Dec 15
Two years ago on Rays Index, we learned that the Rays had finalized a contract with Akinori Iwamura.
Rays Finalize Deal With Iwamura [Rays Index]
Archive for December 15th, 2008
Dec 15
On Friday the Rays chose not to offer Jonny Gomes arbitration. The move most likely ended Gomes’ career with the Rays.
Marc Topkin spoke with Gomes, who indicated that he would be open to a rejoining the Rays on a minor league deal if he is unable to find major league work someplace else. Gomes is also in the process of exploring options to improve his vision (that explains drinking beer out of an athletic cup) and feels being drafted by the Rays may have saved his life.
“If it wasn’t for the Rays, I’d probably be in Iraq right now,” Gomes said Saturday. “Back in ’01, I had two contracts in front of me, one to go play for the Rays as an 18th-round draft pick and one to go into the Marines…So I may owe the Rays my life. I’m one of the few people who leaves the Rays with a smile.”
We will certainly miss Gomes’ enthusiasm. And we will miss his aggressiveness. And we will miss his ability to always steal second base with two outs to get into scoring position. And we will miss his honesty (when asked how the team felt about Evan Longoria being demoted, he answered that the only person that liked the move was the triple-A manager). But we won’t miss his “Keystone Kops” routine in the outfield or his penchant for thinking one home run was a sign of more to come or how he swung at over 50% of pitches that were out of the strike zone (seriously).
So, with Gomes’ career with the Rays now in the rear view mirror, let’s take a look back at some of our favorite stories of Gomes. Have your own favorite Jonny Terrific story? Let’s hear it in the comments.
Jonny Gomes Webtopia…
- Teams learned not to mess with the Rays as long as he was on the team. [Yankees Play Dirty After Whining About Clean Play]
- Our love affair with Gomes began early on and may have had something to do with how much he used to look like a certain TV teacher. [Hey Mr. Gomes...Up Your Nose With A Rubber Hose!]
- But that took a big hit when he started looking more like the ex-Mr. Brittany Spears. [Separated At Birth?]
- The again, who can deny his animal magnetism. [Bugs and Cranks]
- We would be remiss if we did not point out the great work Gomes did with children with cancer. [MLB]
- And he looks like he could have kicked our ass, even when he was 12. [Pearls of Wisdom]
- Gomes had an interesting (to say the least) choice of walk-up music prior to his at bats. We always wondered why a team like the Rays, that strives to be a family-friendly atmosphere, allowed that song to be played. [Jonny Gomes Is A Crazy B!tch]
- Gomes is the only player in baseball that can drink beer from an athletic cup and people are not surprised. [Bugs and Cranks]
- Or show up for warm ups with an axe. [Bugs and Cranks]
- He once showed up in the clubhouse with a “good luck” rooster. [MLB]
- We could never get over Gomes’ inability to button his jersey. [Jonny Gomes: DH/Outfielder For The...RAAYS?]
- But we loved his appearance in the “History of the Fist Bump.” [The Fist Bump: All The Cool Kids Are Doing It]
- What could have been…if only the Rays let him practice against right handed pitchers. [Jonny Gomes Never Even Got To Hit Against Right-Handers In Batting Practice]
Departed Jonny Gomes appreciates time with Tampa Bay Rays [St. Pete Times]
Dec 15
[THE HANGOVER] Gerry Hunsicker Signs Extension To Stay With Rays
Gerry Hunsicker, Jason Giambi, Jonah Keri, Josh Paul, Matt Garza, Milton Bradley, Scott Dohmann, Willy Aybar 8 Comments »
Above image is of Stuart Sternberg arriving for the wedding of Florida Governor Charlie Crist (image from FragMob)
Lots o’ goodies today from Marc Topkin, so we are giving him his first-ever Topkintopia (the regular webtopia is below)…
- We reported last week that it appeared Gerry Hunsicker, “Teller” to Andrew Friedman’s “Penn” (or “Silent Bob” to Friedman’s “Jay” for the younger crowd), was staying with the Rays despite reports that other teams were interested in his services. Topkin is now confirming that Hunsicker has signed an extension to stay with the Rays saying “I’m happy here. I like what I’m doing.”
- Many think the Rays will slow-play the free agent market and take whatever is left over. Topkin warns that there is a risk as some teams could enter the market later if they lose out on their higher-priced targets.
- Topkin places odds on who will be the opening day DH for the Rays, declaring Jason Giambi the favorite at 3:1, with Milton Bradley right behind at 5:1. Willy Aybar is the highest ranked player currently in the organization at 10:1 (6th on list).
- Jonah Keri, author of “Baseball Between the Numbers”, has announced that he will write a book about the Rays and their Wall Street approach to baseball. Not surprisingly, Topkin says the Rays, who prefer to keep things close to the vest, are “neither cooperating with the project nor particularly enthused.”…Keri was interviewed recently about the book on Rays Digest.
- Matt Garza had minor foot surgery to correct an old break in his foot. The surgery makes Garza ineligible for the World Baseball Classic. There were some rumblings that Garza was being considered for the Mexican team.
DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…
- Rays Prospects projects the starting rotation for the Rays and each of their minor league affiliates. [Rays Prospects]
- If you are going to write in to the local newspaper and bitch about errors seen in their coverage of the Rays and other sports (in this case the Charlotte Sun) please make sure you don’t have your own error in the very first sentence. [Charlotte Sun]
- Behold! “The Longorious”. [Waivers and Sharks]
- Sometimes, while constructing this list, certain headlines make us do a double-take. [Harnesslink]
- Former Rays pitcher Scott Dohmann, who made 12 appearances with the Rays and 33 appearances with the Durham Bulls in 2008, is expected to sign with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of the Central League in Japan. [Sponichi; Translated]
- Rays Digest takes a look back at the Rays busy week in Las Vegas. [Winter Meetings Rewind]
- Former Rays catcher Josh Paul will manage the Staten Island Yankees of the short-season New York-Penn League…We will always have a soft-spot for Paul because of his official team photo. Paul appeared in 93 games for the Rays in 2006 and 2007. [NY Baseball Digest]
- Despite the additions of CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett, Richard Justice says the Yankees are still just the third best team in the AL East. [Yahoo! Sports]
- Drays Bay puts together a “Bullpen Matrix” for the Rays relievers…We assume Grant Balfour is Neo and Troy Percival is Morpheus, but who is Trinity? [Drays Bay]
- Mets Fever would like to see the Mets sign Jonny Gomes. [Mets Fever]
- Tyler Hissey spoke with Dayn Perry of FoxSports.com about the Rays. [Rays Digest]
- Nothing new here, but Ken Rosenthal says the Cubs and the Rays are the two teams pursuing Milton Bradley the hardest. Rosenthal says the Rays are a better fit (patient manager, ability to DH) but wonders if the Rays will meet Bradley’s asking price…The better question is: How far down from his asking price would Bradley be willing to go to sign with the Rays? [Fox Sports]
- Rays Prospects has the winter stats updated through Friday for players in the Rays organization. [Rays Prospects]
- Tampa Bay Sports Blog explains why recent moves show that the Rays are smarter than the Yankees. [Tampa Bay Sports Blog]
- David Chalk of Bugs and Cranks keeps chugging along with his Devil Rays Advent Calendar and the all-time greatest Devil Rays. [Bugs and Cranks]
