Archive for the 'Don Zimmer' Category

Apr 02

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss No Offense, Bad Defense And A Brain Fart

BJ Upton, Dewon Brazelton, DJ Jones, Don Zimmer, Johnny Damon Cork Gaines 14 Comments »

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: Dan Johnson. He got good wood on his 2nd inning double. It is a little worrisome that the ball didn’t get out as he had a few of those this spring. But as long as he is making good contact, the power should come…Ben Zobrist. Thanks to a 9th inning solo home run by Zorilla, we are not left wondering when the Rays will score their first run.

THE BAD: Offensive. The Rays had just 2 baserunners in the first 7 innings and picked up just 3 hits and 1 walk off of Jeremy Guthrie in 8 innings. At one point, Guthrie retired 13 in a row…Offensive Defense. With the Rays trailing 1-0 in the 5th, Johnnt Damon played a 1-run double into a 2-run triple. And then Brian Roberts scored on a sac fly when he should have been on second base. With the way Guthrie was tossing, the game was essentially over at that point…BJ Being BJ. The Rays finally got 2 runners on in the 8th. But trailing by 4, that is not the time to try to get both runners in scoring position. The Rays needed more than 2 runs. But Upton got caught leaning and was picked off. And yes, the umpire blew an obvious interference call, but BJ shouldn’t have been in that position. That killed the rally and any hope of a comeback.

THE TELLING: Lefty Brian Matusz, who beat the Rays twice last year, will not start today as originally scheduled. Tomorrow’s starter (Chris Tillman) will be moved up, and Zach Britton will be called up from the minors on Sunday…Yesterday was Don Zimmer’s 52nd opening day. And it was Manny Ramirez’18st consecutive start on opening day, second-best among active players…Joe Maddon said he will use Sam Fuld as a late-inning defensive replacement for Johnny Damon to ease Damon’s workload…Former Devil Rays Randy Winn has retired.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

Mar 31

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Russell’s Rebound, Manny’s Day Off, And Booing The Gov

Adam Russell, Don Zimmer, Manny Ramirez, Rick Scott Cork Gaines 10 Comments »

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: Adam Russell. Russell pitched another scoreless outing, giving up just one hit. It is just two appearances, but he has looked better since altering his mechanics a week ago…Elliot Johnson. Mr. March capped off his great spring with his first home run and added his 12th steal…Evan Longoria. Dirtbag came locked and loaded for the final spring game blasting his 4th home run.

THE BAD: Opening Day. Twelve teams open up today. But we have to wait until tomorrow night to see David Price unleash the first pitch of the 2011 season.

THE TELLING: Upon further review, yesterday’s game did count in the Grapefruit League standings. So the Rays finished 15-14-2. We have no idea why this is important…Manny Ramirez missed yesterday’s game for “personal reasons”…Tomorrow’s opener is a near-sellout with just obstructed view and single seats available…

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

Mar 16

The Rays Combat Coaching Corps

Bobby Ramos, Dave Eiland, Dave Martinez, Derek Shelton, Dirk Hayhurst, Don Zimmer, George Hendrick, Jim Hickey, Joe Maddon, Rocco Baldelli, Scott Cursi, Tom Foley Jordi Scrubbings 8 Comments »

Our correspondent and Afrologist, Jordi Scrubbings, is back with another sensible take on things that drive most of us nuts…

During my time in the military, I could always tell how good a unit was by watching the interaction between the commanding officer and the non-commissioned officers (sergeants and the like) under their command. Good units had tight communication and a well-defined road ahead. Officers dictated their intent and the non-commissioned officers trained and molded the troops to fulfill the vision of their leaders. Less quality units lacked either that overarching guidance or had a commander who suffered from either being too distant, too buried in paperwork, or too full of his own ego to be approachable.

Although football often draws the most war-like comparisons, there are a few baseball-military comparisons that can be made. One could liken Spring Training to a sort of Basic Training, where the basic skills are learned or brushed up on and new recruits learn the philosophy of the organization, although there is hardly the level of intensity in spring baseball that there is in a place like Fort Bragg or Camp LeJune. One could also make the leap that daily batting practice is similar to the daily physical training, where members exercise and work out before the duty day.

My favorite baseball-military analogy Read the rest of this entry »

Mar 01

Don Zimmer: Then And Now

Don Zimmer Cork Gaines 3 Comments »

While looking for something else, we came across this pic of Don Zimmer, labeled as “circa 1950s.” However, the picture must be from 1958 or 1959, as those are the only two seasons Zim played for the Dodgers in Los Angeles.

Feb 23

Create-A-Caption: Zim, I Told Manny To Call Me Captain Morgan

Create-A-Caption, Don Zimmer, Joe Maddon Cork Gaines 10 Comments »

We’ve seen Joe Maddon do a lot of weird things in his time here, but we don’t think we will ever understand why he always stands like this. We call it his “Captain Morgan” pose. And having Zim standing guard just completes the picture (via @Hawthe on Twitter)

So have at it crew. How would you have captioned this photo?

Nov 05

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Zim’s Return And A Light Rail Rejection

Don Zimmer Cork Gaines 2 Comments »

The Rays announced that their mascot special assistant, Don Zimmer will be back with the team next season. 2011 will mark Zimmer’s 63rd year in professional baseball.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • Voters rejected a proposed tax that would have helped finance a light rail in Hillsborough County. David DeCamp and Curtis Krueger write about how that could impact the Rays and hopes of a light rail to a new stadium in Pinellas County. [St. Pete Times]
  • Joe Lemire of SI.com breaks down the off-season in the AL East. [SI.com]
  • “Debunking the myth of the Tampa Bay Rays fan.” [SportsChump.net]
Sep 16

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Shields’ Survivability, Rocky-Drago II and The Great Pumpkin

Carl Crawford, Dan Johnson, Derek Jeter, Don Zimmer, James Shields, Rafael Soriano Cork Gaines 15 Comments »

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: The Great Pumpkin. Apparently Dan Johnson can produce against teams not named “Red Sox.” With 2 home runs last night, including a huge 2-run go-ahead shot in the 7th, one has to wonder if Johnson is playing himself on to the playoff roster…Surviving. James Shields struggled in the first four innings (7 hits), but he got a bases loaded double-play to end the first inning with only 1 run on the board. Then Matt Joyce saved Shields’ heiny in the 2nd by cutting down Austin Kearns trying to leg out a double. He finished with his best performance in a long, long time. Of his 117 pitches, Shields got 15 swinging strikes (12.8%). His season average to this point was 9.7%…Our Ticker. We have no idea how we will survive a potential Rays-Yankees matchup in the postseason. Sure both teams have to get by the Twins and Rangers, but it is hard not to feel like Rocky-Drago II is coming. ALCS 2010.

THE BAD: Der-ek Cheat-er. Clap, Clap, Clap-Clap-Clap. Listen, Jeter wasn’t the first player to act like he got hit by a pitch. That’s fine. But he had the nerve to have the trainer check his hand to make sure it was ok. We expect that crap from players like Alex Rodriguez and AJ Pierzynski. Not Jeter. Still, claiming something that didn’t happen is a part of baseball. If anybody deserves blame, it’s the ump that missed such an obvious call…Joaquin Benoit. Why is Ben-wah in the Bad? Because he had the nerve to pitch 3 straight days and not be available last night. And as much as we love The Mad Australian, Grant Balfour scares the shite out of us sometimes.

THE TELLING: Rafael Soriano’s strikeout of Alex Rodriguez gave him a team record-tying 43 saves…The ejection was the 16th of Joe Maddon’s career…David Price was moved up a day and will now pitch Saturday on normal rest. The Yankees also shuffled their rotation, so we will get Price-Sabathia II…Thanks to JB Long of Bright House Sports, we learned that in addition to players, teams can add a coach in September. That is why Don Zimmer is in the dugout during this homestand. Stan Boroski (asst. pitching coach) will be in the dugout on the road (thanks Ryan)…The Red Sox are only 6 games behind the Yankees and have 6 games remaining head-to-head.

WHERE THEY STAND: The Rays are 88-57, one-half game ahead of the Yankees and 6.5 games ahead of the Red Sox in the Wild Card. After 145 games in 2008, the Rays were 88-57.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • Dan Johnson on being clutch: “There is a calm that comes over me in those situations that I can’t really explain” (Video). [Sun Sports]
  • Joe Maddon on being ejected: “I was just trying to present logic” (Video). [Sun Sports]
  • Derek Jeter admitted to some “acting” during the controversial non-HBP. [St. Pete Times]
  • Carl Crawford on people that criticized his decision to tag up on Tuesday night: “To me, they are dumb people because if they watch us all year they would know that that’s what we do.” [St. Pete Times]
  • Here is a look at
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Jul 18

Documentary On Don Zimmer To Air Tonight

Don Zimmer Cork Gaines 2 Comments »

Tonight, the MLB Network will air a documentary on Rays Special Assistant Don Zimmer called “Don Zimmer: I’ve Seen It All.” The show will air at 10:00pm.

Jul 13

Don Zimmer On Passing Of George Steinbrenner

Don Zimmer, George Steinbrenner, New York Yankees Cork Gaines 1 Comment »

From Don Zimmer:

“I would prefer to remember him just as he was the first time I met him. I was managing the Red Sox and sitting in the dugout several hours before a game at Yankee Stadium. He was on the mound in a white shirt pitching batting practice to his son. A father throwing to his son.

“His impact on the game is impossible to measure. If you were a Yankee fan there was no better owner because he would do anything at any cost to put the best team on the field.

“My deepest sympathies go out to his family.”

Apr 04

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Shop’s Big Blast, A Rays Futures Game And Kazmir’s Bum Shoulder

Don Zimmer, Elliot Johnson, Joaquin Benoit, Kelly Shoppach, Scott Kazmir, Sean Rodriguez Cork Gaines 14 Comments »

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: Kelly Shoppach. Shoppach hit a grand slam off of Jeremy Hellickson.

THE BAD: Future Stars. We like the idea of the Rays playing exhibition games at the parks of their minor league affiliates. It’s great for the local fans. But instead of playing the Mets at The Trop on Friday, why not do what the Yankees did yesterday? The Yankees played an exhibition game against a team composed of their top prospects. For a franchise like the Rays that is so dependent on their farm system, wouldn’t this be a big draw for fans at The Trop the weekend before the regular season starts?

THE TELLING: Kelly Shoppach caught Jeff Niemann…Sean Rodriguez started in right field and batted 9th.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • Several tidbits from Marc Topkin: Elliot Johnson cleared waivers and will go to triple-A…Joaquin Benoit doesn’t sound pleased with his demotion saying “Am I supposed to prove I can pitch in the minors? We’ll see what happens in three-four weeks”…Sean Rodriguez may start at second base on Tuesday…Like Desmond Jennings, Tim Beckham will miss the start of the regular season. [St. Pete Times]
  • Scott Kazmir will start the season on the DL. [ESPN]
  • Marc Topkin writes about some of the key decisions that were made during the spring and why they were made. [St. Pete Times]
  • Art Levy spoke with Don Zimmer about his 62 years in baseball. Great read. [St. Pete Times]
  • Roger Mooney lists the players Raysheads should watch closely in 2010. [Tampa Tribune]
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