Apr 13
This gameday open thread will have two parts and it is all user-generated…
- 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]
- Once the game starts, the GBT open thread will be your thoughts during the game of what you think are The Good, The Bad and/or The Telling moments of the game.
Apr 13
Once again it is the fans that suffer while billionaires fight over tip money.
Back in March, the Rays signed a new TV deal with Fox Sports Net to air 150 of the 162 games during the 2009 season. The move was made to increase the number of households that have access to the majority of Rays games. Last year, 69 games aired on the ION network which did not reach most of the state.
As part of the new deal, Fox Sports Net will show half of the games on Fox Sports Net Florida and half on their Sun Sports Network.
However, as we have been informed by several readers, there are a large number of fans that are unable to see the games being broadcast on Sun Sports.This will include tonight’s home opener.
This is a result of a a fees dispute between the cable companies and Sun Sports over the broadcast of Rays games.
Verizon spokesperson Bob Elek confirmed Verizon is negotiating with Sun Sports, and said, ”We hope to have an agreement soon so we can show the games, but right now we are looking for an agreement that is in the best interests of our customers.”
The 75 Rays games on FSN are not effected and can be seen on Verizon and Knology, as well as other the other local cable and satellite companies — Bright House Networks, the Dish Network and DirecTV.
It appears as though customers of Verizon and Knology as well as Comcast and Cox Cable, do have Sun Sports on their cable packages, but the games are being blacked out [Ed note: Verizon may have reached an agreement with Sun Sports to air the games]. Read the rest of this entry »
Apr 13
As expected, Matt Joyce was demoted to Durham following yesterday’s game to make room for the return of BJ Upton. Upton will start in center field for tonight’s home opener and bat lead off. And based on his 7 steal attempts in his 3 rehab starts, our guess is Upton is going to be running early, and often.
And buried at the bottom of Marc Topkin’s piece, Joe Maddon may be considering another lineup change.
Maddon is deciding between Ben Zobrist and Gabe Gross to start in right tonight
This suggests that Maddon is considering a change in which Zobrist becomes at least the left-handed half of a right field platoon, permanently replacing Gross. Last season, Zobrist was a better hitter against lefties (.269BA/.356OBP v LHP, .242/.328 v RHP) but showed more power against righties (.542 SLG v RHP, .449 SLG v LHP).
If Zobrist does replace Gross in right field, one has to wonder if Gross would soon be on the way out. Gross is not the kind of player Maddon likes to have on his bench. Maddon prefers players with positional flexibility and that is not Gabe Gross.
If Zobrist does replace Gross, the next logical step would seem to be Adam Kennedy replacing Gross on the roster and assuming the role of backup middle infielder.
As expected, Joyce sent to Durham [Rays Report]
Excitement for Tampa Bay Rays’ celebration grows [St. Pete Times]
Apr 13
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: James Shields. Shields came up with a Big Game when the team really needed one. He retired the first 8 batters he faced. He repeated the feat in innings 4-5-6. In the first 6 innings he allowed only one runner on base with less than 2 outs, a lead off double in the 4th. That runner was also the only base runner Shields allowed past first base…Evan Longoria. Three more hits, including his 4th double and his league-leading 5th home run. Last fall I did a radio interview for ESPN Radio on a New England radio station. They asked how good Longoria can be. I responded, “multiple MVPs,” and I sensed that they thought it was just homerism. Wonder what they think now…Carl Crawford. A 3-run triple and later he was robbed of an RBI for the second time in a week when Gabe Gross got faked-out by the center fielder on CC’s single and was thrown out at home…The Middle Infielders. Jason Bartlett and Aki Iwamura were a combined 6-10 with a double and a home run. Bartlett scored 3.
THE BAD: Grant Balfour. The Mad Australian was The Bad Australian. Balfour faced 5 batters and all 5 reached base, including 2 hits and 3 walks…El Gato. It does seem strange putting Carlos Pena here on the day he hit his 2nd home run. But he was 0-4 with 3 strike outs in his other at bats and right now Pena is very much feast or famine, with a lot more famine. We would love to see a little more consistency from the cat.
THE TELLING: Matt Joyce, in his last game in the big leagues for now, spent the day on the bench despite earlier reports that he would start…Ben Zobrist started in center and later replaced Gabe Gross in right…Dan Wheeler was given the ball in the 8th. Of course, the score was 11-0 at the time…If a player has a single, double and home run, as Evan Longoria has now done twice this season, he did NOT “just miss the cycle.” Triples are rare. If Longo only needed a single, then he just missed a cycle.
SUNBURST PLAYER OF THE GAME: James Shields. We really wanted to put Carl Crawford here. Man, that triple was vintage CC and he looks an awful lot like 2007 Crawford. In a sense, Crawford is playing for his 2009 contract and it is going to be a fun summer watching him every day. And Evan Longoria had a great day, but the home run came when it was 9-0. But what Shields did was more impressive and much more important. The Rays needed that performance and he delivered.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Funniest thing you will read today (thanks Stewey). [Orioles Hangout]
- If she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, she wouldn’t have believed it. But what is really important is…Yes, she does dig the long ball. [Her Rays]
- Trop Talk and The Rays Party had a conversation about the Rays.[Trop Talk]
- Wow. The first 50 players or so on the the top Devil Rays ever, is a who’s who of mediocre pitchers. [Bugs and Cranks]
- Joey Johnston takes a look at some of the memorable moments of past home openers. [Tampa Tribune]
- And then he does it again? In a separate column with different material? Strange. [Tampa Tribune]
- Tonight’s game marks the 12th consecutive sellout at the Trop and tomorrow’s game is close to being sold out.[Tampa Tribune]
- Marc Topkin has all the details and time schedule for tonight’s game. Need to know when the parking lots open? Topkin has got you covered. [St. Pete Times]
- Curtis Ross projects the Rays at bat walk-up songs. [Tampa Tribune]
Apr 13
Durham 2, Norfolk 1. Ray Olmedo drove in the winning run with a 2-out single in the ninth, driving home John Jaso from second. Olmedo also added a solo home run…Wade Davis made his first start, striking out 5 in 4 innings, giving up just 1 run on 2 hits and 3 walks…Reid Brignac went 1-3 with 2 Ks and Justin Ruggiano was 0-4 with 3 strike outs.
West Tenn 8, Montgomery 1. Ryan Morse gave up 3 runs in 4 innings. He struck out 4 and walked 1, but was tagged for 2 home runs…The Biscuits managed only 4 hits, one being a solo home run off the bat of JT Hall.
Charlotte (off-day).
Hickory 7, Bowling Green 2. Frank de los Santos held Hickory to 2 runs on 5 hits and a walk in 5 innings..Tim Beckham was 1-4 with a strike out.
Notes from Down on the Farm…
