs since joining the Rays, and Evan Longoria has heated up once more — cough, even though he went 0-4 Monday, striking out in a pivotal wRISP situation.

Rays and Angels series starters.
Rays and Angels series starters.
Rays and Angels offensive production at home, away, and over the last 14 days.
Rays and Angels offensive production at home, away, and over the last 14 days.
Rays and Angels, by the numbers.
Rays and Angels, by the numbers.

CJ Wilson: Per Rotowire, “Wilson gave up one run on four hits through 7.1 innings Tuesday, picking up a no-decision against the Indians.” A tough lefty by all accounts, Wilson has not fared well against the Rays in his recent outings, going 0-3 with a 6.56 ERA in his last four starts against Tampa Bay — including a loss in the 2011 ALDS while with Texas. Ben Zobrist had a good amount of success against Wilson last season, hitting two homers and a double in eight at-bats in their match-ups. Key match-ups: Yunel Escobar (2-6, 2 BB), Sam Fuld (1-2, RBI), James Loney (1-4), Sean Rodriguez (5-15, HR, 2 RBI, 3 BB), Ben Zobrist (6-23, 2 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 2 BB).

Jerome Williams: Per Rotowire, “Williams will have his next turn in the rotation skipped, the Orange County Register reports.” Williams has appeared in five games against the Rays in the last three years, accumulating 14-1/3 innings of work. The journeyman pitcher has reinvented himself, becoming a ground ball specialist of sorts. He won’t blow you away with incredible velocity, however Williams can hurt you if he keeps the ball down. He is apt to leave the ball in hittable locations, so hopefully the Rays can force a mistake. Key match-ups: Kelly Johnson (8-19, RBI, 2 BB), Matt Joyce (2-5, 2B, HR, RBI, BB).

Garrett Richards: Fangraphs notes, “Richards has not been able to actually, you know, strike guys out. This despite a good swinging strike rate (10%). Maybe it’s the fact that he’s primarily a fastball/slider guy — lefties had a .389 wOBA against Richards last season.”

Noteworthiness

  • Last year, the Angels lost nine of 10 games against the Rays, including all three at Tropicana Field.
  • Just make contact — the Angels have 89 errors, third most in the AL.
  • Longoria is hitting .307 with eight homers, 22 RBI and 22 runs in 29 career games against the Rays. Ben Zobrist is batting .345 with four homers and nine RBIs over the last eight in the series.
  • Hernandez has gone 0-4 despite a 2.44 ERA in eight starts versus Los Angeles while with Cleveland. Josh Hamilton is 1 for his last 12 against Hernandez, though that hit left the yard.
  • Matt Moore remains on track for a Minor League rehab start on Thursday, but the site is still to be determined. Moore would be on track to join the rotation Sept. 3 in Anaheim if there are no setbacks. The left-hander, who is 14-3 with a 3.41 ERA this season, has not pitched in a game since July 28 against the Yankees in New York.

 

 

Official Top Off The Trop Press Release

Brett Morgan of the Morgan Auto motive group has a simple plan — his raison d’être if you will, “On Wed September 18th I want to see Tropicana Field sellout vs. the Texas Rangers in front of an ESPN Audience.” I thought that was admirable — after all, we here at X-Rays Spex HQ want the same. I wanted to help in some way, and reposting the official press release (below) is literally the least I could do. Some really great incentives are being offered, and it would behoove you to look into things. Besides, I think we all can agree that a loud Trop is an outstanding distraction to opposing teams!

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(Photo courtesy of Top Off the Trop)

 

Please direct inquiries to:

Nicole Torres, 239-689-4000
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 27, 2013
Morgan Auto Group Executive Coordinates Tampa Bay Rays’
‘Top Off the Trop’ Event
Brett Morgan leads grassroots effort for September ‘surprise sellout’ game at Tropicana Field
TAMPA, Fla. — Brett Morgan of the Morgan Automotive Group, is leading efforts to help sell out Tropicana Field for the September 18 Tampa Bay Rays’ game against the Texas Rangers.
The event, called “Top Off the Trop,” (#TopOffTheTrop) has been organized to demonstrate the strong support the Rays receive from their fans and the Tampa community. The game, scheduled to be broadcast nationally on ESPN’s “Wednesday Night Baseball,” will take place during the team’s second-to-last home stand in the midst of a tight pennant race.
“As a community, we are sometimes criticized for the Rays’ complex stadium issues and a perceived lack of support for our team, which couldn’t be further from the truth,” said Morgan. “We’re here to demonstrate the passion surrounding our team, and we are rabid in our support of the Rays and what they mean to Tampa Bay. The rare event of a major league game sellout in a mid-week game would send quite the statement.”
Morgan has worked with the Rays’ front office to coordinate the event. At the game, groups of 20 or more will receive a free Rays hat for each guest, as well as a lower-level reserved ticket for just $20 — with no Ticketmaster or any other fees added on.
A die-hard Rays fan, Morgan is the son of Morgan Automotive Group owner Larry Morgan and has helped lead the company since its founding in 2004. Over the past nine years, the company has grown from one location to 11 stores across seven different markets in Florida.
“Many people in our community know how I feel about the Rays, and this is a dream of mine,” said Morgan. “I’m extremely excited to lead this effort and hope that businesses, organizations and other groups in our area take advantage of this great deal and show their support.”
“I’d had the idea for a while just seeing what a grass roots effort could do,” Morgan says, “but then I saw recent comments from ESPN’s Bob Ryan stating that he didn’t “know of another organization (Rays) in any other sport who has done more things right in front of a less appreciative audience,” it made me flat out mad.”
Organizations interested in bringing together a group for the September 18 game should email Morgan at bmorgan@morganautogroup.com or call him at 813-843-4543 providing a contact person and how many tickets are needed. Soon after, a Rays ticket advisor will contact the group’s organizer and assist with providing the specially coded tickets for the game. Currently over 16 area businesses accounting for over 700 in ticket sales have granted support.
For more information on “Top Off the Trop,” visit http://topoffthetrop.blogspot.com. To learn more about Morgan Automotive Group, go to http://www.morganautogroup.com.

Looking Backward While Moving Forward: Rays Lose 3-2 in Extra Innings

Evan Longoria rounds third base after a home run against the New York Yankees. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)
Evan Longoria rounds third base after a home run against the New York Yankees. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)

Tampa Bay dropped the last game of their their three game set against the New York Yankees Sunday, by a score of 3-2 in extra innings. All is not lost though — the Rays walked away with the series victory. That, my friends, is what really matters. And with that series win, Tampa Bay was able to drive a bigger wedge between the Yankees and the top of the AL East. As the saying goes, they may have won the battle, but they certainly didn’t win the war. I live blogged the game at our Tumblr site — you can read a blow-by-blow account of the game there. Below are a few highlights from the game.

Click this here screenshot to be redirected to our Tumblr site.
Click this here screenshot to be redirected to our Tumblr site.
  • At 1-5 wRISP while stranding five men on the bags, the Rays had more than a few opportunities to tag Ivan Nova for more than two runs. Nova allowed his fair share of base runners on six hits and six walks. However, the Yankees RHP was able to make the big pitch when he needed. I’d imagine three double plays while Nova was on the mound (four overall) didn’t help the cause.
  • Let’s just say that David DeJesus and Evan Longoria were the Rays offense Sunday, combining for five hits in nine at-bats, as well as pair of runs, and a pair of runs batted in.
  • Evan Longoria continues to heat up, and none too soon — especially when you consider that Wil Myers is just 10 for his last 54 (.170 BA/.235 OBP/.298 SLG/.533 OPS) since August 10th, with 1 HR, 9 RBI. Longo is hitting .291 in August, with seven homers, 12 runs, and 13 runs batted in.
  • Surprise surprise, Alex Torres came into the game in a high leverage situation — with a pair of runners in scoring position and two outs. Another shocker, Torres threw five pitches and got out of the sixth unscathed.
  • Jake McGee was exceptional, putting together a 1-2-3, 16-pitch, seventh inning, ringing up the tandem of Mark Reynolds/Chris Stewart/Brett Gardner. He also threw two sliders — a rarity for the overpowering McGee.

The New What Next

The Rays will make up the May snow-out in Kansas City Monday. A pair of Jeremy’s will oppose one another when Hellickson takes the mound against Guthrie. Key match-ups in the one-off series: Desmond Jennings (2-7), Matt Joyce (11-30, 2 2B, 3B, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 3 BB), Evan Longoria (12-39, 5 2B, 2 HR, 11 RBI, 3 BB), Sean Rodriguez (2-7, HR, 2 RBI), Ben Zobrist (12-32, 3 2B, 3B, 4 RBI, BB). Note: This is a 2:10 game, and will not be televised.

Rays 8/26/13 Starting Lineup

DeJesus CF
Zobrist 2B
Longoria DH
Joyce LF
Myers RF
Loney 1B
Johnson 3B
Lobaton C
Escobar SS
Hellickson RHP

Noteworthiness

  • Cough, it bears mentioning: The Rays averaged 30,393 attendees per game over the span of the weekend series.

 

Lean, mean Rays should beat the Yankees (Repost)

Fans express their views on Alex Rodriguez during the game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the New York Yankees. (Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images)
Fans express their views on Alex Rodriguez during the game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the New York Yankees. (Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images)

Surprisingly, someone (Christina Kahrl) over at ESPN.com posted something favorable about the Rays. What’s more, it’s an implication that this is the last hurrah for the Yankees — at least for this season. There’s a lot for Rays fans to like about Christina’s piece — so much so, I decided to repost it below. Enjoy.

By: Christina Kahrl/ESPN.com

So, they were back, sort of. You might already be tired of this “underdog Yankees” thing, but to their credit after blowing out the Toronto Blue Jays last week, the Bombers had improved their fortunes: They elevated themselves all the way up to tail-end Charlie of the American League’s postseason pack, and for all that, they were nevertheless still in fourth place in the American League East.

That’s sort of the problem for the Bombers in a nutshell, because, after running into a Tampa Bay Rays team with something to lose — the division — the Yankees aren’t so hot any more, taking two quick losses despite sending Hiroki Kuroda and CC Sabathia to the mound. And that provides a timely reminder that it isn’t narratives that win ballgames. It’s ballclubs and the organizations that field them.

Considering the Yankees have losing records against all three of the teams ahead of them in the East, their run as big-budget Cinderella has some major stumbling blocks to overcome down the stretch. Namely, the Boston Red Sox, Rays and Baltimore Orioles don’t seem likely to curl up and go away. While the Yankees have made it to the postseason four straight seasons, they’re almost sure to fall short of October this time around — Clay Davenport gave them a 20 percent chance before Satuday’s loss, while CoolStandings has them at less than half of that. Meanwhile, the Rays could make it a third time in the past four despite a payroll around a fourth the size of New York’s.

And for that, the Yankees have only themselves to blame: By setting the bar so high for so long for what it takes to win the AL East — even at a time with two wild-card teams — they’ve long since sewn their own stomping grounds with dragon’s teeth, long since grown into teams more than ready to push past them season after season. The same competitive dynamic that demanded that the Yankees spend vast sums to reliably contend in the AL East is the same engine that has bred three teams they’ll have trouble beating down the stretch, because among their 33 games remaining, they have seven more apiece against the Orioles and Red Sox and four against the Rays.

The challenge of contending in the AL East had long since forced upon the Rays a developmental discipline that makes them even more frightening than the Yankees’ payroll, capable of winning with machine-like efficiency. Underdogs? As if. The Rays almost relish problems just for the chance to solve them, as documented so well in Jonah Keri’s book, “The Extra 2%,” as much of a must-read as “Moneyball.” Despite a payroll around a quarter the size of the Yankees’, the Rays haven’t won less than than 90 games since David Price’s rookie season, and that’s not about to change; the Yankees haven’t won less than 95 since they signed Sabathia, and that will.

Much like the A’s before them, the Rays enjoy the role of sabermetric darlings because of the way in which the analysis community worships at the altar of market efficiency. But do not for a minute think that makes them underdogs. Money doesn’t buy success, but it’s the one thing the Yankees have had to consistently rely upon. Every asset the Yankees were supposed to rely upon to win, the Rays deliver on in their own way.

Take their lineup cards. The Yankees spent big on known quantities and established stars, but how much good has that done them with Mark Teixeira shelved, or with Derek Jeter and Curtis Granderson sporadically available? Their fixes have involved trying to breathe new life into yesterday’s men: Lyle Overbay, Vernon Wells and Alfonso Soriano. The Rays aren’t to be pitied because they can “only” afford to churn through rental first basemen — Casey Kotchman, Carlos Pena and James Loney the past three seasons, all varying definitions of disposable. With Evan Longoria and Wil Myers as pillars with the power to propel any lineup and with Ben Zobrist, Kelly Johnson and even utility man Sean Rodriguez operating as multipositional flywheels, every lineup card Joe Maddon comes up with is designed to beat you tonight, every night. You don’t need to respect the selections, just the results.

And the rotations? Saturday’s duel between yesterday’s big-ticket hired gun versus (perhaps) tomorrow’s hired gun to-be captures the dynamic in a nutshell. Both Sabathia and Price became regulars in their respective rotations in 2009. The Yankees waited a season saving up to buy their ideal ace at a price that only they could afford; the Rays conjured their own up more economically via the draft. In the broad strokes, neither method is intrinsically better than the other, not unless you want to spend your time celebrating how much a Steinbrenner spent or a Sternberg saved. The end result — stud lefty on your staff — had been much the same the past four seasons. Different methods, similar results and whatever it takes to win. But not this season; this season, youth has been served.

Money has long been the weapon the Yankees have on hand. They might have had to spend big money to employ the famous people, but that’s in part because they had to. After seeing so many of the products of their farm system come up short, can you blame them? Yankees fans might well be asking: Phil Hughes, David Phelps, Joba Chamberlain, what have you done for me lately? Spending on free agents is by its nature expensive and, as Sabathia’s rough season reflects, not necessarily a guarantee of anything beyond the first couple years in any deal. Even playing the golden oldies card with Mariano Rivera this one last time meant paying top dollar for the privilege. Meanwhile, the Rays found a way to fix Fernando Rodney and make him a closer good enough to win with, an entertaining example of when too much is enough when it comes to lauding save generators.

So perhaps we should cast the Yankees as the underdog after all, not because of their in-season narrative, but because this was a relatively static ballclub built with an expiration date. Whereas the Rays are the example par excellence for adapting and overcoming any challenge to put themselves into the postseason with whatever combination works, the increasing sclerotic Yankees are due to reap a destiny brought on by their big-budget commitments and constraints. Like all of us, they can rage against the dying of the light. Maybe that engenders some sympathy while they go up against lighter, tighter and younger operations; maybe that makes them underdogs. But this is the destiny they’re due.