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 »
Oct 11
Gary Sheffield appeared on ESPN 1040 AM following game 2 of the ALDS. And he had a lot to say about why he is unemployed and why the Rays gave Rocco Baldelli a job instead (You can listen to the entire interview below)..
On why he and other players that can contribute don’t have jobs:
“Because of that Good Ol’ Boy system like I’ve always said…you can’t even justify why a Rocco Baldelli is on [the Rays]. Period. He might be a great guy. Give him that. He might be a great teammate. I’ll give him that. But what is he doing to help your team win ballgames?”
And what is the “Good Ol’ Boy” system?
“A lot of players golf with their manager, general manager and ownership. And that’s that Good Ol’ Boy system. We get along. You like me. And regardless that you’re a terrible ballplayer, I’m gonna give you a job. We’ll hire you somewhere. And we’ll justify it at the same time…Absolutely [it's a buddy system], and if they deny it, they’re lying.
On what other members of the Rays feel about Rocco Baldelli:
Let’s keep it real here. I have no dislike for Rocco Baldelli. We are talking about other guys I’m speaking for and that will not say what I’m saying. Those other 24 guys on the roster…will bust their butts for six whole months to get to this point. And you just bring a guy who has never done nothing in the big leagues. Who has never proven himself. Has never shown he can be healthy, even when he was healthy. That’s what I’m angry about. That’s what I’m frustrated about.”
Two major points that Sheff missed Read the rest of this entry »
Oct 07
Yesterday, we thought it was a bit strange that Rocco Baldelli was on the ALDS roster and Willy Aybar was not. Well, it turns out, Joe Maddon may have just wanted Rocco for game 1 to face the lefty Cliff Lee.
Marc Topkin is reporting that the Rays today removed Rocco from the ALDS roster for medical reasons, and replaced him with Aybar. Aybar will DH today. Also, Ben Zobrist is playing first base today with Carlos Pena out of the lineup. Desmond Jennings will start in right field.
We can’t help but wonder if Read the rest of this entry »
Sep 27
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: Rays Clinch Tie. Sure we would have rather seen the Yankees lose putting the Rays closer to a division title. But no matter who lost, one of the Rays’ magic numbers was going down. And with the Sox losing, The Rays have clinched at least a tie for the Wild Card. A win today at home versus Baltimore or a Red Sox loss at the White Sox and the Rays are officially in the playoffs…Desmond Jennings. This just in, he’s fast. Jennings hit the first of what will likely be many triples for the Rays. That drove in a run. He also walked.
THE BAD: James Shields. Yes, James Shields leads the AL in home runs allowed. But Josh Wilson? C’mon Jimmy. It was just Wilson’s 2nd home run of the season and just his 7th home run in 290 career games.
THE TELLING: Rocco Baldelli started in RF for the second time. Also, Carl Crawford and Ben Zobrist were given the day off…The Rays’ magic number to clinch the division remains 6…According to CoolStandings.com the Rays have an 80.2% chance of winning the division.
WHERE THEY STAND: The Rays are 93-62, a half-game ahead of the Yankees and 7 games ahead of the Red Sox. After 155 games in 2008, the Rays were 93-62.
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
Sep 24
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: Rocco in Right. Rocco Baldelli got his first start in the outfield this season, making one nice running grab and going 2-3 at the plate. He still seems like a longshot for the postseason roster, but if he can play the outfield, it certainly opens the door to the possibility…Series Win. For just the second time in the Rays 13-year history, they won the season series against the Yankees. This one was important as the win gives the Rays the tie-breaker in the division should the Rays and Yankees finish the season tied atop the standings…Yankees Flag Is White. With the score 10-3 in the 8th, Joe Girardi did something we’d only expect from Joe Maddon. He threw in the white towel by pulling every hitter from the lineup before the 8th inning. With the division title and homefield advantage on the line and with such a potent offense, we were surprised by the move…Magic Numbers. The Rays magic number is now 4 to clinch a playoff spot.
THE BAD: Price-Sabathia II. Sequels rarely live up to the hype of the original and this one was no different. While David Price fought through 6 tough innings, giving up a 2-run home run to Marcus Thames, he outlasted CC Sabathia who finally fell apart in the 7-run 7th inning.
THE TELLING: The Rays are also 1 game behind the Twins for the best record in the AL. The Rays do hold the tie-breaker over the Twins having won the season series 5-3…Carl Crawford is hitting .333/.379/.526 batting third this season, compared to .299/.353/.480 batting second.
WHERE THEY STAND: The Rays are 91-61, one-half game behind the Yankees (tied in the loss column) and 7 games ahead of the Red Sox in the Wild Card race. After 152 games in 2008, the Rays were 91-61.
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
Sep 08
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: David Price. King David picked up his 17th win, a Rays record (ties the franchise record) and lowered his ERA to 2.87. With CC Sabathia getting pounded by the Orioles at home, Price might have just snuck back into the CY Young race. And he did it in dominating fashion, hitting 100 with one of his fastballs and averaging 97.3 for his 46 4-seemers. And knowing he had a dominant fastball, he didn’t mess around. Of his 95 pitches, 79 were fastballs…Power. This Rays offense can be downright pathetic when everybody goes cold at the same time. But they can also be world-beaters when the offense is clicking. Last night they clicked to the tune of 5 home runs. The biggest was Ben Zobrist’s 2-run blast in the 3rd that tied the game and seemed to help the Rays relax…Carl Crawford. For the 8th time this season (most in MLB) CC had 4 hits. And for the first time in his career, he had 3 doubles in 1 game.
THE BAD: Early Price. If David Price has a flaw, it is his first inning struggles where he has a 3.81 ERA (only the 7th inning is higher). He also has 19 walks in his 26 first-innings. And last night was no exception as both Red Sox runs came in the first (1 earned).
THE TELLING: Mike Ekstrom has been recalled from Durham…According to CoolStandings.com the Rays have a 97.8% chance of making the playoffs. The Red Sox are at 1.1%…If the Rays go just 12-12 in the final 24 games, they will finish 96-66. To tie, the White Sox would have to go 19-5…The Rays magic number to clinch the Wild Card is 18 with 24 to go.
WHERE THEY STAND: The Rays are 84-54, 1.5 games behind the Yankees (1 in the loss column) and 7 games ahead of the White Sox in the Wild Card. After 138 games in 2008, the Rays were 85-53.
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- David Price on his 17th win (Video). [The Heater]
- Jim Hickey on David Price: “He’s really, really good, but he can be really, really better. I’m not exaggerating.” Ed Price writes about how Price is just “scratching the surface.” [Fanhouse]
- If you thought Joe Maddon was done with his wild roadtrip clothing ideas, you’d be wrong. Marc Topkin introduces the “Loudmouth Pants Rowland Roadtrip.” [The Heater]
- Gordon Edes on the Red Sox: “Sox manager Terry Francona, ever the realist, symbolically pulled the plug on the 2010 season…” Francona will not pitch Clay Buccholz on 3 days rest as originally planned.[ESPN Boston]
- Jeff Niemann will make his next start. Wait until you read how
Read the rest of this entry »
Sep 07
Baseball America today announced that Jeremy Hellickson has been named their minor league player of the year. Hellickson was 12-3 with an International League-leading 2.45 ERA in 25 starts. He struck out 123 and walked 35 in 117.2 innings.
He joins Rocco Baldelli (2002) and Delmon Young (2005) as the third Rays prospect to win the award. Hellickson is the fifth pitcher to win the award in the last 20 years. The other four were Rick Ankiel (1999), Jon Rauch (2000), Josh Beckett (2001) and Jeff Francis (2004).
Sep 07
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: Expanded Rosters. With the Rays trailing 12-2 in the 7th, the expanded roster gave Joe Maddon the opportunity to pull 6 starters and get them a little extra rest prior to the final two games of the series.
THE BAD: Jeff Niemann. For only the second time this season (ignoring his injury-shortened start), the Giraffe failed to work 5 innings, and both have come since his return from the DL. In his 3 starts since the DL-stint, he has given up 23 runs in 10 innings on 19 hits and 8 walks. When Niemann loses his mechanics, he loses them big time. One has to wonder if he needs to take a week or two off and just throw simulated games until he gets his groove back. Because this Niemann won’t be on the post-season roster.
THE TELLING: Andy Sonnanstine was added back to the roster after spending the past week on the Hudson Valley roster as part of the September roster expansion…The Rays magic number to clinch the Wild Card is 19 with 25 to play…If the Rays go just 12-13 in the final 25, the Red Sox would have to go 18-6 just to tie…David Price is 2-2 with a 3.81 ERA in 4 career starts against the Red Sox, but tonight will be his first career start in Fenway Park.
WHERE THEY STAND: The Rays are 83-54, 2.5 games behind the Yankees (2 in the lost column) and 6 games ahead of the White Sox in the Wild Card. After 137 games in 2008, the Rays were 84-53.
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
Aug 31
Marc Topkin is reporting that the Rays will call up Desmond Jennings, Jeremy Hellickson, Rocco Baldelli, Brad Hawpe and Dioner Navarro when rosters expand tomorrow.
The Rays plans for the Wednesday’s roster expansion are to add OF Desmond Jennings, OF/DH Rocco Baldelli, C Dioner Navarro, RHP Jeremy Hellickson and OF Brad Hawpe…They are also expected to bring up C Jose Lobaton, though he is likely headed to the DL, which will create additional roster flexibility at the end of the season.
In order to add Hawpe and Baldelli, the Rays will need to make room on the 40-man roster. Moving JP Howell to the 60-day DL would free up one spot. They could do the same with Jose Lobaton.
Aug 31
Here is an interview conducted by Neil Solondz in which Rocco talks about why he is coming back and the similarities between the 2008 and 2010 Rays (thanks Chris)…
Rocco Baldelli (click arrow to play)
