Biscuits catcher Nevin Ashley has been promoted to Triple-A Durham. Ashley, out of the lineup tonight, hit .255 in 92 games with the Biscuits. He had seven home runs and 45 RBIs.
He gives the Bulls three active catchers, which is a sign Dioner Navarro will return to the majors Wednesday when rosters expand.
9 comments:
Who is his replacement?
some biscuit fans think we have been ignored this season while Durham wins their fourth straight title and the StoneCrabs also heads to the postseason.
Charlottes Matt Moore is gunning for the league strikeout record and could finish with over 200! The first pitcher to do so since 1971, its obvious they should have moved him up to the Biscuits before now.
other reasons we think we have been passed over include - rocco baldelli going from Charlotte to Durham with no stop here, in spite of our huge DL list. Brad Hawpe was sent to charlotte, where there is a logjam of outfielders.
Also... isnt our PDC up this year? We are among the last in baseball to have an extension announced, but we all know the Biscuits branding is some of the hottest merch in baseball.
Do the Rays still like us? Its hard to tell this year.
First off, have you ever thought that its the Biscuits shopping around for a better organization to put better players and a better team out on the field?
Secondly, Brad Hawpe goes to Charlotte (which is an hour drive away from Tampa, compared to an 8 hour drive or an hour and a half flight)just to get at-bats until September 1st comes and he gets called up, because of roster expansion. Rocco Baldelli does the same thing except he goes to Durham because he hasn't played against anything but high-A pitching, while Hawpe has had Major League time.
Next, Matt Moore is staying in Charlotte to help another playoff team try and win the championship. Minor league championships say a lot about an organization, especially if you can get two in one year. Think back to the Biscuits championship teams, there wasn't anyone on those teams that didn't deserve to be called up to Triple-A Durham?
Replacement to the roster is a LHP Bobby Livingston from Durham. He is listed on MiLB Roster for the Biscuts.
reply to raysfan3-
actually, we had several players get called to durham during our playoff runs. At the time I wondered why they would take guys from us when we were making a run.
Are you saying there is a better organization who needs a AA team? The teams that have yet to reup are common knowledge but i dont think that getting the Brewers to take over is an improvement.
As for baldelli, he was very popular here and would have boosted attendance by coming back for even a couple games. Why send him to crowded and already playoff bound durham when we have so many injuries and need a bat?
Yes, hawpe can be close to tampa in charlotte, i get that. But its yet another player who the rays havent sent here.
I understand moore getting time in the minors, but he is gonna have more K's than anyone in the past 40 years! Thats a little far fetched, and Im willing to wager that Moore would rather get a promotion to AA than a single A championship.
Charlotte can handle his promotion the same way we handled Evan Longoria being sent to durham while we were in a pennant hunt - player development should be more important to minor league teams than championships.
the bottom line is that for the past few years, its obvious the rays have us doing player development while the other affiliates get the pennants!
1.Lost in 2006(post all-star break): Matt Maniscalco, Knox, Wes Bankston, Jim Magrane
Gained in 2006: Reid Brignac, Evan Longoria, Justin Ruggiano, Mitch Talbot
Lost in 2007(post all-star break): Evan Longoria, Shaun Cumberland, Dale Thayer, James Houser, Derek Feldkamp
Gained in 2007: Wade Davis, Jacob McGee
I don’t know if it’s just me, but only Longoria scares me from those names lost. 6 of those guys are in Indy ball or out of baseball as a whole. While the names gained are all at least in durham, and 4 of the 6 are in the majors.
2. Have you ever thought that maybe the Rays and Biscuits management don’t get along, plus how many big name prospects are coming through the Rays system in the future vs. some of these other teams. Maybe, they are working on something special like a Rays vs. Biscuits Spring Training game which will help your attendance number
3. Why do the Rays care about the Montgomery Biscuits attendance? They don’t get anything out of it. They just want a close place to send their players. Baldelli in Durham can provide off days plus can be a veteran leader. He is also more than likely going to get called up on September 1st or will be a starter once other names get called up.
4. With Charlotte being an hour away, the Biscuits are no longer the closest option and will very rarely get rehab players. Just easier for them to play in Charlotte and drive back home then to send them to Montgomery and make them ride the bus.
5. Why would the Rays promote Moore for 2-3 starts and then the biscuits season is over? When he can stay in Charlotte and get extra work during the playoffs….when he should be one of the starting pitchers in the Biscuits rotation for 2011, anyway.
6. We lost Longoria the beginning of the second half. Longoria wasn’t even a factor in the team that won the second half in 2007. We weren’t in a pennant hunt when we lost Longoria in 2007.
7. The Biscuits have won 2 Southern League Championships in 7 years. That is a pretty good ratio….I would be willing to bet that most teams would take that. The Stone Crabs have never won a championship….so why promote players to help a non-playoff team for a couple weeks instead of trying to get Port Charlotte a ring.
reply again
this is becoming a real convo!
1- we lost guys that were good, gained guys that were good both years. But there was no situation with Longo/Brignac like there is with matt moore, who like longoria then, obviously is playing in a league lesser than his ability.
Some of the players you mention us losing were pretty fine, Thayer was the closer and Bankston was one of the power hitters we were riding. My point is that in the past, where an affiliate finishes hasnt been a factor in player movement, but for some reason it seems to be the case the past season or two.
2. Why wouldnt the rays and biscuits get along? We develop their best prospects, have one of the hottest marketing brands in minor league baseball, are among the tops in attendance in our league, and give the Rays a toehold in what MLB considers Atlanta Braves market. That last one alone is enough, as 28 other teams would be happy to swoop in and be able to make that claim.
IF, and i think its a big IF, the biscuits are able to get an exhibition game vs tampa it would be great, but its only going to be one game at capacity and then gone. Im more fond of getting better players and having them for a little longer.
3 Biscuit Attendance... why do the rays care? See above, Braves market toehold.
Look at Hunstville, they drew less than 500 fans and will lose their team from lack of support.
Biscuit fans buy rays gear, and if you have been to games you know this to be true. The parent club doesnt care if you sell out every night but they like to see a team do well as it reflects on the organization. They do care, and its why teams leave cities for lack of support.
And how exactly is baldelli a veteran leader in durham any more than he would be here? Ruggiano, Furmaniak, Fernando Perez, Dioner Navarro, elliot johnson all have big league time. Baldelli doesnt even have as much big-league service time as Navarro... So saying they need veteran leadership is a stretch at best.
4- I agree, and its a bummer. But when the rest of the system is loaded with prospects and big leaguers on rehab while we are using Albernaz at middle infield, there is a problem.
As for rehab guys, I can understand why the brass wants to keep them close, but there have been a few longer rehab guys we could have gotten to help with our injury plagued pennant chances.
5- Matt Moore - why would the rays promote him? Actually to limit those innings! He already has over 250 innings the past two seasons, after a total of 74 the previous two - this workload increase should be setting off red flags in the Rays office. A top 50 prospect with one more start this year would be just about right, but if you add another two or three postseason starts he will be nearing the increase in innings from the previous season that guys (like toronto SP Brandon Morrow) get shut down for.
6- Longoria not a factor on the team in 2007? He had almost 450 PA in over 100 games for us that year, hit 21 homers and .300+ avg! How is that not a factor? He was a Biscuit until July 27th, so we only went a month or so between him leaving and the postseason. No other 3b made more than 16 appearances for us that year so I think he was a little bit of a factor for our team in '07.
7- Why promote players to a non-playoff team? This is my point, a couple promotions and we ARE a playoff team!
This is the second season the StoneCrabs are a rays affiliate, and the second year they will make the playoffs. Durham has won four years in a row, and while most teams would take the two we have, I just wonder why we have been passed over since.
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