OR (that’s Original Rayshead) Jenn Sterger is suddenly everywhere. She is a host of “The Daily Line,” a new show on Versus (weekdays @6pm). And here is a very short clip of Sterger during a recent appearance on “Sports Soup.”
It probably would have been better if we told you about this before the show aired, but the episode will re-air several times in the next few days on Versus. You can see a full schedule here.
Here is a link to a second clip.
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: Justin Ruggiano. We completely ignored Ruggy in our roster projection yesterday. But with 2 more hits yesterday he is now 17-38 with 7 extra-base hits. And it would not surprise us if he is selected for a bench spot if Matt Joyce is on the DL and the Rays do not keep Hank Blalock…Joaquin Benoit. Benoit looks to be in mid-season form after his second consecutive no-hit outing. This one lasted 1.1 innings and he struck out 1. We would be surprised if he is not on the opening day roster, and even more surprised if he is not the main high-leverage guy in the 7th and 8th innings by the second-half…Matt Garza allowed 3 home runs in 5.2 innings, but all were solo and he struck out 4 without walking a batter. In 21.2 innings this spring he has walked only 3.
THE BAD: Missed Signs. Joe Maddon was upset after the game because several batters missed signs…Grant Balfour walked 2 including the eventual winning run in the 9th inning. He has now allowed 8 runs on 10 hits and 5 walks in just 7.1 innings this spring.
THE TELLING: The decision on who will be the 5th starter in the rotation will be announced today…Sean Rodriguez was originally slated to start but was pulled with a sinus headache. JJ Furmaniak replaced him in the lineup but was pulled after 1 inning after injuring his foot during his first at bat.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
There might still be life to that Pat Burrell-for-Milton Bradley deal after all.
Cubs general manager Jim Hendry has rekindled talks with several clubs over the past 24 hours. Of these meetings Hendry’s had, he met with Tampa (sic) general manager Andrew Friedman and special assistant Gerry Hunsicker for more than an hour Monday night talking about the format of a Milton Bradley-for-Pat Burrell trade. There is a difference of $12 million in the two contracts, and Hendry and Friedman talked about the parameters of paring down the difference and the money.
We still have no idea why the Cubs would try to field a defense that includes both Burrell and Alfonso Soriano in the same outfield. That’s something the Mets would do.
And we have no idea why the Rays would want a guy that nobody in the Cubs clubhouse wants to be around.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
Time to bring back 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: David Price and his changeup. King David threw 4 scoreless innings and said afterwards that he is now confident enough to throw his changeup “at any time.” Price struck out 4 and allowed 3 hits and allowed 2 walks… Adam Kennedy. Kennedy showed in the first inning one thing he can bring to the table. Experience. With 1 out and a would-be base stealer beating the throw, Kennedy successfully blocked the bag with his foot for the out…Carl Crawford. At the other end is Crawford stealing bases successfully. His legs sure look fresh as he stole 2 more bases yesterday (although he did get caught going to third) and is 5-6 in the steal department this spring with 2 triples…The Closers. A new TV show featuring Troy Percival and Jason Isringhausen got off to a slow start but is picking up steam as we head to sweeps-week. Both Percy and Izzy and pitched scoreless innings yesterday…Matt Joyce. Joyce made his first appearance in a Rays uniform and just missed 2 separate home runs, one to the track (off a lefty) and one foul. He finished 0-2 with a K.
THE BAD: David Price. Want the quickest way into a manger’s doghouse? Walk the leadoff batter. Price did that yesterday in the second inning and has done that a few times already this spring.
THE TELLING: In last night’s semifinal matchup of the WBC, JP Howell came in to pitch the 6th inning and faced Aki Iwamura during the inning. Aki flied out to center on the first pitch he faced. Howell gave up 2 hits in a scoreless inning, getting a strikeout to retire the side. Aki finished 1-4, driving in a run with a triple and later scoring a run in the 5-run 5th inning. Evan Longoria made his debut with Team USA as a pinch-hitter and the tying run in the 8th inning. He struck out…Pat Burrell will start in right field today. Somebody should warn the groundhogs.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
The Tampa Bay Rays have averaged 26,613 fans for their 10 home dates in June. That nearly doubles the 13,999 that the Devil Rays averaged in June of 2007.
Unfortunately, as far as we can tell, none of the 836,453 fans that have attended Rays games at the Trop this season were Jenn Sterger.
WHERE IS JENN STERGER?!?!
For all the new fans jumping on the Tampa Bay Rays bandwagon this season, it is disturbing that the fanbase appears to have lost one of their more recognizable bodies faces.
Besides, we need an updated photo of miss Sterger in the new Rays colors.
Orioles 6, Devil Rays 4.
He is only 23…he is only 23…he is only 23…102 pitches in 4 innings. 6 hits, 4 walks. Scott Kazmir actually threw 60 strikes, which is not terrible, so it is not just his lack of control. He just throws too many pitches. Some how he needs to learn to hit the bats more often. Wednesday’s loss starts and stops with Kid K, but there were plenty of other problems in between. Ben Zobrist, who was only starting because Aki Iwamura was sick with the flu, committed another error, because he was lazy on a routine ground ball. Instead of getting in front of it, he tried to back hand the grounder…Josh Paul became just the latest Devil Ray that failed to get a bunt a down. And once again Joe Maddon will stick with the call even with two strikes, as if he may be sending a message to the players “I will not let you swing away if you can’t lat down a simple sacrifice.” …And finally Elijah Dukes played a flyball to center into a game of twister and eventually a double…But ultimately, none of that matters if Kazmir can keep his pitch totals down and work deeper into games. He just needs to trust his stuff. You could see it on radar gun where his fastball was rarely touching 90 and never higher than 91. That is a classic sign of a pitcher that is aiming and not throwing. He was slowing everything down, hoping to find the strikezone. When a pitcher does that he loses his mechanics. He is only 23…he is only 23…he is only 23.
