Tampa Bay Sports Blog

Over the last couple years the Rays have made tremendous strides. They have gone from the perrenial loser to a contender. They have gone from a laughing stock to a respected organization. They are looked upon to contend against the big boys in the AL East. They have been praised for smart trades and drafting. I get all of this. Some of us disagree with some of the decisions (Kapler,Burell), but these are things that could be proven wrong still. I have now been completely lost by one decision and need an explanation.

What was the thought process behind the Adam Kennedy/Joe Dillon deal? What the hell happened here? It’s easy to question a move like this after Iwamura got hurt, I know, but how does this happen? What about this deal was so appealing to the Rays? Follow what I see and tell me what I see wrong.

Adam Kennedy is in the minor leagues under team control with no pressure to move him. He is a 32 year old proven 10 year major league second baseman that could provide quality depth and experience at both the minor and major league level. He is traded. A player of this caliber would bring back at least one decent lower level prospect, right?

He gets traded for the infamous player to be named later. That player becomes Joe Dillon. Dillon is a player who is older, less experienced, a worse fielder and goes against what the Rays supposedly are. I thought the Rays were a team that played good defense, manufactured runs and didn’t live by the long-ball. Not according to this move. I don’t get it.

How do you move a guy with proven major league ability for an older guy with none? In what universe is Adam Kennedy worth Joe Dillon? I have to question management’s moves still because of these things. I know that Friedman, Maddon and company go by the new stat crap, but how does this make sense even by those standards? We all know that I hate the new stat wave of scouting and what not, but I don’t get this at all. Can someone help me find what I’m missing here?

Technorati Tags: Adam Kennedy, Akinori Iwamura, AL, Andrew Friedman, Gabe Kapler, Joe Dillon, Joe Maddon, Tampa Bay Rays

The finals have been good on both ends this year and there has been a lot of discussion and debate over a lot of crap. I think it’s time for me to toss my opinions out there on the whole thing and I really don’t care what anyone thinks. I’ll start with the Lebron/Kobe debate.

Kobe is still better than Lebron for one reason. He is a closer.  In my opinion, there is way too much talk about sharing the ball, game ending shots and officiating in these games. The thing that still stands out to me is this. Kobe finishes games like Lebron doesn’t right now. The ball sharing argument is stupid to me because of this. When it is time to finish off a game, you’re best player needs to do it. Kobe shares the ball early in the game but in the last couple minutes, when it matters, he has it and finishes things off. Lebron doesn’t finish games this way. He is still looking to dish the ball even though he is rolling right through the lane and that is a sign of a guy who doesn’t think he can do it. He hit the big three at the end of game 2, but he should have taken charge of that game way before that. Jordan, Bird, Magic, and Kobe have all done that consistently. Win or lose, you die with your star in the NBA. There are occasions where someone else MUST take the shot because the defense takes you out, but there shouldn’t be so much doubt with a guy like Lebron.

Now I’ll talk about the Magic. They are better than I thought behind guys I didn’t think would do it. First off, Rashard Lewis is way tougher than I ever thought and it’s time for me to bow down to him and take back every negative thing I’ve said about him. He has shown some serious nads on both ends of the floor that warrant some major ass-kissing. Without Lewis this team isn’t here.

Next up is Rafer Alston. Alston has shown some cold-blooded toughness that I think most of us didn’t think he had. I went back and realized that he has done this before with Houston and understand now that I underestimated him beyond belief.

Mickael Pietrus is an animal. There may be no bigger free-agent signing when it is all said and done than this guy. He has been great on both sides of the floor in the playoffs and has now made himself invaluable to this team.

Time to dog guys out now. Dwight Howard has shown no inside offensive game and is proving to be a young guy looking to find himself. With his size you would expect him to overpower people in a Shaq-like manner, but no. With his athleticism you would expect quicker less clumsy moves in the paint, but no. He has done decent on the defensive end but has been getting into foul trouble and losing his head too much. I expected a lot more from Dwight in this series against Lebron, but haven’t gotten it.

Hedo Turkoglu has proven that it’s not necessary to bring him back. Most, including myself, have made a lot of Turk’s ability to be the man in the fourth quarter for the Magic and that he is needed to make this offense work. He has proven in the playoffs that it is Lewis and not himself that is the most vital cog in the Orlando offense. His low FG% will always be over played because of the role he plays in the offense, but his poor decisions and turnovers late can’t be overlooked in the playoffs. He is flopping and complaining too much at the end of games, taking too many poor shots and not working the middle the way he should be. Thank god Rashard Lewis can make clutch three’s at the  end of these games or the Magic wouldn’t be where they are.

The bottom line with these NBA playoffs to me is this. The Nuggets and the Magic are the two best teams left even though it’s closer than made out. The Lakers will beat the Nuggets because Kobe can finish. The Magic will beat the Cavs because Lebron can’t. The Magic match up better against the both the Cavs and the Lakers so I will predict the Magic winning the title. It won’t surprise me if the Lakers win because of the Kobe factor, but I would be shocked to see the Cavs or the Nuggets come back.

The NBA is a strange world but I do think the Magic take the trophy home. It’s not a homer thing either, I just feel them doing it.

Technorati Tags: Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, Hedo Turkoglu, Kobe Bryant, Larry Bird, LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers, Magic Johnson, Micheal Jordan, Mickael Pietrus, NBA, NBA Championship, Orlando Magic, Rafer Alston, Rashard Lewis

This series is going to be awesome! The Magic came out ugly but they closed the gap late and this thing was absolutely great to watch. If the entire series is like this it will be the best in a long time. Lebron James is one of the most ridiculous athletes I’ve ever seen but the Magic match up very well against them. Watching this game took me back to the old days of the Lakers/Celtics and what not.

There is really no one on Orlando to step up against James to make it a Bird/Magic thing, but it is fun to watch. The Magic have more good players than Cleveland, but James counts for like three so it evens out. After the game started I thought Cleveland was going to run away with it, but the Magic stepped up and really showed something. Rashard Lewis hit the clutch three late to put the Magic up and it actually held up. I thought for sure that Lebron would find a way to finish it off, but it didn’t happen.

I can’t believe the Magic pulled this game out but I’m happy they did. There isn’t anything more I can say to get my point across, you had to see it to understand.

Technorati Tags: Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Larry Bird, LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers, Orlando Magic, Rashard Lewis

In my confusion of wondering why Ben Zobrist hasn’t been handed the RF position I must critique Joe Maddon and Gabe Kapler. The charade should’ve already ended by now and Ben Zobrist should be the everyday rightfielder and beyond that I continue to wonder what the hell is keeping him from being out there. The original plan was to platoon Kapler and Gross in RF until Matt Joyce was ready to take over and Zorilla (Rays Index) was to be the super sub. In the process it appears that Zobrist has done enough to win the job in RF, but no dice.

This is the most aggravating thing to me about Joe Maddon. I don’t agree with a lot of what he does, but he’s the man and I’m not so who really cares. I just keep getting frustrated by his refusal to alter anything, even when it is completely sensible to do it.

Just to review some of this in bullets…

• Refused to move Upton from the three hole for the first part of last season.
• Has refused to move Upton from the leadoff spot this season despite Bartlett clearly being the better candidate at this point.
• Refuses to play Michel Hernandez more despite his superior play over Navarro this season.
• Refused to remove the closer tag from Troy Percival despite him blowing up in the second half of last season.
• Refuses to acknowledge that there is something wrong with Kazmir and continues to leave him in games too long.

There is a lot more, but these are just examples of his stubborn behavior. I could go on and on ( i usually do anyway) about these moves, but I’ll just focus on Kapler right now. Why does this guy continue to get so much playing time? I don’t understand the need Maddon has to stick this guy out there when Zobrist is playing so well. I was never impressed with what little I saw of Kapler before he got here (I’m sure the DRaysBay readers remember and will somehow bitch about me again) and I’m even less impressed now. He is one of the most mechanical athletes I’ve ever laid eyes on. His hitting mechanics are awful and his defense is average at best. Can he get some new cleats by the way, how many plays has he slid and nearly fell on so far this year?

I’m not going to reference any stats or charts or anything because there is no need. Zobrist alone is better than Kapler/Gross. I do realize that because of the makeup of the roster that you can’t run Zobrist out there 7 days a week, he is needed to backup at short when Bartlett needs one of his many Maddon off days, but there is no reason for him not to be starting out there in right 4 days a week at least.

Looking at the way Papa Joe is playing these guys it appears that he is trying to be slick by starting Gross/Kapler and slotting Zobrist in later. I would assume he is doing this in the hope that these guys will start hitting and if they (when) they don’t he tosses Zobrist out there. Common sense tells me that you run the guy who’s hitting better out there first and if you’re running away with the game you toss the guys that are struggling out there then, but Maddon didn’t go to the same school of common sense that I did so we disagree.

I will wrap this post up by saying this. Kapler sucks. He is a below average baseball player who deserves to ride the pine pony express until it’s absolutely necessary to use him. Now I know it’s time for me to get ripped by the stat freaks who blasted me before when I questioned the Kapler signing, but if they still want to defend the phenominal Gabe Kapler then maybe they are the ones who shouldn’t be writing about baseball anymore.

Oh man, I just sat down to watch the Magic game and these guys are flying. I hope the Magic can hang with these guys in this series. I thought they would be the best matchup against the Cavs, but seeing how quick the Cavs are so far I could be wrong. Time will tell, but these guys are cruising up and down the court and it is fun to watch right now. I’ll be writing about it later, hopefully something good.

Technorati Tags: Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic

I know there are bigger things to discuss right now with the Rays and Magic, but I have to get this off my chest. At my son’s little league game yesterday I came across some stupidity that just floored me. I will try to put it into perspective for you. There was a conversation during pre-game warmups between a coach, one of the kids fathers and some kids that stunned me. Here it goes..

Coach to father: When you’re done throwing with that kid will you come teach this one to throw a slider?

Father: Sure

Kid: I want to throw a curveball.

Father and Coach: No, that is bad for your arm. We’ll teach you a slider.

I was floored by this and finally spoke up saying “a slider is as bad on your arm as a curveball”. The coach said “really?” I was shocked that a baseball coach at any level wouldn’t know this, but that wasn’t the real shocker. The real shocker was the father’s response to me saying “no it’s not, it doesn’t hurt the arm at all”. What?! I tried to argue with him and he now went into why a slider wasn’t bad because when you throw a slider it breaks down, not across the plate. I said no, if you’re throwing it correctly it breaks across the plate with some downward action, if it breaks straight down you’re talking about a sinker. He then said no, you’re wrong, a slider breaks down and wanted to teach me how to pitch at that point. I walked away completely flabbergasted and just told my son not to listen to any of the other parents or coaches and just play the game the way I taught him.

I simply can’t get over this stupidity. Think about why the pitch is called a slider. It slides across the plate, hence slider. All of these coaches that are at this league have shown me nothing but incompetence and I just can’t get over the lack of knowledge I’ve encountered within this little league here. I grew up playing baseball in this area and never encountered this type of stupidity before this season.

These poor kids are going to blow up their arms in a couple years all the while learning nothing about the game of baseball. It’s sickening, but I can’t go back to coaching right now so I can’t do much to change it.

I beg all of you out there, if you don’t know baseball that well, don’t pretend you do and don’t teach kids a sport you don’t know!

It was an odd night in the NBA last night. A couple of not so close games has some odd behavior attached to them. The Magic got handled fairly easy by the Celtics in game two, but it was Rafer Alston’s girly behavior that caught my attention.

It’s not shocking that the Celtics came out with a lot more fire and intensity last night. They finally had some time to recover from the wild Bulls series they had in round one. They also needed to take that game to avoid going to Orlando down 0-2. What surprised me was Alston. Eddie House was going off last night (he finished with 31) and it finally got to Alston. It was funny but will probably land Alston on the sideline for game 3. After Eddie House hit a three pointer (in Alston’s face) Alston decided to slap him in the head as turned to run down the court. That’s right, he “slapped” him.

He’s lucky House didn’t turn and pummel him, but even House had to laugh at the girly attack Rafer laid on him. It was so pathetic that the ref’s didn’t eject Alston and gave he and House both technical fouls on the play. Hey Rafer, if you’re gonna get mad and hit someone, at least pretend you’re a man and throw a punch.

In the Laker game there was an incident between Kobe Bryant and Ron Artest. A lot was made of this and I completely disagree with the decision of the officials to throw Ron Artest out of the game. Kobe and Artest were battling for a rebound and Kobe threw an elbow after Artest was shoving him from behind. It was just some good old fashioned physical basketball. The Ref’s threw Artest out after he got in Kobe’s face and it was stupid. He didn’t throw any punches, he just wanted to let him know that he was pissed about being elbowed in the neck.

They completely overreated to it and tossed him. After the game it was nice to see Artest having a sense of humor about it saying “doesn’t he know who he’s messing with?”. All in all it was a good night of playoff ball.

Technorati Tags: Boston Celtics, Eddie House, Houston Rockets, Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers, NBA, Orlando Magic, Rafer Alston, Ron Artest

The Magic jumped out to a big lead early and held on late to beat the Celtics in game one. Both teams are fighting injuries with Courtney Lee and Kevin Garnett down and this set up opportunities for some others to step up. The Celtics had no one to step up in Garnett’s absence against the Magic and they exploited that enough to win game one. From what I saw though there are some huge holes out there that the Magic can take advantage of and really take hold of this series.

We really shouldn’t expect Rafer Alston to do what he did to Rajon Rondo last night in every game, but he needs some props for what he did. Rondo still had 14 points and 8 dimes, but Alston helped force Rondo into seven turnovers last night and that was great. Alston was all over Rondo and this could be a short series if he keeps that up.

Mickael Pietrus stepped up off the bench with 17 crucial points and played with the toughness and intensity that this team needs. Let’s not forget that Pietrus was a starter earlier on the season until an injury allowed Lee to take over, so this shouldn’t be a surprise.

My last thought on things is this. The Celtics have no answer for Rashard Lewis with Garnett out and that should lead to Lewis having some big games in this series. If Boston keeps matching Davis up with Lewis, he will go off. Lewis is too quick and athletic for Davis to handle and that should lead to more opportunities for both Lewis and Turk.

It is troubling that the Magic let another big lead dwindle down to five, but it was in Boston and it’s not anything to freak out about yet, but we’ll see.

Technorati Tags: Boston Celtics, Courtney Lee, Hedo Turkoglu, Kevin Garnett, Mickael Pietrus, Orlando Magic, Rafer Alston, Rajon Rondo, Rashard Lewis

The Rays looked awful last night and it really came as no surprise after we saw the first pitched. Kaz sailed one and it just wasn’t pretty from there. I do believe it’s time that we start worrying about Kazmir and his erratic pitching. He hasn’t looked right for a while now and he doesn’t seem to be turning the corner at all. More concerning to me than the lack of fastball control is the lack of bite that the slider has these days. It just doesn’t move like it used to. Hope Kaz can get himself correct, but I’m not very optimistic at this point.

BJ still looks like crap and there is no excuse good enough for how horrible he looks. What I can’t understand is how he can look so nonchalant about being so bad. I keep laughing at all the so called experts out there that continue to defend this guy saying that he will shake this and have a good season. What is it that you’re seeing? Melvin looks terrible and even worse he looks like he doesn’t care. Even worse than that is the fact that Maddon looks like he doesn’t care either.

Joe Maddon is the most optimistic person I’ve ever heard speak. This is good I suppose to a point, but I can only hope that he does see a problem with his team and stops blowing smoke up everyone’s ass at some point. Maddon said Kaz pitched well after the first. What?! Were you watching the same game we were? He also made a point of saying that the fat catcher would start on Tuesday and not Hernandez. Why would you put that out there so early? Why are you defending your decision before it’s even questioned unless you know there is a problem?

I realize that I’m a cynical fan, but how can you not question what is going on out there right now?

Technorati Tags: BJ Upton, Dioner Navarro, Joe Maddon, Matt Garza, Scott Kazmir, Tampa Bay Rays

Carl Crawford’s legs are back. CC has looked like the Carl of old so far this season and yesterday he put an exclamation point on it. It was nice to see the singles turning into doubles and triples yesterday as he pretended he was back in High School or something. Six steals in a game is impressive and it was icing on the cake that he blew by Ellsbury for the league lead in the process. My only problem with all the steals was seeing how many fastballs Evan looked at in allowing CC to do it.

Speaking of Evan, was anyone else as happy as I was when Evan gave the fans hell for screwing with that foul ball? When that fat idiot realized what he did he looked so pathetic and stupid that I almost felt bad for him. You can’t be that ignorant and Longoria had no problem letting him (and the other moron that tried to get the ball) know what jackasses they were. It got even more scary when Ellsbury sent that ball to the warning track. I thought he got it.

Finally I will get on Upton. I have decided that I will not let go of this. Upton is pissing me off to no end and it’s time for all the fans to let him and the team know. Someone needs to kick his ass and let him know that these games count also. He looks worse than ever right now and there shouldn’t be any more excuses made for him. He rarely swings and when he does he looks like he’s swinging a broomstick at a golf ball. It is ugly. I’m sure the Upton apologists and ass kissers will put some stupid graph or chart up to show that he is smart and only swinging at certain pitches and he’s still drawing walks, blah, blah blah. He is too talented to be this useless. He is batting .162 with 14 walks and 26 strikeouts so far. Outstanding!

Technorati Tags: BJ Upton, Boston Red Sox, Carl Crawford, Evan Longoria, Jacoby Ellsbury, Tampa Bay Rays

The Magic are going to be stuck playing the Celtics in the second round and that could be good. Dwight will do his thing against Perkins, Garnett or whoever squares up on him. Lewis will continue to be effective yet erratic. Turk will be the enigmatic figure that he has become with the injury. Alston will get torched by Rondo throughout every game. The key will be Courtney Lee.

Lee is fighting off an injury himself, but he’ll be there. Injury or not, if the Magic turn him loose, he’ll go off. Courtney Lee has shown what he’s capable of this year and hasn’t even touched the surface yet. Lee is quick, tough, athletic and a defensive animal that will leave the Celtics wondering what happened to them if Van Gundy gives him the keys to the offense.

Alston has helped and hurt at the same time. It’s obvious. He would be great behind Nelson, but that’s not an option. I loved the strides Jameer Nelson made and he’s is the biggest reason the Magic became an elite team earlier in the season. When he went down it was awful. Alston gave us hope and has done enough to keep the Magic alive thus far.

Now it’s time to play inside. Let’s stop relying on 400 three pointers a game to get by. Time to hit the hole hard and angry. Time to bring it with force, give facials and draw fouls. This sounds like porno movie script, I know, but it will be a winning formula for this team.

It looks like the NBA is angling for a Laker/Cavalier finals so this series shouldn’t be overofficiated too much. We’ll see what happens, but I’m keeping hope alive.

Technorati Tags: Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Courtney Lee, Dwight Howard, Hedo Turkoglu, Jameer Nelson, Kendrick Perkins, Kevin Garnett, Los Angeles Lakers, Orlando Magic, Rajon Rondo, Rashard Lewis, Stan Van Gundy

It’s been a while, but who cares. As I sit and watch my favorite teams in the time that I get in the middle of my hectic weeks, I have decided to finally post something and it will be directed at Joe Maddon. The Rays are struggling in the early part of the season and that’s not really shocking, but I find something about the lineups that get run out everyday extremely troubling. What does it take to lose or win a job on this team? Seriously, what does it take?

The constant days off for regulars has always troubled me, but I get it. What puzzles me is constantly running guys out who are clearly struggling. Let’s start with the fat catcher. Navarro looks bad in every sense of the word right now. He is not the same guy we saw last year, this is the mope we saw the year before. Weak stick, bad at bats and lazy catching. There is a problem with Navarro and we don’t know what it is. Now I’m not saying TFC needs to lose his job to Michel Hernandez, but wouldn’t it send a nice message to TFC and the rest of the team if you gave Hernandez another start after his performance on Thursday? It would be a nice reward for a guy that has clearly busted his butt for a long time and may be the wake up call that Navarro needs. Leave him in til TFC proves he wants it back.

This same thing goes for Upton. Why do we need to watch these at bats that look as if he’s allergic to swinging? Why do we need to see him argue over CALLED third stikes at least once a night? Why not toss Zobrist out there for a couple days and let Upton prove he wants to be out there? Again, I’m not saying he loses his job, just let him know that this crap won’t be tolerated.

Speaking of Zobrist, what does this guy have to do to prove that he should be manning RF on a daily basis before you take action? The Gabe platoon has looked as bad as I anticipated and Zobrist continues to go out and hit. He is no worse in right than Gross or Kapler (especially with the genius defensive alignments) and continues to prove he belongs with the stick.

Look Joe, I’m trying to be objective and I’m trying to be more patient with you than I have been in the past, but please help me figure this out. What kind of message does this send to the young guys trying to fight and claw their way to the show? On a team that is relying on developing youth to remain competitive wouldn’t it send a great message to guys like Matt Joyce, John Jaso, Fernando Perez, Desmond Jennings, Tim Beckham and so on that you have to show and prove to get and KEEP a job?! If there is something that I’m missing here I need to know. I realize that you think you are the smartest person to ever be around baseball now so it should be pretty easy to explain.

I’m waiting.

Technorati Tags: Ben Zobrist, BJ Upton, Dioner Navarro, Fernando Perez, Joe Maddon, John Jaso, Matt Joyce, Michel Hernandez, Tampa Bay Rays, Tim Beckham

The Bucs have had an interesting off season so far and we all can argue about most of what they’ve done, but the Brooks thing is still killing me. I know it’s the fan in me feeling it, but I still can’t find a legitimate reason for what they did there. I could understand salary cap issues or something like that, but they are far from having cap issues. I love the addition of Derrick Ward and Kellen Winslow. I like that they moved on from Jeff Garcia. I’ll break it down to what I think is positive and negative.

Positive moves:

• Signing Derrick Ward. Ward is an animal and should combine with Earnest Graham to make a devastating backfield similar to what he was a part of with the Giants.
• Trading for Kellen Winslow. Say what you want about this guy, he can flat out play. He may have caused some problems and may be injury prone, but I feel this is one of those guys that a change of scenery and atmosphere may help more than anyone realizes.
• Firing Gruden and Allen. I’ve already spoke my piece about this so I won’t delve into it again. Good riddence.

Negative moves:

• Re-signing Jerramy Stevens: Why the hell do we need this A-hole? He’s just not good enough to justify the off-field nemisis he is.
• Giving Michael Clayton stupid money. Was this move just to get farther away from the salary floor? The Bucs are closer to the floor than the cap and needed to spend some money, but why this guy? He hasn’t earned $10.5 million in guaranteed money no matter how anyone tries to spin it.
• Releasing Derrick Brooks. Why, why, why?!

It’s basically a toss up right now that could go either way on whether this has been a good or bad off season so far. It’s still early, I know, but it’s worth discussing. I really like the offensive direction the team has taken (other than Clayton) but I still can’t see any reason that Mr. Brooks shouldn’t have a spot on this roster. I can only hope that they’re discussing things with him and look to bring him back. I think that even he understands that he is better off playing less downs and would be willing to come back in a reduced role. If there has ever been a player that warranted starter money in a reduced role, it’s Derrick Brooks. If I’m annoying anyone with this banter, too bad! I’m not going to let this go. I want Brooks back and there is no excuse good enough not to.

Technorati Tags: Bruce Allen, Derrick Brooks, Earnest Graham, Jeff Garcia, Jerramy Stevens, Jon Gruden, Kellen Winslow, Michael Clayton, New York Giants, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Just wanted to drop a quick line to everyone, if you’re interested in any of the stuff I may be selling please jump over to my auctions. I’m putting a link up top to let everyone check it out. It may become a permanent thing if some of these deals keep coming at me. I know it appears like I’m whoring myself out here but just compare the stuff I’m selling to anyone else selling it and believe me you’ll see.

The Pistons are still torturing the Magic and it has really become disturbing. The Pistons are not the same team that were perennial NBA Finals contenders of years past, but the Magic still can’t get over whatever it is that makes them struggle so much against the Pistons. Chauncy Billups is gone, Rasheed Wallace is looking like a shell of his former self and the Pistons defense has a lot more holes than it ever has. Allen Iverson hasn’t seen a minute of time against the Magic in the last two meetings yet, even with all of this, the Magic can’t get over on Detroit.

The fact is that the Magic still have no answer for Rip Hamilton and Teyshawn Prince. Hamilton has been the major killer against Orlando recently scoring 60 points in the last two against them. What also seems to be a huge problem is this, whatever adjustments the Magic make, the Pistons already have an answer. There is always someone else stepping up for them when needed. Rodney Stuckey, 1,000 year old Antonio McDyess, etc.

The one positive I guess we can take from all of this is that it appears to be getting closer. The Magic were in it until the final minute last night in Detroit and just couldn’t finish down the stretch. If the Magic can get their bench to step up a little more in future match-ups, they might be able to finally get it done. I do know one thing now though, I am hoping the Magic don’t have to face the Pistons in the playoffs this year.

Technorati Tags: Allen Iverson, Antonio McDyess, Chauncey Billups, Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic, Rasheed Wallace, Richard Hamilton, Rodney Stuckey, Teyshawn Prince

Game 1 – St Louis:

Meeting Sully Friday before the game was interesting.  The team has had to go through several transitions this season:  Melrose – Tocchet – Shoulder Surgeries (defenseman revolving door) – Trade Deadline.  We heard the game plan, and then we heard about what to look for on the ice from both teams.  Past problems mentioned included the defense passing the puck too many times in the defensive zone, instead of one pass and get it the puck up the ice.  Also, the Lightning only has 9-players with NHL experience.  The rest have limited or no experience.  Ouch!

The coaches challenged the Lightning players with taking the diagonal passes away from the St Louis Blues and crowding their goalie from inside the dots so he couldn’t see.  The crowding wouldn’t stop the initial save, but more times than not it would allow a rebound shot to get by the opposing goalie.  Unfortunately, the best person at crowding the goalie, Bugsy (Ryan Malone), was out with the flu.  The Lightning also needed to improve on the power play.  They were ranked near the bottom, moved all the way up to 16^th in the league, and fell back down towards the bottom when Mesaros and Ranger left for shoulder surgeries.

The Lightning also had to deal with a goalie who was ranked 6^th and is now ranked 2^nd in the league in goals against average, a team that ranked 10^th in power play percentage, and 9^th in penalty kills.  Recchi is gone; Roberts sat out.  We may have seen him play his last game on March 1^st.  Is he contemplating retiring before the end of the season or do the Lightning not want to pay the $10,000 per game stipend he receives for each game he plays. 

The game begins.  The first two periods were lack luster – neither team seemed to want the puck giving it up in each defensive zone.  Players still passed the puck too many times in the defensive zone.  The Lightning never had any defensemen helping Ramo in front of the net.  The lucky bounces went the Blue’s way and they were ahead 2-0.  A totally different Lightning team showed up for the third period.  The Lightning didn’t play dead, they didn’t give up, and they kept trying to do what they needed to win the game.  St Louis and Pettinger each scored, and with less than a minute left in regulation, the improving rookie, Stamkos scored the tying goal.  Alas, Boyes from the Blues scored within 1-minute of overtime to win the game.

Game 2 – Carolina:

Not too much to say here!  Again, players still gave the puck away too many times in the defensive zone.  Carolina scored 3-times in the first and 6-times in the second period.  Not only did Staal have a hat trick, he scored 4-goals and had 6-points in the game.  Ruutu and Cole didn’t fair too badly either.  St Louis scored in the first, Lecavalier and Malone scored goals in the third, where it appeared the Hurricanes had let up a little.  The only Lightning player who looked like he was playing for his life was Arty (guess he read the St Pete Times with his coffee that morning).

Big question – who will be here next year?  They can’t trade 21-players . . . or can they?

Technorati Tags: Andrej Meszaros, Barry Melrose, Evgeny Artyukhin, Gary Roberts, Mark Recchi, Martin St. Louis, Mike Sullivan, Paul Ranger, Rick Tocchet, Ryan Malone, Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning, Vinny Lecavalier

Brian Lawton said he was looking for draft choices – we got one. We did get some depth at defense. After sitting Recchi and Roberts Tuesday night so they wouldn’t be injured, Recchi was traded and Roberts cleared waivers. Looks like Stamkos’ tutelage will continue under the watchful eyes of Gary Roberts.

Boston picked up Mark Recchi and a 2^nd round draft pick in 2010 for 2-minor leaguers – Matt Lashoff, 22 (defenseman) and Martins Karsums, 23 (forward). The Bruins will benefit from having Recchi (I hate seeing him go – I read Boston is planning on signing him for the 2009-2010 season in the Boston Globe).

Recchi gives the Bruins playoff experience and a veteran presence. Recchi, at 41, with 535 career goals joins Phil Esposito (Lightning founder and 620 WDAE radio color commentator), Dave Andreychuk (Lightning 2004 Stanley Cup Captain and current Community Representative for the Lightning), John Bucyk, and Joe Mullen in the small group Bruins scoring more than 500-goals. He has 2-Stanley Cups, he is a 7-time All-Star, and he has accumulated 1426 points over his career.

Lashoff hasn’t played any NHL games, but he appears to be a good prospect for the Lightning on paper. Karsums played in 6-games for the Bruins this year and he has 17-goals, 24-assists, and 20-penalty minutes in 43-minor league games played.

The Panthers got Steve Emminger (the only healthy, experienced, defenseman we have left) Noah Welch (defenseman) and a 3^rd round draft pick in 2009. Welch was injured most of the last two seasons but has played 23-games in the minors this season. This was a salary dump to be sure – the Lightning wouldn’t be able to pay what he would get in arbitration!

The biggest deal has to be the way the Lightning unloaded 3-injured players to the Maple Leafs for Richard Petiot (defenseman). Toronto got Olaf Kolzig (goalie) who had surgery, Jamie Heward (defenseman) out with a concussion, Andy Rogers (minor-league defenseman) who has a back injury, and a 4^th round draft pick. Another salary dump???

The salary dumps should help us get some help over the summer – I just hope we don’t trade the whole team again! I will be at the coach’s chalk talk tomorrow before the game – I’m interested in hearing what there plans are for the rest of the season as far as the line formations go.

Technorati Tags: Andy Rogers, Boston Bruins, Brian Lawton, Carolina Hurricanes, Dave Andreychuk, Gary Roberts, Jamie Heward, Joe Mullen, John Bucyk, Mark Recchi, Martins Karsums, Matt Lashoff, Noah Welch, Olaf Kolzig, Phil Esposito, Richard Petiot, Stanley Cup, Steve Emminger, Steve Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs

The game against Pittsburgh included terrible passing by both teams – the bounces and breaks all seemed to go the Penguin’s way. Fleury had 33-shots fired at him and he made some very good saves giving up only 1-goal. Ramo also had 33-shots fired at him but there was no defense to help him defend the rebounds. The coaches can only tell players how to play; the players have to stick to the game plan. So many times, there were cross-ice passes with the opposition in between causing many lost possessions and scoring chances. Although in the 3^rd period, the Lightning finally got their act together and passed to the weak side and the cross-ice passes were successful because there were no Penguins in the area. Even though we out-shot the Penguins, it was too little to late.

Not that it changed the game but it appeared Dan O’Rourke had a hair you-know-where when Prospal complained about being dumped (it should have been a penalty – it was quite a mess). After the next play, Prospal continued to complain and O’Rourke slapped him with and unsportsmanlike penalty allowing the Penguins to score on the power play.

Recchi’s absence was felt (the team scratched him and Roberts so they wouldn’t get hurt before the trade deadline – Malik has been hurt all year). It’s a downer to know we finally got two scoring lines (Lecavalier, Prospal, and Malone) and (Recchi, St Louis, and Stamkos) and now they are going to trade him. He may be 41, but he is out playing the younger lads! Seeing Recchi and St Louis playing point to the improving Stamkos is exciting!

A side note: Arty is such a good skater but he skates so fast he goes faster than the puck and cannot control it. We lost a lot of scoring opportunities because Arty ended up behind the net with the puck. He did have a few good hits (maybe he is getting over being gun-shy from his suspension). He needs to go for it.

We only have 7-players (9 if you count Prospal who went to Philly, and Smaby who came up from the minors several times last year) who played on the 2007-2008 team. So out of a roster of 29 people that doesn’t allow for much ‘communication’ on the ice, especially with a revolving door bringing 45-different players on the team this year (including a wannabe coach and interim coach who I feel deserves the full title). I do have to say the AHL guys who called up during the year have shown a lot of grit, desire, and potential. Szczechura was especially fast and very good with the puck. Smaby has been a great addition to the defense so there is hope for next year as long as we don’t trade the whole team away again.

It’ll be interesting to see whom we end up with after 3 pm today (could we possibly break the 50-player mark for this year’s roster?). I try to make myself feel better by thinking perhaps the Lightning will resign Recchi to a 1-year contract during the summer since he will be a free agent and the tutelage of Stamkos can continue.

Patti

Technorati Tags: AHL, Barry Melrose, Dan O'Rourke, Evgeny Artyukhin, Karri Ramo, Marc-Andre Fleury, Marek Malik, Mark Recchi, Martin St. Louis, Paul Szczechura, Pittsburg Penguins, Rick Tocchet, Ryan Malone, Steve Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning, Vinny Lecavalier

Just to give everyone a heads up, I have written a guest “shit talking” post for David Chalk over at Bugs and Cranks. It was fun to rip on the Pirates and I may jump in on some others if time permits. Thanks to David for reaching out and letting me do a little trash talking. If you aren’t familiar with David’s work, I encourage you to check it out. It’s extremely entertaining stuff. I’ll have more Rays posts up soon by the way and I may be adding a new blogger to the mix who will  help take care of the Lightning. Expect a post from her later in the week. I’ll get on the Rays stuff through the week and I am currently working on the player cards for the Rays only. I’m putting the Bucs on hold for a while. Thanks everyone and let me know what you think of the post over at Bugs and Cranks and be ready to comment on the new blogger when she’s ready.

Technorati Tags: Bugs and Cranks, David Chalk, Scott Brannelly, Tampa Bay Lightning, Tampa Bay Rays

Just to let everyone out there know, I’m selling some stuff on Ebay or can sell it to you directly if you don’t want to go through that.The auction links are just underneath the Amazon banner above.

There are some Westin step bars that we are discontinuing and need to be sold off out of our warehouse. There are three sets that I know of at the moment that need to be sold off.

1998-01 Dodge Ram Quad Cab 1500/2500/3500 truck step bars in chrome or black. Westin parts #’s 25-1240 and 25-1245.

1999-04 Ford F150/F250 4-door Heritage edition truck step bars in black. Westin part # 25-1435.

Check out Westin’s website for more info on these parts.

I have them listed on the Ebay auctions starting at $50 with a buy it now for $100 and $59.95 in flat shipping fee.

If you are interested in these products I can sell them to you direct locally for $75 and you can pick them up from me to save on shipping. If you want to purchase them I ask that you drop me an email. I have somewhere around 50 of each of these that need to sold off and it’s a great deal because these bars usually retail for around $300 at least. Let me know if you are interested.