It's likely a lower abdominal strain will keep Matt Moore from throwing his scheduled BP session on Wednesday, marking the second such session he'll miss this week, according to the Tampa Bay TImes. The Rays are usually very secretive with injuries, but Joe Maddon keeps insisting the injury is not a concern and they're being overly cautious in his handling. Hey, as long as it's not his arm there's likely nothing to worry about. It's natural to panic when your new toy gets a minor scratch on it, but a little polish, or in this instance time, will take care of it.
Speaking of injuries, Luke Scott is going to miss the first 3-4 spring games. Scott is coming off of shoulder surgery so it's no surprise that he'll be missing a few games while he works himself back into playing shape.
The biggest news to come out of camp today didn't come from, and wasn't about, a player. Stuart Sternberg spoke on a number of topics, but mainly focused on the long term viability of the Tampa Bay market:
Sternberg said he was pleased with the work of Chuck Sykes and the Tampa Bay Partnership to increase the level of conversation about the stadium situation, though he would like there to be more, and said he was "pretty certain" the team can succeed long-term in the Tampa Bay market.
"I read some things that characterized that I might not believe that to be the case, and there's nothing further from the truth,'' he said.
"I'm a conciliatory kind of guy, and we just want to keep getting the message out," Sternberg said, "And I believe brighter, more sensible minds will prevail.''
If progress is being made, no matter how little, that's a good sign for the area. Also, those last two quotes sure sound like subtle jabs at St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster. In any case, more communication, please.
- The collector of Ryan Braun's sample isn't too pleased with the MVP's statements. He says he followed protocol. I tended to believe Braun after his press conference last week, and nothing the collector said will reverse the arbitrator's ruling, but it doesn't help his image.
- Mark Hulet released his top 15 Tampa Bay prospects for FanGraphs. Not surprisingly, Matt Moore and Hak-Ju Lee were number one and two respectively.
- On ESPN.com and Baseball Prospectus, Kevin Goldstein posed the question: What would Bryce Harper, Mike Trout and Matt Moore get on the open market today if they were free agents? He polled various baseball executives and Moore came in third with an average contract of six years, $83 million. It's an interesting thought experiment. Moore, who is more MLB ready than Harper or Trout, is penalized, and justly so, for being a pitcher. They simply get hurt too often. Still, that hypothetical contract is far more than the Rays just locked him up for. It goes to show what a tremendous deal that will be if he pans out.