Off-Season (click image for random Wikipedia page)
The Rays officially announced the signing of Carlos Pena [video of the press conference via Tampa Bay Times is below]. And the Rays posted billboards throughout the area welcoming El Gato back to the team.
But more importantly, as we have been speculating for weeks, Justin Ruggiano has been designated for assignment.
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
Ryan Theriot, whom we mentioned yesterday, would prefer to remain in the NL unless he can find a starting job in the AL. He would get occasional starts with the Rays, but he would likely have to share middle infield duties with others. [Fox Sports]
Our old friend Dick Vitale is “crushed” by what is happening with the Bucs head coaching search. [BI Sports]
So when Dickie V reads this, he is not going to be happy. [Joe Bucs Fan]
New Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine commented on facing Matt Moore. [Biscuit Crumbs]
We might have linked to this before, but here is a Q&A with Tim Beckham, who is suddenly back on the prospect radar. [MiLB]
On Monday, Rays Superfan Dick Vitale had some harsh words for BJ Upton. Yesterday, Vitale appeared on ESPN Radio’s “Mike and Mike Show.” If you thought Dickie V might back down from his criticism, you’d be wrong. Vitale thinks Upton just isn’t a very good player and he has the numbers to prove it.
Here is the full uninterrupted rant (emphasis is ours, although really, Vitale says the entire thing with emphasis).. Read the rest of this entry »
Dick Vitale, a long-time Rays season ticket holder, spends a lot of time on the Turf at the Trop and around the Rays. So when he comments on the personality of a player, we listen.
As a baseball fan would u trade BJ Upton? He has loads of potenial but in 3 plus years his numbers r horrible! Has speed n D but very moody
Strong words. Especially when you consider how often Vitale ever says anything negative about anybody (if you don’t watch much college basketball, it is somewhere in the vicinity of never).
The GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.
click above image for boxscore
THE GOOD: Wade Davis. For the first time this year he worked into the 8th inning and for only the second time in 7 starts, Big Dub worked into the 7th inning. And in doing so, Davis rediscovered his control and command, matching his season-high of 7 strikeouts and walked only 1. Of his 105 pitches, 75 were strikes…BJ Upton. Another night in the leadoff spot and another 3 times on base.
THE BAD: Bearing Down. Each of the Jays first 2 runs scored with 2 outs…GTMI Fail. The Rays were 0-7 with runners in scoring position…BJ Upton. Leadoff specialist, rally killer. In the 6th inning of a 1-run game, Bossman was caught trying to steal third with Evan Longoria at the plate (replays showed he was safe). And in the 8th inning, his double-play killed a second late-inning rally.
THE TELLING: Dioner Navarro was scratched from the lineup with a “stiff neck” which leads us to wonder if Navi will end up on the DL in a “Friedman Special,” to make room for the return of Jason Bartlett…Carl Crawford was not in the starting lineup for the second time this week. Joe Maddon indicated that CC’s body needed some healing and JoeMa decided to rest him versus lefties….With Willy Aybar at DH and hitting cleanup, Joe Maddon has now used 13 different lineups in the last 13 games…Carlos Pena’s home run last night set a franchise record (129), surpassing Aubrey Huff.
WHERE THEY STAND: The Rays are 39-21, 2 games ahead of the Yankees and 5 games ahead of the Red Sox in the Wild Card. After 60 games in 2008, the Rays were 35-25.
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
If you missed it last night, Dick Vitale was struck by a linedrive in the first inning. [Rays Index]
Joe Maddon spoke about “Free Carl” week…Also, Jason Bartlett is still planning on being back with the Rays on Tuesday. [St. Pete Times]
The Rays second-round pick, Derek Dietrich, signed with the Rays last night during the game while at The Trop.
More Hardball speculates that Carlos Pena might only command a 1-year, $5.0 million deal this off-season…If that’s the case, look for Pena to be back next season with the Rays. [More Hardball]
Carlos Pena talks about setting the club record for home runs (video). [The Heater]
Richard Griffin writes about Joe Maddon’s old school baseball style. [Toronto Star]
The Rays are bringing fancy food to the common folk. [Tampa Tribune]
DOWN ON THE FARM…
Check out Rays Prospects for boxscores and more detailed recaps. [Rays Prospects]
DURHAM: Heath Phillips worked into the 8th inning, giving up just 1 run (7.1 innings) on 4 hits and 2 walks. He struck out 6…Desmond Jennings was 1-4 and Matt Joyce was 2-3 with a double…Jose Lobaton hit his 5th home run.
MONTGOMERY: Alex Torres improved to 6-3 despite giving up 4 runs (3 earned) in 5.2 innings. He struck out 4 and walked 1. His ERA is now 2.47…Cody Cipriano hit his 2nd home run and had 3 hits…Matt Sweeney was 3-5 with 2 RBI.
CHARLOTTE: Nick Barnese gave up 2 runs (1 earned) in 5 innings on 8 hits. He struck out 1 and walked none…Matt Bush pitched 1 perfect inning, striking out 1…Tim Beckham was 0-4 with a walk.
BOWLING GREEN: Aaron Dott gave up 2 runs in 5 innings, striking out 4 and walking 3…Chris Murrill had a single, 2 walks and stole his 23rd base.
[Update] Here is a link to the video of the foul ball and Todd Kalas’ interview of Vitale a short time later. [MLB.com]
[7:21pm] On the second pitch of tonight’s game, Toronto’s Fred Lewis lined a foul ball into the stands. That ball just happened to strike a Rays season ticket holder in the ribcage area. That fan? Dick Vitale. The image below shows Vitale moments after the wayward baseball met his abdomen…
Dickie V. was immediately tended to by Rays security. He never left his seat and appeared OK.
The Big Lead conducted a Q&A with Dick Vitale and asked him about the Rays ongoing fight for a new stadium…
I think there’s no doubt it would be great here if they built a modern stadium, but it gets down to dollars. And fan interest and putting people in the seats. I dont blame the owners – how you going to spend csh and you’re not getting people out? That becomes a domino effect. That becomes a problem. I think eventually we’ll get a new ballpark. I’m trying to be optimistic. with a new ballpark and the environment to make it so exciting to come. I mean, Yankee stadium is like a museum.
“Trying to be optimistic.” Ahhh, ’tis the life of a Rays fan.
Somebody at the 4-letter thinks the Red Sox will now pull off the greatest comeback in the history of baseball, coming back from a 4 games to 3 deficit. Well, Bristol is in the heart of Red Sox Nation. (Thanks Brett).
We have now watched the 8th and 9th innings about a dozen times. One thing we didn’t notice last night was the incredible play that Aki Iwamura made on the final out. The ball takes a wicked (pun intended) hop and nearly goes over Aki’s head. If he misses that ball, it is first and third and things are suddenly very scary.
Also, let’s not forget the one guy that has worn the Devil Rays/Rays uniform longer than anybody else and knows the pain of the first 10 years more than most, Scott Cursi. The Rays bullpen catcher has been warming up pitchers since 1999. Congrats Scott, you earned it.
Finally, last week we took exception when one Red Sox blogger wrote about Carl Crawford and his “gangster neck tattoo”. This week, Red Sox bloggers are back at it. This time courtesy of Surviving Grady.
Especially that punk-ass Carl Crawford, who you know is just an injury away from boosting car stereos.
One writer at Bugs and Cranks is bracing himself in anticipation of having to get a Rayhawk after losing a bet. [Bugs and Cranks]
Boston Irish will be rooting for the Phillies in the World Series because the Rays fan base “haven’t exactly earned this as yet”. They also hate the idea of all the “punk, spoilt, brash NBA star types” on the Rays being champs…Jonathon Papelbon? Something comes to mind about a pot and a kettle and grapes that may or may not be sour. [Boston Irish]
Apparently, the Rays were just practicing for these postseason celebrations back in May. [The Sports Hernia]
THE TELLING: There was a lot of discussion as to whether Eric Hinske or Fernando Perez would be left off the roster in the ALCS. We are not sure why it was even a question. Joe Maddon needs Perez on the roster. When Jon Lester starts for the Red Sox, Rocco Baldelli is the Rays right fielder, if he is ready to play the field. If Rocco can’t go, it will be Perez in right field…We would never want Joe Maddon’s responsibility to tell Troy Percival he is not on the ALCS roster. But could you imagine how much worse it would have been if the opponent was Percy’s former ballclub, the Angels?
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
Edwin Jackson has been added to the ALCS roster as the 11th pitcher. To make room, Eric Hinske was removed. This leaves Fernando Perez on the roster. [The Heater]
Sweet. Fancy. Moses. Her Rays asked for it and now a Spa in the Bay Area is delivering. Rayhawks for women. Be sure to catch the end of the video. [Bugs and Cranks]
Joe Maddon addressed the media. Among the questions was when Maddon thought the Rays turned the corner this season. He pointed to the Blue Jays series after the all-star break after the Rays had lost 7 in a row and everybody was predicting an end to that “nice story”. [MLB]
Here is a transcript of James Shields meeting with the media. [MLB]
This may be satire, but at least one member of the Red Sox Nation remembers that the Sox sucked for 86 years and that winning the World Series is not a birthright. [Over The Monster]
Several people suggested this for the ALDS. The Rays will have 11 original season-ticket holders throw out the first pitch for game 1 of the ALCS. Dick Vitale will do the honors in game 2…There is a nice symmetry to the number 11. It is the number of wins needed to win the World Series. [Rays Report]
If the Rays win the ALCS, the Red Sox writer at Bugs and Cranks will have to cut his hair into a Rayhawk…Game On! [Bugs and Cranks]
One computer simulation says the Red Sox have a slight edge in the series, winning 53% of 10,000 simulations. [Fire Brand of the American League]
As we mentioned earlier this morning, Evan Longoria is leading the vote for the final spot of the AL All-Star squad. Voting ends at 5pm ET on Thursday. Now we find this little piece of propaganda from none other than Dick Vitale pushing people to vote for Dirtbag (Thanks JJ).
Yikes. We love Dickie V. We really do, especially now that he is older and he reminds us of our crazy grandfather who would sometimes have entire conversations with the dog about what play the Redskins should run on 4th down. But do we need to call Longoria a “PTPer”? Really?
I love this story…In 1990 Joe Maddon was a minor league instructor for the Angels. Troy Percival was a single-A catcher that could barely hit .200. The team wanted to make Percy a pitcher. What was Maddon’s response? Maddon said it would be a mistake to switch to pitcher.[ Bradenton Herald]
“I’ll teach you how to hit,” said Joe Maddon, a hitting coach in the California Angels’ instructional league in 1990…So Maddon met Percival in the batting cage, bringing with him all the tricks he used to make hitters out of young hitters who couldn’t hit…Maddon tried to shorten Percival’s swing; tried to get the ball to jump off Percival’s bat…Nothing worked…”Turns out he was just a bad hitter,” Maddon said.
Trever Miller hit Carl Crawford with a pitch this morning in batting practice. Trever, today is not the day, dude. Not the day. Not sure if you noticed, but CC is not in the best of moods right now. [The Heater]
Joe Henderson remarks on how refreshing it was to hear Carl Crawford step-up and be heard concerning Delmon Young. According to Henderson, the Rays needed that sign of leadership and Crawford was just the man to do it. [Tampa Tribune]
Whether [Delmon Young] was challenging Maddon’s authority, or swinging for a hit on an 0-2 pitch over his head instead of trying to move a runner along, he made sure the chip on his shoulder was never out of sight…So when somebody asks how you trade a player who was just runner-up for American League Rookie of the Year, that’s how…Crawford Steps Up…someone in the Rays clubhouse needed to actually say out loud what everybody already knew, and what better person for that than Crawford…If it’s going to change, Crawford has to lead the way. This is a great start.
Al Reyes does not look at his move from closer to set-up man as a demotion, but rather as an opportunity to make the bullpen better. [Tampa Tribune]
Reyes said he thinks the offseason overhaul has given the Rays “one of the best bullpens in the league.” At the very least, the hope is that the relievers will be able to carry their own weight and not drag the rest of the team down as they often did last year. Dropping lead after lead in the late innings can’t help but take a psychological toll.
Jeff Passan recounts how Rocco Baldelli has gone from once promising star to a bit of an enigma. Baldelli’sonly goal for 2008 is to stay healthy. [Yahoo! Sports]
Dick Vitale took time from preparing for tonight’s 1 vs. 2 matchup in college basketball to talk about the Rays. [Bradenton Herald]
On Monday, Rays Superfan Dick Vitale had some harsh words for BJ Upton. Yesterday, 
Dick Vitale, a long-time Rays season ticket holder, spends a lot of time on the Turf at the Trop and around the Rays. So when he comments on the personality of a player, we listen.
The GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.
