Archive for the 'Shelley Duncan is a lil’ bitch' Category

May 17

[THE SATURDAY MORNING REVOLUTION] The Duke Was Dealing; Rays Win First Game Of Interleague

Andy Sonnanstine, Carl Crawford, Dioner Navarro, Edwin Jackson, James Shields, Shelley Duncan is a lil' bitch, Troy Percival admin 1 Comment »




DRG here again to get you through the weekend. I can be reached here..
  • The Good: Andy Sonnanstine scattered 8 hits over 8 innings and only allowed 1 run on a solo home run in the 8th. Sonny only had 2, 1-2-3 innings (1st/7th), but managed to avoid any serious trouble.
  • The Bad: Andy Sonnanstine gave up a solo home run in the 8th in a 3-0 game. Really not that bad, except why did it have to be Shelley Duncan’s brother?
  • The Telling: The home run off of Andy Sonnanstine was the first allowed by a Rays’ starting pitcher since May 2nd.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • Her Rays likes Andy Sonnanstine’s package. What? Too far? [Her Rays]
  • Rob Neyer points out that the Rays run differential shows that the Rays record is about right where it should be. [ESPN]

Not only are the Rays in first place, they’re in first place on merit, as their +25 run differential is slightly better than that of the Red Sox (+23). Everybody else in the division — Orioles (-7), Blue Jays (-1) and Yankees (-6) — is bunched up around .500, exactly where they should be. In fact, what’s often so striking about run differentials, even this early in the season, is just how closely they correspond with the actual records. Of the 14 teams in the league, only the Angels are more than two wins off their “expected” record … and the Angels are three games off. No sleeping giants here (at least not according to runs, though the Yankees’ history might suggest otherwise).

  • A Red Sox fan was rooting for the Yankees in the Yankees-Rays series? My eyes deceive me! [Wicked Good Sports]
  • Minor League Ball takes a hindisght look at Edwin Jackson, the prospect. [Minor League Ball]
  • Bugs & Cranks is looking for your best Devil Rays haiku. [Bugs & Cranks]
  • Loud Mouth of the South takes a look at what the AL All-Star squad might look at if the game were held this week. They predict two Rays, Carl Crawford and James Shields. Not sure how they can leave Troy Percival off. Yes he has two blown saves, but he is the anchor of one of the best bullpens in baseball and he has a WHIP of about 0.500. And then there is Dioner Navarro. Sure he missed two weeks, but can a manager keep him off the squad if he is still hitting .370? [The Loud Mouth of the South]
Apr 05

[THE SATURDAY MORNING REVOLUTION] Rays Punch Yankees In The Mouth

BJ Upton, Brian Griese, Dioner Navarro, Edwin Jackson, Ian Kennedy, Joe Maddon, Jonny Gomes, Melky Cabrera is too, Mike DiFelice, Shawn Riggans, Shelley Duncan is a lil' bitch admin No Comments »

DRG here again to get you through the weekend…

Yesterday: Tampa Bay Rays.

  • The Good: Scoring 13 runs in Yankee stadium in the first regular season game since the incidents in spring training. Like Prof keeps saying. If you want respect, you gotta punch the bully right in the mouth…The Bullpen was solid, even with the game out of reach. Three relievers combined for 3 hitless innings with only one walk…Carlos ‘El Gato’ Pena hit his second home run in 3 games. Anybody still think he will only hit 30 this year?…Cliff ‘Dr. Huxtable’ Floyd with his second also. After the game he sat Elliot Johnson on his knee and taught him some lessons picking on his sisters too much…Shawn Riggans came on after Dioner Navarro had to leave the game with an injury and delivered the knockout blow. A huge 3-run double to right-center.
  • The Bad: Scoring 13 runs in Yankee stadium in the first of a 4-game series. The Yankees were undoubtedly embarrassed by their performance. Let’s hope the Rays did not wake the sleeping giant…Carl Crawford grounded into a double-play. Still trying to figure that one out…
  • The Telling: Eric Hinske made his first start at third base since July 22, 2006 over Elliot Johnson and of course poor Joel Guzman who of course is still in the minors 26 years after the Dodgers signed him as a 16-year old prospect…Jonny Gomes was originally penciled in to make his first start of the season in right field even with a right hander on the mound. Instead he served his 1-game suspension…Dioner Navarro was in the 6th spot of the lineup rather than his usual 8-hole. It appears as if Joe Maddon was ready to ride his hot bat before he was injured…With a 1:05 start today, it is unclear if Mike DiFelice will make it to the ballpark in time for the game. If he does he very well could get the start in a day game after a night game.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • Jonny Gomes had his suspension reduced from 2 games to 1 and he served it last night. Melky Cabrera and Shelley Duncan also had their suspensions reduced by one game. Cabrera served his suspension last night and today. Duncan will serve his 2-game suspension starting Sunday. [The Heater]
  • Dioner Navarro has been placed on the 15-day DL and Mike DiFelice has been recalled from Durham to take his place on the roster. Navarro slipped entering the dugout and cut two fingers on his hand. He needed 12 stitches. [MLB]
  • Sounds like a little luster has come off Ian Kennedy already which if you ask me is awesome because I am sick and tired of hearing from Yankees fans how great their pitching staff is this year. [New York Post]
  • Edwin Jackson makes a huge start today in his career. Joe Maddon is hoping that Jackson can focus on every pitch and try not to rush when things start to unravel. [MLB]
  • DRays Bay found some rather disturbing photos of BJ Upton. [DRays Bay]
  • Brian Griese will throw out the first pitch at a Rays home game on April 18. Good thing for Griese, Shawn Riggans will not be moving or else the pitch would certainly be about 5 yards behind him. [Tampa Bay's 10]
Mar 25

[THE HANGOVER] Edwin Jackson Is Mr. March

Ben Zobrist, Carlos Pena, Chad Orvella, David Price, Edwin Jackson, Evan Longoria, Kurt Birkins, Reid Brignac, Shelley Duncan is a lil' bitch Cork Gaines 4 Comments »

Tampa Bay Rays (6 days until Opening Day)

Yesterday: Tampa Bay Rays 13, Pirates 4.

The Good: Holy Schnikey! Edwin Jackson made 31 starts in 2007. Want to take a guess how many times he worked at least 7 innings? Take your time…Hint: You will only need one hand…That is missing three fingers…TWO TIMES. Then again, he posted a sub-2.00 ERA in the spring last year also. Yesterday Jackson pitched 7(!) innings giving up 2 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks. He struck out 2…Eric Hinske was 2-3 with a long home run to straight away center into the wind. He added a stolen base just to rub it in the face of the other players that hold out hope for the 4th outfielder job…Reid Brignac hit his first spring home run just before he was demoted…As a team the Rays collected 17 hits and 2 walks.

The Bad: In our best effort to always find something bad about an Edwin Jackson start, he did throw a wild pitch. So take that and stick it in your pocket and smoke it…Scott Dohmann pitched 1 inning. He allowed 2 runs on 3 hits and hit a batter.

The Telling: The two pitchers battling for the final bullpen spot, Grant Balfour and Scott Dohmann each pitched 1 inning with a job on the line. Dohman was knocked around while Balfour only allowed one base runner (via walk) in his 1 inning of work…Shawn Riggans got the start and worked the first seven innings showing he is healthy and ready for the regular season…

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

  • If you haven’t had a chance to vote in this week’s “Rays Confidence Survey”, you can do so right HERE. [Rays Index]
  • And in case you missed it yesterday, the RAYSHEAD ARMY is now on Facebook. [Rays Index]
  • In keeping with yesterday’s 25-man roster projection, we have also updated the 40-man roster projection in the sidebar. And the CorkBoard, which is updated at least once a week, will start seeing proper minor league assignments as soon as they are made public.
  • David Price will be out 6 weeks with a muscle strain in his elbow. [Tampa Bay Rays]
  • USA Today takes a look a the newest First Family of Baseball…The Uptons. BJ Upton’s dad, Bossman Senior, notes the family secret to getting two sons into the major leagues. [USA Today]

“I’d say discipline, keeping them in the church and making sure they had that fear of Mom,” says Manny Upton, a four-sport athlete in high school who works for a mortgage company and came to Arizona in game shape, having just officiated an NCAA men’s basketball tournament game in California…”I’d just give them that ‘Mom’ look, and they’d straighten up,” laughs Yvonne, retired after 25 years of teaching health and physical education. “But when it came to baseball, it was Dad. He won’t say so, but he put in so much time with both those boys when it came to fundamentals.”

  • Elliot Johnson will get a start at shortstop today for the first time to see if he can handle being the backup shortstop for the first week of the regular season. The final bench spot will come down to Johnson or Andy Cannizaro. [Tampa Tribune]
  • Ben Zobrist, Chad Orvella and Kurt Birkins are all going to start the season on the DL. [The Heater]
  • Oh yeah…On of the Rays other top prospects was demoted yesterday. Reid Brignac, unlike Evan Longoria probably won’t be back anytime soon. A good summer though could lead to a cup-o-coffee in September. [Tampa Bay Rays]
  • Baseball Musings has their 2008 AL East Preview up. The Rays are predicted to finish 4th but David Pinto notes that if everything breaks right, the Rays have a chance to finish on top. [Baseball Musings]
  • Outs Per Swing has had enough of Edwin Jackson and doesn’t care if he goes someplace and is successful…On a lot of days we agree. [Outs Per Swing]
  • Sports Indeed found Shirley Duncan’s long-lost twin. [Sports Indeed]
  • Carlos Pena received the Paul C. Smith Champion Award for the player who best exemplifies the spirit of true professionalism on and off the field. [Tampa Bay Rays]
Mar 14

[HAPPY HOUR] All-Star Game Could Come To St. Pete As Early As 2014

David Price, Joe Girardi, Joe Maddon, Jonny Gomes, Kenny Lofton, Melky Cabrera is too, New Stadium, Rocco Baldelli, Shelley Duncan is a lil' bitch, Troy Percival Cork Gaines 5 Comments »

Tampa Bay Rays (17 days until Opening Day)

With the Rays proposed stadium starting to feel like it could become a reality, we got to wondering when the new stadium might host a Major League All-Star game. The Rays are one of only three franchises that have never hosted the mid-summer classic, with the other two being the D-Back and the Marlins.

There have been 10 new stadiums opened in MLB since 1999. Of those stadiums, seven have already hosted an all-star game. Of the three new fields not to have hosted an all-star game yet, all three cities (Philly, San Diego, Cincinnati) have hosted the game in the last 20 years.

Including the Nats’ new stadium this year and the Rays’ new park in 2012, there are seven new stadiums scheduled to be opened in the next five years. The Yankees will host the game this year in the final year of Yankee Stadium so it will be a while for their new park. That leaves six parks that appear to be in line to host the all-star game.

According to the Biz of Baseball, the Angels will host in 2010, with the D-Backs following in 2011 and the Royals renovated stadium in 2012. Biz of Baseball is predicting the Mets new park to host in 2013. If this is true, 2014 will be the earliest the other five stadiums can host the game. 2026 seems like a logical year for the Nationals’ which would coincide with the 250th birthday of our nation.

Therefore if the Rays do indeed land a new stadium along the St. Pete waterfront, we can most likely expect the Major League Baseball all-star game to come to St. Pete for the first time as early as 2014 and no later than 2017.

2008-2013: Here’s the locations for the All-Star Game [Biz of Baseball]

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

  • Jonny Gomes, Shirley Duncan and Melky Cabrera were each suspended for their roles in the rest bench-clearing incident. Gomes was hit with a 2-game suspension, while Duncan and Cabrera will sit out the first three games of teh regular season. Cabrera’s suspension comes as a surprise as he was not mentioned in any reports immediately after the incident. Word on the street is that Cabrera hit or punched Evan Longoria in the back of the head. [Fox Sports]
  • Because of the recent bad blood between the Rays and the Yankees, Joe Maddon has altered the team’s travel schedule. Maddon was originally schedule to attend the team’s split-squad game on Saturday in Orlando, but will now go to Tampa where the rest of the squad is facing the Yankees. Jonny Gomes will no longer be part of the group going to Tampa. [Tampa Bay Rays]
  • John Romanoof the St. Pete Times comes down pretty hard on Joe Girardi for being a hypocrite. [St. Pete Times]

The New York manager continues to tap dance his way around questions concerning Shelley Duncan’s spikes-high slide into Rays second baseman Akinori Iwamura…Girardi tried to avoid the topic after Wednesday’s game, and then again 24 hours later. He said he still hasn’t seen a replay, despite video on ESPN, numerous newspaper Web sites and several YouTube posts….What’s disturbing here is that Girardi didn’t feel the need to wait before criticizing Johnson and Rays manager Joe Maddon last week. Back then, he used words like “disheartening” and “scary” and “uncalled for.”

  • Rays of Light debates the merits of signing Kenny Lofton to replace Rocco Baldelli. [Rays of Light]
  • Jayson Stark of ESPN.com looks at how Troy Percival went from semi-retired to signing a 2-year contract with the Rays and becoming their clubhouse leader and mentor to David Price. [ESPN]

…first, you need to understand that this isn’t only a story about Troy Percival, the pitcher. This is just as much about Troy Percival, as unique a member of the human species as you’ll ever run across in this life.

  • St. Pete Times’ writers look closer at a sponsorship agreement the Rays had with a local financier that went bankrupt. The Rays are now suing the group. [St. Pete Times]
Mar 13

[HAPPY HOUR] Rays Blogosphere Refrains From Throwing Brushback Pitches

Dan Shanoff, Evan Longoria, Joe Maddon, Jonny Gomes, Scott Kazmir, Shelley Duncan is a lil' bitch Cork Gaines 6 Comments »

Tampa Bay Rays (18 days until Opening Day)

This morning we included a few links to the Yankees Blogospere in reaction to Shirley Duncan’s cheap shot yesterday on Akinori Iwamura. Now let’s take a look at what other people are saying, including some Rays blogs, in case you missed them.

I am sure we are going to get pounded for this, because apparently all we do is attack other blogs…but we are a little disappointed in the Rays Blogospere today. There was very little reaction from the other Rays sites. Some might say we overreacted. And we are not saying that everybody needed to take Shirley and the Yankees to the woodshed, but we got little in the way of viewpoints on the incident. This is a national story and Rays fans and non-Rays fans are flocking to our sites. They are not looking for a play-by-play. They want to know what we think and what we feel and how we are reacting. They are looking for us to be representative of Rays fans and the views, thoughts and emotions of Rays fans.

We also sprinkled in a few other afternoon links in case you are tired of reading about this mess.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

  • Scott Kazmir threw 33 pitches this morning in batting practice and is all set to make his spring debut on Sunday. He will throw one inning against the Tigers. [Tampa Bay Rays]

“For me, he looked really good,” Maddon said. “I was watching from the side, I wanted to see if he was cutting himself off at all, he was not. His fastball was really alive. So was the slider, the slider had some nice bite to it, and a changeup, so he looked good overall.”

  • Brittany Ghiroli takes a look at the hot spring that Evan Longoria is having. [MLB]

What Longoria has made clear, in arguably the most important spring of his young career, is this: He can flat-out play…Longoria has seen action in eight games and is batting .368 with five RBIs and a .520 on-base percentage. He has marveled fans, impressed teammates and done everything possible to convince the Rays staff that he belongs.

  • Dan Shanoff of The Sporting News makes a great point that makes us giggle. [The Sporting News]

Here’s the crazy part: No matter what, the Rays win. A few seasons ago, you couldn’t get the Yankees to acknowledge the Rays even existed; now the Yankees are treating them as if their name was the “Ray Sox.”

The Rays recognized the first rule of feuding: Always punch up a weight class. (Admittedly, they only had one direction to go, but they chose well in picking baseball’s most storied franchise.)

  • Shirley Duncan doesn’t understand what the fuss is about…No? Well we now understand why it took Shirley seven years to reach the majors…He obviously has no idea how to play baseball properly…Meanwhile Joe Maddon stuck to his initial assessment of the play and said that punishment is out of his hands and up to the league. [Rays Report]
  • Rays of Light doesn’t think the Yankees as a whole should be held responsible for the acts of one player. They note that “its mostly just one hot-headed career minor leaguer who decided to act like a tough guy”. [Rays of Light]
  • Rays Digest called Shirley Duncan’s play “premeditated” and says it is “Time to take the Yankees blue dresses off and let’s play some baseball.” [Rays Digest]
  • Outs Per Swing provide an even-handed description without passing judgment. [Outs Per Swing]
  • Sports Indeed offers a very simple “don’t mess with Jonny Gomes” [Sports Indeed]
  • DRays Bay actually did have a few choice words saying that somebody apparently had to be a “hard ass” however reminding Shirley Duncan that Jonny Gomes has wrestling experience gave the post more of a silly edge as opposed to coming down hard on the Yankees…However, HUGE hat tip to DRays Bay for being the first with the actual video. [DRays Bay]
  • Bugs & Cranks? Well, they just got some quote from a Rays Town official that is clearly emotionally on edge. Somebody needs to get that guy a stressball. [Bugs & Cranks]
  • One Yankees blog was harder on Shirley Duncan than most of the Rays blogs. [River Ave. Blues]

There’s a difference between sliding with your spikes high and sending your sole towards another man’s family jewels (I’ve always loved that euphemism, family jewels). So I pretty much agree with what B.J. Upton said: “Just a flat-out dirty play. Period.”

Mar 13

[THE HANGOVER] Shelley Shirley Duncan Is The New A.J. Pierzynski (A Little Bitch)

BJ Upton, Brian Anderson, Chris Mason, Joe Maddon, Joel Guzman, Jonny Gomes, Rocco Baldelli, Shelley Duncan is a lil' bitch, Troy Percival Cork Gaines 1 Comment »

Tampa Bay Rays (18 days until Opening Day)

Yesterday: Tampa Bay Rays 7, Spankees 6. Andy Sonnanstine got his first start of the spring and looked sharp going 3 scoreless and giving up only 1 hit. He did not walk a batter. Troy Percival pitched another perfect inning in the 5th. Both veteran non-roster invitee catchers saw playing time with Mike DiFelice getting the start. He went 0-2 with a strike out, while Josh Paul had a single in two at bats. The Yankees were 4-4 in steals against Paul. Reid Brignac who now has an outside shot at being on the roster for the first week or two as the Rays backup shortstop played late and went 2-2 with a walk. John Rodriguez played right for a while and went 1-2 with a double and 2 RBI. Jon Weber the other leading candidate for the 4th outfielder spot saw time at all three outfield positions going 1-4 with an RBI. Joe Maddon’s decision is likely to be based on who can handle center better, which rules Eric Hinske out. Evan Longoria started at third and had a walk in 3 plate appearances. Hinske relieved Longoria while Willy Aybar received one plate appearance as a first baseman.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

  • Oh It’s Those Girls recreated yesterday’s brouhaha with the aid of various toys and bobble heads. Excellent work, with our favorite detail being the use of AJ Pierzynski bobble-head to represent Shirley Duncan. [Oh, It's Those Girls]
  • You remember Shirley Duncan, don’t you? He’s is the little bitch that thinks a second baseman keeps his glove near his groin. [The Heater]
  • Jonny Gomes hopes everything is “under the rug” but doubts it. While Joe Maddon called the play “borderline criminal”. [New York Times]
  • Marc Lancaster has several quotes from the Rays in regards to the Shirley Duncan slide. BJ Upton called it a “dirty play” and Troy Percival noted that this play was not typical of the way the Yankees play the game, which might be the biggest insult anybody can lob at Shirley. It is one thing to play for the Yankees. It is something else entirely to be a Yankee. [Rays Report]
  • Big League Stew says yesterday is “The day the Rays finally became a real MLB franchise”. [Big League Stew]
  • This past weekend we linked to this Yankees blog for their idiotic rant after the home plate collision. Now they are back at it. This time they make fun of Jonny Gomes for being so foolish for attacking somebody as big as Shirley Duncan…I can forgive Yankees fans for not knowing about baseball players that makes less than $12 million a year and isn’t a future hall-of-famer (re: future Yankee), but Gomes is not a small man and he did not grow up attending private schools the way Shirley did. We’ll take Gomes and we’ll take our chances. [Joblog Chamberlain]
  • Another Yankees blog blames Yesterday’s fracas on Joe Maddon…and goes on a long-winded non-sensical ignorant rant against Maddon citing the incident last year when Joe Torre checked Akinori Iwamura’s bat as another example as to why Maddon is “a pompous, sarcastic wise ass” and he should “Lay off the beer for a little while, so you stop bursting blood vessels around your nose and so you can reduce the size of the unsightly gut”. [The Analytical Typical Yankees Fan]
  • Brian Anderson had to be pulled after facing only three batters after feeling “something strange” in his left elbow. Anderson is attempting a come-back after two Tommy John surgeries. [Tampa Bay Rays]
  • Chris Mason was reassigned to minor league camp. [Herald-Tribune]
  • Would the Dodgers want Joel Guzman back? They are suddenly short on third baseman and if Guzman does not make the 25-man roster, he must be traded or released as he is out of options. [Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness]
  • Baseball Happenings has a personal affinity for Rocco Baldelli and they will be rooting hard for him to get back on the baseball field…We will too…We will too. [Baseball Happenings]
  • Members of the Columbus Catfish and the Montgomery Biscuits received their championship rings yesterday. [Montgomery Advertiser]
  • The Montgomery Biscuits extended their Player Development Contract with the Rays for the 2009 and 2010 seasons. [Montgomery Advertiser]