[THE HANGOVER] Kazmir May Now Make One Less Second-Half Start Due To All-Star Appearance
Al Reyes, BJ Upton, Edwin Jackson, George Sherrill, Joe Maddon, Jonathon Papplebon, Matt Garza, Reid Brignac, Scott Kazmir July 18th. 2008, 11:13am
THE TELLING: Noticed this during the home run derby, but forgot about it…All of the All-Stars had their team’s logo on the right sleeve of the All-Star jerseys (ie. Cubs). However, Evan Longoria’s jersey had the Rays’ fish logo rather than the new sunburst logo. And yes, we are aware that the fish logo is the same logo worn on the sleeves of the Rays’ unis, but we were surprised that the Rays did not take this opportunity to further promote their new identity. Remember it was Matt Silverman that said the Rays were no longer the “bottom-dwelling fish”.
DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…
- No surprise here. Scott Kazmir will not start on Saturday as originally intended. He is being pushed back to Sunday or Monday due to his unscheduled appearance in the All-Star game on Tuesday. Now, thanks to the extra-innings of the All-Star game, Kaz could potentially make one less start in the second half. If Kazmir misses no starts the remainder of the season and remains on his normal 4-days rest throughout, he is now scheduled to pitch on the last day of the regular season. However, if Kid K is pushed back to Monday for his second-half debut he will miss that last start. Even if he does start on Sunday, any change to the rotation, will cost Kaz a start. However, if he threw on Saturday there would be a 1-game buffer…Matt Garza will take Kid K’s spot in the rotation on Saturday and Edwin Jackson will start on Sunday if Kazmir is pushed back to Monday. [The Heater]
- Did the extra-inning affair at the All-Star game strategically help the Red Sox pennant hopes? Besides potentially costing Scott Kazmir a start in the second half, you didn’t see Jonathon Papelbon throwing 2.1 innings, did you? Games against the O’ might be a little easier if George Sherrill throws out his arm in the second half. [The Ghosts of Tropicana Field]
- As was speculated previously, Al Reyes will come off the DL today in time for tonight’s game. Reid Brignac had already been optioned to Durham to make room. The Rays now are back to a full 12-man pitching staff. [MLB]
- Joe Maddon spoke to the team yesterday during workouts and emphasized that there is no reason this club can’t remain in the AL East race. [SI.com]
- In a “1+1=2″ story, Jacob Schneider of the Tampa Tribune tells us that more wins equals more merchandise being sold, more fans in the Trop and more fans watching on TV. [Tampa Tribune]
- Outs Per Swing defends BJ Upton from the critics that claim he is having a down year. [Outs Per Swing]
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Or did it give US THE TB Rays home field advantage??????
you gotta be in it, to win it
Would you rather have Kaz pitch the last game of the regular season or the first game of the post-season?
I’ll take the bump as a sign that Kid-K is supposed to be our opening pitcher in the playoffs.
Prof: Welcome back!
I’ll be following your lead and be heading on vacation on the 29th- Aug 6th… Jamaica Baby(my second honeymoon…same wife)!
Make sure you check out my “Jonny has got to Go(mes)” post from last week.
I hope for your sake that you missed that game, as I’m sure you’d have broken your TV with some type of high-speed projectile.