Stuart Sternberg held court with the media in Port Charlotte yesterday. His comments are transcribed below and we have highlighted a few of the more telling passages.
Here’s the video…
On the upcoming season: “We’re optimistic, we’re happy, we’re excited. It’s been an eventful, yet uneventful, off-season. We did some really good work and I think, from where we started, our off-season fortunately came a little later than we anticipated last August, we finished up in a place here and we did great work in the off-season with our players and getting them prepared for this year. We were fortunate enough to acquire a few players to come in, especially on the offensive side of the ball, who can make a significant difference for us this year. I think it was clear to me, and you don’t have to be the owner of the team to recognize what we have to go up against during the season… We are doing everything we can to counteract that.”
On if he expected to spend so much during the off-season: “No. I wouldn’t have told you last year if I did, quite frankly. I think it was understood and we had a belief [the 2012 payroll would be in] the low-$50s [million]…We knew it was going to go up a bit this year, we had a number of guys under contract with raises and we try to do things internally, but it always depends, like any off-season or during the year, on what’s available.”
On being able to sustain what you’re doing: “No, can’t … plus we’re sustaining losses. It shows, the money that we’re putting toward the payroll, it shows the Read the rest of this entry »
It’s a slow news day. And as a former catcher, I tend to obsess over what the Rays do behind the plate. Needless to say, we are pretty excited that Jose Molina will be back there for 90-100 games this season. And in doing so, we hope this is catching gear that he will be using. We don’t recall any other Rays catchers using equipment with so much of the sky blue, and we are kinda digging it.
Matt Moore missed another batting practice session yesterday (via Marc Topkin of TampaBay.com). Joe Maddon continues to poo-poo any thoughts that this is a cause for concern…
“It’s an over-conservative thing we’re doing right now,” Maddon said. “I really believe the next day or two, he should be fine.”
Maddon and pitching coach Jim Hickey also continue to sing the praises of Matt Bush. Maddon called Bush “impressive to watch.” And Hickey added that Bush can “miss bats with the best of them.”
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
The Rays’ season opener against the Yankees is now sold out.
Here’s a list of every player that is in the Rays’ minor league camp. One interesting name that is not listed is Leslie Anderson, the Cuban defector that was removed from the 40-man roster prior to last season. He hit .277 with 13 home runs for triple-A Durham last year. [Biscuit Crumbs]
It sounds like the Rays development academy in Brazil is being shutdown before it even opened. [Rays Prospects]
Roger Mooney writes about the battle for shortstop and the backup catcher’s spot. [TBO.com]
File this under things we would like to see the Rays do to help improve attendance…The University of Michigan’s ticket office has their own twitter page in which they send out ticket deals for sporting events. For example…
Ticket Alert: Score $1 tickets (reg. $7) to @umichwbball vs. Northwestern tonight @ 6:30pm. Available to purchase at Crisler Center.
Would it make a huge difference? Probably not. But it is free advertising. So why not?
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
Joe Maddon said Matt Moore’s abdominal strain is “nothing vital” and that the team is just being “over-cautious.” Also, Luke Scott will miss the first 3-4 exhibition games because of his surgically repaired shoulder.
Danys Baez, who is second on the Rays’ all-time saves list with 71, has announced he is retiring. [Ken Rosenthal]
AJ Burnett on Jose Molina’s ability to frame pitches and convince an umpire a ball is actually a strike: “His hands are Read the rest of this entry »
Luke Scott is one strange cat. The Rays newest DH showed up to camp with a beard reminiscent of Wolverine from the X-Men series. No word yet on whether a metal baseball bat emerges from his hands…
When the San Diego Padres took Matt Bush as the first pick of the 2004 draft, most thought they chose a questionable option because of his cheaper price. And when Bush struggled to hit in single-A, most assumed he would never make it to the big leagues and he was viewed as one of the biggest draft busts in the history of baseball.
But then the Padres converted Bush to a pitcher in 2007. And now, five years later, there is a good chance Bush will be in the Rays bullpen at some point this season.
Of course, Bush is not the first player to successfully transform from the field to the mound (or vice versa), but if you ask Bush, it wasn’t a transformation to begin with. In fact, pitching was always part of the plan when the Padres drafted him.
“I think that was one of the main reasons I was drafted so high,” said Bush. “I could do both and they could go back to pitching if shortstop wasn’t working out.”
Stuart Sternberg is in Port Charlotte today and spoke briefly with the media. And when he was asked about the stadium situation, he kinda, sorta reassured us that he is committed to making things work in the Bay Area (via Marc Topkin of TampaBay.com), saying he is “pretty certain” the team can succeed long-term in the Bay Area. Sternberg also said the team will not be issuing threats or ultimatums. Of course, this will be a welcome change.
The Rays announced today that Joe Maddon will use a 6-man rotation during spring training and David Price will start the spring opener on Saturday (via Marc Topkin of TampaBay.com).
Of course, the 6-man rotation isn’t a surprise. Even if somebody is moved to the bullpen, Maddon will want all six of his starters stretched out, knowing that at some point this season, he will likely need that extra starter.
While being named the starter of the spring opener is no guarantee that Price will starter the season opener, it is a good sign. The last two years, the pitcher that started the spring opener was also on the hill for opening day.
