Troy Percival

st by 3.5 games, and have played well even through key injuries to Carl Crawford, Evan Longoria and Troy Percival.  Whether or not the Red Sox overtake them will depend on how the young Tampa rotation responds to reaching career-high innings totals.

Continue reading "Seven Runs: Too Little, Too Early"

yriad of doubters in the sports media, and injuries to key players Carl Crawford, Evan Longoria and Troy Percival, the Rays continue to roll.  After defeating the Angels 4-2 on Tuesday night behind yet another strong outing from James Shields, Tampa Bay has won five straight home games against baseball's best team.  The Rays now lead the Red Sox by 4.5 games in the AL East, and opened up their lead on the Yankees to 11 games.  Are the Yankees even worth mentioning in the division race anymore?

Continue reading "Delgado, Easley Spark Comeback Against Braves"

nbsp;      3.50            61-49

Troy Percival          2 Yrs/$8 mil        3.86    TB            6.16               3.43            66-45

Continue reading "Are Relief Pitchers Worth Their Contracts?"

nd the splits are not pronounced enough to mean anything much.  And for long-time closers like Troy Percival, this year could be an anomaly.  But for some, these splits call into question whether these pitchers are truly fit for the closer role.

Continue reading "Mets Fried By Fish, Maine Leaves Early"

; Francisco “K-Rod” Rodriguez, who has been their closer since taking over in 2004 from Troy Percival. Since then, he’s notched 178 saves for Anaheim, including a 47-save 2006 and a 45-save 2005, and has averaged 32 saves throughout his career (including about two seasons as Percival’s setup man).

Continue reading "K-Rod: King of Saves"

afting right there, and that’s their current rotation.

In the pen, they have veteran closer Troy Percival, out of baseball for a year before they took a chance and signed him to a two-year deal worth $8M. He’s responded with 19 saves in 21 opportunities, seventh in the AL in spite of a brief DL stint. They traded infielder Ty Wigginton for setup man Dan Wheeler (1.93/.938 ERA/WHIP), spare outfielder Joey Gathright and minor-league infielder Fernando Cortez to Kansas City for J.P. Howell, currently leading the AL relievers in IPs and Ks. They signed lefty specialist Trever Miller (making $1.6M and giving 3.92/1.36 back) and righty Gary Glover ($1.075M, 3.34/1.52). More smart trading and signing.

Continue reading "Hold On To Your Hats"

Carlos Pena, Cliff Floyd and Troy Percival should provide veteran leadership to help this young team through the grind of the Major Leage season. The Rays won't contend for the division this year, but could finish around .500 and prove to be problematic for the teams at the top of the division. With more talent from the minors on the way, especially top pitching prospects Wade Davis and David Price, Tampa Bay might be able to contend with the big boys in a couple of years.

Continue reading "American League East is a Beast of a Division"