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Around SBN: Hugh Douglas Admits To Stealing From Jaguars

ok, i admit to being a bandwaggoner, but hear me out...


I admit it. I started following the Rays when they made it to the World Series. But in my defense, it was the first season that I had really paid attention to the day-to-day happenings in baseball. I had been a Mets fan for years, but hadn't really been paying attention. I had started to watch games regularly and getting daily updates during the 2008 season. I rooted for the Rays in the World Series, not just because they were going up against the Evil Empire of the NL aka the Phillies, but mostly because they took out the Evil Empire of the AL aka the Yankees, and the Red Sox to get there. And, of course, I had to check out the Woonsocket Rocket aka Rocco Baldelli.

I saw Matt Garza (my favorite Rays pitcher) own the Red Sox and win ALCS MVP. I remember being introduced to Grant Balfour, which was an experience since I have a thing for Aussies--well, Australian accents, insert Ryan Rowland-Smith here. I remember rooting for JP Howell, another fave cog from the bullpen. I remember seeing Aki record the final out. David Price will go down in infamy for celebrating his save.

Star-divide

I know the Rays were ahead of schedule by making it to the World Series in 2008, their first winning season. EVER! But I enjoyed hearing about it, even though I didn't see it firsthand. 2009 was supposed to be a redo. It didn't turn out that way, but I still liked watching the 2009 Tampa Bay Rays. Some of the highlights of the season?

Carl Crawford going off to the races against the Red Sox. My sister and I love to refer to that game against the Red Sox when Evan Longoria helped us tie the game with a homerun in the bottom of the 8th inning and then won it with a walkoff 2-run homerun in the 13th inning because 'he had had enough off this!' (it's a reference to a Bill Cosby skit). Ben Zobrist flipping into the stands. Carlos Pena flipping into the dugout. Twice. Almost anything dealing with Carlos Pena or Jason Bartlett or Benzo/Zorilla. BJ Upton's cycle. The gems tossed by Jeff Niemann prompting other bloggers to refer to him as the Robot Gort, and it stuck (it's a BLS article). I saw Wade Davis pitch during Spring Training and I was biding my time until September when I knew he'd be called up. He was good in his first start against the Tigers. He got touched in his second start against the Red Sox. But he was brilliant in his third start against the Black Birds, with his complete game 4-hit shutout.

My favorite games of the year have to be the games that we played against Doc Halladay. It amazes me that Doc Halladay is arguably one of the best starters in baseball and yet routinely, particularly this year, we beat him, and not usually by a slim margin. Let's start with the less impressive one. Rookie Gort gets his 12th win, handing Doc Halladay his 7th loss in a 12-7 game against the Blue Jays. Doc went 6 innings, giving up 12 hits. Gort also went 6 innings, giving up 8 hits. But then there was my favorite game of the year. Matt Garza going toe to toe with Doc Halladay in Toronto. Both throwing 9 innings. Both giving up 2 runs. Doc walking 3, Matt walking none. Doc striking out 10, Matt striking out 8. It was a thing of beauty! What made it even better? Matt won it. JP saved it.

Honorary mention goes to Andy Sonnanstine. I know he had a hard year this year. And I wish him the best, whether its in our rotation or in our bullpen. I'll address my preference in a later post. However, my favorite 2009 Andy Memory has to be the lineup snafu forcing him to bat for himself. It is my fave memory because when he stepped into that batter's box, he owned that batter's box. He's an AL pitcher. He has no business knowing how to bat. I've seen NL pitchers less confident, and they do it regularly. It cracked me up everytime Crazy Joe had Andy pinch-hit, but those are memories I wouldn't trade for anything.

Once again expectations are high for the Rays. Once again I look forward to seeing the Rays play. I saw them play the Mets in New York in June. That was fun because I rooted for both teams, switching jerseys and hats multiple times during the game. This year my sister and I are trying to head up to Minnesota to see the Rays play the Twins during my birthday weekend. We'll see how that goes...

This post was written by a member of the DRaysBay community and does not necessarily express the views or opinions of DRaysBay staff.

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Welcome

Glad to see a fan that remembers all the great moments and not just that we didn’t win the World Series. The journey is a hell of a lot more fun than the destination, for me.

Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone; but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery.

by Andy Hellicksonstine on Feb 24, 2010 3:05 PM EST reply actions  

OT: which is a good system

for predicting player perfomances? EG: Bill james, chone etc. Which is the best for Fantasy perfomances?

Second Fav. NFL Team- The chiefs

by 4QB on Feb 24, 2010 7:43 PM EST reply actions  

I'll have a piece coming out later this week that averages James, Chone, & Marcel

I have all the data if you would be interested, I could send you the book, I just need to write it up.

Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone; but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery.

by Andy Hellicksonstine on Feb 24, 2010 8:44 PM EST up reply actions  

Cool,

I wouldn’t mind that.

Second Fav. NFL Team- The chiefs

by 4QB on Feb 24, 2010 10:03 PM EST up reply actions  

Answer: Not Bill James

IIRC, Chone, Pecota and Marcel are all pretty close in different ways, but Bill James almost always overestimates performance.

Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."

by Brickhaus on Feb 24, 2010 8:48 PM EST up reply actions  

I just had my main draft, it went okay:

Here it is:

C- Victor Martinez
1B- Pablo Sandoval
2B- Aaron Hill
3B- Evan Longoria
SS-Jimmy Rollins
OF- Matt Kemp
OF- Nelson Cruz
OF- Denard Span
UTIL- Carlos Pena
UTIL- Stephen Drew
BEN- Ryan Ludwick, Dexter Fowler, Doumit, Martin Prado, Maizer Itzuris, Brett Gardner (to drop for Phil Hughes)

P- Chad Billingsley, Matt Garza
SP- Verlander, Nolasco
CP- K-rod, Soriano
RP- Gregerson, Thornton
BEN- Wade Davis.

Second Fav. NFL Team- The chiefs

by 4QB on Feb 25, 2010 7:00 PM EST up reply actions  

4 team?

Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone; but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery.

by Andy Hellicksonstine on Feb 25, 2010 7:52 PM EST up reply actions  

Nope, 10 team league

Dumb people though.

Second Fav. NFL Team- The chiefs

by 4QB on Feb 25, 2010 8:18 PM EST up reply actions  

Haha

It’s an easy wagon to jump on! I took a liking to these guys from their inception into the MLB and bought some of their ugly Devil Rays gear, and a representative called me and thanked me for repping the DRays in the Pac Northwest! I always knew they would catch on and start winning, but we need all the fans we can get.

Grow a pair, Romar.

by UofWashRoadWarriors on Feb 25, 2010 2:17 AM EST reply actions  

Welcome aboard.

Now stay on the train and don’t act like one.

by rglass44 on Feb 25, 2010 9:06 AM EST reply actions  

Read her blog posts on other SBN sites

She prefers to root the hardest for the hottest of her 5 teams.

Follow Me on Twitter @FreeZorilla

by FreeZorilla on Feb 25, 2010 9:38 AM EST up reply actions  

Hmm
It wasn’t until the 2008 season that I started following baseball more closely, but it wasn’t until the 2009 season that I became a Texas Rangers fan. And now you couldn’t find a bigger Texas Rangers fan.

Mira Sorvino...Paul Walker...T-Pain...Fall 2010...HEADSTONE MAFIA, A LOVE STORY OF REVENGE. "5/5 stars!!!" - DRB User "Andy Hellicksonstine"

by PlayOnWords on Feb 25, 2010 10:15 AM EST up reply actions  

The obvious reason being the extra "ing" on
willinging

Hit Buc 'Em for all your Bucs news and DRaysBay for every piece of Rays info.

by Buc Wild on Feb 25, 2010 10:40 AM EST up reply actions  

She's dead to me for this:
I don’t have a team in NL Central but that is more because I can’t chose between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Milwaukee Brewers. I’m more leaning towards the Brewers but I don’t particularly care for their home ballpark, so I’ll stay away from NL Central for now.

Miller Park is amazing. $3 brats and cheap High Life.

Mira Sorvino...Paul Walker...T-Pain...Fall 2010...HEADSTONE MAFIA, A LOVE STORY OF REVENGE. "5/5 stars!!!" - DRB User "Andy Hellicksonstine"

by PlayOnWords on Feb 25, 2010 10:57 AM EST up reply actions  

Hello kettle

Hit Buc 'Em for all your Bucs news and DRaysBay for every piece of Rays info.

by Buc Wild on Feb 25, 2010 11:35 AM EST up reply actions  

Your restraint before my garlic fries was pathetic.

Mira Sorvino...Paul Walker...T-Pain...Fall 2010...HEADSTONE MAFIA, A LOVE STORY OF REVENGE. "5/5 stars!!!" - DRB User "Andy Hellicksonstine"

by PlayOnWords on Feb 25, 2010 11:45 AM EST up reply actions  

I was hung over, hungry, and you offered them.

That was the difference between survival and passing out on the bathroom floor.

by Suttree on Feb 25, 2010 11:49 AM EST up reply actions  

I saw you mainline cased meat at a Buc game.

Mira Sorvino...Paul Walker...T-Pain...Fall 2010...HEADSTONE MAFIA, A LOVE STORY OF REVENGE. "5/5 stars!!!" - DRB User "Andy Hellicksonstine"

by PlayOnWords on Feb 25, 2010 11:50 AM EST up reply actions  

Gristle withdrawal.

Mira Sorvino...Paul Walker...T-Pain...Fall 2010...HEADSTONE MAFIA, A LOVE STORY OF REVENGE. "5/5 stars!!!" - DRB User "Andy Hellicksonstine"

by PlayOnWords on Feb 25, 2010 11:53 AM EST up reply actions  

THIS.

One more year Brett. One more year.

by PriceMultiCyYoungs on Feb 25, 2010 12:30 PM EST up reply actions  

i don't eat red meat so that means nothing to me...

i’ve never been to miller park, but i don’t like watching the brewers home games on tv.

by LuvSummerLuvBaseball on Feb 25, 2010 1:11 PM EST up reply actions  

You think watching the Trop's splotchy green rug and regionally relevant concourse subway motif is better?

(sorry, Erik.)

Mira Sorvino...Paul Walker...T-Pain...Fall 2010...HEADSTONE MAFIA, A LOVE STORY OF REVENGE. "5/5 stars!!!" - DRB User "Andy Hellicksonstine"

by PlayOnWords on Feb 25, 2010 1:24 PM EST up reply actions  

I do.

Mira Sorvino...Paul Walker...T-Pain...Fall 2010...HEADSTONE MAFIA, A LOVE STORY OF REVENGE. "5/5 stars!!!" - DRB User "Andy Hellicksonstine"

by PlayOnWords on Feb 25, 2010 3:19 PM EST up reply actions  

Do they still have the mascot go down the slide after a home run?

I remember that when I went to a game there.

From Yer Scurvy Dog SRQman

by SRQman on Feb 25, 2010 3:25 PM EST up reply actions  

Yeah. Bernie.

Mira Sorvino...Paul Walker...T-Pain...Fall 2010...HEADSTONE MAFIA, A LOVE STORY OF REVENGE. "5/5 stars!!!" - DRB User "Andy Hellicksonstine"

by PlayOnWords on Feb 25, 2010 3:33 PM EST up reply actions  

tropfield has its own appeal that works better w me than miller park… personal preference…

by LuvSummerLuvBaseball on Feb 25, 2010 6:41 PM EST up reply actions  

Umm, what?

-No Chat speak
-Start with a capital letter
-Use the subject line
-Use the correct stadium for one of the teams that you are hedging your bets on this year
-Proper sentence structure

That’s about it for now.

Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone; but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery.

by Andy Hellicksonstine on Feb 25, 2010 7:53 PM EST up reply actions  

Those shoes are much too big for me

Just because you are new and friendly, doesn’t mean you don’t have to follow the rules.

Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone; but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery.

by Andy Hellicksonstine on Feb 25, 2010 8:50 PM EST up reply actions  

I'll be squaring back up once I get some personal crisis resolved. No need to worry about that.

I miss George Steinbrenner. He was the man responsible for keeping the Yankees competitive.

by kericr on Feb 25, 2010 11:50 PM EST up reply actions  

Doesn't say much about the Rangers that their biggest fan is a Mets fan first and foremost
Although I will be posting about several different teams, I am a New York Mets fan, first and foremost! I am a new Mets fan. I remember watching the Subway World Series, but I don’t remember much between then and 2008. So I will consider myself a hardcore Mets fan as of 2008, which is a lot earlier than any of my other teams, but that will be addressed when I post about my other teams.

Follow Me on Twitter @FreeZorilla

by FreeZorilla on Feb 25, 2010 11:17 AM EST up reply actions  

This violates the sports bigamy rule

You can have one favorite team, thats it. I disagree witht this next part, but some still follow it. You can have a second team as long as said team is not in same division/conference. However, should those teams ever play, it is understood you will root for team #1. You may root for other teams as long as it doesnt affect your team (i.e. rooting for the Twins to beat the Red Sox), but this does not make you a fan of their team. It’s all about the greater good, i.e. your team dominating the world.

Hit Buc 'Em for all your Bucs news and DRaysBay for every piece of Rays info.

by Buc Wild on Feb 25, 2010 11:28 AM EST up reply actions  

Soooooo...

See my sig.

Second Fav. NFL Team- The chiefs

by 4QB on Feb 25, 2010 11:38 AM EST up reply actions  

You're new to the internet, I see.

Mira Sorvino...Paul Walker...T-Pain...Fall 2010...HEADSTONE MAFIA, A LOVE STORY OF REVENGE. "5/5 stars!!!" - DRB User "Andy Hellicksonstine"

by PlayOnWords on Feb 25, 2010 11:49 AM EST up reply actions  

The U.S. Army

never introduced me to the internet- Whatever that is?

Second Fav. NFL Team- The chiefs

by 4QB on Feb 25, 2010 11:51 AM EST up reply actions  

Canadian, what do you expect

Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone; but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery.

by Andy Hellicksonstine on Feb 25, 2010 11:52 AM EST up reply actions  

Listen up, Andy Hellicksonstine

Canada and U.S are going to go to war in 20 years- which by hopefully that time, i will be in FRANCE. So good luck, during war.

Second Fav. NFL Team- The chiefs

by 4QB on Feb 25, 2010 11:54 AM EST up reply actions  

I hope not, but they do have oil.

Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone; but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery.

by Andy Hellicksonstine on Feb 25, 2010 11:58 AM EST up reply actions  

Whenever I see pics that look like that, I always think of this:

I miss George Steinbrenner. He was the man responsible for keeping the Yankees competitive.

by kericr on Feb 25, 2010 11:52 PM EST up reply actions  

So First:

THIS- Second This:

12. Posted by Bulldog Mark Thu Feb 25, 2010 11:15 am EST Report Abuse
As long as Maddon is the coach, this team will never have the fire and desire it takes to consistently win. His “milk and cookies” approach to BJ Upton is a prime example.
Maddon—-stop drinking wine…throw in a lip, drink a few beers instead….
Who’s the moron that hired Pat Burrell? Don’t they realize that there are stats on MLB? Let’s see…119 SO in 412 AB—roughly 29% SO ratio—-good pick-up!!! I am sure that if you total the SO for the Rays starting nine and compare it to line-ups of the teams in theri division this will explain why the Rays will have trouble winning.
Too much pressure on the pitching to throw that perfect game night in and night out. Rays win 90 games due to pitching…choke in the play-offs due to Maddons “milk and cookies” approach.

I blame MADDON.

Second Fav. NFL Team- The chiefs

by 4QB on Feb 25, 2010 11:58 AM EST reply actions  

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