Feb 23
One year ago on Rays Index we discovered that Andy Sonnanstine has mad Ping-Pong skillz.
Andy Sonnanstine Is Proud Of His Ping-Pong Ball Mad Skillz [Rays Index]
Archive for February 23rd, 2009
Feb 23
Of all the contracts given out by the Rays this off-season, the one that surprised us the most is the deal not given to Joe Maddon. On the heals of an AL Manager of the Year award, Maddon enters 2009 in the last year of his current contract. Few teams like to play a season with a manager that only has one year remaining on a deal. How often do you hear the phrase “free agent manager”?
John Romano tackles this very subject in his latest column…
He has no contract beyond this October. No promises, no guarantees, no commitments. And, at the moment, Joe Maddon also has no worries. He always has been a low-maintenance sort of guy and, contract extension or not, has no reason to worry about his future. Entering the fourth, and final, season of his original contract, Maddon says he could not be happier with Rays management.
Even if there is a lot of “trust flowing back and forth” as Maddon stated and even if there is a “great working relationship” as put forth by Andrew Freidman, the lack of a contract extension is a bit strange.
But it does look odd when you consider how willing the Rays have been to secure key assets with long-term deals. They love the cost certainty, and the idea of taking free agency out of the picture. So they have tied up the third baseman. The leftfielder. Two of the starting pitchers. Even a utility infielder…As for the manager, I would say he is pretty high up the list of potential free agents. His time for a long-term deal has not yet come, but I would hope it will soon.
We are not worried yet, but if the calendar pages start turning to the dog days of August and September and the Rays still haven’t extended Maddon’s contract, our liver will take the brunt of the punishment.
We don’t care how good the relationship is. What happens if the Yankees miss the playoffs again and Maddon is sitting out there as a free agent manager? We don’t doubt that Maddon would prefer to manage the Rays if all things are equal. But all things won’t be equal. Will Maddon be able to turn down the $5-7 million per season the Steinbrenners will almost certainly throw in his direction?
Manager Joe Maddon, Tampa Bay Rays seem unconcerned about lack of a long-term deal [St. Pete Times]
Feb 23
One person associated with the Rays that doesn’t receive as much attention as he probably deserves is Henry Oliu, the Rays Spanish radio broadcaster. Oliu is able to call the Rays play-by-play despite being blind since birth.
Few people that follow the Rays are aware of the story of Henry O, and even fewer people know the story outside of the bay area. Ziad Hamzeh is trying to change that.
Henry O!, a feature-length documentary directed by Ziad Hamzeh, has been selected as an official entry in The 2009 DC Independent Film Festival, 2009 Beloit Film Festival, 2009 Lindsey UNA Film Festival, 2009 Gasparilla Film Festival, and the 2009 Macon Film and Video Film Festival…HENRY O! tells the remarkable and inspiring story of Henry Oliu, a man blind since birth, who has overcome all the odds and made his major league baseball dream come true. Calling upon his love for sports and an encyclopedic memory for facts and figures, Henry hears the crack of the bat and knows if it’s a single, double, or homerun; he listens for the ball singing into the catcher’s mitt and knows if it’s a curveball, fastball, or change-up.
This film will be featured at the Gasparilla Film Festival. If anybody gets a chance to see this film, we would love to hear a review.
Feb 23
Robert Szasz, better known at The Trop as “The Heckler”, has gotten himself into some hot water.
Szasz, 42, is a developer. Since January, banks have filed five lawsuits saying he has stopped paying on more than $9 million in loans that he personally signed for. Wachovia Bank has served notice that it intends to foreclose on his 7,000-square-foot waterfront home on Snell Isle, which carries a $3.1 million mortgage.
We have no idea what is going to come of this mess, but we suggest that Szasz not call Derek Jeter for a loan.
Bank gives Tampa Bay Rays’ high-profile heckler a Bronx cheer [St. Pete Times]
Feb 23
[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss The Value Of Maddon, Spring Starters And Izzy’s Role
Carlos Hernandez, Joe Maddon No Comments »
Several veteran free agents have signed with the Rays this off-season and the common thread among several of them was that they were drawn to the Rays in part by Joe Maddon.
[Adam Kennedy] could have gone with a team that had some uncertainty at second base, or one that trained close to his California home. But it was the Rays who were at the top of his list, even though they meet neither of those criteria…The reason? Joe Maddon…”One hundred percent,” Kennedy said. “It was pretty much all of it. Knowing how he goes about it and the relationship we’ve had, hopefully he was up for it, and they were.”
Marc Lancaster’s piece goes on to mention that Pat Burrell was also drawn to the Rays by Maddon.
Pat Burrell, a career National Leaguer, had no firsthand knowledge of Maddon when he began exploring potential landing spots as a free agent this winter. But the more he asked around, the more he found everyone – “Everyone,” Burrell emphasized – who had dealt with Maddon recommending him.
It was not that long ago that the Rays would have needed to outbid other teams for free agents, which just assured that they would not sign any free agents of importance. Even Bob Dylan couldn’t have seen times a-changin’ this much.
There are those that will contend that a baseball manager is the least important leadership position in sports, arguing that a team’ manager has little affect on the outcome of a game. For those people, we counter with exhibit A: Joe Maddon.
Kennedy Made Positive Move [Tampa Tribune]
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Carlos Hernandez will start the Grapefruit League opener for the Rays on Wednesday…With all the veterans the Rays have added this spring for depth, it is easy to forget about Hernandez, who at one point was one of the top pitching prospects in baseball. He signed with the Rays last summer and dominated single-A. We wouldn’t be surprised if Hernandez sees action with the Rays at some point this summer. [Rays Report]
- Wade Davis and Jeff Niemann will start the second and third spring games. [Rays Report]
- Matt Joyce injured his calf and will be out a few days. [The Heater]
- Joe Maddon says that if he had one major goal it would be that the Rays were the best baserunning team in baseball…If Maddon really wants the Rays to be a better baserunning team, he should start by connecting an Xbox controller to BJ Upton’s ass and giving the controls to Don Zimmer. [MLB]
- Jason Isringhausen says he is excited about the challenge of having to make the Rays roster. [The Heater]
- An AP story is the first to speculate that Jason Isringhausen could go all the way from minor league deal to closer for the Rays. [ESPN]
- Rays of Light shows why depth in the bullpen is so important. [Rays of Light]
- Jason Bartlett talks about not being able to workout with his double-play partner, Akinori Iwamura, who could be away from the Rays until March 24. [St. Pete Times]
- Are there really 400-pound wild boars hanging around the Rays spring training complex? Marc Topkin takes a closer look at the Rays new Spring Training home. [St. Pete Times]
- Watching Durham Bulls Baseball explores the Rays new spring training home using Google Earth. [Watching Durham Bulls Baseball]
- The Rays will not use scouts on the road this season to watch the Rays’ next opponent. Instead they will do advanced scouting in-house using videos and statistical trends. [St. Pete Times]
- Carlos Pena has had the bulk of his assets frozen as a result of the investigation into Stanford Financial Group. Luckily for Pena, he does keep a separate account for day-to-day expenses. [St. Pete Times]
- Joe Maddon and Andrew Friedman agree that Carlos Pena is an unsung leader for the Rays. [Tampa Tribune]
- Marc Lancaster looks at the value of Andy Sonnanstine. [Tampa Tribune]
- Chone Smith has his projections up for the AL East using his CHONE projection system. The Rays come in at 89-73, 8 games behind the Yankees and 7 behind the Sox. [Anaheim Angels all the way]
- Evan Longoria talks about life as a celebrity. [St. Pete Times]
