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The New What Next: The Remix Edition (Rays 3/21/13 Starting Lineup Included)

Two thoughts: A. If Scott keeps his yapper shut, he may be worth $2.5MM. B. Hopefully he stays this hot during the regular season. (Photo courtesy of James Borchuck/Tampa Bay Times)

Update: Due to last nights rain out, we re-purposed this piece, adapting it for today’s game against the Blue Jays.

The Rays reasserted themselves Tuesday, handing Doug Fister and the Tigers an 11-5 loss thanks in part to a fourth inning Luke Scott grand slam, and a two-run, sixth inning, Shelley Duncan blast. Tampa Bay’s 11-run offensive explosion followed a pair of losses to the Red Sox where the Rays scored a total of three runs.

Jeremy Hellickson got the start on the mound and looked shaky early on, giving up three runs in the first and second innings. Helly inevitably calmed down and threw four solid innings of shutout baseball. Posting a 6 IP/8 H/3 R/3 ER/3 K slash line, Hellickson trimmed his Grapefruit League ERA to 4.97 and now has 10 strikeouts and only one walk in his four total outings.

Kyle Farnsworth and Dane De La Rosa both put together solid outings, combining for two shutout innings, while relenting only one hit. Brandon Gomes had a rough outing, yielding his first runs of the spring following an eighth inning Devon Travis two-run homer.

The Rays were down 3-1 until Jose Lobaton, Desmond Jennings, and Luke Scott opened the flood gates, putting together a six run fourth inning. Lobaton and Jennings both singled in runs and were on base when a two-out walk to Matt Joyce loaded the bases and brought Scott to the plate.

Tigers pitcher Doug Fister tried to bury a sinker against him to induce a ground out, but Scott jumped it and sent it over the right-field scoreboard for his third homer of the spring. Tampa Bay ultimately knocked Fister out of the game after 3-2/3 innings and 83 pitches. The Rays tacked on four more runs in the sixth inning, thanks in part to a Shelley Duncan two-run blast.

The Rays are now 14-9 in Grapefruit League play, with T-Minus 12 days and counting until opening day on April 2nd. Matt Moore, who didn’t start yesterday due to the rain out, will pitch on the backfield, while Roberto Hernandez will get the start against the Blue Jays in Port Charlotte. Joel Peralta, Jake McGee and Cesar Ramos are, presumably, still slated to pitch for the Rays as well. Those in the lineup yesterday will also start today, and we’ll post the starting lineup when it becomes available.

Rays 3/21/13 Starting Lineup:

Jennings CF
Joyce LF
Longoria 3B
Zobrist RF
Scott DH
Escobar SS
Loney 1B
Lobaton C
Johnson 2B
Hernandez SP

Noteworthiness:

Congrats to Fernando Rodney and the Dominican Republic for finishing the WBC as champions! The Dominican Republic defeated Puerto Rico by a score of 3-0 in a soggy Tuesday night game in San Francisco. Rodney ended his WBC tenure with seven saves and a 0.00 ERA, relenting only one hit in 7-1/3 innings of work. Hooray! We longer have to watch as Edwin Encarnacion and Robinson Cano shoot the moon following a Rodney save!

Yeah, this is rather charming when Rodney and the Rays shoot the moon. This? Not as much.

Speaking of Fernando Rodney, the Rays closer returned to camp Thursday after being named to the All-World Baseball Classic team. According to Bill Chastain of MLB.com, “Rays manager Joe Maddon said the team plans to work him back into the swing of things gradually, noting that he won’t pitch in an actual exhibition game for five or six days.”
The Rays also welcomed Jose Molina back to camp Thursday. Molina didn’t get much work in during the WBC, only getting three at-bats in his time with the Puerto Rico team. Maddon and Co. will be cautious not to push him too hard now. “J-Mo, we’ve just to get working,” Maddon said. “Knowing him, he’s going to be fine, I just don’t know how sharp (he will be) maybe offensively, that’s the part. Defensively it shouldn’t be that big of a concern.”
Sam Fuld (right hamstring tightness) reportedly “felt good” after going through “close to normal” base-running drills in Port Charlotte Tuesday. The next step in his recovery could be getting at-bats in a minor-league game as a way to ease his way back. Tjose at-bats wouldn’t include playing the field just yet. Rays skipper Joe Maddon said Fuld will likely get in a game by Friday or Saturday and, is still on track for opening day.
Joel Peralta worked a 10-pitch inning in a minor-league game Tuesday, striking out one and picking off one who reached on an error.

The New What Next: Rays vs Tigers, WBC Concerns, and Potential Roster Moves

We'll see if Rodney's plantain makes an appearance in tonight's WBC championship game. — We’ll see if Rodney’s plantain makes an appearance in tonight’s WBC championship game.

The Rays head to Lakeland take on the Detroit Tigers today following back-to-back losses to the Red Sox and an off-day. Super utility player Ben Zobrist is back in the thick of things thanks to the elimination of Team USA from the WBC. Luke Scott will get another chance to show off his outfield wares, getting a start at RF with Jack Cust handling the DH duties.

The Rays are still missing two players – closer Fernando Rodney, and catcher Jose Molina – both of whom are facing one another in the WBC championship. Rays skipper Joe Maddon is wary over the frequency by which teams Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic have used Molina and Rodney. In the case of Molina, he hasn’t been used a lot, seeing only three at-bats for Team Puerto Rico. On the other hand, Rodney has six saves under his belt following a 1-2-3 ninth inning outing Monday. Maddon’s concern over Rodney has more to do with energy not effort, saying,

“You’re pitching at such a high level, the way the Dominicans are dealing with this it’s almost like a playoff situation, so there’s a lot of amperage going on there,” Maddon said. “We’ll see how this all plays out. … There’s going to be some kind of ‘woof’ after this whole thing’s over.”

Rays 3/19/2013 Starting Lineup:

Jennings CF
Zobrist SS
Joyce LF
Scott RF
Rodriguez 2B
Cust DH
Roberts 3B
Gimenez 1B
Lobaton C
Hellickson RHP

Noteworthiness:

With T-Minus 14 days and counting until opening day, the Rays still have a few roster moves to make. In fact according to Joe Maddon, the roster is all but certain,

“You could almost say 90 percent looks as you would think, as you would expect,” manager Joe Maddon said Sunday.”

Nevertheless, the Rays still need to figure out who the fifth starter may be and what the rotation will look like, what the pen will look like, and who the extra outfielders and catchers will be. Rays beat writer Marc Topkin tackles that subject in his latest piece.

Looking Backward While Moving Forward, Cobber’s Scoreless Streak Snapped, and X-Rays Spex Bid For Internet Domination

Rays starter Alex Cobb loses his spring scoreless streak after 13 innings but continues his impressive camp with 5⅓ sharp “get-your-work-in” innings against the Red Sox.

Well, that was an ugly weekend of baseball. The Rays are coming off back-to-back losses at the hands of the Boston Red Sox. To add insult to injury, Jon Lester and three relievers took a no-no into the ninth inning Sunday in what ended up being a 5-1 loss

If Spring training is about preparing for the regular season, then the Rays will probably handle yesterday’s game in the manner they have many times before: not put much thought into it and move on to the next game.

“We have a lot of practice in rebounding from those kinds of events, so from that perspective it was not that big of a concern,” Rays skipper Joe Maddon said. “If anybody can deal with a perfect game or no-hitter, we can.”

The Rays have been on the wrong end of three regular-season perfect games, as well as a no-no, since 2009.

“We get one a year, might as well get it out of the way now,” Rays starter Alex Cobb said.

Speaking of Cobb, the Rays fourth starter saw his spring scoreless streak end at 13 innings. Cobb threw 83 pitches (55 for strikes) in his 5⅓-inning outing, allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits, while fanning five and walking one. The Rays finished the spring 2-4 vs. Boston.

Oh well, there’s always tomorrow

Noteworthiness:

Sam Fuld (right hamstring tightness), who’s expected to return to exhibition action this week, should be ready to start the season reports Rays beat writer Marc Topkin. David Price will get some work in the back fields of Port Charlotte today, throwing in another minor league game.

Yeah, there's this. — Yeah, there’s this.

In shameless self promotion news, we now have tabs to our Instagram and Flickr accounts on X-Rays Spex! They are conveniently located, along with the rest of the tabs, in the top right-hand corner. Follow us, as we continue our campaign for social media/internet domination.

Links For Finks:

Marc Topkin of the Times wrote about Evan Longoria’s $100MM contract extension. “It’s an insane number,” Longoria said. “And it comes with a lot of territory. It comes with the expectation that I will continue to do what I’ve done, and nothing less. I don’t feel that burden. I feel the same way that I felt with the last contract, but there’s just, I don’t know if there could be more of a desire, but there is still obviously a strong, strong desire to live up to it. And to win.”
In a piece titled, “Update: Maybe the Rays Can Afford David Price?” Shadow of the Stadium’s Noah Pransky asserts that “While the chic speculation amongst sportswriters these days is how the Rays may have to trade away David Price, it’s been the contention of this blog that the team’s financial future may not be as grim as some paint it.”
I think the title of another Noah Pranksy piece says it all: “Times Hates Corporate Welfare; Except for Maybe Pro Sports Teams.”
The Rays reassigned Wil Myers to minor league camp Saturday, much to the chagrin of fans and sports talk radio hosts alike. Why? Two reasons in my opinion: 1. He would benefit from a few months in Triple-A. Even Joe Maddon has said as much,
“I want to observe, and I don’t want to tell him what to do… I want him to do what he does naturally well, and we’ll work it from there. There’s no preconceived genius thought from our end that we’re going to impact this guy in any way. Let him go out and impact the game the way he can, and we’ll observe.” 2. The Rays could save some $20MM in the long-run, if they keep Myers in Triple-A until July. Michael Valancius of DRaysBay wrote on that very subject in a piece called Wil Myers and Super Two.

The New What Next: Rays Drop the First of Two, Aceves Is Still An Idiot, Roster Moves, and More (3/17/13 Starting Lineup Included)

Infielder Sean Rodriguez #1 of the Tampa Bay Rays is hit by a pitch from the Boston Red Sox during a Grapefruit League Spring Training Game at the Charlotte Sports Complex on March 16, 2013 in Port Charlotte, Florida. (Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images)

The Rays dropped the first of a two game set to the Red Sox by a score of 9-2. It was an ugly game, both offensively and defensively, but the Rays have a chance to rectify things today with Alex Cobb on the mound. The Sox will counter with Jon Lester. If the the old adage is true — Lester loses 5 MPH of velocity when his mouth is ajar — this could be a fun game.

Roberto Hernandez and Dane De La Rosa were responsible for the majority of the damage incurred by Boston. Hernandez allowed three runs (two earned) in the first inning, but inevitably settled down, posting a 5 IP/6 H/3 R/2 ER/1 BB/5 K line. Hernandez impressively induced six outs on ground balls. De La Rosa, on the other hand, lasted all of 2/3 of an inning, posting a 2/3 IP/3 H/4 R/4 ER/1 BB/2 K line.

Sean Rodriguez had a good day at the plate, accounting for both of Rays runs thanks to a two-run blast in the third. Fresh off his stint in the WBC, Alfredo Aceves plunked Rodriguez with a pitch in his next at bat. Some words were exchanged between Rodriguez and Aceves, who you may recall was in the thick of the Mexico/Canada brawl a week or so back. The Rays dugout began to empty but, tempers cooled and nothing escalated further. It wasn’t quite 2008, but if precedent holds true, this could be an ugly — hard fought — season.

Expect to see lots of numbnuts wearing green in Ft. Myers today. You know what they say: On St. Patricks day, all crappy Red Sox fans are Irish.

Rays 3/17/2013 Starting Lineup:

Escobar SS
Johnson 1B
Longoria 3B
Rodriguez CF
Loney DH
Lobaton C
Fontenot 2B
Bourgeois RF
Thompson LF
Cobb RHP

Noteworthiness:

In case you missed it, the Rays made a few roster moves Saturday. The Rays optioned OF Brandon Guyer and P Josh Lueke to Triple-A Durham. They also reassigned Wil Myers, Juan Sandoval, Will Inman and Brandon Martin to minor league camp.
Though he isn’t starting Sunday, Ben Zobrist is back from the WBC. Zobrist will work out in Port Charlotte today, and will be on the travel squad Tuesday for the Rays/Tigers game in Lakeland. Marc Topkin tweeted, “Zobrist said (the) WBC experience was great, feels ready to start season, will be on normal spring pace.” “It’s hard to believe that anybody passes the opportunity up after experiencing it,” said Ben Zobrist of the Team USA WBC experience.

The New What Next: Moore Improves, Vogt Goes Yard, and the Rays Travel to Ft. Myers to Take On the Sox

Rays starter Matt Moore pitching in Friday's game against the Phillies, in Port Charlotte, FL (Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Times) — Rays starter Matt Moore pitching in Friday’s game against the Phillies, in Port Charlotte, FL (Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Times)

The Rays walked away from their 10-inning matchup against the Phillies yesterday, with a 3-1 win thanks to a Stephen Vogt two-run walkoff homer. Vogt, who ended the day 1-2 at the plate, took a high meatball over the plate to deep right, driving in Rich Thompson who was pinch running for Cole Figueroa.

Matt Moore got the start for Tampa Bay* and showed a great amount of improvement over his last three outings, though he was still not right. Moore threw 88 pitches (57 for strikes) in five innings of work, fanning seven while giving up three hits and a run. His velocity is still down, registering in the 91-92 MPH range, a few ticks below his normal velocity.

Rays skipper Joe Maddon didn’t seem too concerned about the drop in velocity. Rather he was pleased with his outing, giving Moore a high-five after his final inning.

“I thought Matt was a lot better (Friday). Much better command of all of his pitches. Velocity’s getting closer to normal. Threw some really good changeups, a couple better breaking balls. Overall, I thought he had a much better idea of where the fastball was going, and that’s what I liked most,” Maddon said. “Overall it was better, but there’s still another level of him as we’ve seen in the past.”

Moore said the reduction in velocity was not a worry.

“I feel strong in every sense of the word,” he said. “So it’s not that big of a concern for us right now.”

The bullpen was absolutely dominant. Jamey Wright, Kyle Farnsworth, Joel Peralta, and Brandon Gomes combined for five innings of one-hit baseball, fanning five and walking none.

Tampa Bay improved to 13-7 on the spring with yesterday’s win. The Rays head to Ft. Myers Saturday to take on the dreadful Boston Red Sox in a 1:05 PM game. Roberto Hernandez will get the start on the bump for the Rays, butting heads with Alfredo Aceves who gets the start for the Sox.

Rays 3/16/13 Starting Lineup:

Jennings CF
Rodriguez 2B
Joyce RF
Scott DH
Loney 1B
Roberts 3B
Anderson LF
Gimenez C
Figueroa SS
Hernandez SP

Noteworthiness:

Marc Topkin reported that there was some progress for Sam Fuld but it is still unlikely for him to return until the middle or end of next week. Fuld has been out for a couple of weeks with a hamstring injury.
The Rays expect for Ben Zobrist to return Sunday now that US team is out of WBC. He could play against the Red Sox at home in the 1:35 PM meeting.
The Rays optioned three players — Tim Beckham, Hak-Ju Lee, and Robinson Chirinos — to Triple-A Durham Friday.

*Ahem, it’s the TAMPA BAY RAYS, not the TAMPA RAYS as another blog may have you believe.