[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Aki’s Return, Bossman’s New Hardware And A World Series Rematch
Akinori Iwamura, BJ Upton, Carlos Pena, Philadelphia Phrauds June 23rd. 2009, 7:04am
click above image for boxscore
No GBT today, but for those of you that are not anxious to see the Phillies again so soon, we have a bonus video for you after the Webtopia.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Well, well, well. Akinori Iwamura may not have played his last game with the Rays after all. Turns out the “full tear” of his ACL was actually a partial tear and he may only be out another 6-8 weeks. Of course, once he is 100% Joe Maddon will have a dilemma. Most coaches/managers subscribe to the theory that a player can’t lose his job because of an injury. But Ben Zobrist is one of the best hitters in baseball and was recently given Aki’s second base job. [St. Pete Times]
- BJ Upton was named the AL player of the week. [The Heater]
- Marc Lancaster discusses the anticipation of facing the Phillies again in the Rays clubhouse. [Tampa Tribune]
- This is the 8th World Series rematch since interleague play began and Joey Johnston reviews the previous matchups. [Tampa Tribune]
- Bill Eichenberger has a Q&A with Carlos Pena. Among the topics they discuss are how Pena’s career mirrored the Rays history, his selectivity at the plate and his unorthodox major in college. [Sporting News]
- For those that like to play the “what if” game, Marc Topkin shows that the World Series was closer than the 5 games in the record book. [St. Pete Times]
- Rating the starting pitchers in the Rays organization…with a twist. [Trop It Like It's Hot]
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Cork, it is certainly not a Fleetwood Mac video, that’s for sure.
I generally agree with the “you can’t lose your job to injury” sentiment, but in this case, Aki would be losing to both injury AND otherworldly performance. You can’t sit one of the top hitters in the league. I think Aki’s going to have to settle for being a sub/defensive replacement when he gets back. Either that or the Gabes are going to fill that role while Zobrist plays right most of the time.
Best case scenario has Aki back by September. Assuming he makes an almost full recovery in 8 weeks, he will still need a rehab stint to get back into playing shape. A lot can happen in the 2+ months before he comes back, so the decision doesn’t need to be made or even planned for now. Aki could suffer a setback or something could happen to Zobrist or the Gabes that would completely change the picture.
Yeah, all this assumes stuff keeps going the way it’s going offensively, but that’s really a complete crapshoot.
By the way, anyone notice that Gabe Kapler is hitting .450 this month? Insane.
Why wouldn’t Maddon start Zobrist in right and put Aki at 2b batting him 9th?
BTW: Nice Cake video, thats good stuff
vrotmnenogi