[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss A Rare Late-Inning Win, Price’s Sweaty Forearm And The Off-Season Ahead
Ben Zobrist, David Price, Fernando Perez, JP Howell, Milton Bradley, Wilking Rodriguez September 28th. 2009, 6:54am
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: Death by Singles. The Rays scored 7 runs in the 8th and 9th on 6 singles, 3 walks, a hit by pitch and scored the go ahead run on a Fernando Perez safety squeeze. Again, why teams don’t have all of their infielders 10 feet from home plate when Perez is batting left-handed is beyond us, but we’ll take it…The New Bucs. Or is it The Old Devil Rays? Either way, the Rays are still not the worst team in the Bay Area.
THE BAD: David Price. 94 pitches in 5 innings. Only 58 for strikes. Not his best day… Randy Choate. After scoring 3 in the top of the 8th to pull within 2, Choate can’t give up a home run in the bottom of the 8th. Just can’t happen. That is the sort of the thing that will usually kill a team’s hope. And to think he got the Win for that effort is sad…Improbable And Rare. The Rays rallied from down 3 in the 9th for the win. How many times did they do something similar in ’08? Once a week? Once every 2 weeks? This year, we can probably count them on one hand that is missing a couple of fingers…That’s Gross. As Gabe Gross goes, so go the Rays? Gross went 0-3 and is now 3-31 (.097) in September.
THE TELLING: With 7 games remaining, the Rays need only finish 3-4 for a winning record…The loss by the Rangers moved the Red Sox one win or one Rangers loss away from clinching at least a tie for the AL Wild Card…Next up for the Rays is Baltimore, who just lost their 10th consecutive game. Who was the last team to lose to the Orioles? If you answered the Rays, you win!
SUNBURST PLAYER OF THE GAME: Ben Zobrist.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- David Price had Right Guard caked on his forearm? Not sure we can blame the umpires for making him wipe it off. It’s been a while since we had anatomy, but the forearm is not exactly a hotbed for sweat glands. [Tampa Tribune]
- JP Howell has been shut down for the season. [St. Pete Times]
- Marc Topkin looks at which options the team might not pick up this off-season, who might be non-tendered and who could be traded. [St. Pete Times]
- Marc Lancaster looks at some moves the Rays could make this off-season, noting that the bullpen is the top priority. He also suggests that the Rays could choose to keep Gregg Zaun and non-tender (essentially release) Dioner Navarro. [Tampa Tribune]
- Bruce Levine says the Rays are “very interested” in trading for Milton Bradley and suggests Pat Burrell could be part of the deal. [ESPN]
- Ken Rosenthal says the Rays will likely look to see what they can get for BJ Upton this winter, but says they will only move him if it is a good deal…Also, Rosenthal feels the Rays will be one of the clubs interested in trading for Milton Bradley. [MLB Trade Rumors]
- Jayson Stark spoke with a scout that is very high on Wade Davis (scroll to the bottom). [ESPN]
- The Hardball Times compares Ben Zobrist and Chase Utley. [The Hardball Times]
- Joe Maddon does not think there will be any changes to the coaching staff for next season, but will meet with each of his coaches next week. [MLB]
- The Rays Party picked up on a change David Price made to his approach on the mound. [The Rays Party]
- Baseball America tabbed Wilking Rodriguez as the 3rd best prospect in the short-season Appalachian League. [Baseball America]
Related posts:
- [THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Price’s Lack Of Support, JJ’s Lack Of Dyn-O-Mite, And Some Late Nights Ahead
- [THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Getaway Day Fever, One Inning Too Many And A Well-Rested Zorilla
- [THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Zorilla’s D, One Big Inning, And No Respect For King David
Oh dear god, not Bradley, 2 whiners on the same team……BJ and MB no, no, no,.
You can’t lump BJ and Bradley in the same category. BJ made one or two comments this year that COULD be construed as whining, though I think they were more out of the classic sports combination of pride and frustration. He’s young and experiencing struggles for the first time in probably a LONG time. Bradley on the other hand has an enormous history of petulant, angry behavior.
That being said, you’re right about one thing – I want no part of Bradley on this team. And to be honest, I have a hard time believing the FO wants any part of him either. The same rumors sprung up before we got Burrell, and I still don’t get them.
Maddon “does not think there will be any changes to the coaching staff for next year” …..of course not!
We have a pitching staff with only one starter over .500 and relief pitching that probably gave up 10+ wins…
and hitters who can’t get anyone in with men on base… with 1 or no outs…
Why would we need new coaches?
Owners can’t do anything with Maddon, thanks to their mid season 3 year contract…but NO new coaches?? are they happy with current situation….. or do coaches take no responsibility??
I agree with you 100 percent. Fire the hitting coach(Steve Henderson). Team leads MLB in strikeouts; too many whiffs and players swinging for the fences on balls outside the strike zone. I never liked Henderson when he is hired in 1998 and again was hired in 2006. No changes….WOW Maddon gets dopier each time. Maddon will drive this talented team down the toilet. He should be managing the Nationals. He fits in with the rest of the losers in Washington. They need a manager like Ozzie Guillen. At least he holds each player accountable for their mistakes. Hickey is on short leash. Remember, this is the same Jim Hickey that got canned in the middle of the season in 2006 with the Astros when his team was in the WS the previous year with Clemens,Oswalt and Pettitte.
Can someone explain (or try to) why Maddon brought in Cormier for the final out? Was Balfour hurt or was Joe just being Joe and making a totally unnecessary pitching change?
Time for Hickey to go. They Rays stuck with him after his DUI, but I think some new ideas are about due for the pitching staff. In 4 seasons under Maddon, the Rays bullpen has been light on fire horrible. Granted, Hickey has limited material, but it doesn’t get better under him and in too many cases — Jackson, Hammel, Kazmir, Trevor Miller and even Shawn Camp — guys have gotten MUCH better as soon as they clear the airspace at TIA. Too many regressions. That tells me something could be done better.