X-Rays Spex

A Below Average Rays Fan Blog

LBWMF: Rays fall 1-0 amidst Snell/Price pitching duel

By Leave a Comment

Blake Snell and Wilson Ramos, working in tandem, both did some nice things Friday night. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

Blake Snell and David Price locked up for a pitcher’s duel on Friday, yet it was the Rays former ace that came out on top. The Boston Red Sox evened the Opening Series with the Tampa Bay Rays at one, winning 1-0 at Tropicana Field.

Snell allowed three hits and two walks while fanning two in over 5-2/3 innings, on 84 pitches (49 strikes; 59% strike ratio). After the game, Snell said he was “happy with (my) consistency in the zone … happy with my tempo … happy with my defense, I mean they really played great,” while also complimenting Ramos’ work behind the plate.

He, however, recognized that he needed to attack the zone more, especially later in the game — against a good contact team like the Red Sox — and that he tried to rack up the strikeouts and be a little too dirty. That, a handful of deep counts, and a pair of walks speak to his marginally high number of pitches thrown (14.8 pitches per inning). Compare that with Price, who got into just two three-ball counts over his seven inning start — all on just 76 pitches (55 strikes, 72% strike ratio).

Both starters cruised through the first five innings, although each team got a runner into scoring position in the fourth. In the top of that frame, the Rays defense really stepped up.

With two outs, Hanley Ramirez singled to left off Snell before J.D. Martinez worked a free pass. Xander Bogaerts then looped a ball to shallow left, but Rob Refsnyder made a sensational diving catch to end the frame.

Ramos also gunned down Christian Vazquez at second as he attempted to move up on a passed ball in the third inning. Over the first two games, his arm strength and accuracy have looked absolutely filthy. I should also acknowledge Adeiny Hechavarria’s tumbling catch in shallow left, which robbed Eduardo Nunez of a bloop single in the same inning.

Snell, for the most part, cruised through Boston’s lineup until the sixth inning. With one out, the left-hander walked Mookie Betts on five pitches before Andrew Benintendi flew out to deep left for the second out. Yet Ramirez looped a ball to right, and Carlos Gomez appeared to lose the ball in the lights, allowing it to fall in for a single. And with runners on the corners and 84 pitches under Snell’s belt, Kevin Cash called upon Chaz Roe to face Martinez. The $110-million man struck out on a breaking pitch to end the threat.

Roe took the mound again in the seventh, but his night was done after he allowed a leadoff double to left to Bogaerts. With a lefty Rafael Devers stepping into the batter’s box, Cash called upon flame throwing southpaw Jose Alvarado.

Alvarado got ahead of Devers 0-2 before he allowed an RBI ground single to center, making it a one run game. Nunez followed by chopping a ball off the plate, wide of first, and beat it out for an infield hit. Nevertheless, Alvarado got Jackie Bradley Jr. to roll into a 4-6-3 double play, then fanned Vazquez to limit the damage.

On the other side of the plate, the Rays got a chance to plate a run in the bottom of the fourth when Kevin Kiermaier reached on an infield hit; the first hit of the game for Tampa Bay. Then C.J. Cron singled hard to left with two outs, bringing Ramos to the plate. But the catcher flew out to deep right to end the inning.

Matt Andriese kept Tampa Bay within a run by throwing a pair of scoreless innings to finish the game, which also signaled that he would not be starting the bullpen duty game on Saturday.

In the end, one run was enough for Price, who scattered four singles and went on to fan five. After losing the lead on Thursday, Matt Barnes threw a scoreless eighth — although he did allow a walk to Denard Span — while Craig Kimbrel struck out the side to notch his first save of the season.

Remember:

If you don’t expect to much from me, you might not be let down.

The New What Next

The Rays will break in their first bullpen day of the season on Saturday, and Andrew Kittredge will technically get the start. The ‘pen will be opposed by former Cy Young Award winner Rick Porcello.

Kittredge will make the 12th start of his pro career, and the first in the majors. The right-hander pitched 2-2/3 innings in each of his final two spring training outings.

Just like the way he threw the ball in spring training, Cash said when asked why Kittredge. (I) think he can go in there and provide some length for us and get us to where we need to get the bullpen going.

Expect either Ryan Yarbrough or Yonny Chirinos to follow Kittredge on the mound.

Talk about a descent into mediocrity. Pocello went from a 3.15 ERA and 1.01 WHIP Cy Young Award winning 2016 campaign, to a 4.65 ERA and 1.40 WHIP in 2017. His home run per nine innings rate ballooned to 1.68, while nearly all his pitches got launched into the outfield stands — including his vaunted sinker. As FanGraphs found, his pair of fastballs that fueled his 2016 success each saw their ISOs balloon, averaging .206 between them and allowing a combined 22 HR. Meanwhile, his changeup – a pitch known as a consistent strike-earning offering early in counts – faced a similar fate, getting slapped with a .276 ISO and 24.0% HR/FB rate. There’s reason to believe his stuff just isn’t all that great. His fastball velocity hovers around 90 mph, and he not only needs to effectively control his pitches, but also mix them well. He also needs to sprinkle in some deception to get through lineups. He may come closer to returning to his 2017 form, however, that amazing season should be viewed as the exception, not the rule. Key Matchups: CJ Cron (2-4, 2B, BB), Matt Duffy (3-10), Carlos Gomez (1-3, HR, RBI), Brad Miller (11-37, 4 2B, 5 HR, 9 RBI, 2 BB), Rob Refsnyder (1-3), Denard Span (13-35, 4 RBI, 2 BB)

You can read about the series in our preview.

Rays 3/31/18 Starting Lineup

Span DH
Kiermaier CF
Gomez RF
Miller 1B
Duffy 3B
Wendle 2B
Hechavarria SS
Smith LF
Sucre C
Kittredge RHP

Noteworthiness

— The Rays will throw a 1998 party on Saturday, with Devil Rays uniforms, a pre-game ceremony, and more. Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times) detailed the events, writing:

The Rays are turning back the clock with more than just throwback Devil Rays uniforms today, honoring the inaugural 1998 team on the 20th anniversary of the first game in franchise history.

Eighteen 1998 players (headlined by Hall of Famer Wade Boggs), two  coaches (Orlando Gomez, Greg Riddoch), GM Chuck LaMar and managing general partner Vince Naimoli are all expected at Trop for a series of memory-stirring events, topped by an on-field ceremony before the 6:10 p.m. game vs. Boston.

Wilson Alvarez, who threw the first pitch in franchise history, will have the ceremonial honors tonight, throwing to Mike DiFelice (standing in for starter John Flaherty, who has Yankees TV duties),  with now-retired umpire Richie Garcia agaun behind the plate.

The Rays also will unveil a 20th anniversary exhibit in space near the team store and Ted Williams museum. Several 1998 players will sign autographs there starting around 4:30 p.m. after greet fans in the rotunda area when gates open at 4:10. Fans will received a 1998 replica seat cushion, similar to the purple ones given out at the inaugural game.

Other players scheduled to attend include: Rolando Arrojo, Rich Butler, Miguel Cairo, Rick Gorecki, Roberto Hernandez, Aaron Ledesma, Albie Lopez, Quinton McCracken, Jim Mecir, Bryan Rekar, Tony Saunders, Bobby Smith, Dennis Springer, Randy Winn and Esteban Yan.

LBWMF: Rays open season with a 6-4 comeback victory over Boston

By Leave a Comment

Opening Day paint behind home plate. (Photo Credit: Bay News 9)

I love the Gin Blossoms, and not in an ironic or guilty pleasure sort of way. As I rode my bike down the Pinellas Trail, and toward Tropicana Field, yesterday afternoon, a Gin Blossoms-like mantra for the Tampa Bay Rays 2018 campaign popped into my head:

If you don’t expect too much from me, you might not be let down.

See, when the expectations are lowered, it’s a little easier to sit back and enjoy the ride. And with that, I entered the Trop for Opening Day 2018.

I found my seat just as the ceremonial hoopla was settling down. Chris Archer, making his fourth straight Opening Day start, eventually took the mound and delivered a first pitch fastball to Mookie Betts, which was hammered to the triangle in centerfield into Outlaw territory.

Kevin Kiermaier tracked the ball and made a running and leaping catch at the wall.

The start of Kiermaier’s third Gold Glove campaign is underway!

After 11 more pitches, Archer put Boston to sleep in the top of the first in efficient fashion — notching a swinging strikeout of Hanley Ramirez along the way.

Yet the top of the second inning didn’t start off so hot for Tampa Bay, as the $100-million man, J.D. Martinez, worked a full count walk, Xander Bogaerts lined a double to left-center, and miscommunication between Denard Span and Kevin Kiermaier — resulting in an inside the park home run by Eduardo Nunez — found the Rays in a quick three-run hole.

Then on the other side of the plate, the Rays couldn’t get anything started against Red Sox ace Chris Sale, managing just one hit over the first six innings. Aside from a two-out rally in the bottom of the second, where Denard Span (walk) and Adeiny Hechavarria (single) found themselves in scoring position after a passed ball with Daniel Robertson at the plate, the Rays didn’t mount another threat until the eighth. Robertson struck out looking at a 95 mph fastball to end the second.

If you don’t expect too much from me, you might not be let down.

Yet Archer settled down and cruised through the next four frames, holding the score at 3-0. The right-hander efficiently carved through Boston’s lineup — at one point retiring eight consecutive batters — by forcing contact as opposed to depending solely upon the strikeout. That’s not to say the punch outs didn’t come, because they did — he racked up six on the day.

Archer even started what appeared to be a trend in the first inning, throwing a changeup which set up a slider for a strikeout. He, however, only threw two more on the day. While a handful of changeups could have effectively setup his slider — as it had in the first — and kept Boston’s hitters off his fastball, the lack of a third pitch set up a third time through the order penalty for Archer.

Kevin Cash decided to send the right-hander out for the seventh, given Archer’s low pitch count (under 80 pitches), but it didn’t take long for the skipper to pull him in Favor of Austin Pruitt. Bogaerts and Rafael Devers tagged the ace for back-to-back doubles, consequently extending Boston’s lead to four.

Yet Pruitt, perhaps surprisingly, shut the door on the Red Sox in relief, coaxing a pair of ground outs sandwiched around an infield pop up. Then in the eighth, Pruitt worked around a Betts single and a Ramirez walk to keep the game within reach. Most notably, Wilson Ramos caught Betts leaning and gunned him down at first.

If you don’t expect too much from me, you might not be let down.

The table was set for a comeback of epic proportions, and the bottom of the eighth was going to be the time to make a move.

Robertson led off the inning with the walk against Joe Kelly. After Rob Refsnyder struck out looking on four pitches, Matt Duffy took a fastball to right field for a double, driving in the first run of the year for the Rays.

Next, with one out and down by three, Kiermaier and Carlos Gomez worked back-to-back free passes, loading the bases and chasing Kelly. Boston’s skipper Alex Cora called upon Carson Smith, who quickly walked Brad Miller — driving home a run putting the Rays down by just a pair.

Unfortunately Ramos did the opposite of what he was acquired to do with the bases loaded, and went down swinging for the second out of the inning. Be that as it may, the strikeout scripted the perfect situation for Span, the hometown kid who enabled the inside the park homer in the second inning.

Span worked the count full before he pulled a fastball down the right field line, pulling into third base and giving the Rays a one-run lead.

A bouncer over the mound from Hechavarria brought home Span and put the Rays up by two, capping the scoring.

Alex Colome entered the game with a two-run cushion which allowed fans to breathe a little easier given how many times he, uhh … made things a little too interesting last season. Colome worked around a hard-hit, two-out double by Nunez in the ninth to earn his first save of the year.

Just check out that wild ride!


Source: FanGraphs

The New What Next

Blake Snell will toe the rubber for the Rays on Friday, pitching against former ace David Price in a battle of southpaws.

A tale of two halves would be the best way to describe Snell’s 2017 campaign. The left-hander compiled a 4.85 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP in 52 first-half innings, then turned in a 3.49 ERA and 1.13 WHIP in the second half. Mechanical and placement adjustments on the rubber were catalysts that drove the positive results. Snell’s secondary offerings — slider, curveball and changeup — all have great whiff rates, with the first two sitting over 20%. His Fastball strike rate remained the same over both halves, although his BB/9 plummeted from 5.7% to 3.2%, and his whiff rate rose over 3%. If the second half of 2017 is indicitive of anything, Snell is ready to push himself up the ranks of a top-20 starter.

The former Ray was known as one of the best workhorses in the big leagues prior to 2017, notching 200+ innings in six of the past seven seasons (186-2/3 innings in 2013 with Tampa Bay being the sole exception). However, Price started last season with a mysterious arm injury, then was placed on the DL with elbow inflammation leading to the “injury prone” label which found him in the bullpen. Price returned from his malaise pumping 94.9 mph as a reliever and looking very much like the ace of old. If Price can become more consistent with his sinker, while also maintaining his fastball velocity, there is a solid chance he can return to the upper levels of the starting pitcher landscape. Key Matchups: Adeiny Hechavarria (2-7), Kevin Kiermaier (2-8, 2B, HR, RBI), Wilson Ramos (1-3) 

You can read more about the series in our preview.

Rays 3/30/18 Starting Lineup

Duffy 3B
Kiermaier CF
Gomez RF
Cron DH
Ramos C
Miller 1B
Hechavarria SS
Robertson 2B
Refsnyder LF
Snell LHP

Noteworthiness

— Per Neil Solondz (Rays Radio), yesterday’s come from behind victory was big for a couple of reasons:

1. The comeback from 4–0 down matched the franchise’s largest comeback win ever on Opening Day. The other one also happened against the Red Sox in 2003.

2. Tampa Bay won just five times last year when trailing after seven innings, and the six-run inning at home was the team’s largest at Tropicana Field since the season finale in 2015.

— Ouch! Former face of the franchise, Evan Longoria, went 0-4 with three strikeouts in his regular season debut with San Francisco. Meanwhile Logan Morrison went 0-3 with a strikeout and a walk. On the pitching side of things, Jake Odorizzi threw six shutout innings of two-hit ball, while walking two and fanning seven.

The New What Next: Rays vs Red Sox — an Opening Series Preview

By Leave a Comment

Jacob Faria, Chris Archer and Blake Snell are slated to pitch in the Opening Series against the Red Sox. (Photo Credit: Brian Blanco/Getty Images)

After a long winter filled with cost cutting roster moves — necessitating the addition of players unfamiliar to many casual fans of the Tampa Bay Rays — the Opening Series is finally upon us. The Rays and those Massholes will jump right into AL East division head-to-head action starting Thursday at the Trop. The Red Sox captured the division title last season before losing to the eventual World Series champion, Houston, right away, while the Rays went 80-82 to finish in third place in the East.

The Rays traded away the face of the franchise, Evan Longoria, and either traded away or let go of the top three home run producers on the team: Logan Morrison (38 homers in 2017), Steven Souza Jr. (30), and Corey Dickerson (27). However, they also each ranked among the top 10 in whiffs on four-seam fastballs. Because of it, the Rays sought out replacements that fare better against four-seam fastballs (Carlos Gomez, Denard Span and C.J. Cron). Tampa Bay’s offense is projected to improve its team-wide strikeout rate by more than 4%, best in the big leagues.

Still, in spite of all the lateral moves, the Rays neither improved the roster nor got worse. Back in February, before Black Saturday, the Rays were projected by PECOTA to go 84-78 on the season — the exact same projected W/L record as in 2017 — and PECOTA hasn’t really deviated from that projection since; +/- one win or loss.

Because the team is bereft of high powered veterans, as RJ Anderson (Baseball Prospectus) noted, a lot of things have to go right for Tampa Bay if it is going to hit the 83 or 84 high water mark projection:

I’m focusing on the postseason part more than the 83-win projection part. At minimum, Kiermaier has to stay healthy, and Snell and Faria have to be legitimate above-average starters. You can also throw in that the bullpen has to way overachieve and the lineup has to have most/all the question marks (Denard Span, Brad Miller, C.J. Cron, Wilson Ramos, Matt Duffy) avoid injury and cratering. Oh, and the kids probably have to hit the ground running, especially Adames. That we can list so many things reveals why it’s hard to take the projection seriously―it feels like there are bigger error bars here than with most teams.

2018 PECOTA projections for the Rays and Red Sox. (Credit: Baseball Prospectus)

Starting pitching and a lag in power let the Red Sox down in the 2017 Postseason. Boston tried to address both issues this winter, signing 30 year-old J.D. Martinez to a five-year, $110-million deal, and making a greater effort to manage Chris Sale’s offseason workload after he tired down the stretch. Sale led all of baseball with 308 strikeouts, yet finished second in the AL Cy Young Award voting after going 4-4 with a 4.09 ERA in August and September. The biggest boost to the rotation could be a full season from former Cy Young Award winner David Price, who made only 11 starts last season but came through spring training in apparent fine form.

Pitching Matchups

2017 Stats. (Credit: FanGraphs)

Chris Archer: Archer has elite strengths, thanks to his high velocity fastball/nasty slider combination. He, however, may also have a home run weakness due to his reticence to lean on a changeup he barely believes in. The 2018 projections see the excellent strikeout rate and the decent walk rate, and figure he should regress towards the league average in the home runs allowed category. Even so, Archer is still a two-pitch pitcher, and the slugging rates on his two main pitches skyrocket the third time through the order. Studies on the subject show the addition of a third pitch, especially during the later innings, can lead to a softer third time through the order penalty, and under ideal circumstances that is something the right-hander worked on during Spring Training. The known known: Archer is going to rack up the strikeouts, but also give up a fair amount of home runs the third time through the order, when he’s still mostly throwing fastballs and sliders. Archer fanned 18 in 15-1/3 innings against Red Sox last season, although he went 1-1 with a 5.87 ERA in those three starts.

Chris Sale: Last season, tweaks to Sale’s pitch mix returned a ten-point boost to his strikeout rate. The southpaw notched up his slider usage nearly eight points and sprinkled in a few more changeups, favoring his fastball in deeper counts. The result was a 43% strikeout rate and a 13.9% whiff rate on his heater, and a monstrous 36.2% strikeout rate overall. The rebound propelled Sale past the 300 strikeout total en route to a 2.90 ERA/2.45 FIP/0.97 WHIP. If not for five starts where he was tagged for 26 earned runs (over his final 11 starts) Sale would have claimed his first Cy Young Award. Key Matchups: Kevin Kiermaier (5-14, HR, 3 RBI, BB), Wilson Ramos (4-11, 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI), Rob Refsnyder (1-3), Denard Span (3-11, 3B, RBI)

Blake Snell: A tale of two halves would be the best way to describe Snell’s 2017 campaign. The left-hander compiled a 4.85 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP in 52 first-half innings, then turned in a 3.49 ERA and 1.13 WHIP in the second half. Mechanical and placement adjustments on the rubber were catalysts that drove the positive results. Snell’s secondary offerings — slider, curveball and changeup — all have great whiff rates, with the first two sitting over 20%. His Fastball strike rate remained the same over both halves, although his BB/9 plummeted from 5.7% to 3.2%, and his whiff rate rose over 3%. If the second half of 2017 is indicitive of anything, Snell is ready to push himself up the ranks of a top-20 starter.

David Price: The former Ray was known as one of the best workhorses in the big leagues prior to 2017, notching 200+ innings in six of the past seven seasons (186-2/3 innings in 2013 with Tampa Bay being the sole exception). However, Price started last season with a mysterious arm injury, then was placed on the DL with elbow inflammation leading to the “injury prone” label which found him in the bullpen. Price returned from his malaise pumping 94.9 mph as a reliever and looking very much like the ace of old. If Price can become more consistent with his sinker, while also maintaining his fastball velocity, there is a solid chance he can return to the upper levels of the starting pitcher landscape. Key Matchups: Adeiny Hechavarria (2-7), Kevin Kiermaier (2-8, 2B, HR, RBI), Wilson Ramos (1-3) 

Rays Bullpen Day

Rick Porcello: Talk about a descent into mediocrity. Pocello went from a 3.15 ERA and 1.01 WHIP Cy Young Award winning 2016 campaign, to a 4.65 ERA and 1.40 WHIP in 2017. His home run per nine innings rate ballooned to 1.68, while nearly all his pitches got launched into the outfield stands — including his vaunted sinker. As FanGraphs found, his pair of fastballs that fueled his 2016 success each saw their ISOs balloon, averaging .206 between them and allowing a combined 22 HR. Meanwhile, his changeup – a pitch known as a consistent strike-earning offering early in counts – faced a similar fate, getting slapped with a .276 ISO and 24.0% HR/FB rate. There’s reason to believe his stuff just isn’t all that great. His fastball velocity hovers around 90 mph, and he not only needs to effectively control his pitches, but also mix them well. He also needs to sprinkle in some deception to get through lineups. He may come closer to returning to his 2017 form, however, that amazing season should be viewed as the exception, not the rule. Key Matchups: CJ Cron (2-4, 2B, BB), Matt Duffy (3-10), Carlos Gomez (1-3, HR, RBI), Brad Miller (11-37, 4 2B, 5 HR, 9 RBI, 2 BB), Rob Refsnyder (1-3), Denard Span (13-35, 4 RBI, 2 BB)

Jacob Faria: The right-hander hit the ground running in his rookie campaign, boasting a stellar 2.00 ERA and 0.98 WHIP across his first seven starts. Yet despite improving his strikeout marks in the following five outings, Faria battled an abdominal injury that eventually sidelined him for a month in mid-August. While his velocity isn’t impressive, his fastball can boast some occasional cutting action that confounds hitters. Moreover, the “rising” action on the pitch plays well with his split-change and slider, which create vertical drop differentials of seven and nine inches (respectively). Per Nick Pollack (FanGraphs) Faria’s slider is his jack-of-all-trades offering that excels in any count, let it be stealing a strike early (48.3% zone rate), inducing grounders (52.2%) and pop-ups (21.1%), or earning a whiff with its sharp break (14.2%). Meanwhile, Faria’s changeup shuts the door effectively, using its 23.8% whiff rate to generate a 45.5% K rate across 244 thrown. If he can consistently command his fastball, including that cutting action, he will take the next step with the Rays.

Hector Velázquez: The scouting report on Velázquez per Over the Monster:

Velázquez offers three pitches that he trusts. His fastball isn’t overpowering, coming in at the low-90’s. He also offers a solid changeup and a splitter that’s been attributed with the reason for his 2016 breakout in Mexico. Velazquez isn’t going to overpower anyone, but at his best he throws strikes and limits free passes. That’ll play as a replacement-level pitcher, and given the lack of knowledge on him around the league he could even be better.

Noteworthiness

— Need some answered questions on Opening Day? Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times) has got you covered.

— Don’t forget to check out our season preview:

Looking Backward While Moving Forward: A Tampa Bay Rays 2018 season preview of sorts

 

Rays add two more, an updated spring roster, and the ever polarizing Ken Hagan

By Leave a Comment

This is banner hung Monday at the Trop. (Photo Credit: Marc Topkin/Tampa Bay Times)

The Tampa Bay Rays came to terms with a pair of hurlers over the last two days, inking southpaw Dan Runzler and right-handed reliever Evan Scribner to minor league contracts.

Runzler, 32, made it back to the big leagues in 2017 after an extended layoff. Runzler has worked to a 3.89 ERA over 76-1/3 big league innings. The left-hander spent most of his 2017 campaign in the Pirates organization, where he posted a 3.05 ERA over 41-1/3 innings, with a 1.63 K/BB.

Scribner, 32, has been invited to Major League camp as a non-roster invitee, and will receive an $800-thousand base salary if he breaks camp with the Rays.

The right-hander spent the past two seasons with Seattle, yet lat and flexor strains in 2016 and 2017 (respectively) prohibited him from tossing more than 21-1/3 innings. Scribner comes to the Rays with 169 innings of Major League experience, mostly with Oakland (2012-2015). In that time, the right-hander had worked to a 4.15 ERA/3.93 FIP with 5.53 K/BB and a 37% ground-ball rate.

While Scribner won’t blow anyone away with a heater that has averaged just 90.1 mph in the Majors (89.3 mph last year in just seven innings), writes Steve Adams (MLB Trade Rumors), he has an uncanny level of precision on the mound. Over his past 93 big league innings dating back to 2014, Scribner has issued just six walks (one intentional) and hit four batters. Among pitchers with at least 90 innings thrown over the past four years, none come remotely close to Scribner’s 0.58 BB/9 mark. (Josh Tomlin is next at 1.04.) He also ranks first in the Majors with a 73.1 percent first-pitch strike rate in that time.

Updated Spring Training roster released

Runzler and Scribner will join 62 others in Port Charlotte, starting Tuesday, February 13. You can see the current Spring Training roster below (number, name, position):

0 Smith, Mallex OF
2 Span, Denard OF
4 Snell, Blake LHP
5 Duffy, Matt INF
7 Johnson, Micah INF/OF
10 Dickerson, Corey OF
11 Hechavarria, Adeiny SS
13 Miller, Brad INF
14 Schimpf, Ryan INF
17 Coats, Jason* OF
18 Wendle, Joey INF
20 Souza Jr., Steven OF
21 Arroyo, Christian INF
22 Archer, Chris RHP
23 Odorizzi, Jake RHP
24 Eovaldi, Nate RHP
27 Adames, Willy INF
28 Robertson, Daniel INF
29 Snyder, Brandon* INF/OF
31 Moore, Adam* C
34 Faria, Jake RHP
35 Andriese, Matt RHP
36 Kittredge, Andrew RHP
37 Colomé, Alex RHP
38 Nuño, Vidal* LHP
39 Kiermaier, Kevin CF
40 Ramos, Wilson C
43 Jennings, Dan LHP
45 Sucre, Jesús C
46 Alvarado, José LHP
48 Yarbrough, Ryan LHP
49 Venters, Jonny* LHP
50 Pruitt, Austin RHP
52 Roe, Chaz RHP
54 Runzler, Dan* LHP
55 Stanek, Ryne RHP
56 Kolarek, Adam* LHP
57 Schultz, Jaime RHP
58 Hu, Chih-Wei RHP
59 Honeywell, Brent RHP
60 Murray, Colton* RHP
61 Wood, Hunter RHP
62 Hall, Cody* RHP
63 Castillo, Diego RHP
64 Chirinos, Yonny RHP
65 Mujica, José RHP
67 Fierro, Edwin* RHP
68 Snow, Forrest* RHP
69 Weber, Ryan* RHP
70 Bauers, Jake 1B/OF
71 Williams, Justin OF
72 Ciuffo, Nick* C
73 Wong, Kean* INF
74 Field, Johnny* OF
75 McCarthy, Joe* 1B/OF
76 Monell, Johnny* C
78 Alaniz, R.J.* RHP
79 Gibaut, Ian* RHP
80 Sullivan, Brett* C
81 Cronenworth, Jake* INF
82 Kay, Grant* INF
83 Bird, Kyle* LHP
84 Carrillo, Xorge* C
87 De León, José RHP

*Non-roster invitee

Media conference set for Wednesday

The Rays have scheduled a media conference set for Wednesday, where the team will unveil a uniform patch, promotions, and other plans to celebrate their 20th anniversary.

A banner hung outside the Trop on Monday (pictured above) which offered a sneak peak of what is to come, with a logo that combines the old Devil Ray and the modern burst, as well as images of some of the more notable players from throughout their first 20 seasons.

Players on the banner include Wade Boggs, Fred McGriff and Rolando Arrojo, Carl Crawford, Rocco Baldelli, Scott  Kazmir, Carlos Pena, B.J. Upton, and Ben Zobrist; and current standouts Chris Archer, Kevin Kiermaier and Steven Souza Jr.

Not pictured, however, are franchise cornerstone Evan Longoria or David Price.

According to Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times) Longoria allegedly is included in another anniversary display on the inside of the rotunda, along with Price (and other notable former Rays).

It isn’t yet known whether principle owner Stu Sternberg will use the media conference to announce that the land in Ybor City, recently procured by Hillsborough County, is the team’s preferred stadium site. An announcement is expected by week’s end.

In the meantime, more unflattering revelations about Hillsborough County’s handling of stadium negotiations with the Rays found the light of Day Tuesday, and one man found himself in the middle of some shady dealings once again: Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan.

Per Noah Pransky (Shadow of the Stadium, WTSP News) Hillsborough County has now spent nearly $400,000 on outside legal counsel in its quest to lure the Rays over from St. Petersburg, and public records indicate the two firms it now employs appear to be not only advising the county, but also negotiating on its behalf — and possibly withholding records related to the discussions from public view.

It should be noted that the withholding of public records is illegal. The question begs, is someone willing to file a complaint over public records issues with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Department, or the Hillsborough County state attorney?

The Law firm of O’Melveny & Myers LLP, which employs an attorney named Irwin Raij, started collecting county checks in September for Raij’s time, billing Hillsborough County $58,524 over the final four months of 2017. O’Melveny & Myers LLP joins the Law Firm of Foley & Lardner.

Hagan has been repeatedly criticized for his lack of transparency in his handling of the stadium negotiations with the Rays, most recently hiding his attendance at a secret dinner at Bern’s Steakhouse between Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn and Rays officials including Stu Sternberg.

After repeated public records requests by Pransky, which resulted in numerous responses indicating that none existed, a county attorney produced a series of text messages and emails between Hagan and Raij from the commissioner’s personal phone and email accounts.

Those messages reveal a pattern of private meetings and behind-the-scenes negotiations on a project that could include hundreds of millions of dollars in public subsidies, writes Pransky. One text, sent from Raij to Hagan on Nov. 14, references a “marked up Rays document,” which has not been turned over.

Other texts between Raij and Hagan coordinate negotiations with local land owners, as well as the county’s response to media questions about the prospective new Tampa stadium – a surprise to several Hillsborough County commissioners I spoke to.

“My concern right now is the lack of transparency,” said Commissioner Victor Crist.  “I’d love to see the Rays playing in Hillsborough County and I think the (proposed) site in Ybor City is a great location with lots of opportunities for expanded development.  But the board needs to be kept in the loop.”

Florida’s public records laws require most records Hagan creates to be turned over when requested by any member of the public, including documents Hagan created and later gives to either the Foley or O’Melveny firms.  But no such records have been produced yet in response to my requests and multiple county staffers have confirmed the existence of such documents. Hagan has a long history of refusing to turn over public records.

County commissioner Crist also is concerned about the legal fees incurred by Hillsborough County, saying:

The cost (of legal fees) is shocking because its not something that we’ve discussed at the board. I don’t think we anticipated it would take this long (or) cost this much.  I think we’re going to have to get some answers and take a closer look at where do we draw the line…a good briefing is long overdue.

Pranksy found that Foley & Lardner, Raij’s previous employer, has been on legal retainer with Hillsborough County since 2014 at the cost of $4,500 per month, plus an additional $395 per hour in attorney fees and expenses related to travel. The $400-thousand in outside legal bills over the course of last three years are in addition to the countless hours county staffers have spent on developing a new stadium plan for the Rays.

This is but a small snippet of the shady dealings between Hillsborough County and the Tampa Bay Rays as they attempt to collect public contributions for a new stadium, which Pransky finds could be more than double the public cost of Raymond James Stadium, even when inflation is considered. It’s a fascinating and/or terrifying read that revolves around a polarizing figure who likely be viewed as a hero by some, and a villain by others. And worth the read if you have any skin in the game and a reason to be concerned.

Finally, for those of you wondering what impact the big announcement might have on the Tropicana Field site in St. Petersburg, well…

The New What Next: Rays vs Red Sox — a series preview

By Leave a Comment

An average of +40,000 fans turned out each day to watch the Rays battle the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Rays fans, it’s up to you to turn out for this big series against the BoSox this weekend. (Photo Credit: Anthony Ateek/X-Rays Spex)

The Tampa Bay Rays return home for one last four-game series leading up to the All-Star Break, after going 4-4 on their most recent road trip. Enter the AL East leading Boston Red Sox.

One soap box topic before the series preview. I know I posted this already, but it bears mentioning again. Rays fans, it was incredible to witness an average of +40,000 fans turn out the last two days to watch the Rays battle the Cubs at Wrigley Field. It was loud and raucous, and it made me wish our home games were again like that. Guess what? The Tampa Bay Rays are in contention, and they deserve your support.

Personally, I traveled from St. Petersburg to Chicago — almost 2,000 miles, mind you — to attend the series. From there, it took me 45 minutes to travel from Bucktown (where I stayed) to Wrigleyville, by rail, and then back again. I didn’t complain when I was cramped like a sardine on the Blue and Red CTA Lines. Matter of fact, I hate being touched by strangers, although I remembered where I was and why, and I was thankful for the opportunity to watch may favorite baseball team take on the World Series champions some 2,000 miles from home — give or take 30 miles.

I wasn’t alone.

Friends, Steven Souza Jr. is right! The upcoming series against Boston is HUGE, and the good guys can make up some ground in the AL East and postseason standings going into the break. They want need it rockin’ and loud under the big top this weekend.

Not to pat myself on the back, but if I can literally stand on my feet for the better part of seven hours, from Tuesday morning into the late afternoon — including the ingress and egress into and out of the Friendly Confines, as well as the time spent standing in the bleacher section, under the centerfield scoreboard — then you can make the short or longer trek from wherever you live (be that in Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee, etc) to the Trop, to root on our team.

Boo-hoo, the bridge is long.

Suck it up, and show up late if you have to.

But the traffic is terrible!

No shit! But it’s not Rays fault that the City of Tampa and/or FDOT designed an intentional bottleneck on the east side of the Howard Franklin Bridge, which makes it hard to get into and out of Hillsborough and Pinellas counties during rush hour. Pro tip: show up a little late, or take the Gandy Bridge, which has been made much quicker on the Pinellas side.

In the end, the players shouldn’t have to deal with the embarrassment associated with an apathetic fanbase. Quit making excuses, and get out to the Trop!

I digress.

The Rays are coming off a brief two-game series with the Cubs, which they split. The Red Sox had won six in a row before dropping the finale against Texas on Wednesday, 8-2.

(Stats: ESPN)

Offensively speaking, both teams pair well against one another … although the Red Sox shown a bit more production over the last 14 days, and overall. The Rays have scored five fewer runs than Boston (412 vs 417) overall, and are averaging 4.85 runs per game. The Red Sox are averaging about 11/100 more of a run per game than Tampa Bay.

The biggest difference lies in the pitching staffs, as the Red Sox have the lowest cumulative ERA in the American League at 3.80, while Rays hurlers have performed to a 4.19 cumulative ERA. Upon closer inspection, Tampa Bay’s starters have posted a 4.10 ERA/4.24 FIP, while the ‘pen carries a 4.34 ERA/4.08 FIP. Compare that to Boston’s starters which have posted an overall 4.23 ERA/3.90 FIP, while the relievers are performing to a 2.99 ERA/3.48 FIP.

All this is to say that the Rays’ offense must strike early against Boston’s starters, while Tampa Bay’s pitching staff must do something it has had a hard time with all season: hold onto late leads. It won’t be easy.

As of July 5, 2017. (Stats: FanGraphs)

Over the next four days, Kevin Cash will lean on Jacob Faria (3-0, 2.23 ERA, 2.84 FIP), Jake Odorizzi (5-3, 4.08 ERA, 5.51 FIP), Alex Cobb (6-6, 4.01 ERA, 4.22 FIP), and Chris Archer (7-5, 3.95 ERA, 3.02 FIP). John Farrell will counter with Chris Sale (11-3, 2.61 ERA, 2.02 FIP), Drew Pomeranz (8-4, 3.64 ERA, 3.63 FIP), Rick Porcello (4-10, 5.01 ERA, 4.21 FIP), and old friend David Price (4-2, 4.02 ERA, 4.45 FIP).

(Stats: FanGraphs)

Pitching Matchups

Faria gave up just four hits and two earned runs over 6-2/3 innings, while striking out six in his last start. It was his fifth consecutive quality start to begin his big league career. The right-hander became just one of three pitchers since start of 2013 to begin his career with five straight quality starts; Mashiro Tanaka (2016) and Odrisamer Despaigne (2005) are the other two. He also leads MLB rookies with with 35 strikeouts and a 2.23 ERA, while his 7.00 K/BB ratio ranks third in American League behind Corey Kluber and his opponent Thursday night, Chris Sale.

Sale is coming off what could have been his sharpest outing of the season. The southpaw held Toronto scoreless and scattered just four hits over seven innings, while fanning 11. Sale has notched double-digit strikeouts 11 times this year. Boston’s ace continued his dominant first half with another gem Saturday. He’s now second in the AL, behind Jason Vargas, for wins with 11, while his 12.43 K/9 is the best in baseball among starters. Including his two previous wins this season against Tampa Bay, Sale has gone 6-4 with a 3.52 ERA over his career against the Rays, and 2-2 with a 1.44 ERA at the Trop. Key Matchups: Adeiny Hechavarria (2-3), Logan Morrison (3-9, HR, RBI), Trevor Plouffe (14-43, 2 2B. 2 RBI, 4 BB)

Odorizzi has remained competitive in spite of a mechanical hiccup. He picked up his fifth win of the season on Saturday in Baltimore, where he allowed three runs over five innings. Odorizzi was provided 10 runs of support and easily cruised to victory while throwing an inefficient 111 pitches in just five innings (an average of 22.2 pitches per inning). Odorizzi has given up exactly three earned runs in five of his last six outings, although a rather beefy 5.51 FIP belies his overall 4.08 ERA. He is 3-2 with a 3.60 ERA at the Trop this season, where he’s averaged just over six innings of work per start.

Pomeranz held Toronto to one run over six innings in his last start. Pomeranz scattered baserunners throughout his start and never faced any real danger aside from a second inning sac-fly from Steve Pearce. Thanks to that outing, along with his previous start against the Twins, the southpaw has lowered his season ERA to the lowest point it’s been since early April. Pomeranz has gone at least five innings with two earned runs or fewer allowed in seven of his last eight starts. The Rays have had success against Pomeranz this season, tagging him for seven runs over two starts — a total of 7-1/3 innings of work. Key Matchups: Tim Beckham (2-4, HR, RBI, BB), Corey Dickerson (3-12, 3B, HR, RBI), Brad Miller (7-16, 2B, 3B, HR, 5 RBI, BB), Logan Morrison (2-8)

Cobb was done in by early home runs by the Orioles in his last start Sunday at Baltimore, although he managed to give Tampa Bay a bullpen saving 6-1/3 innings of work. Aside from that start, the right-hander has given up more than three runs just three times since the start of May (totaling 78-2/3 innings). Cobb’s usage of his split-changeup continues to evolve, as he leaned on it 16.05% of the time in June (up 8% from May), while it’s depth has improved — dropping an average of 7.37 inches before it reaches the plate. He’s 1-0 with a 5.56 ERA in two starts against Boston in 2017.

Porcello held the Rangers in check for most of his start against the Rangers Monday night before Craig Kimbrel blew the save. Be that as it may, the reigning Cy Young Award winner has given up at least three earned runs in seven consecutive starts, and has been treading water for most of the season. Tampa Bay finally figured the right-hander out, and has pounded him for 13 runs (11 earned) over 10-2/3 innings this season. Key Matchups: Tim Beckham (2-5, 2 RBI), Peter Bourjos (2-7), Corey Dickerson (8-25, 4 2B, HR, 3 RBI), Evan Longoria (13-50, 5 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 3 BB), Logan Morrison (10-27, 3 2B, HR, 5 RBI, Shane Peterson (1-2, HR, 2 RBI), Steven Souza Jr. (7-23, HR, RBI, BB)  

Archer not only collected his 11th quality start of the season on Tuesday, but also tallied his first career hit and RBI. The Rays have won in four of Archer’s last five starts, while he’s posted at least six innings over his last nine. He did put an uncomfortable number of men on base in this one, but he escaped several jams and limited the damage, which amounted to three runs total. And though he labored through an inefficient 116 pitches over six innings of work, Archer he threw an impressive 69% for strikes, including 24 whiffs.

Price blanked the opposition for the first time this season on Tuesday against the Rangers, while striking out nine. The former Ray scattered six hits, yet he held Texas scoreless as the BoSox raced to an early lead. Price left the game in the seventh inning because of an apparent injury to his pitching hand, although John Farrell said afterward that he was removed because of a high pitch count and long sixth inning. The Rays have had a lot of success against their former ace, tagging him for 23 runs (21 earned) over seven starts and 45 innings of work. They’ll try to keep it rolling in the final game before the All-Star Break on Sunday. Key Matchups: Corey Dickerson (1-3), Adeiny Hechavarria (2-6), Trevor Plouffe (9-25, 2 2B, 3 RBI, BB)

Noteworthiness

— Brad Miller continued his rehab stint with the Durham Bulls on Wednesday, going 2-for-4 with a leadoff homer, a run, an RBI, and a strikeout. He could return to the Rays before the end of the upcoming series.