Rays Tank: Heading to KC

The Rays are headed to Kansas City for their reunion. Quotes from David DeJesus, Wil Myers, and Jake Odorizzi on going back to where they started. The Rays will thankfully be spared of facing James Shields on the mound.

Jason Hanselman broke down the PITCH f/x tendencies for the Rays starters the first time through the rotation.

R.J. Anderson gave this week's Baseball Prospectus Transaction Analysis roundup an excellent name. He's won the naming game in the past, but I want to make sure we're awarding credit accurately. Do Baseball Prospectus writers do their own headlines?

Also at B-Pro, the TTO Scoresheet Podcast's Episode 12 is titled Brandon "Sweet Talkin'" Guyer...

Vince Belnome wore google glass during batting practice last week, providing some cool video.

Jason Lukehart of Let's go Tribe went looking for some comparables with which to help project Danny Salazar. There'sa Scott Kazmir appearance.

Bryan Cole of Beyond the Box score investigated the claim that players who take the first strike do better in the at bat than players who swing and miss at the first pitch. The idea is that a batter can watch that pitch in, and get a feel for the pitcher's stuff. The idea is wrong. A strike is a strike.

David Laurila's roundup does not include the Rays, but there are some excellent quotes, including this one from J.A. Happ:

Does fear exist? It’s part of the game, whether it‘s fear of getting hurt or fear of giving up the big hit. Baseball humbles people. . .

Jeff Sullivan looks at the strike zones from a few umpires recently brought up for a cup of coffee from triple-A. Two were iffy, one was pretty good. If you're interested in learning how major league umpires are developed, I highly recommend Bruce Weber's book, As The See 'Em: A Fan's Travels in the Land of Umpires.