Jan 30
- Off-Season (click image for random Wikipedia page)
In the latest, “Joe Maddon will sign an extension soon, we swear” story, Marc Topkin reports that the two sides are closing in on a three-year extension.
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Carlos Pena turned down an $8 million offer from the Indians (he took a $7.25M deal with the Rays). [Cleveland.com]
- JB Long interviewed Matt Joyce recently for Bay News 9. Admits he was not looking forward to playing first base, so he was happy the team signed Carlos Pena. [Video]
- Rocco Baldelli is happy and comfortable with the way his career ended. [HeraldNews.com]
- Here are some pics from a recent fundraising event Jeremy Hellickson attended at his high school. [Des Moines Register]
- BRaysBall Talk looks at how to survive FanFest. [BRaysBall Talk]
- Rays Colored Glasses takes a look at the history of professional baseball in the Bay Area prior to the Rays. [Part 1, Part 2]
Jun 03
- Mariners 8, Rays 2 (click image for boxscore)
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: Matt Joyce. To throw a hissy fit about Joyce not being among the top 3 vote getters among outfielders in the AL seems a bit much. Especially when you admit you never watch the game. And when your own manager doesn’t think you are good enough to start against Zach Britton because he is a rookie left-hander, then why should voters think Joyce is worthy of starting for the AL All-Star team? Let’s face it, if Joyce was voted to start the All-Star game and Maddon happened to be the manager and the NL was starting a lefty, Maddon would probably bench Joyce. But he does lead the AL in hitting (thanks to limited action versus lefties) and after hitting his 10th home run last night, he does deserve a spot on the All-Star bench.
THE BAD: Home Run Derby. The Mariners came into Read the rest of this entry »
Mar 16
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
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 05
The Princeton Rays have a great gallery of former players. Below are a few of those pictures. You can find the rest of the images on their Facebook page. [Princeton Rays Facebook]
Feb 15
In 2000, Rocco Baldelli was an 18-year old outfielder with the Princeton Rays. It was his first year in pro ball after being drafted in the first round of that June’s amateur draft. Baldelli hit only .216 that season in 60 games, with three home runs and 11 stolen bases. He also apparently posed for at least one picture.
This photo comes to us from the Princeton Rays Facebook page. Oh Rocco, we hardly knew ye…
Jan 27
Rocco gone too soon,
We’ll miss the speed pop smiles grace,
Woonsocket Rocket!
Your turn. Let’s hear your Rocco haikus in the comments…
Jan 27
The Rays minor league system is ranked second by ESPN.com…
Probably second even before they dealt Matt Garza, they’re now No. 2 with a bullet and not far behind Kansas City for No. 1. They’re absolutely loaded, with top-end talent near that of K.C., but not the extensive depth of prospects the Royals have. The Rays have focused on arms and impact bats in the middle of the field, mixing in the occasional corner bat (Josh Sale), but mostly recognizing that replacement level is so low right now for certain positions and roster spots that there’s still some hidden value to be found. They also boast more picks in the first three rounds of the 2011 draft than any other club, so look for the prospect-rich to get richer.
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- If you go to the Podcast section of the 620 WDAE homepage, you can listen to Rocco Baldelli’s retirement press conference. [620 WDAE]
- Marc Topkin has some quotes from Rocco Baldelli and Andrew Friedman. [TampaBay.com]
- And here is some video Read the rest of this entry »
Jan 26
Marc Topkin is reporting that Rocco Baldelli will announce his retirement later today. Rocco is also expected to accept a position as a “special advisor” for the Rays working in scouting and player development.
“I don’t anticipate ever playing baseball again. I’m retired. The paperwork will be filed,” Baldelli said Tuesday night. “And you know what. The only time I feel like it’s good to retire is when you’re happy to retire. And I’m happy.”
Baldelli, the 6th overall pick in the 200 draft, played parts of five seasons for the Rays. But after playing in 292 games in 2003 and 2004, he would only play 165 more games with the Rays, with his final appearance coming in game 1 of this past season’s ALDS. In that game, he went 0-3 with 2 strikeouts. His final at bat as a big leaguer was a pop up to shortstop.
The Woonsocket Rocket finished his career with a .278 average, 60 home runs and 60 stolen bases.
Thank you Rocco. You will be missed.
Nov 24
Now that the GM meetings are over we are two weeks from the winter meetings. Let’s recap all the Rays rumors we have heard so far. If there are any we are missing, please let us know in the comments…
Carl Crawford:
Jason Bartlett:
Nov 18
Earlier today, Rocco Baldelli appeared on “First Pitch” with Rob Dibble and Jim Memolo. During the interview, Rocco was asked if he would play again next year…
At this point, in the off-season, after every season i take a step back…try to be objective. I’m not going to make any permanent decisions at this point in time. If anything arises, I’ll take it from there…If I have played my last game, I have played my last game…But I don’t want to make any brash statements. That is whay I didn’t say I was retired last year.
Rocco was also asked about the possibility of becoming a manager… Read the rest of this entry »
