220 replies to this topic

[drtooth]

Rays take 2 of 3 from O's 8-4.

Matt Moore (2-5) has his best outing in a while earning the win (6 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K). BJ Upton has 2 of TB's 6 hits and drives in 2 runs

[drtooth]

Rays 1st round pick Richie Shaffer

Shaffer was a pretty good high school prospect a few years ago, but a hand injury and his college commitment contributed to a slide to the 25th round and he headed to Clemson.Three years later, Shaffer is one of the more intriguing college bats in this Draft class. While there are holes to his swing, his bat is his best tool. He has plus power and can hit the ball out to all fields. He's played both infield corners, showing off a plus arm from third, but his range might be better suited for first. He's not a bad athlete and his power bat and arm might profile well for right field.Shaffer is always going to have some swing and miss to his game. But his ability to be a power-hitting run producer will make many teams interested in living with the strikeouts.

I would guess a future replacement for Pena at 1st, since Longoria is locked up for a long time

[drtooth]

Rays activate Desmond Jennings from the DL and send OF Rich Thompson back to Durham

[drtooth]

After losing 2 of 3 to Yankees, Tampa bounces back to top Marlins 5-1.

Matt Joyce goes 2 for 3 with a HR and 3 runs scored. Will Rymes, BJ Upton, Ben Zobrist and Carlos Pena drove in the other Rays runs

[drtooth]

Tampa offense explodes in a 13-4 win over Miami.

Ben Zobrist goes 3 for 3 with 2 HR's and 4 RBI. Eliot Johnson added 4 hits and 3 RBI while Jose Molina drove in 3 runs as well. Matt Moore goes to 3-5 with the win, in spite of allowing 4 runs in the 6th (2 BB, 9 K)

[drtooth]

Rays sweep Marlins 4-2.

Tampa score 3 in the 4th on a solo HR from Matt Joyce and a 2-run shot from Eliot Johnson. James Shields pitches 6.1 innings of 1 run ball to raise his record to 7-4. Fernando Rodney closes things out for his 18th save.

[drtooth]

Mets crush Rays 11-2.

NY scores 6 in the 7th and 2 in 8th to blow it open. Alex Cobb gets the loss. Hideki Matsui and Will Rymes drive in the TB runs

[drtooth]

Another lopsided loss at the hands of the Mets 9-1.

R.A. Dickey throws a 1-hitter, a BJ Upton single. David Price gives up 7 runs in 5+ innings to fall to 8-4.

[drtooth]

Rays swept by Mets 9-6.

TB pitching allows 29 runs in 3 games. Jeremy Hellickson (4-3) allows 8 runs in 3.2 innings. Matt Joyce knocks in 2 while Desmond Jennings, Carlos Pena, Ben Zobrist and Eliot Johnson each had 1 RBI.

[drtooth]

Rays bounce back to trounce Marlins 11-0.

Tampa pitching allows 1 hit as Matt Moore goes to 4-5 with the win (7 IP, 3 BB, 8 K). Desmond Jennings has 2 hits and 4 RBI to pace the offense. Will Rymes drives in 2 and TB gets 1 RBI each from Matt Joyce, BJ Upton, Ben Zobrist (solo HR), Jose Lobaton and Sean Rodriguez.

[drtooth]

Tampa falls to Miami 4-3 in 15 innings.

Brandon Gomes gives up a triple to Scott Cousins to give Miami the lead. Jose Molina and drove in 2 runs. Sean Rodriguez drove in the other TB run.

[drtooth]

Tampa takes 2 of 3 from Marlins 3-0.


Alex Cobb evens his record at 3-3 with 7 innings of 2-hit pitching (1 BB, 10 K). BJ Upton lead off the bottom of the 1st witha HR. Ben Zobrist and Drew Sutton drove in the other RAys' runs.

[drtooth]

Longoria's rehab suspended indefinitely.

http://www.tampabay....ed-indefinitely

Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan Longoria's rehab assignment was suspended indefinitely Monday night after he experienced some discomfort in his partially torn left hamstring.
Longoria will join the Rays in Washington D.C. Tuesday and continue his rehab there with no timetable for his return.
The Rays say Longoria, in the second game on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Durham, didn't want to push it after feeling soreness running to first base in Rochester so he was lifted in the third inning for a pinch-hitter.
It's a setback for Longoria, a three-time All Star who has been out since May 3 but had hoped to be back with the Rays this week. He felt good after Saturday's first rehab game with Durham, going 1-for-4 with a single as designated hitter. He was off Sunday and was DH Monday, before he felt discomfort and was pulled.

[drtooth]

Jeremy Hellickson heads to the 15-day DL with right should fatigue. He states there is no pain in the arm. Chris Atcher has been called up and will make his ML debut on Weds

[soxhop411]

@AdamKilgoreWP: Press box announcement on Joel Peralta: Ejected for having a "foreign substance on or in his fielding glove.;Now reports are saying he had a shit load of pine tar on his glove. Have the rays been doing this for a while?

Edited by soxhop411, 19 June 2012 - 09:35 PM.

[drtooth]

Rays top Nats 5-4.

David Price (9-4) allows 3 ER in 7 innings for the win. Fernando Rodney earns his 20th save. Carlos Pena (2-run HR) and Eliot Johnson each drove in 2. BJ Upton drove in the other TB run.

Apparently Davey Johnson pointed out the pine tar on Joel Perlata. Joe Maddon called the move "cowardly" according to Marc Topkin's Twitter feed ("pussy" move according the video below)

http://www.youtube.c...d&v=Ta0HlY2SRns

Edited by drtooth, 20 June 2012 - 07:17 AM.

[derekson]

Maddon comes off really poorly there, whining about his pitcher being caught for cheating. I'm a big fan of Maddon in general, but get a fucking grip, dude.

And am I supposed to believe that Maddon wouldn't have done the same thing if he knew that say, Rafael Soriano was doing something similar, and he was facing the Rays against the Yankees?

Edited by derekson, 20 June 2012 - 09:50 AM.

[Harry Hooper]

@AdamKilgoreWP: Press box announcement on Joel Peralta: Ejected for having a "foreign substance on or in his fielding glove.;Now reports are saying he had a shit load of pine tar on his glove. Have the rays been doing this for a while?

Yeah, we finally know how the Rays assemble an effective bullpen out of scraps seemingly every season.

Selig really should drop a fine on Maddon. Your player was caught cheating, Joe, be contrite in public and take your lumps.

"To single out Joel Peralta tonight and make him look like a bad guy or a villain of any kind, that's what upsets me, that this is all going to lay on Joel and I don't like that at all," Rays manager Joe Maddon said.

According to Rule 8 of the MLB official rulebook, a pitcher "shall not ... apply a foreign substance of any kind to the ball."

USAToday


Maddon wants to use everything as part of his us-Rays-against-the-world routine.

Edited by Harry Hooper, 20 June 2012 - 10:57 AM.

[Omar's Wacky Neighbor]

Q: So you're saying it's accidental.......?

A: No, I didn't say that.

[canderson]

Maddon used his 4 p.m. press conference to say no player should ever sign and play with Washington.

Dude's schtick is tiring quickly, after his nonsense back in Boston and this fiasco.

[paulb0t]

Joe Maddon and Joel Perlata are not above the rules that gives any player a competitive advantage. The grip gives Peralta additional spin and control. The worst thing about all of this, is every single thing someone other than the Rays do is "Cowardly" or a "pussy" move.

Generally, I think Maddon is an excellent in game manager and seems to get the most out of his players. And I'm no Davey Johnson fan, but every time Maddon opens his mouth he does come off as a "weird wuss." Shut up and take responsibility.

[DrewDawg]

Some good quotes here: http://espn.go.com/m...n-read-rulebook

Johnson: "Any time there's a rule violation, as far as I'm concerned, it's just a rule violation. My only comment to him is read the rulebook. It's simple."

Maddon: "I totally understand that. Davey's right. I'm incapable of reading the rulebook, and there's also reading between the lines in some situations that needs to be looked at, too. He's been around long enough; he knows better than that."

Johnson, on whether he has any intention of meeting with Maddon: "No, I don't know him that well, but I thought he was a weird wuss anyway, so no. I understand where he's coming from. His job as a manager is to protect the players, striking out at whoever is causing your players any grievance."

Johnson also called Maddon a "guru" and needled the Rays manager for being active on Twitter and for having a reputation as a genius manager: "I don't want to get into a shouting match with Joe. I looked him up on the Internet and found out he has a tweeter, so he can get to more people than me. But it was interesting reading. But you can tell him I have a doctorate of letters, too. Mine's from Loyola in Humanities, and I'm proud of that too."

It was pointed out to Maddon that his player broke a rule and got caught, yet he chose to deflect responsibility toward Johnson.
"To utilize information based on the fact that the guy played here?" Maddon said. "If you want to talk about -- I don't know if that's a form of cheating or what -- but that's really kind of underhanded, I believe, to use that kind of information."

Edited by DrewDawg, 20 June 2012 - 08:59 PM.

[bosox188]

Joe Maddon and Joel Perlata are not above the rules that gives any player a competitive advantage. The grip gives Peralta additional spin and control. The worst thing about all of this, is every single thing someone other than the Rays do is "Cowardly" or a "pussy" move.

Generally, I think Maddon is an excellent in game manager and seems to get the most out of his players. And I'm no Davey Johnson fan, but every time Maddon opens his mouth he does come off as a "weird wuss." Shut up and take responsibility.

I have to say though, I'm getting some serious Mangini vibes from Davey Johnson in this situation. Kind of a dick move to pull that on one of your former players when it's suddenly convenient for you.

[Fishercat]

I have to say though, I'm getting some serious Mangini vibes from Davey Johnson in this situation. Kind of a dick move to pull that on one of your former players when it's suddenly convenient for you.

Davey Johnson never managed Joel Peralta in Washington, they were there at two different times. Johnson would have been criticized if it came out that he didn't follow up on this lead and Peralta kept using pine tar to aid his pitches.

[RGREELEY33]

So, let me get this straight. Maddon's defense of Peralta is 1.) "Insider Trading" is worse than cheating 2.) Players should police themselves when it comes to cheating. 3.) Free Agents should consider not signing in Washington because management will throw them under the bus if they leave, go to another team, continue to cheat when you pitch, and stupidly do it against the team you were just on who knows that you cheat when you pitch.

Okay Joe. You fucking douche.

[Tony C]

Maddon's holier than thou schtick is getting real old.

[drtooth]

Rays lose to Nats 3-2

Chris Archer gives up 3 runs in his ML debut (all in the 1st, 1 ER) in 6 innings. Jose Molina (solo HR) and Hideki Matsui drove in the Tamps runs

Edited by drtooth, 22 June 2012 - 05:33 AM.

[Average Reds]

I have to say though, I'm getting some serious Mangini vibes from Davey Johnson in this situation. Kind of a dick move to pull that on one of your former players when it's suddenly convenient for you.

Davey Johnson has always been kind of a dick. (I mean, he's a 70 year old man still going by "Davey." Hello?) At the same time, Johnson never managed Peralta, so he owes him exactly nothing.

I do understand what Madden is upset about - basically, Peralta was busted because one or more of of his former teammates went to their manager and told him to have Peralta's glove checked, which is a little startling. The problem is that Madden really has no play to make, because:

• The implication behind Madden's statement about doing this sort of thing to a player who used to be with your organization is that managers know what their players are doing. So Madden clearly knows that Peralta uses pine tar.
• Since Madden knows this - and he's such a genius manager - the entire thing could have been avoided if he simply told Peralta to lay off the pine tar against his former team.
• If your former teammates are going to bust him this way, it tells me that Peralta is probably something of a dick. Does Madden really want to open up that can of worms?
• Peralta was, in fact, cheating. And he got caught. Take it like a man.

In short, I'm enjoying watching the holier-than-thou schtick blow up in Madden's face here.

Edited by Average Reds, 21 June 2012 - 07:47 AM.

[LuckyBen]

I have to say though, I'm getting some serious Mangini vibes from Davey Johnson in this situation. Kind of a dick move to pull that on one of your former players when it's suddenly convenient for you.

I know, why can't baseball go back to a time when teammates could shoot each other up and cheat without a fear of being called out by those teammates or coaches!

[B H Kim]

Since Madden knows this - and he's such a genius manager - the entire thing could have been avoided if he simply told Peralta to lay off the pine tar against his former team.

Well, the Rays are Peralta's fifth team, so if Maddon were going to go this route, he'd have Peralta working clean again the Angels, Royals and Rockies as well (not to mention games against former teammates who now play elsewhere). That doesn't seem like a viable approach. Maddon apparently knew that Peralta was cheating. If he's OK with that, then it's a calculated risk given that a player gets called on this only once every few years. But, if he gets caught, you need to just shut up and deal with it.

[drtooth]

Rays claim INF Brooks Conrad from the Brewers

http://www.tampabay....ers-brewers-say

The Brewers announced that the Rays have claimed INF Brooks Conrad off waivers.
Conrad, 32, played in 25 games for the Brewers, appearing at all four infield positions but hitting only .075 (3-for-40). He is a .212 hitter over parts of five seasons with the A's, Braves and Brewers.
Conrad may be most know for his record-tying three error performance for Atlanta in a 2010 playoff game vs. San Francisco.
It is not clear yet what the Rays plan to do with Conrad, or what other move has to be made

[drtooth]

Joel Peralta hit with an 8 game suspension. He will appeal

[RGREELEY33]

Joel Peralta hit with an 8 game suspension. He will appeal

That's pretty harsh for an RP imo, but fuck Maddon. It should be reduced to 4 games.

[gammoseditor]

The last pitcher that did this got 10 days. 8 games is pretty much the same thing. Joe Maddon has now called out two other managers this year. Good to see where they get that extra 2% from.

Edited by gammoseditor, 21 June 2012 - 04:03 PM.

[LogansDad]

Well, the Rays are Peralta's fifth team, so if Maddon were going to go this route, he'd have Peralta working clean again the Angels, Royals and Rockies as well (not to mention games against former teammates who now play elsewhere). That doesn't seem like a viable approach. Maddon apparently knew that Peralta was cheating. If he's OK with that, then it's a calculated risk given that a player gets called on this only once every few years. But, if he gets caught, you need to just shut up and deal with it.

So.... not cheating is not a viable approach?

If the guy can't succeed without cheating, maybe he is in the wrong profession?

[drtooth]

Tampa fall to Nats 5-2.

Joel Peralta (of all people) gets the loss as he allows 2 runs in the 6th. Desmond Jennings and Sean Rodriguez drove in the Rays' runs

[TheoShmeo]

Gotta love Pretentious Joe defiantly going with Peralta against the Nats and getting burned.

[AMS25]

Gotta love Pretentious Joe defiantly going with Peralta against the Nats and getting burned.

Yep. I don't have much in the way of feelings about most managers (even Girardi), but Joe Maddon irritates me to no end. I'm sure if I were a Rays fan, I'd feel differently....

[drtooth]

Peralta drops his appeal, along with other roster moves.

http://www.tampabay....-added-and-more

The Rays made a series of moves today, topped by Joel Peralta dropping the appeal of his suspension and All-Star OF Matt Joyce going on the DL.
Also INF Brooks Conrad, claimed on waivers yestersday, was added to the roster; INF Jeff Kepppinger was activated off the DL and RHP Brandon Gomes was called up.
OF Rich Thompson was optioned to AAA and INF Drew Sutton designated for assignment. The Rays were able to bring Gomes back before the required 10 days since Joyce went on the DL.

[drtooth]

Tampa falls to the Phils 7-6.

Jim Thome solo HR off of Jake McGee in the bottom of the 9th ends it, after the Rays come back with 2 in the 9th off Papelbon to tie the game. Jeff Keppinger went 5 for 5 with 3 RBI.

LHP Alex Torres called to be an extra arm for tomorrow's DH.

Edited by drtooth, 23 June 2012 - 09:48 PM.

[drtooth]

Rays sweep a DH from the Phils.

In game 1, Carlos Pena's 3-run 8th inning HR gives Tampa a 3-2 win. David Price gets his ML leading 10th win, giving up 1 ER in 7 IP. Fernando Rodney closes it our for his 21st save.

In game 2, Brooks Conrad doubles twice and drives in 4 runs to lead the Rays to a 7-3 win. TB manages a total of 10 hits combined in the DH. The Phils helps out by walking 6 in game 1 and 8 in game 2.

[drtooth]

Rays fall to KC 8-0.

Alex Cobb gets the loss, although saves the pen by throwing a CG. Eliot Johnson has 2 of TB's 7 hits.

[drtooth]

Tampa loses again to Royals 8-2.

Rays manage only 6 hits with a Brooks Conrad HR accounting for the only RBI. Chris Archer gives up 4 runs in the 3rd for his 2nd loss.

[drtooth]

TB loses 3 in a row to KC 5-4.

Burke Badenhop gives up a solo HR to Billy Butler in the 8th right after the Rays had tied it in the top of the 8th. Ben Zobrist had 3 hits (2B, 3B) and 3 RBI to pace the offense

[drtooth]

Rays fall again (4 in a row) to Tigers 5-2.

James Shields allows 14 hits and 4 runs in 7.2 IP. Tampa manages on 6 hits, 2 each by Brooks Conrad and Eliot Johnson (only RBI).

[drtooth]

Rays end 4 game losing streak, 4-2 over Tigers.

Desmond Jennings hit 2 solo HR's and Ben Zobrist added a solo shot. Luke Scott drove in the other run. David Price goes to 11-4, though he left the game after 7 innings due to lower back stiffness. Fernando Rodney finished things up for his 22nd save.

[jon abbey]

Fielder hit a line drive off Hellickson's knee in the third, he's out of the game.

[drtooth]

Rays fall to Tigers 6-2.

Jeremy Hellickson loses his 4th straight start. Joel Peralta and Burke Basenhop give up a combined 5 runs in the 8th and 9th to put the game away. Jeff Keppinger and Carlos Pena homered in the 8th to provide the runs for Tampa

[drtooth]

Rays have now lost 6 of 7, 5-3 to Tigers.

Alex Cobb gets the loss, allowing 5 runs in 5.1 IP. Tampa manages only 5 hits as BJ Upton, Hideki Matsui and Jose Molina drive in the runs.

[drtooth]

Injury update.

Jeff Keppinger is day to day with a bruised left triceps after getting hit by the Yanks David Phelps.

Matt Joyce had a setback in his recovering from a left oblique strain. Joyce pulled himself out of a rehab start with tightness in his lower back