3/10/10 GDT: Tampa Bay Rays @ Boston Red Sox
by Tommy Rancel on Mar 10, 2010 11:00 AM EST
11 comments
The Brian Shouse Battle
When: 1:05
Where: City of Palms Park, Ft. Myers
TV/Radio/Web: Raysbaseball.com
Pitching Probables:
RAYS -LH David Price, RH Joaquin Benoit, RH Richard De Los Santos, LH Heath Phillips, RH Dale Thayer, RH Grant Balfour
RED SOX -LH Jon Lester, LH Brian Shouse, RH Manny Delcarmen, RH Jonathan Papelbon
Price, Benoit, Balfour.
11 comments | 0 recs
Floating Realignment
by Erik Hahmann on Mar 10, 2010 6:00 AM EST
141 comments
Major League Baseball isn't an organization that is known for its willingness to change.
That's what makes this story by Sport Illustrated's Tom Verducci so surprising. Apparently , Bud Selig named a "special committee for on-field matters" that is made up of 14 people - current managers and executives was all the information we are given - whose job it is to brainstorm and come up with new ideas to help improve the game as a whole. Their first idea is sure to stir more than a few feathers around baseball:
The committee already has made good on Selig's promise by discussing a radical form of "floating" realignment in which teams would not be fixed to a division, but free to change divisions from year-to-year based on geography, payroll and their plans to contend or not
Realignment is something that most Rays fans have been talking about for years, though assuredly not to this degree. This idea is nearly one hundred percent centered around the dominance of the Red Sox and Yankees, as there's no National League equivalent. Here is one example of how this "floating" realignment would work:
Cleveland, which is rebuilding with a reduced payroll, could opt to leave the AL Central to play in the AL East. The Indians would benefit from an unbalanced schedule that would give them a total of 18 lucrative home dates against the Yankees and Red Sox instead of their current eight. A small or mid-market contender, such as Tampa Bay or Baltimore, could move to the AL Central to get a better crack at postseason play instead of continually fighting against the mega-payrolls of New York and Boston.
That all sounds fine in theory, but there's obvious problems that would need to be fixed with such a system. Some of them being:
-What if two teams from the same division want to move and there is only one available space?
-The piece indicates that no team could join a division more than two timezones outside of its own. That would seem to greatly benefit teams in the Central divisions, seeing as how they could move to the East or West while a team like the Rays gets handcuffed by being on the East Coast.
-If I'm a team like the Yankees or Red Sox from a few years ago and I see that the Devil Rays or Orioles want to leave the division, I wouldn't be too happy about those easy wins walking out the door.
Of course this is all speculation, an idea that is fun to talk about while the first week of Spring Training unfolds. Personally, I think there would be too many obstacles facing an idea of this magnitude. But what about you? I'm interested to hear everyone's opinions.
141 comments | 0 recs
MaddonSpeak: Who is Joe Talking About?
by FreeZorilla on Mar 9, 2010 9:21 PM EST
17 comments
Manager Joe Maddon usually makes for a fun quirky interview. Spring training usually offers a wonderful array of cliches. Put them together and you have the first edition of MaddonSpeak. Below are 5 quotes regarding players in Rays camp. See if you can identify who the skipper is referring to. Answers in the morning:
1. "It's how he goes about his business. His work is so good, and the players can see that, everybody else can see that, the coaches can see that. If you were able to sit in on the meeting that we had with him … he's very impressive … conversationally and with his actions."
2. "We've had so many mini-conversations about him, because athletically, he's everything you're looking for. On top of that, he's a switch-hitter and he's got power, and he's playing all these positions."
3."I've really kind of enjoyed watching him. He's actually kind of funny in a very quiet way. He's got a lot of selfconfidence. Yeah, I'm really eager to see him."
4. "I think he can be a very significant contributor offensively. It's up to him, as we move this thing along and he gets more playing time. He definitely has the abilities. The physical abilities are really high-end offensively. Easy swing, a good disciplined strikezone, the ball comes off the bat hot, he uses the whole field. He's got all of that going on."
5."He just has a good feel for this game, he sees things, he makes reads, his mind is in advance of the situation automatically. That's what I'm really impressed about...He does not waste any moments out there, he doesn't turn it off for like 10 seconds and try to turn it back on. He knew exactly what he wanted to do at every moment at second base yesterday. We work hard to teach guys that, but he already knows how to do this...I think what you saw, what he is, is pretty much innate."
I assume those who scored 100% religiously follow the beat writers or are certfied Masters of the Googleverse.
Answers:
1.Sean Rodriguez - truly could have been anyone
2. Seems to describe Zobrist to a tee, except those would ne mega-conversations rather than mini. The correct answer is that Elliot Johnson is everything that you are looking for athletically.
3. Hellickson- though Jennings or Rodriguez seemingly would have worked
4. Joyce- Hot bat, discipline and playing time made this the easiest of the five.
5. Deezy - 2nd base refers to baserunning.
17 comments | 0 recs |
Rays Win Beat Orioles 8-3; Ride Six Game Win Streak
by Tommy Rancel on Mar 9, 2010 4:17 PM EST
19 comments
If only these games really counted...
Despite the heavy dose of American League East games, the Rays just keep on winning. The boys defeated ALE rival, Baltimore 8-3 this afternoon, and own a six game winning streak. It may not mean anything come April 6th, but winning is always good for moral.
Jeff NIemann became the first Rays pitcher to toss four innings this spring. The Big NyQuil allowed a home run and a single over his four innings while striking out two batters. NIemann did a fine job of getting ground balls with a 7:3 groundball to flyball ratio.
Jeremy Hellickson made another appearance and did not disappoint. Of course, it toward the end of the game against players wearing jersey numbers in the mid-sixties, but Hellickson faced four batters and struck out all four. His ticket to Durham is all but punched, however, the young righty has only added to his preseason hype.
Offensively, Sean Rodriguez added another extra-base hit (double) and stole a bag. Carl Crawford also stole a base while Evan Longoria drove in two runs. Reid Brignac, Rodriguez' main competition, continues to impress, and is swinging the bat like he's in back in the California League.
On to the next one...
19 comments | 0 recs |
3/9/10 GDT: Tampa Bay Rays @ Baltimore Orioles
by Tommy Rancel on Mar 9, 2010 11:00 AM EST
580 comments
Back to the American League East...
When: 1:05
Where: Ed Smith Stadium, Sarasota
TV/Radio/Web: None
Pitching Probables:
RAYS- RH Jeff Niemann, RH Jeremy Hellickson, LH Carlos Hernandez, LH Randy Choate
ORIOLES- RH Chris Tillman, RH Cla Meredith, RH Dennis Sarfate, LH Alberto Castillo
Lineup: Sean Rodriguez SS, Carl Crawford LF, Evan Longoria 3B, Carlos Pena 1B, B.J. Upton DH, Matt Joyce RF, Dioner Navarro C, Reid Brignac, Fernando Perez CF
Unfortunately, the Jeremy Hellickson revolution will not be televised.
580 comments | 0 recs
Rafael Soriano To Make Cameo Appearances This Spring
by Tommy Rancel on Mar 9, 2010 7:00 AM EST
35 comments
One of the best things about spring training is getting an up-close preview of new players. So far we've seen Sean Rodriguez and Kelly Shoppach mashing the baseball like we all hoped. We've also enjoyed seeing new closer Rafael Soriano and his dominating fastball...or not.
For those with hopes of seeing Soriano in a Rays uniform before opening day, you better not blink because you might miss him. See, Soriano is a bit of a different cat, and that means this thing called "spring training" is not the same for him. Instead of getting normal game work every few days, Soriano will make seven apperances this spring with each appearance lasting exactly one innings.
Knowing that his new toy is a creature of habit, Joe Maddon plans on letting Soriano do exactly what he wants.
"Conversationally, I felt like he really does understand what he needs to do [to get ready for the season]," Maddon said. "I'm trusting him right now. And really, he's very upbeat. A late-inning guy like that, seven appearances should be good. --Raysbaseball.com
35 comments | 0 recs |
Tampa Bay Rays Sign Hank Blalock To Minor-League Deal
by Tommy Rancel on Mar 8, 2010 9:35 PM EST
210 comments
As expected, the Rays and Hank Blalock agreed on a minor league deal. Jon Heyman reports the deal is worth $925k with an additional $400k $325k in incentives. I got word around 9pm tonight that things were nearly done, and less than an hour later here we are.
Like some other major league veterans, I'm expecting there to be some language in the contract that would allow him to be come a free agent if he's not on the major league roster by a certain date, if not opening day.
210 comments | 0 recs |
DRB First Annual Fantasy Baseball Keeper League (poll added)
by rglass44 on Mar 8, 2010 7:48 PM EST
49 comments
Good evening. I have great news. In our last fantasy discussion I offered two possibilities for the fantasy league I was creating. Well, after Andy's cryptic message, we've followed through and we're getting to use CBSSports.com's great Commisioner League tool for free. I was stoked to find out that SBN and CBSSports.com we're considering a partnership that netted us not only one free league, but any league started through DRB only has to pay half the league fees ($90). As I said in my previous post, this is the best tool I've used for fantasy baseball, and I'm pretty psyched to run a league using them as opposed to just playing in one.
Here are the details of their product (give you an idea of some of the great aspects of this league):
Customize entire league the way you want...rules, scores, teams + more
LIVE scoring & stats so you can follow along as your teams rack up points
Keeper league capability to carry on the tradition for many seasons to come
Expert analysis provides up-to-date information on all players & teams
Live chat/league messenger to trash talk with your competition
This comes with any league created through the link for half-price as well.
OK. I've sung the praises of the product enough, now let's talk about the actual league.
49 comments | 10 recs
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