Tampa Bay Devil Rays third baseman Evan Longoria took Hugh Hefner’s VIP table at the Playboy Club with his eight friends for two hours atop the Palms and enjoyed several games of blackjack in between his dance floor duties with fans.
Of course, by “fans” they mean random Vegas hotties. And by “dance floor duties” they mean being a lucky son of a biscuit.
Dirtbag. He puts his pants on just like us, one leg at a time. Of course, after he puts his pants on, he gets to sit at Hugh Hefner’s VIP table and dance with “fans”.
For those suffering from baseball withdrawal as we are, following the links we present video of Willy Aybar hitting a home run for Licey in the Dominican Winter League.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
Rays pitching prospect Jino Gonzalez was arrested at Tampa International Airport after an unloaded gun was discovered in his carry-on bag. Gonzalez made 37 appearances (11 starts) for double-A Montgomery in 2008, posting a 5.44 ERA with 68 strike outs and 57 walks in 87.2 innings. The left-hander was originally drafted in the 46th round of the 2002 draft. [Fox Sports]
The Rays resigned Michel Hernandez to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training. The spring invite is simply due to the need for extra catchers in camp with so many pitchers needing work each day. During the season, Hernandez is likely to serve as the Rays’ “break glass only in case of emergency” catcher down at Durham. [The Heater]
The Providence Journal caught up with Rhode Island native Dan Wheeler and spoke to him about his unusual rise to the big leagues. [Providence Journal]
As usual Her Rays doesn’t disappoint with the imagery. This time it is her “New Years Rays-o-lutions” and an attempt to stay pure and stop reading so much smut. [Her Rays]
Last night was Joe Maddon’s private dinner at the White House with President George Bush. [St. Pete Times]
If you are interested, here is a news video clip featuring Joe Maddon’s recent effort to help raise money for his former high school. At this rate, we have a feeling Papa Joe is going to still be wearing that Rays Santa cap in the dugout next season. [YouTube]
The King of Lists is back and this time he has outdone himself. David Chalk is now counting down the top 177 Devil Rays of all-time, starting with Kevin Witt…Witt was like the backup quarterback. For a while he was the most popular guy in the organization, but proved to be a four-A player. Since then he went to Japan was never heard from again. We assume he joined the Yakuza. [Bugs and Cranks]
Just speculation on his part, but Buster Olney sees Pat Burrell landing with the Rays. [MLB Trade Rumors]
No surprise that the Rays are involved, but Jon Heyman is reporting that four other teams have expressed interest in Ken Griffey Jr. While Griffey may prefer to play close to his Orlando home, he is clearly just one name on the Rays’ Plan B list for DH. [SI.com]
[Update: 10:05am] Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe says Bradley is “in intense discussions with the Cubs.” That makes a little more sense.
[9:29am] As we reported yesterday, Milton Bradley had lunch with Andrew Friedman and Joe Maddon. Maddon said Bradley was “very honest, open and intense. I liked all three.” Madon added that the Rays have plans to meet with other outfielder/DH types.
Dayton Moore of the Kansas City Star says the Royals are not involved. That might leave the Rays as the leading candidates for Bradley. In fact, we are yet to hear any other teams with serious interest. Surprising for a guy that hit .321/.436/.536 last year with an OPS+ of 163.
However, Bradley does have a history of knee problems and last year’s 126 games marked only the second time in 9 seasons in which Bradley played more than 110 games. Significant playing time at DH could go a long ways to keeping Bradley on the field.
Milton Bradley Has Lunch With Andrew Friedman And Co. [Rays Index] Rays smitten by Bradley’s ‘honesty’ [Yahoo! Sports] 9:56 p.m. — Bradley seeking new home? [Fox Sports] Bradley To Rays Or Royals? [MLB Trade Rumors] Royals still searching for ways to add impact free agent [Kansas City Star] DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
Tyler Hissey of Rays Digest will debut “The Rays Rundown”, a live call-in show this morning at 11:00. [Rays Digest]
Does anybody else find it strange that Marc Topkin will report on some rumors from the winter meetings and he “will ignore” others? How does he decide which rumors are worth reporting? Does Topkin have some special power of deduction that can tell which rumors are true and which rumors are not? Aren’t all rumors from the winter meetings at least somewhat newsworthy, in that each rumor has at least some people are talking about it (usually other people like Topkin), even if some are ridiculous? Or does Topkin pass on some rumors because they come to him while he is busy watching “The Bachelor”? [The Heater]
Yesterday we learned that the Rays might be involved in the Padres efforts to move Jake Peavy to the Cubs. Later we heard that the Padres and Cubs had figured out a way to make the deal happen without a third team. Now, Corey Brock is reporting that the particulars of the deal have been agreed upon and that there is a third team involved and possibly a fourth. Might the Rays be one of the other teams? [Hot Stove Blog]
MLB Trade Rumors says a third team is the Orioles, but there is no word if a fourth team is confirmed to be involved, noting that attempts to get a third team involved included talks with “four to five clubs.” The Padres are said to want major league-ready pitching. If the Rays were involved, it almost certainly means the Rays would send the Padres Andy Sonnanstine, Edwin Jackson or Jeff Niemann. [MLB Trade Rumors]
Buster Olney says he would “be shocked” if Rocco Baldelli does not sign with the Red Sox. [ESPN]
Joe Maddon spoke highly of free agent Garret Anderson and Kevin Baxter of the LA Times wonders if Anderson might be a good fit for the Rays. [LA Times]
We are surprised there are not more rumors involving the Cardinals and the Rays. The Cardinals would like to move a left-handed hitting outfielder (Rick Ankiel, Skip Schumaker, Chris Duncan, Colby Rasmus) and are looking for pitching. Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says the two teams would be a good match. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
Mike Berardino of the Miami Sun-Sentinel shoots down the possibility of the Marlins targeting Jason Bartlett in a Jeremy Hermida deal. Berardino says that the Marlins would prefer to keep Hanley Ramirez at shortstop rather than move him to the outfield. [Miami Sun-Sentinel]
Joe Maddon let it be known that he has been invited to a small dinner with President George Bush and his wife at the White House. [Rays Report]
Joe Maddon spoke with reporters from the Winter Meetings. [MSN Video]
Joe Maddon said he hoped to see Rays fans on his honeymoon in Europe. He succeeded. [Big League Stew]
The Hudson Valley Renegades will pay tribute to Stephon Marbury next season. [Rays Prospects]
And yes, this is the first time in the history of Rays Index in which a post referenced President George Bushand StephonMarbury. Yes. We Love Lamp.
How good is it to be Evan Longoria these days? Las Vegas Weekly reminds us…
