Up until first pitch, use the comments section to predict who you think will be the Sunburst Player of the Game. (be sure to use a valid email address while leaving the comment). The commenter that correctly predicts who we will name the Sunburst Player of the Game the most times prior to the all-star game, will win two tickets to a second-half game. Runners-up get their choice of a t-shirt. [Click HERE for rules]
Check Marc Topkin’s blog for the starting lineups.
Welcome to the 1st Annual Tampa Bay Rays Trade Pool where we determine who is the best at predicting which members of the Rays organization will be traded this season (this contest is based loosely on the “Dead Pool“).
We have invited all members of the Tampa Bay Rays Blogosphere as as well as a couple of outside bloggers.
The Rules:
Notes on the rankings can be found after the tables…
Notes on the rankings
Thanks to all who chose to participate including…
Also, you might be asking “What does the winner receive?” We have no idea. Any suggestions?
Time to bring back the GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.
click above image for boxscore
THE GOOD: See less evil. We did something we never do. We turned the game off after the second inning. We left the house and had a nice Mexican dinner. the game was over, and this team absolutely makes us sick right now. No pitching. No fielding. No hitting. No fundamentals. No heart. None.
THE BAD: First Inning. Single, infield single, walk, wild pitch, dropped pop up, another infield single, another wild pitch, another walk. 4 runs. Game over.
THE TELLING: This 4-game set against the Red Sox is either exactly what the Rays need or more likely it is the worst possible timing. The Rays know they can compete with the Red Sox, having taken 2 of 3 to start the season, but the Sox are playing at a different level now. The rivalry could spark the Rays. Or they are about to run into a juggernaut while playing like the Devil Rays. But worst of all is that this is a 4-game series. It is so hard to win a 4-game series. Sure it would be nice, but a split is far more realistic, and all a split does is stop the bleeding for a few days.
SUNBURST PLAYER OF THE GAME: Lance Cormier. 4 shutout innings. 3 hits and no walks. We thought his position on the team was limited with Jason Isringhausen almost ready to join the team. But Joe Maddon has gotta love a reliever than can give him 3-4 innings and save the rest of the bullpen for the next fight.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
Charlotte 9, Durham 1. Carlos Hernandez gave up 7 runs in 3.2 innings including 3 home runs…Reid Brignacwas 2-4 with a pair of doubles and Matt Joycewas 0-3 with a walk and his 2nd stolen base.
Jacksonville 13, Montgomery 7. Jason Cromer got lit up for 7 runs in 3.2 innings on 10 hits (2 home runs) and 1 walk…Desmond Jenningswas 0-4 and Rhyne Hughes finished 2-5 with his league-leading 8th home run.
Charlotte 8, Sarasota 6. Jeremy Hall allowed 5 runs (4 earned) in 5 innings…Greg Sexton hit his first home run of the year and drove in 3.
Augusta 7, Bowling Green 0. Frank de los Santos struck out 3 in 5 innings and allowed 2 runs in 5 innings…Tim Beckham finished 0-4 with 3 strike outs. He is now hitting .275 with 19 strikeouts and only 3 walks in 18 games.
Notes from Down on the Farm…
Up until first pitch, use the comments section to predict who you think will be the Sunburst Player of the Game. (be sure to use a valid email address while leaving the comment). The commenter that correctly predicts who we will name the Sunburst Player of the Game the most times prior to the all-star game, will win two tickets to a second-half game. Runners-up get their choice of a t-shirt. [Click HERE for rules]
Check Marc Topkin’s blog for the starting lineups.
We talk about Mrs. Professor all the time, so it seems only fair that she occasionally talk to you in her own words. Besides, she is the one that is actually a trained writer. We can only hope that you won’t start expecting the same level of prose from us.
I will never forget wearing my first bridesmaid dress and watching a childhood friend open a wedding gift from her husband-to-be. It was a hunting knife and a rifle. Not only was she not appalled, she seemed OK with it, maybe even excited. I had never seen her shoot or stab anything in the 15 years I had been friends with her. I had no idea what to say. Taking an interest in your future-husband’s hobbies is one thing, happily accepting a wedding gift that could kill and gut all your family’s pets? Not OK.
I vowed that I would never be that girl. I promised myself when I fall in love with someone, I will maintain my own personality and he will know how to give a proper gift.
Six years later, on my own wedding day, I said a little prayer of thanks that there was no way in hell my future-husband would give me a rifle before I walked down the aisle, or in his case, Major League Baseball 2K9 or a Rays jersey.
My husband is a big baseball fan. While I am a big fan of the food and drinks at baseball games, baseball itself meant very little to me. I played t-ball when I was in kindergarten and, at the time, had no idea that there was any way to win or lose. And my knowledge of the sport had advanced only slightly since that time. At the risk of breaking my promise to myself, I made a conscious effort to maintain my previous level of interest. However, I soon realized he was no ordinary fan. And that it was impossible to be around him and not learn the names of all the Rays players and the difference between a forced and unforced out. And as a native Texan who dutifully went to high school football games all her grade school life and never once bothered to learn what a first down was, I have an incredibly capacity for willful ignorance. So this was no small feat.
Initially, I was deeply offended that any sport could have such a long season. Even if I can appreciate something, I can usually only appreciate it for so long. The Grand Canyon, for example, was beautiful. But it didn’t take me more than 30 minutes to realize it was beautiful and quickly suggest a good restaurant with a great view and air conditioning if anybody was interested. Baseball games are long. They happen almost every day. They never seemed to end. One can only eat so many hot dogs and drink so many huge beers. I wasn’t at all sure what I had gotten myself into. My best guess was: a lot of free time while my husband was watching baseball, reading about baseball and writing about baseball.
Although I would still be offended by a Rays/baseball equivalent of a shotgun as a romantic gesture, I would be excited about the prospect of becoming season ticket holders. I don’t dread the spring and actually got a little sad this past October. I like to believe that I’ve kept the promise I made to myself in my navy blue bridesmaid dress. I’m still the same girl I was before I met my husband. I’ve just learned how to enjoy a baseball game, even without the hot dogs and huge beers.
Time to bring back the GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.
click above image for boxscore
THE GOOD: Ben Zobrist. Zorilla hit another pinch-hit home run and is now 3-5 with 2 home runs as a pinch-hitter this season. Both were huge.
THE BAD: James Shields. Shields gives up home runs. Always has, always will. But what he can’t do is walk the leadoff hitter 2 batters before Justin Morneau. And then there is the hit batter with the bases loaded, and the 4 walks total…Willy Aybar. Where did he think he was going when he was thrown out at home by 20 feet?…Troy Percival. Let’s face it, at this point Percy still has decent stuff, but he has no idea where the ball is going. Nobody misses the strikezone by so much on such a consistent basis as Percival…JP Howell. Did his best Troy Percival imperonation by throwing about 126 pitches in the dirt…Baserunning. Stop us if you have heard this before. Two Rays were picked…
THE TELLING: Willy Aybar started at DH as Pat Burrell was pulled from the lineup prior to the game with a stiff neck…According to PECOTA, the Rays now have a 33.4% chance of making the playoffs. The Blue Jays, who lead the division have only an 11.1% shot.
SUNBURST PLAYER OF THE GAME: Ben Zobrist. Can somebody please find this guy some more plate appearances?
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
Durham 14, Charlotte 7. Wade Davis did not have his control last night. In 5.1 innings, he walked 3 and only struck out 1 in 5.1 innings. He allowed 3 runs including a 2-run home run…Chad Orvella had his first rough night, getting touched for 3 runs in 1.2 innings…Justin Ruggiano (2), John Jaso (1) and Elliot Johnson all homered for the Bulls…Reid Brignac was 2-3 with 2 walks and Matt Joyce finished 1-2 with a pair of walks.
Montgomery 7, Jacksonville 2. Ryan Morse had a strong start for the Biscuits, pitching 5, 1-hit innings, striking out 5 and walking 3…Desmond Jennings was 3-5 and is hitting .354…Rhyne Hughes was 1-5 with his league-leading 7th home run.
Charlotte 8, Sarasota 1. Charlotte scored 6 in the 8th including a solo home run from Nevin Ashley…David Newmann struck out 9 in 5.1 innings, allowing only 1 run.
Bowling Green 3, Augusta 2. The Hot Rods tied the game in the bottom of the 8th with a Jason Corder home run and then won the game in the 10th on Isaias Velasquez single…Shane Dyer pitched 6 shutout innings…Tim Beckham was 0-3.
Notes from Down on the Farm…
Jennings is regularly a center fielder. The Biscuits will play him in right sporadically — and in left — to increase his major-league versatility. Gardner wouldn’t say when Jennings would play right again or how much he’ll play it this season.”I don’t think there’s any number,” Gardner said. “It’s at my discretion. There’s no program for it, but I think we’ll see him out there more than once a week.”
Up until first pitch, use the comments section to predict who you think will be the Sunburst Player of the Game. (be sure to use a valid email address while leaving the comment). The commenter that correctly predicts who we will name the Sunburst Player of the Game the most times prior to the all-star game, will win two tickets to a second-half game. Runners-up get their choice of a t-shirt. [Click HERE for rules]
Check Marc Topkin’s blog for the starting lineups.
Updated leaderboard after the jump…
Last week commenter MikeD78 proposed a great idea. We should start cataloging the WAGs (wives and girlfriends) of the Rays. Below are a few that we have discovered over the years here at Rays Index.
THE IMAGES BELOW ARE FROM PUBLIC EVENTS, WERE POSTED ON THEIR OWN PUBLIC WEBSITE OR THE PERSON IN QUESTION KNOWINGLY POSED FOR A PICTURE FOR PUBLIC CONSUMPTION.
Some people have forwarded private pictures to us (e.g. taken from Facebook). Those will not appear on this site.
Current Tampa Bay Rays WAGs
Former WAGs
