Jason Hammel's Mediocre Day, Troy Percival Remains Perfect.

by Tommy Rancel on Mar 18, 2009 4:09 PM EDT

The Rays showed their hand a bit in their pitching schedule this week. Jason Hammel took the fifth spot amongst the regular four starters with Jeff Niemann working out of the bullpen. This leads many to believe that he is the favorite for the job; however he didn't really help his cause today. Hammel started the game by walking Willy Tavares which is never a good sign. He gave up three runs in the first two innings including a home run to Edwin Encarnacion. The good news is he seemed to settle down after that and worked two scoreless innings to finish out his day.

Tampa Bay	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Hammel	4.0	5	3	3	1	1	1	3.94

Overall, Hammel now has 16 innings pitched and has still displayed good control. He has 12 strikeouts and just three walks. On the flip side he has give up 17 hits in those 16 innings. This is why it's hard to base this competition strictly on numbers. The key for Hammel is strike throwing and it seems at the very least he's improved in that category.

Ho-hum, another perfect inning for Troy Percival. Percival has retired all nine of his hitters this spring and according to some reports has hit 93 on the radar gun. This is good news for the Rays, who are stuck with Percy and his $4 million dollar salary regardless.

I really have to try to temper my excitement because of the date on the calendar, but I'm having a hard time doing so when it comes it Reid Brignac. The Cajun God of Baseball(or reasoned argument around here) hit another home-run today, his third of the spring. Overall, his spring numbers are about as impressive as his 2008 numbers, but the fact that his bat is showing signs of life is very encouraging to me.

In more encouraging news, both Dan Wheeler and Joe Nelson worked perfect innings. This means they did not allow a hit, walk or more importantly a HOME RUN. Nelson even recorded a strike out. Processes and results, processes and results. Showing more of those results was Grant Balfour. Balfour has been working on a hard curveball or a slider or a slurve; basically a pitch that bends this spring. Today, he, like Nelson, Percival and Wheeler, worked a perfect inning and got two punchouts. One of the STFD victims was Jonny Gomes. Lance Cormier pitched a scoreless 9th inning, but gave up a hit thus ending the bullpens perfect day.

In the minor league game, Matt Joyce went 1-2 with a walk. He played three innings in the outfield. No word on how many innings B.J. Upton played.

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Comments

no Hammell PLEASE!!!

was this ever an open competition? if so, it’s been rigged! Niemann has won this job OUTRIGHT, hands down, unequivocally! what the hell is going on? Hammell has been nothing but MEDIOCRE, at best, this is a 5ERA waiting to happen…

by davidsmarch on Mar 18, 2009 5:11 PM EDT reply actions

calm down

by daveh33 on Mar 18, 2009 5:28 PM EDT up reply actions

i am calm,

is that all?

by davidsmarch on Mar 18, 2009 5:34 PM EDT up reply actions

he's gonna be ok.

he’s just here to make sure Price is his awesome-est for us

by daveh33 on Mar 18, 2009 5:39 PM EDT up reply actions

Agreed

At this point, I’d like to see Niemann starting. I think Niemann could make a fantastic reliever someday, but the odds are pretty good that whoever starts the year as the #5 starter will get close to a full season’s worth of starts anyway, between Price’s timetable and a solid likelihood of about 15 – 20 starter games missed with injuries of one variety or another.

Vogt early, Vogt often.

by Brickhaus on Mar 18, 2009 5:39 PM EDT up reply actions

Am i a bad fan because i am rooting for Hammell to not excel because i don't want him to get the 5th starter role?

by walkoffwalk on Mar 18, 2009 5:35 PM EDT reply actions

yes.

if he excels we’ll get better value in trade

by daveh33 on Mar 18, 2009 5:40 PM EDT up reply actions

We're not getting anything for him in a trade whether he sucks or he kicks ass

Vogt early, Vogt often.

by Brickhaus on Mar 18, 2009 8:00 PM EDT up reply actions

huh?

by daveh33 on Mar 18, 2009 8:02 PM EDT up reply actions

The most the Rays can get for him is cash, maybe someone who at best, has potential warming benches in the majors.

There is no stud prospect to be had for Hammel, he just doesn’t have any track record of success.

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by kericr on Mar 19, 2009 2:10 AM EDT up reply actions

Pretty much

Even if he has a good half season, then best we’d get for him is a C prospect. In other words, his trade value is irrelevant. There are better pitchers available on the waiver wire, and he’s out of options – nobody’s going to give up anything of value to get him.

Vogt early, Vogt often.

by Brickhaus on Mar 19, 2009 12:23 PM EDT up reply actions

Manager Joe Maddon said CF B.J. Upton came out of his minor league game well today, with him playing in the outfield and making one play.

"He came through it well," Maddon said. "He felt good – no problems."

Maddon said Upton will play in a minor league game again Thursday, where he’s expected to face live pitching for the first time since his offseason left shoulder surgery.

Upton, recovering from offseason left shoulder surgery, has taken batting practice with the team (like he did Wednesday) and tracked live pitching at the minor league field, but Thursday would mark his first regular at-bat in a game setting (albeit at the minor league level) since the procedure.

I can’t wait to see how he does in those AB’s, the most action he has seen at the plate since the WS is batting practice.

Evan Longoria and David Price - the fight for my heart

by joeybw on Mar 18, 2009 7:12 PM EDT reply actions