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 »
Aug 31
From Bill Chastain comes this tidbit involving the bullpen catcher and original Devil Ray Scott Cursi (thanks Connie)…
“The coolest part was at the beginning of the inning, [bullpen catcher Scott] Cursi keeps a chart and finally he hands the chart to [John] Jaso and goes, ‘Just write that down as Jack Johnson,’ like Johnson is going to jack it,” Cormier said. “Jaso was like, ‘What?’ And Cursi says, ‘That’s Jack Johnson as in game-winner.’ Then, blam.”
Guess we may have to update the nickname database.
Oct 13
- BJ Upton
- Carl Crawford
- Evan Longoria
- Carlos Pena
- Ben Zobrist
- Pat Burrell
- Jason Bartlett
- Gabe Kapler
- Dioner Navarro
Above is a pretty standard batting order used by the Rays this past season versus left-handed pitchers early in the season. In fact, no other batting order was used more often this season. How often? Six (6!) times. Joe Maddon employed 125 different batting orders this season. He used 115 in 2008. By comparison, The Yankees used 107 and the Red Sox used 114.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Joe Nelson, Michel Hernandez and Joe Dillon were granted free agency as minor leaguers. We would not be surprised to see Hernandez and Dillon back with Durham next season. [Baseball America]
- Rays Renegade spoke with members of the bullpen about their off-season plans. JP Howell, Grant Balfour and Scott Cursi will all be getting married (not to each other). [Rays Renegade]
- Strange story: Former Devil Rays pitcher Geremi Gonzalez will have his body exhumed in Venezuela to determine if he died of a lightning strike (as original believed) or foul play. We are not really sure how those two could get confused…Gonzalez made 33 starts for the Devil Rays from 2003-2004, going 6-16. [St. Pete Times]
Jul 11
A big congratulations goes out to the Rays bullpen catcher Scott Cursi, who will be joining the coaching staff in St. Louis as part of the AL All-Star squad. Cursi has been with the Rays since their inaugural season, 1998.
Oct 20
Somebody at the 4-letter thinks the Red Sox will now pull off the greatest comeback in the history of baseball, coming back from a 4 games to 3 deficit. Well, Bristol is in the heart of Red Sox Nation. (Thanks Brett).
We have now watched the 8th and 9th innings about a dozen times. One thing we didn’t notice last night was the incredible play that Aki Iwamura made on the final out. The ball takes a wicked (pun intended) hop and nearly goes over Aki’s head. If he misses that ball, it is first and third and things are suddenly very scary.
Also, let’s not forget the one guy that has worn the Devil Rays/Rays uniform longer than anybody else and knows the pain of the first 10 years more than most, Scott Cursi. The Rays bullpen catcher has been warming up pitchers since 1999. Congrats Scott, you earned it.
Finally, last week we took exception when one Red Sox blogger wrote about Carl Crawford and his “gangster neck tattoo”. This week, Red Sox bloggers are back at it. This time courtesy of Surviving Grady.
Especially that punk-ass Carl Crawford, who you know is just an injury away from boosting car stereos.
Stay classy Red Sox Nation.
(The image after the Webtopia is from the Boston Globe)
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Some photos from the game 7 celebration. [Tampa Tribune]
- A recap of the game (with unfortunate appearance from Steve Harvey) from the guys at “The Dugout”. [Fanhouse]
- It is impossible to overstate exactly how big David Price was in game 7. [Big League Stew]
- 10 reasons to watch the World Series. [SI.com]
- One writer at Bugs and Cranks is bracing himself in anticipation of having to get a Rayhawk after losing a bet. [Bugs and Cranks]
- Boston Irish will be rooting for the Phillies in the World Series because the Rays fan base “haven’t exactly earned this as yet”. They also hate the idea of all the “punk, spoilt, brash NBA star types” on the Rays being champs…Jonathon Papelbon? Something comes to mind about a pot and a kettle and grapes that may or may not be sour. [Boston Irish]
- Apparently, the Rays were just practicing for these postseason celebrations back in May. [The Sports Hernia]
- Coolest Rayhawk yet? [Deadspin]
- Dick Vitale was his usual passive self last night…Ahh, who are we kidding, the dude went batshit crazy. [Bugs and Cranks]
- Big League Stew debates whether Terry Francona stuck with Jason Varitek too long. [Big League Stew]
- Jordi Scrubbings spoke to Sports On My Mind about the Rays, prior to game 7. [Sports On My Mind]
- The cover of today’s Boston Globe (thanks Scot). [Boston Globe]
- The Rays may have ended the Red Sox captain’s career in Boston. [Boston Score]
