Rays 8/9/12 Starting Lineup

Rays 8/9/12 Starting Lineup

Fuld LF
Upton CF
Joyce RF
Longoria DH
Zobrist SS
Pena 1B
Keppinger 3B
Roberts 2B
Lobaton C
Moore LHP

Noteworthiness: Tampa Bay looks to sweep the Jays today in an early game at the Trop. Longoria is in the lineup at DH after speculation that he may get an off-day following last night’s game. Fuld leads off today while Jennings gets an off-day. Zo is at SS, Kepp is at third, and Roberts is at second. That’s cray!

A New Stadium Proposal? Tell Me More!

New home of the Rays?

It was bound to happen. And on the heels of the announcement that the Pinellas County Commission would like to meet with the Rays, it did happen. St. Petersburg-based Echelon has come forward with plans for a new stadium in the Gateway area of St. Petersburg,
somewhere near Ulmerton Road and Roosevelt. Echelon, under the name Cityscape LLC, has money to contribute and a full set of plans drawn up, ready to show the region. According to My Fox Tampa Bay, they’ve also “Requested a substantial block of time to present the city with its research
that includes stadium design, demographics and traffic analysis. They say it’s all completed and ready to share.”

I’ve long thought this area to be the best spot (yes kiddies, even over downtown Tampa) for a new Rays facility. And if a private company is willing to put their money where their mouth is, all the better. What’s so special about the Carrilon/Gateway area anyway? Let’s go through the list of some positives:

  • Traffic infrastructure is already in place. Surrounded by major traffic arteries such as Interstate 275, Ulmerton Road, Gandy Blvd, and the proximity two of the three major bridges that go to and from Pinellas County, a stadium built in this spot would be one that is easy to get to for Rays fans in the Tampa Bay region at large.
  • An eventual light rail hub could also be built in Carillon bringing even more fans into the area.
  • The Rays have estimated needing 12,000 parking spaces to accommodate a sellout, and Carillon currently has 18,000 existing parking spaces.
  • The plot(s) of land plot of land is presumably ready for development.
  • Any site in the Gatway/Carrilon area are close to urban centers both in north St. Petersburg and other surrounding areas.
  • A new facility closely seated to environmentally sensitive areas could give the Rays an opportunity to be the premier green organization in all of baseball. It could also open the door for those involved in the building of a new stadium to receive green grant money, or other funds, which would be especially important considering the amount of infrastructure work, development, etc that would be done in that area.
  • TIF funds may be available to offset the costs of infrastructure improvements and the construction of the.

It also bears mentioning that it’s been projected by 2013, there will be a population of 1,645,107 people (a number greater than the 2035 projected population of the area surrounding the Trop) that live within a 30 minute drive of the Gateway/Carillon area. Those numbers jump to 2,186,612 by 2035. There are approximately 182,304 households with an income greater than $75,000. Approximately $2.21 billion dollars are spent on entertainment yearly. Roughly 275,068 fans within a 30 minute driving radius of a proposed site in the Gateway/Carillon area attended Rays games in the last 12 months, as opposed to 247,237 fans within a 30 minute driving radius of the Downtown Tampa area attended Rays games in the last 12 months. There are also approximately. Finally, there are approximately 16,274 firms with more than 10 employees within a thirty minute driving radius of the Gateway/Carillon area vs. 16,100 firms with more than 10 employees within a thirty minute driving radius of the Downtown Tampa area.

Described by Pinellas County Commissioner in the Tampa Bay Times, “One rendering showed a view from home plate to the east, out past second base to a glass wall that afforded views of Tampa Bay and high-rise buildings in Tampa’s Westshore area. The designs showed an enclosed stadium that can be air conditioned, with options for both a solid roof and a retractable one, Welch said. The project would be part of a broader mixed-use development, including one wall that might lead to a hotel or retail or other commercial space.

The Rays have responded, and they’re sticking to their guns. “Over the years, we’ve heard and read about many developers who would like to include a baseball stadium in their plans,” Kalt said. “Our position remains the same – we will consider any potential ballpark site in Tampa Bay, but only as part of a process that considers every ballpark site in Tampa Bay.” One could say that the Rays organization is tentatively non committal because shuffling the stadium around inside Pinellas isn’t going to cut it, and a new stadium in Pinellas is not going to solve the main issue here. However, I’d imagine that if a development firm in Hillsborough came through with plans of their own, the Rays organization would have the same stance. They’re not going to fawn over any plans until they’ve had an opportunity to weigh out the pros and cons. Too, it makes sense to maintain a tight lip on things this early in the game. Still, progress in this stalemate seems like a godsend. And I, for one, cannot wait to see the mock up of this facility.

 

Longo returns, Rays beat the Jays, tonight’s game, and Pinellas FINALLY has some gumption (8/8/12 starting lineup included)

August 7, 2012; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Rays left fielder Desmond Jennings (8) is congratulated by teammates after he scored a run on Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan Longoria (3) (not pictured) sacrifice RBI in the third inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE

In case you haven’t heard, Rays third-baseman Evan Longoria made his triumphant return to the Trop last night after spending three months on the DL with a partially torn hamstring. And though he didn’t go 4-4 with a grand slam, he definitely contributed to the Rays 4-1 win over the Jays. Let’s quickly go through the good, the bad, and the ugly of the game.

The Good
  • Four runs on nine hits and a walk. Sure, I’d love to have seen the Rays score more than four runs. However nine hits, including five doubles, was pretty great.
  • Desmond Jennings had a big night, going 2-3 with a double and a single. He also scored half of the Rays four runs.
  • Zobrist also had a good night at the plate. Zo went 1-3 with a double, a walk, and an RBI.
  • Holy crap, even Ryan Roberts contributed offensively, going 1-4 with a bloop double and a run. We’ll just keep it our little secret that he stranded two on the bags and struck out…again.
  • Welcome back Longoria! Longo went 1-3, reaching base safely twice on a walk and a single. He also came about four feet shy of a third inning grand slam, instead settling for a deeply hit sac-fly which drove in Desmond Jennings. Hey, at least he drove in a run!
  • This one is a big up to the almost 14,000 fans that gave Sam Fuld a standing ovation when he came in to pinch run for Evan Longoria in the bottom of the eighth. “Really want to thank everyone for the nice ovation I got tonight for pinch-running..totally unexpected…great surprise,” tweeted Super Sammy after the game. It bears mentioning that Fuld is a class act. And Sammy, we won’t hold your overt hipster-ness against you, since your new walk up song is Electric Feel by MGMT. Ahem, that song may be a guilty pleasure for some of us here, ahem.
  • Okay Shieldsy, you have to get one more big game under your belt before you can get back your nom d’emprunt, Big Game James. In any case, I’ll be damned if Shields wasn’t great last night. With the exception of a 3-2 change-up left high in the zone to Colby Rasmus, which cough…ended up in the right field stands, Shields was damn near untouchable. No, he didn’t go the distance (though he was close) or strike out 11. Shields did, however, put together an impressive 8 IP/3 H/1 ER/1 BB/6 K performance. Shields threw 116 pitches (67 for strikes, 14 for swinging strikes) while working right at 50% fastballs on the night. He also varied the off-speed stuff fairly evenly between the change, curve, and the cutter/slider.
  • Fernando Rodney: the man, the myth, the legend. With another scoreless appearance that ended in yet another save, Rodney set the team reliever record at 22 consecutive scoreless inning, surpassing Joe Borowski who set the franchise record with 21 scoreless innings in 2005. We’ll forgive the wild pitch that bounced over the backstop/net.
The Bad
  • 2-8 wRISP, and 11 left on base. Guys, that’s a 25% conversion rate.
The Ugly
  • N/A
The New What Next

Alex Cobb (5-8, 4.60 ERA) will take on Carlos Villanueva (6-1, 3.19 ERA) in tonight’s game. We initially noted that Alvarez would get the start for Toronto. Whoops. Any-who, the Rays have posted a .411 BA/.507 OBP/.768 SLG/1.275 OPS in 56 at-bats against Villanueva, including nine extra base hits and 16 RBI. Ben Zobrist accounts for three of those extra base hits, and five of those RBI, on the backs of three taters off the righty. The Rays are 3-0 in games that Villaneueva appeared in this season, including a five earned run shellacking back on April 18. What’s more, Villanueva was tagged for a career-high eight runs and nine hits over 2-2/3 innings of a loss on August 3, 2011. The Rays will be hungry walking into tonight’s game, and rightly so. Zobrist, Upton, Pena, Keppinger, Fuld, and Joyce have posted some pretty encouraging numbers against, and I’d imagine that they each could an important role in some capacity tonight. We’ll post the starting lineup when it becomes available.

Rays 8/8/12 Starting Lineup

Jennings LF
Upton CF
Joyce RF
Longoria DH
Zobrist 2B
Pena 1B
Keppinger 3B
Molina C
Rodriguez SS
Cobb RHP

Pinellas County Finally Grew A Spine?!

The Tampa Bay Times reported that the Pinellas County Commission (PCC) has extended an invitation to the Rays to discuss their future in the area. According to the article, the PCC would like an opportunity to speak with the Rays organization prior to Hillsborough’s previously announced meeting. “Intent on keeping the Rays in the area, Pinellas officials watched last week as their across-the-bay counterparts took the controversial step of asking the team to start discussing its plans. At a meeting Tuesday, Pinellas commissioners voted unanimously to make their own request: Meet with the home team first.”

I like this. Pinellas needed to step to the proverbial plate, especially since nothing much has been made publicly following the initial meeting between the Rays principal owner Stu Sternberg and St. Petersburg mayor Bill Foster earlier this year. If the Rays are the regional asset that we all feel they are, Hillsborough cannot dominate the narrative over what could or should be the future of the Rays. It has been speculated that “Pinellas is just returning volley and wants to make sure Tampa isn’t upstaging them.” However, it’s ridiculous to assume that St. Petersburg or Pinellas County officials would play dead and allow Hillsborough to just steal the Rays across the bay. I don’t feel that a move across the bay is, as DRaysBay put it, “nigh inevitable,” and the PCC is finally doing its due diligence by becoming part of the narrative and initiating its own set of stadium talks. Things should get interesting folks.

A Rays and Jays series preview of sorts: the I got Kruked edition

In addendum: I wrote this series preview on Monday, prior to the Blue Jays official announcement of who they’d start and when. I based the rotation order off of ESPN.com, who obviously had it wrong themselves. I guess I got Kruked! In any case, the problem is fixed. Sorry for the confusion.

Rays and Jays pitching over the last 30 days.
Rays and Jays hitting at home and away (respectively), and over the last 30 days.
  • The Rays are 56-52, seven and a half out of first in the East, and two games Detroit and Oakland in the wildcard race. Tampa Bay is 24-20 against the other teams in the East.
  • The Jays are 53-55, 10 games out of first in the East, and five games behind Detroit and Oakland in the wildcard race. Toronto is 18-24 against the other teams in the East, including going 2-6 against the Rays.
  • Tampa Bay is 5-5 in their last 10 games following two straight losses to the Orioles, where as the Jays are 4-6 in their last ten games, following two straight wins against the A’s.
  • Toronto, like seemingly every other team in the East, has had its fair share of injuries…especially of late. The team that most of us considered to be a contender has fallen off because of injuries, (among other things) and now seems more likely to be a spoiler. I’m still not content to take the Jays lightly. There is a bright side: at least we won’t have to worry about Adam Lind and Jose Bautista since both are on the DL. We also may not have to worry about Colby Rasmus, Brett Lawrie, or Carlos Villanueva who are all listed as day-to-day. Both Rasmus and Lawrie are hoping to return Tuesday, so who knows for sure?
  • Not including players on the DL or those that are now in Triple-A, Tampa Bay is hitting .355 off of Happ with a home run, four walks, and seven strikeouts. Off of Villanueava they’re hitting .396, with four home runs, nine walks, and eight strikeouts. They’re hitting .305 off of Alvarez, with six home runs, three walks, and six strikeouts.
  • James Shields is 3-0 with a 1.10 ERA in his last four starts against the Jays.
  • Don’t expect Longo to necessarily make an instant impact on the Rays offense. He told the Times today, “I’m not the savior. He noted that he’s hoping to change complexion of lineup, and be “a spark.” It bears mentioning that Longoria is 4-for-25 (.160), 1 HR, 2 RBIs in seven career games at DH.
  • Edwin Encarnacion is 1 for 9 against Shields since 2011.
  • The imminent return of Evan Longoria to the Rays in the DH/PH is tomorrow! Longoria, who’s been out of the lineup since April 30th, has posted a .200 BA/.359 OBP/.200 SLG/.559 OPS in a rehab stint with Triple-A Durham. Starting things off relatively coldly, Longo has heated up in recent days. Going 6-30 in ten games with Durham, Longoria’s driven in three runs, while walking seven times, and striking out nine times.
  • No people, Ben Zobrist didn’t get traded. He left the game early Sunday with upper back spasms. He’ll likely be back in the lineup Tuesday.
  • Following a disappointing series against the O’s where Tampa Bay’s offense stalled, this series could stand as a fix-it-all of sorts. Granted the Jays are fourth overall in runs, and seventh overall in slugging percentage, they’ve dropped from scoring over five runs per game on average in June, to 4.52 in July. That number has dropped even further, down to 3.4 in August.
Continuing where we left off in our last series preview, we present to you Terrible Feelings by Shadows, from Malmo, Sweden. They’re on Deranged Records, out of Toronto.

[bandcamp album=2094964083 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=venti]

Rays 8/7/12 starting lineup

Rays 8/7/12 Starting Lineup

Jennings LF
Upton CF
Zobrist RF
Longoria DH
Keppinger 1B
Roberts 3B
Rodriguez 2B
Lobaton C
Johnson SS
Shields RHP

Noteworthiness: Keppinger, who’s 3-8 lifetime against Happ, gets the call at first tonight in place of ‘Los. In wonderful news, Brooks Conrad has been DFA’d to make room on the 40-man roster for Evan Longoria, who’s hitting fourth tonight as the Rays DH.