Welcome to the second annual Opening Day Live Blog…

Last year we did this about 3 blocks from Yankee Stadium in the heart of the Lion’s Den. This year, work has in Texas for opening day. The good news is the temp is about 80 and I just came back in from the pool. The bad news is people around here care more about the UT spring game this past Saturday.

So hit the link below to follow along and feel free to throw comments or poop at me in the comments section….

CLICK HERE FOR LIVE GAME BLOG…

2:30 PM: OK, let’s get this 2008 season started!
I’ve got on beer in hand and the BeerMan on call. For the record, Mrs. Professor hates it when I yell “BEERMAN!” She needs to realize that as long as she keeps bringing the beers, bitching about it won’t stop me. She is so sweet and a little naive.

The first batch of hot dogs is going on the grill.

Want another sign that Texas doesn’t even know baseball exists? Extra Innings is not coming through on Time Warner down here. I called and they said a “couple of other people” have called about same problem. Opening day and only a “couple of people” have called about the baseball package not working? If that happened in NYC, Mayor Bloomberg would be getting death threats. Good thing I have MLB.tv on backup.

OK, keep hitting that refresh/reload/F5 button and we will keep you updated. Let’s hope this game gets underway. Apparently it is overcast and rainy in Baltimore. The last thing in the world any of us want is for me to have to fill rain delay time with various renditions of Coldplay.

2:40: I was just looking at last season’s opening day lineup.

Carl Crawford, lf
Ben Zobrist, ss
Rocco Baldelli, DH
Ty Wigginton, 1b
Delmon Young, rf
Akinori Iwamura, 3b
Dioner Navarro, c
Elijah Dukes, cf
B.J. Upton, 2B
Scott Kazmir, p

only four players are the same and two of those are in new positions. So only two players are in the same spot from opening day 2007. That’s a good sign, considering that team lost 96 games. tell me again why we had hopes for the 2007 squad?

2:42: watching the Tigers game right now on ESPN and Miguel Cabrera just hit his first home run for the Tiggers. I thought this guy went on a diet. Maybe it was one of those Jenny Craig Yo-Yo diet. Lose the weight, and then gain the weight right back. Because maybe it is just me but he still looks fat. CC Sabathia fat.

2:45: listening to a New York radio station and it sounds like they just postponed the Yankees game. Let’s hope the same fate doesn’t befall the Rays and O’s. I am too geared up right now. I might have to pull out the legos and simulate the game. Yes, we have legos. Don’t judge.

2:57: Marc Topkin is reporting that the rain has stopped and there will be baseball. Thank god. not sure if we will start in time

3:00: how bad are things for the Orioles these days? many predict them to be the worst team in baseball this year AND they still owe more than $60MM to Mora, Huff, Hernandez and Gibbons for the next two years.

3:02: ok, here we go. TV coverage just kicked in which is good because the radio guys in NYC are so enthralled with opening day that they are discussing NFL’s proposed rules changes to give wild card teams a home game in the first round…blah, blah, blah. It FRICKIN’ OPENING DAY! wake up assholes.

3:06: GOOD NEWS. I kid you not, the Extra Innings package just kicked in as the O’s were runing on to the field. No offense to MLB.tv people. there are benefits (more games), but the quality is just no there and besides, as David Pinto says there is no such thing as a bug-free software. BAD NEWS. it is the O’s broadcast team.

TOP OF THE FIRST:
AND WE ARE UNDER WAY! PLAY BALL!
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Holy crap. Opening Day! It is like my birthday and Christmas and hanakkuh all wrapped in one! only with Hot Dogs and without the relatives
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Iwamura just hit a dribbler to the left side of the mound. one out.
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Crawford folows with a line drive up the middle for a single…nevermind. why dont we just call that a double.
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Pena up. I am one of the few that thinks 45 home runs is not out of the question for Pena with Upton hitting behind him
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And like that, Pena missed #1 for ’08 by about 2 feet to straight away center, two outs.
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sure enough, CC just stole second without a throw. lets see if Upton can be true to the clean-up hole…andddddd, nope. lazy fly ball to right. third out.

BOTTOM OF FIRST
we know for a fact there is are at least three RAYSHEADS t-shirts in the stands. in the past that sort of homerism in another ballpark would have gotten you locked up for a psychiatric evaluation. DRG is one of them. He called it “entrepreneurial”. I call it crazy.
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they have Dave Trembley introducing the Os lineup and bc of that piece of production brilliance we missed the first two pitches from Shields
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Shields goes full to Roberts who I am amazed is still with the O’s. And James the Greater just walked Roberts. That’s not good for Shields.
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Shields is struggling with his control. cant tell if its nerves of opening day in Camden Yards or the weather. or maybe the pregame footrub from Don Zimmer
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i gotta admit, these unis sure are warming on me. i’d like to see the person that still thinks these look like the Royals
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Shields fell behind 3-0 but worked back and got Mora on a lazy flyball to left. one out
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Markakis just dropped a ball down the left field line that CC slid for and missed. great play by Bartlett to run all the way out there and hold Roberts to second.
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both runners just took off and Navi went to second base instead of third and both runners are safe. not good…not good…not good….
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BEERMAN!
Millar just hit a ball that looked gone (wind?) Crawford overplayed it and jumped at the wall when he didnt have to. ball went off the heel of his glove. 2-run double.
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and Hickey just made his first trip to the mound a trip he knows all too well.
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Should I note now that the Rays were 29-52 on the road in 2007? I didnt think so.
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Aubrey Figgin’ Huff just hit a pop up to CC. two outs. not to spend too much time on male anatomy here, but did anybody notice that pic of Huff from this off-season with the stripper at the radio station and Huff had his shirt off? Nobody is ever going to accuse him of steroids. Fuck. he looks like my uncle Bud and he is like 65.
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Hernandez flys out to right to end the inning
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TOP OF SECOND
Floyd leads off
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how surprising is the demotion of Longoria? ESPN magazine’s picture for the Rays in the preview issue is of The Dirtbag. I mean if the Worldwide Leader thinks he is great…
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Floyd ust grounded out to first in his first Rays at bat. one out.
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i know it was raining, but the stands look half empty. it is opening day. where the hell is everybody?
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Orioles announcers just said they talked to Joe Maddon about Longoria’s demotion. According to Maddon, Longoria was sent down because they did not want him to have to deal with all the commotion of opening day and stuff. it’s a different excuse everyday.
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of course Aybar comes up and hits an opposite field looping single
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Hinske is up and conveniently grounds into an inning-ending double play. I am still awaiting an explanation for hinske getting more playing time than Gomes. What in Hinskes last 5 seasons says he can out-perform Gomes? Hinke hasn’t hit more than 15 home runs in a season since 2002
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BOTTOM OF SECOND
back to the unis for a second. so the Devil Rays fish is still on the sleeve and yet Silverman just said that the team is no longer the “bottom-dwelling fish”. so i the fish an honorary thing? like the elephant on the A’s uniforms?
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a ground ball by Adam Jones and a quick two outs from Shields in the second.
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shields just broke out a 0-1 curve ball. a rare pitch for him indeed…he then struck out the other hernandez on three straight pitches. he cruised through that inning on 8 pitches, only 1 ball. Shields needed that. he looks settled down now.
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TOP OF THIRD
Navi to lead off
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and navi picks up right where he left off in 2007 with a line drive to right and by line drive i really mean something that would have trouble knocking down a house of cards
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Bartlett up and the Rays just need bartlett to play solid D and get on base and he does the latter right off the bat getting plunked by a pitch. first and second no outs
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how good does Aki look with the pants at the knees
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huh?
Roberts was playing in for the bunt, and AKi hit a line drive out of his reach. only problem is Markakis was playing shallow also and actually threw Bartlett out at second.
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CC hits a nubber to short and Navi breaks for home and everybody is safe. RAYS ON THE BOARD! 2-1
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first and second, one out. Pena is up.
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not sure what that was. lazy drive to right field off the end of Penas bat. Markakis got a horrible jump and the ball falls in for a single. runners had to hold. bases loaded.
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Here is Upton…all 120 pounds of him
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YES!
Upton hits a groundball just out of the reach of Hernandez at short. with CC on second, that will score two
3-2 Rays
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offense should thrive this year without the pressure of having to score 26 runs a game
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Dr. Huxtable (Floyd) hits a lazy flyball to center. but pena advances to third. 2 outs
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Aybar goes to left again, only this time the ball is caught. Aybar is lucky this game is on the road. have a feeling there would be boo birds for him at The Trop

BOTTOM OF THIRD
somebody just hit a line drive single to lead off the inning for the O’s. I am not sure who because the dog is currently sprinting around the living room in circles for no aparent reason other than to say fuck you. i can.
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Mora flies out to Upton for the first out. and then Shields jjjjuuuussssttt about picked Roberts off first. i need another beer.
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to those of you stuck at work. there are certain days that should be national sports holidays. Super Bowl Monday. First day of NCAA tourney and opening day…oh yeah and any 1-game playoff in baeball
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another lazy fly ball to Upton. 2 outs
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Crawford comes in and almost collides with Bartlett but makes the catch, retires the side.
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speaking of one-game playoffs. one idea i can’t believe hasn’t happened yet in baseball is to give each league a second wild card team and then make the wild card teams play a one-game playoff with the winner going on to the divisional round. probably hasnt happened bc it makes too much sense. nothing in baseball more exciting than a 1-game playoff and this would guarantee two each season. and it also places emphasis back on winning division. team’s can’t “settle” for wild card.
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TOP OF FOURTH
Holy Shit! Eric Hisnke just went yard. a no doubt about it shot. color me surprised.
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Navi grounds out to second…Hinske? 2008 version of Pena?….nah. stupid beer
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not sure what pitch that was, but i like to call those 400-foot strikes.
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Rays second leadoff hitter, Bartlett is up. The O’s broadcast have some old guy in the booth who sounds like he is going to die any second. this is not safe. i am genuinely worried for this guy. i think he just coughed on me.
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Bartlett just lined out to short. Aki is up. last year Aki predicted 20-40. batting leadoff he might actually approach the 40 steal mark, but he will need the Rays to move their home games to Japan to reach 20 home runs.
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Jim Palmer was just commenting on the international “flavor” of baseball and how he used to wonder what would always happen to “all those chinese taipei players” just as Iwamura was striking out. First of all, he pronounced Iwamura as “Iwa…….moor-a” and why is he still not wondering about the Chinese Taipei players? How many chinese players in baseball. 2? 3? Japan? lots. Korea? a few. I’m thinking Mr. Palmer’s BVDs are a little two tight and can’t tell the difference from one asian country to another.
BOTTOM OF FOURTH
Huff almost killed shields with a line drive back up the box, but then gets Ramon Hernandez to ground into a 5-4-3 double play. little surprised they didnt argue the call at second. Iwamura was on the bag, but thought the throw was a little late.
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despite the struggles in the first. Shields is still only at 48 pitches in the 4th innings. not terrible. Kazmir would be at 98 pitches by now.
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Luke Scott hits a seeing-eye single to right. adam jones is up
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Shields gets Jones swinging for his second strike out and Shields is now looking like Shields. Except for that leadoff walk and the misplay by Crawford in left which maybe should have been an error, Shields is looking solid. I have made this comparison before, but Shields reminds me of Maddux. Greg not Mike. For the next 7+ years, we will be able to pencil in 200 innings, 3.50 ERA and 15-20 wins.
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CC hits another weak groundball and Pena follows with line drive right to Roberts that almost hand-cuffed him.
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i know he is only 23, but i have a feeling that 30 years from now at Rays old-timers day, BJ Upton will still weigh 120 pounds
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WOW. Upton just got called out on a pitch that was AT LEAST 6 inches outside. end of inning
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that was the first 1-2-3 inning for the Rays offensively

BOTTOM OF FIFTH
Bartlett takes the first one. not an easy play as the ball had a wicked spin on it. but he makes it look easy
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Roberts up
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Shields falls behind 3-0 and then walks Roberts. Shields second walk of the game and first since the leadoff batter.
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Mora is up. He and his wife had quintuplets after already having one kid. let that be a lesson to all men out there when your wives suggest fertility drugs. JUST SAY NO.
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Mora just took one to the warning track in left center and CC handles this one without a problem. 2 outs
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YES!
Roberts tried to steal. not an easy pitch to handle from Shields as it almost hit the batter high and tight. Navi got the throw off quickly, one-hopping it to Bartlett. Bartlett actually fielded the ball behind Roberts and swept in the tag. Nice play all around. telling you right now. Bartlett is the real deal. ZERO chance that Brendan Harris makes that play.
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Floyd just lined one into the right field corner for a lead off double
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Aybar grounds out to second. Floyd to third and Hinske walks.
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Navi is up with 1 out and first and third. big at bat here to get to the “top of the order” with Bartlett.
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YES! Navi rockets a ball up the middle that is knocked down by the shortstop, but everybody is safe and Floyd scores. 5-2 Rays. let’s call it Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, but I thought the game was over at 2-0.
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And right away Bartlett lines a ball to left field and Hinske scores from second to make it 6-2. This would not be a safe lead last season.
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Guthrie is yanked from the game. 6 runs and 9 hits in 5.1 innings. Your 2008 Baltimore Orioles
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bathroom break. i’ll try to yell from the bathroom. what? too much info?
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Albers(?) comes on. he is apparently a contact pitcher. right hander. kinda chubby…sorry. seemed important.
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Iwamura hits a dribller to third. they try to turn two, and Bartlett takes out Roberts on the turn. Roberts dropped the ball, but Ump ruled it was on the transfer.
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CC is up. not a great game so far. and just looked bad on a swing and a miss
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Huh-wha?!?! Maddon just tried a double steal with Aki on first and Navi (?!?) on third. throw went through and then back to the plate where Navi made it surprisingly close…I am all for running around on the bases like a bunch of drunken banshees, but trying to steal home with Navi is ummm….how do i put this? STUPID.

BOTTOM OF SIXTH
shields just walked another batter on four straight pitches. that is three on the game.
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Millar hits a lazy flyball to Upton. one out.
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And Aubrey Friggin Huff grounds into an inning ending double play back to shields.

TOP OF SEVENTH
CC leads off as he was at the plate when DIONER NAVARRO TRIED TO STEAL HOME. still trying to figure that one out.
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CC flys out to shallow center
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Pena hits a one-hop rocket to the right of Millar and Millar gets lcuky and the ball found his glove. throws to the pitcher covering first. 2 outs.
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in case anybody was worried that Upton might relax his swing this year to cut down on the Ks need not worry. He just about twisted himself into the ground on a swing and miss.
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Upton hits a ball that goes about 8 feet down the first base line. Not sure this one has the distance. out at first. end of inning. still 6-2
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BOTTOM OF SEVENTH
where the hell is the BEER MAN?
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Shields has 3 walks already. in 2007 he walked more than two batters only 4 times in 31 starts.
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sorry phone just started going crazy and Shields just went medievel on the O’s and retired the side 1-2-3 on 5 pitches. he now has only 86 in 7 innings. I love James the Greater

TOP OF EIGHTH
Floyd leads off and hits a weak ground ball to first. one out.
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Aybar up and he has one of the most open batting stances you will ever see. his lead foot is practically in the first base dugout. a nicely placed slider and Aybar’s voice will go up a couple of octaves.
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and a weak ground ball to short and Aybar is now 1-4 in his Rays debut. Clearly demoting Longoria was a mistake. He would be 8-8 with 12 home runs and 14 steals by now.
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Navi goes down looking. end of inning.

BOTTOM OF EIGHTH
Shields is pulled after only 86 pitches. interesting move, but you have to like the confidence in the new bullpen. no way Shields comes out in 2007. Trever Miller makes his re-debut for the Rays
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Luis Hernandez pops out to second on the first pitch.
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Roberts just got his third hit. hard line drive to right
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Papa Joe is on his way out to mound and Al Reyes is coming on. Standard. two batters is about the limit for Miller.
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still cant believe how many empty seats in Baltimore. weak. i thought Baltimore was a good baseball town.
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middle of the order up with Mora. Roberts on first is 1-2 in steals today
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YES! DOUBLE YES! with a full count. Roberts ran and Mora swings and misses. Navi didn’t make a throw. Mora after his swing started to head to the dugout and home plate umpire called Robers out on interference by Mora. When do those calls EVER go for the Rays? It didn’t even look like Navi wanted to throw. he kinda pumped but then he pulled up. Not because of Mora. But really just because Roberts was almost standing on second.

TOP OF NINTH
some guy name Brian Burress is on for O’s. a lefty. who are these guys? Seriously. These are the new Devil Rays
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Navarro, batting right-handed just hit a Navi special down the leftfield line. This guy hits more line drives and yet they all look like they are going about 3 MPH
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i kid you not..when Navo first came up, they said Nathan Hayes was pinch-hitting. now i have never seen Haynes play but he is supposed to be a speed guy. not sure how you get Navi confused with Haynes.
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and now i know that the Os broadcasters are just not paying attention. Bartlett grounds out to first and Millar tries to throw behind Navi at first. and announcer just said “Haynes gets back to second”
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Iwamura hits a lazy flyball to left. two outs
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crawford is first pitch swinging and it is a ground ball to second to end the inning.
will we see Percival with the Rays up 4 and an off-day tomorrow?

BOTTOM OF NINTH
nope it is Dan Wheeler. They havent said yet, but I have to imagine that Percy is warming up…just in case
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ok, Haynes is really in the game now, subbing for Hinske in right field.
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CC just made a great running grab in the corner down the left field line. CC is not the best fielder in the world and his arm is downright attrocious but he gets to more balls than any other left fielder. that was a double with anybody else out there.
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Millar pops up to Pena in foul territory. GET ON YOUR FEET!
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ahhh. sweet. Aubrey Friggin’ Huff, who hit 600 home runs against the Rays last year
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seriously. i no longer have the numbers, but Huff’s OPS against the Rays last year was 1.200 or something…and about .600 against evrybody else. i think it was 7 of his 15 home runs.
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and damn it! game should be over. ground ball to Pena. easy toss to Wheeler and Wheeler tried to catch the ball with his crotch. Huff on first.
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some drunk fans are trying to rally the fans to cheer . sad. sad
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Fly ball to left??????? YES! Game over. Rays Win. The Raaaaaayyyyysssss Laid The Boogie Down. Rays Win!
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Hold on. i need to double check the scorecard….yes. it is true. the bullpen pitched 2 innings and DID NOT allow a run. This is NOT your older brother’s Devil Rays.
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Thanks everybody for stopping by. Hope I could make your work day just a little less productive.

Say it with me. “The FIRST-PLACE TAMPA BAY RAYS”….YES.

Good afternoon RAYSHEADS…Good afternoon Mr. Sternberg…Mr. Silverman…Mr. Friedman and Mr. Maddon…Good afternoon to our honored guest…umm, Peter King?

We are gathered here on opening day 2008 and for the first time in the 11 year history of the Tampa Bay Rays Professional Baseball Club, we sit on the brink of greatness. Mr. Sternberg, Mr. Silverman and Mr. Friedman took over the franchise following the 2005 season and have systematically overhauled not only the underlying structure of the organization but also the attitude of all those involved.

In the first two years of the new regime, things did not look very different to the casual observer. But to those that know and to those that were paying attention, this is no longer your older brother’s Devil Rays.

Changes were made and greatness is near. First they exorcised the Devil from the Bay Area. The front office cowered to the delicate sensibilities of a few old people in the St. Pete area and dropped the Devil from “Devil Rays”. In addition to the name change, the players will sport new uniforms for the umpteenth time in the franchise’s short history.

These changes are nice but they are superficial. What is really important is the team on the field. And I promise you, never have you seen such a collection of talent gathered together at the same time under the roof of Tropicana Field wearing the rainbows or green or black or blue of the Rays.

The Rays now sport a player with all-star potential at 5 positions, with players like Carlos Pena, who hit 46 home runs last year, Carl Crawford who has improved his stats each of his first 5 seasons and is recognized as one of the most talented players in the game, BJ Upton who could go 30-30 in just his second season and Akinori Iwamura at second base who has a year of seasoning and is already playing gold glove-caliber defense at a new position….well, it will be five once we decide that Evan Longoria can handle minor league pitching.

Gone are perennial attitude problems like Delmon Young and his shoulder-mounted bat launcher. Players like Elijah Dukes, his guns and his…ummm…his “other” gun.

That is all fine and dandy, but winning is about three things…Pitching, Pitching and Pitching. The rotation now features three starters with all-star potential in Scott Kazmir, James Shields and Matt Garza. All three are talented and they will be here for at least the next three seasons and James the Greater will now be here for the next 7 years.

And it doesn’t stop there. More is on the way and will be here very soon. With names like Jake McGee and Wade Davis and Jeff Niemann and David Price the Rays not only have talent but for the first time there is depth of pitching that is the envy of many organizations.

The bullpen is better also. No longer will we cringe at the sight of Shawn Camp or Brian Stokes warming up in the bullpen. Now we have veteran leadership that is dependable and will back up and protect the leads handed them by the young starters. With guys like Troy Percival and Al Reyes, 5 and 6 run leads will no longer be an area of discontent.

And not only will they protect the leads and put out the fires. They will also serve as mentors to the young pitchers on the staff. Mentors that were never there previously. Mentorships which may be more important than the eventual performances on the field.

And now the time has come to shut up and play. It is time to finally rise from the cellar of the AL East. Make no mistake, there are bullies in the East. Boston and New York sport payrolls that the Rays can’t even dream about. Baltimore and Toronto also sport high payrolls and loads of talent…ok, well Toronto does…Bullies indeed.

It is time to stop running and hiding from the Beasts of the AL East and it is time to stop rolling over and dying and providing the Yankees and the Red Sox with a stepping stone to the playoffs.

It is time to stand up to the bullies and punch them right in the damn mouth.

In a few hours, these ballplayers from our Tampa Bay Rays will face others from the Baltimore Orioles. And they will be launching the biggest upstart battle in the history of baseball.

“Tampa Bay Rays”. That name should have new meaning for all of us today. We can’t be consumed by our petty differences anymore. We will be united in our common interests.

Perhaps it’s fate that this is March 31, as you will once again be rooting for our freedom… Not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution… but from annihilation. We are fighting for our right to compete. To exist.

And should we win the day, March 31, 2008 will no longer be known as April’s Fools Eve, but as the day RAYSHEADS declared in one voice:

WE WILL NOT GO QUIETLY IN THE NIGHT! WE WILL NOT VANISH WITHOUT A FIGHT! WE’RE GOING TO LIVE ON! WE’RE GOING TO SURVIVE! Today we celebrate RAYS INDEPENDENCE DAY!

Last week’s Rays Confidence Graph results.

Below you will see two polls that ask about your confidence in the Tampa Bay Rays. Please take a moment to answer each question. We will present these same polls every Monday. The results will be presented in graphical form on Wednesday, and will be displayed permanently in the sidebar. The goal of the Confidence Graph is to get a feeling of how Rays fans feel about the team and the franchise and track how that level of confidence changes through time. Thanks!

Raysiverse events of the past week that could impact confidence levels…

• David Price is out 6 weeks with a strained elbow.
• Evan Longoria will begin season in minors. Blogosphere accuses Rays of being cheap bastards. “Rays being the Devil Rays”
• Most fans believe Evan Longoria should be on the opening day roster.
• Some of Evan Longoria’s future teammates react to the demotion in a not-so-positive way.
• More thorough projections suggest 82 wins for the Rays and not 88 or 89 as previously reported.
• Matt Silverman suggests that plan is to keep Evan Longoria in minors all season. Yeah, right.
• Eric Hinske is the starting right fielder against RHPs. Jonny Gomes will only make about 60 starts.
• Rays losing ways not so unusual.
• Scott Kazmir looked good in a bullpen session.
• One of the Rays top outfield prospects is starting to look like he may be injury-prone.

A year ago on Rays Index we presented the 2007 Tampa Bay Devil Rays opening day 25-man roster. Only we would learn the next day that Greg Norton would not be available and some has-been named Carlos Pena would take his place.

Your 2007 Tampa Bay Devil Rays Roster [Rays Index]

Tampa Bay Rays (Opening Day)

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• Obligatory Public Service Announcement: We will be hosting the 2nd Annual Opening Day Tampa Bay Rays Live Blog TODAY here at RI. So feel free to stop by and join in on the shenanigans as participation is certainly welcome.
• We have once again updated the CorkBoard full organizational depth chart. If you want a sense of the depth of starting pitching in the Rays organization just take a look at the rotations of Montgomery and Vero Beach. They are a who’s who of top pitching prospects. [Rays Index]
• In a big “oh thank you lord” announcement, the team reported that Scott Kazmir threw 37 pitches off the mound yesterday (all fastballs) and reported no problems. No word yet when he will make an appearance in a rehab start or in extended spring training. [MLB]
• Stacy Long talked to Jeff Niemann about how he handles airline travel with his 6’9″ frame. [Riverwalk Talk]
• Joe Maddon continues to emphasize the importance of playing consistent and with strong fundamentals. Marc Topkin says it is time to put those words to the test. [St. Pete Times]
• Joe Henderson says that Joe Maddon is the guy for the Rays. We disagree with Henderson’s assessment that “[Maddon's lack of public outbursts of anger towards players] seems to bother some fans, who apparently believe such behavior reveals a lack of macho or something.”…It is not that the fans want Maddon to be macho. Fans just want to know that the player and front office and the manager cares as much about the team as the fans do. They want to know that when they (they fans) are hurting, the players, coaches and front office are also hurting. Most fans understand that such public outbursts don’t have much of an effect on the team, but it helps reassure the fans that it bothers the players and coaches and front office when the team loses 90+ games. [Tampa Tribune]
• Roger Mooney of the Bradenton Herald. King of the one-sentence paragraph. Lost among all of his half-thoughts is the idea that optimism is really high for the Rays. [Bradenton Herald]
• Marc Topkin notes that the opening day nod for James Shields is the culmination of a note-worthy off-season for the starting pitcher. [St. Pete Times]
• The Herald-Tribune reviews the six weeks of spring training. [Herald-Tribune]
• Brittany Ghiroli takes a look at how the Rays bullpen will gel with both young and old members. [MLB]

“Almost every [bullpen] that I played in, I try to instill one thing: We’re going to be guys who are going to take the ball everyday regardless of what’s happened the day before,” Percival said. “We’ve got that group here; we’ve got a lot of resilient guys, guys who’ve been around a long time.”

• Stacy Long notes that catching prospect John Jaso is back in AA Montgomery as the team has told him he needs to improve his defense. [Montgomery Advertiser]
• John Romano points out that 88-wins is not such a stretch. Since 1976, 40 teams have had one season turnarounds of at least 20 wins. Although we would point out that there is a difference between going from 80 wins to 100 and going from 66 to 88. A 20-win swing for an 80-win ballclub represents only a 25% increase on a team that is already good. A 22-win swing for a club with 66 wins represents a 33% increase for a bad team. [St. Pete Times]

Notes on the roster can be found after the roster…

A FEW NOTES ON THE 25-MAN ROSTER…

• With the addition of Eric Hinske the Rays’ opening day payroll will be just north of $44 million. [See 40-man roster and Payroll]
• The player that has appeared in the most games for the Rays is Carl Crawford with 816 games. The pitcher with the most appearances in a Rays uniform is Edwin Jackson with 74 games. James Shields has the most starts among pitchers with 52. Scott Kazmir who will begin the year on the DL has 98 career appearances and 97 career starts.
• The player that has played in the most major league games is Cliff Floyd with 1,531 career games.
• On the 40-man roster, the Rays have 1 player born in the 60s (Troy Percival), 12 players born in the 70s and 28 players born in the 80s.
• The oldest player on the roster is Troy Percival (38 years, 234 days)
• The youngest player on the 25-man roster is BJ Upton (23 years, 222 days)
• The youngest player on the 40-man roster is David Price (22 years, 217 days)
• The shortest players on the 25-man roster are Nathan Haynes, Akinori Iwamura and Dioner Navarro (5’9″)
• The TALLEST player on the 25-man roster is Jason Hammel (6′ 6″)
• The lightest player listed is Nathan Haynes (170 lbs)
• The heaviest player listed is Troy Percival (240 lbs)
• Of the position players, 6 bat left handed, 4 bat right handed and 3 are switch-hitters.
• Of the position players, 3 throw left handed, 10 throw right handed.
• Of the pitchers, 2 throw left-handed.

The Tampa Bay Rays are entering their 11th season and the first 10 haven’t been too good. Those 10 seasons included 9 last past finishes, only one season of 70+ wins, and of course, ZERO playoff appearances. The Rays are considered the most inept franchise in baseball, but how bad have they really been?

Expansion franchises are not supposed to win right away. It takes time. However, in the modern era of free agency, the Rays contemporary expansion brethren have enjoyed periods of success. Since 1993, the Rays are one of four expansion teams. The Colorado Rockies were a wild card team in just their third season and appeared in the World Series last season. The Florida Marlins have already won as many titles (2) as the Red Sox in the last 89 years. The Diamondbacks have four playoff appearances and one title.

So where does the failure of the Tampa Bay franchise rank in the history of baseball. Let’s compare the Rays to the other franchises in Major League Baseball.

First let’s look at all modern era expansion franchises and compare how long it took to reach .500…

Now let’s look at all modern era expansion franchises and compare how long it took to reach the playoffs…

Now let’s look at the franchises that have the longest current streaks of losing seasons…

Now let’s look at the franchises that have the longest current streaks of failing to reach the playoffs…

The Rays have been bad, but we are willing to bet it won’t take 15 years to reach .500 or 36 years before they reach the playoffs. And there are currently other inept franchises that have been bad longer than the Rays.

Why again is the Rays franchise the poster-child for inept franchises?

Tampa Bay Devil Dogs (1 day until opening day)

DRG here again to get you through the weekend…

Yesterday: Reds 8, Tampa Bay Rays 4.

• The Good: Edwin Jackson was good, not great. After walking the first batter of the game and then giving up a single to the second batter, Jackson settled down to retire 8 of the next 10 batters until the 4th inning when he walked the lead off batter, which was followed by a wild pitch, and two straight fly balls that scored a run…JP Howell pitched one inning, striking out all three batters he faced, which is a good sign if Howell is sent back to the minors considering there wasn’t a major leaguer in site of one of his pitches.

• The Bad: Fans at the game were subjected to a minor league game after about 3 innings, with names like Sergio Pedroza and Erold Andrus and Rhyne Hughes and Gabriel Martinez making appearances for the parent club due to the recent roster cuts.

• The Telling: With so many minor leaguers making appearances, you can tell the season is just around the corner…ohhhh, about 30 hours.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

• Gary Shelton and John Romano co-write a piece looking at the Rays and I’ll admit it is the first piece from a Rays journalist that I wished was longer. [St. Pete Times]
• From the minors, one of the Rays’ top prospects, Desmond Jennings will be sidelined to start the season with a back problem. Injuries are becoming a regular part of Jennings upbringing as he was limited to 99 games last year including a knee injury that cut his season short by two weeks. [Riverwalk Talk]
• Tom Jones compares this year’s lineup with the Rays’ all-time best seasons at each position. [St. Pete Times]
• The Herlad-Tribune calls Jonny Gomes the “only constant for Tampa Bay in right field” and Joe Maddon says “We were thinking that from the beginning.” And yet the starting right fielder on opening day? Eric Hinske. So much for seeing what Gomes could do with 600 plate appearances. [Herald-Tribune]
• Jonny Gomes is only going to start against lefties. Eric Hinske is going to be the most-days right fielder. Wow. I had no idea how desperately the Rays needed another outfielder. [St. Pete Times]
• Marc Lancaster breaks down the Rays opening day roster. [Tampa Tribune]
• The Herald-Tribune says there are “Some surprises on Rays’ roster”. [Herald-Tribune]
• The Bradenton Herald says there are “Few surprises on Rays 25-man roster”. [Bradenton Herald]
• Nathan Hayes was in southern California friday night when he heard the news he was coming to the Rays. 13 hours later he walked into Tropicana Field. [MLB]
• The Rays open in Baltimore tomorrow where they have struggled historically, going 33-50 in 10 seasons. [MLB]
• Marc Topkin has a Q&A session with Carl Crawford in which he discusses the 2008 Rays and his future with the franchise. [St. Pete Times]

Earlier this week, we heard about a play in which Elliot Johnson tried to drag bunt only to be retired when Livan Hernandez kicked the ball to first base. As is usually the case of spring training happenings, it started to become the stuff of urban legend as there was no video footage…until now. Just a hunch, but I am guessing that Jonny Gomes had to be restrained in the dugout.

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]