All playeers wore No. 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson.
The GBT - The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.
Blue Jays, RAYS 7 (boxscore)
THE GOOD: Mikie Mahtook picked up his first big league hit and it was a home run. When he got back to the dugout, he got the silent treatment.
THE TELLING: No stolen bases on Wednesday, but the Rays already have 10 in 9 games, 3rd among all MLB teams. The Rays didn’t reach 10 steals last year until game 30 on May 2…Steven Souza’s 463-foot home run on Tuesday was the longest by the Rays since Carlos Pena in 2009…Players coming off the bench are now 13-30 (.433) with 10 RBI. Starters are 56-267 (.210) with 30 RBI…Drew Smyly has looked good in 2 rehab starts with Charlotte. His 3rd of 4 rehab starts is expected to come Sunday…Jake McGee threw batting practice on Tuesday and is expected to make an extended spring training start on Monday…Alex Colome will make his 2nd rehab appearance today for Charlotte…Alex Cobb is still just “playing catch” and Nick Franklin is not ready to start a rehab stint according to Marc Topkin.
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Chris Archer, who is yet to exceed 85 pitches, wants to throw 120 every night. [TBO.com]
- Man, the bull in Durham used to be huge. [WDBB]
- Even a journeyman middle-reliever can make a ton of money playing Major League Baseball. [BI Sports]
- DOWN ON THE FARM [boxscores] Everett Teaford gave up 7 runs (6 earned) in 4 innings in Durham’s 8-0 loss. Ryan Brett went 1-4 and Hak-Ju Lee went 0-3…Jaime Shultz struck out 7, walked 4, and allowed 1 run in 4 innings in Montgomery’s 3-2 loss. Daniel Robertson went 1-4 with a strikeout. Richie Shaffer was 0-4 with 2 Ks. Justin O’Conner hit his 2nd home run of the season…Brent Honeywell struck out 9 and walked 3 over 6 innings in Bowling Green’s 4-0 win. He allowed 3 runs (1 earned). Casey Gillaspie went 0-4 and Justin Williams was 0-3 with a walk.
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12 Comments
Thanks for the update on Jake McGee does his "start" on Monday April 20th have him back the last week in April? Colome back by April 26th and Smiley by April 29th
Those dates sound about right (give or take a start).
The worrisome thing is just how slowly things are progressing with Cobb-er.
I know it's a temporary stop gap, but Erasmo has got to go! Anyone has to be better at this point. No way he starts again (please!).
Crazy to me that Colome has been out this long due mostly from pneumonia waaaaay back in the middle of training.
Those reports on Cobb are beginning to be alarming. Forearm tightness is sometimes a nice way of saying bad elbow ligament (I think because the pain radiates down the forearm).
Despite the lengthy DL, no clear 4/5 starter (ditto on Erasmo), Longo's woes at the plate, and Cash's inexperience the Rays have a shot at 2+ games above water. Gotta like that. AL east schedule is quirky for the first 25+ games. I'd be real happy with + one or two at that point. Question: Who's aligning the INF positioning? Seems excessive and overly Madometric.
Apparently there is a whole staff of Saber-nerds that compile massive data folders in relationship to every player in the league vs every possible pitcher in the league. They then present the data to the staff who applies the proper filters (i.e. batter v pitcher, flyable rate, etc), and... voila! quirky shifts.
...and a ballplayer like Millar bats+ .330 vs lifetime defense straight up. Shifting on Joey Bats, Pujols and the like has merit but the Rays are getting burned on the early defensive alignments overall. Just sayin'.
I don't disagree, I'm just reminding you that it's all very scientific.
It has been a clear winter of hitter adjustments to shifts writ large. Seeing it all around the league -- guys are poking balls into shift holes to combat the shift early in the season. Hopefully the Rays Nerd Command can identify who is adapting to the shift and who isn't (and also use some judgment in game situation as when to shift, so we don't see the De Aza shift again up 2-0 in the 9th). But Rays have been hurt quite a bit on balls that look like outs off the bat but are finding the shifted holes.
What is an "extended spring training start" and how does it differ from a rehab start? Thanks to anyone who knows.
Thanks. I actually meant to explain that. Extended spring training is mostly minor leaguers who are not on one of the 4 top minor league teams. They get to hang around in port charlotte to either rehab or wait for one of the short-season teams to start in June (Hudson Valley and Princeton) and they play games during that time.
Thank you for the explanation, Cork. Over here in Lakeland where the Tigers do spring training, there are six additional fields. I have seen uniformed players engaged in competition on some of those fields without any fans. I assumed it was training for some very low level professional players.