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.
Sports Illustrated ranked the top 5 owners in baseball and Stuart Sternberg made the list at #5.
Yes, it’s only been one year of playoffs — but what a year. The Rays won the toughest division with the second-smallest payroll in the majors, and do business the model way for a low-revenue franchise. They’re not a surprise anymore, but Sternberg has green-lit more spending, and the team payroll is up to $63.3 million this season, the highest ever for the 11th-year franchise. It’s only the latest sign of commitment from the Wall Street tycoon, who cleaned house after taking full control of the franchise in ’05, opened up his checkbook to improve mausoleum-like Tropicana Field, invested heavily in the team’s player-development system and turned a former joke of a franchise into what could become a perennial contender.
The Cardinals’ owner is the only other owner on the list with a payroll (~$89 million) less than $100 million. And Sternberg is the only owner of the top 5 that does not have a World Series title.
In a related piece, Joe Henderson of the Tampa Tribune discusses Sternberg’s ranking, kinda. In reality the piece is a chance for Henderson to take shots at some of the other owners in the Bay Area, past and present.
In the end, what matters is that as fans of the Rays, we are very lucky to have Sternberg in our midst. Let’s hope that he is around for years to come *cough* new stadium *cough*.
SI’s Best & Worst Owners [SI.com]
Patience pays off for Rays’ boss Sternberg [Tampa Tribune]
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: Edwin Jackson. Nuke has a 2.60 ERA and a 35-to-11 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Wait. What? That’s not good? He is pitching for Detroit and the Rays are stuck with Andy Sonnanstine and Jeff Niemann and a David Price that can’t handle triple-A? What the….
THE BAD: Genius is fleeting. We could talk all about Andy Sonnanstine’s performance, but that is getting old. The Bad starts and ends with Joe Maddon. It was announced prior to the game that Pat Burrell would not start with stiffness in his neck but that he would be available to pinch hit. In the 9th inning with the Rays trailing by 2, a runner on first and 2 outs and a lefty on the mound , Maddon elected to allow Willy Aybar to bat with Burrell still sitting on the bench. Yes, with the game on the line, Maddon chose to go with the career backup over one of the best RBI guys in baseball. You want to go to a gun fight? Fine. But you can’t go down with one of your best bullets still in the chamber. Either Burrell is available or not. If he is, you use him. You don’t hope Aybar gets on. You use Burrell. We know Aybar is a good hitter. But there is a reason that Burrell is the starting DH and Aybar is not.
THE TELLING: The Rays are 9-6 against the Sox and Yankees but are only 2-4 against the Orioles. They were 15-3 against the O’s last year…Evan Longoria had another RBI last night to give him 45 through 34 games. That is the most since Roy Campanella had 47 in 1953. Campanella won the MVP that season.
SUNBURST PLAYER OF THE GAME: Evan Longoria. On base 3 times, and drove in his 45th run, literally seconds after the Orioles TV announcers said it would be difficult for Longo to maintain his RBI pace.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
Louisville 7, Durham 6. Louisville scored 5 in the 9th, the final 2 on a Jonny Gomes double. Gomes homered earlier, his 7th of the season…David Price struck out 5 and walked none in 4.2 innings. He allowed 2 runs on 4 hits. One run came via the Gomes home run…Jason Isringhausen pitched a scoreless inning, allowing 1 hit… Ray Olmedo and Chris Nowak homered for the Bulls…Reid Brignac was 1-5 and Justin Ruggiano was 1-4 with a walk…Matt Joyce finished 0-5 with 3 Ks.
Montgomery 5, Mobile 4. Aneury Rodriguez picked up his first win since being traded to the Rays organization. He held Mobile to scoreless for 5 innings on 1 hit and 4 walks. He struck out 5…Desmond Jennings was 1-4 with a walk and scored 3 runs. He is hitting .394.
Charlotte 3, Jupiter 2. Alex Cobb allowed only 1 run (a solo home run) in 5 innings, on 3 hits and no walks.
Savannah 3, Bowling Green 2. Joe Cruz allowed 3 runs (1 earned) in 4.1 innings, striking out 5…Tim Beckham was 1-5 with a double and 2 strikeouts.
Notes from Down on the Farm…
