Archive for the 'Dan Shanoff' Category

Apr 02

[THE HANGOVER] Rays Lock-Up Dan Wheeler For 3 Years

Al Reyes, Andrew Friedman, Carl Crawford, Dan Shanoff, Dan Wheeler, Matt Garza, Rocco Baldelli Cork Gaines 1 Comment »

Tampa Bay Rays (1-0)

Yesterday: Tampa Bay Rays (Off Day).

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

  • The Rays signed Dan Wheeler to a 3-year extension. The deal will pay Wheeler $9.5 million over the next three years with a 4th year team option that is worth $4 million with a $1 million buyout. With the deal, Wheeler actually takes a slight pay cut for 2008. Prior to the season Wheeler avoided arbitration when he agreed to a 1-year, $2.875 million. With the new deal, he will earn $2.8 million for 2008. Wheeler would have been a free agent at the end of the year and likely would have been traded prior to July 31 had an extension not been signed…In other news, the Rays picked up the first of two options on Carl Crawford’s options. This one is for the 2009 season and will pay CC $8.25 million. The Rays also declined Rocco Baldelli’s 2009 option for $6 million, instead, paying the $4 million buyout. The buyout is to be payed out, half this November, and half next November. [The Heater]
  • Outs Per Swing hit the nail on the head with the Dan Wheeler extension. The rate may seem a little steep on the surface, but at some point in the next three years, Wheeler will likely be the Rays closer and if that happens, the price tag will be a bargain. [Outs Per Swing]
  • Rays of Light says the Dan Wheeler signing is another sign that the team is committed to winning even if this deal is not as sexy as some others.Of a more immediate concern, they suggest that this increases the chances that Al Reyes is dealt prior to the trading deadline. Reyes is a free agent-to-be. [Rays of Light]
  • Andrew Friedman says that once Rocco Baldelli’s health situation is addressed, the team will make every effort to keep Rocco in a Rays’ uniform. Baldelli says that he is encouraged after recent visits to doctors. [St. Pete Times]

Baldelli said he “hadn’t given any thought” to his contract situation as he focuses on his health, and he said after recent visits to several specialists: “We are seeing progress as far as a more specific type of diagnosis and I’m encouraged by that.”

  • Sure sounds like even Dan Shanoff is jumping on the Rays bandwagon. [Sporting News]

Tampa is not only 1-0 as the “Rays”; they seem as legit as all of the preseason hype suggested they were …

  • DRays Bay calls Andrew Friedman the opening day MVP. [DRays Bay]
  • Matt Garza is anxious to make his Rays’ debut tonight. [MLB]
Mar 13

[HAPPY HOUR] Rays Blogosphere Refrains From Throwing Brushback Pitches

Dan Shanoff, Evan Longoria, Joe Maddon, Jonny Gomes, Scott Kazmir, Shelley Duncan is a lil' bitch Cork Gaines 6 Comments »

Tampa Bay Rays (18 days until Opening Day)

This morning we included a few links to the Yankees Blogospere in reaction to Shirley Duncan’s cheap shot yesterday on Akinori Iwamura. Now let’s take a look at what other people are saying, including some Rays blogs, in case you missed them.

I am sure we are going to get pounded for this, because apparently all we do is attack other blogs…but we are a little disappointed in the Rays Blogospere today. There was very little reaction from the other Rays sites. Some might say we overreacted. And we are not saying that everybody needed to take Shirley and the Yankees to the woodshed, but we got little in the way of viewpoints on the incident. This is a national story and Rays fans and non-Rays fans are flocking to our sites. They are not looking for a play-by-play. They want to know what we think and what we feel and how we are reacting. They are looking for us to be representative of Rays fans and the views, thoughts and emotions of Rays fans.

We also sprinkled in a few other afternoon links in case you are tired of reading about this mess.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

  • Scott Kazmir threw 33 pitches this morning in batting practice and is all set to make his spring debut on Sunday. He will throw one inning against the Tigers. [Tampa Bay Rays]

“For me, he looked really good,” Maddon said. “I was watching from the side, I wanted to see if he was cutting himself off at all, he was not. His fastball was really alive. So was the slider, the slider had some nice bite to it, and a changeup, so he looked good overall.”

  • Brittany Ghiroli takes a look at the hot spring that Evan Longoria is having. [MLB]

What Longoria has made clear, in arguably the most important spring of his young career, is this: He can flat-out play…Longoria has seen action in eight games and is batting .368 with five RBIs and a .520 on-base percentage. He has marveled fans, impressed teammates and done everything possible to convince the Rays staff that he belongs.

  • Dan Shanoff of The Sporting News makes a great point that makes us giggle. [The Sporting News]

Here’s the crazy part: No matter what, the Rays win. A few seasons ago, you couldn’t get the Yankees to acknowledge the Rays even existed; now the Yankees are treating them as if their name was the “Ray Sox.”

The Rays recognized the first rule of feuding: Always punch up a weight class. (Admittedly, they only had one direction to go, but they chose well in picking baseball’s most storied franchise.)

  • Shirley Duncan doesn’t understand what the fuss is about…No? Well we now understand why it took Shirley seven years to reach the majors…He obviously has no idea how to play baseball properly…Meanwhile Joe Maddon stuck to his initial assessment of the play and said that punishment is out of his hands and up to the league. [Rays Report]
  • Rays of Light doesn’t think the Yankees as a whole should be held responsible for the acts of one player. They note that “its mostly just one hot-headed career minor leaguer who decided to act like a tough guy”. [Rays of Light]
  • Rays Digest called Shirley Duncan’s play “premeditated” and says it is “Time to take the Yankees blue dresses off and let’s play some baseball.” [Rays Digest]
  • Outs Per Swing provide an even-handed description without passing judgment. [Outs Per Swing]
  • Sports Indeed offers a very simple “don’t mess with Jonny Gomes” [Sports Indeed]
  • DRays Bay actually did have a few choice words saying that somebody apparently had to be a “hard ass” however reminding Shirley Duncan that Jonny Gomes has wrestling experience gave the post more of a silly edge as opposed to coming down hard on the Yankees…However, HUGE hat tip to DRays Bay for being the first with the actual video. [DRays Bay]
  • Bugs & Cranks? Well, they just got some quote from a Rays Town official that is clearly emotionally on edge. Somebody needs to get that guy a stressball. [Bugs & Cranks]
  • One Yankees blog was harder on Shirley Duncan than most of the Rays blogs. [River Ave. Blues]

There’s a difference between sliding with your spikes high and sending your sole towards another man’s family jewels (I’ve always loved that euphemism, family jewels). So I pretty much agree with what B.J. Upton said: “Just a flat-out dirty play. Period.”