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Rays 5/13/18 starting lineup, pregame notes, and roster news; on Archer and Longo

May 13, 2018 By belowaverage Leave a Comment

…The irony when a makeup game, for a weather postponement, itself almost gets rained out. Hey Baltimore, how about less of this today?!

After splitting a double header in Baltimore on Saturday, the Tampa Bay Rays look to split the four-game series against the Orioles Sunday afternoon. Tampa Bay snapped a five-game skid, winning the nightcap of the double header 10-3.

Tampa Bay did make multiple roster moves heading into today’s game, option to add a fresh arm in calling up RHP Austin Pruitt.

RHP Ryne Stanek, who gave up a grand slam in the first game of the series was optioned back to Triple-A Durham. Also, he 26th man in the doubleheader, RHP Anthony Banda, was sent back to Durham even though he didn’t pitch in the night-cap.

The New What Next

Blake Snell allowed one run on four hits and two walks over 6-1/3 innings on Tuesday against the Braves. He struck out five. The southpaw threw first-pitch strikes to 16 of 25 batters and induced 13 swinging strikes, allowing him to Atlanta’s lineup off balance for most of the night. His only real mistake came on a solo home run from Ronald Acuna in the third inning, on a slider that hung up over the middle of the plate. His loss was of the hard luck variety, as it was due to a lack of run support. Otherwise, Snell has been outstanding over his last six starts, allowing two runs or fewer in each while posting a 4.78 K/BB over that span. Snell is 1-1 with a 3.78 ERA in three career starts against Baltimore,

Dylan Bundy allowed seven runs on five hits and two walks while not recording an out in the 15-7 loss to Kansas City on Tuesday. Bundy allowed four home runs over over a seven batter span, and managed to do so with only 28 pitches. Over his last three outings, Bundy has allowed 22 runs (19 earned) on 23 hits (including nine home runs) across just nine innings. Bundy started the season with a fantastic 1.42 ERA across 31-2/3 innings — with 40 punch outs and only one home run allowed — but has recently looked like a completely different pitcher. Bundy has relied primarily on his 92 mph four-seam fastball and an 82 mph slider, while also mixing in a 75 mph curveball, 84 mph changeup and 92 mph sinker. The right-hander is 1-3 with a 7.61 ERA in six career starts against Tampa Bay. Key Matchups: Carlos Gomez (1-4), Brad Miller (4-11, 2B, HR, RBI), Mallex Smith (4-7, RBI, BB), Joey Wendle (2-3, 2B, RBI)

You can read about the series in our preview.

The New What Next: Rays vs Orioles — a series preview, part two

Rays 5/13/18 Starting Lineup

Span LF
Cron DH
Wendle 2B
Ramos C
Duffy 3B
Miller 1B
Hechavarria SS
Smith CF
Refsnyder RF
Snell LHP

Noteworthiness

— Carlos Gomez will have today off, while Wilson Ramos — who can tie the franchise record for consecutive games with a hit at 19 (Jason Bartlett, 2009) — will hit cleanup.

— Congratulations are in order to two-way prospect Brendan McKay, who was promoted to advanced Class-A Charlotte Stone Crabs, effective Monday.

McKay has performed to a 2-0 record and a 1.09 ERA across six starts (24-2/3 innings). The southpaw has allowed just eight hits and two walks, while striking out 40.

At the plate, McKay has hit .254 with a homer, 16 RBI, 28 walks (compared to 13 strikeouts), a .484 OBP and an .817 OPS.

From the beginning we’ve know this is a really unique player, and the two-way profile means there’s a lot of uncharted territory for his development path, Rays senior VP Chaim Bloom told Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times).”But it was just clear to everybody that he is more than advanced enough to have earned this promotion. The approach he has shown on both sides of the ball, to say nothing of the performance, has been exceptional.

McKay, signed for a $7,005,000 bonus after being the overall number four pick in the 2017 draft, is slated to take the mound for the Stone Crabs on Friday, and will his other time between first base and designated hitter.

Bloom continued,

The results we’ve seen have been so phenomenal that he would be really hard-pressed to match that as a hitter. But he’s shown such as advanced approach at the plate, in fact to the point it felt at time he was being pitched around at that level.

— Sigh, because it needs to be mentioned again…

By now you are likely aware of the recent comments by former face of the franchise, Evan Longoria, which you can read here. Rays hurler Chris Archer followed with similar sentiment before his start on Saturday. Both players made a few great points, although they, by and large, missed the mark with their tone deaf comments.

What follows is what I wrote in response yesterday (albeit slightly edited), since it all relates:

Our market size is not comparable to others, although we are the 13th largest media market in the country — ahead of Portland (22), Las Vegas (40), Charlotte and Nashville. Longoria seems to have forgotten that Major League Baseball likely would not allow for the relocation of a team from a larger media market to a smaller one.

What’s more, sports fans in the Tampa Bay region have three professional teams — not to mention a wide variety of outside activities — to support with our remaining disposable income. As it was stated elsewhere, the Tampa Bay core is not as wealthy or populated as other pro cities with three teams. As a result, Tampa Bay has never had all three teams thriving at the gate.

There is a belief that pro sports can thrive here, which I agree with, and the Rays are clearly pulling a profit in spite of what others may claim; after all there is a reason Stu Sternberg won’t open the books. Yet there will always be a contrary perception since fans in the area choose not to drive across a bridge, regardless of where a stadium is located, to support the team. That is to say, the problem with attendance really has nothing to do with the current facility — although I do believe the Rays would do better with a new facility, even if just marginally so — or accessibility, rather it has to do with people choosing to attend games over the wide variety of activities in the area.

The bridge did not become longer over the last 5-10 years, and the traffic entering Pinellas is far batter than the traffic going in the opposite direction. Meanwhile, the Lightning has done a far better job at marketing the team, making it “cool,” and drawing fans away from both the Buccaneers and the Rays. If you haven’t noticed, neither team has done much to inspire their fan-base since 2013 (in the very least) and the attendance for both has steadily fallen.

I’m sorry, but the Rays biggest problems are perception and marketing, and rightly so — Sternberg, for better or worse, is the face of the franchise, and to be frankly honest he is an asshole. Just ask anyone off the record. Yes, the team could use a new stadium, however, that facility will be built in a community that commits the most resources toward the project, not the location favored by those who can, yet don’t, make it out to the ball park.

If both players have done one thing, it’s give Sternberg something which he will bandy about in order to build leverage, not good will, in the stadium saga. If anything, Sternberg should use Lightning owner Jeff Vinik’s example toward making the team vibrant, fun, and cool again.

Rays 5/11/17 lineups and doubleheader notes; on that thing Longoria said

May 12, 2018 By belowaverage Leave a Comment

The Rays will try to get back on the winning side of the ledger in a pair of games on Saturday in Baltimore. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

After a 9-4 loss to the Orioles on Friday, the Tampa Bay Rays look to get back on the winning side of the ledger with a doubleheader on Saturday in Baltimore. Since pulling within a game of .500, the Rays dropped four consecutive games, while Baltimore enters play on a three-game win streak.

In all four losses, the Rays have out hit the opposition yet they have struggled with runners in scoring position, going 6-33. Tampa Bay collected 15 hits last night, but all but three were singles, while only one came with a runner on base. Baltimore hit four homers, including a Manny Machado grand slam, accounting for eight of its nine runs.

On the bright side, Wilson Ramos enters the double header on a 17-game hit streak, two shy of tying the franchise record of 19 set by Jason Bartlett in 2009.

The New What Next

In the first game of double header, Chris Archer (2-2, 5.32 ERA) will toes the rubber opposite of David Hess (2-0, 2.12 ERA) who will make his big league debut. Matt Andriese (0-1, 3.92 ERA) will throw in the nightcap, pitching opposite of former Ray Alex Cobb (0-4, 7.61 ERA)

Chris Archer fanned six, walked none and scattered five hits over seven strong innings on Sunday. Previous to this start, Archer had performed to a 6.05 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP, but he notched his second consecutive quality start and his third in his last four outings. His current peripherals still aren’t pretty, and he hasn’t been striking out batters at quite as prolific a rate as he had in the past, but he appears ready to move past his early season struggles and start to hack away at those ugly peripherals. Archer is 6-8 with a 4.92 ERA in 17 starts against Baltimore, including a 5-1/3 inning, four-run outing on April 26th.

David Hess has made six starts with Norfolk and will be pitching on three days rest after throwing seven shutout innings against Rays affiliate Durham in his last start. Hess leans heavily on his 93 mph fastball, working it inside and low most often as it lacks horizontal movement, and gets barreled up when it’s elevated. He has fringe command of his slider which features hard tilt, sweeping action and late movement. He also has a get-me-over curveball with mild depth and spin, and a firm changeup with very mild fade.

Rays 5/11/18 Starting Lineup (game one)

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

Matt Andriese last started on April 29th, when he threw 3-1/3 scoreless frames against the Red Sox. Anthony Banda has been called up from Durham, and is the 26th man for Tampa Bay in the twinbill.

Alex Cobb allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits and a walk, while striking out five over six innings in a loss to the Athletics on Sunday. Cobb has put together back-to-back quality starts, although he is bereft of his first win of the season. His offense failed him Sunday, as the Orioles were able to push across just one run. In spite of solid performances in his last two outings, Cobb still sits with a 7.61 ERA/5.32 FIP and 2.03 WHIP as a result of a disastrous start to the season. Key Matchups: CJ Cron (1-3, 2B, 2 RBI), Brad Miller (4-9, 2B, 2 RBI, BB), Daniel Robertson (1-2, 2B), Mallex Smith (1-2), Denard Span (2-3, 2B), Joey Wendle (2-3, RBI)

Rays 5/11/18 Starting Lineup (game two)

Span DH
Cron 1B
Wendle 3B
Ramos C
Miller 2B
Robertson SS
Smith CF
Gomez RF
Field LF
Andriese RHP

You can read more about the series in our preview.

The New What Next: Rays vs Orioles — a series preview, part two

Noteworthiness

— By now you are likely aware of the recent comments by former face of the franchise, Evan Longoria.

Honestly, and this is maybe not something I should say, but my gut tells me that the best decision might be to move the team, Evan Longoria said Thursday. I say that only because I look at the example of the Miami Marlins, and (a new stadium) didn’t really solve their attendance issues. So from purely an attendance standpoint, somewhere else might be better.

It pains me to say that, but players want to play in a place where you have consistent support. It’s a selfish thing to say probably as a player, but, I don’t know, does anyone really want to play in front of 10,000 a night? I don’t know. I’m glad I won’t have to hear the backlash again this time (for making comments about attendance, as when he played there).

There are a lot of dedicated Rays fans … and obviously it would be a shame for those people to lose the team. But you just hope there is consistent fan support, and it historically hasn’t been there. I don’t know that it’s the easiest case to lobby to build a new stadium in the area. It’s not a slam dunk.

If there is going to be a new stadium built in the Tampa Bay area, Longoria said it definitely should be on the Tampa side, although he did not agree with the Ybor City site that has been identified as the top choice.

I think they should move across the street from Raymond James. They should build a stadium that looks just like Houston, or very similar to (Minute Maid Park, which has a retractable roof). You can’t play outside there (in Tampa Bay), it has to be a retractable. And obviously it should be grass. If you can do it in Houston you can do it in Florida – you can grow grass in Florida indoors.

Longoria made a few great points (Ybor is a bad location, Westshore is the best spot in Tampa) though he, by and large, missed the mark with his tone deaf comments.

Our market size is not comparable to others, although we are the 13th largest media market in the country — ahead of Portland (22), Las Vegas (40), Charlotte and Nashville. Longoria seems to have forgotten that Major League Baseball likely would not allow for the relocation of a team from a larger media market to a smaller one.

What’s more, sports fans in the Tampa Bay region have three professional teams — not to mention a wide variety of outside activities — to support with our remaining disposable income. As it was stated elsewhere, the Tampa Bay core is not as wealthy or populated as other pro cities with three teams. As a result, Tampa Bay has never had all three teams thriving at the gate.

There is a belief that pro sports can thrive here, which I agree with, and the Rays are clearly pulling a profit in spite of what others may claim; after all there is a reason Stu Sternberg won’t open the books. Yet there will always be a contrary perception since fans in the area choose not to drive across a bridge, regardless of where a stadium is located, to support the team. That is to say, the problem with attendance really has nothing to do with the current facility — although I do believe the Rays would do better with a new facility, even if just marginally so — or accessibility, rather it has to do with people choosing to attend games over the wide variety of activities in the area.

The bridge did not become longer over the last 5-10 years, and the traffic entering Pinellas is far batter than the traffic going in the opposite direction. Meanwhile, the Lightning has done a far better job at marketing the team, making it “cool,” and drawing fans away from both the Buccaneers and the Rays. If you haven’t noticed, neither team has done much to inspire their fan-base since 2013 (in the very least) and the attendance for both has steadily fallen.

I’m sorry Evan, but the Rays biggest problems are perception and marketing, and rightly so — Sternberg, for better or worse, is the face of the franchise, and to be frankly honest he is an asshole. Just ask anyone off the record. Yes, the team could use a new stadium, however, that facility will be built in a community that commits the most resources toward the project, not the location favored by those who can, yet don’t, make it out to the ball park.

Evan, if you have done one thing, it’s give your former boss something with which he will bandy about in order to build leverage, not good will, in the stadium saga. If anything, Sternberg should use Lightning owner Jeff Vinik’s example toward making the team vibrant, fun, and cool again.

Rays look to get off the schneid on Sunday; facts and figures in historically bad start

April 8, 2018 By Schmitty Leave a Comment

Austin Pruitt threw 4-1/3 scoreless innings on Saturday, retiring 13 of his last 14. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

The Tampa Bay Rays are in salvage mode today, looking to win the getaway game — a game, really — against the Boston Red Sox. Since Opening Day, the Rays have lost seven consecutive games, and have been outscored 31-11 over their last four.

As Neil Solondz (Rays Radio) noted, this is the toughest Rays start since 2011, when the team went 1–8 yet came back to end up with 90 victories and a playoff campaign. The Rays have scored 20 runs in eight games so far this year. The 2011 club scored 20 runs in the first nine games, and nine came in one contest.

And like the 2011 Rays, the 2018 squad next will head to the south side of Chicago where the former squad began to turn around its season.

Or as Bill Madden (N.Y. Daily News) put it, principal owner Stuart Sternberg “should be ashamed” for fielding an “unwatchable” and “terrible” team with “no pitching, no hitting, no exciting players other than Kevin Kiermaier.” It seems Sternberg is “just looking for an excuse to move the team to Montreal.” …Not that I put much stock in the Rays relocation rumors, but that’s for another day.

The Rays scored two in the first inning yesterday, yet Jacob Faria allowed eight runs over 1-2/3 innings in a 10–3 loss. To put things into context, Faria threw 73 pitches and got only five outs. According to the hurler, the game sped up such that he couldn’t slow things down.

Honestly, I don’t even know, Faria said. Nothing was there from the beginning. I couldn’t figure it out. Couldn’t make an adjustment. … Just letting things race in my head a little too much. Just letting the game speed up. Just not making the adjustment in time. …Just going through the motions pretty much. Just trying to find something that would work. …Every game before this, I’ve been able to kind of figure it out and grind through it. Today was one of those days I couldn’t figure it out. It’s frustrating, it’s embarrassing. We’re in the big leagues now and I can’t throw strikes to anybody. Three-one count to almost every hitter. This is embarrassing. That’s the No. 1 word I would use.

Andrew Kittredge will get the start in a bullpen day this afternoon. The right-hander has pitched well in both of his appearances this season — allowing two earned runs over 5-2/3 innings, while walking three (two intentionally) and fanning none — yet suffered the loss in each. Ryan Yarbrough and Matt Andriese are reportedly available to provide length in the bullpen if needed.

Eduardo Rodriguez will come off the disabled list to start for the Red Sox, who at 7-1 is off to their best start since 1920.

You can read about the series in our preview.

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

Rays 4/8/17 Starting Lineup

Noteworthiness

— If it’s any consolation, odds are good that the Rays wouldn’t be any better at this point in the season had they held on to Evan Longoria, Steven Souza Jr., Corey Dickerson, Alex Cobb, or Logan Morrison.

Per Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times):

Longoria was 0-for-17 before homering for his first, and through Friday, only Giants hit, admitting his cold start was “a little bit magnified” with “a lot of people looking for me to come out of the gate hot, including myself.” Batting fifth (behind Buster Posey – irony, huh?), playing third, wearing No. 10 … okay it doesn’t have quite the same ring, though he is still walking up to Tantric’s Down & Out.

Dickerson has been starting daily in left (which didn’t go well in the second half with Rays) and batting fifth, hitting .238 through five games, as he essentially replaces longtime star Andrew McCutchen. Tweeted for first time since May 2016 to thank Pirates fans for a warm welcome: “My family and I are glad to be here!”

Cobb will make at least one more minors start Monday before being activated after late-spring signing.

Morrison has been slotted fourth/fifth in lineup, splitting 1B and DH, hitting .067 (1-for-15), has large clubhouse presence.

Lucas Duda’s three-run opening-day homer was a nice introduction, but hitting a quiet .214 overall.

Tommy Hunter got $18 million for two years but hasn’t pitched yet due to late-spring hamstring strain.

Sowing the seeds of discontent: reactions to the Rays’ weekend moves

February 19, 2018 By belowaverage Leave a Comment

The Rays have just seven-days to cobble together a deal for OF Corey Dickerson, or he will walk to another team for peanuts. (Photo Credit: Dan Hamilton/USA Today Sports)

Do you feel like the Tampa Bay Rays made a pair of bad moves this past weekend? If so, you’re not alone. The former and current faces of the franchise reacted negatively in the wake of the decisions to designate OF Corey Dickerson for assignment, and trade No. 2 starter Jake Odorizzi to the Minnesota Twins for shortstop prospect Jermaine Palacios.

Evan Longoria was the first player to go public with his thoughts on the decision to DFA Dickerson, tweeting words of encouragement to the now former outfielder.

Go be an All Star again @MCoreyDickerson.

— Evan Longoria (@Evan3Longoria) February 18, 2018

Longo later elaborated on his six word tweet on Sunday at Giants camp in Scottsdale, Ariz.

It’s really hard to come into a clubhouse and  to win when you give away your best players, Longoria told reporters. Corey was our best player last year. He was better than me. Logan Morrison hit 38 home runs, but overall, Corey was our best player.

The former franchise cornerstone, who is clearly still emotionally invested in the Rays fan-base, continued:

It’s kind of a shame, I don’t understand it. The guy was an All-Star last year. He’s in his early prime. He’s still controllable. It just doesn’t make sense to me. It doesn’t make sense to a lot of people. Corey will end up somewhere and continue to be the player that he is. But I kind of just feel bad for the Rays’ fan base.

And I feel bad for the guys this year who were probably counting on Corey to put up numbers to help the team win. I’m not going to take too many shots. But I think it’s pretty obvious that the guy is a valuable player and didn’t deserve to be DFA’d.

Staff ace Chris Archer also was shocked by the moves, saying the team is not as good as it was 24 hours prior.

Definitely two tough losses. Between eight and 10 p.m. (Saturday) was tough. There is a level of certainty that Odi brought.

Archer said Odorizzi’s leadership and professionalism will be missed in the clubhouse:

He was definitely a quiet leaderthat everybody in the clubhouse respected. He’s a professional.

You can hear Archer’s comments below (Courtesy of Rays Radio):

CF Kevin Kiermaier made very clear Monday what he thought of the weekend decisions to part ways with veteran Dickerson and Odorizzi, saying:

I am 100 percent frustrated and very upset with the moves. No beating around the bush. It’s one of those things that makes you scratch your head, you don’t know the reasoning why. And then you see the team’s explanation and still it’s just like, okay, well, so be it.

Kiermaier agreed with the comments made by Longoria about how the moves were bad for the team, however, he also conceded that part of being a professional is eventually having to get over it:

With that being said it’s my responsibility, and now the team’s responsibility, to move  on. It’s over with. It’s done. Got to move on from it.

We can not sit here and dwell on it. We can sit here and feel sorry for ourselves. Chatter amongst each other. But it’s over with, it happened. We still have a really good team in here, got a lot of good guys. I believe in these guys. We lost two great players. It’s terrible. At the same time, life goes on. We still have to do what we have to do to go out there and get as many wins as possible.

Manager Kevin Cash praised both players leaving, although he also is excited to add Cron to the fold, sing the team’s depth in left-field, as well as in the rotation, will help make up for the losses

Any time you’re around these guys, Jake for three years, (Corey) for two years, they had big impacts on the field and the clubhouse for us. You hate to see them go, but you understand what we’re trying to accomplish.

Cash also defined what the Rays starting rotation will look like over the first month-and-a-half of the season, calling for a four-man rotation early on with Matt Andriese playing a multi-inning role in the ‘pen.

We are going to a four man rotation out of the gate. A lot of that is because of the schedule. If we ran a five man rotation, you’re talking an extra day, an extra two days almost every time through. Cash said. I’d think any starting pitcher would tell you that it’s not ideal for them. We are going to just shorten that up and insert a starter, a spot starter, or a bullpen day on those days that are needed.

Due to the abundance of early off-days — eight in the first 38-days of the season — Cash is planning to use Chris Archer, Blake Snell, Nathan Eovaldi and Jake Faria as starters, preferring to keep them pitching on close to a regular schedule.

There will be four stretches in that span when the team will play five games or more, so — much like last season — they will either summon a spot starter or make it a bullpen day. By the time they need a fulltime fifth starter, they may deem one of the young arms — Brent Honeywell, Jose De Leon, Ryan Yarborough or Yonny Chirinos — ready.

Andriese was not too happy by the decision, however, as Steve Kinsella (Sports Talk Florida) noted, the right-hander is best suited for the ‘pen as reflected in his career numbers. In 44 career starts he is 14-14 with a 4.55 ERA (113-ER/223.1-IP). In 28 games as a reliever he’s pitched to a 2-4 mark with a 3.54 ERA (22-ER/56-IP).

Andriese said he had prepared all offseason to be a starter, and was “shocked” when he was told Sunday that he would be moving to ‘pen, although he also said he’ll roll with it and do best he can.

Kinsella hit on another reason Andriese is best suited as a reliever: problems getting through a rotation a third time through. The first time through the order he holds the opposition to a slash line of .253/.299/.377. The batters start to pick up the pace the second time through hitting .291/.330/.485. By the time the hitters are seeing him for a third time, there aren’t many tricks in the bag as they hit .299/.361/.545 against him.

We talked to Matt today, Cash said. Obviously, sure there is some disappointment. He came in built up. In his mind he was going to be a starter. Matt’s been there, done it, and if you look at Matt’s track record we’re trying set him for six weeks of building something that we know we’re going to lean on him for. Let him respond to some shorter work loads and see how how his arm bounces back.

You can hear Cash’s comments below (Courtesy of Rays Radio):

As I wrote on February 8, Andriese was projected by PECOTA to pitch out of the ‘pen as a long reliever.

PECOTA projections are in, and the Rays could contend in 2018

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

February 7, 2018 By Schmitty 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…

Big reminder that Trop site is VERY much still in play for new #Rays stadium. But Jabil couldn’t sit around forever and wait. https://t.co/wGdLgN0pWD

— Shadow of Stadium (@StadiumShadow) February 6, 2018

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