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.
Maybe this is beating a dead horse, but who cares, the horse is dead. It can’t feel anything…
Yesterday, Randy Johnson won his 300th career game, becoming the 24th member of the elusive club. And once again, just like when Tom Glavine won his 300th and when Greg Maddux won his 300th game, out come the articles and posts confidently declaring that we will never see another 300-game winner.
Of course, the reasoning behind all the arguments is that nobody else is close to winning 300 games. To which we reply, so what?
Yes, pitchers are handled differently in today’s game. They only make 32-33 starts a year and they only pitch 6-7 innings per game.
But this is also an era that saw not one, but two 350-game winners.
Winning 300 games is special. And it is special because it doesn’t happen very often.
Between Grover Alexander’s 300th win in 1924, and Warren Spahn’s 300th in 1960, a span of 37 years, there was only one 300-game winner. And that was a time when starting pitchers made 40 starts a season and completed more than they did not. After Early Wynn in 1963, there was not another 300-game winner until Gaylord Perry in 1982.
Unlike the 500-home run club which is now watered down with new entries every season, the 300-win club remains elusive…but not unreachable.
Consider this fact from the article linked above:
Johnson had 55 wins when he turned 29.
Now consider that Scott Kazmir is only 25 and has 51 career wins. And also consider that Kazmir, like Johnson, is a power-lefty that has struggled with his mechanics early in his career.
Now, what if Kazmir pulls his act together and averages 15 wins over the next 4 years? All of the sudden he is around 115 wins at age 29.
This is exactly why we track Kazmir’s win total in the sidebar. Not because we think Kazmir will win 300 games. Rather, we track them simply because it is possible that Kazmir will win 300 games.
And just because nobody else is near 300 wins right now, does not mean nobody will ever reach the milestone again.
Unit could be last of the 300-game winners [Yahoo! Sports]
JC Romero of the phraudulant WFC*, who was juiced up during the World Series, has finished his 50-game sentence and is once again allowed to help the Phillies cheat their way towards glory.
We enjoyed supporting one of our favorite relievers in his battle to prove his integrity to the game of baseball, but I think we can all agree Phillies fans will be a lot happier to see J.C. Romero in the bullpen and available to pitch this evening in San Diego.
Still amazing that of the 700+ players in major league baseball, Romero was the only that was so wrongly duped into taking an illegal supplement. Oh, the humanity!
J.C. should help to shore up an already strong bullpen, one of the key strengths that led to a parade on Broad Street.
Get it? Strong. As in, he was juicing like he was Jose Canseco’s butt buddy.
And what is with that picture above? Is there any hair on Romero’s arms? Is arm hair loss a side affect of ‘roids? Or is that just the vanity of somebody that cheated the system and was rewarded with a 50-day vacation?
The Truth (Or 50 Games) Will Set You Free [The 700 Level]
One year ago on Rays Index it was the day of the Brawl in Beantown and we were a little concerned with James Shields’ punching technique.
Coco Crisp Got What He Deserved [Rays Index]
One year ago on Rays Index we heard rumblings that the Rays decided to draft Tim Beckham after Buster Posey demanded a $12 million contract.
Rays To Pick Beckham After Posey Makes $12MM Demand [Rays Index]
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 the Greater. For the second straight start, we saw garden-variety James Shields. 8 innings, 2 runs, 8 Ks and no walks. Run support be damned. As long he continues to deliver games like this, he will get his fair share of Ws…Bossman is Backeth? That home run was classic BJ Upton. And it is amazing how much his good swing is similar to the way he runs. It is so smooth and so nonchalant, that you don’t realize exactly how much bat speed he is capable of generating. But that one swing got the Rays off the hook in a lot of ways. It was run support for James Shields. It gave the Rays a win in a one-run game. It gave the Rays a win without scoring 4 runs. And it gave the Rays a win over a team they should beat in a game they have lost too many times this season…Reid Brignac. We don’t know about the bat yet, but the glove is fine. We haven’t seen a signature play yet, but we have seen enough from Brignac to know that he is a major leaguer with the glove.
THE BAD: James the Lesser. No matter how great James Shields is, he is always good for one or two mistake pitches in a game. With the bases loaded and nobody out in the third, Shields induced a 1-2-3 double-play. But on the next batter, with 2 runners in scoring position and a full-count, Shields gave up a 2-run double on his 4th best pitch (slider). If you are going to throw a slider there, knowing first base is open, it has to be out of the strikezone…LOBs and RISP. Prior to BJ Upton’s home run in the 8th, the Rays had left at least 1 runner on base in every inning, including 2 in each of the first 4 innings, and were 0-12 with runners in scoring position…Blue on Blue. We like the new Navy blue alternates, but if the Rays are going to wear them, can they make sure the opposing team has another option besides their blue jerseys?
THE TELLING: James Shields faced CooCoo Crisp for the first time since the two exchanged missed punches last season. That is, if you don’t count the time that they hugged it out in the gym. And yes, that still bugs us…The same day that we mention that the Rays were 0-20 when scoring less than 4 runs, the Rays won a game by scoring less than 4 runs.
SUNBURST PLAYER OF THE GAME: BJ Upton. Could have easily gone Shields, but that home run has a chance to be big for Upton and the Rays beyond this one game.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
Toledo 4, Durham 3. Another strong start for Carlos Hernandez who suddenly looks like he is a major leaguer among boys. He struck out 9 and allowed only 1 run on 4 hits and 3 walks in 6.2 innings. In his last 4 starts, he has allowed 3 runs in 27.2 innings with 19 Ks and 6 walks.
Montgomery 3, Jacksonville 0. Brian Baker moved to the rotation for his first start and extended his scoreless streak to 25 after 6 scoreless innings…Desmond Jennings was 2-3 with a double and a triple. He drove in 2…Nevin Ashley was 0-3 in his second game with the Biscuits.
Daytona 6, Charlotte 3. Jeremy Hall gave up 4 runs in 5.2 innings to fall to 5-4 with a 4.68 ERA…The Stone Crabs managed only 5 hits.
Lexington 7, Bowling Green 3 (gm 1). Tim Beckham was 2-4 with a double and an RBI.
Lexington 9, Bowling Green 6 (gm 2). Tim Beckham went 0-4 while Mike McCormick was 1-2 with a walk.
Notes from Down on the Farm…
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