Archive for the 'James Shields' Category

Apr 07

James Shields And Jose Molina Had Trouble Getting Along On Opening Day

James Shields, Jose Molina 8 Comments »

Typically, if you can stake James the Greater to a 4-run lead, that is a guaranteed win. But by the time he left the game, the Rays were trailing 6-5.

One would think that the last problem Shields would have would be with a veteran catcher like Jose Molina. Well, apparently there is a get-to-know-you curve. And it is steep.

After Shields was pulled from the game, he appeared to have a few harsh words for Molina in the dugout. Kudos to Molina for appearing to just let Shields vent and get whatever it was off his chest.


Apr 07

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss A Special Homecoming, And James Shields’ Learning Curve

Carlos Pena, Evan Longoria, James Shields, Jose Molina No Comments »

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

RAYS 7, Yankees 6 (boxscore)

THE GOOD: Carlos Pena is home. Of course there was the grand slam. And there was the walk-off single in the 9th (you can see both here). And there was even the single to the opposite side against the shift…Evan Longoria’s Bat. The bat is just fine. And when he hit his home run (see video below), it was that inside pitch that we said he would be better at attacking this season. In all, Longo had three hits and walked twice. Not a bad debut…Ben Zobrist. Of course, everybody will cling to Carlos Pena’s walk-off hit. But at that point, it was bases loaded with one out. According to the Game Graph, the Rays already had an 82.4% chance of winning. The really big hit was Zorilla’s triple to tie the game. At that point, the Rays went from a 30% chance of winning to over 90%…Matching Up The Bullpen. Geez Joe, save a little for the rest of the season. Six of the Rays seven relievers combined to throw 4 shutout innings. It was indeed impressive, but at this rate, JoeMa will have worn a path between the dugout and the mound by May.

THE BAD: James Shields. C’mon Jimmothy, you can’t be staked to a 4-0 lead against CC Sabathia and then blow it. And you can’t be getting into arguments with your catcher in the dugout on opening day (video coming shortly). Pace yourself big fella…Evan Longoria’s Glove. He was only charged with one error, but it could have easily been two...Jose Molina’s Baserunning. We love having Molina on the team. It is immediately obvious how good he is defensively. But oh my, that dude doesn’t need a stop watch to time him on the bases. The coaches need a sundial…Jose Molina’s Bunting. Molina appeared to miss a squeeze sign when he swung away on a pitch with Sean Rodriguez darting home from third. When the Rays tried the same play on the next pitch, Molina fouled the ball off for a strikeout.

THE TELLING: Carlos Pena was moved up a spot to 6th in the lineup, just before the game. Nice move Joe Maddon, nice move…With 30-year old James Shields on the mound, this was the first time since May, 2007 that the Rays started a pitcher in his 30s. Interestingly, the last 30-year old starter was Jae Seo, whose last start in the big leagues came on his 30th birthday (May 24, 2007)…BJ Upton will start a rehab assignment on Monday.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • We will have several more posts on the goings on around opening day. So be sure to check back later today.
  • The ball used during the first pitch was the ball hit by Evan Longoria for the game winning home run in Game 162. The Rays had to work out a deal with a former concession worker to get it back. [TampaBay.com]
  • David Price makes a very brief cameo in this spot for the MLB Network. [MLB Network]
  • MLB.com predicted that game 1 would “set the tone” for the season. Now, of course that is silly. So let’s take a silly look. [FlipFlopFlyball]
  • Here are some fun tidbits from opening day. [RaysorsEdge]


Down on the Farm…

Gwinnett 3, DURHAM 0 (11): Alex Torres tossed Read the rest of this entry »

Apr 06

2012 Opening Day Roster Breakdown

James Shields, Jose Molina, Matt Moore No Comments »

We were just looking through the opening day roster and here are a few things we noticed…

  • The average age of the players on the roster is 29.2. The oldest player on the roster is Jose Molina (36 years, 10 months). The youngest is Matt Moore (22 years, 10 months).
  • The average player still has four years until free agency
  • James Shields is the highest played player this year ($8 million)
  • 12 of the 29 players (4 are on the DL) will make at or near the MLB minimum of $480,000
  • 8 players make more than the average MLB salary in 2011 ($3.1 million)
  • 12 of the 29 players have a first or last name that begins with J. That goes to 13 if we include Joe Maddon
  • Five players remain from the 2008 opening day roster (Carlos Pena, BJ Upton, Elliot Johnson, James Shields, JP Howell). 17 players remain from last year’s opening day roster
  • The Rays’ last 165 games have been started by Read the rest of this entry »
Apr 02

Shields And Price Tour The Rays’ Clubhouse At Andrew Friedman’s Expense

Andrew Friedman, James Shields, Joe Maddon No Comments »

How many other team’s have a clubhouse atmosphere where it is OK for a player to tell his vertically-challenged team vice president to “stand up!”? Well, that’s exactly what David Price says to Andrew Friedman, whom Price sarcastically referred to as the “tallest GM in the league.”

This is just part of a fun scene in which Price and James Shields offer their 25-cent tour of the Rays’ spring training clubhouse (via MLB Network)…

Apr 02

Here’s The Funny Scene That Ended Up With Joe Maddon Wearing Cut-off Baseball Pants

James Shields, Jim Hickey, Joe Maddon No Comments »

There were some photos floating around yesterday of Joe Maddon in some cut-off baseball pants. Well, via the MLB Network, here is the funny story of how it happened…

Mar 12

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Longo’s Return, The Lineup, And The Final Spot In The Rotation

Carlos Pena, Evan Longoria, James Shields, Joe Maddon, Reid Brignac No Comments »

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

RAYS 4, Pirates 3 (boxscore)

THE GOOD: Evan Longoria. The kid was in the lineup for the first time this spring, and Raysheads everywhere breathed a sigh of relief. In his 3 plate appearances he walked, grounded out, and hit a sac fly…Jeff Niemann. The Giraffe faced 9 batters in 3 innings and retired all 9, including 2 strikeouts. Considering Wade Davis’ outing on Saturday, it is safe to say Niemann has cemented his position as the favorite for the final spot in the rotation…Bullpen. The first 5 pitchers out of the bullpen all figure to be part of the Rays opening day roster. That group combined to hold the Pirates to 2 runs (1 earned) in 5 innings on 3 hits and no walks. The one real blemish was a solo home run off of Joel Peralta…Reid Brignac. It’s early, but Briggy’s bat is off to a good start. Two more hits yesterday and he now has 5 hits in his first 12 at bats.

THE BAD: Wade Davis. We took yesterday off, but we would be remiss if we didn’t mention Big Dub’s outing on Saturday in which he allowed 4 runs (2 earned), 3 hits, and walked 4, including one with the bases loaded. Davis can’t afford too many bad outings, and this one was bad. Jeff Niemann’s performance on Sunday made it even worse.

THE TELLING: Carlos Pena batted second, which is apparently something Joe Maddon is considering for the regular season…Sean Rodriguez is expected back in the lineup today or tomorrow. And David Price will pitch tomorrow along with Matt Moore…Joe Maddon is going to get a buzz on Thursday for kids cancer research, but he’s not going completely bald…ESPN the Magazine will be running a story soon on Jame Shields’ pick-off move.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • We upgraded our server last night, the second in six months (way to go guys!). It looks like everything is in working condition, but as these things go, there might be something we haven’t noticed yet. Also, any comments that were made during the transition may have been lost. Sorry about that. Party on.
  • This shouldn’t come as a surprise, but the Rays are not interested in Ivan Rodriguez. [MLBTR]
  • Marc Topkin has a fun read on the childish nature of David Price. [TampaBay.com]
  • New Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine was very complimentary of Joe Maddon. [ESPN]
  • According to Fangraphs, the Rays have the third best rotation in baseball, which sounds about right. [Fangraphs]
  • Aaron Giddens of BRaysball Talk explains why he’s a Rays fan. [BRaysball Talk]
  • Reid Brignac and his playmate girlfriend Read the rest of this entry »
Mar 09

[HAPPY HOUR] The One Where We Discuss The Opening Day Starter, Shaving Heads, And Super Sammy

James Shields, Joe Maddon No Comments »

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

RAYS 3, Orioles 3 (boxscore)

THE GOOD: Standing O. As reported by Dave Wills, Rays on the bench gave Robert Andino a standing ovation. Who is Andino? He was the Orioles player that delivered the game winning hit against the Red Sox in their Game 162. Classy and awesome move by the Rays…Super Sammy. Sam Fuld was back in the lineup and immediately delivered one of his classic diving grabs in the first inning…Hak-Ju Lee. The prized prospect played all nine innings at shortstop and added two hits in four at bats…Alex Cobb. He gave up 2 hits, walked 2 and hit a batter (in the face), so it wasn’t pretty. But he didn’t give up any runs in three innings…Ryan Reid. It was late in the game, but Reid worked 2 scoreless innings and struck out 3 of the 6 batters he faced.

THE BAD: Offense Still Warming Up. Starters not named Hak-Ju Lee went 3-19.

THE TELLING: Sean Rodriguez was pulled from Thursday’s game with an injured finger. He is expected back in 2-3 days…Evan Longoria took batting practice today.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • Joe Maddon and other Rays (it is not clear who yet) are going to shave their heads next Thursday for pediatric cancer research.
  • It is now official, James Shields will indeed be the opening day starter.
  • David Price makes the “strange injuries” list. [SI.com]
  • Jose Molina says he feels like he can play 180 games. [Bradenton.com]
  • Matt Joyce isn’t worried about whether or not he will be the everyday right fielder. [TBO.com]
  • Former Rays DH Jose Canseco was kicked out of the Mexican League for doing Jose Canseco things. He has now taken another step towards being the real-life Kenny Powers. [BI Sports]
  • The Hardball Times tackles the Rays with Five Questions. [The Hardball Times]
  • USF’s bubble burst in the most craptastic way last night. Check out the lowlights here. [BI Sports]
Mar 08

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss The Opening Day Starter, The Middle Infield, And The Backup Catcher

David Price, Evan Longoria, James Shields, Jeff Keppinger, Stephen Vogt No Comments »

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

RAYS 4, Yankees 0 (boxscore)

THE GOOD: Stephen Vogt. He probably won’t make the opening day roster, but considering he can play several positions, including catcher, Vogt could be the first guy up from Durham when somebody is needed. And yesterday we got a glimpse of just how good of a hitter he is. He went 3-3 including a 2-run triple…James Shields. Shields looked he is ready for opening day. Six up, six down, including strikeouts of Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano…Jeff Keppinger. He had a pair of hits and even made a nice defensive play at first base in the first inning. Joe Maddon may want to use Keppinger as a late-inning replacement for Carlos Pena.

THE BAD: A Work in Progress. In what could be a sign of the future, Hak-Ju Lee was at shortstop late in the game and Tim Beckham was at second base. This is a move that could happen sooner, rather than later as Lee probably deserves a promotion to triple-A. But at one point in the game, Lee took a relay from the outfield and Beckham was a little too close and nearly had his head taken off by Lee’s throw.

THE TELLING: Evan Longoria hit off of a tee yesterday, and while it went well, it is believed that he won’t make his spring debut until early next week…Burke Badenhop got a couple of innings during the A-game (first five innings)…Luke Scott and Sam Fuld will take batting practice today to see if they are ready to play in games…The Rays will play a pair of split-squad games. Here is the lineup for the game in Fort Myers against the Twins. And here’s the lineup for the Port Charlotte game against the Tigers.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • If you missed it last night, we put together a little highlight package of yesterday’s game. [Rays Index]
  • Jon Heyman is reporting that James Shields will be announced as the opening day starting pitcher soon. And David Price will get the nod in the second game. The only surprise here is that the Rays would announce it so soon. [@JonHeymanCBS]
  • We would be shocked if Read the rest of this entry »
Mar 07

Rays @ Yankees: The Highlights You Won’t See On SportsCenter

Hak-Ju Lee, James Shields, Jeff Keppinger, Tim Beckham 6 Comments »

The Rays picked up their first win of the Spring today with a 4-0 victory over the Yankees. And for those of you that weren’t following along on Twitter, here are a few of the more notable moments from the game.

(be sure to click the “Read More” at the bottom to see the rest of this post)…

Reid Brignac got off to a bad start, striking out on three pitches, the final one was a pitch the catcher had to block in the dirt…

James Shields made his first start and it is good to see that goatee/beard thing is already in mid-season form…

Jeff Keppinger could be the backup first baseman and got the start there today. He made a nice little play on his first groundball…

Check it out. Hits and players running and things!… Read the rest of this entry »

Mar 01

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Expanding Playoffs, Cobb’s Spring Vacation, And Evan’s Flame

Alex Cobb, Evan Longoria, James Shields, Jeremy Hellickson, Joe Maddon, Matt Moore No Comments »

The regular season starts in a month and we now finally know that Major League Baseball will add a second Wild Card team to each league this season. That means, there can potentially be three playoff teams from the AL East. And that is exactly what would have happened in three of the four previous seasons.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • Matt Moore says he felt better and played did some light throwing yesterday…Also, Jeremy Hellickson will be on the mound for Sunday’s second game of the spring. James Shields won’t pitch until Wednesday. [TampaBay.com]
  • Here is a list of how much each team spent in free agency and where each team ranks. The Rays were pretty much middle of the road. [BI Sports]
  • Some of the Rays talked about the expanded playoff format. [The Heater]
  • Alex Cobb joined JP Peterson on “Happy Hour with JP Peterson” on 1010 Sports and described Spring Training as “pretty much a vacation.” You can listen to the interview here. [TampaBaySportsCentral.com]
  • For those of you that think we are paying too much attention to Evan Longoria’s personal life, Jaime Edmondson was Read the rest of this entry »
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