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?
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…
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…
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.
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.”
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…
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: Starting Pitching. Want a sign that the starting pitchers are already in mid-season form? The 5 members of the rotation have combined for 78 strikeouts and 24 walks in 97.1 innings. That is a very good 3.25-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio…Jeff Niemann. The Giraffe tossed 6 shutout innings, striking out 6 and walking just 1. He now has 24 strikeouts and just 3 walks in 25.1 innings this spring…Nevin Ashley. Ashley continues to impress with 3 more hits including a home run…Evan Longoria hit his 4th home run of the past week. This one off of Josh Beckett.
THE BAD: Bullpen Candidates. Two relievers in the running for the final spot, Dale Thayer and Mike Ekstrom, combined to allow 3 runs in 3 innings on 6 hits and 2 walks.
THE TELLING: David Price will make his scheduled start today in a minor league game to avoid facing the Red Sox. Kelly Shoppach will be his catcher suggesting the two will team up during the regular season…The Rays are now 18-7-1 in the spring, matching their franchise record for wins in the Grapefruit League. They have 4 games remaining.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
Every team goes through “Picture Day” during spring training where all the players and coaches get all dolled up in their regular season uniforms and have their pictures taken by the professionals. Here is a link to Getty’s pics of the Rays.
But before you go look at the entire set, let us point out a few of our favorites…
Pat Burrell
Why does Pat Burrell have such a sly grin on his face and why is he touching his crotch with both hands? Maybe it is because the photographer told Pat to grab his bat. Maybe it is because it is the only bat of Pat’s that still works. Or maybe this is the secret behind the nickname, “Pat the Bat.” We vote for “all of the above.”
Gabe Kapler
Is there a reason Gabe Kapler doesn’t have his jersey tucked in? Maybe it is because he is lazy. But more likely it is because the photographer is right-handed.
Dave Martinez -- Derek Shelton -- Tom Foley
Inability to dress one’s self is apparently not limited to Kapler.
Don Zimmer
Look! It’s the mascot. How cute.
At least Dirtbag knows how to dress himself.
Ben Zobrist and his wife Julianna are on Twitter (@TheZobrists), although it appears that most (all?) of the tweets are from Julianna. So now you can follow the real-life Jimmy and Milly. And yes, that pic to the right is from their Twitter account. Poor child.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
According to Jayson Stark, the Rays are still in the running for Johnny Damon.
The Atlanta Braves and Tampa Bay Rays have also remained in the bidding, with both teams talking about one-year contracts for fewer total dollars than the Tigers’ offer. MLB.com reported that the Braves’ offer was for less than $4 million. The Chicago White Sox also have expressed interest, as ESPNChicago.com reported late last month.
However, the offer from the Tigers is said to be for 1-year, $7 million and they may be willing to add a second year to the deal. If that number is accurate, the Rays are not still in the running as they will not come close to that offer.
And if Damon is off the table for the Rays, that means the Rays opening day DH will be Pat Burrell. And that is not necessarily a terrible thing. If he is in better shape as reported, he should be motivated by the embarrassment of 2009 and the lure of free agency after the season. Will he be the 2008 Pat the Bat (.250-33-86, 102bb)? Probably not. But he should be considerably better than the 2009 Pat the Fat (.221-14-45, 57bb).
Luckily for the Rays, there is enough offense in the lineup, that Burrell isn’t needed to carry the team. They just have to hope he is not cement shoes in the deep end of the pool.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
