Jun 27
This morning we told you that a fan had been assaulted by an unnamed Phillies pitcher following Thursday’s game. To nobody’s surprise, that player turned out to be JC Romero, who only recently returned from a 50-game suspension for using Performance Enhancing Drugs. The St. Pete Times has the details.
Eaton said he was attempting to get autographs from Phillies players when the incident happened…After players brushed him off, Eaton said he called out to Romero, something to the effect of, “How about you get me some juice?”…Romero snapped, Eaton said, telling him to “shut the f—- up” and that he didn’t know what he was talking about…Eaton said he replied that Romero was the one who’d been suspended recently…”He reared back and kinda grazed my chin and grabbed me by the neck and threw me back,” Eaton said. “I was in shock.”
Yes, we know Romero wasn’t specifically suspended by steroids. But a cheat, is a cheat. Does that make it ok to speculate that Romero also used steroids or HGH? Seems ok to us. But only if you have media credentials.
Fan says Phillies pitcher assaulted him over steroids remark [St. Pete Times]
Jun 27
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.
Jun 27
One year ago on Rays Index we learned that Jake McGee was going to need Tommy John surgery.
McGee To Have Tommy John Surgery; Price And Beckham Make Debuts [Rays Index]
Jun 27
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: Top O’ The Order. 1-2-3 is really starting to cook. Last night they were a combined 6-13 with 5 RBI and 4 runs scored…The Bullpen. We haven’t crunched the numbers yet, but for the past month, this bullpen has been on fire and is as good, if not better than the ’08 version. Last night, 4 pitchers combined to shutout the Marlins over the final 7 outs…James Shields. It wasn’t his best night, but good pitchers overcome nights without their best stuff and despite 9 hits and 2 walks, Shields kept the Rays in the game…BJ Upton. It was a huge double that put the Rays up for good, so we won’t mention how he stood at the plate for a moment to watch the majestic flight of his double nor will we mention how he dogged it for a few steps before turning on the speed. Nope. Won’t mention it.
THE BAD: Uh Oh. Remember when Carl Crawford had like 800 straight steals without being caught? Last night he was caught stealing for the 6th time. Granted a couple came on pickoffs. But one has to worry a bit that all this running and the Field Turf are starting to take their tole on CC’s legs…Dioner Navarro. For those that have been here a while, you know we have long been supporters of Dioner Navarro. Mainly, because even when he couldn’t hit, he played good D. We don’t know what happened this year. He has been horrible behind the plate. Last night’s attempt to block the plate on the throw from center looked like something a high schooler would do, one-handing the ball. Horrible.
THE TELLING: Evan Longoria was back in the lineup after missing a game with a sore hamstring…There are only 3 teams in MLB right now with 40 wins who are not in first place. All 3 of those teams reside in the AL East.
SUNBURST PLAYER OF THE GAME: BJ Upton
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- We ran a “Happy Hour” post last night with a bunch of links in case you missed it. [Rays Index]
- In case you missed our post late last night, Andy Sonnanstine has been demoted to Durham and Winston Abreu has been designated for assignment to make room for Scott Kazmir and Chad Bradford. [The Heater]
- Marc Topkin has some quotes from Joe Maddon and Scott Kazmir [St. Pete Times]
- In the same piece is a blurb about an apparent fight between a Phillies player and a fan after the game Thursday. Police were called. No word on which player was involved. [St. Pete Times]
- Not surprising, St. Pete Mayor Rick Baker had some choice words about the possibility of the Rays moving to Tampa, even threatening to go to court if needed. [Tampa Tribune]
- On Thursday night, the umpires used video to review whether a ground-rule double was actually fan interference. Yesterday, MLB said the umpires erred in using video for that purpose. [SI.com]
- And the Phillies are apparently pissed off…We are not sure why. It’s not like the league caught one of the Rays juicing and still let him play in the series. [Daily News]
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/baseball/mlb/06/26/umpires.replay.ap/index.html
Jun 27
Durham 5, Toledo 3 (15). The Bulls finally pulled out a win after 4 hours, 37 minutes when Justin Ruggiano hit a 2-out bases loaded single in the 15th to score 2. He was 0-6 prior to the single…The bullpen combined to allow just 1 run in 9 innings…Chris Richard hit his 12th home run in his first game in almost 3 weeks…Reid Brignac finished 0-6 with a walk and John Jaso went 0-4 with 2 walks and 3 strikeouts…Matt Joyce did not play.
Montgomery 4, Tennessee 2. Brian Baker was activated to make the start and picked up his 4th win in 5 decisions. He allowed 1 run in 6 innings and now has a 3.13 ERA…Desmond Jennings went 2-5 with a double.
Charlotte @ Dunedin. (ppd. rain)
Lexington 4, Bowling Green 2 (gm 1). Frank De los Santos dropped to 3-6. Tim Beckham went 0-3 with 2 strikeouts and his 23rd error.
Bowling Green 9, Lexington 2 (gm 2). Nick Barnese made his 4th start and allowed just 1 run in 5 innings. He is now 2-1 with 1.64 ERA…Tim Beckham was 1-3 with a strikeout and his second error of the double-header.
Hudson Valley 3, Staten Island 2. Kyle Lobstein made his second start and threw 4 shutout innings, striking out 6. He allowed 3 hits and 2 walks.
Princeton 7, Bristol 1.
Notes from Down on the Farm…
- Jake McGee made his first start since undergoing Tommy John surgery. He made the start in a Gulf Coast League game and was limited to 20 pitches. He is scheduled to pitch again on Tuesday. [Biscuit Crumbs]
- The Rays Party talks to the President of then Jason Cromer fan club, about Jason Cromer. [The Rays Party]
- Rashad Eldridge has been demoted to Montgomery to make room for the activation of Chris Richard. [Triangle Offense]
