One year ago on Rays Index we wrote about two roster moves. First the Rays picked up Dan Johnson off of waivers. Later in the day, the Rays gave Evan Longoria a nine-year, $44 million extension despite having less than a week of big league experience. How did those moves turn out?
Rays Pick Dan Johnson Off Waivers From A’s [Rays Index]
Rays Sign Evan Longoria To $44MM Extension [Rays Index]
This gameday open thread will have two parts and it is all user-generated…
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: Zorilla. We talked to several Rays fans during and after last night’s game. Based on the recent struggles with the bats, every single one thought the game was over when the Rays fell behind 5-2. It is amazing how much our feelings about the team can change with one swing of the bat. And last night, that one swing was Ben Zobrist’s pinch-hit grand slam. The third grand slam of his young career…BJ Upton’s Golden Glove. Another night, another amazing catch by Upton in center. If you haven’t seen it yet, click on the score above and that link has the video. If Bossman doesn’t win a Gold Glove this season, we’ll be angry. Very angry…Dan Wheeler. Looked like the Wheeler of old. It is amazing how much different he is in the 8th inning as compared to the 9th (the numbers aren’t even close). Last night he came on with the tying run on first and 1 out. He struck out Jermaine Dye and then got Paul Konerko to get out of the inning.
THE BAD: James Shields. His one weakness is that at times his changeup hangs a bit and when it does, he is susceptible to the long ball. Last night he gave up 2 home runs at the worst time, with the score tied 2-2 in the 6th inning…Troy Percival. Yes, he got the job done. And yes, he has some velocity, even reaching 93 at one point. But as one commenter pointed out, Percy was almost exclusively fastballs around 88-90 with no movement. That’s not going to get it done very often.
THE TELLING: Joe Maddon has been planning on giving Ben Zobrist more starts in right field against righties. Zorilla’s grand slam came off of a lefty…Evan Longoria was back in the lineup after missing two straight.
SUNBURST PLAYER OF THE GAME: Ben Zobrist. Was there any doubt?
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
Durham 5, Charlotte 0. Wade Davis pitched 4 shutout innings, but needed 80 pitches to get that far. He struck out 4 and walked 2, giving up 3 hits…Adam Kennedy homered and John Jaso went 2-4 with a pair of doubles…Justin Ruggiano went 0-5 with 2 Ks and Reid Brignac was 1-5 with a double…Matt Joyce went 1-4 with 2 strikeouts and a stolen base.
Chattanooga 13, Montgomery 3. Desmond Jennings was 1-4 with a double and his 5th steal.
Bowling Green 8, Kannapolis 4. Tim Beckham was 2-4 with a pair of singles and 2 RBI. He is hitting .303. He did commit his first error of the season.
Notes from Down on the Farm…
