Tampa Bay Sports Blog

   The Rays started their season nicely today with a 6-2 victory in Baltimore. Granted the Orioles aren’t going to make much noise this year but in a place where the Rays have struggled to win over the years, it all helps. James Shields got through an uncharacteristically wild first inning and got through seven to pull out the victory. Everyone contributed, the defense looked good except for Crawford early and the plate discipline looked very much improved. I’m not going to celebrate too soon here but it was nice to see a strong performance out of the gate. Now before anyone gets on my case I will give Dioner Navarro a thumbs up today. I’m not jumping on the bandwagon but Navarro looked very good in his game today hitting, throwing and fielding so I must give him some kudos since I am so hard on him. Nice game guys, keep it up.

Technorati Tags: Dioner Navarro, James Shields, Tampa Bay Rays

   With the NBA season beginning to wind down here’s some notes from the Magic.

•    The Magic can clinch their first division title since 1996 with a win tonight or tomorrow. That would put a nice cap on the season and their should be many more to come with Howard, Nelson, Turk and Lewis locked in with more talent potentially on the horizon.
•    Bench player Brian Cook broke his finger in practice today and will probably be out the rest of the regular season. The Magic have said they will evaluate him in 2 weeks and see how things are coming. It’s not a big deal for the Magic to miss Cook but they would like to have him back for the playoff run as he is one of those gritty guys that does alot with his minutes that doesn’t show up in the box score.

Technorati Tags: Brian Cook, Hedo Turkoglu, Jameer Nelson, Orlando Magic, Rashard Lewis

   All is eerily quiet on the Bucs homefront still so I dug up a couple tidbits for the Buc addicts from the St. Pete Times…

•    The Bucs aren’t going to receive any compensatory picks in the draft at the end of the month. There were some hopes, I think due to Dewayne White, that they would get one. No sir!
•    It appears that coach Jon Gruden spoke with the whiner (Herm Edwards) and all is ok. I’m soooooo glad that everything is ok between these two.
•    The Glazers are apparently pleased with the conservative approachthis offseason and aren’t worried about the lack of spending on the part of Bruce Allen. Is anyone else shocked?!

Technorati Tags: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

   The Rays picked up career minor league outfielder Nathan Haynes today. Haynes had played parts of 11 seasons in the minors and is known as a decent outfielder with speed. No shocker here, I still think the Rays might make a push for Cubs outfielder Matt Murton though. The big not so surprising news is that Rocco Baldelli was put on the 60-day DL. Roc has been plagued by injuries the last few years and it doesn’t appear to getting any better. I spoke with a doctor friend of mine the other day and he thinks Baldelli has some form of Mitochondrial Myopathy, which to my understanding is a condition that develops in adulthood and causes extreme lack of fatigue by the muscles absorbing too much lactic acid. This makes the body tired after simple muscle exertion such as running or jogging and the patient feels as if they’ve spent hours working out. Sound familiar? There apparently is no cure for this and the treatments have minimal effects. Unfortunately Rocco’s career is probably over before it really got started. It’s a sad time for all involved with Rocco and I seriously hope he can recover some how. If not I’m sure he can coach or scout and stay in the game somehow.

Source: Rays official site

Technorati Tags: Nathan Haynes, Tampa Bay Rays

ProElite.com has announced an updated fight card for Saturday’s Strikeforce/EliteXC event, which takes place at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. and airs on Showtime.

No addition to the card will be more controversial than Mike Kyle (9-6-1). He’s slated to face Wayne Cole (10-6), fiveouncesofpain.com reports.

Kyle, who fought three times in the UFC from 2004-’05, eventually left the organization to fight for a handful of other promotions. In 2006 at WEC 20 in Lemoore, Calif., Kyle struck opponent Brian Olsen with an illegal kick to the face, and though the referee stepped in, he continued the attack before officials could pull him off.

Olsen suffered facial injuries from the attack, and despite the fight taking place at an un-regulated event on the grounds of an Indian casino, the California State Athletic Commission suspended Kyle 18 months anyway.

Kyle’s suspension ended this past September.

His opponent, Cole, is an Oklahoma-based fighter who’s fought primarily for the Masters of the Cage organization. He’s won three of his past four fights, and eight of his 10 wins have come via first-round stoppage.

Tampa born Drew Fickett is also on the card, which was supposed to be a Welterweight title bout versus Jake Shields who had to pull out due to injury, Fickett will be taking on Jae Suk Lim the current SpiritMC Middleweight champ in what I would assume to be a non-title bout. 

The full card includes:

Main Event:
-Frank Shamrock(Champ) vs. Cung Le-Strikeforce Middleweight Title Bout

-Drew Fickett vs. Jae Suk Lim

-Gilbert Melendez(Champ) vs. Gabe Lemley-Strikeforce Lightweight Title Bout

-Mike Kyle vs. Wayne Cole

-Joey Villasenor vs. Ryan Jensen

-Marlon Sims vs. Billy Evangelista – Swing Bout

Preliminary Bouts (Not Televised)

-Tiki Ghosn vs. Luke Stewart

-Darren Uyenoyama vs. Anthony Figueroa

-Jesse Jones vs. Jesse Gillespie

   With the recent injury to newly acquired starting goaltender Mike Smith the Bolts have recalled Marc Denis. Surprisingly Denis cleared recall waivers (not really) and will back up Karri Ramo until Smith is healthy. I know it’s only temporary but it’s quite unsettling knowing Denis is one step from playing here again. Nothing really personal towards Denis here but the hype that surrounded him last year, i.e. the HUGE poster on the Forum, I’m not in the mood to hear any of the Denis stories in any way. Since the Bolts don’t have much to play for this year I guess it’s good to see how Ramo holds up in this stint but couldn’t we find someone else to fill in behind him? We still need to improve on defense before anyone can really judge any of the goalies but why bring him back? Oh well, more fun for the Lightning and their fans. Good times!

Technorati Tags: Karri Ramo, Marc Denis, Mike Smith, Tampa Bay Lightning

   Looks like the St. Pete Times is reporting that the Rays are looking hard at filling the reserve outfield role through a trade. The top of the list looks to include the Cubs Matt Murton and the Dodgers Andre Eithier. Murton is now expendable with the arrival of Reed Johnson in Chicago and Ethier seems to be the odd man out in Los Angeles after Juan Pierre, Matt Kemp and Andrew Jones. The Dodgers are believed to be shopping Delwyn Young who is out of options but his lack of defensive prowess pretty much rules him out here. MLBTR is speculating on alot of other names here, some of which could be intriguing (especially former Ray Randy Winn). The Rays are dangling young starters Edwin Jackson and Jason Hammel, both of whom are out of options. I would like the Rays to go after Ethier hard but I can’t see the Dodgers taking Edwin Jackson back and I don’t think they’ll want Jason Hammel or J.P. Howell either. We’ll keep an eye on this as I would think they want to take care of this early in the season.

   It looks as if the Magic dodged a bullet here. The Orlando Sentinel is reporting Hedo Torkoglu is ok after testing his wrist today and will play tomorrow night against the Bucks. Jameer Nelson will sit even though the injury doesn’t appear serious enough to make anyone worry. This is great news! I hope Turk will take it easy because we need him for the playoffs, not the Bucks. Everyone should be fine come playoff time and the Magic have a legit shot at making it to the Eastern Conference finals.

Technorati Tags: Hedo Turkoglu, Jameer Nelson, Orlando Magic

   Herm Edwards has accused the Bucs of tampering. Really Herm?! I used to have alot of respect for Herm Edwards but after hearing him whine about Larry Johnson, Chad Pennington, etc… over the last few years,  and now the Bucs and Rams, he’s really just beginning to sound like a whiner. Apparently Herm’s upset over how quickly the Bucs signed C Jeff Faine and the Rams signed K Josh Brown and has all but accused both teams of having deals done with both players before the free agent signing period officially began. Hold on, let me get a tissue… ok, I’m done. Shut up Herm! Edwards is part of the Dungy tree and has been held in high esteem throughout the NFL since he’s been a head coach. Now he’s quickly destroying his image and every year he sounds a little more whiny. He needs to get a grip, focus on his job security and stop crying so much. You’ve still got a job Herm but if you don’t improve your team soon, you’ll be an ESPN analyst soon enough.  

Technorati Tags: Jeff Faine, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

   The Orlando Magic are holding their breath right now as Hedo Turkoglu and Jameer Nelson left last nights game against the Spurs with injuries. Nelson’s injury is listed as a jaw contusion and leaves him as day to day which shouldn’t hurt the Magic too bad. The Turkoglu injury could be more serious. It’s being listed as a right wrist sprain and according to Brian Schmitz he is scheduled for an MRI later today to find out the extent of the injury. This could wreck the Magic’s playoff hopes and essentially kill them in the East. Orlando may have enough firepower with Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis to get through the first round of the playoffs but if they are going to need a healthy Turkoglu and Nelson in order to compete with Detroit and Boston. More news later when available.

Technorati Tags: Hedo Turkoglu, Orlando Magic, Rashard Lewis

   The Rays officially sent top prospect Evan Longoria down to AAA Durham today according to Marc Topkin. As I’ve been harping on this issue alot recently this move really disappoints me. I understand what the Rays are trying to do but it still doesn’t make sense. In doing this they officially tell Longoria, and every other young prospect, we don’t care what you’ve done we’re going to try to save money. They also have rid themselves of any good will keeping Longoria on the roster now would have gotten them when it comes time to negotiate a new deal. In a way it also hurts the good will created this off-season in the signing of James Shields and Carlos Pena long term as well as the signing of Cliff Floyd and Troy Percival. This is not a situation where know one knows who the best player for the position is, we all do. This now leaves us with Willy Aybar, Joel Guzman and Eric Hinske (presumably) to fill the third base role. That is not ideal for any team. I’m not saying these guys are bad players, I’m saying they probably won’t be great and Longoria probably would be great. Bad move here as it creates a hole that shouldn’t exist. I still love the Rays, hate the move.

Technorati Tags: Cliff Floyd, Eric Hinske, Evan Longoria, James Shields, Joel Guzman, Tampa Bay Rays, Willy Aybar

   The Rays have a few things going on right now.

•    The decision will be made this week on where Evan Longoria will start the season. I’ll be disappointed in the Rays if they send him to the minors. I’ll keep saying he’s done enough to be the opening day third baseman. The thing that keeps coming up is this “extra year” of time being bought by them sending him down. It’s a wasted argument. Those who don’t follow the rules of arbitration and free-agency just want to see the best team on the field and they’ll be disappointed if he’s sent down. Those who do follow know its a waste because either he’ll be a ’super 2′ when it’s time and they wont get the extra year or, just like with Shields, they’ll end up signing him long term and buying his arbitration years anyway. It’s a waste of talent and not smart to send him down. Do the right thing here Rays!
•    Reed Johnson has been waived by the Blue Jays and this is a guy the Rays need to go after. He’s a right handed hitter who can play all three outfield positions, hits lefties well and is good enough to play everyday if needed. I’m not comfortable with the rightfield platoon of Cliff Floyd and Jonny Gomes, we need someone who can legitimately back up Upton in center and we need a replacement for Rocco. This needs to happen.
•    In late news highly touted prospect David Price left his minor league start Thursday with soreness in his left elbow. This is an awful thing anytime you here of a pitcher with “elbow soreness”, especially a lefty who throws sliders. Lets hope for the best with Price and Kaz but I’m already nervous about both.

Technorati Tags: BJ Upton, Evan Longoria, James Shields, Jonny Gomes, Reed Johnson, Scott Kazmir, Tampa Bay Rays

   Obviously by reading what I do here I’m a fan of DRaysBay and I think they do a great job at what they do. I have a problem with some of their opinions in a recent interview now though. They did a nice Q & A with Keith Law of ESPN regarding the status of the Rays and after reading that I have a problem with some of their opinions. First off I’m in agreement with them regarding Evan Longoria in thinking that he should be the Rays opening day third baseman. I think the Rays are stupid here because it appears that they want to send Longoria down to delay his free-agency a year by bringing him up later. This is correct in theory and I understand the financial responsibilities involved in doing this but what everyone doesn’t seem to understand, including the Rays, is that even if the Rays send Longoria down to delay his arbitration eligibility a year he still can qualify as a ’super 2 ‘ player. If Longoria is half the player we think he is he will qualify as a super 2 and this is all meaningless then because he will then be arbitration eligible before the Rays want him to be. Stupid! Now back to DRaysBay. They are dogging Willy Aybar as a bad player, I’m assuming because of their love for Longoria, and they’re 100% wrong there. We all have opinions about people and players and you can judge this in many ways but to call Aybar a bad player is ignorant. He’s an above average hitter, average defensively yet apparently he’s a bad guy. I’m not defending his actions as a person, if you beat your wife you’re a piece of crap, but to say he’s not a good player because of that is stupid. Michael Pittman had domestic violence issues but was he good enough to win a Super Bowl with? Yes. Julio Lugo had domestic violence issues but did he perform well here? Yes. So why are they tagging someone as a bad player because he’s got domestic violence issues? I don’t know. Next there was the issue they brought up saying the Yankees were a “train-wreck waiting to happen”. What?! No matter what you think of the Yanks, and I’m no fan, they’re not a bad team. To pick on a team like the Yankees,with the firepower they still have, for banking on three young starting pitchers and thinking that they can’t overcome those guys not working out this year is dumb! Why pick on them when we’re doing the same thing but worse. If Hughes doesn’t work do you think the Yanks won’t trade for someone to replace him? If Chamberlain implodes do you think they’ll just quit? No! Focus on the Rays guys. If Kazmir gets hurt (which he already is) what will the Rays do? Can they replace him? What if Shields gets hurt, will we trade for a proven player to replace him? I’m not an idiot thinking the Rays can compete with the Yankees and Red Sox now but I do think they’re better. By the development of the team to this point of the Sternberg era this is the year they officially move forward and are taken seriously. This is the year you truly find out what your pitching staff is made of, what to expect from guys like Upton and Iwamura and even Carlos Pena as they all have had one good season. See if you can count on them again and if they can’t find who may be able to fill in. There’s alot of question marks on this team even though the baseball world sees the improvement and future possibilities. Think of these things. We got Matt Garza but was he great last year? No, he was average with great potential. Other than last year how much do we know about what Upton, Iwamura, Pena, Reyes and Garza are going to do this year? What have Navarro, Edwin Jackson, J.P. Howell, Jason Hammel, Andy Sonnanstine, etc… done to make us or anyone think they’re going to be good now? I’m not dogging these guys and I’m not trying to sound like I’m rooting against them. I’m optimistic and excited about the possibilities of the Rays future but what makes any Rays fan think it’s time to start picking on the Yankees? Let’s all continue to be happy about the future of the Rays, let’s be excited about this season because they do APPEAR to be better but let’s all check ourselves a little bit in the reality of what things really are. The Yankees don’t ’suck’ and the Red Sox are the defending champs still so chill on the trash-talking! I can’t wait until it’s actually time to run my mouth about the Sox and Yanks but we’re not there yet. My old coach always told me “confucius say, he who gets cocky gets doo-doo on face”. Remember that everyone as things go on. I’ll be right there with you yelling at every Sox and Yanks fan in and out of the stadium when we’re above them in the standings, but until then they still have scoreboard!

Technorati Tags: Akinori Iwamura, Al Reyes, Andy Sonnanstine, BJ Upton, Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, Dioner Navarro, Edwin Jackson, Evan Longoria, J.P. Howell, Jason Hammel, Matt Garza, Tampa Bay Rays

   With the Magic essentially sewing up the no.3 seed in the playoffs the questions have started. Brian Schmitz and others are questioning now ‘what to do with J.J. Reddick?’. Most out there, Shmitz included, believe the Magic should give Reddick more playing time to either see what he can do on this team or to showcase him for others. I’ve previously stated that I would like to see him play just to satisfy my own curiosity of his skills in the NBA but I’m gonna argue that the Magic should probably leave him on the bench. I still want to see him play but if they’ve kept him on the bench this long than they probably think he can’t and if that’s the case why show off someone who you think is not good enough to contribute on your team and risk proving to others you might be right about him not being good enough to play at this level. If the Magic keep him on the bench then the only way other teams who might want to trade for him would be to look at his college film at Duke. Doing that would leave Magic with the same bargaining chip they have now. If Reddick plays and proves too slow or can’t shoot at the NBA range or whatever than they kill what little leverage they have. I want to see Reddick play, but let’s trade him, let him play somewhere else and move on.

Technorati Tags: JJ Reddick, Orlando Magic

Don’t know much about this organization but it’s MMA and it’s right in your backyard. Doors open at 5pm and fights start at 6pm.

If you are a fan of MMA, smaller shows are sometimes great to go to as you may see the next big star or at the very least some good fights. Make sure you go and support your local fighters.

Here’s the fight card:

Waachiim SpiritWolf(5-2) vs. Danny Ruiz(6-1)

Marcus Jones(2-0) vs. Daniel Perez(1-0)

Tom Lawlor(4-0-1) vs. Moyses Gabin(2-0)

Joe Wissmann(2-0) vs. Patrick Mikesz(4-3)

Ryan Hodges(3-1) vs. Rich Attonito(4-2)

Eric Reynolds(7-0) vs. York Ash(11-9)

Angela Magana(3-1) vs. Jessica Aguilar(4-2)

David Vieira(3-0) vs. Efrain Ruiz(5-4)

Ran Weathers(12-6) vs. Jonathan Brookins(7-1)

Jerome Griego(2-0) vs. Gabe Maldonado(0-0)

Until next time, I’m out.

   I love Brian Schmitz! Schmitz has a post on his blog today ripping Billy Donovan for what he did to the Magic in the off-season. If you don’t remember what Donovan let me refresh your memories. Donovan signed on to be head coach for the Magic after taking his Florida teams to back-to-back NCAA Championship titles and was celebrated by Magic fans around the world. No sooner than accepting the job, Donovan changed his mind and wanted to go back to Florida. After debating for a short while the Magic were nice enough to let him go. Too bad Billy! Where do you wanna be now?!!!! Donovan’s been doing alot of whining lately about his teams and Schmitz doesn’t hesitate to drill him for it. Nice job Mr. Schmitz, keep it up!

Technorati Tags: Billy Donovan, Florida Gators, Orlando Magic

   There’s an interesting article in the Orlando Sentinal today regarding players that may be eyeing Orlando. The Magic are an improving team that is already in playoff contention. I think everyone is in agreement that the Magic needs another legitimate scoring option behind Howard and Turkoglu. The Sentinal points out Elton Brand and Corey Maggette could leave the Clippers this off-season and look toward the Magic. I wouldn’t mind Brand but I don’t think it’s a real possibility and I don’t think that’s the type of player Orlando is in need of. Maggette fits perfectly to me though. He started his career in Orlando and he would supplement the players on the roster perfectly as he would not need to be the go-to guy on a nightly basis but can serve that role when needed. He’s athletic, dangerous and is just what Howard needs to get over that hump. Hopefully it can happen, but this is still a long way off and we should be looking at this years playoffs. It’s sure nice to imagine though isn’t it?

Technorati Tags: Cory Maggette, Hedo Turkoglu, Orlando Magic

   The Rays lost to the Phillies 4-2 today but Evan Longoria continues to prove he should be the opening day third baseman. As everyone seems to know at this point this guy is a pure hitter and there is officially no excuse for the Rays to send him down for “more seasoning”. If the Rays send him down now it’s purely financial, to delay his free agency clock, and in a time where everyone is finally buzzing about this team being competitive and no far from playoff contention that would be inexcusable! What else must he do? He hits, plays above average defense and carries himself like a professional (see Delmon Young and Elijah Dukes). Ne we say more?

Technorati Tags: Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays

   In a story that sort of went by the wayside today UCF Freshman WR Ereck Plancher died after the morning workout. In an afternoon article Greg Auman reports that Plancher, cousin to USF RB Moise Plancher, collapsed after a morning conditioning workout. Auman also reminds us of USF losing RB Keeley Dorsey last year to a heart disorder. This is a sad day for the Plancher family and sports in general. Our best wishes go out to the Plancher family and everyone close with Ereck. God bless.

   In what has transpired to be a boring off-season the only news to report is the Bucs have retained DL Kevin Carter. Carter was a productive player for the Bucs last year in a limited role rotating with Gaines Adams, Greg White and the rest of the linemen. He was released just before the start of free-agency and reportedly turned down more money from Oakland to remain with the Bucs. It still looks troubling to me the Bucs are still so far under the salary cap with the big name free-agents off the market. I’m not sure if they have some trades in the works or were just banking on attracting guys like Randy Moss to come in. I’m no salary cap wizard but the Bucs have to be close to the salary floor right now and unless something dramatic is done during draft time we could be looking at having one of the lowest team payrolls in the NFL. It’s good to have room but if there’s that much room you’re bound to have problems.

Technorati Tags: Gaines Adams, Greg White, Kevin Carter