Mar 15
Three years ago on Rays Index we wrote about Joe Maddon’s first “super-utility” player…BJ Upton.
The Great B. J. Upton Debate [Rays Index]
Archive for March 15th, 2010
Mar 15
Staying Classy On Picture Day: Pat Burrell And Co.
Dave Martinez, Derek Shelton, Don Zimmer, Evan Longoria, Gabe Kapler, Pat Burrell, Tom Foley 13 Comments »Every team goes through “Picture Day” during spring training where all the players and coaches get all dolled up in their regular season uniforms and have their pictures taken by the professionals. Here is a link to Getty’s pics of the Rays.
But before you go look at the entire set, let us point out a few of our favorites…
Pat Burrell
Why does Pat Burrell have such a sly grin on his face and why is he touching his crotch with both hands? Maybe it is because the photographer told Pat to grab his bat. Maybe it is because it is the only bat of Pat’s that still works. Or maybe this is the secret behind the nickname, “Pat the Bat.” We vote for “all of the above.”
Gabe Kapler
Is there a reason Gabe Kapler doesn’t have his jersey tucked in? Maybe it is because he is lazy. But more likely it is because the photographer is right-handed.
Dave Martinez -- Derek Shelton -- Tom Foley
Inability to dress one’s self is apparently not limited to Kapler.
Don Zimmer
Look! It’s the mascot. How cute.
- Evan Longoria
At least Dirtbag knows how to dress himself.
Mar 15
[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Pena’s Contact, Blalock’s Debut And The Battle For The 5th Spot
BJ Upton, Carlos Pena, James Shields, Kelly Shoppach, Stuart Sternberg, Wade Davis, Winston Abreu 2 Comments »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: Jeff Niemann. The Giraffe allowed just 1 run in 3.2 innings. The big numbers were 6 strikeouts and 0 walks…Sean Rodriguez. Making the start in RF, Rodzilla hit his 4th home run and is now 10-25 in the spring…Reid Brignac. He was 0-2 at the plate, but made some strong defensive plays at SS…Justin Ruggiano. He is not getting a lot of playing time in the early innings, but he did hit his 3rd home run of the spring and went 2-4 getting the start in LF.
THE BAD: The Bullpen. Mike Ekstrom and Joe Bateman combined to give up 7 runs (5 earned) in 3 innings…Carlos Pena. Another 0-3 and he is now 0-18 with just 2 walks. But maybe more telling is that Pena has only struck 4 times in that 0-18. When Pena struggles, he strikes out. A Lot. Last year, he struck out once every 3.5 plate appearances. This spring it is once every 5.
THE TELLING: Sean Rodriguez got the start in RF on Sunday…BJ Upton hit 2 home runs on Saturday (both to the opposite field). The last time Upton hit 2 HR in a regular season game was July, 2007 in Yankee Stadium…Matt Garza worked 5 innings on Saturday…Hank Blalock DH’d on Saturday (Pat Burrell was in RF, lord help us all) and went 0-3 with a walk…Dioner Navarro will play tomorrow…Matt Joyce might still be a week away.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- RJ Swindle, Jason Cromer and Craig Albernaz are the latest cuts as they were reassigned to minor league camp.
- Stuart Sternberg wants balanced scheduling and more playoff teams. He also suggested that the line between “the haves and the have-notes” could become “problematic” in the next 10 years. [Rays Report]
- Joe Maddon says the competition for the 5th spot in the rotation is “still wide open”…In other words, they don’t want Wade Davis to take his job for granted. [Tampa Tribune]
- Winston Abreu had off-season surgery to remove an aneurysm from his arm. He is scheduled to make his debut March 22, the same as JP Howell. [St. Pete Times]
- BJ Upton says he is trying to get back to hitting balls to the opposite field, something he says got him to the big leagues. [Tampa Tribune]
- James Shields will be the opening day starter. [The Heater]
- Steve Slowinski takes a look at the spray charts of Reid Brignac, Matt Joyce and Sean Rodriguez. [DRays Bay]
- Roger Mooney writes about the Rays need to groom prospects to stay competitive. [Tampa Tribune]
- Beyond the Boxscore ranks the farm systems based on representation in prospect rankings, with the Rays coming out on top. [Beyond the Boxscore]
- Bill Chastain spoke with Carl Crawford about his incredible work ethic. [MLB]
- RJ Harrison, the Rays director of scouting is ranked third in baseball by Andy Seiler (h/t Rays Prospects). [Andy Seiler's MLB Blog]
- We may have already linked to this, but if not…Maury Brown writes that Revenue Sharing is working in MLB. [Baseball America]
- Marc Topkin spoke with Kelly Shoppach about his game-calling skills. [St. Pete Times]
