Archive for the 'Dewayne Staats' Category

Sep 29

AUDIO: Here Are The Calls Of Evan Longoria’s Wild Card-Winning Home Run

Andy Freed, Dave Wills, Dewayne Staats Cork Gaines No Comments »

Below we have four different calls of Evan Longoria’s home runincluding the TV and radio calls for both the Rays and Yankees. We really get a sense of just how amazing and improbable last night’s game was.

Two thoughts: 1) Our favorite part might be Dave Wills about one second before the pitch, when he says, “I’m ready to party, let’s go.”; and 2) The excitement level by the Yankees announcers is kinda awesome. And make no mistake. This was not them rooting for the Rays. This was just pure excitement of the moment. Listen closely on the YES Network call. A good commentator knows to keep his mouth shut during a big play and not step on the call. But listen for Michael Kay’s partner (David Cone?). It sounds like he has pulled the mic away from his mouth, but you can still hear his amazement at the moment.

SUN SPORTS – DEWAYNE STAATS

WDAE – ANDY FREED

YES NETWORK – MICHAEL KAY

WCBS – JOHN STERLING

Aug 26

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Simple Hellboy, No Beef, And More On Penny’s Thoughts

Andy Freed, Brian Anderson, Dewayne Staats, Jeremy Hellickson, Sean Rodriguez Cork Gaines 17 Comments »
Click Here For Boxscore
Tigers 2, Rays 0 (click image for boxscore)

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

THE GOOD: A Start Wasted. Outside of the home run to the first batter of the game, Jeremy Hellickson was masterful. After allowing 3 baserunners in the 1st inning, Hellboy retired 15 of the next 16, including a franchise first 4 strikeouts in the 3rd inning. That happened after Kelly Shoppach couldn’t handle a strike 3, allowing the batter to reach first base. But this start, even a loss, was classic Hellickson. If you can throw strikes and change speeds, you can be successful as a pitcher. And that is exactly what Hellboy does. 102 pitches. 87 were either fastballs or changeups. And 59 of those were strikes. Simple, but effective.

THE BAD: Still No Beef. Doug Fister retired the first 13 batters he faced. And once again, when the Rays did get runners into scoring position, they couldn’t figure out how to get them home going 0-5 with 3 strikeouts and a double-play to end the game…Unlucky. We really want to be mad at somebody for the game-ending double-play, but it was just bad luck. You really want that second runner in scoring position, especially a slow runner like Matt Joyce who is no guarantee to score from first on a double. And he got such a good jump that Sam Fuld’s line drive was behind him, and Joyce didn’t know it was a flyball until he rounded second and picked up Tom Foley. Even Fuld gets credit for hitting the ball hard. Good call. Solid Execution. Dumb luck…Losing Series. Teams don’t lose 3 of 4 to the Tigers in late August if they want to be taken seriously. Right now, the Rays can’t even make the argument that they are just a victim of their own division. Even if there was a second Wild Card in the AL, the Rays would be on the outside looking in.

THE TELLING: Andy Freed missed his second straight game in the radio booth…The Rays went 1-6 against the Tigers this season.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • If you missed the update, Brad Penny claims he screamed and cussed at Sean Rodriguez because Rodriguez was screaming and cussing. [RaysIndex]
  • Tom Jones blames Dewayne Staats and Brian Anderson for speculating that Brad Penny was yelling at Sean Rodriguez for not hustling. That seems odd. It wasn’t until Joe Maddon commented (especially the one where he said Rodriguez would be justified in charging the mound) that anybody was even talking about this issue. Obviously Rodriguez and Maddon thought Penny was mad about Rodriguez hustling. So to blame Staats and Anderson seems unfair. [TampaBay.com]
  • As Evan Longoria goes, so do Read the rest of this entry »
Jul 29

AUDIO: Dewayne Staats Vs Brian Anderson, Round 1

Brian Anderson, Dewayne Staats Cork Gaines 10 Comments »

There has been a lot of hub-bub over the spat between Brian Anderson and Dewayne Staats last Saturday night. When we heard this live, we didn’t think much of it. But with the columns in the local papers, and the bro-hug two nights ago, we thought we should go back and give it a second listen.

And we still aren’t sure what the big deal is. Was it a little animated? Sure. But these guys will work more than 150 games together this season. If they didn’t have an occasional lovers quarrel, we would be worried.

Let’s set the stage: It is the fifth inning in Kansas City, and BJ Upton is up after back-to-back doubles by Ben Zobrist and Evan Longoria have tied the game 2-2. The count is 3-2 and BJ takes a pitch that is wayyyy outside. Here is the plot that shows it is about four inches off the plate.

Honestly, this is one of the worst called strikes we have seen in a plot and BJ had about three that night.

So he was pissed. But BJ also
Read the rest of this entry »

Oct 06

The Human Vuvuzela, Kevin Kennedy, Will Not Be Back With Rays In 2011

Dewayne Staats, Kevin Kennedy Cork Gaines 14 Comments »

Sun Sports announced yesterday that Dewayne Staats will be back next season, but he will have a new partner. Kevin Kennedy is out, and Brian Anderson will now be Staats’ full-time partner.

Our feelings on Kennedy have always been that 90% of the time he offers insightful commentary. But the other 10% of the time is so horrific that you completely forget that you actually learned something from him most games.

Jul 15

GQ Rates Staats And Kennedy As 3rd Worst In Baseball

Dewayne Staats, Kevin Kennedy Cork Gaines 12 Comments »

GQ ranked the five best and five worst broadcast teams in baseball and the Rays’ own Dewayne Staats and Kevin Kennedy come in at #3…in “The Bottom Five.”

Staats isn’t the worst play-by-play man in the country, but one gets the sense that he gets his rocks off on the idea that other humans are listening to the sound of his voice. (Which is to say nothing of his creepy mustache.) Kennedy, for his part, matches Staats sentence for sentence, talking a ton but saying precious little. He even steps on Staats’s toes as pitches are being thrown. When these guys do hit on an unusually insightful point, they’ll milk it endlessly, hammering it home until there’s nothing left but a shriveled teet. Why, one wonders, do they fill the airwaves so relentlessly with their words? Perhaps they’re afraid that, if they stop, viewers will notice how much nicer the games are without them.

Ouch. Well, this should give the anti-Kennedy crowd more ammunition. But to be fair, if we do have one criticism of Staats (besides hoarding vowels) it is that he occasionally has trouble letting something go. We envision Staats at home rocking Dan Wheeler to sleep while complaining about a call at second base earlier in the day.

Jul 05

Dewayne Staats Recognized On Floor Of Congress (Video)

Dewayne Staats Cork Gaines 1 Comment »

Congressman Gus Bilirakis took a moment recently to recognize Dewayne Staats’ 5,000th career game…

Jun 22

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Staats’ Milestone, CC’s Award And Stadium Reaction From Tampa

Carl Crawford, Dewayne Staats, James Houser, Matt Moore, New Stadium, Stuart Sternberg, Tyler Bortnick Cork Gaines 2 Comments »

Here is footage of Stuart Sternberg’s statement from yesterday…

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • We will have much more on Sternberg’s comments later this morning.
  • The Tampa Tribune has responses from local officials to Stuart Sternberg’s stadium demands…Tampa officials sound both optimistic and very cautious. [Tampa Tribune]
  • Carl Crawford was named the AL player of the week.
  • Michael Van Sickler looks at what leaving the Trop would cost the Rays. [St. Pete Times]
  • Tony Fabrizio writes about Dewayne Staats who will broadcast his 5,000th game tonight. [Tampa Tribune]
  • David Price sits atop ESPN.com’s 2010 Cy Young Predictor. Rafael Soriano is 8th. [ESPN]
  • Jon Heyman calls the Rays acquisition of Rafael Soriano one of the “best decisions of the past year.” [SI.com]
  • Keith Morelli writes about the success of the Rays postgame concerts. [Tampa Tribune]
  • The Rays drop to 3rd in the latest ESPN.com power rankings. What’s worse is that the two teams ahead of the Rays both reside in the AL East. [ESPN]
  • Matt Moore was named pitcher of the week in the FSL and Tyler Bortnick was named hitter of the week in the ML. [Biscuit Crumbs]
  • Former Rays prospect James Houser has been promoted to the big leagues by the Marlins.

DOWN ON THE FARM…

  • Check out Rays Prospects for boxscores and more detailed recaps. [Rays Prospects]
  • DURHAM: Brian Baker made his first start of the year and threw 5 no hit innings. He struck out 5 and walked 1…Matt Joyce hit his 3rd home run…Desmond Jennings did not play.
  • MONTGOMERY: (no games scheduled)
  • CHARLOTTE: (postponed)
  • BOWLING GREEN: (no game scheduled)
  • HUDSON VALLEY: Miguel Sierra gave up 2 runs on 6 hits and a walk in 4 innings. He struck out 4…Burt Reynolds went 3-3 with a double and a triple. He drove in 3...Derek Dietrich went 1-4.
Jun 17

Do You Ever Wonder If Brian Anderson Gets Staats’Fro-Envy?

Brian Anderson, Dewayne Staats Cork Gaines 3 Comments »

Hey Brian, don’t think we don’t see you eyeballin’ Staats ‘fro like Charles Barkley eyes somebody eating a donut. Consider this an early birthday present.

 

Sep 23

[THE HANGOVER] King David Price Has Arrived

Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, CC Sabathia, Dewayne Staats, Joe Maddon, Scott Kazmir Cork Gaines 3 Comments »



Click on above images to be taken to full standings, boxscores or schedule…

THE GOOD: David Price. Right from the start, Price set out to establish his fastball and succeeded. An easy 10 pitch first inning was all fastballs, and 41 of his first 43 pitches were fastballs. He did not give up a hit until the 5th inning and of the 4 hits given up in 5.1 innings, 3 were ground ball singles through the infield…Another bases loaded walk. The Rays continue to show an incredible ability to remain patient with the bases loaded…The Bullpen. Three relievers combined to limit the O’s to 2 hits and no walks in 3.2 innings, striking out 6.

THE BAD: The offense. The bats came out sluggish, being held hitless until Aki Iwamura’s bases loaded single in the 5th. This was against a journeyman minor leaguer that was making just his 3rd major league start. A pitcher that was just acquired earlier this month for a player to be named later that may or may not be a duck. In all, the offense managed only 3 hits and struck out 10 times. The offense was lucky that the O’s pitchers struggled with their control, walking 8 batters.

THE TELLING: According to Baseball Prospectus, the odds of winning the division are now 88.8%.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • Carlos Pena was named the AL’s player of the week. [Rays Report]
  • Carl Crawford is eager to get back on the field, traveling with the Rays on their current road trip. After meeting with Crawford, Joe Maddon wants to “see if [he] can move this thing along.” [MLB]
  • Her Rays thinks “Master of the Merm”, Dewayne Staats should go mohawk for charity. If that were to happen, we would be more than happy to support the cause here at RI….Other things Staats should give up for charity: Vowels from his name, Joe Magrane’s sense of humor, his son-in-law’s closer status. [Her Rays]
  • Gene Zalasko wrote an email to a writer for the St. Pete Times, apologizing for referring to the Rays as the “Tampa Rays” and saying the Rays play in Tampa. [St. Pete Times]
  • In The Hardball Times’ latest installment of “Anatomy of a player”, they take a look at Scott Kazmir and compare him favorably to CC Sabathia, only younger and with more upside in his changeup. [The Hardball Times]
  • The Yankees are still alive with 6 games to play and 3 games with the team they are chasing (Red Sox). Bugs and Cranks says Hank Steinbrenner has a plan, and part of that plan includes mohawks. [Bugs and Cranks]
Sep 01

[THE HANGOVER] Rays Sweep O’s; Magic Number Now 19

Attendance, BJ Upton, David Price, Dewayne Staats, Dioner Navarro, Edwin Jackson, Evan Longoria, Jason Bartlett, Joe Maddon, Joe Magrane, JP Howell, Troy Percival, Willy Aybar Cork Gaines 3 Comments »



THE GOOD: Jason Bartlett’s first home run with the Rays. We honestly wondered if he would ever hit an over-the-fence home run with the Rays. We have seen players with “warning track power” and Jason doesn’t even have that. And we wonder if Bartlett actually enjoyed getting plunked his next time up. How many times in his career will he get plunked after hitting a home run? That is a sign of respect not usually bestowed upon little people in baseball…And if there was any question whether Joe Maddon’s emphasis on running hard has had any affect on the Rays, you need look no further than Aki Iwamura’s at bat in with the 7th inning with 2 outs and the Rays already up 8-1. Aki hit a routine ground ball to first base. Normally an easy out and would have been very easy to lollygag there. Kevin Millar bobbled the ball and with Aki busting his butt the whole way, he beat the pitcher to the bag scoring the 9th run of the game. Meaningless run? Yep. But those are the sort of things that become habit-forming and are contagious. It also shows everybody that a play is not an out until it is an out.

THE BAD: BJ Upton was benched for not hustling to first base after being hit by a pitch. Wait. *rechecks notes* What? Oh. Apparently he was not benched. Instead he was removed for precationary reasons. He is apparently fine.

THE TELLING: The Rays magic number to clinch a playoff spot is now 19…There was a lot of talk last week about the Rays low attendance figures. The Rays averaged 29,541 for the 3-game set with the Orioles. Not bad for a series against a last-place club. Will we see any stories this week about how strong the attendance was this weekend? Not likely…How many people watched Rocco Baldelli’s walk-off hit on Saturday and after the team mobbed Carlos Pena at home, and turned to go after Rocco, thought “Oh Shit, please go easy on Rocco!”

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

  • We covered the September call-ups yesterday. [Rays Index]
  • Dioner Navarro was out of the lineup again on Sunday with sore hamstrings. He will also sit the opening game of the Yankees series. [Rays Report]
  • The Rays had been hoping Evan Longoria would be ready to come off the DL for the Yankees series that begins on Tuesday. Now Joe Maddon says that is not likely. Dirtbag has yet to take live batting practice and Papa Joe would like to see Longoria take BP for 2 or 3 days before being activated…With the solid play of Willy Aybar and the comfortable lead in the standings, the Rays are most likely just erring on the side of caution. [The Heater]
  • Troy Percival will be activated on Tuesday. [MLB]
  • Tom Jones has several issues with the broadcast put on by Fox during their coverage of the Rays game on Saturday. Jones also agreed with Dewayne Staats and Joe Magrane that the Rays needed to retaliate to protect Jason Bartlett after the shortstop was intentionally hit by a pitch…We disagree. If this was May or June? Yes. But the Rays are already shorthanded with injuries and are in the middle of a pennant race. The last thing Papa Joe needs right now is to get into a pissing contest and have players suspended. [St. Pete Times]
  • JP Howell has made only 4 appearances in the past 2 weeks. Brittany Ghiroli says the Rays are just scaling back Howell’s workload so that he will be well-rested down the stretch. [MLB]
  • ESPN will feature David Price on their Tuesday episode of “E:60″. [BaseballdeWorld]
  • Buster Olney uses Edwin Jackson as an example of a pitcher that took a while to learn how to pitch, but the Rays’ patience is now paying off. Olney speculates that with more emphasis placed on protecting young arms, it may have the undesired affect of slowing the learning curve for pitchers like Jackson. [ESPN]\

“Learning to deal with struggles is a big part in today’s game,” Jackson said. “There are going to be times when you are going to fail. It’s not all smiles and giggles.”…Young and talented starting pitchers are typically throwing only four to six innings as they come up through the minors, which means that they have fewer chances to pitch into and out of jams, fewer chances to learn how to pitch when they are tired and not working with their best stuff, fewer chances to take a deep breath and try to slow down the game. Thirty years ago, young pitchers were left in games to throw 115 to 130 pitches, in all likelihood — so by comparison, the chance for acquired experience these days is quite literally 20 to 35 percent less… In most cases, the opportunity for failure is needed — the opportunity to face a crisis and take a deep breath and slow the game down. The Rays were able to give that chance to Jackson last season, when he was horrendous in the first half but gradually began to gain traction in his career, finishing at 5-15 with a 5.76 ERA. “Last year was obviously my worst year,” Jackson said. “But it was the best year as far as learning.” Now Jackson and the Rays have been rewarded, as he has matured into a solid starter who will likely be a weapon in the postseason.

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