Aug 14
Archive for August 14th, 2008
Aug 14
[BARRY BONDS] ‘The Sabean Corollary’ Proves Rays Should Not Sign Barry Bonds
Barry Bonds, Brian Sabean, Carl Crawford, Evan Longoria 5 Comments »Now that Carl Crawford is going to be lost for the remainder of the regular season and Evan Longoria is out for 3 weeks, some think the Rays need to sign Barry Bonds more than ever. After months of saying the Rays wouldn’t, yesterday we finally warmed-up a bit to the idea of the all-time home run king in a Rays uniform.
But then we figured out why the Rays should absolutely, positively NOT sign Bonds. Brian Sabean thinks it is a good idea.
“I certainly think if he DH’d for somebody, even at this late juncture in the season…it doesn’t take much for him to get ready, we all saw that in spring training, after 10 at-bats he’d get bored…I think it would be smart for Tampa Bay because they are in a very unique position…as history goes with baseball with a chance to win that division against those two counterparts is pretty amazing…”
This should be a no-brainer now. Even if Sabean had not traded Francisco Liriano, Joe Nathan and Boof Bonser to the Twins for AJ Pierzynski, many would still consider Sabean the worst GM in baseball. This is a guy that thought it was a good idea to give $126 million to a pitcher that had averaged less than 14 wins in the previous four seasons. And the Rays are now supposed to jump on the bandwagon of lunacy?
For those of you that have ever gambled, it is like that one guy you knew in college that never won a bet. It got so bad that you started picking the exact opposite. Thanks to your buddy, you made a lot of money (If you don’t know the guy we are talking about, there is a good chance you were the guy). And then it would start to roll over into the rest of your lives. Like, if you guys were trying to figure out which bar to go to that would have the hottest girls and that guy picked bar A, the rest of you knew to go to Bar B.
Bill Simmons would call this “The Sabean Corollary”. In being such a bad GM, Sabean has proven the Rays should not sign Barry Bonds.
Brian Sabean thinks the Rays should Persue [sic] Bonds [MLB on XM]
Aug 14
This is a bit stale, but the news is too good for those RAYSHEADS unable to watch Tampa Bay Rays games in their part of the country. Back in April we took a look at MLB’s idiotic and archaic blackout rules. Now MLB president Bob DuPuy is ready to propose a drastic overhaul to the restrictions that should allow fans to see a majority of their favorite team’s games, no matter where they live.
At the owners’ meetings Wednesday, DuPuy said he will propose that if a team is not broadcasting in a geographic location for at least one season, it loses the right to black out games in that area…While cities with teams rarely are affected – a local affiliate, such as the YES Network with the Yankees or New England Sports Network in Boston, usually carries a majority of games in major-metropolitan areas – ones on the periphery often suffer. Las Vegas, for example, is at least a four-hour drive from Los Angeles, Phoenix, Oakland, San Francisco and San Diego, yet games played by teams in those cities are blacked out. No Las Vegas cable company regularly broadcasts any of those teams’ games.
In other words, those of you that live in the Gainesville-Talahassee-Panhandle portion of the state would finally be able to watch Rays’ games on either MLB.tv or your local cable company’s “Extra Innings” package.
Of course, the 6:00 Saturday home games will still be blacked out thanks to the Fox national blackout on Saturdays that lasts until 7:00. Small price to pay so the Baby Boomers can watch the post-game Kool and the Gang concert and still be home in time for “Saturday Night Live”…also known as “Falling asleep on the couch with a bowl of ice cream in your lap.”
Owners to discuss blackout solution [Yahoo! Sports]
SW Alabama Is Rays’ Country! Wait. What? [Rays Index]
Aug 14
[THE HANGOVER] Rays Magic Number For Playoffs Now 38; Yankees Are Roadkill
David Price, Evan Longoria, Jason Bartlett, Joe Maddon, Kyle Lobstein, Tom Foley 7 Comments »
THE GOOD: Looonnnggggg home run by Carlos Pena in the 1st inning. That is 7 in the last 18 games. Pena’s bat couldn’t have woken up at a better time…Great relay to end the 3rd inning. With a runner on second, a single to left was sent home by Eric Hinske with a perfect relay from Willy Aybar to nail the runner and keep the lead at 2-0. The A’s probably don’t send the runner if there were less than 2 outs, but the Rays still had to make the play, and they did…The 5th inning could have been much worse. A double, single and intentional walk loaded the bases with no outs. A single to Gabe Gross scored
THE BAD: Troy Percival again struggled with his control, walking 2 in the 9th including the leadoff hitter. 1-run leads in the 9th are going to be an adventure from here on out…Rays batters struck out 12 times.
THE TELLING: For all the naysayers that think the Rays will fall back to Earth after their recent slew of injuries should note the Rays magic number for a playoff spot is now 38 over the Twins. There now appears to only be 4 teams competing for 3 spots as the Yankees are now 3rd in the wild card standings, 6 games back of the Red Sox. So the important numbers now for the Rays are the 3 game lead in the East and the 5.5 game lead over the Twins. No way Yankees will make up 9 games in 6 weeks. As we said last week, The Yankees are dead. The Yankees are roadkill.
DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…
- OK, OK…Fine. We’ll do it. Today marks the long overdue return of the “Rays Index Live Blog-A-Baloo of the Week”. So see you guys back here around 3:30 and we will try to help you through the last couple of hours at work.
- Joe Maddon would not rule out a return of Jason Bartlett to SS this afternoon, although tomorrow sounds more likely. Bartlett is still battling a “bad bone bruise.” He played catch yesterday and Tom Foley said he looked better than the day before. [MLB]
- Mike Francesa of
“The Fatso and Fruit Loops”“The Mike and the Mad Dog” show, finally admits he was wrong about the Rays…If you have never listened to this NYC radio show, let’s just say it is a rare day when Mikey admits he is wrong about anything. [Mike and the Mad Blog] - John Romano of the St. Pete Times takes a look at some recent contenders that also suffered key injuries down the stretch. What we learn is we have no idea what will happen. [St. Pete Times]
- The only one of the Rays’ top draft picks yet to sign is 2nd round pick Kyle Lobstein. Both sides are expecting a deal to get done by Friday’s deadline. [Tampa Tribune]
- In case you missed it in the early post, The Immaculate Inning was on hand last night for David Price’s triple-A debut and wrote a detailed account. [The Immaculate Inning]
- Gerry Fraley thinks Evan Longoria’s trip to the DL could actually help his chances at winning the MVP. [Sporting News]
- A Brewers fan offers advice to Rays fans on how to cope with this current rough patch…Listen Brewers fans: Keep your ’07 taint as far away from the Rays as possible. Thank You. [The Grand National Championships]
Aug 14
[DOWN ON THE FARM] Price Shaky In AAA Debut; Rollins Solid In AA Debut
Craig Albernaz, David Price, Heath Rollins 2 Comments »Norfolk 7, Durham 6. David Price made his triple-A debut and picked up his first professional loss. In 4 innings, he struck out 6 and walked none, but did allow 3 runs on 7 hits (6 singles and a double). For a more detailed recap of Price’s performance, see the first bullett below…John Jaso drove in 4 with a pair of doubles. He also stole a base and threw out a base stealer…Joel Guzman also had 2 doubles in 4 at bats…Jonny Gomes was 0-4 with 3 strike outs and Fernando Perez was 0-5.
Jacksonville 3, Montgomery 2. Heath Rollins double-A debut was overshadowed by the triple-A debut of David Price. But Rollins did not disappoint, striking out 9 and walking none in 7 innings of 1-run ball. He gave up 4 hits. The only blemish was a first inning, solo home run. He retired the final 8 batters he faced…Eddie Morlan blew the save, giving up a 2-run home run in the 8th…Gaby Martinez provided all the offense with a 2-run home run, his 20th, in the 1st inning…Rashad Eldridge was 1-3 with 2 walks and his 21st stolen base. Eldridge is quietly posting a solid season, with a .301/.397/.402 line. Eldridge is 26, in his 9th minor league season and his 5th organization.
Jupiter 7, Vero Beach 5 (11). Jupiter scored 4 in the top of the 11th and held on for the win…Ryan Morse allowed only 2 unearned runs in 5 innings. He struck out 5 and walked 2…Ryan Royster was 2-4 with a walk and his 9th home run. He drove in 2 and scored twice.
Lake Co. 4, Columbus 1 (gm 1). Brian Flores allowed 4 runs and was pulled before the end of the 4th.
Lake Co. 5, Columbus 1 (gm 2). Jeremy Hall held Lake County to 1 run in 5 innings, but did walk 4 batters and hit a 5th. He struck out 4…Henry Wrigley was 2-3.
Burlington 3, Princeton 0. Tim Beckham was 1-3 with a single, walk and a strike out.
NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…
- The Immaculate Inning was on hand last night for David Price’s triple-A debut and wrote a detailed account. [The Immaculate Inning]
- Montgomery catcher Craig Albernaz has overcome all the doubters to make it 2 stops from the majors. [The Herald News]
