| Final - 7.31.2010 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
New York Yankees
|
0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0 |
|
Tampa Bay Rays
|
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 0 |
|
WP:
David Robertson
(2 - 3)
SV: Mariano Rivera (22) LP: Rafael Soriano (2 - 1) |
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Maddon: Jeremy Hellickson to Start for Rays on Monday
by Steve Slowinski on Jul 31, 2010 10:50 PM EDT
11 comments
Christmas has come early. Jeremy Hellickson, the Rays' top pitching prospect, is going to be called up Monday to start versus the Twins. According to Joe Maddon, everyone in the rotation will be moved back a spot and a corresponding roster move will be made Monday to make room for him. He won't be joining the rotation full-time; this is merely a one-time start. Will he then stay in the majors but slide to the bullpen? My guess is yes, but that depends on how comfortable the Rays are with Hellickson's current development.
Also, Maddon hinted that the Rays may make a roster move tomorrow (Dan Johnson?) depending on Ben Zobrist (sore back) and Carlos Pena (foot pain).
Who needs a trade when you can have this?
7/31/10 GDT: New York Yankees @ Tampa Bay Rays
by Steve Slowinski on Jul 31, 2010 6:15 PM EDT
800 comments
Current Series
Rays lead the series 1-0
| Fri 07/30 | WP: Wade Davis (9 - 9) SV: Rafael Soriano LP: Phil Hughes (12 - 4) |
3 - 2 win |
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New York Yankees Saturday, Jul 31, 2010, 7:10 PM EDT . Game time temperature around .
|
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| Sun 08/01 | 1:40 PM EDT | |
What a day. Wow.
For the record, Chad Qualls is in Tampa already and should be available for the game.
Trade Deadline Wrap-Up: Rays Acquire Chad Qualls & (Seemingly) No One Else
by Steve Slowinski on Jul 31, 2010 5:32 PM EDT
18 comments
I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't disappointed. While something could still come through, for all intents and purposes it seems as though the Rays didn't make another trade. The rumors were flying hard and fast and it looked as thought the Rays were in the thick of things, inches away from a trade. Just like the last few years, though, the Rays talked to everyone, but didn't pull the trigger on a big trade. They acquired Chad Qualls (for more on him, check out here, here, and here), but they didn't get the big bat that we wanted for the middle of the line-up. Disappointed? Yeah, that's me.
At the same time, I'm trying to look on the bright side of things. And so, to try and keep myself thinking positive, here are some reasons I've brainstormed of why Rays' fans shouldn't be sad:
- As Matty Slow pointed out yesterday, the Rays don't need another bat to make the playoffs. We've got a significant lead on Boston as it is and our team is one of the best in the league; an extra bat would be insurance and would help in the playoffs, but we weren't in a "do or die" situation.
- Reid Brignac. Sean Rodriguez. John Jaso. Wade Davis. Matt Joyce. Desmond Jennings. Jeremy Hellickson. Nick Barnese. Alex Cobb. Jake McGee. Tim Beckham. Matt Moore. Alex Colome. Kyle Lobstein. Wilking Rodriguez. Aneury Rodriguez. We still have them. ALL of them!
- He's no Adam Dunn, but Dan Johnson and his 1.015 OPS is sitting and waiting in Durham. Just waiting. And at this point, there's no reason why he shouldn't be called up soon.
- If we still want another bullpen arm to supplant Cormier/Sonnanstine, we have Winston Abreu and his 1.80 FIP chillin' out in Durham. Oh, and that Jeremy Hellickson guy will probably come up at some point and bolster the bullpen a la David Price in 2008.
- The Yankees and Red Sox didn't add anyone big. Sure, the Yankees added some players to help their bench and bullpen, but Lance Berkman and Kerry Wood aren't the same players they were five years ago. We can still run with the Yanks in a short series. Oh, and Boston acquired a catcher (Jared Saltalamacchia), but it's not like they acquired Prince Fielder. They're no more of a threat than they were yesterday.
- The Rays possibly aren't done yet. Each of the last two years, the Rays have pulled off important deals after the July 31st trade deadline. They're masters of the waiver line, so I wouldn't be surprised if they're not done yet.
- We just beat the Yankees last night and it was friggin' awesome!
Trade Deadline Open Thread: Rays Linked to Manny Ramirez, Luke Scott, Adam Dunn
by Erik Hahmann on Jul 31, 2010 10:00 AM EDT
1102 comments
The Chad Qualls trade happened earlier than any of us were ready for.
This will serve as our thread for the rest of the day. The Slowinski brothers and myself will be posting trade rumors and any other updates that happen here throughout the day. Be sure to check back often for any news, and feel free to rosterbate in the comments.
Hopefully it's an exciting day.
***
For the final two hours we'll be posting all new updates here, at the top of the page. All rumors from this morning and the past few hours can be found after the jump.
2:00 pm: FINALLY! From Ed Price, "Source: #Rays and #Orioles in talks. Could involved Luke Scott, or a reliever (Ohman?)."
2:19 pm: From Joel Sherman; Rays have interest in Downs (Blue Jays), League (Mariners), but cost still high in relief market. Also, Jon Morosi reports that the Mariners are calling a Triple-A reliever to the majors. Unclear why at the moment.
2:42 pm: Per Ken Rosenthal, "Hearing #Rays, #Dodgers on League."
2:51 pm: Talk about buzzkill. Jayson Stark, "If #Mariners trade Brandon League, doesn't look as if it's to #Rays. Hearing Tampa Bay unlikely to make another deal today."
2:57 pm: From Tom Krasovic, "#Dodgers are making a push for Orioles OF Luke Scott. #Rays also in the mix." STAY AWAY FROM OUR PRECIOUS!
3:08 pm: From Tim Brown, "Luke Scott getting play. But, not from the Dodgers."
3:25 pm: Sounds like the Yankees may end up with Kerry Wood (per Buster Olney). Ugh. Why don't they just stop already?
Rays Acquire Chad Qualls From Diamondbacks for PTBNL; Grant Balfour to DL
by Steve Slowinski on Jul 31, 2010 8:55 AM EDT
68 comments
And no, we don't mean the Podcast. From MLB Trade Rumors:
The unloading of veteran Diamondbacks continues, as they've shipped reliever Chad Qualls to the Rays for a player to be named later. The Rays will pay the entire $1.48MM remaining on Qualls' contract, keeping interim GM Jerry Dipoto's streak alive of not sending cash in his transactions.
This seems about as official as official can get. We've covered Qualls here on DRB multiple times in the last month, including ranking him number six in our trade deadline wish list., and he'll definitely provide our bullpen with more depth. While his ERA looks ghastly (8.29), he's striking out eight batter per nine and walking only three and a half. His problem seems to stem from a .434 BABIP and a 51.4% left on base percentage, which could be a result of bad luck and/or grooving too many pitches. In the end, though, he's an extreme groundball pitcher (54.9% GB rate) and the Rays have one of the best infield defenses in the league. When he's at his best, Qualls is closer material, giving the Rays a potential steal of a trade. He should fit in nicely.
Even if Qualls doesn't immediately revert to his 2008-2009 self, the Rays only need him to be better than the last man in their bullpen: Andy Sonnanstine or Lance Cormier. One of them will need to go to make room for Qualls: either Cormier will need to be DFA'd or Andy optioned to the minors. Either way, it boosts the depth of the Rays' pen and provides us with that other bullpen arm we've been so dearly coveting.
UPDATE: From Marc Topkin, "Grant Balfour headed to the DL with a intercostal (rib) strain. That's how they'll make room for Qualls." Topkin also goes on to say that Balfour could miss 4-6 weeks, which would place his return around the middle of September.
Joyce, Davis Lead Rays Past Yankees 3-2
by Steve Slowinski on Jul 30, 2010 11:52 PM EDT
72 comments
As exciting and tense as that game just was, it was also incredibly straightforward. The Yankees scored their two runs on a "bloop and a blast" in the first inning - a single by Derek Jeter and a homerun by Nick Swisher - but were then held to just five baserunners for the rest of the night. The Rays, on the other hand, got two runners on in the sixth inning before Matt Joyce crushed a homerun into the rightfield stands, but only had three other baserunners the rest of the evening. There were no late-inning pinch hitters or dramatics, no quirky moves by Joe Maddon, no complicated plays to explain. It was a classic pitcher's duel, and a darn exciting one at that.
Wade Davis pitched one of this best games of the season - nay, his career - last night, holding the Yankees to only two runs for a full seven innings. He struck out six hitters, his most in a game in over a month, and he only walked three batters. Davis relied almost exclusively on his four-seam fastball, throwing it 74 times on the evening, but he also mixed in two dozen curveballs and a handful of sliders and two-seam fastballs. His curveballs were particluarly effective; they had a 12.5% whiff rate and some of them were quite nasty to watch. As much abuse as he gets around here sometimes, Davis has been very effective in his last four starts, letting up two runs or less in each start while lasting 7 innings, 8 innings, 6.1 innings, and 7 innings. A sign of better things to come? I hope so.
The real story of the night, though, was Matt Joyce.
by 
Series Preview: New York Yankees @ Tampa Bay Rays
by Steve Slowinski on Jul 30, 2010 4:30 PM EDT
68 comments
First two games are 7:10 PM start; Sunday's game is a 1:40 PM start.
Friday, July 30: Phil Hughes (4.00 FIP) vs. Wade Davis (5.33 FIP)
Saturday, July 31: Javier Vazquez (4.92 FIP) vs. Matt Garza (4.52 FIP)
Sunday, August 1: CC Sabathia (3.61 FIP) vs. James Shields (4.20 FIP)
This is huge. Enormous. I don't want to get hyperbolic when there's still 60 games left in the regular season, but this is about as important a series as you can have at this stage in the season. The Rays have been on fire recently - winning their last six games in a row - but the Yankees haven't been doing so bad themselves, winning seven of their last ten games to stay two games ahead of the Rays. The Rays need to win this series to make up ground in the division, but more importantly, they need to win so that they can keep Boston from getting any closer in the Wild Card race. Five and a half games is a nice cushion, but if the Rays get swept and Boston takes a few games from the Tigers, things can change in a hurry.
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Current Series
3 game series vs Yankees @ Tropicana Field
| Fri 07/30 |
WP: Wade Davis (9 - 9)
SV: Rafael Soriano LP: Phil Hughes (12 - 4) |
3 - 2 win |
| Sat 07/31 |
WP: David Robertson (2 - 3)
SV: Mariano Rivera LP: Rafael Soriano (2 - 1) |
4 - 5 loss |
|
New York Yankees
Sunday, Aug 1, 2010, 1:40 PM EDT . Game time temperature around . |
||
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