Update [2005-4-15 8:19:4 by David M. Bloom]:
The Devil Rays for some unexplainable reason sent Gathwright down yesterday to make room for Alex "Dirty" Sanchez.
Yo Joey, Mr Fast Forward. Glad to see you putting it together. We hope you send Mr "Steroids" Sanchez to some place other. There is nothing like having an opportunity and making the most of it. Hope it continues.
`Our desire at this point was to send [Gathright] to Triple-A and let him continue to develop,'' LaMar said. ``But if a young man is ready to handle adversity at the next level, I've always felt you're better off pushing a kid. ... If [Gathright] shows he can handle that and rebound from it, he can develop here as well as in Triple- A.''
Then, there is Jake saying what I truly believe:
Why is it that Gathright can take a walk, force pitchers into long and tiring at-bats, beat out the throw for an occasional infield single, steal bases like it was nothing and yet he?s not even being thought of hitting leadoff
Carl has the speed, but has not shown the OBP in two plus years in the leadoff spot. Like Rocco Baldelli, he has not seen a pitch he won't take a hack at. Meaning, his plate selection is not optimal. The low 300 OBP is not really a table setter. I am not sure exactly where he belongs. But, this much I do know. Joey has what you want in a leadoff hitter. It was just a few weeks ago I was comparing Joey to a young Kenny Lofton hoping the Rays would see what I saw, and give the guy his chance. Its funny how these things work themselves out.