Adidas and Eastbay will be hosting a live video chat with BJ Upton tomorrow (February 1) at 7:00 pm. You will have a chance to ask Upton questions and see his responses. The chat is being promoted to showcase the new Adidas Adizero Diamond King. Adidas claims it is the lightest metal baseball cleat available.
If you are interested in participating, just go to http://www.eastbay.com/adidas.
The Rays today released the image below of the new AstroTurf being installed at Tropicana Field. If you have watched any Rays games in recent years, you should immediately notice the difference in color. Compare it to the image at bottom from the ALDS in October.
Also, AstroTurf has a live cam running on their website where you can track the progress. Not quite as entertaining as a puppy cam, but still fun to check from time-to-time. [Tropicana Field Live Cam]
Click here to see the before and after shots… Read the rest of this entry »
There has been a lot of speculation that the Wilpon family, owners of the New York Mets, lost a great deal of money due to their relationship with Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. And now the team has announced that the Wilpons will sell 20-25% of the team.
Let the Stuart Sternberg-to-buy-the-Mets speculation begin!
Why would Sternberg want to buy into the Mets? Well, first and foremost, Sternberg is a Mets fan. To this day, he still maintains Mets season tickets, which means he probably attends more Mets games every year than he does Rays games.
Also, it has now been more than three years since the Rays proposed a waterfront stadium. And despite two division titles and one trip to the World Series, the Rays may be even further away from moving into a new ballpark and solving their attendance issues.
If Sternberg was going to bail, this might be a good time. But will he?
According to the more recent Read the rest of this entry »
The Rays have a couple of positions up for grabs this spring, and maybe foremost among those will be finding a new closer. With both Rafael Soriano and Joaquin Benoit gone, and Jake McGee still a work-in-progress, the position is up for grabs, and may go unclaimed.
The Rays did sign Kyle Farnsworth to a one-year deal worth $3.25 million. That deal also includes $300 thousand in incentives based on games finished*. ”Games Finished” is just code for “Saves” as MLB rules forbid incentive clauses to be based on performance. And it is reasonable to think Farnsworth will at times be called on in the ninth inning.
But without a proven closer on the roster, there is also the possibility of the dreaded “closer-by-committee,” something Joe Maddon recently confirmed.
“It’s possible. I think it’s not optimal, but it’s possible,” Maddon said. “If it occurs that way we’re going to make the best of it. I think Andrew is trying to get that particular person, and if it doesn’t happen, then we’re just going to have to do it the other way and figure it out from there.”
Obviously, the optimal solution is for Maddon to just pitch his best pitchers when he needs them the most. But that is easier said than done. Relief pitchers need time to warm up, and it is not always easy to predict when the most important outs will be at the plate. And Maddon doesn’t want to get into a situation where he is warming up his best pitchers 3-4 times every night.
There are reasons to be excited about the 2011 Rays. But the bullpen should also scare the bejeezus out of you.
* “Games finished” clauses are common for free agent relief pitchers that may potentially fill the role as closer.
OK, I did say Gil Meche’s decision to give up the final $12 million of his contract was “idiotic.” And maybe that was a little strong. But let’s not act like the owners of the Royals are going to donate the extra money to pay teachers or fight cancer. Hell, they already admitted they aren’t even going to add a player to the roster. [NY Daily News]
Sweet Fancy Moses, there are only 15 days until pitchers and catchers report! And just after that, Spring Training games will begin. This year, five of the games will be broadcast by Sun Sports/Fox Sports Florida…
Thurs. March 10 vs Red Sox
Tues. March 15 vs Marlins
Fri. March 18 vs Red Sox
Mon. March 21 vs Yankees
Wed. March 23 vs Phillies
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
Three years ago on Rays Index we noticed that Peter King showed up at the Super Bowl wearing a Rays cap.
Peter King Jumps On The Tampa Bay Rays Bandwagon [Rays Index]
One year ago on Rays Index we noticed that Dioner Navarro was looking even more plump than usual.
If Anybody Reports 1,200 Missing Donuts, Dioner Navarro Will Be Primary Suspect [Rays Index]
Two years ago on Rays Index we laughed at the sight of Al Roker wearing a Rays cap.
Irony Defined: Al Roker In A Rays Cap [Rays Index]
The Rays today signed first baseman Casey Kotchman to a minor league deal for $750 thousand. Kotchman, who played with the Mariners last year, is a career .259 hitter that hit 6 home runs in 96 games last year. He is considered an good defensive first baseman.
As a left-handed bat, it is hard to imagine the Rays have room on the roster for both Kotchman and Dan Johnson. The Rays are paying Johnson $1 million for the 2011 season.
The Rays also picked up Rob Delaney, a right-handed relief pitcher, who was placed on waivers last week by the Twins. Delaney, 26, struck out 10.35 batters per 9 innings in triple-A last year, with an excellent 4.0 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Delaney will be added to the 40-man roster, taking the final available spot. That means the Rays now need to move two players off the 40-man roster before making the Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez signings official.
