Above image is of Stuart Sternberg arriving for the wedding of Florida Governor Charlie Crist (image from FragMob)

Lots o' goodies today from Marc Topkin, so we are giving him his first-ever Topkintopia (the regular webtopia is below)...

• We reported last week that it appeared Gerry Hunsicker, "Teller" to Andrew Friedman's "Penn" (or "Silent Bob" to Friedman's "Jay" for the younger crowd), was staying with the Rays despite reports that other teams were interested in his services. Topkin is now confirming that Hunsicker has signed an extension to stay with the Rays saying "I'm happy here. I like what I'm doing."
• Many think the Rays will slow-play the free agent market and take whatever is left over. Topkin warns that there is a risk as some teams could enter the market later if they lose out on their higher-priced targets.
• Topkin places odds on who will be the opening day DH for the Rays, declaring Jason Giambi the favorite at 3:1, with Milton Bradley right behind at 5:1. Willy Aybar is the highest ranked player currently in the organization at 10:1 (6th on list).
• Jonah Keri, author of "Baseball Between the Numbers", has announced that he will write a book about the Rays and their Wall Street approach to baseball. Not surprisingly, Topkin says the Rays, who prefer to keep things close to the vest, are "neither cooperating with the project nor particularly enthused."...Keri was interviewed recently about the book on Rays Digest.
  
• Matt Garza had minor foot surgery to correct an old break in his foot. The surgery makes Garza ineligible for the World Baseball Classic. There were some rumblings that Garza was being considered for the Mexican team.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• Rays Prospects projects the starting rotation for the Rays and each of their minor league affiliates. [Rays Prospects]
• If you are going to write in to the local newspaper and bitch about errors seen in their coverage of the Rays and other sports (in this case the Charlotte Sun) please make sure you don't have your own error in the very first sentence. [Charlotte Sun]
• Behold! "The Longorious". [Waivers and Sharks]
• Sometimes, while constructing this list, certain headlines make us do a double-take. [Harnesslink]
• Former Rays pitcher Scott Dohmann, who made 12 appearances with the Rays and 33 appearances with the Durham Bulls in 2008, is expected to sign with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of the Central League in Japan. [Sponichi; Translated]
  
• Rays Digest takes a look back at the Rays busy week in Las Vegas. [Winter Meetings Rewind]
  
• Former Rays catcher Josh Paul will manage the Staten Island Yankees of the short-season New York-Penn League...We will always have a soft-spot for Paul because of his official team photo. Paul appeared in 93 games for the Rays in 2006 and 2007. [NY Baseball Digest]
  
• Despite the additions of CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett, Richard Justice says the Yankees are still just the third best team in the AL East. [Yahoo! Sports]
• Drays Bay puts together a "Bullpen Matrix" for the Rays relievers...We assume Grant Balfour is Neo and Troy Percival is Morpheus, but who is Trinity? [Drays Bay]
  
• Mets Fever would like to see the Mets sign Jonny Gomes. [Mets Fever]
• Tyler Hissey spoke with Dayn Perry of FoxSports.com about the Rays. [Rays Digest]
  
• Nothing new here, but Ken Rosenthal says the Cubs and the Rays are the two teams pursuing Milton Bradley the hardest. Rosenthal says the Rays are a better fit (patient manager, ability to DH) but wonders if the Rays will meet Bradley's asking price...The better question is: How far down from his asking price would Bradley be willing to go to sign with the Rays? [Fox Sports]
  
• Rays Prospects has the winter stats updated through Friday for players in the Rays organization. [Rays Prospects]
• Tampa Bay Sports Blog explains why recent moves show that the Rays are smarter than the Yankees. [Tampa Bay Sports Blog]
• David Chalk of Bugs and Cranks keeps chugging along with his Devil Rays Advent Calendar and the all-time greatest Devil Rays. [Bugs and Cranks]
  

Tampa Bay Devil Dogs (2 days until opening day)

DRG here again to get you through the weekend...

Yesterday: Reds 6, Tampa Bay Rays 3.

• The Good: Carl Crawford was 3-4 with 2 doubles...Carlos Pena hit a ball so hard off the top of the wall in right field that he was held to a single...Dioner Navarro continues to hit, adding 2 more hits and is at .366 in March...Matt Garza went 5 allowing only 2 unearned runs...Jason Bartlett and Aki Iwamura combined on yet another picture-perfect double play.
  
• The Bad: Miscommunication in center field with BJ Upton allowed a routine fly ball to drop, leading to 2 unearned runs, after Matt Garza cruised through the first four frames.
  
• The Telling: Joel Guzman had a great game in the field getting several tough plays and handling them well including throwing a runner out at home. With the addition of Nathan Haynes, Eric Hinske is probably out meaning the third baseman is either Guzman or Elliot Johnson if Willy Aybar is not ready on opening day...Oops. Just found out this morning that Guzman is out, Hinske is in.
  

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA...

• A total of 8 players were cut yesterday. Other than Grant Balfour, the biggest names were Mike DiFelice, Josh Paul and Andy Cannizaro meaning that Shawn Riggans will indeed be the backup catcher and Elliot Johnson will be the backup-whatever. [Tampa Bay Rays]
• Word just came down that the final roster spot will go to Eric Hinske with Joel Guzman being optioned. [The Heater]
  
• Scott Kazmir threw in the outfield yesterday and all reports were that he looked and felt good. [Tampa Tribune]
• Willy Aybar and Cliff Floyd are both on track to be ready for opening day while Rocco Baldelli was officially transferred to the 60-day disabled list opening a spot on the 40-man roster. [St. Pete Times]
  
• Baseball Prospectus looks at the leading candidates for the top pick in the June amateur draft, with hot shot high school shortstop Tim Beckham looking like the odds on favorite these days. Sweet Fancy Moses! I am drooling just reading the scouts takes. Better than Justin Upton? Sign me up. [Baseball Prospectus]

Beckham is without question the toolsiest player in the draft, and he's lived up to expectations this year, if not exceeded them. A true shortstop with outstanding hitting skills, power potential, plus speed, and good fielding skills, most insiders agree that no position player comes close to his overall upside. "He looks like Justin Upton to me, only Upton had the throwing problem in high school and this kid doesn't," said one scouting director. "He's also a lot stronger than I thought he was," he continued. "I wasn't sure of the power before, but I'm pretty convinced now." Another scouting director agreed that he was one of the elite players in the draft. "He's a guy who has proven it at every event and every showcase, he plays up the middle and he doesn't have to move," he said. "It's hard to classify high school players as safe, but this one is about as safe as it gets."

• The Wall Street Journal grades the managers in three categories and then ranks them. Joe Maddon comes in at #14. Interestingly, he is tied with his former boss Mike Scioscia. [Wall Street Journal]
  

We are going to keep doing this until we run out of ideas so bear with us. This week's comes from the suggestion box (Thanks Tommy) as we wonder if Josh Paul is hoping Karma will help him win the backup catcher's job...

Josh Paul and....................Earl Hickey

Tampa Bay Rays (42 days until Opening Day)

Joe Maddon stated that Shawn Riggans is the favorite to be the backup catcher on opening day. Papa Joe then commented on what his criteria is for a backup catcher.

"The backup guy should be pretty effective defensively," Maddon said. "It's not an easy position. The guys that do it well make it look easy, but it's not easy. Part of their job really is to help the starting catcher. ... It's like a good backup quarterback in football."

This only surprises us because Maddon actually commented on the situation, but it does not surprise us that he named Riggans even though we project Josh Paul to win the job. Keep in mind that Riggans is the only candidate that is actually on the 40-man roster at this point. Paul and Mike DiFelice are in essence getting "tryouts". They are on minor league deals and have done nothing yet to earn a major league contract. If the team had absolute confidence in one or the other, they would not be on minor league deals.

The team has made it clear that they prefer a veteran backup catcher to help further the development of starter Dioner Navarro. Just don't expect Papa Joe to admit that publicly because he would have to say that he prefers a player that is not on the team over a player that is on the team.

At the end of the day, we still feel Josh Paul will be the Rays backup catcher and it is Riggans that needs to "win" the job. Paul has the edge in experience, better defensive abilities and a strong familiarity with the pitching staff and Navarro. Riggans would have to outperform Paul defensively in Spring Training to make the roster and we are not convinced he can.

Notes: Iwamura ready for second base [Tampa Bay Rays]

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• Marc Topkin takes a look at the Rays trio of young talented starting pitchers. Jim Hickey feels that 26 teams in the league would prefer to have Scott Kazmir, James Shields and Matt Garza as their top 3 pitchers. [St. Pete Times]

As Rays officials went back over the last several decades, they came up with only a few teams that had three starters who were so young with the chance to be so good. There were the A's of the early 2000s with Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Barry Zito. The Marlins of the same era with Josh Beckett, Brad Penny and Dontrelle Willis. The Braves of the early 1990s with Steve Avery, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz. And not too many others..."It's certainly a rare commodity," senior vice president Gerry Hunsicker said, "to have three young pitchers with the talent level that we're going to run out there."

• A quick video interview with David Price as well as a look at him throwing off a mound. (Link will open a video player) [Tampa Bays 10]
• Rays of Light begins a series in which they will spotlight certain Rays. First up is Akinori Iwamura. [Rays of Light]
  
• Beyond the Boxscore makes an argument for Fred McGriff to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. We think the Crime dog was a very good and very consistent player, but he was what Mike Francessa would call a "compiler". His numbers look good because he played for a long time, not because he was a great player. We witnessed most of McGriff's career and never once did we watch McGriff and think "There goes one of the greatest baseball player's ever". Sorry. Great guy, very good player, but when the voting comes, we would be surprised if he cracks 25%. [Beyond the Boxscore]
• We were in Austin this weekend. Apparently so was Matt Silverman. He was running in the Austin half-marathon. We were sitting in the front yard drinking Mimosas watching the half-marathoners and marathoners run by. [Rays Report]
• Baseball Prospectus projects the Rays to finish 82-80. The biggest change will be in the pitching. They project that the Rays will increase their scoring from 782 to 788 runs in 2008 and will decrease their runs allowed from 944 to 776. [Baseball Prospectus]
• Sean Deveney of The Sporting News feels the Rays and the Nationals have a special kinship because they have both sucked recently. The similarities are a stretch and include small fanbase (usually goes hand-in-hand with sucking), long odds to win the 2008 World Series (again, sucking), good young third basemen (1 spot out of 25 is similar), and both teams want to improve their image (as do most sucky teams). [The Sporting News]
  

Tampa Bay Rays (1 day until pitchers and catchers report)

It is what he wanted.

It is what we wanted.

It is not necessarily what the front office wanted.

But now it looks like Evan Longoria will get the opportunity to prove in Spring Training that he belongs in the majors.

And a chance is all the Dirtbag needs. It won't take much to convince Joe Maddon. And we have a feeling that if Papa Joe can be convinced, it won't take much to convince Andrew Friedman.

Longoria will not have to hit .400 in Spring Training and he will not have to hit 10 home runs. In fact, we have a feeling that as long as he does not fall flat on his face, he will be named the Rays opening day starter at third base. As much as Papa Joe likes to crunch numbers on his computer, he still loves himself a good ole fashioned baseball player. Evan Longoria is a baseball player. And Maddon will envision that rubbing off on the other players

Maddon is destined to fall in love with the 22 year old. He will see enough in his swing and his glove to know that he is not going to be over-matched at the major league level.

Longoria may struggle at first. But he is too good a hitter to fail. And Papa Joe will see that.

Longoria will get chance to earn spot [Rays Report]

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• ESPN.com takes a closer look at the "revitalized" Carl Crawford. C.C. speaks about having more energy after learning that he was allergic to dairy and wheat products and the subsequent change in his diet. He has also upped his workout regimen and has dropped his body fat from 12% to 8% since December. He also doesn't hold back in his portrayal of just how miserable 2007 was for the Rays. [ESPN]

"It's just going to be about playing baseball again, that's what I'm really excited about this season," Crawford said at his offseason home. "With all the B.S. that was going on last year, I think we lost focus on the task at hand." Crawford refers to the ongoing soap opera that featured Elijah Dukes and Delmon Young. Both of the enormously talented players couldn't stay out of trouble; Dukes with his off-field issues, and Young with his me-first attitude that resulted in him at first walking out on manager Joe Maddon on the second-to-last day of the 2007 regular season. Crawford calls last season a year "he never wants to remember," and the distractions, at times, were almost unbearable..."That move, for Garza, spoke volumes," Crawford said. "For the first time I felt like this organization was serious about winning. That's the reason why I think everybody is excited because everybody sees that."

• Joe Maddon confirmed something that we had expected, that is five of the seven bullpen spots are already spoken for, all but guaranteeing that Gary Glover will be on the opening day roster. That leaves one spot that will go to a "loser" in the battle for the starting rotation and the final spot will be between Juan Salas, Scott Dohmann and Grant Balfour. [The Heater]
  
• Shawn Riggans enters Spring Training healthy and understands this may be his last shot at winning a job with the Rays now that John Jaso has been added to the 40-man roster. Marc Topkin refers to Riggans as the "apparent leading candidate for the backup catcher's job." This might be a stretch after the recent additions of one veteran catcher in Mike DiFelice and the return of Josh Paul who is familiar with the Rays pitching staff. It is our feeling that if the season started today Paul's experience and familiarity with the pitching staff will be a better partner to the young Dioner Navarro. [St. Pete Times]
• Marc Topkin reviews all the changes the Rays have made this off-season. [St. Pete Times]
  
• The Columbus Catfish have been sold and plan to relocate to Bolling Green, Kentucky for the 2009 season. [Ledger-Enquirer]
  
• Baseball Analysts continues their breakdown of the best baseball players by age. In the age 23 group, BJ Upton comes in at #6, while both Evan Longoria and David Price come in at #5 and #12 respectively. [Baseball Analysts]
  
• The Ledger ranks the DHs. The Rays' three-headed monster of Rocco Baldelli, Cliff Floyd and Jonny Gomes is ranked 7th. [The Ledger]
• My Baseball Bias previews the Rays' Spring Training. [My Baseball Bias]
  
• Devil Rays Locker gives the Rays front office a B+ for this off-season's moves. [Devil Rays Locker]
  

Tampa Bay Devil Dogs (12 days until pitchers and catchers report)

Please allow myself to introduce...myself. The name is DEVIL RAY GUEVARA. You can call me DRG for short. I will be manning the ship on most weekends from now on and if I behave myself, the Prof says I might be able to post during the week every now and then. So I guess I will be seeing you on the weekends.

I have been involved with RI behind the scenes for a while now. I like to think of myself as the Prof's consigliare. The problem is, The Prof has all these rules that I am supposed to follow. The first post of the day must include a "webtopia", minimize the vulgarity, player names in bold type, don't pick apart every single post written by Marc Topkin and try not to include pictures of Joe Maddon in a thong. Blah, Blah, Blah. Horseshit. I am so sick of Maddon and his Pollyanna-speak, that the next time he praises a relief pitcher after he blows a 4-run lead in the 7th inning, that picture of him in a thong is going up.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• The Devil Dogs continue their quest to bring back every mediocre catcher in the franchise history. The latest to sign is Josh Paul whom the Rays inked to a minor league deal. Paul played 35 games for the Rays in 2007 posting an OPS+ of 29. Wait...*speaking to copy editor*...29? Is that correct? Isn't 100 an average OPS+? I did not even know it was possible to have an OPS+ that low...Paul joins Mike DiFelice in the battle for the back up catchers position. No word yet on how negotiations are proceeding with John Flaherty...Is it just me, or is anybody else worried about what happens if Dioner Navarro is injured or slumps like he did in the first half of 2007? [TBO.com]
• The Rays also continued their fascination with pitchers that have not pitched since Tommy John surgery by signing left handed pitcher Brian Anderson. Anderson has not pitched since 2005. A starting pitcher most of his career, Anderson is expected to compete for a spot in the Rays bullpen. As scary as it sounds, if Anderson still has a left arm, he may have the best chance right now of being the Rays left-handed specialist out of the 'pen. [TampaBay.com]
• Kevin Gengler rolls on with his profiles of the Rays top prospects. He is up to #16 Nick Barnese and #15 Will Kline. [DRays Bay]
  
• One believes that Akinori Iwamura is the key to the Rays 2008 infield. [365 Days of Dough, Rays and Me]
• The Mets and Johan Santana finally reached an agreement on a contract extension and our own Cork Gaines appears to have been the first to report it on the internet. [MLB Trade Rumors]
  

Devil Rays (66-96)

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• The big news in the Raysiverse is that Scott Kazmir may be available. Calm down people. Kid K is not going anywhere. First of all, the source used by the New York Post is "An executive familiar with Tampa's thinking". So nobody...NOBODY...from the Rays front office said that they were actively shopping Kazmir. Just somebody talking to a reporter for a New York tabloid and speculating what they might do. And quite frankly, if the price for Johan Santana does get ridiculous, then it is only fair for the Rays front office to at least see what could be had for the best young left-hander in the game. Remember last off-season, Rocco Baldelli and Carl Crawford were both made available and no team was willing to meet the price. The price for Kid K will be astronomical and if a team can meet that price, then the Rays will need to make a decision. But we would put the chances of that happening at only slightly above "no chance in hell". [New York Post]
• Gary Shelton has 20 reasons why A-Rod should join the Devil Rays. He forgot reason #21...The Trop will feel like Yankee Stadium...30,000 Yankees fans booing him. [tampabay.com]
• Jonny Gomes has had a big hand in helping kids fight cancer. [devilrays.com]
• The Devil Rays franchise has become the poster-child for what is wrong with revenue sharing in major league baseball. Critics point to the fact the Rays took in more revenue sharing (>$30 million) than they spent on the team's payroll (~$25 million). The Rays front office has a plan. We are yet to see if the plan will work but spending money on mediocre free agents so that they can finish 3rd in the East rather than last is not part of the formula. When the core of the franchise is in place, with a solid minor league system in the works to fill the gaps, the team will then spend money on the one or two players needed to get the Rays over the top. Not before then. [New York Times]
• The Stat Pack interviews Will Carrol and he tackles several issues including the Rays medical staff as well as their ability to keep Scott Kazmir healthy. [The Stat Pack]

• The Rays have made a commitment to the medical staff from top to bottom in the organization, something that started in the Naimoli era and continues today. They have a plan that's supported by everyone in the organization and great people working together to carry it out.

• Rattler Radio is running a series of posts looking at major league franchises and either their last championship or the closest they have come to winning one. The post for the Devil Rays is up and it was probably an easy one to write. [Rattler Radio]
• Former (?) Rays catcher Josh Paul has written a book about the mental side of being a catcher and he sat down with Baseball Prospectus to talk about it. The interview is behind the wall of a BP subscription. [Baseball Prospectus]
  

Team USA 10 , Mesa 2.
Evan Longoria did not start, but he did pinch hit in the 5th and played third base, going 1-2 with a single and a walk. Justin Ruggiano started in left and went 1-4. Ruggiano also stole a base.
Peo Javelinas 4, Scottsdale 3.
Reid Brignac went 0-5...again. John Jaso was 1-4 with a strikeout.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• This shouldn't even be newsworthy so we won't bother to give it its own post. Curt Schilling did not list the Devil Rays among the teams he would consider playing for in 2008. And seeing how he pitched the last month of the season and the playoffs, no team should want him, unless he is strictly a post-season starter. When he needs to, he can still get by on guts, but no pitcher can keep that up over the course of an entire season. And don't give us this crap about how great he would be for the young pitching staff. If that was the case, why spend $8-12 million for one season on an over-the-hill pitcher, when you could just hire somebody like Orel Hershiser or another recently retired, above-average, starting pitcher to be the pitching coach for a whole lot less. Of course, the best part of this, is we no longer have to read about the "possibility" of Schilling pitching for the Rays in 2008. And by "possibility" we mean "There was never a chance in hell". [tampabay.com]
• Backup catcher Josh Paul filed for free agency. That leaves the Rays with starter Dioner Navarro and Shawn Riggans who saw limited action at the major league level in 2007 before succumbing to injury. Most managers prefer at least one veteran catcher, even more so with a young pitching staff. Look for the Rays to make an attempt to resign Paul or pursue another veteran free agent catcher this off-season. [tampabay.com]
• We weren't the only ones that loathed the idea of another championship for the Red Sox. Raymond did not take it to well either. But on brighter news, Raymond is going to get a makeover to coincide with the new Rays logo and colors. [The Big Blue Blog]
• What are the chances of the Rays winning the World Series in 2008? Apparently the same as Dennis Kucinich becoming President in 2008. So you're telling me there's a chance! [A Large Regular]
  

Devil Rays 5, Blue Jays 4.
PLAYING A LIL' PEPPER WITH LAST NIGHT'S GAME...

• My alma mater played a rare night game last night, so I was otherwise preoccupied and did not watch most of the game. Somehow I managed to avoid seeing the final score all night. I got to it this morning on the DVR fast-forwarding through most and watching all of the 9th inning.
• Apparently the wind was blowing out to right field at the Trop last night. First of all, you know the wind is blowing out when Dioner Navarro hits a home run and I didn't think either of the 9th inning home runs had a chance when they first jumped off the bats.
• The Delmon Young home run showed both his immense power, as he hit a line drive to the opposite field with a one-handed swing, and it showed me that unless he changes his approach, he will never be a 40 home run guy. He is actually too good a hitter to hit a lot of home runs. He hits the ball so square so often, that he rarely gets enough elevation to hit a lot of home runs. Obviously I don't remember each one, but I am willing to bet that of his 12 home runs this season, 10 were line drives, just like last night. But while he is more likely to be a 20-25 home run hitter each year, he will also be a .330 hitter year-in and year-out.
• When Delmon Young hit his 2-run home run to make the score 4-3 with 1 out, we actually thought that took away any hope the Rays had for winning the game. Home runs can actually be rally killers. Other than making an out (obviously) the worst thing a batter can do with runner(s) on base is hit a home run that makes that only cuts the lead. The home run takes the runners off base. There is no longer any pressure on the defense. The pitcher get a chance to "start over".
• Papa Joe Maddon is either a genius or he got away with one last night. We were screaming for Upton to pinch-hit for Brendan Harris after the Delmon Young home run. Sure Harris is a decent hitter, but with 1-out and Jonny Gomes on deck, you don't want to go down with a bullet left in the chamber. Harris is no threat to tie the game by himself. Gomes is. So you know he is not pinch-hitting for Gomes. But after Harris grounds out, there is now the threat that Upton does not get a chance to bat.
  
• We HATE the "catcher's indifference" ruling on 9th inning stolen bases. How does that make any sense. If a pitcher intentionally walks a batter, that batter still gets credit for a walk, so why wasn't Carl Crawford given credit for a stolen base. It is not like they turned to CC and just told him to go to second base.
  
• In our stuper last night, I definitely would have pulled an oblique if I had watched this game live.
• I truly hope that if Rocco Baldelli ever comes back and plays for the Rays again that A) He never hits a walk-off home run and B) If somebody else hits a walk-off home run that Papa Joe Maddon is smart enough to assign a batboy with the responsibility of not letting Rocco out of the dugout. There is no way Rocco would come out of the celebration without going on the 15-day DL.
  
• I can't decide which Bucs jersey to wear today...I am seriously considering dusting off John Lynch and hoping that some good karma comes out of it.
  

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• The Devil Rays became the first team to be officially eliminated from the postseason contention. Both Baltimore and Chicago won, so the Rays remain 3 back of the O's in the AL East and 2 behind the White Sox for the worst record in baseball.
  
• With 20 games remaining the Rays only need to finish 4-16 to avoid 100 losses. You may want to sit down for this next one. A 12-8 finish and the Rays would set a franchise record for wins a season! WOW. It really doesn't mean much, but who would have thought that was possible at the all-star break. A 14-6 finish and the Rays will avoid 90 losses. A-MAZING.
• Last night's win was the Rays 9th walk-off victory of the season. [tampabay.com]
• While it is now official that Joe Maddon will be back next season, the fate of the rest of the coaching staff will not be known until the off-season. [tampabay.com]
• We are big fans of yellow-tail sashimi also. [tampabay.com]
• Let's hope that the mustache is the only thing that Josh Paul has in common why John Holmes. [tampabay.com]
• The Rays payroll will increase considerably in 2008 due to existing contracts and arbitration alone. We will have to wait and see if that handcuffs the team in the free agent market. [tampabay.com]
  

Devil Rays 7, Tiggers 1.
Dioner Navarro was 3-5 last night to raise his average above .200 for the first time (.201) since May 15. He also hit his 4th home in the last three weeks, after only hitting one in the first three and a half months.

Once considered the top catching prospect in baseball, when he was in the Yankee's organization, Navi is in just his first full major-league season, after playing parts of each of the past three seasons. Despite the hype, Navarro has yet to show his potential at the plate. In addition to his .201 average, he only has a .259 OBP and .316 SLG. His .575 OPS is the third worst number in all baseball for players with at least 250 plate appearances.

Navarro is still only 23, which is about 18 in catcher's years. Let's take a look at how Navi's contemporaries performed in their 23-year old season. Each of these catcher's have made an all-star appearance since 2000. In many of these cases, the player split their season between more than one level. We tried to pick the level that was most indicative of their season. We used major league numbers if they played a more than a few weeks at that level. In the case of Mike Piazza, his season was split evenly between two levels so we included the numbers for both.

CATCHER	Level	AVG	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG	OPS	K	BB
D. Navarro	MLB	.201	5	25	.259	.316	.575	45	21
J. Mauer	MLB	.347	13	84	.429	.507	.936	54	79
I. Rodriguez	MLB	.303	12	67	.327	.449	.776	48	16
R. Martin	MLB	.282	10	65	.355	.436	.791	57	45
B. McCann	MLB	.267	12	65	.317	.451	768	52	24
J. Lopez	MLB	.245	13	35	.299	.419	.718	61	17
B. Santiago	MLB	.248	10	46	.282	.362	.644	82	24
C. Johnson	MLB	.251	11	39	.351	.410	.761	71	46
J. Kendall	MLB	.294	8	49	.391	.434	.826	53	49
R. Hernandez	MLB	.279	3	21	.363	.397	.760	11	18
Pierzynski	MLB	.307	2	11	.354	.45	.809	14	5
J. Posada	AAA	.240	11	48	.308	.406	.714	81	32
M Lieberthal	AAA	.281	6	42	.388	.432	.820	26	44
V. Martinez	AA	.336	22	85	.417	.576	.993	62	58
P. LoDuca	AA	.246	1	8	.339	.302	.641	25	26
J. Varitek	AA	.224	10	44	.340	.361	.701	126	61
M. Piazza	AA/AAA	.350	23	90	.412	.587	.999	75	50
J. Girardi	AA	.272	7	41	.330	.375	.705	51	29
D. Miller	A	.212	1	26	.281	.265	.546	44	31

At first we were surprised how many of these catchers were in the major leagues at the age of 23. That should be a strong indication for future success from Navi, as reaching the majors as a catcher at such a young age is rare (Shawn Riggans is still considered a catching prospect at the age of 27). With Joe Mauer and Ivan Rodriguez being the obvious exceptions, most of these catchers posted average numbers, at best, even at the lower levels. The one constant throughout all these numbers is the excellent strikeout-to-walk ratios. In almost every instance, the numbers are close to 1-to-1 which is another strong indicator of future success for a young hitter. While Navarro's numbers are down this season, his career strikeout-to-walk ratios prior to this season were 229:179 (minors) and 72:51 (majors).

While we would have liked to have seen an OPS closer to .700-.750 this season, Navi is still very young and history has shown that numbers posted at a young age are not reflective of numbers posted later for catchers.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• Jon Switzer is now the only lefty in the Rays bullpen and will be relied on more heavily than earlier this season when he was recalled from Durham. [TBO]
• With the promotion of Jon Switzer, the Rays will continue to employ only three hitters on the bench. On of those would be the backup catcher Josh Paul who is not likely to be used in games in which he does not start, leaving Joe Maddon with two pinch-hitting and substitution options at the end of games. [Devil Rays]
  
• We are not sold on James Shield's clubhouse nickname. We need to come up with something good. Scott Kazmir is "Kid K" and Andy Sonnanstine is "The Duke". Shields? [TBO]
• Scott Kazmir, who goes to the mound this afternoon for the Rays, has been using a more simplified approach when taking the mound and Joe Maddon attributes that to his recent success. [TBO]

"I'm just seeing a very simple approach to what he's doing right now and I like it," Maddon said. "You just really want to get to that point where you can really leave your physical mechanics on the sideline and just go out and pitch and rely on your mental mechanics.

We are still not back from our self-imposed exile in the sunshine state, so the regular posts will not return until tomorrow, but in the meantime, we heard some rumors that Andrew Friedman may have made a move or two this weekend to improve the Rays relief corps. We have reviewed the wires and consulted our abacus, and this was the final count...

Ty Wigginton traded to Astros for Dan Wheeler [Devil Rays]
In the biggest move from the weekend, Ty Wigginton was sent to the Astros for reliever Dan Wheeler, who will begin his second stint with the Rays after being a Rays a draft pick in 1996. Wheeler has struggled this year with a 5.07 ERA, but being reunited with his former pitching coach Jim Hickey may reignite the pitcher that posted strong numbers as a setup man the past two seasons.

If the Rays decide to move Al Reyes, Wheeler would conceivably step into the closers role and could fill the same capacity in 2008. The one drawback to the trade is that Wheeler is a free agent after the 2008 season. However, seeing the current value of relief pitchers in the trade deadline market, Andrew Friedman may already be looking at Wheeler as a commodity that would be sought after in July of next year. If Wheeler can rebound in the next 12 months and flourish in either a setup or a closer's role, he could demand additional pieces that are missing from the Rays puzzle.

Seth McClung traded to the Brewers [Devil Rays]
Has anybody else noticed the irony the in the Devil Rays acquiring a relief pitcher with the name "Bal-four"? Seriously, there is no way this can end well. The enigma enema that is Seth McClung, the big red-headed right hander with a power fastball and an inability to throw it anywhere near the strikezone in crucial situations was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for relief pitcher Grant Balfour.

Balfour, an Australian (we thought they only played Australian rules football?), played parts of three seasons with the Minnesota Twins, before getting a cup-of-coffee this year with the Brewers. He is mostly a journeyman right-hander that may eat innings in middle relief. He posted impressive numbers at AAA this season with 47 strikeouts and only 11 walks and 17 hits in 32 innings. He had a 1.69 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP. At 29, we will have to wait and see if the AAA numbers were an anomaly and he is just a AAAA pitcher or if he has turned the corner can can be an effective big league reliever.

The Brewers were forced to part with Balfour, who was out of Minor League options, because they needed roster space Friday for reliever Scott Linebrink, whom they acquired in a trade with San Diego on Wednesday..."He was a guy I was thinking about counting on for next year," said Brewers general manager Doug Melvin. "You look at other teams' bullpens, and that's the kind of arm that teams get and, all of a sudden, they find it. It clicks."

Jorge Cantu traded to the Reds [Devil Rays]
And in a move that only surprised us because a team actually gave up a little value, Jorge Cantu was shipped to the Reds for two pitchers and a player-to-be-named-later. Calvin Medlock is a minor league pitcher who dominated at AA but who has struggled in first 13 appearances at AAA. Brian Shackleford has spent parts of each of the last two seasons with the Reds, but is best known for THIS. Maybe the Rays picked him up to mentor Elijah Dukes. The Rays also sent minor leaguer Shaun Cumberland to the Reds to complete the trade. Cumberland is an outfielder with speed, who has struggled this season in his first year above A-ball.

Cantu was not happy being with the Devil Rays any longer, and with limited defensive skills (re: cement feet), and questionable offensive skills (.544 OPS in 2006, .484 OPS in 2007), he no longer had a future with the Rays. The Reds will ship Cantu to AAA and hope they catch lightning in a bottle. In return the Rays received yet another upgrade

Shawn Bleepin' Camp demoted to the minors [Devil Rays]
This move was so obvious that we were actually surprised when we heard that Shawn Bleepin' Camp was sent to Durham. We do wonder though who Andrew Friedman has been watching the first 3 months of the season.

Camp is a guy who’s obviously been struggling some recently. When his sinker’s really working, he can help out a major-league bullpen by getting groundballs and he’s extremely effective against right-handed hitters. He’s been in a little bit of a rut lately and we’re hoping that by sending him down and giving him a chance to pitch in Durham that he’ll start pitching a little bit more consistently.[TBO]

Recently? The guy has a 7.20 ERA. He has allowed 6,324 inherited runners to score. HE HAS STRUGGLED ALL FREACKIN' SEASON. And he is 31, so he is not going to get much better.

Josh Paul activated from DL [Devil Rays]
Josh Paul as on the DL since May 20. Paul replaces Raul Casanova who was designated for assignment and removed from the 40-man roster. The team has 10 days to trade, release or ask waivers for Casanova. Most likely Casanova will not be traded and he will clear waivers and be optioned back to AAA Durham. Joe Maddon stated that Paul will see increased playing time with starting catcher Dioner Navarro continuing to struggle at the plate.

Rays manager Joe Maddon has noted time and again that he thought Paul was playing at a high level when he got injured, and he now plans to play him three to four times a week rather than the normal one or two times a week reserved for most backup catchers.

In additional catcher news, Shawn Riggans had surgery on his elbow. The surgery is likely to be season-ending.

Durham 13, Indianapolis 1. Jae Seo struck out 7 and walked none in 8 shutout innings. Newly acquired Jon Weber hit his first home run with the Bulls and drove in 5.

Vero Beach 3, St. Lucie 2 (gm 1). Rhyne Hughes was 2-3 with 2 doubles, including a 2-run double in the first inning.

Vero Beach 5, St. Lucie 0 (gm 2). Rhyne Hugheswas 3-4 and added 2 more doubles and another RBI in the nightcap. He is now hitting .338 with 23 doubles and 55 RBI.

Kannanpolis 7, Columbus 1. Wade Townsend allowed 7 runs (6 earned) in 5 innings. He struck out 3 and walked 3.

Auburn 2, Hudson Valley 1.

Johnson City 5, Princeton 2.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM...

• Josh Paul and Tim Corcoran will join the Montgomery Biscuits for rehab assignments. [Montgomery Advertiser]
• Shawn Riggans will continue his rehb assignment with the Durham Bulls after playing 4 games with Vero Beach. [The Raw Feed]
• On Friday night,Jason Pridie was a single shy of hitting for the cycle. [MiLB]
• On Saturday night, Ben Zobrist hit a solo home run in the top of the 10th inning to give the Bulls a 2-1 win. [MiLB]
• On Friday night Evan Longoria hit his 19th home run. [MiLB]
• On Saturday, second round pick Will Kline pitched two innings for Columbus, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits. [MiLB]
  

Devil Rays 4, Royals 2.
Carlos Pena was 3-3 and hit his 12th home run and his 56th catwalk. How good has Pena been this season?

• Of the 12 players in the AL with at least 11 home runs, Pena's 131 at bats are at least 56 fewer than any other player.
  
• He also raised his batting average to .313 which is 70 points higher than his career average coming into this season.
  
• His .641 SLG and 1.017 OPS would each be good for 2nd in the AL if he had enough at bats to qualify (Maglio Ordonez leads with .681/1.117)
  
• If Pena had just 190 at bats (many players are already over 200), he projects to 45 RBI, which would be tied for 6th in the AL.

As a side note...Pena has played in the majors for parts of 7 seasons. However, we dusted off our abacus and it looks like his service time was only 4 years heading into 2007 since he has spent much of those seven seasons in the minors (a player is a free agent after 6 years of ML service). If we are reading this right, and we like to think we are, Pena is only arbitration eligible at the end of the year and will not be a free agent unless the Rays fail to offer arbitration. Has anybody heard any differently?

As for James Shields...Well, James the Greater justs keeps on truckin'. Shields moves to 5-0 on the year. Only Josh Beckett in the AL has more wins without a loss. Another outing in which he pitches into the 8th inning. Only 4 hits and 1 walks. He did allow 2 more home runs, which gives him 11 on the season. That is tied for 9th in the majors. However, 5 of those came in his first 3 starts of the season. James the Greater.

Of course the big news today is that Andy Sonnanstine will make his major league debut tonight in Toronto and Thursday the Rays may add a future ace to their already deep pitching pool in the MLB draft. We will have more on the draft later, but tonight all eyes will be on the tele. The rotation is finally starting to come around. We know it is still early for JP Howell, but after one start he has given us hope that the Rays can send out a pitcher with a good chance of winning 3 out of 5 days. Can Sonny make it 4 of 5? We might be able to tolerate another month or two of "Edwin Jackson Development" if he was the only hole in the donut.

Looks like we are going to have a busy day around this here internets, so come back early and often.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• How do you know when you spend too much time neck-deep in all things Devil Rays? When THIS title scares the hell out of you. Too make ammends we are now running to the bathroom with a Maxim magazine.
  
• No surprise here. Akinori Iwamura will not make the trip to Toronto but should be ready to join the team in Miami when the Rays face the Marlins.
• The Crime Dog played first base for the Devil Rays. Is Carlos Pena El Gato del Crimen...The Crime Cat?
  
• Shawn Riggans just can't catch a break (Like what we did there? Aren't we clever). Riggans was placed on the 15-day DL and the Rays with Josh Paul already on the 60-day DL, were forced to add Raul Casanova to the 40-man roster and promote him to the Rays. To make room, Chris Seddon of Montgomery was designated for assignment.
• Carl Crawford has now tied Aubrey Huff for the franchise record for most hits (870). Fittingly, he did it with a triple.
• Akinori Iwamura is back with the latest installment of his diary. Not often the sentimental types, but we think it is pretty cool that in his first year in the US, Aki's wife is pregnant and the baby is due on July 4.
  

Royals 9, Devil Rays 4.
Only Edwin Jackson could throw up a stinker and make the Kansas City Royals look like the '75 Reds.

After Saturday's loss, Edwin Jackson is now 0-7 in 10 starts and has not won a game in 33 appearances since being acquired from the Dodgers. His last win came on Sept. 26, 2005, as a member of the Dodgers. How much longer can the Rays allow Jackson to go to the mound and give up 6 runs and not be able to complete 4 innings?

Promoting two minor leaguers and inserting them into a major league rotation at the same time is a major shake-up for any team. The major league experience of JP Howell helps ease the transition, but Andy Sonnanstine only has 11 starts above AA. At what point does the team give up on Jackson, move him to the bullpen and insert a third pitcher from Durham into the rotation? If the move is made sooner, rather than later, it will undoubtedly be Jason Hammel who has major league experience.

On Saturday Jackson could not even finish the 4th inning against one of the weakest hitting teams in baseball, who were also missing their only real offensive threat, Mike Sweeney. We can't imagine Joe Maddon and the Rays will allow more than one or two more outings like that.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• Akinori Iwamura who batted leadoff for the first time as a member of the Devil Rays, was removed from the game one inning after a foul ball bounced up and hit him in the eye. He is expected to miss 4-5 games.
  
• After Saturday's loss, Edwin Jackson is now 0-7 in 11 starts since being acquired from the Dodgers. His last win came on Sept. 26, 2005.
  
• Josh Paul was moved to the 60-day DL. A player on the 60-day DL does not count towards the 40-man roster, so when Jon Switzer was activated from the 60-day DL, the move became necessary.
• Interleague play is back next weekend and the Rays pitchers will need to swing the lumber. James Shields is considered the Rays best hitting pitcher and went 3-8 last year.
  

Devil Rays 13, Mariners 12.
What is the over/under these days for runs needed by the Rays offense when Jae Seo is on the mound? 13 sounds about right. It is sad when your team has a 12-4 lead after 5 innings and you are still scared. Sure enough, Seo had another typical Jae Seo outing in which he allowed 7 runs in 5+ innings on 13...count 'em...THIRTEEN hits. How did he only give up 7 runs? But hey, Seo did look good in that start against Toronto....which is of course what we will still be saying in October..."Jae Seo...he sure looked good in that start against Toronto."

On a side note, remember when the Rays were one of the last two teams in the majors to commit an error this season? Neither do we. The Rays committed two more errors last night and now lead the majors with 45. Those 45 errors have led to a major league-leading 33 unearned runs. It is bad enough when your pitching staff has the highest ERA and allows the most earned runs all on their own. Add to that a shaky defense and the most unearned runs and all of the sudden the offense needs to score 13 runs to win ballgames.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• Elijah Dukes sat again yesterday afternoon, but the Rays have stated that he will be in the lineup in the White Sox series this weekend.
• It is true, right now the Rays appear stuck with Rocco Baldelli and Elijah Dukes but eventually the injuries and the troubles will pass over enough that the Rays will be able to move one or both.
  
• The Rays finally made it official and placed Josh Paul on the DL with a sprained elbow. the team recalled Shawn Riggans from Durham. Paul could miss 6 weeks. At 26, Riggans needs to take advantage of the next month and a half and prove that he can be a major league catcher. In the Spring, Riggans hit well (.316), but base stealers were successful on 10 of 11 attempts.
• Ahhhh...hindsight. All of the sudden everybody wants to talk about how the Rays should have traded Rocco Baldelli. Yeah, and I should have bought Google at $85.
• You can just see Toby Hall biting his lip in this piece as the former Rays catcher prepares to play his former team for the first time. It is just a matter of time before he says something stupid.