Not satisfied with one series from the 15th to the 17th of another month, these two teams are at it again in September. The Devil Rays, as is their wont, are not very good. They were swept by the Yankees, and didn't hold a lead after the first inning in either of the first two games. Their 19 road wins are the fewest in baseball; their 53 road losses are the most.
In other words: it's another team out of contention, and, due to the fun of university, another reduced Scout. Coming to you live between calculus and combinatorics...
On to the Advance Scout!
General: Released Travis Lee over the weekend. Their active roster now has only five players remaining from their Opening Day roster -- the Jays, by comparison, have 20 if I counted correctly ... Joe Maddon wants to go with six starters over the last month of the season, so the rotation order is foggy. {Seo, Howell} is the set of pitchers scheduled for Friday and Saturday, but the order is to be determined. I'm pretty sure that Brian Stokes is scheduled for Sunday, though ... Recently lost two of three to the Twins, two of three to Oakland, then were swept by the Yankees. Four of their five series against Toronto this year were also in the "lost two of three" category ... Yep, still on pace for about 64 wins. You know it's not good for the team when the recap of a 9-6 win over a first place team has the following first line: "Yes, the Devil Rays did blow another lead." ... Recently played the Yankees, and Tuesday night's game saw the Spring Training version of the Yankees' lineup enter the game after New York scored nine runs in the first ... Fell behind in the first inning the next night and lost, 8-4. Thursday night, they lost, 7-4. So they're getting better! ...
J.P. Howell: Not to be confused with Jason Hammel (he said, speaking from experience), Howell was drafted in 2004 by the Royals as their compensation pick for Raul Ibanez, then the recent Joey Gathright trade brought him to St. Petersburg ... Confusingly called up to K.C. in June 2005, after just two months of pitching above Rookie ball. The results were predictable ... Pitched the second-last game of the 2005 season in Toronto, holding the Jays scoreless until the seventh. He has not pitched against the Jays before or since that day ... Finalist for the Roger Clemens Award with the University of Texas, but the award for the top college pitcher went to Dirtbag Jered Weaver ... Will Kimmey of Baseball America described his repetoire better than I can: "A lot of people can hate on Howell because he doesn't have great velo, but he can take his four, five-pitch repertoire and make it work like 10 pitches because he can add, subtract and locate...his breaking stuff can eat up lefties." Kimmey also called him "the consummate crafty lefty". What's with these lefties who can hardly break 90? Are all the lefthanded strong-armed children of America banished to the outfield? ...
Jae Seo: Another fine citizen of Michalaklineston ... Since his 7 inning, 10 hit, 2 run outing against Toronto (Game Score: 51) on August 15, strained his groin on August 20, then returned with Game Scores of 49 and 20 against Minnesota and Oakland ... For more details on Seo (or any other player, really), check our August writeup ...
Brian Stokes: Undrafted free agent who slowly worked his way up, but not before taking a break in 2004 for Tommy John surgery ... Second career appearance in the bigs (the first was a so-so start against Seattle) saw him strand two runners and let another two score in the Yankees' big first inning on Tuesday, then gave up three more runs in the third ... Stats below are with Durham (AAA). Not 100% sure on the GB/LD rates. Feel free to choose your own adventure ...
Carl Crawford: Stole his 50th base on Wednesday, reaching that mark for the third time in four years (55-59-46 previously) ... We say it all the time; he keeps getting better every year ... Riding a mini-hot streak, with 10 hits and three steals in five games from Sept. 8 to Sept. 13. Not that it's statistically significant -- he raised his average six points in that week and has lost six in another five-day stretch -- but I'm sharing the information anyway ...
Jonny Gomes: Much was made of his slump back in August. Well, now he's hurt. His replacement on the roster was Delmon Demarcus Young ...
Seth McClung: Before his demotion, was mainly a starter with 47 walks and 37 strikeouts in 80.2 innings. Since his return, has pitched out of the bullpen late in the game, with close to one walk and one strikeout per inning ... Hits 96, 97 with his fastball and his curve comes in the low 80s, but he really doesn't locate either of them well ...
Greg Norton: Sharing 1B playing time with Ty Wigginton after Lee's release ... When reading this article, I realized I had to include Maddon's confusing-yet-interesting quote about Norton's hitting ("The thing people don't talk about enough with Norton is...his hand action when he hits the baseball. It's unique and it's good, and that's why he's able to hit the ball as far as he does. It's different in a good way."), but then Norton followed it up with his own self-deprecating one: "I left a small village on the basepaths and we still scored nine runs" ...
Delmon Young: I'll let First Inning take the lead here: "He got off to a slow start at the plate, earned a 50-game suspension for tossing his bat at an umpire, and did not hit for much power. His batted ball charts indicate he isn't pulling the ball in the air very often, so we could see increased power production from Young if he makes the necessary adjustments." ... Joe Maddon, it's your turn: "He's won me over big time. He's been great in the clubhouse. He's been great on the field. His work ethic is among the best. And his mind for the game is among the best even though he's going to be 21 [Young turned 21 on Thursday]. That's incredible. So I think he's come a long way in a short period of time." ... Stats below are with Durham (AAA) ...
In other words: it's another team out of contention, and, due to the fun of university, another reduced Scout. Coming to you live between calculus and combinatorics...
On to the Advance Scout!
General: Released Travis Lee over the weekend. Their active roster now has only five players remaining from their Opening Day roster -- the Jays, by comparison, have 20 if I counted correctly ... Joe Maddon wants to go with six starters over the last month of the season, so the rotation order is foggy. {Seo, Howell} is the set of pitchers scheduled for Friday and Saturday, but the order is to be determined. I'm pretty sure that Brian Stokes is scheduled for Sunday, though ... Recently lost two of three to the Twins, two of three to Oakland, then were swept by the Yankees. Four of their five series against Toronto this year were also in the "lost two of three" category ... Yep, still on pace for about 64 wins. You know it's not good for the team when the recap of a 9-6 win over a first place team has the following first line: "Yes, the Devil Rays did blow another lead." ... Recently played the Yankees, and Tuesday night's game saw the Spring Training version of the Yankees' lineup enter the game after New York scored nine runs in the first ... Fell behind in the first inning the next night and lost, 8-4. Thursday night, they lost, 7-4. So they're getting better! ...
J.P. Howell: Not to be confused with Jason Hammel (he said, speaking from experience), Howell was drafted in 2004 by the Royals as their compensation pick for Raul Ibanez, then the recent Joey Gathright trade brought him to St. Petersburg ... Confusingly called up to K.C. in June 2005, after just two months of pitching above Rookie ball. The results were predictable ... Pitched the second-last game of the 2005 season in Toronto, holding the Jays scoreless until the seventh. He has not pitched against the Jays before or since that day ... Finalist for the Roger Clemens Award with the University of Texas, but the award for the top college pitcher went to Dirtbag Jered Weaver ... Will Kimmey of Baseball America described his repetoire better than I can: "A lot of people can hate on Howell because he doesn't have great velo, but he can take his four, five-pitch repertoire and make it work like 10 pitches because he can add, subtract and locate...his breaking stuff can eat up lefties." Kimmey also called him "the consummate crafty lefty". What's with these lefties who can hardly break 90? Are all the lefthanded strong-armed children of America banished to the outfield? ...
Jae Seo: Another fine citizen of Michalaklineston ... Since his 7 inning, 10 hit, 2 run outing against Toronto (Game Score: 51) on August 15, strained his groin on August 20, then returned with Game Scores of 49 and 20 against Minnesota and Oakland ... For more details on Seo (or any other player, really), check our August writeup ...
Brian Stokes: Undrafted free agent who slowly worked his way up, but not before taking a break in 2004 for Tommy John surgery ... Second career appearance in the bigs (the first was a so-so start against Seattle) saw him strand two runners and let another two score in the Yankees' big first inning on Tuesday, then gave up three more runs in the third ... Stats below are with Durham (AAA). Not 100% sure on the GB/LD rates. Feel free to choose your own adventure ...
Carl Crawford: Stole his 50th base on Wednesday, reaching that mark for the third time in four years (55-59-46 previously) ... We say it all the time; he keeps getting better every year ... Riding a mini-hot streak, with 10 hits and three steals in five games from Sept. 8 to Sept. 13. Not that it's statistically significant -- he raised his average six points in that week and has lost six in another five-day stretch -- but I'm sharing the information anyway ...
Jonny Gomes: Much was made of his slump back in August. Well, now he's hurt. His replacement on the roster was Delmon Demarcus Young ...
Seth McClung: Before his demotion, was mainly a starter with 47 walks and 37 strikeouts in 80.2 innings. Since his return, has pitched out of the bullpen late in the game, with close to one walk and one strikeout per inning ... Hits 96, 97 with his fastball and his curve comes in the low 80s, but he really doesn't locate either of them well ...
Greg Norton: Sharing 1B playing time with Ty Wigginton after Lee's release ... When reading this article, I realized I had to include Maddon's confusing-yet-interesting quote about Norton's hitting ("The thing people don't talk about enough with Norton is...his hand action when he hits the baseball. It's unique and it's good, and that's why he's able to hit the ball as far as he does. It's different in a good way."), but then Norton followed it up with his own self-deprecating one: "I left a small village on the basepaths and we still scored nine runs" ...
Delmon Young: I'll let First Inning take the lead here: "He got off to a slow start at the plate, earned a 50-game suspension for tossing his bat at an umpire, and did not hit for much power. His batted ball charts indicate he isn't pulling the ball in the air very often, so we could see increased power production from Young if he makes the necessary adjustments." ... Joe Maddon, it's your turn: "He's won me over big time. He's been great in the clubhouse. He's been great on the field. His work ethic is among the best. And his mind for the game is among the best even though he's going to be 21 [Young turned 21 on Thursday]. That's incredible. So I think he's come a long way in a short period of time." ... Stats below are with Durham (AAA) ...
