Tampa Bay Sports Blog

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

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

It was a busy week in the AL East and I had to sit down and look at it tonight. I’ve been listening to the radio and reading about the moves being made and I came up with this. The Rays are much smarter than the Yankees.  There are a few good things about being a small market team and they’re showing during the winter baseball season. Let’s break it down.

• The Yankees signed CC Sabathia to a $161 million deal and brought one of the best pitchers in baseball to New York. But how much did this improve them? I honestly don’t think it improved them much at all. Think about it like this. They signed a guy that won 17 games last year to replace a guy that won 20. Now I’ll say that Sabathia is better than Mussina and he would’ve probably won 22 or 23 games with the Yankees last year with the same run support Mussina got, but that’s still only a 3 game improvement. Not enough for that kind of money. They also signed AJ Burnett to fill in the rotation but they haven’t re-signed Andy Pettitte yet. That’s a 4 game improvement if Andy doesn’t come back. Not enough either. If Pettitte comes back and teams with Wang and Sabathia that should be a decent three man rotation. Then they’re counting on Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes to handle the rest of the load. I’ll take my chances. Burnett will get hurt, Wang and Sabathia will probably be ok, but I don’t think Chamberlain and Hughes will do what they’re expecting. The Yanks also are going to lose Bobby Abreu and Jason Giambi, Jeter is another year older and slower and A-Rod will be useless when needed as he always is. I’m not writing the Yankees off before the season starts, but how many of these store bought teams have done what they’re supposed to do? Even Sabathia realizes that the pressure in NY is so silly that he got an opt-out clause after three years. How much you wanna bet that that gets exercised?
• In comparison, the Rays traded their fifth starter for a young RF prospect who is already an upgrade over anything they put out there last year in Matt Joyce. Replacing Jackson will be the best pitching prospect in baseball who already proved himself at the Major League level at the end of last season, including the playoffs. This move also puts a guy on the bench, Gabe Gross, who contributed in a major way throughout a championship season.  
• If we look at who’s not coming back and who is it’s a big difference as well. The Yankees may not have lost all these guys yet but have Andy Pettitte, Bobby Abreu, Mike Mussina and Wilson Betemit. Kyle Farnsworth is gone and so is Carl Pavano (useless) . I personally think Abreu will end up in Chicago and Pettite with the Dodgers. Mussina is retired and that tells me something right there. This is a guy, who at the age of 40 and just came off his first 20 win season, has decided to retire rather than come back to NY or anywhere else. How big a toll did playing in NY take on him? I can’t think of any other reason that he wouldn’t come back to play somewhere for a couple years and try to get his 300th win other than the pressure of playing in NY completely beat him down. There’s no telling what the same pressure will do to Sabathia, who has an awful postseason record, and Burnett. Burnett comes in with an injury history similar to Carl Pavano’s and don’t think that the NY media won’t be harping on that either. The Rays lost Jonny Gomes (finally), who was phased out anyway, Trever Miller and possibly Rocco Baldelli. Miller can be replaced without damage and Baldelli wasn’t counted on anyway.

In wrapping this up I come up with this. The Rays got better already while making one move, the Yankees may or may not have depending on who comes back. The Yankees could still get Abreu, Giambi and Pettite back and that would make them a better team. The main component there would be Pettitte. Even if all these guys came back, who do the Yankees have to fill in if someone goes down? The rotation could end up being a high priced nightmare if one or more of their pitchers get hurt. Who do they have to replace any one of those guys if someone goes down, Darrell Rasner? Again, I’ll take my chances. Their bullpen has already been weakened as well with the loss of Farnsworth and Chamberlain. They could sign Derek Lowe, but I think he’ll end up in Boston. On the Rays end, they have replaced Jackson with Price, Gross with Joyce and still may sign some guys to fill out the DH and bullpen needs. If one or more of the Rays pitchers gets hurt there’s guys like Wade Davis, Jason Hammel, Mitch Talbot, Jeremy Hellickson and Jeff Niemann to fill in. It shows that being small market forces a team to think about the future. Remember when George Steinbrenner was forced out and the team finally had to develop players? They got Bernie Williams, Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera out of that deal, among others. They got role players then like Scott Brosius, Chuck Knoblauch and Jim Leyritz to fill out the roster and that’s how they won all those Series rings. That’s the path the Rays are on now with pieces like Longoria, Price and Upton as they sign guys like Iwamura, Pena and Percival to fill things out. It’s the smart baseball people that win, not the big money teams. We’ve seen it over and over again with teams that try to outspend everyone and don’t succeed and it amazes me that more teams don’t do it better. The Red Soxhave the best combination of both sides right now unfortunately as they have great development and lots of money. They can sign anyone if they want and are developing guys like Papelbon, Pedroia and Youklis. That’s a hard mix to beat but the Rays have the core to compete with them right now, maybe not forever, but right now. The entire perception of these things make me laugh because people are too caught up in the money aspect to see what’s real. The Yankees are supposed to win because they have the most money, they won’t because they don’t have good baseball people. The Red Soxwin because they have both money and good baseball people. They can afford to pay Ortiz, Beckett and Matsuzaka but they don’t win if they don’t develop Pedroia, Youklis and Papelbon. We all hope the Rays can spend the money to keep all these guys but the realistic fact is that, 2 or 3 years from now, they will have to trade a Kazmir, Crawford or Upton to help reload with younger, cheaper players. I hate the thought of that but it’s the reality we live in as a small market team. The great part of it though is that we don’t have distorted thoughts about our teams here and appreciate the winning much more because of it. I can’t wait to see what happens during the rest of this off-season and the regular season next year.

Technorati Tags: AJ Burnett, Akinori Iwamura, Alex Rodriguez, Andy Pettitte, Bernie Williams, BJ Upton, Bobby Abreu, Boston Red Sox, Carl Crawford, Carl Pavano, Carlos Pena, CC Sabathia, Chien-Min Wang, Chuck Knoblauch, Darrell Rasner, David Ortiz, David Price, Derek Jeter, Derek Lowe, Dustin Pedroia, Edwin Jackson, Evan Longoria, Gabe Gross, George Steinbrenner, Jason Giambi, Jason Hammel, Jeff Niemann, Jeremy Hellickson, Jim Leyritz, Joba Chamberlain, Johnathan Papelbon, Jonny Gomes, Kevin Youkilis, Kyle Farnsworth, Los Angeles Dodgers, Mariano Rivera, Matt Joyce, Mike Mussina, Mitch Talbot, New York Yankees, Phil Hughes, Rocco Baldelli, Scott Brosius, Scott Kazmir, Tampa Bay Rays, Trever Miller, Troy Percival, Wade Davis, Wilson Betemit

Technorati Tags: Akinori Iwamura, Andrew Friedman, Andy Sonnanstine, Ben Zobrist, BJ Upton, Boston Red Sox, Brandon Lyon, Brian Fuentes, Carl Crawford, Carlos Guillen, Carlos Pena, Chad Bradford, Dan Wheeler, David Price, Dioner Navarro, Edwin Jackson, Elijah Dukes, Evan Longoria, Francisco Rodriguez, Gabe Gross, Gary Sheffield, Grant Balfour, J.P. Howell, James Shields, Jason Bartlett, Jason Hammel, Jeff Niemann, Joe Beimel, Joe Maddon, Jonny Gomes, Los Angeles Dodgers, Magglio Ordonez, Matt Garza, Miguel Cabrera, Mitch Talbot, Pat Burrell, Philadelphia Phillies, Reid Brignac, Rocco Baldelli, Scott Kazmir, Shawn Riggans, Tampa Bay Rays, Trever Miller, Willy Aybar

   Time to wrap up the Rays season. What a season we had here, never saw this coming. I thought, the same as everyone else, the Rays would improve but not to this extent. Let’s wrap it up…

• The defense: The most dramatically improved thing on this team was the defense. The arrival of Jason Bartlett and Evan Longoria made this into the best left side defense in baseball. I was skeptical of Bartlett in the beginning (no need to bring my stupidity there again) as he had some unexplained throwing errors early but recovered to have a great season (should’ve got the gold glove over Young in my opinion). Longo was great defensively from day one and that’s that. Aki transitioned nicely over to second and Pena (won gold glove) was phenomenal. Having Pena at the corner saved Barty and Longo at least 5 errors a piece. Navarro’s improvement behind the plate was far and away the most amazing difference I saw. He was such a different player all around this year that I want to compare images from last season to see if this is the same guy. Unreal! Crawford and Upton were very good and have the speed to make up for other mistakes they might make. Right field was our problem child but Gabe Gross, Eric Hinske, Nathan Haynes (remember him?), Jonny Gomes (worst of all), Rocco and Fernando Perez did good enough to stay out of the conversation. Riggans did fine as a backup and Ben Zobrist was also good enough in learning new positions that he warranted to complaints. Willy Aybar was a godsend. He started the year at third and gave up his spot to Evan after getting injured. When he returned he helped fill the voids left by Pena and Longoria while they were injured (separately of course).
• The starting pitching: The pitchers improvement was made by maturation and the defense if you ask me. James Shields continued his development into an innings eating machine who we can count on every fifth day to give us a quality start. Kazmir started great after his injury and reverted back to the 5 inning 100 pitch nightmare we’ve gotten too used to. I still think he was pitching through injuries as his slider was gone and we saw hitters make better contact off of him than ever before. Matt Garza was better than advertised and he should improve as he gets his emotions under control. Sonny ate innings as we expected and showed the mental toughness of an ace. Edwin Jackson pitched better than anyone expected. I would like to see more strikeouts from a power arm like his, but it’s hard to complain about 14 wins. We also saw the arrival of David Price. Not much to say there except, hello king David! Now either Sonny or EJax has to give way to Price, one of those nice problems we’ve heard about but rarely seen here. We also saw Jeff Niemann, Mitch Talbot and Jason Hammel make starts. Hammel should be a starter, just not here. Niemann and Talbot could be swingmen or trade bait. We also were lucky here in that there were no major injuries and we basically saw the same five guys all year. That’s a great accomplishment for that reason and for the fact that all five guys performed well enough to stay in the rotation.
• The bullpen: The second most surprising turnaround to me. JP Howell went from prospect on the bubble to a dominating short inning reliever who has become invaluable to this team. I gotta admit, I didn’t see that one coming. Howell not only dominated lefty’s but he shut down righty’s as well. Dan Wheeler rebounded from his bad showing after getting him back from Houston last season and was very good at the setup and closer roles. Grant Balfour was unhittable after his early season demotion and Trevor Miller did enough to get by. Troy Percival was very good until his age and weight caught up with him and his career should be over now. Jason Hammel played the villain role as the mop up/long relief guy and was doing decent until the meltdown against the Yanks. Chad Braford was a nice late season acquisition who performed well in his first round with the team. We saw Juan Salas, Mitch Talbot, Scott Dohman and Kurt Birkins make appearances and we said goodbye to Gary Glover and Al Reyes (yay!). Again this historical improvement I attribute to maturing and the defense.
• The offense: The offense was average for the most part all year and did enough to win. Longoria should be rookie of the year, Pena performed as expected and Aki continued his transition into the leadoff role. We saw down seasons from Upton (until the playoffs) and Crawford, mostly due to injuries. We saw marked improvement from Navarro who finished with the highest batting average at .295 (not .300 though, sorry Cork) and Jason Bartlett. Both of these guys shut me up with authority and became two guys I really like having now. Aybar was awesome off the bench filling in when needed. Gross had some big hits that we didn’t count on out of him. Zobrist and Hinske were good for some bombs at the right times. Floyd was decent at the DH role. Gomes played his way back to the minors (hopefully out of town) and Riggans did what a backup catcher should do. This is the area of the team you could say disappointed and needs to be improved on in the off-season.

   Overall it was the best season we’ve had and looks to be the start of something very special here. These guys are young for the most part and are still learning. Much of the way Her Rays thinks now, maybe there’s something to the fact that this was my first year blogging, it was the first winning season in Rays history. I only hope that I can improve as much as these guys did. It was a season that was great for me as I said it was my first year doing this site, it was the first year my son really got into baseball and it has given us all a sense of excitement that we’ve never had here before. I’ve heard people telling me that they can’t wait for next year already, that’s never been said to me before! Thanks to everyone out there who supported me, especially Rays Index.  Great season guys!

Technorati Tags: Akinori Iwamura, Al Reyes, Andy Sonnanstine, Ben Zobrist, BJ Upton, Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, Chad Bradford, Cliff Floyd, Dan Wheeler, David Price, Eric Hinske, Evan Longoria, Fernando Perez, Gabe Gross, Gary Glover, Grant Balfour, J.P. Howell, James Shields, Jason Bartlett, Jason Hammel, Jeff Niemann, Jonny Gomes, Juan Salas, Kurt Birkins, Matt Garza, Mitch Talbot, Nathan Haynes, Rocco Baldelli, Scott Dohman, Scott Kazmir, Shawn Riggans, Tampa Bay Rays, Trevor Miller, Troy Percival, Willy Aybar

The Rays ended the madness tonight and got away with a 7-5 win to avoid being swept by the retirement home bandits. They had a big inning in the second in which they scored 5 runs on hits by Gross, Aki and Aybar and things looked back to normal on the mound and in the field. The crowds picked up the last two nights also with 25,000 plus at both games. It got scary but it worked out. Anyway, let’s get to it.

• Kazmir still isn’t right. He is slowly improving but there still appears to be something wrong with him. He threw 6 innings of one hit ball with five walks. That’s right, 5 freakin walks! I don’t know how he got away with it against the Yanks but he did. I can only hope that there’s nothing seriously wrong with him and it all is corrected by the time the playoffs roll around.
• I have given credit to Jason Hammel in the past for having the toughest job on the team. No more. That was completely embarrassing tonight to have to bring in your closer to finish off a game that you were winning 7-0 in the ninth. The role that Hammel fills is a thankless role, but c’mon, 5 runs in 2/3 on an inning?! What are you doing?!
• A-Rod is still useless when he’s needed. Just thought I’d throw that out there.
• I guess I need to lay off Melvin for now. The St. Pete Times broke the story today where Upton said he needs surgery after the season and that’s why he hasn’t been hitting any homeruns. Interperet that any way you want but I have a couple questions. If he’s not driving in runs and he’s looking to get on base for others, why is he not batting leadoff? I’ve been puzzled by this for a while and it only goes to prove the point even more. He draws walks, steals bases and has been downgraded to having warning track power. He’s obviously our best leadoff hitter so……….. My other question is toward Melvin. Haven’t you had this problem for some years now? He has apparently battled this shoulder thing since the minor league days at least, so why hasn’t this been addressed sooner? I tore my rotator cuff in high school so I know how bad a shoulder injury can hurt and if I had the resources I would’ve had surgery but we couldn’t afford it. You could afford it Melvin so what’s the excuse here?
• Last thing is to Barty and Whiskers. I dogged these guys hard early in the year, and with the bet with Rays Index looming, I want to give both of these guys credit. I looked at the stats when the game started and these two guys have the highest avg. of all the regulars on the team. Outstanding! Gotta give credit when it’s due.

Technorati Tags: Akinori Iwamura, Alex Rodriguez, BJ Upton, Dioner Navarro, Gabe Gross, Jason Bartlett, Jason Hammel, New York Yankees, Scott Kazmir, Tampa Bay Rays, Willy Aybar

I can’t bring myself to say that the Yankees win, so I say we lose. Apparently the Devil Rays have suited up again and the Yankees have found the fountain of juice. There were a ton of broken bat bloopers, bad infield play and just all around bad luck. I don’t feel Jackson pitched awful, he was more a victim of circumstance tonight. I’m not saying he was good, just that the Yanks were catching all the breaks. As much as I hate the Yankees, I’m not going to overreact to all this though. We’re still down a couple players, the pitching is going to have some bad outings and the defense can’t be stellar every night. We all have to remember how things have gone for us this year. Most of the year, with guys like Gabe Gross batting .230ish, we got hits at all the right times in all the right places. I don’t like any slump coming now, but it happens. So let’s all just chill.

Note time…

• No one should ever throw a fastball low and inside to Gabe Gross. That was an absolute bomb he hit. You couldn’t draw up a better pitch for him to hit and he gets his props for demolishing that ball!
• Melvin should pretend the bases are empty with runners on. I’m sure someone will throw some stupid stat at me here but it’s too obvious not to point out. Upton looked like he was afraid to swing last night as he continuously came up with runners on. Tonight he had the bases empty the entire night and was stroking shots all over. I hope he can put it together for the playoffs.
• The gods have come to smack us. I admit that I got a little cocky towards the Yanks when they came to town (as did all of us), and we all have been smacked down by the baseball gods. It’s a reality check at the right time.
• The umpires still suck. The ball the stat padder hit was fair, but he shouldn’t have been able to hit it. The pitch before was a strike and the ass-kissing Yankee umpires were at it again. Look, we were gonna lose anyway, so I’m not making excuses, but why do the Yanks and Red Sox players get rewarded so much for not swinging the bat?
• Jason Giambi is the ugliest juiced up porn start I’ve ever seen. I would rather watch Ron Jeremy hit.

Technorati Tags: Alex Rodriguez, BJ Upton, Edwin Jackson, Gabe Gross, Jason Giambi, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays

I know, I know, but you should all know by now that since my life is chaotic, my postings become chaotic. I’m trying to slow things down a little now but we’ll see how it goes. Anyway, the ancient relics in pinstripes came to town and took game one of the series 7-2. I heard their pathetic chants at the game and I’m sure they’ll have a whole lot to say tomorrow so I will only say one thing, wait til the series is over idiots! The stat padder in blowout games that is Gay-Rod, oops A-Rod, came out to play and the man who should be wearing a Rays uni hit a bomb to left. It was hard to watch and even harder to listen to. The Yanks may have the oldest, most over-rated and overpaid team in baseball but they still have the most annoying fans. These are fans who didn’t bother to show up to the game either. I also hate to sound like one of those people here too but did anyone else feel like Matt Garza was being screwed tonight? Talk about an erratic umpire!

Now some notes….

• Even though the Rays didn’t produce too much, it’s still nice to see Barty, Pena, Aybar and Hinske still swinging the bat well. These guys have been very good lately, especially Barty, Pena and Aybar. I don’t think you could ask much more from these guys. How bout that bomb by Barty on Sunday too? I gotta admit, I didn’t think he had it in him.
• Melvin still hasn’t realized that he has to SWING the bat in order to drive in runs. He obviously doesn’t want to swing Maddon, he only appears interested in drawing walks and acts like he’s allergic to runners on base. How bout a benching for striking out looking too much with runners on?
• Garza got screwed by a Yankees paid umpire. How much did Mussina and the Yanks pay you Brian Runge? We could offer up some cash if you’re for sale. Shake it off Matt.
• And I must get to the attendance. There are a ton of reasons people are saying that they don’t go to games ranging from location, the team history, lack of time, etc… The one reason I do buy into is the economy. There is no real reason not to go, but this economy is hurting us all. It’s killing me and I know I’m not the only one. I’ve been to 50+ games this year and the only reason I don’t go to more is the fact that I have no money! Tickets are cheap, but not every night. I expected a bigger turnout for the Yankees but I guess their fans are either broke or embarrassed. Either way, I do think the Rays will draw here.

Technorati Tags: Alex Rodriguez, BJ Upton, Brian Runge, Carlos Pena, Eric Hinske, Jason Bartlett, Joe Maddon, Matt Garza, Mike Mussina, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays, Willy Aybar, Xavier Nady

There are numerous reasons to think the Rays will or won’t make the playoffs. We know them all down here. I have watched and been a fan of this team since it’s inception and I, along with everyone else here, have been waiting for that breakout year like the Bucs or the Lightning had. The Rays compare more to the Bucs for me as I believe this is the first of many years of relevance. The Lightning had a more of a flash and dash type of thing and have struggled to remain a power since their Stanley Cup victory. The Bucs have been up and down since their Super Bowl run yet were “almost” there many times before. It’s hard to predict what the Rays will be. Here are some reasons to think they won’t make the playoffs.

• The Pink Sox will make a run as they’ve been there before and have the firepower to overcome mediocre pitching.
• The Rays have yet to really slump yet this year. Aside from the losing streak going into the all-star break, they haven’t stumbled over themselves too much.
• Injuries have started to hit at the wrong time. Crawford, Longoria and Percival are down and the only one of those three I would really count on contributing down the stretch would be Longo.
• They have the toughest schedule in baseball in September with a horrific 9 game road trip going to Toronto, Boston and New York. They follow that up with Boston and Minnesota at home. Pretty scary!

Now for some reasons to think they will make the big show.

• They seem to win games that make no sense. They win with timely hits, quality pitching and great defense. Not that that doesn’t make sense but there are no guys putting up superstar like numbers and it’s a different guy every night getting it done. We’ve had clutch hits from reserve players like Aybar, Gross and Riggans. How can you count on that?
• They are winning without Longoria, Crawford and Percival. In this same note they’re winning while not getting the production they thought they would from guys like Upton, Crawford and Pena. Pena and Upton have been better lately along with Floyd and Hinske and you could argue that they all might get hot down the stretch. It also appears that Kazmir may be shaking off his recent struggles so that helps.
• They have a large enough lead at this point that they should at least get a wild card.

Let’s throw all that crap aside now and point out the number one reason that we should know that the Rays will make it to the playoffs. Skip Bayless has jumped off the bandwagon. That’s right, with this genius finally jumping off the Rays train we can all rest comfortably. This is the guy who picks against everything sane and goes with the most outrageous predictions he can find. I find Bayless entertaining and I’m sure part of his agenda is meant to be over the top, but if he picks against you then you are destined for great things. I will now prematurely congratulate the Rays on their playoff birth based on this alone!

Technorati Tags: BJ Upton, Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, Cliff Floyd, Eric Hinske, Evan Longoria, Gabe Gross, Scott Kazmir, Shawn Riggans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Tampa Bay Rays, Troy Percival, Willy Aybar

   F*#K BJ Upton! I don’t care if BJ would have made that play, we all know he would have. HE took himself out of that ball game and Garza should whoop his ass for it. I’m extremely proud of Papa Joe right now as he is taking a stance against the super ass known as BJ Upton. I know I’ve been sick of watching him for a while and I dogged Maddon and company for not doing something about it sooner. I’m proud of Joe for doing something about it now. With all the talk around the deadline about “team chemistry” and the main reason behind no one wanting Barry Bonds here being the solid clubhouse atmosphere I would personally love to see a backdoor clubhouse ass-whoopin’ given to Upton’s punk ass! He struts around as if he’s the greatest player in the game and isn’t putting up the numbers or the effort to do so. I agree with all the BJ defenders in saying that he would’ve made that play in CF that Ruggiano botched, but I’m still happy to see his ass riding the pine. I fully expect Joe Maddon to sit his ass tomorrow also and I wouldn’t be surprised to hear the “why are they singling me out?” rhetoric out of the punk asses mouth now too. It’s you and your attitude BJ, nothing else, so shut up before you start!

Technorati Tags: Barry Bonds, BJ Upton, Joe Maddon, Justin Ruggiano, Matt Garza, Tampa Bay Rays

   I seem to have hit a nerve with my recent rant on BJ Upton. I find this funny because I rip everyone and people only seem to care about a select few when I do. That makes me laugh. Anyway, the biggest problem I have with Upton, isn’t Upton. You follow? As I pointed out before, Upton is a new wave athlete like pretty much everyone else and it’s got to be difficult for someone like Joe Maddon, who’s been around the game for so long, to deal with these guys. There still has to be an accountability factor involved with everything you preach. To Maddon and Upton’s credit, there has been a benching and public discussion of what I bitched about before and it was handled well by both of them. I give credit to both of them for this. What I have a problem with now is the defense being brought up about Upton and his play. Maddon obviously saw it and finally did something, so my bitching wasn’t unforeseen. I have read some stuff from some other sites that point out Upton’s OBP and his K’s going down and what not, but that is pointing out the problem more than defending him. Again, the problem is with Upton’s attitude and the management of his performance, not his actual performance. First, if you’re going to rip guys like Aki for not running balls out, you have to do it to Upton too. Props Joe Maddon, you finally did it. Now, if a guy is going to have a high OBP, lots of stolen bases and a seeming unwillingness to swing with runners on base, should he be batting third? No, how bout leadoff? Upton is our best LEADOFF hitter and is batting second now (after batting third most of the year) and it took way too long for a change to be made. I piss people off for ripping guys and being too negative, but I’m trying to see things in the big picture. Isn’t the goal to put guys in the best position possible for them to succeed? They are STILL winning in spite of this. Let me stay on Upton now. Upton has the talent to be one of the best players in the game and this is what makes me so upset. Let’s try to compare like this. I like Longoria because he’s trying to maximize his talent. He strikes out too much and can look like a little leaguer at the plate sometimes, but he’s playing the game to his strength. Upton isn’t. We saw the type of power and run producing ability Upton has last year, yet he seems to worry more about getting on base more than driving in runs. Why? This is my biggest problem with him. I call him a punk because people I know that spend time around him say he is, beside the fact that he whines when an umpire calls strikes on him (which what makes me want to fight someone like Kevin Youklis). I am frustrated because he hasn’t improved on what he did last year. He was counted on to be a run producing number three hitter and has evolved into a leadoff hitter (and isn’t batting leadoff Maddon!). Try to understand what I’m saying here within my endless thoughts being poured out, I don’t hate Upton, I hate that he’s not becoming what he should be. He should be evolving into someone like Hanley Ramirez and he’s not. Back to slurping down Captain Morgan now!

Scott Brannelly

Technorati Tags: Akinori Iwamura, BJ Upton, Evan Longoria, Hanley Ramirez, Joe Maddon, Kevin Youklis, Tampa Bay Rays

   I’m going to ramble a little more here but I’ll try to make it quick. The first thing up is about the new commercial from Major League Baseball about the postseason. I was watching the new promo about October and it really shocked me when I saw the Rays in there. Has anyone else seen this? I’m a firm believer in the Rays making the post-season, but I was completely shocked when I saw that MLB actually put them in the commercial. Crazy! Anyway, I want to do something here. I have been getting picked on a lot by readers, friends and other people who say I’m too negative. Everyone is telling me that I find too much to bitch about with the Rays doing so good. Maybe, but who wants to read “the Rays are great” everyday, especially when we all know they still have some problems. That being said, I know I do focus on negatives and I know where I get it. My dad. I love my Dad, but he always pointed out the negatives and never emphasized the positives. Most of that was because my Mother never said anything negative. I remember when I was 12 years old I had one of the greatest games of my young life. I pitched a shutout and went 3 for 4 (I sucked as a hitter too) and after the game everyone praised what a great job I did. My Dad came up to me and said “good game, what happened in that other at-bat?”. There it is. I love him for it though. Anyway, since we’ve established all this, I want to praise a couple guys on the Rays. First is Grant Balfour. I think we all can agree that he’s a different pitcher since coming back from Durham. He’s been lights out, and he’s doing it in any situation. Maddon uses him as a closer, setup man, long reliever, whatever, and he comes in and does the same thing every time. He throws angry and has the kind of attitude that we all love to see. He’s an animal out there. The other guy I want to praise I’ll probably get tore up for. Jason Hammel. That’s right, Jason Hammel. He is obviously not the best pitcher on the staff, but he does what’s asked and shuts up. He won’t pitch for two weeks and then get tossed in a game that we’re losing 12-0 or something and have to eat innings. He is a yes man in a league full of “screw you coach” athletes. He is a guy that’s still developing and isn’t allowed to develop. He is a guy that is built to be a starter, yet he’s a reliever. All the while he does what he’s told and shuts the F up about it. I hate guys like Gomes and Upton because they make excuses and they bitch about crap. Hammel never says a word while being thrown into situations where it’s impossible to succeed. I’m not saying he’s great, hell not even good, I’m just saying that he’s one of the few athletes on the planet that goes out and does what he’s told. He doesn’t bitch, doesn’t make excuses, he just pitches when he’s told to the best that he can. That’s a real man for you. If nobody else ever says it, I appreciate you Jason Hammel.

Scott Brannelly

Technorati Tags: BJ Upton, Durham Bulls, Jason Hammel, Joe Maddon, Jonny Gomes, Tampa Bay Rays

   I heard all in about an hour today that the Rays were offering Carlos Pena in a deal to the Braves for 1B Mark Teixeira and it quickly died. The Angels ended up nabbing Tex for Casey Kotchman and minor league pitcher Stephen Marek. It looks like one of those good for both sides deals there. I also heard something else today. My scout buddy told me that the Rays were discussing BJ Upton in trades talks. I don’t know whether they’re shopping him or what but that’s what he told me. I have know way to check this out so it’s totally unsubstantiated, but it’s out there. I wouldn’t be shocked to see the Rays move Upton in the off season but I would be if they did now. I don’t see it happening, but anything’s possible. Gotta go watch the game now.

Scott Brannelly

Source: Keith Law

Technorati Tags: BJ Upton, Carlos Pena, Casey Kotchman, Mark Teixeira, Stephen Marek

   I have to take a minute and get on B.J. Upton since no one else seems to want to. I’m completely sick of hearing the excuses being made for Upton by people saying he’s an “effortless athlete”. Let’s clear this up now. He is a very smooth athlete who CAN do things other can’t in a effortless manner. The problem is he is more of an athlete with no effort. I’m sick of watching him dog it down to first, make bonehead decisions and loaf after balls in the gap. More so though, I’m sick of no one doing anything about it. Grow a pair Maddon! The coddling of this whiny ass in CF has gotten out of control. We’re already in a situation where the Rays have no real candidate to play center and yank this jerk out of the lineup when he does this crap, but no one seems to want to let him know about it. Why did we sign Cliff Floyd again? Oh that’s right, as a “mentor” to our young players like Upton and Crawford. Do something Cliff! It’s so aggravating because B.J. IS so talented. This is what made me lose it in last night’s game. In the first inning Upton hit a ball up the middle to second and the second baseman Mark Grudzielanek couldn’t make the out at second and threw to first to get B.J. If Upton had ran hard down the line, like you’re taught to do, he would have easily beaten this out. This really got to me a couple innings later  when Grudzielanek made a throwing error to second and B.J. made a very heads up play and went to third. He showed on this play how freakin fast he is when he RUNS! There are only a handful of guys in the league that could’ve made it to third on that play, and Upton is one of them. I know that athletes are Prima Donna’s now and it’s hard to get in their face about this stuff but at least try. It’s a shitty thing to see a talented guy like Upton let his whiny punk ass attitude get in the way of his progress. This is why I would like to see a guy like Ruggiano or Fernando Perez on the big league club so there is someone you can put out there when you need to check this guy. This needs to stop. Grow some balls Rays and discipline this guy when he needs it!

Scott Brannelly

Technorati Tags: BJ Upton, Carl Crawford, Cliff Floyd, Fernando Perez, Joe Maddon, Justin Ruggiano, Mark Grudzielanek, Tampa Bay Rays

   Listening to Ron and Ian today they did an interview with Joe Maddon which was pretty good. The only thing Maddon said that I don’t agree with is that BJ Upton hustles “all the time” and that he never has mental lapses. Are you kidding me? Does he think we all listen to the games on the radio and never watch them? I’m glad he thinks we are so stupid. I don’t expect him to bash BJ or anything but don’t tell me that what I SEE isn’t true. Anyway, they reported on the radio that Maddon and Friedman had a 45 minute closed door session after the game. God I hope it’s discussing trad possibilities! I can’t watch Gomes anymore, I change the channel or look away at the games now when he hits. It is the ugliest spectacle I’ve ever seen. And Carlos Pena’s and Carl Crawford’s at-bats are almost as unbearable now too. It seems that everyone on the team is capable of at least one hideous at-bat every game and something needs to be done. I would love to see Nady here but I continue to hear that the asking price is too high. There isn’t alot out there to be had but I would like see the Rays take a chance and mortgage some of the future for it. The Yanks are down a little but that won’t last long. Boston is setup for a long run of success with a nice mix of young and veteran talent. This is our shot! Who knows how healthy this team will be next year? If a Holliday could be had for anything other than David price, do it! He could be a key in the middle that could put us over the top this year and maybe next before he walks. If, as reported, Jeff Niemann is holding up a Nady deal then someone should be shot in the Rays front office! I have to think that even Joe Maddon is rooting for an upgrade at this point. Team chemistry only goes so far before things need to change. Oh, to ramble a little more which is off the subject and something I never thought I would say, I MISS JASON BARTLETT! The rock that he’s become in the middle of this infield is astounding to me and I hate watching Benny Boo Boo (hat tip to Rays Index on that name)! Hopefully a deal gets done for a hitter or I think it will be the start of the downfall! By the way, what the hell is Crawford hitting third for now?! Hasn’t the Fat Catcher earned a shot in the three hole by now? Oh well, back to work.

Scott Brannelly

Technorati Tags: Andrew Friedman, Ben Zobrist, BJ Upton, Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, David Price, Dioner Navarro, Jason Bartlett, Jeff Niemann, Joe Maddon, Jonny Gomes, Matt Holliday, Rays Index, Tampa Bay Rays, The Fat Catcher, Xavier Nady

   Yes I am as excited as anyone out there that the Rays are in first. Now this means a few things to me and my few readers out there. First thing is that this series will be intense on the field and in the stands. Going to these games means I will be dealing with all these annoying Sox fans and if the shit goes down on the field, we could be brawling in the stands as well. Anyone ready to post bail for me? My son going to his mother’s for the week doesn’t help either, more free time more to drink is bad news! It should be fun though and I’ll try to keep my cool here. Now all that leads to the fact that my posts will be few and far between over the next few days. I’ll be taking my camera with me to these games so I’ll try to have some cool pics when the series is done. Good times. Now, on to my bitch fest. First thing is regarding something I saw over at DRays Bay. In a quick reference on Saturday’s game I saw something about B.J. Upton being moved into the leadoff spot, which I like by the way, and then there was this statement. “But he’s not a team leader or anything like that, nope.” Are they inferring that this guy IS a team leader? God I hope not. I try not to dog Upton too much because he is young and still developing, but if he’s a team leader there is a problem. I’ve got a friend who’s a coach in the area and is in close with some coaches and scouts for the Rays and he tells me that Upton is a straight up punk. You can see it in his game too. He lacks hustle and just has that look about him. Like I said, I’m not going after him too much because he’s young and has a lot of growing up to do, hell I was a punk too so I get it. I’ll let that go now as it’s not a big deal, it just rubbed me the wrong way. Now on to the real problem. Jonny Gomes. I know I’m about to rip this guy on the heels of him hitting a pinch hit homer last night but I don’t give a shit. He is the most useless player on this team and needs to be gone. I’ve heard fans saying that they like him because he’s an “enforcer” on the roster. What?! It’s not freakin Hockey, it’s Baseball. I don’t see any Red Sox or Yankees players shivering in fear over the fact that Gomes is sitting in the dugout, do you? I also don’t see a need to keep this guy on the team when a guy like Justin Ruggiano has performed better at this level this year and should be sharing time with Gross and Hinske in RF. Gomes is not helping this team and it’s about time the fans started to see that. I know the first thing out of everyone’s mouth is, hey he hit a homer last night that HELPED. True, but what about all the other at bats he’s had where he strikes out or pops out weakly. I actually get queasy when I hear the fans cheering for this guy at the games. What is it about him that you’re cheering? The music? The Pro Wrestler look? The ugly swing? What is it? I don’t get this at all. Please Rays, remove Mr. Gomes from our sight, he serves no purpose at ALL!

Scott Brannelly

Source: DRays Bay

Technorati Tags: BJ Upton, Eric Hinske, Gabe Gross, Jonny Gomes, Justin Ruggiano, Tampa Bay Rays

   This series with the Cubs has been the most fun to watch of any of the series this year. The Rays have showcased over the last couple days how far they’ve come. They hit Carlos Zambrano, which I didn’t expect them to do, and they have played phenomenal defense. All the stars are aligned for this team, especially at home, and we should be looking at a legitimate shot at a 90 win season. This is all due to the defense in my opinion. The ‘D’ has helped improve the pitching staff to the point that teams are trying to BUNT with 2 outs in the ninth in order to try and push a run across. I’ve never been more excited to be a Rays fan. All that being said I would like two things today in the series finally. PLEASE GIVE TROY PERCIVAL THE NIGHT OFF! I know that I can’t take another night like the last two. I’m not picking on Troy, I love the way he pitches, my heart can’t take all these games that go down to the wire. So either the bats need to blow them away or Shields needs to throw a complete game shutout. I know I shouldn’t drink and smoke but this has been brutal, especially with the idiot Cub fans in the stands. Second thing is with Mr. B.J. Upton. Please for the love of god do something to make us think you’re playing hard! I know he’s one of those ‘fluid type’ athletes that make things look easy but it appears to me that he is hot dogging it way too much. When I watch him play it looks like he tries to “look cool” more than play hard. He doesn’t run out balls the way EVERY OTHER PLAYER DOES and he just looks too lethargic in the way he does everything. Show some hustle B.J.! I do want to take a minute to inform everyone of an official name change. I vowed some time ago that I would never refer to TFC by his given name, but over the course of the season he has shown me something that makes me not want to be so harsh with him. I will now adopt Ron and Ian’s nickname of whiskers. Henceforth TFC will now be referred to as “Whiskers”. I would say some positive things about him now, but I’ll hold off for a while just in case I lose my bet with Rays Index. Good times! Hope to see you all out there tonight. Oh, and since I mentioned Rays Index, I saw that The Professor cancelled his trip to the Trop this week due to personal matters. I just want to say I hope all is well with Cork and his wife and this is nothing overly serious. Best wishes to you Mr. and Mrs. Professor!

Scott Brannelly

References: Rays Index

Technorati Tags: BJ Upton, Dioner Navarro, Tampa Bay Rays, Troy Percival

  If you watched the game last night you saw the confrontation between Manager Joe Maddon and Coco Crisp. Coco tried to steal second in the eighth inning of a 5-1 game and slid late and hard into Akinori Iwamura while being tagged out. It was a blatant cheap shot attempt and Joe Maddon had plenty to say to Crisp when he went out to the mound to replace Jason Hammel. They shouted at each other and eventually stared each other down from the dugout. I love the fact that Maddon is defending his players but I think it’s high time that Aki stopped letting everyone fight his battles for him. Crisp says he was mad at an earlier play in which he says Jason Bartlett blocked the bag at which point he said he told Bartlett to watch out. He then retaliates against Aki while trying to steal in the eighth? This is the second time Aki has been involved with dirty tactics at second and he has not even come close to defending himself. This time it was Maddon, the first time it was Jonny Gomes coming in from right field. I’m all for keeping your composure and what not, but a man needs to be a man! I like Aki and think he’s doing a great job at second, but he looks like a little boy waiting for his big brother to step in out there. He should’ve pummeled Shelley Duncan the first time and he should’ve done it to Crisp as well. In my old age I have learned to walk away from a fight, but I will never let someone treat me like a bitch! It makes me wonder about Aki’s toughness when he just allows people to do this. We saw both ends of the spectrum last night. Aki walked away without saying a word again and B.J. Upton cried like a little bitch after striking out looking for the 400th time this year. Both are wrong and both look bad. Upton needs to shut up and swing. Aki needs to stand up for himself. I’ve always said “if you’re afraid to fight but will, that’s normal. If you won’t fight because you’re afraid, you’re a bitch”. Have some backbone and stand up for yourself Aki! The video here is courtesy of David Chalk at Bugs and Cranks, it was brought to my attention by Rays Index. 

   The other thing that bothers me about this is that the Announcers, Fans, Coaches, Players, Bugs, Birds and everyone else expects the pitcher to hit him today. Our pitcher is Shields today and he gives us the biggest chance not to get swept. He could hit Crisp and could get ejected, not good. Then the Sox win again! Let’s wait to retaliate and how bout Aki stands up for himself now!

Scott Brannelly

Sources: Rays Index, Bugs and Cranks

Technorati Tags: Akinori Iwamura, BJ Upton, Jason Bartlett, Joe Maddon, Jonny Gomes, Tampa Bay Rays

   The series in Boston is pretty much going the way I thought it would. I’m not silly enough to think the Rays can go to Boston and sneak out with another series win. I figured they would drop the first two and grab the third behind James Shields. This isn’t being brought up because of the two losses, I’ve been meaning to bring this up for a while now. The Rays bats are not very good right now. Aki has picked it up over the last month, TFC and Bartlett are doing better. The problem is the middle of the order. Upton is still taking too many strikes and isn’t hitting for any power. Watching him at this point he looks to be a better leadoff hitter than number three hitter. Pena has struggled and is now hurt. Longoria hasn’t burst on the scene like we all anticipated. Looking at the lineup from top to bottom there is absolutely no one that would scare any pitcher out there. The Rays need to make a move to get a legit middle of the order hitter. To take it a step further in my little fantasy here, I want an elite type hitter. I saw a ridiculous rumor a week or two ago that had the Rays trading David Price among others to the Cards for Albert Pujols. I would do that in a heartbeat. I’m all about developing from within, maintaining a strong farm system and all that but why chase potential when a front line hitter like that may be available. I’m sure that rumor was bogus so don’t take it as me saying the Rays should get Pujols, I’m just saying it’s time to start looking at things a little different. If guys like Matt Holliday, Albert Pujols or Magglio Ordonez become available at a steep price I personally would rather see the Rays go for a more “win now” approach. Now understand, I’m not saying they should try to be the Yankees, they should try to be the Red Sox. Look at it like this, the Sox are a great team because the have Ramirez/Ortiz in the middle. They won without Beckett, Lowell, etc… (although Varitek aint hurtin’ them either). I think Longoria will eventually develop into a great middle order guy, Upton should hopefully find his power stroke again but what else is coming in the way of hitters, Ryan Royster? The Rays lack power throughout the organization and should move some of this pitching depth to get a feared hitter. The Rays originally had a plan to win more toward the ‘09 or ‘10 seasons but things have changed fellas. There should be more of a rush now because pitching is so volatile. Will Shields and Kaz be healthy next year? This seems to be the year that you want to start planning on. With Kazmir and Shields pitching well, Garza improving, a solid bullpen and David Price storming towards the bigs it’s time to start hunting. Here’s my logic. If you trade some guys like Wade Davis, Jake McGee, Jeff Niemann and Fernando Perez it would definitely hurt your minor league system, but you would get a big time bat or two back and that makes you Major League club better right now and for the next year or two after. During that time you can replenish your farm system through the draft and what not. You also still have guys like Mitch Talbot, Jeremy Hellickson, Desmond Jennings, Heath Rollins and Chris Mason down there. You have depth and it’s time to use it! We can’t continue to put this much pressure on the pitching staff and defense. This is why I was for Bonds over Floyd. Say what you want about Bonds, he is feared as a hitter every day he walks and that makes everyone better. Floyd is no Bonds and will probably not stay healthy for half of the teams games this year. Make a move for the sake of winning now please!

Scott Brannelly

Technorati Tags: Akinori Iwamura, Barry Bonds, BJ Upton, Carlos Pena, Chris Mason, Cliff Floyd, David Price, Desmond Jennings, Evan Longoria, Fernando Perez, Heath Rollins, Jake McGee, James Shields, Jason Bartlett, Jeff Niemann, Jeremy Hellickson, Matt Garza, Mitch Talbot, Ryan Royster, Scott Kazmir, Tampa Bay Rays, TFC, Wade Davis