Tampa Bay Devil Rays
2004 Record: 70-91 (.435)
2004 Pythagorean Record: 68-93 (.422)
Manager: Lou Piniella
General Manager: Chuck LaMar
Ballpark (2004 park factors): Tropicana Field (96/96)
Who’s replacing whom?
Travis Lee replaces Tino Martinez
Josh Phelps replaces Jose Cruz Jr.
Jorge Cantu inherits playing time from Rey Sanchez
Alex S. Gonzalez replaces Geoff Blum
Nick Green replaces B.J. Upton (minors)
Alex Sanchez replaces half a season of Rocco Baldelli
Eduardo Perez inherits playing time from Robert Fick
Charles Johnson replaces Brook Fordyce
Chris Singleton replaces Damian Rolls
Scott Kazmir inherits Victor Zambrano’s starts
Hideo Nomo replaces John Halama
Seth McClung replaces Jorge Sosa
Casey Fossum replaces Jeremy Gonzalez, Paul Abbott and Chad Gaudin
Current Roster:
1B – Travis Lee
2B – Jorge Cantu
SS – Julio Lugo
3B – Alex S. Gonzalez
C – Toby Hall
RF – Aubrey Huff
CF – Alex Sanchez
LF – Carl Crawford
DH – Josh Phelps
Bench:
R – Eduardo Perez (corners)
R – Nick Green (IF)
R – Charles Johnson (C)
L – Chris Singleton (OF)
Rotation:
R – Dewon Brazelton
L – Scott Kazmir
R – Rob Bell
L – Mark Hendrickson
R – Hideo Nomo
Bullpen:
R – Danys Baez
R – Lance Carter
R – Travis Harper
L – Trever Miller
L – Casey Fossom
R – Seth McClung
R – Doug Waechter
DL:
R – Rocco Baldelli (OF)
R – Jesus Colome
R – Kevin Cash (C)
R – Franklin Nunez
Typical Line-up
L – Carl Crawford (LF)
R – Julio Lugo (SS)
L – Alex Sanchez (CF)
L – Aubrey Huff (RF)
R – Josh Phelps (DH)
L – Travis Lee (1B)
R – Jorge Cantu (2B)
R – Toby Hall (C)
R – Alex Gonzalez (3B)
[commentary to come]
1. Tampa's AAA team, the Durham Bulls, seem to be pretty good this year, they're picked to win the South division (out of 4 teams) and have done well the last couple of years. So there is help down on the farm for Sweet Lou.
2. A-Rod homers with a man on! Now if he can only do this against the Red Sox...
3. Yup, looks like it's an "everyone gets a hit" inning.
4. Is King George the Motivator in the stadium? God, I'd love to see the look on his face right now. I'm sure he's thinking inside that he's responsible for all of this.
5. 17 batters? 13 runs? 1 inning? it's like slow-pitch out there (minus the mercy rule). i would feel bad for the d-rays, if i wasn't feeling so bad for the yankees: who apparently had the suck scared out of them by steinbrenner.
6. Wright implodes. And here I thought I'd take a good feeling out of this game...
7. Wright comes back for the 6th. Run for cover.
8. Man, I'm really enjoying the Michael Kay-free commentary tonight.
I think it comes down to the fact that I'd rather watch a ballgame with a bunch of retired ballplayers loosely reminiscing and giving insider insights than with a pinstripe-blinded wordsmith getting over-excited about pop-outs to short.
Plus, Kitty, Ken and Justice all belong to that species of player who had national recognition and long, above-average careers but aren't really HOF material. They have lots of good fodder but don't carry the superstar egos.
Jeez, could I gush any more about these guys?
9. OK - it's great that our offense more or less has woken up, but what is going on with the pitching?!? Yikes. They shouldn't be giving up 8 runs to Tampa Bay, but then again, we are sharing last place with them currently.
10. With Sturtze on the DL and Gordon struggling, maybe guys like Frod and Karsay can get into the BP rotation a bit.
Jason Giambi currently has an OPS (as near as I can figure) of 967. I'd be willing to be cash money he doesn't bat higher than 6th until at least May.
11. Great offense production today. I was thrilled by A-Rod's performance. I actually quite like this line up with Bernie hitting 2nd and A-Rod 5th. Takes some of the deadweight from the bottom of the line up. If only they could play the D'Rays 50 times a year.
Wright == Arrggh. I'm blaming him being hit hard in the foot.
markp: I don't care what Giambi's OPS is at the moment, until he looks like at minimum like a decent major leaguer, he shouldn't hit higher than 6th.
12. Tomorrow Randy Johnson vs. Hideo Nomo.
If you're a D-Rays fan, I would seek shelter.
13. Don,
You're not gushing - Kitty, Kenny, and Justice were that good. I mean it - they really enhanced the game for me. Or maybe it was A-Rod going 5 for 6. Either way, a Kay-free night is always a good night.
I like Pauly-O, too, whenever he gets the occasional start in the booth. He does have the habit of going mute for three innings at a time, though.