Rays Blow Largest Lead In Team History

After being down 10-2 up until the eight inning, the Cleveland Indians never put away the rally caps. Scoring 2 runs in the eight and 7 runs in the bottom of the ninth, the Indians rallied to beat the Tampa Bay Rays handing the team their largest blown lead in their 11 year club history.

The worst of the embarrassment for the Rays wasn’t in losing the game after leading by eight runs, but losing the game with the score 10-5 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth was just pitiful.

The Rays have no dropped 14 games in a row at Cleveland.

Blogs weigh in the Rays Blown Lead:

Rays Index: Rays Index calls the loss “Vomit Inducing”. This is just not a good team. Good teams do not blow 10-run leads. They don’t blow 6-runs leads in the 9th innings. And they do not blow ANY leads to bad teams.

DRAYSBAY : It’s unacceptable, and frankly disgusting.  This team is in serious trouble…..

The Heater: Tampa Bay, up 10-0 at one point, gives up seven runs in the ninth inning in an embarrassing collapse.

Baseball Reflections : Kazmir isn’t the only Rays pitcher struggling – Andy Sonnanstine has been even worse with his 7.36 ERA and 1.71 K/BB ratio. Most troubling for Sonnanstine is his hits allowed….

2009 Tampa Bay Rays Preview

Key Additions: Pat Burrell (OF-DH), Matt Joyce (OF), Gabe Kapler (OF), Jason Isringhausen (RP), Joe Nelson (RP), Brian Shouse (RP)

Key Subtractions: Edwin Jackson (SP), Cliff Floyd (DH), Eric Hinske (OF), Rocco Baldelli (OF), Jonny Gomes (OF-DH), Trever Miller (RP)

A look at the lineup:

Catcher: Last season, Dioner Navarro took a major step forward for the Rays, becoming a franchise catcher. In 120 games, he hit .295 while knocking in 54 runs from a normally dry position. Navarro’s presence behind the plate is the real key for Tampa, as he helped lead a very young pitching staff to the World Series in 2008. His catcher’s earned run average was below four, an amazing feat being in the same division as the Yankees and Red Sox. Behind Navarro is capable backup Shawn Riggans who appeared in 44 games last year.

First Base: Carlos Pena was an afterthought before the 2006 season, but 46 homers later in ’07, he became the comeback player of the year. Last season, his numbers took a hit, as his OPS dipped from 1.038 to .871 and his average slid 35 points. He still hit 30-plus homers and knocked in 100-plus runs, which is all you can ask from a guy who played just 18 games in 2006. He’ll give you the power, but Pena does strike out a ton.

Second Base: In 2008, there was a position change at second base for Tampa Bay. BJ Upton moved to the outfield and Akinori Iwamura switched from third to accommodate stud Evan Longoria. The move went off without a hitch. Iwamura committed just seven errors at second, tied for third base in baseball among starters. Aki is a pro hitter, leading the Rays with 172 hits last season. He’s as steady as they come. If he needs a breather, Willy Aybar or Ben Zobrist can step in.

Shortstop: Jason Bartlett took over as the everyday shortstop last year and was stellar. With the stick, Bartlett doesn’t give you power (just one home run in the regular season, one in the playoffs) but he does provide an adequate bat at the bottom of the order. Speed is the name of his game, as he swiped 20 bags in ’08. Bartlett’s fielding is just ok, as he committed 16 errors last year and was in the bottom half of the majors in fielding percentage. However, Bartlett fits with the Rays well and is once again their starter for 2009.

Third Base: This is one position the Rays won’t have to worry about for a decade or so. Evan Longoria is one of the brightest stars in all the game, and last season he put his name on the map as one of the top third basemen in the game. He missed more than a month during August and September with a broken wrist, but still hit 22 home runs on the year in just 122 games. The AL Rookie of the Year slugged a healthy .531, 8th best in the AL. Longoria is going to continue to take strides forward, and it’s scary to see where he can end up in a few years. He has 40 home run power and could knock in 100-plus runs for a long, long time. Who’s the backup? Doesn’t matter, because this is his team.

Left Field: One of the most enigmatic players in baseball is Carl Crawford. The speedy left fielder has stolen 50 or more bases four times in his career, but dealt with injuries last season that allowed him to play in just 109 games. The hand injury he suffered healed just in time for him to be back for the playoffs, but his numbers had been suffering all year as his average dipped into the .270’s for the first time in his career. Crawford has a ton of talent and could hit for more power, but can’t seem to harness it. Expect 15 homers, 75 RBI’s, 40 steals and some great defense. That’s good enough for Joe Maddon, I’m sure.

Center Field: BJ Upton is one of the premier outfielders in the game today. However, he may not be ready for the start of the 2009 season. Upton had offseason shoulder surgery and has not yet participated in Spring Training as of this writing. Last year, Upton struggled with the power numbers, hitting just nine homers, down from 24 in ’08. He did steal 44 bases and although the homers were low, he still hit 37 doubles, meaning he has some pop. He might feel the heat to get back soon, because his backup, Fernando Perez, dislocated his wrist and his out three months. There is a hole in center right now, and it may not be filled for a while in Tampa.

Right Field: Right field has always been up for grabs with the Rays, but they are hoping that will change in 2009 after the acquisition of Matt Joyce. Last season, the Rays had five players start 8 or more games in right field, not exactly a consistent earmark. Joyce comes over from Detroit in a deal for starter Edwin Jackson, and with him comes a lot of promise. However, he will be feeling the heat from incumbent Gabe Gross, newcomer Gabe Kapler, and backup Justin Ruggiano. When you have two Gabe’s on the roster, you’d better look out. Joyce has a battle ahead, but the 24-year old is definitely an up and comer.

A look at the pitching:

Starters: Wow. Where can you start with this Rays pitching staff that became one of the best in all of baseball. It was all about consistency in ’08 with the Rays staff, as all five starters has between 11 and 14 wins on the season and all had ERA’s between 3.50 and 4.50. They have since dealt Edwin Jackson, but that’s ok with them, they have one of the best young pitchers in the world waiting in the wings in David Price.

Price is the prize of the Rays organization, and he showed why down the stretch last year by joining the Rays on their run to the World Series. The lefty pitched only 14 regular season innings, but stuck around long enough to appear in five playoff games, including the game seven closeout win over Boston in the ALCS. So much promise follows Price, but when will they unleash him? We may see Jason Hammel in the meantime as the Rays may try to protect the fabulous arm of David Price.

The rest of the staff is the same, and damn good. James Shields became one of the best pitchers in the American League, winning 14 games and becoming the staff ace. He’s so good, he may be even better in 2009. Scott Kazmir is an incredible talent as well, but did not finish well in ’08. His final game, a World Series loss to the Phillies in the Game 5 clincher, Kazmir went just four innings. He has 20-win potential, and is still just 25. Scary indeed.

Matt Garza and Andy Sonnanstine round out the rotation, and both had fine seasons last year as well. Garza was brought over in a deal for Delmon Young from the Twins and flourished in his first season with Tampa. He won 11 games and had an ERA under four in 184 innings. Garza’s 1.24 whip placed him in the Top-15 in the AL. Sonnanstine went 13-9, walked just 37 batters in nearly 200 innings, and basically kept the team in it every time out. You can’t expect any more from a 4th or 5th starter.

Bullpen: Perhaps the biggest reason the Rays defied the odds and streaked to the AL Pennant was the work of their bullpen. Overall, their ERA as a ‘pen was 3.55, third best in the American League. The relievers also won them 31 games and combined for 52 saves. It just goes to show you how important it is to have a strong bullpen. The Rays rode these guys to the very end, and most of the crew will be back this year.

Troy Percival is the elder statesman and though he is up there in age and tends to break down, he still gives them the veteran presence this team needs. Grant Balfour throws heat, J.P Howell is the lefty, Dan Wheeler is another of the glue guys, and now they are joined by Brian Shouse (2.81 ERA with Milwaukee) and Jason Isringhausen (293 career saves). They are loaded once again, so look for a similar season out of this cast of characters.

Prediction:

No one, and I mean no one, saw this coming from the Tampa Bay Rays. They won 97 regular season games, plus eight more in the playoffs for 105 total. That’s an outrageous number for a team that had never won more than 70 in a season.

Expect a small step backwards, only because the Yankees and Red Sox are a little bit better. However, don’t sleep on these guys again, because the young talent is in place, and they can actually get better if and when David Price steps in. Evan Longoria will get a full season to show off his skills and the all-important pitching staff is a year older. I foresee 89 wins from the Rays in 2009, which may or may not be good enough for a playoff berth. The Rays, Yanks, and Sox will all beat up on each other, but who will come away with more victories? Too close to say, but the AL East is fun again.

Patrick Gallen is the Philadelphia Phillies Examiner for examiner.com.  He also hosts his own internet radio show, “Basketball Roundup” on the Sports Journey Broadcast Network. The show airs Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 10am-12pm est.

RBI Magazine To Preview All Teams For 2009 Season

Welcome to RBI Magazine’s first annual Season Preview Edition. Over the next two weeks RBI Magazine will focus on previewing each individual team for the upcoming 2009 Season.

The previews will include; Key Additions, Key Subtractions, and in-depth looks at the lineup and pitching rotations.  We will also be including a season outlook along with predictions of what we expect from each organization.

Please feel free to comment and share these fantastic articles written by our finest authors at RBI Magazine. As each preview is posted, a link will be provided below. You will also be able to view each preview from our homepage.

Atlanta Braves Season Preview

Seattle Mariners Season Preview

Oakland A’s Season Preview

The REAL Reason Your Team Is Not Shopping This Offseason

Wondering why your team is not making a mad last ditch run to shore up a needed position on your team via free agency? Well, the economy is the overwhelming issue at hand, but that is not the only reason.

First we’ll examine the overall economic factors. Just look at the current free agent class, (most) teams are just not as willing to shell out big money and especially not big contracts for fear of how the economy will affect their market. The fact that Manny has not yet signed is a big testament to that, as well as the many free agents like Derek Lowe, Francisco Rodriquez (K-Rod), or Pat Burrell who all had to sign well below what they might have before the recession.

But the REAL reason, for the time being, is arbitration. Most teams have many arbitration hearings, or contracts, to work out as we approach spring training. This means that as team budgets shrink the potential money that will have to be paid via arbitration hearings or contracts will have a greater impact. Sure, typically 20 million dollars in payroll at this time of year wouldn’t be as big a deal. But with the economic uncertainty that teams are facing in their respective markets the money that teams might have to pay out in the coming weeks has become a bigger issue.

No one is really saying this of course, teams want to downplay the economy at some times and rightfully so. But I guarantee you that teams are waiting to find out what budget they will have left to work with before they start to go after big free agents before spring training. It makes sense, I mean let’s all find out what we will owe our current employees before we go out and hire any new ones.

Most teams have many arbitration hearings to go through. Shoring up young talented players like Andre Ethier, Russel Martin, or Cole Hamels is definitely a priority for teams. Especially since most teams are getting a great deal for these players. And most teams have more arbitration eligible players than not. Now I understand that not all arbitration eligible players make it to an arbitration hearing. Clubs try to do all that they can to avoid this and you can see this by a flurry of smaller contracts being worked out right now in order to avoid arbitration.

After all of these contracts get worked out you will start to see teams get more aggressive with their signings, albeit at the 11th hour. I’ll bet that we see a Manny deal after the Dodgers have finished dealing with all of their arbitration eligible players that they have left. And after Manny goes, so will Dunn, Abreu, and others. The same will go for pitching; clubs will make stronger offers to pitchers like Oliver Perez, Ben Sheets, Randy Wolf, and Jon Garland after they finish hammering out salaries for their existing staff.

I’m not sure why this is being treated like such a white elephant and I am also not aware of anyone else that has pointed this out. It seems pretty clear that clubs are holding back on contracts for good reasons.  Other than the overall economic situations, which are all relevant to each team’s specific market, currently it is the uncertainty over what clubs will have to pay via arbitration or new contracts for arbitration eligible players.

Phillies Sink Cole Hamels To Three Year Deal

The Phillies left-handed ace has signed a three year extension worth $20.5 million according to various MLB sources this morning. According to the New York Post, Hamels will receive $4.35 million in 2009, $6.65 million in 2010 and $9.5 million in 2011. If Hamels is able to win the Cy Young Award, the pitcher can expect his to rise  in 2010 and/or 2011, by approximately 500,000 the following season.

Cole Hamels who is only 24 years old, led the “Fightin Phils” rotation and went 14-10 with a 3.39 ERA during the Phillies Championship season. In Hamels’ three year career with the Phillies he has recorded over 518 total strikeouts and averages a 3.43 ERA with a total of 543 innings pitched.

Hamels was a major key in the Phillies success last season winning 5 games for the Phillies in the postseason and recording a win in his only start against the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2008 World Series.

Tampa Bay Rays Well Equipped For 2009 Season

The Tampa Bay Rays were stellar during last season’s playoff run and they have been nothing short of fabulous this offseason. RBI Magazine has learned from various news sources that last year’s American League Champions have agreed to terms with relief pitchers Grant Balfour and right-hander Lance Cormier. Cormier who played with the Orioles in 2008 was never offered a contract after becoming a free agent. The Rays signed Cormier for a one year term that appears to be in the $675K range. Grant Balfour accepted a one year offer as well, worth $1.4MM.

On January 5th, 2009 the Rays acquired Pat “the bat” Burrell from the world champion Phillies. On Tuesday the Rays added Gabe Kapler in an attempt to bolster their right-handed hitting depth.

With the addition of a few key players both on the offensive and defensive side of the ball, RBI Magazine was wondering just how good was the Rays lineup becoming. We found exactly what we needed over at RaysIndex.com! If the season was to start today this is what the guys over at RaysIndex.com have projected as the starting lineup/rotation;

2B Akinori Iwamura
LF Carl Crawford
CF B.J. Upton
1B Carlos Pena
3B Evan Longoria
DH Pat Burrell
RF Gabe Gross
C Dioner Navarro
SS Jason Bartlett

Working the pine but seeing the field on a regular basis is projected to be; Gabe Kapler, Willy Aybar, Ben Zobrist, and Shawn Riggans. RaysIndex.com says Gabe Kapler will start against lefties in right field. Willy Aybar and Ben Zobrist figure to see plenty of playing time at various positions.

The starting rotation seems to be becoming more potent than ever including starting pitchers James Shields, Scott Kazmir, Matt Garza, and Andy Sonnanstine. The Rays closers include; Grant Balfour, JP Howell, Chad Bradford, Joe Nelson, and Lance Cormier.

One thing is for sure, the Rays have plenty of solid options in the bullpen and in the outfield. The team’s greatest challenge will will be trying to figure out who will play where. With that being said, the Rays are already well equipped for the 2009 season and I am sure they are ready to slap a sting on Philly during the first week of the 2009 season.

***April Games To Watch

4/3/2009 Tampa Bay@ Philadelphia – Opening Day Preseason at Citizen’s Bank Park (RBI Magazine will be in attendance)….
4/6/2009 Tampa Bay@ Boston – Opening Day at Fenway Park
4/13/2009 Tampa Bay vs. New York Yankees – Home Opener at Tropicana Field

These fantasic pictures have been released under the Creative Commons license by Keith Allison of Flicker.

Pat Burrell Takes $16MM From Rays

Pat “the bat” Burrell has officially left the World Champion Philadelphia Phillies and has successfully negotiated a two-year deal worth $16MM with last year’s runner-up, the Tampa Bay Rays.

Burrell who is 32 years old, batted .250 for the World Champion Phillies last season, and tallied 33 homeruns and 86 total RBIs overall in 2008. Burrell has never played for another team except the Phillies in his 9-year career until now.

**Correction: As previously reported: Pat Burrell never did receive a formal offer from the Phillies worth $22MM. The information about the offer was based on a report written by a Philadelphia News Source. A person who remains anonymous contacted RBI Magazine stating the following; “I work for the phillies organization. Pat Burrell was not offered any sort of formal contract. He and the phillies never formally spoke about a new contract.”

Also, MLBTR also confirmed the rumor was started by sloppy reporting from a highly credible Philadelphia News Source that will remain nameless.

Anyway…

How do the Rays benefit from all of this? How about a 3-4-5 consisting of Evan Longoria, Carlos Pena, and Pat Burrell possibly being part of the best offensive line-up in baseball. Don’t you think?

Overall, good move by the Rays! A move that may just sting the Phillies in the “tush” come next season.

Rays Close In On Deal With Pat Burrell

According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, the Tampa Bay Rays and outfielder Pat Burrell are getting closer and closer to reaching a deal possibly worth two years and $16MM.

Burrell who is 32 years old, batted .250 for the World Champion Phillies last season, and tallied 33 homeruns and 86 total RBIs overall in 2008. Burrell has never played for another team except the Phillies in his 9-year career.

If Burrell does eventually reach a deal with the Rays, he will be accompanied in the outfield by players such as Carl Crawford and B.J. Upton. The Rays may also use Burrell at the DH position.

As a Phillies fan, it will be sad to see him leave..and life goes on.

Five Teams Interested In Ken Griffey Jr.

Five teams are reportedly interested in one of the most forgotten free-agents this offseason-Ken Griffey Jr. Griffey who just turned 39 years old, batted an uncharacteristic .249 last season.

His low performance last year has been attributed to a knee problem that was caused when Griffey fell over a shoe enclosure in the Red’s clubhouse at the beginning of 2008.

According to SI.com and Griffey’s agent, three American League teams and two National League teams may be interested in the outfielder’s services. Two of the American League teams include the Tampa Bay Rays and the Seattle Mariners for sure. The other three teams have not been mentioned as of today.

Griffey is expected to settle for a short duration contract possibly one to two years max. The future hall of famer is considered to be a possible fit for team looking to fill the DH position if the current outfield is already occupied.

More to follow on “the Griftster”…

Philadelphia Redemption! Phillies Win The 2008 World Series

[RBI Magazine-Philadelphia, PA] – In 1993, The City of Brotherly love was brought to its knees as Joe Carter of the Toronto Blue Jays connected with a Mitch Williams fastball producing a walk-off homerun for the ‘Jays in the bottom of the ninth winning the ‘93 World Series for Toronto. In 1993, I was 7 years old and followed everything that had to do with every second of the Phillies World Series run. I remember that night in ‘93 as one of the worst sports moments I have ever experienced as a Philadelphia baseball fan. Tonight, October 29, 2008 after 15 years, I can finally retire those memories forever and celebrate a Phillies World Series victory for a lifetime.

The 2008 World Series was unlike any other previous Fall Classic. Records were shattered, history was made, and the weather in Philadelphia seemed to steal the show at the end of October drenching game 5 under torrential rain. The anticipation of 24 year-old Cole Hammels taking the mound on Monday night was indescribable. Phillies fans from all over the country expected nothing short of a World Championship as Hammels proved himself to be untouchable during the 2008 post season.

Hammels allowed only 2 runs through 5 innings while the Phillies offense evened the scale on the offensive end. The Phillies offense struck first in the bottom of the 1^st when Shane Victorino singled on a line drive to left field scoring Jason Werth and Chase Utley. The Rays however answered Victorino in the top of the 4^th when Evan Longoria singled to center field scoring Carlos Pena to cut the Phillies lead down to 1.

As the wind speeds increased on this chilly Monday in late October the rain began to beat down on the pulsating stadium also known as Citizen’s Bank Park. In the top of the 6^th the Rays B.J. Upton chopped the ball hard into the ground and beat out the throw from short-stop Jimmy Rollins. With Carlos Pena at the plate, Upton stole an ever so slushy second base. Carlos Pena delivered the critical last run of the night for the Rays hitting a line drive down the left field line scoring Upton to tie the game at 2. Evan Longoria then flied out to end the inning.

My high school baseball coach always proclaimed that “If the cap drips, we will come back and play tomorrow”. Unfortunately, for the Phillies this theory was not implemented by MLB commissioner Bud Selig Monday night. Instead play continued until the Tampa Bay Rays tied the game in the top of the 6^th. For the first time in MLB Playoff history the World Series was delayed and suspended not one day but two days as a persistent Nor’Easter continued to pound Philadelphia and the East Coast.

Series Time line

Game 1: Cole Hammels brought everything and more to the mound for the Phillies in game 1 of this year’s Fall Classic. Hammels worked through 26 batters striking out 5 and allowing only 2 runs to win his fourth post season game. Chase Utley became the 34th player in MLB history to homer during his first World Series at bat, while Cole Hammels has  become one of the only 10 pitchers in history to win four postseason games in a single year. In the bottom of the 5th Rays Jason Bartlett stole second awarding America with a free Taco!!!

Game 2: Philadelphia could not score with runners in scoring position-period!  James “Big Game” Shields owned up to his nickname holding the Phillies scoreless through  5 1/3 -innings leading his team to a 4-2 victory to even the series at 1 game. Pena, Longoria, Upton and Bartlett each had key hits all picking up RBIs.

Game 3: The start of Game 3 was delayed by rain that soaked much of Philadelphia’s Citizen’s Bank Park most of the day. When play began non-stop action took place all the way until the end. With the game knotted at 4 in the bottom of the ninth, Carlos Ruiz dribble the first walk-off hit in World Series history allowing Eric Bruntlett to cross the plate at 1:47 a.m. The almost 2 o’clock ending of Game 3 was the latest a World Series game has ever gone.

Game 4: In Game 4 the Phillies blew the Rays clear out of the ocean. Ryan Howard had an exceptional night at the plate producing two homeruns and 5 RBIs. The pitcher Joe Blanton also added his contribution at the plate smacking his first ever homerun off of Edwin Jackson. Blanton was the first pitcher to hit a homerun in the Fall Classic since 1974.

Game 5 (after 5.5 innings): Once again history was made in 2008, after 5.5 innings Bud Selig and Major League Baseball decided to suspend game 5 after torrential down pours made playing conditions unbearable. The Rays just tied the game in the top of the sixth when B.J. Upton dribbled an infield single to shortstop Jimmy Rollins. Upton hydroplaned into second base stealing his way into scoring position. Carlos Pena drove Upton home from second tying the game at 2. Hammels jammed Longoria as he flew out to center fielder Shane Victorino.

After what seemed to be the longest 46 hours ever for Philadelphia baseball fans finally did pay off. Play resumed Wednesday night and the Phillies offense continued in stride with a lead-off double by Geoff Jenkins. Jimmy Rollins laid down a perfect bunt advancing Jenkins to 3^rd base with one out. Jason Werth connected underneath the very next pitch from J.P Howell slicing a single into shallow center just over the head of second baseman B.J. Upton. Jenkins scored giving the Phillies the lead 3-2 in the bottom of the 6th.

Despite a Rocco Baldelli solo homerun that tied the game 3-3 in the top of the 7th, the Phillies Pat Burrell led of the bottom of the 7th with a double off the wall in left-center. After Shane Victorino advance Bruntlett to third (pinch runner) Pedro Feliz delivered a base hit up the middle scoring Bruntlett and the Phillies took the lead for the third time in the ball game.

Carl Crawford, B.J. Upton, and Carlos Pena started the eight for the Rays, with Crawford belting a single into center field. However a 6-4-3 double play and a routine fly ball to Phillies left-fielder Pat Burrell took care of the threat from the Rays offensive trifecta. The Phillies now stood three outs away from a World Championship with “Lights Out” Brad Lidge due to close out the series in the ninth.

Longoria, Navarro, and Baldelli had nothing going against Lidge and for the first time in 25 years a Philadelphia Sports team has won a world Championship and the “Curse of William Penn” has been broken forever!

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