Results tagged ‘ Michel Hernandez ’
The biggest prize in baseball made a visit to City Hall in St. Petersburg, Florida today so that local fans can see and experience the sight of the Commissioner’s Trophy live and in person. The beautiful piece designed by Tiffaby & Company, went on display at 11 a.m. today for picture and posing from a short distance.
The only person who has touched the Trophy since it arrived was a DHL employee and St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker as they put ot on the podium today for the fans. It will only be on display today, but will probably make an appearance tonight at the Vinoy hotel as Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig will hold a World Series party near the pool deck tonight for MLB officials and local dignitaries.
When you first look at the trophy you are taken aback a bit by the sheer beauty of the member teams flags on the spool of gold plated flagpoles around the structure. Then you just dream of hoisting it up yourself and parading it around the Trop like a champagne bottle and taking in all the history around it.
I was lucky enough to see the Stanley Cup trophy after the Tampa Bay Lightning won it several years ago at a fundraiser this season. Just the thought of the stories that Cup could tell if it had a voice would have been worth a lifetime to me. And this trophy has just as many memories and stories. Hopefully someday someone will try and toss all those mystical tales together and issue a premiere coffee table book about the life of the award. Hmmmmm, I do have some free time on my hands?
I just got a text that the Rays World Series roster will probably stay the same except for 2 changes that are a being thrown up in the air right now. The Rays will stay with their infield and starter combos’ from the ALCS, but might insert Rays catcher Shawn Riggans into the 25-man roster.
Riggans is healed from a Bursa Sac incident where an infection took him out of the Rays plans for a bit near the end of the season. He has now healed, and if his jumping during the celebration is any indication, he is feeling fine enough to pop down behind the plate for the Rays.
Another decision being tossed around is the switching of outfielder Gabe Gross for Eric Hinske. Gross is a great defensive player for the Rays, but has hit a patch of unusual doubt and bad timing at the plate.
His defense is superior to Hinske’s, but Hinske does have magic in his bat this year for the Rays. Eric has also not been on the last 2 rosters for the Rays and might be due for a big series with the extra time to get into sync at the plate. I expect Hinske to get the nod more for the offensive power he can bring to the plate. We can always use Ben Zobrist or Fernando Perez in the late innings as a defensive replacement for Hinske.
The Rays are also doing some soul searching as to how to assign their starting rotation for the World Series. Do you start with Scott Kazmir, the longest running member of the rotation against Cole Hamels, or do you put James Shields up front with a possible Game 5 slate to start in the future in the series. Also in consideration is the way you are going to use number 4. Andy Sonnanstine.
Do you start Andy in Game1 and give the Philadelphia Phillies a one-time look at Sonnanstine, then put him in the Bullpen as a long reliever from that point on in the series. Or do you adjust the series with Kazmir starting Game 2 so the Bullpen can be totally at the mercy of the game, with an off day for travel on Friday.
Decision, decision, decisons……..I would put the rotation as, Kazmir, Shields, Garza Sonnanstine, then repeat the big 3 again until the 7th game if needed. But then again, I do not have the flowcharts and the graphs Rays Manager Joe Maddon has at his disposal for analysis.
Congradulations to Chris Westmoreland and the entire Clubhouse crew for again getting the Rays into another round of the 2008 Playoffs. The locker room scenes are incredible with the shower curtains and the protective gear keeping the lockers and the floors dry and without a huge amount of alcohol absorption.
I am just wondering if Westy has thought of auctioning off any of those partitions after the Playoffs for the Rays Foundation, or might be willing to part with a section for a personal collection. I know I would bid for one of those great curtains with the Rays logo and the blue background. Not for my shower, but might make a great window treatment or background on a wall in the Rays collection in my spare room………….Call me Westy, you have my card.
I am putting off my predictions and my profile on the series until tonight or tomorrow to get some more data and to think about this series for a bit. I am a bit perplexed by the Las Vegas odds-makers who have the Rays as the victor on the series, but the payout are a bit odd. Coming into the first game on Wed., the betting line is sitting so tha you would have to bet about $ 1.35 to win a $1 dollar on the Rays winning right now.
Considering the Rays were 200-to-1 odds of reaching the World Series in April, you might be thinking that the Vegas gamblers are trying to get some of their change back after taking bets on the Rays in April and noe haivng to break the bank to payout on the wager. I know I comtemplated putting some big money on the Rays in April, but decided we were a year away from anything big……… That is why I live in Clearwater and not in a house on Snell Isle or on the beaches’. I am not lucky when it come to financial decisions, and I hate the Hard Rock, but they love my money. lol
As you might expect from a team on a emotional high and induced with over 252 bottles of champagne, the Rays came out a bit flat on Sunday. Along with the huge amount of bubbly, they extimated to have gone through 24 case of beer and assorted beverages. Now I am not suggesting that the team was still on a bit of a next day fatigue situation, but they did kinda walk with a different swagger on Sunday.
I know I saw a few Rays out on the town having a great time. I viewed Scott Kazmir, B J Upton and Cliff Floyd at the Push nightclub in St. Petersburg having fun and living it up in the VIP area. None of the ball players was beyond the scope of reason, but Kazmir did have a look of euphroia on his face from his prediction coming true for the team. I know of another group that hit a few beach spots on St. Petersburg and St. Petersburg Beach, and then called it a night at someone’s home in St. Petersburg, but he asked me to keep this quiet.
I even got a present from a friend on the team and I made sure to get as many signatures as I could on the bottle. This is a special time for the Rays and their fanbase. I know a lot of the community was there Saturday afternoon, even if they did not have a ticket. I have had al least 30 people tell me they were there on Sat. that I know were not at the ballpark. No I did not have facial recognition systems around the stadium to record every face. You can just tell if someone was there by the way they described the celebration and the aftermath in the Brewhouse.
Well, it is Day 1 of post celebration with a mission of 8 more games until the Playoff begin for the Rays. Hopefully we can catch up to the L A Angels ans get the home field advantage throughout the entire playoff system. But then again, we have to win or have Boston lose a total of 7 to win our First pennant for the Trop’s back wall.
Rays Magical Number: 7
Rays starter Andy Sonnanstine probably was home asleep by 10 P.M. on Saturday night. He had the uncanny mission of pitching the first game since the Postseason celebration and probably did not know what kind of Rays team would show up for the contest. Andy pitched 6.2 innings of 7-hit, 4-run ball for the squad. It might not have been his best performance of the year, but his defense also was not up to their usual stingy self. Several errors or near errors kept the Rays in a hole for most of the game.
Sonnanstine came into the game hoping to pick up his 14th victory for the 6th time this season. He was also facing Minnesota for the first time today in his career. Sonnanstine comes into the game not allowing a single earned run in the last 16 innings of work. The Rays have gone 13-7 in his last 20 starts.
Coming into the game, the Rays had the third fewest errors of any team in the major leagues. It is becuase of this tough defense that the Rays have gotten into position to fight fo their first A L East crown. But on Sunday, the Rays defense was to the point of breaking several times in the contest. Rays Rookie Evan Longoria took the blunt of the scorer by being hit with 2 errors in the game, both on throws to first base.
But several times in the game, the Rays did not field the ball cleanly and could have been charged with as many as 3 more errors. Willy Aybar had a bad read and turn and throw to second base to Ben Zobrist that took him off the bag and provided the Twins with a runner in scoring position in the 4th inning.
It was also in the 4th inning where the Twins did all their damage on Sunday to defeat the Rays. Longoria committed his first error in the middle of the inning, and two runs crossed the plate on his throw to Dan Johnson that got away from him and down the line in rightfield.
Rocco Baldelli could have been charged with an error on his throw hom that sailed towards third and hit the Twins dugout railing to remain in play. Ben Zobrist also dropped a few balls in his glove that are normally sure things for him. All in all, the day was not a complete disaster for the Rays, but some defensive miscues did turn the corner for the Twins on their way to the victory.
Rays Rested the Weary
The Rays did not start many of their usual starters in this game today. This was not sitting down because of the celebration, but to give a few guys a day off going into a stretch where the Rays will be playing 8 games in 7 days this week. The upcoming double-header on Tuesday will be a long night for Maddon’s troops, so he decided to rest his starters today before leaving for Baltimore to start their 4-game series with the Orioles on Monday.
Rays Manager Joe Maddon also got some needed innings out of B J Upton and Rocco Baldelli in the field to be sure they are up to the challnge come playoff time. Upton looked fluid in the field and committed a few nicely aimed balls to Dioner Navarro in the game. Upton also got an outfield assist on a shallow fly ball hit to centerfield that Carlos Gomez miss read and was picked off first base for a double play by Upton. It is Upton’s 13th outfield assist of the year. He is currently sitting 3rd in the AL in that category.
B J Upton
The Rays starting centerfielder looked more like his old self at the plate hitting lead-off in the game and went 3-3 on the day, also with a walk. That pushed his average up to .277 for the season. The walk also put Upton in 4th in the AL with 92 for the year. Not bad considering he has been day-to-day now since suffering a quad injury in Boston.
Upton hit a bunt single to the pitcher to lead off the game for the Rays. Upton put it perfectly down the third base side of the mound for an easy single to start the rays off with a baserunner in the game. Upton then came up in the 3rd inning and hit a double down the leftfield line to put Michel Hernadez in scoring position at third for the Rays.
Carlos Pena hit a sacrifice fly to left to score Henandez on the next pitch and give the Rays an early 1-0 lead. Upton then hit a bunt single down the third baseline that cradled the foul line but stayed fair to put him on first and Fernando Perez in scoring position for the Rays. Upton then walked on 6 pitches, the last 4 balls to get on first with 2-outs in the 7th inning. B J was then caught off first base by Twins starter Francisco Liriano on a pick off attempt, and was tagged out by the shortstop, Adam Everett for the 3rd out of the inning. It was Upton’s 16th caught stealing attempt of the year, which has him ranked 1st in the majors this season.
Rays’ 5 hits
Besides Upton’s 3 hits on the day, only two other Rays produced hits in the contest against the Twins. Rays catcher Michel Hernandez had a single to left in the 3rd inning to lead off that inning, and ended up scoring on Pena’s Sacrifice fly in that inning. And Rocco Baldelli had a single to left with 2-outs in the 6th inning. On the day, the Rays also got 4 walks off Liriano in his 7 innings of work today.
Loss with over 30,000 fans
This was only the 2nd time this season that the Rays have lost a game where at least 30,000 fans have been in attendance. The offical attendance for the Rays was 36,048 for the game. The Rays also lost their first game of the year against the Seattle Mariners with same 36,048 in house for the home opener for the Rays. So the team have effectively bookended the season with their only 3 losses with over 30,000 as their first and last game of the year.
Hey all, we have another Rays player who has been nominated for the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award. MLB players are some of the best contributors of time and money to local charties and events. And it is in this spirit that the MLB Players Association has annually, since 1977, awarded the Marvin Miller Award to a deserving MLB player. The Ray nominated by his teammate for this award is Rays reliever Trever Miller.
Trever Miller is a low key guy by nature and can always be counted on for a smile and a kind word for fans or his teammates. Miller is an active member in the community and gives his time and resources to various charitable organizations. He is an annual contributor to Barry Zito’s Strikeouts for the Troops and Miracle League’s B.O.D.’s for Florida. Miller hosts the annual Miracle League golf tournament and also dedicates time and money to the Ronald McDonald House and All Children’s Hospitals in St. Petersburg, Fla.
The award, named after the first executive director of the PA, is presented each year to a player elected by his peers as the one who best combines on-field performance with community service. Voting began this week on MLB.com and MLBPLAYERS.com, the PA’s official Website, and fans are asked to select one player from each of Major League Baseball’s six divisions.
The six finalists will be voted on by Major League players as part of their annual Players Choice Awards balloting Sept. 17 (Sept. 18 for Colorado Rockies and San Diego Padres players) at ballparks throughout North America to select the winner. So let’s get out there and vote for one of our own, reliever Trever Miller for the Man of the Year Award in 2008.
Rays Magic Number: 14
This is the number of combined Boston losses and Rays wins to secure their first A L East crown.
Evan Longoria fans can rejoice because the Rookie is back into the lineup, and by the way he was batting in that first game, is hitting like he has not missed a game this year. Longoria went 2-5, with 2 RBI’s in his frist game back since the August 6th injury in Seattle. In all, Longoria missed 28 games during his wrist injury and Evan showed early on that his defensive skills have also not been rusty since his DL visit.
Longoria first came up in the 2nd inning and got a single through the hole between short and third, and scored on Justin Ruggiano’s double to the rightfield wall. Longoria did have a hand on one of Derek Jeter’s singles today, but could not convert the play in time to get the quick shortstop. Longoria then came up in the 5th inning and got 2 RBI’s on a liner down the leftfield line. that scored Ruggiano and Jason Bartlett to put the Rays up 3-0. At that point in the game, Longoria had gone 2-3, with 2 RBI’s.
In the 6th inning, Longoria dove and stabbed a drive by Xavier Nady to the ground before throwing him out at first to end inning. Longoria was behind thrid base when he relased the ball and it was a strike to Carlos Pena.
Rays starter James Shields won his 13th game today with a great effort against the New York Yankees. Shields went 8 innings and gave up only 5 hits on the day to leave in the 8th inning with a shutout of the Yankees. In the contest, Jeter got 3 of the Yankees 8 total hits on the day. Shields used his change up to strikeout 6 Yankees batter in the contest.
The only run given up by the Rays today was by Rays reliever Trever Miller who came on in the 9th inning for Shields. Bobby Abreu hit a 0-2 count for a solo homer into the rightfield stands for the only Yankees score in the first game of the doubleheader.
Miller then gave up singles to Nady and Giambi before getting Hideki Matsui to line out to rightfield. Cody Ransom then got on base on a fielders choice that forced out Giambi at second base, and moved Nady into scoring position at third with 2 outs. Miller then got Robinson Cano to pop out to third on the 3rd pitch to end the first game of the double header with the Rays up 7-1.
An interesting note on new Rays catcher Michel Hernandez. He originally got up to the majors with the New York Yankees in 2003. In his 5 game September call-up. Hernandez went 1-4 for the Yankees. Also amazing is that this is the first time Hernandez has caught James Shields and the battery mates did not produce a passed ball or wild pitch all game. Hernandez went 1-5 in today’s contest ans scored on Ruggiano’s double in the 6th inning.
Ruggiano had a banner day for the Rays going 3-4, with 2 runs scored and 2 RBI’s on the day. He first got the Rays off to a 2-0 score when he doubled to the rightfield wall for his 3 rd double of the year. Fernando Perez scored along with Longoria to give the Rays the early lead. Ruggiano also singled to centerfield in the 5th inning.
During that 5th inning, Yankees catcher Jose Molina tried to pickoff Ruggiano at first base, but Ruggiano was able to slide into second safely after a bad throw by Yankee first baseman Jason Giambi. Ruggiano scored after Jason Bartlett singled to rightfield. Ruggiano was not done for the day, he also got another double in the 6th inning and was almost picked off after he fell rounding first base, but got into second in time to beat the throw. Ruggiano moved to thrid on Bartlett’s RBI Scarifice Fly and went home on Carlos Penas’ error to first in the inning.
There was a tense moment in the ball game after Shields hit Molina in the hip with a pitch and the catcher took exception to the pitch. TV camera caught Molina talking in terse terms to Pena at first base about the event. Two pitches later, when Johnny Damon hit a ball towards second base, Molina went out of the basepaths towards Ben Zobrist on a deliberate attempt to break up the double play. Second base umpire, Gerry Davis immediately signaled for the double play outs because of Runners Interference on Molina.
If Molina had stayed in the basepaths’ this would not have been called by the umpire. By the next time Molina was up to bat, all the tension from the hit by pitch was over and the game was without incident from that moment.
Jonny Gomes and 2007 First Round Draft pick, David Price arrived in New York for today’s doubleheader. Gomes played in the first game going 0-3 in the contest and playing rightfield for the Rays. Rays pitchers Jeff Neimann and Mitch Talbot will meet the team in St. Petersburg on Monday as the Rays begin their last 7 game homestand of the season.
Dan Johnson was probably at home in Durham when he got the call sometime during the A.M. hoiurs to pack a bag and get on a flight to Boston to join the Rays during their current roadtrip. Johnson along with newly acquired catcher, Miguel Hernandez boarded a flight for the big leagues and arrive at Fenway Park at 6:45 P.M., just before the first pitch of the game.
Johnson had been acquired when he was put on waivers by the Oakland A’s earlier in the season as an insurance policy against Carlos Pena having to go on a extended DL stay after he had his injury the last time we were in Boston. Johnson was sent to Triple-A 48 hours after arriving in St. Petersburg, and has been instrumential in the Bull’s run for the Governor’s Cup.
Johnson’s addition to the roster is to brovide more power in the Rays bench in the coming weeks against some high power pitchers in the AL. Jonny Gomes was also listed as a candidate for the move, but it was decided he would provide the Bulls with the needed power as they try and win the Governor’s Cup from the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees.
Hernandez was brought up as a insurance policy for anbother back-up catcher with the recent injury to Shawn Riggans. Riggans has a bursa Sac situation on his knee that might be infected and prolong his stint from behind the plate. With neither John Jaso, or Hernandez having any working time with the Rays pitching staff, it would put the Rays in a huge disadvantage if Dioner Navarro would go down any time soon with his hamstring problems. Let’s hope that Navarro and Riggans can endure and keep the good catching duo healthy for the rest of the season, and beyond.
Rays Magic Number Is: 18
Combined with a Rays win, or Red Sox loss, this is the number needed to secure the AL East Crown for 2008.
To say Dan Johnson has been waiting for this moment for the Tampa Bay Rays might be an understatement of huge proportions. Johnson, who was with the big club for only 48 hours earlier in the season came back up tonight and provided the single most important drive of the franchises’ short history. To say his pinch-hit homer was less than a miracle at the time would be underestimating the pressure and the effect it had on this young squad.
Johnson, facing one of the major leagues best closer took a 3-2 count and crushed the next pitch by Jonathan Papelbon into the Red Sox Bullpen area for a 4-all tie in the top of the 9th inning. The look on Papelbons face said it all last night after the homer.
He was dejected and unsure of his pitches the rest of the inning. It was only the 4th loss of the season for Papelbon, but it secured the Rays being in first place when they exit Fenway Park tomorrow night after the rubber game of the series.
During the game, the Rays went 0-14 with runner is scoring position before Dioner Navarro’s liner into the leftfield corner in the 9th inning. The drive scroed Fernando Perez, who had hit a high and deep ball off the Green Monster for a double earlier in the inning. The score put the Rays up 5-4, and the Rays finally had a scoring opportunity to finish 1-15 with RISP for the game. It was one of the most important RISP attempts this road trip for the Rays as it sealed the first win in Fenway Park this season for the Rays.
The Rays put constant pressure on Red Sox starter Diasuke Matsuzaka. The Rays had baserunners in every inning of the game, but the 8th inning, and the Red Sox kept the game close until the 9th inning. Carlos Pena got the first hit on the night on a single to rightfield in the 1st inning. Dioner Navarro and Gabe Gross then got back-to-back single to right to put a Rays runner in scoring position for the first time last night.
In the third inning, Akinora Iwamura lead off the inning with a bunt single that had Matsuzaka falling off the pitching mound in pursuit of the play. Ben Zobrist and Pena then got back-to-bakc walks to load the bases for Cliff Floyd. Floyd was the hit by the second pitch by Mastsuzaka in the knee and scored Aki from third on the play. The Rays then sqaundered 3 chances to score more runs and ended the inning up only 2-1 on the Red Sox.
Gabe Gross then hit a single off the first base bag that sent Kevin Youkilis running for the ball in the short rightfield. Jason Bartlett then put a screamer down the third baseline to score Gross from first and put the Rays up 3-1. The Rays had Willy Aybar in scoring position in the 5th inning, but could not convert to get him to the plate. In the 6th inning, Aki got a lead-off single to right, but was stranded on second after 2 Rays’ batters.
In the 7th inning, Aybar again led off and singled to left. Fernando Perez then walked on 12 pitches to put Aybar again in scoring position. The Rays did nor capitalize on the inning and were a combined 0-14 at that point in the ballgame with runners in scoring position.
In the 9th inning, Dan Johnson led off the inning with his first hit and homer for the Rays when he pinch hit for Justin Ruggiano. Aybar then hit a long fly ball to Coco Crisp in center for the 1st out of the inning. Fernando Perez then hit the second pitch from Papelbon off the Green Monster and doubled to put himself in position to put the Rays in front in the 9th inning. Navarro then hit the second pitch he saw down the third baseline into the corner and Perez scored from second to put the Rays ahead 5-4.
Scott Kazmir put up one of his best starts of the night in one of the biggest games in the Rays history. Kazmir was not invloved in the final decison of the ballgame, but was instrumental in getting the Rays into position to win tonight. Kazmir went 6 innings and posted 5 hits and gave up two runs on 108 pitches.
Kazmir had his fastball looking great all night and used his slider to compliment his pitches tonight. This is the first time this season that Kazmir has relied alot on his slider. His slider is a great out pitch for him, and he used it selectively all night long to get the Red Sox batters’ off balance at the plate. Kazmir even looked to be throwing better in the 6th and 7th inning, then in the beginning of the ballgame.
Kazmir did run into trouble early in the game when he gave up a single to Dustin Perdroia in the 1st inning. Perdroia has been very effective against Kazmir this season. Kevin Youkilis then hit a high drive off the Green Monster to score Pedoria from first and put the Red Sox up first, 1-0.
Kazmir then sent the Red Sox down in order until the 4th inning, until Mike Lowell hit a solo homer over the Green Monster get the Red Sox back to within 1 run, 3-2. Kazmir then got out of trouble in the 5th and 6th inning to leave the ballgame after 108 pitches. Considering Kazmir pitched 28 times in the 1st inning alone, his long night is a testament to his pitching style and power.
Grant Balfour came on in the 7th inning and sent the Red Sox down in order 1-2-3 in the inning. Balfour has now pitched in 9 of the last 17 games for the Rays. He currently leads all MLB relievers with a 12.95 strikeout per 9 innings ration. If this statistic holds up, it will be the 2nd highest total ever by a reliever and the best total ever by a righthander in the AL. His .136 opponents batting average against is also tops in the Al, and 2nd in the majors this season.
But in the 8th inning, Dan Wheeler came on and gave up a walk to Youkilis with 2 outs in the inning. Jason Bay then came up and hit his second homer in two days to put the Red Sox up 4-3. Wheeler then got Lowell to ground out to Bartlett to end the inning.
In the 9th inning, Troy Percival came on to pitch and gave up a walk to Mark Kotsay to start the inning. Jacob Ellsbury came on as a pinchrunner and stole second base on a throwing error by Navarro to put the tying run in scoring position for the Red Sox. But then Jason Varitek struck out, and two straight fly ball out sealed the victory for the Rays, and earned Percival his 28th save of the season.
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Born:August 12, 1978
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