Archive for June, 2010

Jun 30

Upton Not In Lineup Again, But Still Not Benched

Ben Zobrist, BJ Upton Cork Gaines 8 Comments »

[Update] Oh, it gets better…Joe Maddon says BJ Upton has a sore quad that he suffered last night. Yes, that’s right. Upton will not start tonight because he ran too hard last night.

[5:08pm] Via Joe Smith’s Twitter page, we learn that Ben Zobrist will once again play center field and will also be leading off. The only explanation that we can fathom is the ol’ day-after-a-non-benching-day-after-an-off-day extra rest.

Tonight’s full lineup…

  1. Zobrist cf
  2. Crawford lf
  3. Longoria 3b
  4. Pena 1b
  5. Joyce rf
  6. Jaso dh
  7. Rodriguez 2b
  8. Shoppach c
  9. Bartlett SS
Jun 30

Dioner Navarro Had A Painful Triple-A Debut

Aroldis Chapman, Dioner Navarro Cork Gaines 3 Comments »

Last night, Dioner Navarro played in his first minor league game (non-rehab) since 2006. And as Chris over at Watching Durham Bulls Baseball points out, he received a painful welcome…

Aroldis Chapman is a very hard-throwing (and at $30 million, expensive) pitcher in the Reds system with some control issues. He had two hit batsman and two wild pitches last night. But he can really throw. I’ve got several 97, 98, and 99 mph pitches in my notes. And one 100 mph. And, here’s where Navarro comes in, one at 102 mph! That’s the one that hit Dioner in the back.

Welcome back to the bus leagues kid.

Jun 30

Dickie V. Thinks It’s Time Rays’ Diaper Dandy Take Off The Diapers

BJ Upton, Dick Vitale Cork Gaines 10 Comments »

On Monday, Rays Superfan Dick Vitale had some harsh words for BJ Upton. Yesterday, Vitale appeared on ESPN Radio’s “Mike and Mike Show.” If you thought Dickie V might back down from his criticism, you’d be wrong. Vitale thinks Upton just isn’t a very good player and he has the numbers to prove it.

Here is the full uninterrupted rant (emphasis is ours, although really, Vitale says the entire thing with emphasis).. Read the rest of this entry »

Jun 30

Are They Going To Give Away Strobe Lights?

Hudson Valley Renegades Cork Gaines 1 Comment »

Minor league baseball teams are known for coming up with unorthodox promotions in an effort to draw fans to the ballpark. The Rays’ short-season affiliate, the Hudson Valley Renegades are no exception. The same club that once asked fans to leave their Y-chromosomes at home, may have finally failed to think a promotion through.

July 3 will be “Founding Fathers” night in Fishkill, NY. And being so close to the Fourth of July, the Renegades will host fireworks. And who did the Renegades find to sponsor the fireworks?

The Northeast Regional Epilepsy Group.

Root, root, root for the home team, if you don’t have a seizure, it’s a shame.

First 150 Fans To Have Seizures Get A Free Hot Dog! [Deadspin]

Jun 30

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Upton’s New Gear, Burrell’s New Bat And Crawford’s Wounded Wing

BJ Upton, Carl Crawford, Pat Burrell Cork Gaines 19 Comments »

The GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.

Red Sox 8, Devil Rays 5

THE GOOD: BJ Upton. He wasn’t benched, but he wasn’t in the starting lineup. And while grabbing some pine, BJ managed to find another gear. Pinch-hitting in the 8th, Bossman legged out a triple on a ball hit to left field. Not an easy thing to do in Fenway.

THE BAD: James Shields. In the 5th inning of a tie game with 2 outs and David Ortiz due up, Joe Maddon visited James Shields on the mound. Certainly JoeMa reminded Shields that first base was open and not to give Big Papi anything good to hit. What Maddon didn’t tell Shields to do was to groove a first-pitch, fastball right. down. the. middle. of. the. effin’. plate. And just like that the Red Sox were leading 3-0 and never looked back…Carl Crawford’s Sore Arm. On Monday Joe Maddon indicated that there was only a 60-40 chance CC would even play and indicated that if he did play, it would be as the DH. Well, not only did he start, he was in left field. And when Crawford needed a strong throw home on a sac fly, it sure didn’t look like his arm was 100%, as he short-armed it a bit and barely reached the cutoff from shallow left. Let’s hope this isn’t a lingering problem that eventually lands Crawford on the DL…Upton’s Rep. The damage has been done. Even if Upton goes on to post all-star numbers the rest of the season, Evan Longoria will get all the credit. And that’s too bad.

THE TELLING: The Rays are 9-12 in their last 21 games. Since May 23, the Red Sox have made up 9.5 games in the standings on the Rays…Pat Burrell hit his 5th home run in just 61 at bats for the Giants. He had 2 in 84 at bats with the Rays. In 70 plate appearances with the Giants, Burrell has been on base 29 times (.414 OBP). In 96 PAs with the Rays, he was on base a total of 28 times (.292)…

WHERE THEY STAND: The Rays are 44-32, 3 games behind the Yankees and 2 games behind the Red Sox in the Wild Card. After 76 games in 2008, the Rays were 45-31.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA… Read the rest of this entry »

Jun 29

Hank Blalock Designated For Assignment

Gabe Kapler, Hank Blalock Cork Gaines 2 Comments »

Marc Topkin reports that the Rays activated Gabe Kapler from the DL following tonight’s game. To make room for Kapler, the Rays designated Hank Blalock for assignment, in all likelihood ending his brief stint with the Rays.

Blalock hit .254 with just 1 home run in 26 games (63 at bats) with the Rays.

Jun 29

Starting in CF Tonight? Mr. Ben Zobrist (Not BJ Upton)

Ben Zobrist, BJ Upton, Joe Maddon Cork Gaines 17 Comments »

[Update] Roger Mooney reports that Joe Maddon insists Upton is not being benched:  

Decision not to start him based on a number of things, including getting 2 days off

Utterly hopeless. Utterly f****** hopeless.

[5:22pm] BJ Upton is not in tonight’s lineup, one game after lollygagging in the field, loafing a throw, losing his sh*t in the dugout, getting picked off first base and failing to fetch the proper postgame bottle of wine for Joe Maddon*.

When asked why Upton was not in the lineup, Maddon apparently felt he did not owe anybody an explanation (via Tom Caron)…

“I chose not to have him in the lineup. No underlying reason.”

So JoeMa apparently wants to ignore the Navarro in the room and pretend like tonight is just a scheduled day of rest for Bossman.

Typical Rays. They like to keep things close to the vest and feel the fans only need to know what the Rays want us to know.

*that last one might not have happened

Jun 29

Dick Vitale Is Not A Fan Of BJ Upton

BJ Upton, Dick Vitale Cork Gaines 8 Comments »

Dick Vitale, a long-time Rays season ticket holder, spends a lot of time on the Turf at the Trop and around the Rays. So when he comments on the personality of a player, we listen.

The following was a status update on Dickie V’s Twitter account yesterday…

As a baseball fan would u trade BJ Upton? He has loads of potenial but in 3 plus years his numbers r horrible! Has speed n D but very moody

Strong words. Especially when you consider how often Vitale ever says anything negative about anybody (if you don’t watch much college basketball, it is somewhere in the vicinity of never).

Jun 29

The Rays Are Too Sexy For The Catwalk (Photos)

Fashionistas Cork Gaines 9 Comments »

Photograph by Kyra Hallett

[Update] Below the jump you will now find a write-up from Kyra about the evening…

[11:00am] Once again the Rays held their annual fashion show to help raise money for the Children’s Dream Fund. In all, 15 Rays players and coaches participated, doing their turns on the catwalk with either their significant other or a young lady from the Children’s Dream Fund. So good news for you ladies (and some guys), Evan Longoria fell in the latter category.

And lucky for us, we had the benefit of somebody on hand to take pictures. All of the images below were taken by Kyra Hallett, and she did an amazing job. Our heartfelt thanks go out to Kyra and all the Rays for the wonderful work they did for a great charity.

Kyra Hallett

Read the rest of this entry »

Jun 29

Are The Local Newspapers Influencing The Stadium Debate?

New Stadium, St. Pete Times, Tampa Tribune Cork Gaines 12 Comments »

That’s what 10Connects.com asks in a recent piece.

“I’ve looked at both papers’ coverage,” said Dr. Randy Miller, a journalism professor at USF.  “Both sides have had coverage that clearly points out it either is – or isn’t – a good idea to move the stadium across the bay.”

It is an interesting question on several levels…

Do the St. Pete Times and the Tampa Tribune even recognize municipal boundaries anymore? When we were growing up, if you lived in Tampa, you read the Tribune. If you lived in St. Pete, you read the Times. But those boundaries are much greyer nowadays.

And where would the Times’ loyalties lie if it were going to be biased in its coverage? On the one hand, most of their constituents are in Pinellas County. But they are also business partners with the Rays. Is it better for the Times if the Rays stay in St. Pete where they are based? Or is it better for the Times if the Rays are in Tampa where they can maximize revenues and increase the Times’ influence on the east side of the Bay?

And what move would benefit the Tribune? Certainly having the Rays in Tampa would be ideal for the Tribune. But it also risks increasing the Times’ footprint in Tampa.

We don’t know the answers to these questions, but it does raise questions about whether the local newspapers are presenting unbiased coverage of the Rays stadium situation.

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