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[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Maple Bats, Zorilla’s Jobs And Jennings’ Latest Injury
Ben Zobrist, David Price, Desmond Jennings, Elliot Johnson, Joaquin Benoit, Joe Maddon, Milton Bradley, Reid Brignac March 11th. 2010, 8:35am
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: Offense. 5 different players had 2 hits yesterday including Jason Bartlett, BJ Upton and Kelly Shoppach…David Price. Price was solid prior to being removed even though he ended up being charged with 2 runs (both scored after he left). He retired the side in the first. And Adrian Beltre’s single was just bad luck as the pitch shattered his bat.
THE BAD: Maple Bats. Adrian Beltre’s bat broke at the handle sending the barrel flying through the air where it hit David Price in the chin and the right hand. Price was cut on his hand, but was otherwise OK…Joaquin Benoit. Benoit gave up another home run. Not a good start in battle for final bullpen spot.
THE TELLING: Ben Zobrist started in RF for the first time this spring and Reid Brignac made his first start at 3B as a pro with Sean Rodriguez at 2B…Willy Aybar will DH today…The Rays have now won 7 straight since losing the opener.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Joe Maddon says the maple bat is “turning into the Claymore mine of baseball”…That is fine, but does anybody know how many, if any, Rays use maple bats? Because if any Rays are using the bat, his statements are a bit hypocritical. [Tampa Tribune]
- Another injury for Desmond Jennings, his second this spring and 432nd of his career. This time it is a sprained wrist he suffered sliding earlier this week. He will have to wear a splint for 5-7 days. His spring training is probably over but he should be back in time for the start of Durham’s season. [Rays Report]
- Even though Hank Blalock is on a minor league deal, Elliot Johnson was forced to give up his number and Blalock didn’t even pay for it…The Rays don’t even know if Blalock will ever play for the team. Meanwhile, Johnson has put 8 years into this organization. Way to take care of your own Rays. [Tampa Tribune]
- Joe Maddon says Ben Zobrist will likely open the season playing both RF and 2B…Not at the same time. Because that would be weird, even for Joe Maddon. [St. Pete Times]
- A video report by Jill Arrington and Dave Wills (lucky bastard) on BJ Upton. [FSFlorida]
- Baseball Musings projects the Rays offense using the Lineup Analysis Tool and notes that BJ Upton should probably be leading off and Carl Crawford should not be batting second. [Baseball Musings]
- Rise of the Rays wonders if the Rays will look to trade Willy Aybar now that Hank Blalock is on board. [Rise of the Rays]
- Tampa Bay Rays Fan looks at all the injuries the Rays have suffered this spring. [Tampa Bay Rays Fan]
- Dock of the Rays says it is time for Pat Burrell and Hank Blalock to stop whining and start playing. [Dock of the Rays]
- Another day, another Milton Bradley story. In this interview, he blames the Chicago Cubs for the racist mail he received and doesn’t dismiss the idea that some of the mail came from people inside the organization. [ESPN]
Related posts:
- [THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Good Signs For The Bats, Playoff Probabilities And Reaction To The Dude’s Injury
- [THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Aki Vs JP, Kennedy For Opening Day And Zorilla The Center Fielder
- [THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Zorilla In Center, Garza’s Strong Start And The Return Of Big Innings
Wondering the same thing about willy. Don is not going to like this one bit. Is joyce going to make the roster? Haven’t heard much except that his leg is sore and the box scores look like he’s been pretty average.
Was anyone at the game or did anyone see footage of the bat hitting Price? I’m not disputing he was hit, but I’m really curious how he got a scrape on the palm of his glove hand. Did his glove fly off when he was protecting himself from the bat coming at him? Did the bat splinter so badly that shards went through his glove? Or, was it the lower part of his palm that sits outside of the glove that got hit? (Not that it matters in the grand scheme of things … I’m just curious.)
Also, I don’t think it’s hypocritical if some of the Rays use maple bats and Maddon hates them. He can’t force his players to use one bat or another, unless the league (or possibly the team) makes a rule about it. Maple bats are the flavor of the day, even though ash bats are more reliable (and probabaly more expensive).
Oh, and that doesn’t surprise me about Blalock taking Johnson’s number. Wasn’t it last year that Izzy took Shields’ locker? That’s one of the few things the Rays really haven’t tightened up yet, and I think it falls on the captains or leaders of the team, and to an extent, Maddon. I remember when the Lightning made it a kangaroo-court crime to walk across the team logo on the floor in the locker room the year before they won the Cup. That’s more about respecting your team than winning a game, but one helps to beget the other. It’s cool that Maddon is laid back, but being too laid back about a locker or a number can be seen as a sign of disrespect.
I don’t have the quote in front of me but I believe the glove came off when Price put both hands up to protect himself.
And I know Maddon can’t stop his players from using a legal bat, but I think Maddon’s words would carry more weight if he publicly called on his players to set an example and stop using them. In the meantime it just looks like he is upset his player almost got seriously injured but doesn’t mind that his players continue to take advantage of the benefits.
BJ leading-off? Maybe they should try that… sounds like a great idea *sarcasm*
Amen to that. Try watching the games Mr. Baseball Musings. BJ at #1 was the experiment that (along with the Burrell signing) undermined the 2009 season.
Upton should never lead off again. Even Maddon and the front office have surrendered that notion.
Yea, I’m sure him being hurt and missing spring training had nothing to do with it…