Archive for June 12th, 2008

Jun 12

[ELIJAH DUKES] New Team, New City, Same Elijah Dukes

Manny Acta, PTI Cork Gaines 1 Comment »

Last year we showed that Elijah Dukes behavior had little to do with playing for his hometown team. Sure enough, this past off-season the Rays traded Dukes to the Nationals and Dukes hasn’t changed.

A week ago Elijah Dukes hit his first home run since May 30th of last year when he was a member of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. And in true Dukes fashion, he had a little trouble keeping his emotions in check, to the point that he managed to piss off the home plate umpire.

Well, things took a turn for the worse for the Mischievous Little Badger on Tuesday night.

On Tuesday, Dukes was part of both a stirring Washington comeback and tension that threatened to overshadow it. After doubling and scoring on a Lastings Milledge home run, the two celebrated with an emphatic fist bump. In the dugout, though, the manager and Dukes argued face-to-face. Acta lifted his hands, animated, while Dukes yelled back. When the team lined up in the middle of the diamond for postgame handshakes, Acta walked down the line, hand held high, tapping the hands of his players. But Dukes did not shake his manager’s hand.

Acta claims the bad blood is “over with.”…Good luck with that. Even Washingtonian Michael Wilbon was calling for the Nats to just get rid of Dukes on ESPN’s “Pardon The Interruption”…

Oh, Elijah. We don’t miss you at all. If Ben Grieve was playing right field and you were hitting .400-25-70 for the Nationals, we still wouldn’t miss you. We only wish the door hit you a little harder in the ass on the way out.

Playing For The Rays Is Not Why Elijah Dukes Is A Mischievous Little Badger [Rays Index]
Elijah Dukes Is The Nationals’ Headache Now [Rays Index]
Team to Recall 2 Pitchers From AAA Columbus [Washington Post]
Acta Insists Incident With Dukes Is Done [Washington Post]

Jun 12

[THE HANGOVER] Joe Maddon Ejected During Angels Series; In Other News, Water Is Wet

Edwin Jackson, James Shields, Joe Maddon, Jonny Gomes, Rocco Baldelli Cork Gaines 1 Comment »


DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

  • Don’t forget to VOTE for Carl Crawford to start the all-star game. If you haven’t voted yet today, go NOW! [MLB All-Star Voting]
  • Why go against the odds? Before this series we predicted that Joe Maddon would not be ejected during this series despite having 3 of his 7 career ejections against his former team. We thought the Rays had enough drama on this roadtrip and Papa Joe wouldn’t want to add to it….Sure enough. Papa Joe was ejected yesterday. That is his 8th career ejection and 4th against the Angels, which is amazing considering the Rays have only faced the Angels 23 times with Maddon as manager. [The Heater]
  • The City of St. Pete released a 45-second 3-D video rendering of the proposed waterfront stadium. [Ballpark Frankness]
  • Jonny Gomes served the last day of his suspension and James Shields has dropped his appeal and will now make his next start on June 19th versus the Cubs. When he returns, the Edwin Jackson will begin serving his suspension and the Rays will need a spot-starter on June 21. [St. Pete Times]
  • Rocco Baldelli played in his final extended spring game, going 0-5. He may be ready to join Vero Beach for a rehab assignment. [AP]

“This is probably the first time since the beginning of spring training where I actually felt that I was going to be coming back and playing,” Baldelli said after going 0-for-5 as the designated hitter in his final extended spring training game on Wednesday. “We’re going to sit down and decide what the next step is. Hopefully go out and get some (at-bats) on some kind of rehab assignment.”

  • Brittany Ghiroli notes that the Rays-Marlins interleague matchup matters for the first time. [MLB]
Jun 12

How Does One Quantify 10 Years Of Sucktitude? Fastest Franchise To 1,000 Losses!

Devil Raysian Cork Gaines 17 Comments »

Yesterday afternoon, the Tampa Bay Rays became the 29th franchise in baseball history to lose 1,000 games. And it only took 10 years and 73 days, easily out-distancing the Arizona Diamondbacks who now stand at 853-833 and bettering the previous mark by 10 days. The San Diego Padres needed 10 years and 83 days to reach 1,000.

We will admit that this is easier to swallow now that the Rays are fielding a winning ballclub. However, there is something to be said about losing 1,000 games in less than 10.5 seasons. Of course, their all-time record is so bad, the Rays would have to average 90 wins for the next 17 years to reach the .500 mark in 2026.

Thank goodness for this season’s turnaround. The Rays were on pace to catch the Phillies record of 10,000 losses in September.

Phillies Fans Finally Find Their Happy Place [Deadspin]

Jun 12

[DOWN ON THE FARM] Joel Guzman Hits 13th Home Run For Bulls

Uncategorized Cork Gaines No Comments »

Durham 9, Rochester 7. Jeff Niemann picked up the win, but did give up 6 runs and 2 home runs in 5.1 innings. He struck out 7 and walked none…Chris Richard homered twice and drove in 3…Joel Guzman added his 13th home run and Jon Weber hit his 6th…Reid Brignac was 1-4 with a walk.

Mobile @ Montgomery (ppd, rain)

Ft. Myers 3, Vero Beach 1. Ryan Morse struck out 6 and walked only 1 in 5 shutout innings…Ryan Royster and Nevin Ashley were each 2-4 accounting for 4 of the D-Rays 5 hits…Garrett Groce was 1-3 and drove in the only run.

Columbus 4, Savannah 2. Brian Flores started and was pulled after giving up 2 runs (1 earned) in 3 innings…Glenn Gibson relieved Flores and had his second straight strong outing since being moved to the bullpen. Yesterday he worked 4 scoreless innings, giving up 3 hits and 2 walks to 4 strike outs.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

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