Tampa Bay Sports Blog

   Cliff Floyd has now made his mark. Floyd hit a shot to center that barely got over the wall for a walkoff 2-1 win. He’ll probably have to go on the DL now after running the bases and getting beat down by everyone when he got home. Some notes from the game.

•    James Shields got away with some average stuff tonight. He left ALOT of changeups up in the zone tonight and thankfully the “other” Sox were not killing him.
•    Aki has 41 hits in May now. That’s got to be a club record or something. The thing that makes me laugh watching him though is that they all seem to go to the same damn spot. How does he do it?!
•   Pena needs to hit the bench for a couple days. It has gotten embarrassingly painful to watch him swing and miss all night long. I feel terrible when I watch him and he needs to be sat for a couple days just to get his head straight (it’s true, sorry Mom). In his last 10 games Carlos is hitting .242 with 12 K’s in 33 AB’s. The stats aren’t showing how ugly it’s been to see though. Those aren’t great numbers and it’s been much worse to watch than it sounds. Watching Jose Contreras float 70 MPH curveballs over the plate while Carlos swung and missed by a foot was hurting my eyes! I love Pena and I think he just needs to flatten his swing out a little. I am now begging Maddon to give him a couple days off even though we’ll miss his glove.

   That’s all I’ve got from tonights game. I’m curious about tomorrows though. The Rays are saying they’ve sold out the game tomorrow and I’m wondering if it’s because of the concert or because they’re not on TV. Anyone got an opinion?

Scott Brannelly

Sources: Yahoo, Marc Lancaster

Technorati Tags: Akinori Iwamura, Carlos Pena, Cliff Floyd, James Shields, Tampa Bay Rays

   The Tampa Bay Lightning seem to be caught in a whirlwind of strange crap right now. The new ownership group headed by Oren Koules are giving a weird vibe with some of the stuff they’re doing. They apparently orchestrated the questionable Brad Richards/Mike Smith swap. Now there are rumors flying (out of Canada first again) that Barry Melrose will replace John Tortorella as head coach. Things are just strange with the Bolts now. First they trade Richards for a goalie that may or may not be good and the first to crack the story was the media in Canada. Now they are rumored to be replacing our Stanley Cup winning head coach with an ugly suit wearing mullet head who hasn’t coached in 13+ years. And they are doing all of this before they actually own the team. I heard something else today too. Apparently they don’t have enough money so they’re getting half of the money from the group they are buying the team from. Huh??!?! This is all just weird. I guess we shouldn’t be too surprised by strange behavior from the guy who does the Saw movies, but damn! Torts may be wearing on this team now but do we really want a guy who has never won more than a Memorial Cup, sports a MULLET and wears the most hideous pin striped suits you’ll ever see? Mr. Tortorella will not be on the market long as he’ll probably go from one screwed up franchise to another in Toronto. The Leafs don’t currently have a coach, GM or President. Perfect fit! I’ll try to pull my finger out of my eye now and sort this out later.

Scott Brannelly

Sources: Damian Cristodero, Damian Cox

Technorati Tags: Barry Melrose, John Tortorella, Mike Smith, Oren Koules, Tampa Bay Lightning

   I couldn’t make the Rays game tonight because I was stuck in Wesley Chapel doing my continuous education crap so I’ll get to bloggin. The Bucs have finally gotten RID of a QB instead of signing one by releasing future Hall of Famer Bruce Gradkowski. I think they have cut the number of QB’s on the roster down to 14 or so now so they better start searching the waiver wire to replace him. In some other fun news the Bucs have re-signed drunken lunatic TE Jerramy Stevens. I usually don’t get into off field character type stuff with players because I do think they deserve some privacy, but having met this guy before (he was drunk and obnoxious) and the fact that he is just an all around piece of crap makes me hate him. I don’t see why we need this raging menace on the team, especially with Ben Troupe and Alex Smith on the roster. This is extremely curious since the NFL is getting into punishing teams for player misconduct. Let me reel this off for you in case you didn’t know what a piece of crap this guy is.

• ‘98 arrest for assault with a deadly weapon. Plead out to misdemeanor assault.
• Spent the night in jail in ‘98 for pooping positive for weed (ok not horrible).
• In 2000 he raped, uh my bad, he had consensual sex with a drunk passed out woman on the lawn of a frat house in UW. C’mon we’ve all sodomized a doped up chick on the lawn.
• In ‘01 he was cited for ‘hit & run’ into a nursing home. Maybe he doesn’t like old people.
• Violated probation in ‘03 with a DUI and, yup you guessed it, reckless driving. Plead to reckless driving and paid $1,000 fine with two days in jail.
• In ‘07 he was arrested for an “extreme DUI” (he’s getting better at it) and actually went to court this time. Jack McCoy must not have offered a plea this time as he did a whole 10 days in jail.

   There are multiple other complaints and such but I’m tired of typing. Lets all just agree that Mr. Jerramy Stevens is the original Garbage Pail Kid!

Scott Brannelly

Source: Stephen Holder, Wikipedia

Technorati Tags: Alex Smith, Ben Troupe, Bruce Gradkowski, Jerramy Stevens

   There are a couple things to reports on here. The first is that Michael Pittman has signed a one year deal with the Bronco’s. Exciting right? Now on to the big news. Gaines Adams has a bad habit. What you ask? I don’t know. You need to check out Stephen Holder tomorrow to find out. Has it come to this really? I know the Bucs junkies out there are starving for anything Bucs but this is pathetic. I expect better from you Stephen! There are things out there to read about regarding the Bucs if you want to get into draft analysis (already) and position battles but this is reaching beyond pathetic. Do you think that he’s going to say he’s addicted to crack or heroin? Stupid crap. I love the Bucs and football but there are other things to do besides worrying about how much chocolate our DE likes to eat. Stupid.

Nice job by Buc Em’ catching this worthless crap article. At least I got some Buc info for you today!

Scott Brannelly

Sources: Buc Em, Stephen Holder

Technorati Tags: Gaines Adams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

   First thing to say here is that the players on the field are getting it done. All the credit in the world belongs to the guys on the field doing what needs to be done. No doubt about it. I am getting very frustrated with our idiot Manager now though. It seems at the moment that the players are winning in spite of what Mr. Maddon does. This creates a problem because Maddon isn’t going to try and correct what seems to be working even though it won’t continue to work. At the game today there a some things that stuck out to me.

•   First thing is a glaring issue. What the hell was Jason Bartlett doing batting sixth? Is a guy swinging a rubber bat (who’s BA, SLG and OBP were all under .300 to start the day) really going to protect Evan Longoria? In the first inning they walked Longoria intentionally to get to Bartlett and JB grounded out. I hope this was just an attempt at something different and doesn’t become some sort of new wave crap Maddon wants to try.
•    We don’t bunt enough! This is the main thing that bothers me where the players are overcoming stupid decisions. In the 5th inning today there was a perfect example. Riggans singled to lead off. Hot shot Ben Zobrist should’ve been bunting then but didn’t and luckily walked. Next up was Aki and he should’ve been bunting but again wasn’t. Aki got a hit and everything turned out ok but it’s not the right thing to do. This team strikes out a lot and they hit into a lot of double plays too. They are not putting themselves in the best spot to win. That’s what a manager is supposed to do. We are getting away with it now but it won’t hold up.
•    Crawford and Bartlett should be switched. Carl, as much as I love him, is no number two hitter. He is hurting more than helping in the two spot. He is way too chaotic at the plate and his bat control is not good enough for this spot. For someone who is a slap hitter (and he shouldn’t be) he doesn’t bunt enough and K’s too much. Bartlett is much better suited for the two hole as he should be sacrificing at bats more than anyone else. He should be trained to bunt, bunt, bunt! Carl is pressing hard and should be moved down as the alternative leadoff man in the nine hole.
•    And finally I’ll question the decision to leave Garza in for the eighth. Garza pitched very well today but this made me nervous. It worried me because this is a guy who has been on the DL already this year with arm trouble and I don’t see a need to try to stretch him out over 100 pitches in a game like this when you have Wheeler for the eighth and a day off tomorrow.

   Maybe I’m being a little nit picky with everything but I want this team to compete all year. What do you think?

Scott Brannelly

Technorati Tags: Akinori Iwamura, Ben Zobrist, Carl Crawford, Evan Longoria, Jason Bartlett, Joe Maddon, Matt Garza, Shawn Riggans, Tampa Bay Rays

   In some sad news from over the weekend former Buc OL Thomas McHale and Ray SP Jeremi Gonzalez have died. McHale, who was an offensive lineman for the Bucs from ‘87-’92, was found dead at a friend’s house and the death is still being investigated. The police are not suspecting foul play. McHale, 45 at his death, played 5 seasons for the Bucs, 2 for the eagles and 1with the Dolphins.

   Jeremi Gonzalez, who pitched for the Rays in ‘03-’04, was killed Sunday by a lightning strike on the beach in his home of Venezuela. Gonzalez made a comeback with the Rays in ‘03 and had a great year. He couldn’t maintain his form after and retired after bouncing around with a few teams. He was 33.

   It’s always sad when anyone dies but it is more saddening to me with some of these athletes because they are so young. McHales cause of death is unknown but we all will probably assume that it is somehow related to his career in football. Gonzalez’ death was a freak occurence and, at 33, is an extreme tragedy. Our hearts go out to the families and friends of these men, rest in peace.

Sources: Yahoo, The Heater

Technorati Tags: Jeremi Gonzalez, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tampa Bay Rays, Thomas McHale

   Who would’ve thought that as late as Memorial Day, your Tampa Bay Rays have the best record in baseball? Not just the A.L. East or even the A.L., but in all of Major League Baseball. This is crazy! I would’ve never thought it but its’ here. This has prompted me to start looking at certain scenarios for the Rays continuous contention throughout.

•    It might be time for the Rays to start targeting positions to improve on. First place to start for me would be RF. I think that the trio of Hinske, Gomes and Gross have done an adequate enough job but if the Rays want to compete for a playoff spot they are going to need to improve here. Depending on the asking prices of course, I would like them to start looking at guys like Jason Bay and Andre Ethier. The Rays looked at Ethier in the off season and seem to have a good working relationship with the Dodgers so maybe start there.
•    They are also going to need a couple more pitchers. If you wanna get crazy, let’s go ahead and do it, I would keep an eye on the Brewers situation, namely Ben Sheets. If the crew fall out of contention and Sheets could stay healthy it could be a beautiful thing. It would take a nice ransom to grab Sheets, even though he is in a walk year, so maybe look elsewhere. Joe Blanton will probably be available and, if you wanna really push it, a Matt Cain may be had as well. They will also need another arm in the pen. Gary Glover is soon going to be replaced by Juan Salas I would think so hopefully the Glover experiment is over. The rest of the pen has been pretty solid so any target here will have to be an upgrade and could prove costly. This will have to wait and see for sure, especially since most relievers that will be available are going to be either injury prone, old or overpaid. Tough call here. Hopefully Salas can pitch well when he returns and if Howell, Wheeler, Percival and Reyes can hold up they may be ok here.

   Any way you cut it, it’s looking like it’s going to be a fun summer here. Make sure you keep up with the regulars in the hot stove net to see what the Rays may do. MLB Trade Rumors, Rays Index, DRays Bay.

   Hat tip to DRays Bay by the way for the Jason Bay link.

Scott Brannelly

Technorati Tags: Al Reyes, Dan Wheeler, Eric Hinske, Gabe Gross, Gary Glover, J.P. Howell, Jonny Gomes, Juan Salas, Tampa Bay Rays, Troy Percival

   Off the subject completely here but damn Kobe’s good. I have no opinion as to whether Kobe is better than Jordan because I loved both of them, but damn this guy is fun to watch. This is where I get frustrated with the media hype of sports today. Jordan was and is a degenerate gambler, adulterer and all around bad guy. Kobe is an adulterer, possible rapist and a rat. We know all this yet everyone seems to praise Jordan as some great ‘GOD’ in NBA history and Kobe is hated by most that are following the game today. I HATE this! Kobe can’t get the respect he deserves in the history of the game because everything we know about him now we know while he’s playing. Jordan’s crap was hidden for the most part during his career and because of that no one will bash him the way they do Kobe. This is why I don’t get into personal crap of any player on this site. 

   Peopleget arrested all the time and it goes unnoticed, but because athletes are in the spotlight so much when they get arrested it is debated as part of their career. This is retarded. I’m not saying Kobe is the greatest player ever, but neither was Jordan in my opinion. I’m just saying that as far as the players they were and are at this point in their careers, Kobe is at least as good as Jordan was. Give him some credit for it people! Kobe is evolving the same way Michael did as his career moves on and the media, fans and even other players won’t acknowledge it. It sickens me that everyone is so judgemental of a guy on the court because of what he did off the court. Why can’t everyone just give it up to this guy and say he’s the greatest now, maybe ever, but he’s an ass h&%le. If you don’t like an athlete personally fine, but don’t judge his accomplishments on what you think of him as a person. Jordan had like 10 kids with other women and was a gambler. Ty Cobb was a racist di%$#ead. Lawrence Taylor was a crackhead moron. All these guys we know about yet, for the most part, they get the credit due to them for their accomplishments on the field still. Guys like Kobe Bryant and Barry Bonds can’t seem to get full credit for what they do. This is really off to me, because as you read that I’m sure you say “Barry cheated” but it is the same thing. I’m not saying Bonds didn’t use roids or that they didn’t help him hit homeruns better but you’ve got to put things into perspective. Bonds probably has 100 more HR’s than he should but he is still the greatest hitter of the last 30 years. There is no way at this point that you can say anyone is not on or has done roids so, assuming that, he still did more than anyone else in his era. If most guys are considered to be on p.e.’s in this era than he is the best of the cheaters, period. I’m not going to argue him against Mantle or Mays but, in our time, how can you argue with what he’s done? It’s a bunch a of haters that don’t like him because he’s always been a jerk off the field. That has nothing to do with what he’s done on the field. Same thing with Kobe. Stop judging him because you don’t like him personally, judge him on the court, If you do that then he is good as it gets. Think he’s selfish? So was Jordan. Let it go and give it up. He’s not my favorite player but I can say that he’s the best.

   Finishing this off on a different note, if you were wondering who I think the greatest NBA player is of all time (since I’m not on the Jordan tip) I’ll tell you. It’s Magic Johnson. Magic wasn’t the most athletic or the most exciting. He was the most versatile. He did play on teams that were stacked with outstanding players but he did whatever it took. He was a true point guard even though he oversized for the position. What he did was make everyone on his team better and then some. Jordan, Kobe, Bird, Isiah and others did the same but Magic proved something none of them could. He could play any position on the floor. Magic would’ve went to the Hall of Fame at ANY  position! Let’s not forget that in his rookie year, he played Center and won a championship. Has anyone else ever done that? Magic could’ve played anywhere on the floor at an All-Star level and that’s why I say Magic. These are fun arguments to have in all sports but how can you argue with this? I can’t put anyone above Magic because of his versatility. Ironically the only guy that has been in the NBA ever that could compete with Magic is Lebron James. Lebron has more ability than Magic yet he (and everyone else) is too concerned with him living up to Jordan’s legacy so he probably won’t even get close.

Technorati Tags: Orlando Magic, TBSB General Info

   The Rays shut out another team tonight behind some nice pitching and defense. The defense is the main reason for the improvement of the pitching staff this year in my opinion and it’s time I gave some guys props for the work they’ve put in.

•    Matt Garza is almost as unpredictable as Edwin Jackson but he continues to put up solid performances when needed. He threw seven plus innings of shutout ball tonight and since coming off of the DL has been good. He is 3-1 in 36.1 innings with an ERA of 2.99 since his short DL stint and the team is 6-2 in his starts during that time. He has walked 15 and struckout 14 in that span which is troublesome but he’s getting it done.
•    Troy Percival is holding up better than I expected. I thought that, given his injury history and age, that Percy would have a hard time being a full time closer again but he’s doing it. Troy has saved 14 games so far and he appears to be all that was advertised. The games he’s given up don’t seem to effect him the next time out and he’s taking control of the bullpen. You can probably attribute some of Wheeler and Howell’s success to him but whether you do or not he has definitely made a big difference.
•    Aki and Bartlett have gotten their averages up and quieted my stupid ass. Aki I never picked on much, I had confidence that he would get better. My only thing with him is I don’t understand how he’s doing it. He is still pulling off the ball more than he did last year and his at bats early in the game are generally ugly. I would much rather see him outside the leadoff spot but there’s no one to put there now so he’ll do. Jason Bartlett is an entirely different story. I’ve never had a player turn my opinion so much and shut me up so bad. He has played outstanding defense and is picking it up with the stick. He’s no Omar Vizquel but he has sold me in every way that the Rays did the right thing in swapping him for Harris. I loved Harris last year and my feelings for him blinded me on Bartlett early but damn has he turned me.
•    The fat catcher is improving and continues to hit. Here is where I slow down a bit. I love that the fat catcher is hitting now but I’m not getting over-excited about this. I’m still extremely skeptical about this as there is nothing in his swing or ability that makes me think he can keep this up (contrary to what Rays Index thinks). I’m elated that he is hitting and could finish the year somewhere around .270 or above but there is no way I see him hitting .300 or more. I’m not talking trash here, I just am curious, please guys tell me what you saw in his swing or ability that makes you think he can hit .320 or .330. If there is something I’m missing please tell me and I’ll jump on board (even though he’ll always be the fat catcher here).

   The best thing about watching this team now is the fact that the flaws are still so prominent yet they keep winning. It gives me so much excitement when I think that there is still so much to bitch about with a winning record. I love this team and, even though I bitch, there is nothing more I look forward to now than watching my Rays!

Scott Brannelly

Sources: Yahoo, Rays Index

Technorati Tags: Akinori Iwamura, Dan Wheeler, Dioner Navarro, Edwin Jackson, J.P. Howell, Jason Bartlett, Matt Garza, Tampa Bay Rays, Troy Percival

   According to Jason Stark of ESPN, Major League Baseball is finally considering using replay to review Homeruns calls and fair/foul calls. It’s about freakin’ time! This all comes on the heels of the Umps blowing two calls in New York this week and they are now willing to test replay in the Arizona Fall League. The most annoying part of all these talks is the “baseball purists” chiming in with their takes that it will mess with the flow of the game, or the human element or, god forbid, the games get a little longer. What makes me laugh about these purists like Tim Kurkjian is their unwillingness to acknowledge what really makes the games longer. They worry that a couple replays in a game will extend a game ten minutes or so. What about the freakin’ umpires who are afraid to call the strike zone properly?! This would all be moot if MLB would force the damn umpires to call the strike zone the way it’s supposed to be. If they would call the high strike again and make hitters actually swing the bat, it would cut at least 15 minutes off each game. Guys like Kevin Youkilis, Frank Thomas and our own B.J. Upton would have to stop whining about every damn ball that they think is high and swing the bat. It would help the pitchers, speed up the game and make things much more exciting. Then we could add replay and there would be no interruption to the precious flow of the game! They don’t need to have replay on everything but they should at least be able to get a homerun call right. If you purist whiners are going to cry about something that isn’t right in the game, start with the rule book you jackasses!

Scott Brannelly

Source: ESPN

Technorati Tags: BJ Upton

   For all of you crazy people that think the Celtics will go to the NBA finals you better think again. The Celtics are going to get mauled by the Pistons. This is going to be the year we visit the old days of the NBA, it won’t be the Lakers-Celtics days though. It will be the Lakers-Pistons days. Everyone talking the conspiracy theory that the NBA wants an old school rivalry might be right, but with the wrong teams. I could be wrong (honestly I probably am) but I don’t see any way the Celtics get by the Pistons. I’m not just saying this because they beat the hell out of the Magic. I’m not worried about Boston’s home court advantage either. I’m talking strictly about what everyone can bring. Kevin Garnett is the softest big man in the NBA and Ray Allen seems to have forgot what a good shooter he is. Paul Pierce will play, Cassell will contribute and that will be all. The Celtics, as deep as they are, can’t hang with Detroit in any way. The Pistons have too many players that are good under pressure. Wallace, Hamilton, Prince and Billups feed off the playoffs. There is no one outside of Paul Pierce on the Celtics that will scare the Pistons at all. Take the time to watch how useless Kevin Garnett is. Watch a full Celtics game and tell me if you’ve ever seen a “big man” play outside the paint so much. Tell me if you’ve ever seen a 7-footer get shoved around inside the paint like he does when he actually goes inside. It’s embarrassing to see what a waste of an athlete he is. Larry Bird would’ve scored 80 points a game if he had half of Garnett’s ability. Useless. Anyway the Pistons will win in six and meet with the Lakers in an old school finals. I will go into how Kobe is the best player in the game tomorrow, now I’ve gotta go watch some Celtic thrashing!

Scott Brannelly

Technorati Tags: Orlando Magic

    After a weekend series in St. Louis there are still some problems that need immediate attention.

• The baserunning is terrible. There are still way too many mistakes being made on the basepaths that are unforgivable. There is no excuse for the mistakes that are being made. It would be one thing if they were just being over aggressive sometimes or the occasional blunder but these are little league mistakes. These are things guys should know by the time they’re in high school much less the major leagues. I’m tired of hearing what a great “teacher of kids” when these guys are making little league mistakes. This needs to be fixed.
• Still too many strikeouts! They are second in the A.L. in strikeouts and it is aggravating. I know I keep beating a dead horse here but it is so frustrating to watch guys take so many good pitches and leave themselves in horrible hitters counts. If someone could possibly teach B.J. Upton to cut down his swing with two strikes or even teach him it’s ok to swing at a fastball down the middle early in the count it wouldn’t be near as bad. Carlos Pena needs to flatten out his golf swing a little or pitchers will keep abusing him above the knees. Carl Crawford, blah blah blah… I’ve been through this way too much and I can’t let it go. Someone help them please!
• The pitching is starting to level out. I hear everyone complaining about Wheeler blowing a couple games and oh no! Gary Glover. These guys aren’t bad and things will get a little worse but they are fine. The defense is holding them in games and guys are improving, namely Howell and Sonnanstine, so all will be good here but they can’t carry the load all year. The offense needs to show up.

   All the bitching will commence when these guys drop a few more games but they are improved and I would just like to see them expect a little more from themselves now. The Rays need not settle now on being better, they need to improve on what they’re doing. It’s still all good in Rays land though, have fun boys.

Scott Brannelly

Source: ESPN

Technorati Tags: Andy Sonnanstine, BJ Upton, Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, Dan Wheeler, Gary Glover, J.P. Howell, Tampa Bay Rays

   I’m back tonight but will be watching the Rays. I’ll recap the weekend and get back to work tomorrow after my nice little vacation.

Scott Brannelly

Technorati Tags: Scott Brannelly

@iquit 1

watching the game

   The Rays lost a tough one tonight 2-1. There were a few things I took from the game and the aftermath in general. Here we go..

•    Regardless of my bitching about the fans not showing up, there are more Rays fans in the park. Well not really regardless but this is it. There were noticeably more fans there tonight (almost 21,000) and from the looks of things the Rays fans were more abundant. This is what I’m talking about. The Rays are slowly building a fan base (when I say slowly I mean a snail would be proud). The problem is, as always, the Rays count on the Yankees and Red Sox drawing big crowds. As I said before the Yankees fans should be ashamed because they wait for there team to come to town and refuse to root for the Rays. Now your team is here and you can’t sell out? I don’t care if it’s a week series and not the weekend, you wait for this A-Holes! Now they’re here and you can’t come out because they’re not winning?! Wusses! I know for a fact that the Sox fans would have been there and they will be there in the future. I hate Sox fan but at least they show up to support their team. If you’re going to live in the Tampa Bay area and stay Yankee fans you should at least show up and support your team. If not, you should go ahead and be turncoats and support the Rays! Hell, at least we have a better short term future than the Yanks and, oh by the way, you LIVE HERE!
•    The Rays are becoming over-confident. I know I’ve been bitching about this for a while but stop looking at called third strikes! I know I’ve made the point of saying that I’m not a stat guy so I’m not going to go there but I think everyone can agree that there are more positive things that can happen by SWINGING at an iffy pitch than looking at a pitch close enough to be called a strike! I’m tired of the approach from certain guys, Upton, Gomes and Longoria, that makes them take called third strikes when the count ISN’T 3-2. Anyone that has played baseball at any point knows that you PROTECT THE PLATE with two strikes, especially when it’s not 3-2. This is becoming a horrid trend and it needs to stop. Let’s try to figure this out real quick. If it’s not 3-2, say it’s 2-2, what can happen by taking? You strike out looking, bad! You get another pitch, good. Wow great options. Now let’s figure out what happens when you swing the freakin bat. You strike out swinging, bad. You foul a pitch off, count stays the same and you draw another pitch out of the pitcher. You ground out, pop out or line out, bad. You get a hit of any kind! Now lets sum up, if you look you have no chance of getting a hit but if you swing you could get a hit, which would you choose? I could tolerate this better from anyone on the team if they had more walks than strikeouts but no one, I mean no one, does! Striking out has become too acceptable in today’s game. I’m all about drawing pitches out of a pitcher,working the count and looking for certain pitches to hit early in the count but one thing should remain constant throughout, protect the plate with two strikes! Let me make the point here. Barry Bonds became the greatest hitter of our generation not because of steroids, because he looked for his pitch and when he got it, he hit it. Everyone can debate all the crap they want about him but he knew how to hit, period. He only struck out more than he walked three times in his career. Those were the first three years of his career. This is what I’m talking about. The strike zone is catered to the hitter, the ball parks are catered to the hitter and the game in general is catered to the hitter. This should make a hitter want to hit, not walk. There aren’t many guys anymore that strikeout less than they walk and I can live with this change in the game but I’ll never go along with a guy that isn’t looking to hit all the time. Give me Vlad Guerrero over Frank Thomas anywhere anytime!
•    Ferg’s needs a rival somewhere. After the game my buddy and I went to Ferg’s to have a couple beers and it was unbearable. Ferg is my old PE teacher from Southside Fundamental Middle School and he is prepared for any crowd at his joint. I’ve never seen another bar that is more prepared for the crowds that come in than his but the crowds are ridiculous! I like the fact that I can get a beer within 5 minutes regardless of the crowd but damn I need some elbow room! Ferg should buy more property or someone should open up something near the stadium to take in some of the overflow. I’ve talked to Ferg about this and he wouldn’t mind the competition. Someone do something please! By the way, if you want to get on Ferg’s good side tell him you were in the Lucas Smith, Tommy Kidwell, Scott Brannelly and Keith Crosby class and he’ll love you!

Sources: Baseball Reference, Yahoo

Technorati Tags: BJ Upton, Evan Longoria, Jonny Gomes, Tampa Bay Rays

   The Magic were beat again by Detroit 91-86 and the short run is now over. At least they didn’t get swept again. I didn’t watch the game tonight because the Rays have attracted my full attention but I assume that Rashard Lewis was still a bitch and the rest fell into place. From the stat sheet it looks like Hedo and Keith Bogans showed up to play and the rest were just there. It is disappointing to get knocked out in this type of fashion but there is hope. Dwight Howard will get better and Hedo will continue to be a force. Lewis, regardless of his lack of manly behavior, can shoot and can help. They need help. They need to add some veteran depth on the bench. They need to improve the one and two guard positions. They will improve as they sit but with some smart drafting and a free agent here and there and who knows. Anyway it was a nice season and I shall now root against the Celtics with all my being. Screw you Boston Softics!

Technorati Tags: Dwight Howard, Hedo Turkoglu, Keith Bogans, Orlando Magic, Rashard Lewis

   The Rays won again tonight in an extra inning thriller that ended with Jonny Gomes scoring on a Gabe Gross single. It seems all the stars have aligned for the Rays in this run. Ed “no decision” Jackson pitched lights out tonight and even though Percy blew this one the Rays came back and scored in the 11th off Mariano Rivera to bring their record to 23-16. They have won 11 straight at home, not that any of you are bothering to show up and watch, and 17 within one of the toughest divisions in baseball. This is getting beyond reality at this point. I had hoped for an improved team when the season started but good lord this is outstanding. They are not winning games against nobodies either. They have beaten the likes of Josh Beckett, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte, Roy Halladay, Ervin Santana and many more big names. They are beating the Red Sox, Yankees and Angels. They are pitching great, playing great defense and the bats are doing enough to win. This is the most excitement we have ever had as Rays fans and things overall should only get better. Don’t get caught up thinking they’re invincible now. There will be hard times. There will be a losing streak. There will be bad pitching. The thing to get excited about is that they are winning and when the hard times come, they have built a little cushion for themselves to lean on. They are building confidence every minute of every game. I will now start ripping all of you so called fans.

   I have been discussing things here and there with people on what it would take to get them to a baseball game. The biggest complaints I hear about are the concession prices and the lack of parking. Listen whiners, whether you were aware of it or not, the parking situation is not that bad. You can find parking close if you look. If you don’t want to waste time then ride with three other people and the parking is free. If you don’t want to do that then pay the damn $10! Now on to the concessions. The Rays are the only team in Major League Baseball that let you bring YOUR OWN FOOD into the stadium. Go to subway and get a $5 foot long sub (you know you’ve seen the annoying commercials) bring it into the game. You can bring bottled water. If you need to drink that bad every night then you need to go to AA and you shouldn’t be reading this anyway. Bring a sub, buy an upper deck ticket for $14 and pay $10 for parking. That’s $29 for a night out to see your first place Rays. Go to two games a week and you’re still spending less than you do going to a damn Bucs game. Stop making excuses, they’re gone! Go to the damn games!

Source: ESPN

Technorati Tags: Edwin Jackson, Gabe Gross, Jonny Gomes, Tampa Bay Rays, Troy Percival

   Anyone else just find themselves watching Family Feud with the guy from Seinfeld? What the hell is going on at ION?!

   Finally got some Bucs news for the football junkies.

•    Veteran DE Greg Spires who we all remember abusing the Raiders in the Super Bowl season has left the Bucs to sign with…. you guessed it, the Raiders. Spires signed a one year contract after being released by the Bucs this off-season. Spires was never a superstar here but was solid throughout his 6 year tenure with the team totalling 256 tackles and 26 sacks in 87 starts. Spires lost his starting position half way through last season to Greg White but I think we all remember him beating up on the Raiders in the Super Bowl causing pressure, getting a sack and knocking down balls. We wish Greg well in the abyss that is Oakland.
•    A minor move took place today with the Bucs signing DT Jovan Haye to a one restricted free-agent deal worth $2.09 million. The Bucs and Haye were unable to reach an agreement on a multi-year deal.
•    Speaking of contracts the Bucs are still unable to come up with anything for Greg White. I think the Bucs better work something out here as White proved he’s an animal and worth a decent contract. It also appears that Jeff Garcia is unhappy with his contract status. Garcia, who is usually a quiet type company man, was described as “fuming” and threatened to stop attending minicamps. I respect this from him as he’s not just complaining about his contract but others like Earnest Graham as well. The Bucs have had a history of iffy player relations on contract extensions and it doesn’t appear to be getting any better. Doesn’t it make you wonder how good this team might be if Bruce Allen had any freakin people skills?

   Source: Bucs Beat, Yahoo

Technorati Tags: Bruce Allen, Earnest Graham, Greg Spires, Greg White, Jeff Garcia, Jon Gruden, Jovan Haye, Tampa Bay Buccaneers