The Rocc Says...

Blog Is Closed, Temporarily

2005-04-20T23:01:00.000-07:00

I'm gonna change some things up on this blog, good things...keep your eyes peeled. I've been busy in the past 2 weeks and I'm finally up for a vacation...

The Unveiling....The Official 2005 D-Rays Season Preview: Part 1-The Line-up

2005-03-31T12:20:00.000-08:00

After a few days of deliberating, I decided that I should take Jay and Jim's advice and make my own season preview... Here goes nothing.... I've broken every player down into 3 categories(THE STORY, WHAT SHOULD WE EXPECT? and PREDICTED STATS/PREDICTIONS)

The Line-Up
1. LF- Carl Crawford

THE STORY:After going the whole offseason thinking that he's gonna be our Starting Centerfielder until Rocco returns and possibly after, Lou drops the bombshell that he's gonna keep CC at Left Field. CC didn't mind it, seeing that Left Field is his natural position.

WHAT SHOULD WE EXPECT?: Stolen bases, consistant hitting at the top of the order, triples(Chicks also dig the somewhat longball), bunt singles and Gold-glove Defense. Not much more to say about CC.

PREDICTED STATS/PREDICTIONS: 60 Stolen Bases, 15-20 HRs, 100 runs scored, 70 RBIs, 8 Outfield Assists and a batting average between .280 and .300. I also think that Carl will make his 2nd consecutive trip to the All-Star game. Also, to Rays Fans' glee, he will sign a long-term deal with the Rays.

2. CF- Alex Sanchez

THE STORY: After a 2004 season where the Tigers seen Alex hit for a .322 average, they decided that he wasn't worth keeping any longer. Alex was signed on the same day as Alomar and Bautista's retirements, which many Rays seen as the first few signs of the apocalypse. He was being considered to be our starting LF, then Lou proclaimed that he was going to be our starting RF and this weekend he stated that Sanchez will be our starting CF(his natural position) and most likely bat 2nd in the lineup.

WHAT SHOULD WE EXPECT?: Strikeouts, Stolen Bases, more strikeouts and horrible defense. His OBP was only .334 last year when he batted .322, so we shouldn't get our hopes up when we see that nice batting average. Alex is just going to be warming up the seat for Rocco's return and should provide Rocco-like slap-and-hack hitting without the potential for Home Runs.

PREDICTED STATS/PREDICTIONS: 36 Stolen Bases, 5-10 HRs(if we're lucky), .300 Batting Avg., 101 Ks in 82 games(Opening Day til Rocco's July 4th return), 60 Runs Scored, 46 RBIs, 5 Errors, 6 Outfield Assists and 4 Excedrin Headaches for Lou. Alex won't be as horrible as some people predict him to be, but he still will drive most of us crazy like Cruz did last year.

3. RF- Aubrey Huff

THE STORY: We knew going into Spring Training that Huff would be playing a corner outfield position, but we weren't sure which one. The Aftermath of Bautista's retirement ended up with the Rays moving Huff from LF to RF. Huff just wants to stay at one position for the entire season, which has yet to happen in his career. Also, Trades rumors continue to swirl around Rays camp regarding Huff.

WHAT SHOULD WE EXPECT?: Think Scott Rolen-Lite, He's got the offensive numbers just not the golden glove. Huff will most likely maintain his golden boy streak of averaging near 30 HR/100 RBI/.300 Batting Avg numbers.

PREDICTED STATS/PREDICTIONS: 34 Homeruns, 120 RBIs, .315 Batting Average, .930 OPS, 50 doubles and about 100 Runs Scored. Expect an eye-opening season by Huff. He's gotten some help on offense and his numbers will show that. However, he will continue to prod at the Front office for offensive support by opening their wallets a bit more. Also, he'll step into more of a leadership type of role on this young team. He'll also let Delmon take over the RF spot when he makes his debut, but will warn him that he'd better produce or he'll take it right back. Could be the other half of the Rays' First All-Star duo of this century...

4. DH/1B- Josh Phelps

THE STORY: After years of being blocked by known hard-hitting players and Ben Broussard, Phelps was one of the Rays top signees of this offseason. He's meant to cure the Rays deplorable DH problems. He's pretty been promised what will end up in a career number of At-bats for him(400+) and some opportunities to play some 1st base.

WHAT SHOULD WE EXPECT?: Monster Homeruns and oh yeah, strikeouts. He's always been great against Southpaws and we haven't been given much of a chance to see what he can do against Righties. Lou has been known to improve batters and sluggers, look what he's done with Edgar Martinez and Jay Buhner(Thanks Jim). He's also an average fielder and may get a few starts hear and there.

PREDICTED STATS/PREDICTIONS: 38 Homeruns, 90 RBIs and a .274 Batting Average. He'll be a huge surprise to some Rays fans and will show all the doubters in Toronto what they could've had if they would've given him a chance. He'll hit most of these HRs in the 2nd half of the season, which would negate him from any All-Star considerations. He'll be signed to a 2-3 yr. extension late in the season.

5. SS- Julio Lugo

THE STORY: Same old Lugo, nothing new going on with him. Just laying the tracks for Upton's eventual return to St. Pete. He just wants to make sure that Upton is at his tip-top best before he gives him the job.

WHAT SHOULD WE EXPECT?: Decent hitting, decent Power, stolen bases and fewer errors. Yup, since his offensive numbers are pretty decent for a short-stop..he'll be able to relax more and his defense should improve vastly from last year.

PREDICTED STATS/PREDICTIONS: A 20/20 season with a .290 Batting Average, 90 Runs scored and 80 RBIs. Oh yeah, he'll end the season with only 14 Errors. The thing is, will he end the season with the Devil Rays? I don't think that he will, just because Tampa feels the need for BJ to play everyday for us and with "The Wiz" helping Upton that shouldn't take long. Lugo will provide to be valuable, nonetheless in our trading of him. He should get us a nice bat or a shiny top prospect. KEYWORD: SHOULD

6. 2B-Jorge Cantu

THE STORY: This past season has been a wild rollercoaster ride for Jorge. He came out of nowhere and launched himself on to the Rays radar in Durham when he hit 20+ Homeruns. Then he impressed the Lou and the Rays enough in St. Pete when he smacked 20 doubles and kept his batting average over .300. Lou guaranteed him a spot on 2005's roster, which Cantu took into mind and continued to smack the ball in the fall leagues. However, the signing of Alomar looked like it would hinder Jorge's progress...yet he took it all in stride. Now, with the retirement of Alomar and the way he's been hitting in Spring Training...he's sure to continue to get better.

WHAT SHOULD WE EXPECT?: Doubles, Homeruns, more doubles, decent batting average, some strikeouts, an error here and there and an occasional walk or two. How Jorge does this season is up to him, he worked hard for 6 years in the minors for this chance and now, through a retirement, he has the limelight put on him.

PREDICTED STATS/PREDICTIONS: 24 Homeruns, 75 RBIs, .320 Batting average, 80 strikeouts, 10 walks and 40 doubles. I also believe that Cantu will cement his spot in the line-up for years to come and we won't have to worry about looking or needing a 2nd baseman for many years to come. I also see Cantu signing a 2 to 3 year contract extension.

7. 1B- Travis Lee

THE STORY: Travis left Tampa last year for what he thought were "greener" pastures. Unfortunately, he was proven wrong when he spent most of the season on the DL with a completely screwed shoulder. However, he never burned his bridges and Lou & LaMar were gladly to welcome him back.

WHAT SHOULD WE EXPECT?: Gold-glove defense at 1st and an occasional hit or two...

PREDICTED STATS/PREDICTIONS: 5-10 Homeruns, 38-50 RBIs, .275 Batting Average and 1 Gold Glove.

8. 3B- Alex Gonzalez

THE STORY: Hasn't really done much up to this point in his career, spent most of his career playing great defense and short-stop for the Cubs. So it was surprising when Lou stated that A-Gone was our starting 3rd baseman, a spot that Alex has only played for 10 games in his career.

WHAT SHOULD WE EXPECT?: Good defense and an occasional game-winning HR

PREDICTED STATS/PREDICTIONS: 10 Homeruns, 40 RBIs, 3 Errors and a .250 batting average. He'll play alot until Upton makes his return and then he'll join a rotating triangle at 3rd and Short-stop with Lugo, Upton and A-Gone

9. C- Toby Hall

THE STORY: Same old Toby, still hasn't been forced into showing his true potential.

WHAT SHOULD WE EXPECT?: Decent Defense and shotty hitting...same thing he's consistantly done his whole career.

PREDICTED STATS/PREDICTIONS: 5-10 HRs, 40 RBIs, and plenty of excedrin headaches for Lou and Rays fans. Why, oh why, can't he fix that horrible batting stance? Maybe we can get a decent Catcher out of one of our trades this season...

Q&A Time with Everyone's Favorite Devil Ray, Seth McClung

2005-03-24T01:30:00.000-08:00

Introduction: First of all, I'd like to thank Seth for being such a great interviewee. I am so lucky to have this opportunity and I hope that I didn't dissapoint him with "fluff" questions. Anywho, I hope you all enjoy this interview. Thanks -Jake

Jake: One of the biggest questions coming into thisseason for the Rays fans is "Is Seth completely rehabbed from Tommy John Surgery?" I'd like to knowhow well your arm is feeling. I've heard that in the game your arm got injured in, you actually heard it"pop", is there any truth to that? When I separated my shoulder, I heard the pop and wasn't in immediatepain, but when a tendon just snaps like yours did, youhad to have been in immense immediate pain. Sorry if I'm bringing up unhappy memories.

Seth: I didn’t hear it pop, I felt it pop. I was pitchingto A-Rod, I had just thrown him a pitch low and awayfor a ball and I wanted to elevate the ball on the next pitch. I threw that pitch as hard as I could andI could feel my elbow separate.

As for being healthy, yes I am healthy. I do feel I will be stronger next year, but I am as strong as I have ever been.

Jake: Being as tall as you are, do you feel that you havean advantage or disadvantage over hitters? I feel thatheight (being tall or short) gives its own advantages. How do you feel about it? Also, when you were growing up were the growth spurts slow and sporadic spurts or was it one major spurt? On my way to 6'5", I had small growth spurts which sandwiched an 8 inch spurt.

Seth: I feel my size has more up side than down side. First my height is good for getting a downward angle to the plate. Second, I am a big, strong, mean-looking guy out there. I think you see me on the mound as ahitter and know you’re in for a battle.

Disadvantages of my size would be that I am a large guy, I am 6’7ish 255-265ish and I have to constantly battle to keep at my playing weight.

I grew a lot when I was younger but I would have to say over all it was spread out well. When I was 10 I was 5’7”, at 12: 6’0”,at 14: 6’4”, at 16-20: 6’6”and at 21-up: 6’”7”

Jake: On a lot of Rays Message Boards, you're mentionedas being one of the most outgoing players and an unanimous pick as the Rays biggest "Fan Favorite". How do you feel about that?

Seth: I would first and foremost like to say thank you. I know I play a game for a living and I know people pay money to walk through the gates to see my team play. Ijust try to treat people like people. I am just a product of good parents.

Jake: One of my past interviewees, Carter Gaddis of theTampa Tribune, picked you as his biggest sleepers coming into Spring Training and one of his personalfavorite players on the Rays. How do you feel about?Any messages that you'd like for me to pass onto him?

Seth: Thanks for your confidence in me. I am an easy guy to write off sometimes, but I think Carter has a goodidea about how much of a fighter I am.

Jake: One thing that I've learned about Major Leaguers is that they usually have a few humorous minor league stories that they have witnessed. Are there any that you'd like to share?

Seth: In A ball, Rocco and I where at a restaurant parking lot in Columbia South Carolina, when this carfull of girls drove by. One of the guys with us yells at them. They stop the car and put it in reverse and come to talk to our group. Well these young ladies were not the best looking group, so our friend would not go talk to them, in there embarrassment they forgot to put the car in drive. When they went to drive off she slammed on the gas and backed right into a light post. We all took off running and that was the last of it.

Jake: Also, I've learned that Rookie Hazing usually happens once you make it to "The Show". Other than the infamous "Rays in Dresses" one, what was your first "Welcome to the Majors, kid" experience?

Seth: I had to sing a song on the bus.

Jake: If you had to live with any other Rays player, past or present, who would you choose? Who are your currentbuddies on the team?

Seth: I do not have many close friends on the team, I mean it is not like High school or anything where you're best friends with your team. We are around each other for about 8 months out of the year, so I do have friendships. I would say the best friends I have onthe team would be Joey Gaithright and Doug Waechter. I have also spent a lot of time this spring learning and talking to Neagle and Fossum.

Jake: If you had to choose your favorite baseball (orbaseball-related) movie of all time, what would it be?

Seth: It would have to be “for the love of the game” There is a scene in the movie where Billy Chapel is walking off the mound in the world series game and he looks up in the stands and his parents are there watching him. That part always gets me. I hope to one day have that experience as a son and as a father.

Jake: What has been the best advice that you have been given at any time in your baseball career?

Seth: “Play to win” My family is a sports family and mydad has a saying and it is “if we are keeping scoreplay to win” I don’t have fun when I pitch I have funwhen I win.

Jake: I've heard that you are an avid watcher of manymessage boards, do you ever post or do you just watch to see what fans opinions are of you or your buddies?Also, if someone rips on you badly, how mad do you get about it?

Seth: I have a lot of down time and I enjoy the internet. I do come across things said about me. I do not answer them in a public forum. I have wanted to before,especially when the people posting say something that I feel is completely wrong, but I know if you are passionate enough to post your opinions about the game on a website that you're probably watching a game or two a week and that makes you some one who helps keep our game the American pastime. I just take what is negative and store it in my mind. I feed off of the negative. I have always had the odds stacked against me. I have made many people wrong and I will continue to do so as long as some people continue to doubt my ability.

Jake: Outside of baseball, what are your biggest hobbies? Do you play video games, watch movies, fish?

Seth: I like the Playstation 2 and X box, I am prettygood. I also bought a Jet Ski in the season when I was rehabbing my elbow, I didn’t get to ride it much until they cleared me to do so, but when I did I had a blast. I also deeply love basketball and have a passion for helping and coaching kids. I have coachedt hree teams, all three finished first or second withone undefeated season. I have to give the credit tothe kids though. I demand discipline and hard work;they were the ones who put the ball in the hole.

Jake. Could you explain your normal off-season process? Do you take an extended vacation until January andwork yourself into shape until Spring Training startsor do you make sure that you work out a little bit every week?

Seth: As I have stated earlier in this interview I have a hard time keeping my weight down so I do continues conditioning all through the off season. I do take trips here and there. I do not leave home without my running shoes though

Jake: It's pretty much well-known that you are a verycharitable person, was that ingrained in you at ayoung age or have you always felt the need to help those who aren't as lucky as you've been? I heard today about how you drove after playing a game thisweekend to see Paul C. Smith's daughter play in abaseball game. You seem to have a big heart, Seth.

Seth: I do a lot of things you will never hear me talk about, I feel like since I am a baseball player I get too much attention for the things I do. I just do what I can. I am a person who likes to help out. I do run a program back home in West Virginia that is a very large undertaking and need to find corporate sponsors. The West Virginia Rush Athletic Program was developed to help kids in West Virginia get the most out of their athletic ability and for some of these kids,help them make it to college on there god-given ability.

So if anyone reading this would like to make a tax-deductible donation to the WV Rush please check out our website for more details www.wvrush.com

I am very proud of the work done so far on the program, I have gotten great help from my volunteers and would like to make sure they know they are appreciated.

Jake: There was a report that one of your fellow teammates, Rob Bell, turned down the opportunity to beABC's newest "Bachelor", has anyone joked with himabout that? If they had come to you with that opportunity (pending your current relationship status), would you have accepted it or declined it?

Seth: I would love to maybe have a small part in a movie or TV show or something, but as far as something like that I don’t think I am what they are looking for. I don’t have the same look as Rob Bell; he would have been prefect for "The Bachelor." He caught some ribbing for it from the guys, but Rob has what I call a“vernacular assault” that is fast and lethal.

Jake: Do you have any personal picks as the biggest break-out player in the entire Rays Organization? If you do, would you care to share them?

Seth: Watch out league, Carl Crawford is still yet to "break out". I think he is going to be a super star in this game.

Jake: In Closing, are there any comments that you'd like to leave Devil Rays fans?

Seth: Thank you for your continuing support of our franchise, keep your faith with our youth. I have faith that through us (the youth) we can turn thisthing around. I would also like to ask all the Yankees and Red Sox fans in the area where they live? I see a lot of these die hard Yankee and Red Sox fans with 727 and 813 phone numbers!!

Video Game Review: MVP Baseball 2005

2005-03-05T12:17:00.000-08:00

Wow, I feel like a liar right now. I mentioned that in my last post that "I was back and better than ever." I mentioned that I'd be posting alot more since it was the onstart of spring training. Wow, it makes me look like I'm a phony. Anywho, I'll explain my absense, First off, I've been just lazy lately and whenever I get off of work I'd play MVP '05 or GT4. I've been also lacked in posting at my other blogs(Rays Talk, Ya Gotta Believe and SWM Rays). That's starting to change because I've been doing some research for future articles and I have a few solid post-worthy subjects. Well, that's that and I'll post my official review of MVP.

Overall Presentation: One of the great things about the MVP is the crispness of the players. The fields look like the actual fields and the players faces are almost perfect matches of their real-life counterparts. What's not to like? The play is solid and they appear to have worked a bit on making the fielding a bit harder than last year, when every catch rivaled Willie Mays' "over the shoulder" catch. All of last year's major glitches have been fixed and adjusted, I'll be more in-depth about that later.

Controls: Even if you've never played this game, the controls are a piece of cake. While the game loads before you play, it'll give you a refresher on what buttons do what. The only flaw that I see in the game is the in-game menu(L2) is a bit complicated and the bullpen causes the buttons to be a bit more sensitive(the player you have warmed up will replace the pitcher with a slight nudge) and pressing triangle at any time causes the manager to storm out and argue a call. Other than that, no major problems with the control.

Hitting: Vastly improved from 2004's edition of MVP. No more of the "Lefty" glitch. Also, if you need help figuring out how to hit, you can play a few rounds of the new "simon says" hitting game and you'll be ready to hit against any pitcher you face. I admit that it seems harder to hit a homerun in a real game than in previous editions, but HRs don't matter much to me in video games anyways. No real problems here. Hitters eye didn't really help me, but I can see how it works and can help people adjust.

Pitching: One of the first things that I heard before this game came out is that the pitching is drastically harder. In my opinion, it's the exact opposite. I've had to restart my dynasty mode just because of the easiness. In my 2nd game played in MVP, I pitched a "Perfect Game" with Mark Hendrickson. I usually average between 4 to 10 strikeouts a game and I've yet to walk 1 batter. One of the things that I enjoy about this game is that the computer's pitchers are very, very intelligent. It's hard to get solid contact off of any "good" pitcher. If they notice that you swing at pitches out of the zone, they'll continue to pitch out of the zone. I'm starting to think that the inventors of Questec had something to do with the pitching in this game.

Modes: In this game, you have loads of choices to make. You can select Dynasty mode where you are in charge of improving the team in a 3-year period and beyond. You'll see your minor leaguers grow and improve, becoming all-stars and hall-of-famers in front of your eyes. In this year's edition, you have "Owner Mode" where you control everything about the team. The roster, the mangers, the training staff, the scouts, stadium prices, etc. You are also in charge of building a new stadium from the ground up. You start with a 12,000 capacity and work your way up to a humongous stadium. The way you do that is garner fans' attention by having special promotional days and setting suitable ticket prices. Also, that means if you're a Rays fan, you don't have deal with idiot moves by Vincenzo and Chuckles anymore. Gotta love that....

Here's the wrap-up of the review:
Pros:
-Baseball America helped with the player rankings, so we no longer have problems with insane stats.
-Player progression is vastly improved, Delmon Young is a monster from Day 1 on.
-Ability to edit players' hot/cold zones, ratings, appearance without being penalized.
-Pitching meter is fun to work with.
-Customizable game sliders. If the game seems too easy, make it harder for you. I've tinkered a bit with the sliders and I've yet to have any insane statistical games.
-Managers get to argue call

Cons:
-SCABS, if your player is a prospect or not a member of a MLBPA, you have to edit the name and appearance of him. Jon Dowd= Barry Bonds, Larry Friese=Kevin Millar, Kendrick Morales=Delmon Young and so on.
-If your manager gets thrown out, you can no longer warm up pitchers by yourself...Your bench coach warms up pitchers IF he feels the need for one and you can't pick which one of his replacements is coming out.
-Owner Mode is very complicated and hard. I tried it and could hardly get any fanbase.

Overall Score: 8.5 out of 10

I'm Back and Better than Ever!

2005-02-20T12:54:00.000-08:00

For the last few weeks my posts here have been few and far between. The last few days, outside of working, I've been resting and trying to keep my mind intact. I've got some good news for you guys, pretty much.. First, most of you know about my little thing with ESPN which fell through from variables outside of my control. Next, I've been accepted by MVN to write on "Rays Talk", which I will write new material for(outside of the stuff I write here). Also, I'm going to do series previews for Jay on Raysbaseball.com. Jay, I'm definitely going to do those, I've finally decided that I'm going to. I'm also working on getting a few interviews during this season. I've also gotten my Fantasy Baseball teams to work on(2 Private, 2 Public, 1 ESPN). This is surely going to be a fun year for me.

The 2005 Amatuer Draft Preview: First Looks

2005-02-15T13:18:00.000-08:00

I put my brain to work today and decided that it would be great that I keep myself and everyone else in tune with College and HS baseball in preparation to this June's draft. Since it's very early in the season, I'm just going to list who my preliminary picks on who I think that we could possibly pick at #8.

1. Justin Upton(HS OF)- Yes, right now he's listed as Baseball America's guess as this year's #1 Pick, but the same thing was said about Stephen Drew last year and he's not even close to being signed yet. We've got the upper hand if Justin falls to us, seeing that we have BJ in our system already and he's visited TB plenty of times.The only drawback on Justin is that we're already vastly deep in outfielders.

2. Brian Bogusevic(College[Tulane] 1B/OF/SP)- A two-way player at Tulane and shows flashes of brilliance at both.This weekend(2/11-2/13) he pitched a brilliant game(13 Ks) one day and had the game-winning hit in the next game(1-1, 3 RBIs). We could use his two-way capabilities and let him figure out what he wants to do. He plays at 2 positions that we could use some depth at(1B and Pitching).

3. Sean O'Sullivan(HS SP/3B/OF)- Has been dubbed one of the top prospects in prep baseball since he was 12. He's a star as both as batter and pitcher. Will probably be drafted as a 3B, but could always be converted into a SP if there was a need.

4. Jed Lowrie(College[Stanford] 2B)- Was one of the best 2B in college and looks like got even better during his offseason. So far he's already hit 4 HRs and its still the beginning of his season. His stock is rising fast and he looks like he could be a very good pick for any team.

5. Alex Gordon(College[Nebraska] 3B)- Not since Darin Erstad has there been such a highly-touted player coming from Lincoln. Alex Gordon has always been a great offensive 3rd Baseman, but that isn't even what makes him so great. It's his defense, which at times seems scary because he does everything so natural.

6. Ryan Braun(College[Miami(FL)] 3B/SS)- BA's Top Freshmen in '02 seems to have gotten his stroke back and has already hit 4 HRs in 7 games for Miami. An injury hampered him last season, so keep an eye on him in case it flares up again.

7. Jeff Clement(College[USC] C)- One of the best hitting catchers in the history of college baseball, but there's some work needed to be done on his defense. Would be an upgrade to the current Toby Hall-Kevin Cash platoon.

8. Wade Townsend(College[Rice, sorta] SP)- It would be great if we could get 2/3rds of the "Rice Trio" in 1 rotation. He's been said to have improved his game alot and gotten stronger, but who knows what a year away from baseball can do to him.

9. Cesar Ramos(College [Long Beach St.] SP)- Former Rays pick in '02 has only gotten better since we drafted him. When I watched him pitch in last year's college World Series, I almost forgot that Jered Weaver was the ace of that staff. Wouldn't mind seeing him again.

10. Stephen Head (College[Mississippi] 1B/SP)- Has one of the nicest swings in college baseball and almost just as good in pitching. They'll probably make him choose a position by the end of the season and we'd be happy for either position.

**I'd like to thank Baseballamerica.com for the names**

Why Are Rays Fans So Against The Signing of Neagle???

2005-02-06T13:10:00.000-08:00

I'm reading various Rays/MLB message boards and all I see is bitching and moaning on the signing of Denny Neagle...for what reason, He could be a flop? He could tarnish our team name? He could trap himself inside Mons Venus and not leave unless his demands are met? I don't see a legitimate reason why we should complain about taking a chance on a decent veteran starting pitcher. Nomo may be a question mark because he made his career out of using a forkball pitch and has to rely on a fastball if hitters are prepared for the forkball. Out of the 2 Pitching signees, who would you rather see on the mound? I'm sure that I wouldn't be the only one who would choose Neagle. So he made a mistake in Colorado, so what? Everyone makes mistakes, his mistake was just magnified when it was brought into the limelight. Does offering money for some "Sexual Healing" ruin his pitching mechanics? Probably not, unless he's a sadist. I wouldn't be surprised if Neagle had a better year this year in Tampa than any year that he was in Colorado. First, he's out of Colorado which will affect his pitching splits dramatically in the positive direction. Second, our signing him at the league minimum will probably make him want to pitch "lights out" so that he'll (A)get a contract extension from us or (B) garner attention for another team to sign him to a multi-million dollar contract.

Q &A Time w/ Carter Gaddis, TBO Sports Beat Writer

2005-02-03T17:32:00.000-08:00

Foreword: It appears that I've been bitten by the "interview bug" and I feel that this may be one of my best posts on this blog (in addition to my Interview with Martie). I emailed Carter late last night(2/2/05) and to my surprise, when I woke up there was a reply by Carter accepting the interview. He also let me know that he was up for a telephone interview(which surprised me) if I didn't want to do it through emails. However, due to a throat infection, I had to decline and do it through emails. I hope you all enjoy reading this interview as much as I did and I'd like to thank Carter again for participating in it. Enjoy! -Jake

Jacob Larsen: First of all, thank you again for participating in this impromptu interview with me. Could you give me some background info on how you came to be the top columnist for TBO? You look like you're pretty young, so I'd like to know how you got your foot in the door so quickly.

Carter Gaddis: I've been in newspapers since 1986, when I covered high school sports in Palm Beach County for the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel. I started at the Trib in 1992 and worked my way up through the ranks: high schools, local sports, colleges, NFL/Bucs, Devil Rays. I'll be 36 this month. I'm not a "top columnist," by the way; I'm merely a beat writer. It's a good job, if demanding, and I've enjoyed it.

JL: I think that your audio reports are great, you slip in humor once in awhile which a humorist like me enjoys very much. If you had the choice, would you rather do more of those or would you rather sit at the old laptop and type to your heart's content?

CG: I'm a writer. I prefer to craft stories (with the luxury of revision), but I've done a lot of radio and TV in addition to newspaper writing. It's something I'm comfortable doing and I enjoy it, as well. But if I had to choose, the keyboard would win every time.

JL: Ah, time for predictions. Lou has given up on making them, but do you think that you could list a few of yours for this upcoming season? Whether it be final record, team MVP, breakthrough player of the year, etc., post the predictions that you choose.

CG: OK, a brief list. Keep in mind, these predictions are subject to change (in fact, I just changed my mind on one of them as I typed this), and I will disavow any knowledge of their existence if (when) they're proven wrong. But here goes. Record: 71-91. MVP: Crawford. Breakthrough: McClung. Comeback player: Nomo. Best value: Alomar. By the way, I would've listed Baldelli as the breakthrough guy if he hadn't hurt his knee. It's his first arbitration year and the way he hit at the end of last season, I thought he'd put up nice numbers, something like .285, 25, 90, .350 on base, .485 slugging, the usual good defense in CF. Now, it'll be a year until we see him at full strength. That injury was a huge blow to the organization. He'll bounce back eventually, but it's not the same team by any stretch without him in the mix.

JL: In your last media report, you seemed like you were a bit disgruntled with some of the signings that the Rays made. Am I a crappy listener or do you really have distaste for some of the signings that they made?

CG: Not distaste for the acquisitions, per se. They did what they could with what they had. If there was a hint of frustration in my voice it probably was because I, like the fans, didn't envision such a pitiful level of spending in the eighth season of the team's existence. I'm a big opponent of the concept of "win first, spend later." That's a backward approach. The Rays are never going to draw fans at an acceptable level if they don't win, and they aren't going to win if they don't invest more money in the product on the field. I believe that if the Rays are going to be a major-league franchise, they have to spend like a major-league franchise. I'm not talking about trying to spend on the level of the Yankees and Red Sox. I'm talking about competing for mid- to high-level free agents who can supplement what has become a nice foundation of young talent. Other than the Chad Gaudin-Kevin Cash trade (which could yet prove to be OK for the Rays if Gaudin flops with Toronto), I thought LaMar did a decent job this offseason with the $5 million or so he had at his disposal. He and Lou just didn't have enough to work with. Lou believes he can win here with a payroll in the mid-$40 million range. Even that's below the MLB average payroll, but the Rays at about $32 million aren't even close. It's frustrating to the manager, to the players, the fans and, by extension, the writers who cover the team.

JL: I'm huge on our minor league system, especially with the future of Reid "The Cajun God of Baseball" Brignac. Do you see him taking the same course that Delmon and Upton have taken or do you think that we need to feel out which position Reid has a future in and take it slower with him?

CG: I haven't seen Brignac play, but I have discussed him with the Rays' minor league coordinators. It'll be a much slower progression through the minors for Brignac than Upton and Young. Much slower. But that doesn't mean Brignac won't become every bit as important to the Rays at the major-league level as Upton and Young. The point is, we just don't know. Nobody can predict how Brignac will develop, or how soon. The same is true of Upton and Young. They clearly have a leg up (they are, after all, both on the 40-man roster and were high first-round picks). But Huff, the first position player drafted by the Rays to make it to the majors, was a fifth rounder. So, it's really tough to predict.

JL: Spring Training is not too far away, do you see any surprises or do you think that the line-ups, rotation and roster is already set?

CG: Here's one to watch: fifth outfielder. I know a lot of folks around cyberspace are really high on Gomes and Gathright, and they could be right about both. But I get the sense from the Rays organization that one of the non-roster invitees (Dee Brown? Chris Singleton? Marty Cordova? Brian Buchanan?) could very well make the 25-man roster ahead of the youngsters. If I had to choose (which I don't, thank goodness), I'd go with Brown. It's a guess. Nothing more.

JL: Stu Sternberg wasn't too vocal this past season, do you think that he may become more vocal this year or do you think that he'd rather wait and not step on anyone's toes. Also, do you have a ETA for his arrival?

CG: Sternberg won't become "vocal" until he and his partners take over control of the franchise. All signs point to a transition from Vince Naimoli to Sternberg after the 2006 season.

JL: There's been lots of talk about teams inquiring about Aubrey Huff. From the last I've heard, Pittsburgh threw their hat into the Huff Sweepstakes. I'm thinking that the only way Pittsburgh can even think about getting close to getting Huff is if they traded us Brad Eldred, Zach Duke and Kip Wells in exchange for him. What are your thoughts?

CG:My thoughts? If the Devil Rays trade Aubrey Huff for anything less than a .300-30-100 guy who plays 160 games every year and makes $11 million over the next two seasons, they are no longer even close to a major-league caliber team. I don't think they're ready to trade him, though. Not yet.

Most of the rumors about a Huff trade can be traced to an item that ran on ESPN.com during the GM meetings in South Florida. You probably remember it: The Rays are "shopping" their millionaire players. It wasn't exactly true, although LaMar is willing to listen to any and all offers, just like any other GM. It picked up steam when the Orioles' GMs leaked their interest in Huff to local writers, and it got all hot and heavy when the Cubs GM leaked the same thing last week to Chicago writers. Look, LaMar won't come out and say he'll NEVER trade Huff, but he told us last week that he considers Huff the starting first baseman right now. Lou said the same thing. I spoke to Aubrey this week and neither he nor his agents expect anything to happen. Believe me, if I think there's anything to the latest rumor (and there are sure to be more), I'll write it. If not, I'll either ignore it or shoot it down the next day.

JL: Now that I'm done pounding you with the hard questions, I'm going to give you a break. What is your most memorable sports moment (or baseball moment) that you witnessed?

CG: I've covered three Super Bowls. I covered Yankees-Red Sox ALCS this past season, and the Marlins-Cubs NLCS the year before. I've covered the Final Four and NBA Finals and lots of other big-time events (including the night Michael Jordan switched back to No. 23 before a playoff game with Orlando after he wore No. 45 for the first few months of his first comeback).

But the most memorable thing I've covered was the 1995 Hardee High football season. That year, crusty old coach Bob Martin (who had nearly died of cancer the year before) was retiring after 40-plus years. He had his best team ever, with a legitimate chance to win the Class 4A state title. Wauchula is a little Central Florida town with about 8,000 folks. The Friday night football games drew 5,000 routinely. I covered that team from start to finish. They went undefeated in the regular season, won three tough playoff games (including beating Edgerrin James in his last game for Immokalee High), then went on to the state title game in Daytona Beach. The starting QB, a senior, got hurt in the playoffs and couldn't play in the championship against Jacksonville Bolles. A freshman, Rashad Faison (who later played DB for South Carolina), started at QB and got hurt before halftime. A senior LB who hadn't played QB since his freshman season came in for the third quarter, when Hardee was behind 21-7. Hardee came back to tie it, but lost to Bolles in Martin's last game, 28-21. Bolles was USA Today's No. 1 team in the nation in the next season's first poll. There was a kid named Chris Barnes on that team who was the greatest athlete I ever saw. He rushed for 2,000-plus yards and 35-plus TDs that year, which is remarkable enough but made even more remarkable when you consider he missed one game because of a suspension (smoking pot in school) and Hardee only played nine regular-season games, most of which were such blowouts by halftime that Barnes didn't even tough the ball in the second half!
That was an incredible season. It was the best thing I've covered in 19 years as a sportswriter.

JL: What Devil Ray(currently on the roster or in the minors) do you think that we should keep an eye on this year?

CG: Seth McClung. He's healthy and hungry. I'm not so sure he'll begin the season in the Rays rotation, but he'll be there quickly and I'm pretty sure he'll stay there for a while. Remember, only the die-hards knew much about Seth when he came into spring training 2003, and Lou liked him so much he kept him on the roster. It's too bad he got hurt, because I think Seth can be a big part of any success the Rays experience in the near future.

JL: Chad Orvella: Has he been lucky or is he "Pitching Enigma"?

CG: I just don't know enough about Chad to answer this. I haven't seen him pitch, first of all. I know he's had good minor league numbers, and I know the minor league staff likes him a lot. I'll know much more after I see him in spring training. It's always intriguing to watch a guy up close when he's put up good minor league numbers.

JL: Jeff Niemann and Delmon Young: Which one do you expect to make their debut first?

CG: There's a chance both could be brought up in September. Much will depend on Niemann's ability to make the transition from college to the pros. If he dominates early in Visalia (or Montgomery), I'd expect him to move through the system very quickly. The Rays moved Kennedy and Gaudin quickly, and they didn't exactly let Kazmir wallow in the minors. Young will begin the season with Montgomery. I think he'll be there most of the year, with a mid-summer call-up to Durham. Then, maybe, a look-see in September.

JL: Robert Fick: Do you miss having him on the team? He seemed to be a funny guy.

CG: Fick is a real character. He always says what's on his mind, and usually it's so bizarre that you kind of wish he'd kept it to himself! I enjoyed getting to know him, and there's no one in the clubhouse quite as colorful, but will I miss him? Nah. We've still got Huff around to bust our chops. I will miss Damian Rolls, though. Good guy, hard-nosed player. I'm glad he'll get a chance with the Yankees.

JL: Who is your favorite Devil Ray of all time?

CG: I'd have to say .... Bobby Abreu. Or Dmitri Young. But definitely one of the two.

JL: Are you a fan of sports blogs or do you feel that the biasness of them is a hinderance? I'm not sure, but I think that columnists have to come across as not being too biased, am I correct or totally off on this assumption?

CG: I don't think anyone in their wildest dreams would expect a blog columnist not to be biased. In fact, the purpose of a column is to inject opinion into the public realm. Opinion is, by its nature, a reflection of personal bias. I read fan sites and message boards to get a feel for what fans are interested in, and for the most part, I'm impressed by the level of knowledge out there. So, let it flow, man. Opine away.

JL: Last question: Is there any parting words that you'd like to leave me and/or Devil Ray Fans? Thank you, Mr. Gaddis and I hope that this year is your best year as a writer.

CG: Hang in there. I believe that better days are ahead for the Rays. Those days won't happen this year, or even next year. But by 2007, if the stars align, things could turn in a winning direction. There's enough young talent (Upton, Young, Crawford, Baldelli, Kazmir, Niemann, McClung) to warrant optimism in the next few years. Just don't expect too much, too soon. This year (and probably next) will be more of the same.

Avast Ye Matey, Another Huff Rumor! Arrrrr!

2005-02-03T11:26:00.000-08:00

It didn't take long, but more and more teams are starting to inquire about the services of Aubrey Huff. Now, of all MLB teams, The Pittsburgh Pirates have given Chuck LaMar a call about what it would take for us to forget about Huff. Rumor-wise, this started out as Craig Wilson and Josh Fogg for Huff. I'm only guessing that this offer was pretty much laughed off, if it was even offered. In a Pittsburgh paper, it noted that Chuck LaMar pretty much told Littlefield that he'd have to give up an everyday player, preferabley a Starting Pitcher, and 2 top-notch prospects(also preferabley pitching). I could see this trade happening, moreso than the Huff-to-Cubs trade.

Dave(YGB) and I were contemplating what kind of an offer we think Pittsburgh would have to give us to not make us look like complete idiots for trading away such a crucial cog to our already lacking offense. We pretty much summed up that we'd have to have another "Kazmir for Zambrano" trade, but we'd have to one-up that. I'm going to use his exact words for what kind of trade we'd need for this, we'd need a "Ed Hearn for David Cone" type of deal.

If I were Chuck LaMar, I shudder at the thought, I would ask for something along the lines of Brad Eldred, Zach Duke(my first thought was Bullington, but Dave kinda pointed out that Bull has pretty much busted) and Kip Wells. The question is, will Littlefield give up that much talent just to acquire Huff? If he does, I'd hate to be him when the townspeople start rioting at his doorstep. He'd definitely be "Walking the plank" by the end of the season. Why, you ask? It's because as of right now, they already have 9 players going for the 3 outfield spots and adding Aubrey would make it 10. Looks like he has enough to worry about right now, so I don't see him pulling the trigger on this deal. Shiver me timbers, if I'm wrong, though.

Prediction Time!!!!!!

2005-02-02T05:43:00.000-08:00

On Raysbaseball.com, we've got a decent sized thread going on about our projections and predictions of this upcoming season. Since "writer's block" is currently preventing me from writing my preliminary story idea("Jesus Saves"), I'll throw my prediction hat into the ring. Here's goes nothing....

Final 2005 Record: 80-82

Barring any major injuries to our core players, I see a near .500 season(if not a .500 record) for the Rays. It's true that Chuckles and Vincenzo did drop the ball during this offseason with a few questionable offseason signings, but some of these signings will actually produce positive results. I see a few of our younger players having career years and give Lou reasons to rethink his stance on "playing so many damn rookies." I'm not sure when, but I guarantee that we will be in a fight for a playoff spot sometime this season and gain alot of national exposure. Also, I predict that we will hear more of Stu Sternberg.

Biggest Offseason Acquisition: Josh Phelps 1B/DH

I believe that we finally found another power bat in Josh. I'm sure that Aubrey will be happy to hear me say that. He'll struggle at times(most likely earlier on in the season), but I see a 30+ HR season out of Josh. I also believe that he'll have a great season on the defensive side of the plate as well, showing the Blue Jays and Indians that they made a major mistake when they gave up on him so quickly.

Worst Offseason Acquisition: Alex Gonzalez 3B

I may be insane for saying this, but I don't even see A-Gone keeping his job through Spring Training. We've got too much younger, better talent chomping at the bit for playing time that I see one of them will step it up and yank the carpet from underneath him. If I were him, I'd concede defeat now and accept that he'll be a reliable glove off the bench and not an everyday player behind Larson/Snyder/Upton/Cantu(not sure who will be the player to steal A-Gone's job) at 3B.

Breakthrough Player of the Year: Rocco Baldelli CF and Scott Kazmir SP (TIE)

Even though we may not see Rocco until late May, I see Rocco making major strides to become one of the best centerfielders in MLB. He won't be as major of a fixture on the basepaths, but I see his bat making us forget about the drop in stolen bases.
Scott Kazmir will be making his case as the "Ace" of our pitching staff this year and he'll have the numbers to back it up. I see him hitting double digits in Wins, racking up a near-franchise record amount of Strikeouts and I see him improving his WHIP and ERA.

Team MVP: Aubrey Huff 1B

All the trade rumors about him will light a fire under him that we'll all enjoy as fans and his team will ride the coat-tails of. He'll set career highs in most, if not all, major stat categories and he'll possibly garner some AL MVP considerations. He'll also step up and into the role of Team Captain and Leader. He's shown us before that he'll talk on behalf of the rest of the team and we'll continue to see that this year.

Most Outstanding Rookie: Chad Orvella RP

Although I see Delmon making some noise, I see Chad making the most noise of all our youngsters this season. I see Orvella garnering a roster spot out of Spring Training and continuing to put up phenomenal numbers as a reliever. If you need some bullpen help for your fantasy teams, I wouldn't look too far and pick up Orvella.

Minor League Player of the Year: Reid Brignac SS/3B (SW Michigan Devil Rays)

Need I explain further? I believe that I should or else I'll look too biased. I see Reid putting up numbers that may make us wonder if Bossman Junior is really our "Shortstop of the Future." I believe that Reid will get some time at 3B and show some versatility in case we're still wondering where he may fit into our future. Battle Creek , you'd better be ready, for you will see a legend in the making.

Why Won't These Stupid Trade Rumors Stop?

2005-01-30T13:05:00.000-08:00

On Friday Night, A chicago sports radio station(ESPN 1000) reported that Sammy Sosa was being traded to the Baltimore Orioles for Hairston, maybe Julio and a couple minor leaguers. Now that was all fine and dandy until the 2 jackasses in the booth started talking about how it would be easy for them to take Baez and Huff off of our hands. Bruce Levine, a parasitic-like sports beat writer who pulls rumors out of his ass, said that Hendry was already in the works of a deal which would send Huff and Baez to Chicago for Farnsworth, the players received from Baltimore in the Sosa trade and possibly Sergio Mitre. I was actually pondering calling in this show about how Chicago could get Baez for a starting pitcher, but that was before they started lambasting our team, our GM(if anyone can insult LaMar, it's only us) and everything which we stand for. Next, Bruce started spouting out that Hendry passed on trading for Carl Crawford because he was "too young and too inexperienced." What the?? A team who has Corey Patterson playing in the outfield is telling us that the defending stolen base champion and future 25 HR threat is too inexperienced. That makes sense....NOT! Let me state some facts: Corey is one of the most impatient batters in MLB right now combined with one of the lowest On-base percentages for a leadoff hitter in MLB. Corey is turning 28(I think) and CC is 23....CC has played in around 140+ games in the last 2 seasons and Corey gets hurt every other at bat. So according to Hendry(though I think it's more of Levine-talk,) Corey is a better player than CC? We'll see...

Now that I'm done with the comparisons between Corey and CC, I'll state my problems with the trading of Huff. First of all, trading Huff would start a mass revolt by Devil Rays fans immediately, unless the Cubs traded us 3-4 "A" prospects or an "A" prospect and Carlos Zambrano(which I don't see happening at all). Second, why would Chicago trade for Huff, since they have 1st and 3rd locked up already? Please, don't tell me he'll play outfield....unless you want me to spit out my drink and laugh. Huff is a good player, but he's not the greatest defensive outfielder(he's lucky if he's an average defensive OF.) Cubs, let me give you some advice, don't listen to the morons(Levine, Dickerson and Marrioti) on the radio...they don't know anything about baseball. They are a bigger scourge than Scott Boras, Steinbrenner and Angelos combined. Just trade us Mitre and we'll give you Baez and just go on with your lives as if this never happened

If there was any year to beat the...

2005-01-28T19:06:00.000-08:00

BRAVES, this is the year.

Additions have been made to the NL East, and players have found more money elsewhere. My prediction for the NL East is that the Braves will NOT win it this year. Let's look at the teams...

The defending NL East champion: Atlanta Braves
C - Johnny Estrada
1B - Adam LaRoche
2B - Marcus Giles
3B - Chipper Jones
SS - Rafael Furcal
LF - Brian Jordan
CF - Andruw Jones
RF - Raul Mondesi

BN - Julio Franco (1B)
BN - Ryan Langerhans (OF)

1 - Tim Hudson (R)
2 - John Smoltz (R)
3 - Mike Hampton (L)
4 - John Thomson (R)
5 - Horacio Ramirez (L)

RP - Chris Rietsma (R)
RP - Kevin Gryboski (R)

CL - Danny Kolb (R)

Strength:
Infield (LaRoche, Giles, Furcal, Jones and Estrada)...the core returns to a potentially dangerous Atlanta line-up
Weakness:
a) Pitching (Yes, the Atlanta pitching)...How will Hudson adjust to the NL, how will Smoltz adjust to the rotation after closing, how effective will 3-5 be?
b) Outfield (Particularly Jordan and Mondesi)...how will Jordan respond back in Atlanta (having not played more than 66 games since '02), how will Mondesi perform after a year off?

The 2003 World Series Champion: Florida Marlins
C - Paul Lo Duca
1B - Carlos Delgado
2B - Luis Castillo
3B - Mike Lowell
SS - Alex Gonzalez
LF - Miguel Cabrera
CF - Juan Pierre
RF - Juan Encarnacion

BN - Jeff Conine (1B/OF)
BN - Damian Easly (IF)

1 - Josh Beckett (R)
2 - A.J. Burnett (R)
3 - Dontrelle Willis (L)
4 - Al Leiter (L)
5 - Ismal Valdez (R)

RP - Antonio Alfonseca (R)
RP - Todd Jones (R)

CL - Guillermo Mota (R)

Strength:
a) Power from the corner infield (Delgado and Lowell)...should post huge numbers
b) Speed (Castillo and Pierre)...should wreck havoc on the base paths
Weakness:
Relief pitching (Bullpen and Mota)...how well will the bullpen perform, how well will Mota succeed as the next relief-to-closer pitcher?

The high rollers of the NL East: New York Mets
C - Mike Piazza
1B - Doug Mientkiewicz
2B - Kazuo Matsui
3B - David Wright
SS - Jose Reyes
LF - Cliff Floyd
CF - Carlos Beltran
RF - Mike Cameron

BN - Jason Phillips (C/1B)
BN - Joe McEwing (where can't he play)

1 - Pedro Martinez (R)
2 - Tom Glavine (L)
3 - Kris Benson (R)
4 - Steve Trachsel (R)
5 - Victor Zambrano (R)/ Aaron Heiling (R)

RP - Mike DeJean (R)
RP - Bartolome Fortunato (R)

CL - Braden Looper (R)

Strength:
Power (Piazza, Floyd? and Beltran)...and quite a bit of it
Weakness:
Spending (Should I even name them)...could the Mets have overspent for anyone?

The always trying to improve: Philadelphia Phillies
C - Mike Lieberthal
1B - Jim Thome
2B - Chase Utley
3B - David Bell
SS - Jimmy Rollins
LF - Pat Burrell
CF - Kenny Lofton
RF - Bobby Abreu

BN - Tomas Perez (IF)
BN - Jason Michaels (OF)

1 - Randy Wolf (L)
2 - Jon Lieber (R)
3 - Vicente Padilla (R)
4 - Cory Lidle (R)
5 - Brett Myers (R)

RP - Tim Worrell (R)
RP - Rheal Cormier (L)

CL - Billy Wagner (L)

Strength:
LF/RF (Burrell and Abreu)...if the Phillies are going to contend for the division Burrell and Abreu need to offer support for Thome
Weakness:
(Lack of) Speed (Lofton and Rollins)...the former is a fomer stolen base threat (pun intended) and the latter is an overrated base stealer

Welcome back to America: Washington Nationals
C - Brian Schneider
1B - Brad Wilkerson
2B - Jose Vidro
3B - Vinny Castilla
SS - Cristian Guzman
LF - Termel Sledge
CF - Endy Chavez
RF - Jose Guillen

BN - Nick Johnson (1B)
BN - Jamey Carroll (IF)

1 - Livan Hernandez (R)
2 - Tony Armas (R)
3 - Tomo Ohka (R)
4 - Esteban Loaiza (R)
5 - Zach Day (R)

RP - Luis Ayala (R)
RP - Joe Horgan (L)

CL - Chad Cordero (R)

Strength:
Fan support...welcome back to America...hopefully their fans will be there to support them more than Montreal could
Weakness:
Rotation (aside from Hernandez)...who is really dependable?
Bullpen and Closer...see above

There's a brief look at the 5 teams contending for the NL East crown...if I had to decide today which team had the best opportunity...

...FLORIDA MARLINS

The addition of Carlos Delgado make them a very dangerous team

Another Spring Training Invitee, Rays fans say "Nomo! Nomo!"

2005-01-28T10:51:00.000-08:00

People ask me "Why aren't the Devil Rays going after Free Agent Pitchers this offseason?," I tend to tell them to look at the contract of Kris Benson and see the trouble that has caused. However, I've told plenty of people that we wouldn't sign any pitchers and I was surprisingly proven wrong with the signing of a Mr. Hideo Nomo, of Dodger and Boston Red Sox fame. I can't say that I'm in love with this signing, but it ranks right under the signings of Phelps and Niemann as possible positive signings/risks. Hideo's 2004 numbers make just about any stat-cringe. I, however, think that he's got a worthwhile chance of returning to his old form and help round out this somewhat shaky rotation. I'm wondering if LaMar was eating some brainfood this week because signing Nomo to a minor league deal was a true stroke of genius. If Nomo makes it onto the roster, his max salary is 780,000 and if he doesn't make the team, we aren't bound to him by a multimillion dollar contract.

Chicago White Sox and their new line-up

2005-01-27T13:56:00.000-08:00

This is how I would project the 2005 White Sox batting order to look come opening day...

LF - Scott Podsednik: (Yes, LEFT fielder) offers great speed at the top of the line-up
2B - Tadahito Iguchi: offers power and speed behind Podsednik with great potential to move him over into scoring position (that's if he isn't already there)
RF - Jermaine Dye: Dye's responsibility will be to move Podsednik and Iguchi over more and drive them home
1B - Paul Konerko: clean-up hitter...main objective -- drive 'em home Paulie, drive 'em home
DH - Carl Everett: his job is to knock home whoever Konerko couldn't :-p
CF - Aaron Rowand: will get on base and knock some people home
C - A.J. Pierzynski: his job is to get on base
3B - Joe Crede: will provide power near the bottom of the line-up...just think Scott Brosious (sp?) from the Yankees a few years ago...batting eigth, but had a killer year
SS - Juan Uribe: his job is to get on base and then let Podsednik start the process again

As long as Podsednik, Iguchi and Uribe are allowed to run, I think the White Sox will do very well this year. And I think they will be able to run. I mean, why not? They have Tim Raines as their baserunning coach! Now THAT is something to be excited about!!!

Q & A Time W/ Martie Cordaro, GM of the Southwest Michigan Devil Rays

2005-01-27T06:02:00.000-08:00

Due to the lack of stories from St. Pete, I decided that it'd be a great time to look around for things to write about. All of a sudden, I thought to myself, maybe I could ask one of the GMs of our farm system if I could interview him. On my first try, I got an email from Martie Cordaro that he would comply with my wishes to ask him a few questions(which I did, through email). Hopefully I didn't ask him too many "fluff" questions. Well, I hope you guys enjoy the read.

Jacob Larsen: First off, on behalf of Devil Rays fans everywhere, Welcome to the family! How do you like being a part of the family so far?

Martie Cordaro: Tremendous. Our franchise is excited about our new partnership with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

JL: I've heard great things about your days in West Tennessee, do you intend to run things the same way or are you taking a different approach here in Battle Creek? Do you consider yourself a Toolsy GM or more on the Sabermetric side of GMing?

MC: Many of the things we will do will be the same in theory and approach, but each community is different so we are adjusting to our community and market of Southwest Michigan.

JL: What were the other possible names for this team before you guys chose to use "Southwest Michigan Devil Rays"? Also,Was it put to a vote within Battle Creek or was it an internal naming?

MC: Internal naming. There was not time for a vote based on the timing of the sale and approval process.

JL: Any ideas on how the roster is going to shape up? I've heard inklings Reid Brignac, Jake McGee and a few other Rays Top Prospects are going to probably make some appearances here, any ideas of how the preliminary SW Michigan Rays roster will shape up?

MC: We have not received any confirmations on any players that will or will not be in Southwest Michigan in 2005. We are eagerly anticipating receiving the first roster for 2005.

JL: Being from Illinois, it may be hard for me to go to many games in Battle Creek. If you were a car salesman, how would you sell this trip to me?

MC: If you want the best Minor League Baseball entertainment experience, come to Battle Creek, Michigan, and enjoy an evening with the Southwest Michigan Devil Rays. Great Food, Interactive Promotions, Value, and oh, by the way – BASEBALL!

JL: As you may know, I run my own baseball blog, what is your opinion of Fan-run Baseball Blogs? Do GMs think of them as being helpful to their organizations or more of a hinderance?

MC: My experiences have been that they are helpful. It shows the enthusiasm our sport, in particular MiLB, has across the country.

JL: I'm all out of questions, is there anything that you'd like to tell us Rays fans, words of wisdom, etc.? Thank you for spending your time with me, I hope we can talk again sometime (possible midseason interview?).

MC: Thanks for all the well-wishes from fans and supporters our staff has received since acquiring the club here in Southwest Michigan.

Meet This Years New Guy THIS YEAR!!!

2005-01-25T19:50:00.000-08:00

Kenny Williams has snuck under the radar once again. For the second time in as many years the White Sox has tapped into Japans resource of veteran All-Stars looking to play at the next level.

I introduce to you: TADAHITO IGUCHI!!!

For the next two years Tadahito Iguchi will man second base for the Chicago White Sox, with a club option for the third year, for nearly $5 million.

Iguchi offers diversity (the ability to play second and short...as well as ethnically) in the infield for the Chicago White Sox. Iguchi offers speed and power at second base.

At age 30 with the Daiei Hawks last season he hit at a .333 clip, with 24 homeruns and 89 rbi's.

Throughout his career he has won two stolen base titles (2001 and 2003), he's a three time gold glove winner, to go along with four all-star selections.

Although his early career numbers were not impressive, he became a lot better after having shoulder surgery in 2002 to correct a problem.

As I mentioned earlier, Iguchi is the second overseas player for the White Sox in as many years (the other Shingo Takatsu.) I assume the same will happen to Iguchi as Takatsu. I expect his spring training numbers to be low, and I expect those to carry over to the beginning of the season. These low numbers will continue until he adjusts to baseball in America. But after that I look forward to his base stealing, stellar defense and power.

**Info from the following sources: Yahoo.com, ESPN.com, MLB.com**

Meet the New Guy: Jeff Niemann

2005-01-21T17:52:00.000-08:00

With Spring Training right around the corner, our Devil Rays finally got some work done and signed our Top Draft Pick of this year's amatuer draft. Let's get to know about Jeff Niemann a little better.

Here's the Basic Biographical stuff:

Full Name: Jeffrey Warren Niemann
D.O.B.: February 28, 1983
Hometown: Houston, TX
Height: 6' 9"
Weight: 260 lbs.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
High School: Lamar H.S.(TX)
College: Rice
Draft Info: 1st Rd. Pick(4) of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 2004 Amateur Draft

Pitching Info*:
Career Record: 28-4
Career ERA: 2.62
Complete Games: 2
Career Saves: 4
Career Innings Pitched: 283
Career Strikeouts: 303
Career Walks: 92
Career K/9: 9.3
Career BB/9: 3.1
Career H/9: 7.2
Career WHIP(Walks+Hits/Innings Pitched): 1.15

*Please note that these are his college career totals

Pitch Selection/Info: Jeff has a Mid-to-High 90's Fastball, An above-average slider, knuckle-curve and a change-up. Baseball America ranked his slider as the best of the 2004 Draft. Niemann also relies on his great command, which combined with his towering height could become a deadly combo in the majors.

Health Problems: Jeff has had artho-scopic surgery on his elbow(not major) before and went through some groin problems in 2004(also, nothing major)

Fasciniting Facts:
-Idolized Roger Clemens and Nolan Ryan as a kid
-Current roommate of his former college teammate, Wade Townsend
-For a humorous interview with Jeff, go here:http://www.riceowls.com/sports/baseball/release.asp?RELEASE_ID=2296

Jake's Personal View of Niemann:

If everything goes as planned, Niemann is our "Ace of the Future." I believe that he could be this generation's "Big Unit" and will perennially be in the Top-5 for Wins and Strikeouts, if not the leader. He'll most likely start this year in AA Montegomery playing for the Biscuits. Beyond that, it's up to him how fast he wants to be up here. I wouldn't count out a promotion to the big leagues by year's end, we could use his presense.

**I'd like to thank riceowls.com, baseballamerica.com, baseballcube.com and tsn.ca for the statistical and biographical info**

Meet Last Years New Guy This Year: Shingo Takatsu

2005-01-17T13:44:00.001-08:00

Well Jakub, you successfully posted without mentioning prospects. I will now live up to my end of the deal. I will make a post all about our favorite Chicago relief pitcher: MR. ZERO.

As a White Sox fan I hope he can break Bobby Thigpens' club record for saves in a season.

Here's the basic biographical stuff:

Full Name: Shingo Takatsu
D.O.B: November 25, 1968
Birthplace: Hiroshima, Japan
College: Koshien University (Japan)
Height: 6' 0"
Weight: 180
Bats: Right
Throws: Right

Pitching Info (watch out I'm not going to copy and paste every stat I see):

G: 59
IP: 62.1
W-L: 6-4
Saves (Opps): 19 (20)
Save %: 95
Holds: 4
Strike Outs: 50
Era: 2.31
WHIP: 0.98
HR Allowed: 6

Information:

Pitching Style: Takatsu has a "from down under" approach which makes it almost impossible to anticipate the speed of his pitches...Throws a "dive-bombing" changeup which stays in the low-60's range. Pitching coach Don Cooper says of Takatsu's changeup: "It looks like it can defy a little gravity sometimes"...His fastball **can** hit 90 on the radar, but he generally throws his "heat" inside on the hitters' hands...He rarely gets himself in trouble by allowing very few walks and holding opponenets to a .182 batting average (allowing righties to hit only .150)...He has a variety of pitches in his arsonal, but his advantage is the many speeds he can throw his changeup and fastball.
Defense: Takatsu is difficult to run on because of his unorthodox pitching style...He allowed only one stolen base last season.
Misc. Stats: Out of 25 inherited baserunners, only three managed to cross the plate...When pitching 1.0+ inning of work: 1 W, 3 L, 5 Sv, 0 BS...When pitching 1.0 innings or less: 5 W, 1 L, 14 Sv, 1 BS

Personal Outlook for '05:
If the White Sox manage to contend for the Division title (like so many of you out there don't think they will with their "depleted offense"), Shingo Takatsu could be in the top 3 in the AL in saves. His low WHIP will limit baserunners aboard, and he doesn't allow many of them to cross the plate (hence the nickname "Mr. Zero"). He will keep the White Sox in many games this year, remember that he only blew one save last year (and that was against Division rival Cleveland). Out of the 25 runners inherited, he only allowed 3 to score. If the White Sox produce runs, the bullpen holds the lead and Takatsu records the saves look for a Division Champion and maybe Takatsu going to the All-Star game.

**Info and stats were found in the following websites: ESPN.com, MLB.com, Yahoo.com**

Meet the New Guy: Josh Phelps

2005-01-17T13:15:00.000-08:00

If there was one positive Free-Agent signing that the Rays made this year, it'd most definitely have to be the signing of Josh Phelps. Out of Bautista, A-Gone and Phelps, Phelps was the only acquisition we actually pleaded for. Scary, huh? We pleaded for a Lefty-Masher with porous defense and near-average speed.

Now lets get down to the nitty gritty, let's learn more about him...

Here's the Basic Biographical stuff:

Full Name: Joshua Lee Phelps
D.O.B.: May 12th, 1978
Hometown: Anchorage, AK
Height: 6' 3"
Weight: 215 lbs.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Draft Info: Drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 10th Rd of the 1996 Amatuer Draft

Hitting Info(watch out, I did some research):

Averages 17 HRs per season, but hasn't ever reached 400 ABs in a season.
Has a career 1.000+ OPS against 5 MLB teams, 2 AL(Cle, Sea) and 3 NL(Cin,Pit, StL)
Vs. LHP: .309/.908 Vs. RHP: .256/.785
Statistically, in his career, his 2 best line-up spots are 3rd(1.850 ca OPS) and 8th(.908 OPS).
0.789 OPS w/ bases empty
0.864 OPS w/ Runners on
0.889 OPS w/ RISP
1.228 OPS w/ Runners on 1st and 3rd
1.100 OPS w/ Runners on 2nd and 3rd
1.075 OPS w/ Bases Loaded
Pre-All-Star Break: .258/.749 Post-All-Star Break: .288/.915
0.28 BB/SO Ratio (Nothing new for us)
20.1 AB/HR
40% of his Career Hits are Extra Base Hits
Career HR leader(52) for any Alaskan-born MLB player

Fasciniting Facts:

According to Baseball Reference.com, The hitter whose career is most similar to Phelps is Mark Teixiera.
Finished 4th in his HS Graduating Class
Baseball America voted Josh Phelps as Toronto's Top Prospect in 2002.

Jake's Personal View of Phelps:

I believe that throughout Phelps' career, he was never given a true "shot" at a job. In Toronto, he had to share 1B duties with Carlos Delgado and in Cleveland he had to share 1B duties with Ben Broussard and DH duties with Travis "Pronk" Hafner. He was never able to put his "best foot forward", so to speak. I think that because of this, he never felt that the organization had his best intentions in mind. Tampa, however, has pretty much given him the DH duties due to it's lack of a "true" DH in 2004 and they also plan on giving him some time at 1B. Hopefully his numbers will improve because of this newfound love towards him. The one problem, I could see arising for Josh is if he gets off to a slow start and Lou may lose confidence in him. However, If Lou lost confidence in known slow starters, Huff wouldn't be well-liked by him and thats pretty blasphemic for most Rays fans. If I had to make a general prediction for Phelps in '05, based on his career numbers and our team's needs, I could see him putting up career numbers(25-35 HRs, 75-100 RBIs, .250-.280 BA) and being one of this year's biggest "sleepers."

I'm new to making scouting reports, so let me know if I forgot anything major.

About those Cubs...

2005-01-15T16:52:00.000-08:00

Sorry, didn't mean to do it again. Few points to address before I continue. 1) Jakub. You are right. The 2B-SS tandem can (and will) be beat (repeatedly). It's nothing to be afraid of. The White Sox should trade one of their OF for a 2B/SS

2) Jim. 20 errors. Which tied him for sixth most among SS, and eleventh most in the Majors. 20 errors in 122 games = an error every 6.1 games. So do all these errors still make Jose Valentin an excellent defensive shortstop? There are obviously better options at shortstop. Offensive disaster? Valentin also paced the team with 138 strikeouts. Even with his 30 homeruns he still managed to fall short of racking up 100+ hits. With the exception of the catcher and right field position, shortstop (Valentin) had the lowest OBP of starters. Valentin also had a .216 BA and a sub .300 OBP. I'll give you that losing Lee *might* hinder the offense, but it's going in a different direction. With the new steroid policy in effect the power numbers will obviously decrease and more teams will want to play the way that Ozzie is trying to get the White Sox to play. Scott Podsednik is the key to Ozzie's offense. a) Get your leadoff man on base. b) #2 hitter moves leadoff man over; or leadoff man can steal. c) #3 hitter slaps him home. That's what they need to work AND focus on. No more swing for the fences and hit-or-miss approach. Get on base, steal and/or move over, score. It will not be as big of a disaster as you think.

3) Sam (and Jim). Name -- (games played) -- OBP
Thomas (74) .434
Burke (57) .386
Gload (110) .375
-->Lee (153) .366<--
Rowand (140) .361
Konerko (155) .359
-->Ordonez (52) .351<--
Harris (129) .343
**Dye (137) .329**
Uribe (134) .327
**Pierzynski (131) .319**
**Podsednik (154) .313**
Crede (144) .299
S. Alomar (50) .298
-->Valentin (125) .287<--
Perez (103) .285
Davis (68) .256
Borchard (63) .249

The "Power" White Sox team couldn't win, so are they really losing a lot by changing to the "Speed/Defensive" White Sox team? Doesn't defense win championships? Isn't power offenses overrated? When was the last power offense to win the World Series? It might take a little whilt to make that jump successful, but when they do...watch out. I'll talk about pitching soon.

To be continued...

About those Devil Rays...

2005-01-15T13:57:00.000-08:00

Sorry, I didn't mean to deceive you, but I really wanted to talk about the Chicago White Sox. I know Jakub has been talking about the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, so I figured we needed to hear some ranting, raving, opinions about those lovable (or love to hate) South Side Sluggers.

This years team has a much different outlook than last years team, and I'm all for it. The power game with Magglio Ordonez, Carlos Lee, Jose Valentin, etc. didn't work. So what's the best idea? GET RID OF THEM (ESPECIALLY VALENTIN). Sure it would be nice to keep Maggs locked up for another 5-6-7 years, but it's just too much money. Too much money to invest in a power hitter who has a few questions about him. If I had the same injury as Maggs, of course I would tell everybody I was 100%. Why only get $6 million a year and be risky with an injury when you could receive $10 million a year and claim to be healthy. The other question is how well he would fit into Ozzie-Ball I was glad to see Jose Valentin go. I thought he was horrible defensively. Great power for a 30-something y/o SS, but horrible in the field. Losing him alone makes the White Sox a better defensive team. As for Carlos Lee...I'm mixed. I've always like Carlos Lee. Pretty good defensively, good power, good average, can swip a few bases...But we got Scott Podsednik in return. Granted his average and on-base numbers aren't great for a lead off hitter, but he can steal 50+ bases a year...Which fits really well into Ozzie-Ball.

To be continued later...

Chemistry and our Devil Rays, Who Knew?

2005-01-14T13:38:00.000-08:00

After talking to Sam about various things, we started talking about one of our favorite Multi-talented baseball players, Aubrey Huff. Sam pretty much summed what I was thinking, right now we could make another Kazmir-for-Zammy trade because right now Aubrey is worth his weight in gold. Insane as I am, I started thinking...hrm, Aubrey....Gold...Aubrey....Gold....Why am I connecting these 2? Then I look at the periodic table and look at the little box for Gold...Chemical Symbol: Au....El Gaspo! Au-brey ::inserts twilight zone music::

If we were to plausibly trade Aubrey to anyone, it would come down to 3 teams right now: The Dodgers, The Braves and ::cringes:: The Orioles. Below, I'll list what kind of value we could get from these 3 teams.

Dodgers- With their lack of a real 3rd baseman right now, we could make a killing off of the Dodgers. Also, I'm pretty sure that DePo would like to get rid of some of the prospects that he didn't draft as a way of showing that this team is "his". A few names that we could inquire about are: James Loney(last year's "wow" spring training prospect), Edwin Jackson(blue-chip-ish Pitching prospect), Antonio Perez(yup, him), David Ross(an up-and-coming catcher) and possibly Jayson Werth. However, I'm not sure that the Dodgers are ever going to think about giving up on Werth.

Braves- With all the moves that JS(don't wanna even try to spell the GM of the Brave's name) has done this offseason, a trade for Huff wouldn't be out of the question. We could go 2 ways in this trade, insane and even crazier. We could offer Huff for Furcal or Marcus Giles straight up or we could offer Huff for Andy Marte and possibly Jeff Francouer(sp?). If we could get Marte, we'd have 3B locked up permanently. The question is, how much do the Braves value Marte? He may be a lock at 3rd this year in Atlanta if Chipper moves back to the OF, and he may not be a lock. 12 consecutive division titles(soon to be 13) has taught us alot, don't argue with the Braves' thought process.

Now for the worst of the 3 teams, The Orioles- True, the Orioles don't really need Huff...they just don't want us to have him either. They have alot of good prospects, especially in pitching, but none that really make us even contemplate trading Huff away. Bedard, Maine, Loewen and Penn are the only names I've heard so far and none of them really spark any interest in making a trade. Also, If we traded Huff to Baltimore, we'd have to play him alot and if the players they traded us didn't pan out, he'd come back and bite us in the ass even more.

Do we really want to trade Huff?

Random Randomness

2005-01-04T13:12:00.000-08:00

Thanks to the lack of transactions by LaMar, I am forced to make a post which will probably be the funniest I have ever made.

If you had the choice of these women, who would you pick and why?

A. Anna Benson (Kris Benson's Model Wife)
B. Melissa Lima (aka Chesty LaRoux, Jose Lima's wife)
C. Jenny Finch (Damn you Daigle, damn you!)
D. Diana Taurasi
E. Rosario Dawson(ROWR)
F. Kobe's Wife

New Year, New Rays??

2004-12-31T19:48:00.000-08:00

In under 2 hours(here), It'll be January 1st and we'll be inching ever so closer to Spring Training and the beginning of another season of big league baseball. For a Devil Rays fan, we're playing the waiting game and try to see what "winners" we can get out of the bargain bin. Not anything new for us, we haven't had any "big" signings in years. We'll I've griped enough in this blog about our team's lack of intelligence/Front Office Financial Backing/etc. I'm going to turn over a new leaf this year, or at least try to. I'm going to continue posting my general humorous thoughts about our Rays, but I'm going to shut my mouth when it comes to the Front Office. I know that Dan(Raysbaseball.com), Jay(Raysbb.com), Jim(ztiger.com), Sam(devilrays.mostvaluablenetwork.com), Jess(MVN), David, me and all the other Devil Rays fans have ranted and raved until we've gotten blue in the face and some of us have probably suffered from long-term carpal tunnel syndrome.

I'm going to try to be a kinder, gentler Rocc/Jake...key word, TRY.

Thank you all for visiting my blog in 2004, I promise that it's only gonna get better.

Through The Dark, Dimness of Raydom, Some Rays of Sunshine and Optimism

2004-12-17T01:00:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I was kinda pissed in my last blogging about how LaMar didn't do shit during the Winter Meetings but enjoying the sights and sounds of Anaheim, but I can't say that we entirely screwed ourselves into a last place finish. I'm actually getting happier with the things that have been happening in baseball lately.

First off, Let me start with the Yankees and their buying of an entire pitching staff. Yes, they picked up big names on the market(Pavano and Wright) and off the market(Randy Johnson). Yet, With that completely idiotic trade for an aging fireballer they also laid waste to their farmsystem. As a Devil Ray fan, we have to suffer a bit this season, but not as much as we originally thought. We'll be facing one of the oldest and most over-hyped arms in baseball. Big whoop, they got Pavano and Jaret Wright by shucking multi-million dollar contracts like it's nothing. Pavano had a "contract" year and will probably crumble from the pressure. Jaret Wright can't even pass a physical, why should we worry about facing him? I'm definitely not trembling at the mention of his name. They haven't spent any money on their offense and they don't have a prospect within arms distance to coming to Ruth's house. I'd like to thank Boston again for totally embarassing New York, now they're delirious enough to make ridiculous signings and trades.

Now onto the World Champ, things aren't running perfectly smoothly for them also. I, however, won't count them out anytime soon. They've made minor moves and acquired an upgrade at SS with the signing of "Edgah". The thing about Boston is...well, they've replaced Pedro and Derek Lowe with Boomer Wells and John Halama. I'm sorry Sam, but that's hilarious as all hell. Now with the news that Curt may not be ready for the beginning of the season, Wakefield and Arroyo are forced to take over as "Ace." I'll believe that when I see it. Right now, Baseball isn't big on the minds of Bostonians, which Epstein should be happy about.

Baltimore is looking like 90% of their hitters this offseason. None of their targeted acquisitions have landed anywhere close to them. Delgado doesn't seem to be grabbing the pen anytime soon, would you? Peter Angelos has the money, but from the looks of things...noone wants it. I also believe that this backlash comes from Angelos' whining about the Montreal move to DC. You may have bickered yourself into success, however not for your Orioles. A few bright spots last year, but I don't expect any "big" changes for Baltimore next year.

Toronto, oh poor Toronto. First, the team totally craps out on JP Riccardi, now no hockey? Geez, the suicide rate must be flying through the roof nowadays in Toronto. The only bright spot is that they got a native son(Corey Koskie) signed to a deal, but that forces the "newly bastardized Native Son" Eric Hinske into a position (1B) that he isn't accustomed to. They made small moves, but not enough to get them out of the cellar any time soon. I guess more time for Aaron Hill and Russ Adams to get some seasoning in the minors. Take your time guys, The Jays aren't leaving Canada anytime soon.

Now for our beloved Rays, this is an offseason where we just would rather close our eyes and hope that our team just plays a little bit closer to its "potential". We did get gypped in the trade for Kevin Cash, but I'm sure this kid will turn out to be alot better than Brook "Burke" Fordyce. I'll be glad to put some money up for that statement. We also have made an awkward deal in the Rule V Draft, but we could be getting a gem also...so I'm not going to blast LaMar on this either. We're definitely going to make a few more moves and hopefully we'll have a roster that could make a move at 3rd in our division and set ourselves up for the heralded "2006".

Just remember, "Every rose has it's thorn....every cowboy sings a sad, sad song"

Urge to kill....RISING...

2004-12-13T09:37:00.000-08:00

What a difference a week makes, huh? Last week I was in the middle of writing a post about how Major League Baseball treats us like its own personal doormat and how our team will eventually come out of the shadows and lay the ass-whooping of all ass-whoopings to all of the top teams in baseball with our own style of play. Guess what, I deleted that post and I don't see myself making one like it anytime soon(well, not this season at least.)

Unless a monsterous trade in our favor happens before Spring Training begins, I believe that this season will be a hard one to endure. We'll either take "a step backwards" or we won't make that much of a positive improvement. Our Front Office screwed us over royally this year. We go to Anaheim and come back with Cash. Surprise, Surprise, Surprise! I bet that Vincenzo thought it was Cash of the monetary kind when the trade first came through and accepted it without even taking a second to look it over. Why did we go in the first place? To window-shop? I'm beginning to wonder which one of "braintrust" to strangle first. Lamar says that we'll be more likely to plug the holes in our lineup by ways of trade, but I've yet to see those trades happen. We could've stole a prospect or two in the Rule V Draft, but from the looks of things Lamar hit the snooze alarm one too many times and overslept.

If I didn't have to work tommorrow morning, I would try to drown my rage and sorrows away tonight.

The 2005 Rule V Draft: The Name( and Numbers?) Game

2004-12-04T14:42:00.000-08:00

With nothing really happening in St. Pete, other than the arrival of "Snow Birds", we've at least got something to be happy about getting prepared for? Woo hoo, Rule V Draft time, where we can get decent/unproven prospects at a discounted price. This year has a few suprises which Chuckles and Vincenzo should keep their eyes on. Unlike most years, there is a large influx of talent and special projects for Pinella, Foley and Chuck Hernandez to work with. I will post my favorites in this draft.

Jake Gautreau(3B/2B/OF)- With a name like Jake, he sounds perfect for us. Don't you agree? He was always a top-of-the-line prospect(in my opinion) for the Padres, but due to injuries and the unexpected moves of their GM, Gatreau was forced out to be left unprotected. Gatreau would provide us with a 3B option if Lamar does decide to give BJ some Durham seasoning. Gautreau can also play 2B and OF, which could be useful when we need to make adjustments and spot-start because someone unexpectedly gets injured or needs a day off or two. He's got a decent OPS, something that our line-up doesn't really have at the moment. The only drawback with us getting Jake is that being that he's unproven and Lou isn't always inclined to start a rookie, unless they put up numbers like Rocco, Cantu or Kazmir did. I say that he's worth the risk.

Andy Sisco(LHP)- Time to cue up "The Thong Song" because I think that Andy may be the gem of this Rule V Draft. With the inconsistency of the Cubs, they get a nice influx of top-notch prospects every other year and because of that some of those top-notch prospects get unprotected unexpectedly due to what they consider as their needs for the year. I believe that they made a tremendous mistake when they left this Six-Foot Nine Left-Handed Fireballer to be up for grabs. I don't care that he could throw his elbow out with the torque that he throws the ball at, it'd be hilarious to see our interdivisional rivals cringe at the idea of facing Niemann, Sisco and Kazmir. I don't see how any Rays fan could disagree with my idea of us getting Sisco for practically nothing.

Charlie Zink(RHP)- If I was the GM, I'd pick up Zink in a milisecond. Yeah, he did have some control problems last year, but seeing that knuckleball dance in the trop would be nice. He's a nice project for Lou and Hernandez to work on. Hey, we could live through some control problems this year because we'd have another 10 to work on it. Remember Knuckleballers are like twinkies, they can last for 50 years.

Colt Griffin(RHP)- I'm on the fence with Colt, but I wouldn't cause a stink if we picked him up. He'd be a nice project for Lou and Chuck(Hernandez, that is) and seeing the number "100" light up on the scoreboard's radar gun would bring alot of smiles to Rays' fans' faces.

To See or Not To See: "Alexander"

2004-11-29T22:54:00.000-08:00

As one of the perks of working at a movie theatre, I get the chance of seeing free movies at my choosing. Seeing that I just had to relax, I chose tonight to see the epic "Alexander". This movie was great, in my opinion, but some may be turned away by the visuals(not all of them were as good as others...more info about that later) and themes brought forth by Oliver Stone. In detailing the life of this "great conquerer", Oliver hit-and-missed in some of the story. He seemed to skip ahead to the more important battles and myths about Alexander's fabled life. He also loved to dangle the idea of Alexander being a blatantly obvious bisexual in front of the viewing obvious. As historical buff, I'm not going to deny or agree with the goings on of Alexander's sex life. I liked the casting of this movie, especially Rosario Dawson( she will be mine...she will be mine...) and Angelina Jolie(see: Rosario Dawson).

Best Parts(pun intended?): Battle scenes were great, bloody and true to history(strategy-wise). Seeing Rosario Dawson buck naked made me(and the complete theatre) go completely silent and awestruck. Anthony Hopkins casted as Ptolemy(aka the Narrator) was awesome, why not voice an epic movie with an epic actor? Also, seeing Colin Farrell at his craziest is great also.

Worst Parts(hahaha, you'll see): The overuse of the bisexual angle, yeah he might've been...but you don't have to have him give long looks and kisses to every man he is close to. The unneeded appearance of Colin Farrell's Mini-Colin made me look away in total disgust(I only knew about the part being shown by the grunts by all the male viewers in the theatre...thank god I looked down at my phone to check the time). The misuse of Angelina Jolie's character...jeez, they didn't even have the infamous "snake myth"(which would have made the Rosario Dawson seen look like a Tom and Jerry cartoon) that kinda explained the "Alexander as the 'Son of Zeus' " Myth. Also, they never showed the hilarious myth about the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi in which Alexander literally dragged someone by their clothes to the oracle.

Overall(out of 4 Rays): I give this 3 Rays

Sleep: The Final Frontier, "Bubonic Weekend" Day 3/Epilogue- Sunday

2004-11-28T01:26:00.000-08:00

After 3 days and around 25 hours of work, I'm finally on the home stretch and I'm running towards the finish line. Today was a gloomy, rainy day...which is nothing for me to be happy about, although I did enjoy direct customers to managers who had to explain why the soda machines weren't working and why they couldn't replace something else. My managers weren't too happy that I got them pushed into a corner, but I love to see them squirm. Hey, its great when I have a manager get yelled at and get tipped in the same breath for "extraordinary" service. Kinda funny how that works. Today was a day that I wish I could have stayed in bed, but bills have got to be paid. Tommorrow, I will return to Rays-related bloggings and other randomness... I just had to show you what makes me the insane person that I am...

In Soviet Russia...Turkey eats YOU!!!! "Bubonic Weekend" Day 2- Saturday

2004-11-26T22:06:00.000-08:00

I'm thinking that I might actually live through this weekend...and all without going insane. My day was straight out the Twilight Zone, the job that I thought that I'd get trampled on by ended up being a dream shift and the one that I thought I could pretty much skate accross gave me a migraine. Oh, sweet Painkillers, I have missed you.... Anywho, I got paid and I'll shut my mouth.

Now onto Saturday, I'm supposed to be at work at 915 in the morning tommorrow...oh joy, I feel so blessed.

Shop SMART! Shop S-Mart! "The Bubonic Weekend" DAY 1- Friday

2004-11-25T22:08:00.000-08:00

I don't know if I should start writing my "Last Will and Testament" or not at this moment, I've got my gut feelings telling me one thing and I've got a horrible algebra/physics-like constant telling me another. I should be asleep from all the Tryptophan in my body, but my silly ass took a nap before I went to work tonight and now I'm strung out like I was one of the people in "Requiem for a Dream". Damn you Coffee, why do you mock me? DAMN...YOU'SE JUAN VALDEZ, DAMN YOU'SE TO HELLLLLLLLLL! Now I've got about 9 hours to get a few hours of Rapid-Eye Movement, showered and in a happy enough attitude to work both my jobs. Why, oh why, did I choose to work a double on the BUSIEST shopping day of the year? What was in those brownies I ate? Why did I wake up with an extra $100 in my pocket? I'm happy, at least, that my first shift is a 10-4 shift...If it was any longer, I'd go insane. I'm one of the 2 non-management employees in the store who knows what the hell he is doing and I'm just returning to it from a well-needed sabatical, so I'm a bit in the dark about some things. Phew, at least I'm not OPEN-to-CLOSE, but I've got an hour to rest from there and start at my other job....at a moofie theatre....oh yeah, I'm pretty much guaranteeing myself a headache and seeing about every person in Illinois. How it usually goes on "Black Friday" up in Chicagoland, is that you're doing 1 of three things....1) Shopping at Gurnee Mills, 2) Working, or 3) Seeing a movie. Please shoot me now...I'd glady pay you Tuesday, for a day off today...

NOTE TO SELF: RUN INTO PARIS HILTON AT GURNEE, GET MARRIED AND GET FIRED FROM BOTH JOBS.

Christmas Coming Early For Tampa Fans?

2004-11-21T09:38:00.000-08:00

Yeah, not really much going well for Tampa fans right now, but when is everything perfect? The only thing consistant right now is Michael Clayton and I don't really forsee a playoff berth for any TB team right now. With all this bad news, I actually read news that brought a smile to my face. What was that news, you ask? The news of us releasing Geoff Blum, Damian Rolls and Jeremi Gonzalez. Now I'm not going out of my way and predicting a 90-win season with these transactions, but cutting these "dead weight" players will give some of our other (and a hell of alot better) players a chance at playing.

Also, I'm starting to think that former Rays are making our lives easier in different ways. First, Tanyon Sturtze pretty much ensured that the Yankees wouldn't make it to the World Series. Now, Jose Guillen getting traded to the DeCpos made it possible for us to make an attempt at acquiring Brad Wilkerson. He may be arbo-eligible next year, but if we got 75 to 81 wins with him on the team, we could have a shot at resigning him with an increased payroll. I personally think that if we could get on a roll earlier next year and finish at a near .500 record, we'd have a larger attendence # for the year and thus, a higher payroll. Maybe, if we're lucky, Sternberg could force out Vincenzo mid-season and promise that we'd have a $75 mil. payroll for the 2006 season. Think of it, In 2006; We'd have Delmon in RF, a healthy and hopefully more patient Rocco, a well-polished CC, a Prototype-SS in BJ, a doubles machine in Cantu, a consistant and finally happy Huff and ::gasps:: a payroll that could give us good Free Agents....

Baseball America continues to screw with Devil Rays fans...

2004-11-15T11:22:00.000-08:00

God, I waited for today's chat for about a week now and now I feel like a total idiot to depend on Baseball America(just the site, though...I love the mag). They screw up our rankings by placing Gaitright at 3rd with names like Brignac, Bankston and Dukes following him...which just dumbfounds me...Yeah, he's fast...Yeah, he can jump over cars....Can he hit for power? Obviously not! Can he keep his shoulder in one piece for a season? Haven't seen it happen, yet. It seems that the editors put Delmon and Kazba at 1 and 2 and then put the names of our prospects in a hat and just pulled them randomly and placed them in the order that they pulled them in. Yeah, Houser is good, but he got hurt early/midway through the season...

As for the chat ::breathes in::, I hate Bill Ballew, with an undying passion...For the last 20-25 minutes, they've refreshed and nothing new has appeared, what the hell? Do you not know how to use a computer, Billy Boy? The chat was supposedly beginning at 2 PM EST, yeah...it started at a quarter til...Strike 1...Wonderbread had 2 questions answered before I had my first one sent...what the hell? Strike 2... Hrm, I've seen three names in the 6 questions that Ballew somehow answered...Delmon Young(no big surprise), Jeff Niemann(Our unsigned Ace) and Jason "1 Hit Wonder" Pridie. Strike 3! You're out! Um, the last time I checked, we have more talent than that...looks like we still don't get respect. We get a shitty moderator, the same questions repeated and no mention of any of our other players? Thanks BaseballAmerica.com, you pissed me off and will see my rage...Assholes!

::starts shaking, turns a shade of green::

You wouldn't like me when I'm angry...

::computer refreshes and one of my questions gets answered::

Whoops, I still hate you Billew...

When the Zit hits the fan....

2004-11-12T20:31:00.000-08:00

This past season we were shown glimpses at what Jorge Cantu can do, but I believe that we were only being baited with the 20 doubles. So far in the Mex. League, Cantu has already shown immense improvements in many facets of his game, improved power (5 HRs), improved patience(14 Ks and 6 BBs) and a handy little OPS of 1.047(non-translated). Who do we have to thank for this sudden spark of enthusiasm? Is it Pinella for telling the media that it's Jorge's job to lose? Could it be Chuckles for actually making the call to Durham and promoting Cantu? I'd be very happy if Cantu decided for himself that he's going to make his own name for himself and that only he can decide when he'll jump off this train. As a fan, a D-Ray one especially, I'm wishing him the best of luck for this upcoming season.

The Boredom of Offseason Meetings...

2004-11-10T15:37:00.000-08:00

Since this a "dead" part of the year for most baseball fans, especially for us Rays fans, I'd like to poke the brains of the people who read my blog with a few questions.

1. Whats in your CD player right now?
2. Best movie you've seen lately?
3. An Interesting Fact about yourself

If They Weren't Rays...

2004-11-03T19:36:00.000-08:00

I don't know if I'm just truely out of my mind or if I was intoxicated when I started thinking what our favorite Rays players would be doing if they weren't playing baseball. Some of my guesses or out of knowledge of their pasts or what I see them best suited for.

Rocco- Olympic Volleyball player, Finishing his College Basketball Career at Wake Forest,movie/tv star(hopefully not on "The Sopranos")

CC- Finishing up his career as the starting QB of the Nebraska Cornhuskers, possible NFL QB/RB playing in his rookie/sophmore season.

Huff- Lumberjack, rapper(c'mon, he's Huff Daddy)

Gaitright- Olympic Sprinter

Lou Pinnella- High School Football Coach, Commentator

Bobby Seay- A Real Life "Big Boy", worker at Dunkin' Donuts/Krispy Kreme

Julio Lugo- Marriage Counselor

Elijah Dukes- Martha Stewart's Cellmate

Don Zimmer- WWE Manager

Josh Hamilton- Newest member of D12 and/or Eminem's Fan Club President

Too Much For Our Own Good?

2004-10-30T13:28:00.000-07:00

Around September we assigned Joey Gaitright to the AFL in hopes that he could boost his value as trade bait. To our suprise, he's showed improvements in his hitting(.365 Batting Avg.), OBP(.400) and has improved his steal rate dramatically(15 SBs, 2 CS). Now we have to figure out if it really is a good idea to trade him away in hopes to improve our pitching staff. My idea is to keep him until we get a top notch pitching prospect or a well-known "Ace"-type pitcher. If he maintains a OBP of .400 or better for the complete AFL season and post-season and keeps hitting the way he is, I feel that we should use him as our DH. True, it may not be a great idea to hitter not known for power to be put in the DH spot, but we didn't put it to any good use last year, why not have another speedster in our lineup to drive opposing starting pitchers insane. Think of it, next year we'd have CC, Gaitright and a healthy Rocco at the top of the line-up, Huff and Jorge to drive them in and with possible upgrades through Free Agency/Trades.

My 2nd idea for Gaitright would be for us to teach him to play Right Field (We taught Upton how to play Third Base, so why not?), put Cruz in some kind of trade package and give Delmon the complete 2005 season to work on whatever we feel that he needs to improve on to become the player we feel that he could be. When 2006 rolls along, we'd then have options for our line-up. We wouldn't have to play Delmon every day at RF and he wouldn't burn out late in the season like some rookies down when they're just thrown into the mix.

Options are what we need off when we have an owner and GM who aren't willing, at the moment, to spend money on top-notch Free Agents. Joey gives us alot of them, in my opinion.

If Hans Blix(Hans Brixxxx!) was really looking for WMDs, he doesn't have to look any further, we have one in the making....

R.I.P. "The Curse Of The Bambino" 1918-2004, Father of "The Curse Of A-Rod?"

2004-10-28T01:50:00.000-07:00

Finally, one of the most irritating cleches in the history of sports has finally met its match. I doubt that I'm the only person to see it die forever. Now, I feel that the despised Yankees have hexed. Why, you ask? They no longer can brag that they have Boston's number...they now have to live up to having to listen that they one of only 3 teams in the Histories of MLB, NHL, NFL, and NBA to have ever lost after being ahead 3 games to none...They no longer can chant "1918" like blabbering idiots. Are the so-called "Gods of Baseball" mad at New York for undermining Boston's attempts at getting Alex Rodriguez and trying to buy a championship? The Yankees are said to be making "changes" to the team, yet what those changes are, are unknown...

As a Devil Ray fan, I feel that we should take as much advantage to Boston's somewhat beautiful demolition of a Baseball dynasty as we possibly can. We stole Zim from New York, whats stopping us from doing more damage? We've got to get it ingrained in our heads that all the Yankees are are bullies and if we stood up for ourselves, we'd come out victors. The thing is, though, we're not the only team in our division that has that though in our heads. Boston, I'm sure will not forget, not rest on their laurels and continue trying to step all over Georgie and his beloved team.

Sam, I'm sure you're happier than all hell tonight. I'm going to salute you, The Red Sox Nation and the team itself with a nice sip(nah, more of a chug) of some wicked Sam Adams ale....You guys deserve it.

The 2005 Tampa Bay Devil Rays Part II: Pitching

2004-10-27T13:51:00.000-07:00

One of the biggest weaknesses on our Big League roster is the lack of a true "Ace". To solve that problem, we're either going to have to wait on Jeff Niemann to sign and make his way to St. Pete or we're going to have buy one. However, the problem in buying one is that we're not really an attractive destination for Free Agents at the moment. I feel that with our depth in pitching in the minors, a mid-level free agent Starting Pitcher(along the lines of Milton, Perez or Clement) is a worthwhile chance at getting our "ace"...Pavano may be out of our range, but if we could get him, we could do serious damage with him at the helm...Also, I wouldn't mind getting some value out of Baez, Gaitright, Cruz and possibly Colome...

Here's how I see our Pitching next year..:

#1 Pitcher: Free Agent Acquisition/Lurch/Niemann(late-season call-up possibility)
#2 Pitcher: Lurch/Kazmir
#3 Pitcher: Rob Bell
#4 Pitcher: Brazleton(@ home only)/Sosa(Road starts)
#5 Pitcher: Innings-eating Free Agent/Trade Acquisition
Relievers: Same ol guys from last year, I don't really see any changes made here
Set-up Man: Jesus Colome/Orvella
Closer: Baez/Orvella

I found an almost hilarious link...

2004-10-26T01:53:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if it's funnier than questioning Scooter's sexuality, but I got a chuckle out of the following link:

http://sportsgoons.com/Vol2_Iss34/Michael_Vick_Experience.com.htm

Hilarious Link of the Day (10/26/04)

2004-10-25T22:41:00.000-07:00

http://http://www.thebrushback.com/scooter_full.htm
*LINK MAY BE OFFENSIVE*

Ah, the hilarity of baseball...

The 2005 Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Part I- Position Players

2004-10-25T10:38:00.000-07:00

In 2004, We finally emerged from our palacial cellar estate and started to enjoy life and actually have some fun. We were having so much fun, we even took a shot at the powerhouses of our division and 2nd place before our lucky streak inexplicably ended. I believe that our team lacks 1 important piece, a true leader. During our improbable winning streak, we played like a team should, yet noone really stepped forward and put the team on his back and promised to take us into the penthouse of the AL East for good. Aubrey Huff made an attempt at becoming our team leader in the 2nd Half with his bat and with his words. He took a stand against management's lack of help which garnered respect from his peers. Is Aubrey "the straw that stirs the drink" or his he our "bat". We don't have a "Barry Bonds" or "Albert Pujols" type of player who forces teams to plan around them which leads to other players cashing in on their planning of a game around 1 player. We may have that in Delmon, but Delmon may not show up in Tampa until around 2006. During this offseason, we have to have a player step it up and announce that he's gonna lead this team and whoever wants to go with him, to buckle up and enjoy the ride. Whether this player is homegrown or a long-term FA pick-up is the mystery.
We've got most of our roster set-up, but we still lack talent in some positions.

This is how I see our line-up in 2005
1B- Free Agent Acquisition/Aubrey Huff
2B- Jorge Cantu/Julio Lugo
SS- Julio Lugo/ BJ Upton
3B- Free Agent Acquisition/BJ Upton/Aubrey Huff
LF- Carl Crawford
CF- Rocco Baldelli (possibly Gaitright)
RF- Free Agent Acquisition/Cruz(I hope not)/Rocco/Delmon(Late-season Call-up)
C- Toby Hall/Pete LaForest/Mystery Flavor?

I'd love for us to go after some higher-tier Free Agents like Konerko, Glaus or Beltre, but they all may be way out of our price range. We could always make a deal with Boston to get Millar which would give us some back-up at 1st and RF. I'm not Lamar, so I have no idea what direction they're going towards.

Tommorrow(or Wednesday), I'll start on what we should do with our pitching staff....

The Yankees Reign of Terror has finally ended...

2004-10-20T23:37:00.000-07:00

First of all, I'd like to say....

NA NA NA NA!
NA NA NA NA!
Hey Hey Hey Hey!
GOOOOOOOOODBYYYYYYYYE!

Now that I'm done with that, I'd like to wish the Boston Red Sox the best of luck. They pulled off the biggest comeback in the history of sports, let alone Major League Baseball. I believe that the New York Yankees as we known them will never be the same. George, get your own damn Calzone because the AL East won't be taking your shiznit anymore.

What I find funny is that I hear "Let's go Red Sox" chants at the very end of the Telecast, can you say "Fair-weather fans"?

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls....

2004-10-20T21:51:00.000-07:00

...Children of allllll ages: The Boston Red Sox have done what no one (except for me that is) thought they could do. Well, actually it's not just me...I'm sure there are millions of people in the New England/Boston area that thought the BoSox could as well...Or maybe they just hoped because they've suffered and every year has turned into "maybe next year." It appears as though "maybe next year" has turned into "finally it's the year!!!"

My first question is: What about the MasterCard commercial where the people say what they would pay/give to get to the World Series? I want to find the guy who said he would give up his child to see the Red Sox in the World Series...then I'd like to collect on that. Then I'd like to take the other guys car, AND computer...since I'm sure they are worth a grand total of $300 tops. Is that kid really going to give up 2 months of wages? If he does he wont be able to by the next issue of Maxim, or FHM, or even Stuff...maybe he's into Cosmo...I don't know...but I'm willing to bet that the kid could work for a year and still not be able to afford a standing room only seat to Fenway Park in the next week.

My second question: What do Red Sox fans expect to happen in the World Series? Do they expect the win it all? Bring home the title to Beantown? What if they don't? Will next year be "maybe next year?"

Personally I think Boston fans should be happy they beat the ******* Yankees. If they aren't satisfied by beating the Yankees in the playoffs then the Red Sox deserve to get swept in the World Series.

There's no more curse of the Bambino, they got past the Yankees. Be happy with that.

That's my 6 cents, take it to the bank.

I'm out like the fat kid in dodge ball.

PEACE

The Rocc's Question of the Day (10/20/04)

2004-10-20T13:36:00.000-07:00

Easy question:
Game 7, for all the marbles..who are you picking, Boston or New York?

Lesser of Two Evils

2004-10-20T09:27:00.000-07:00

Watching baseball on National TV this season and post-season taught me alot of things. The major lesson I learned was that Fox and ESPN baseball need to be completely obliterated and rebuilt. Neither network seems to be getting it right and look far from being close to said point.

Here's my rants about both networks:

ESPN: First of all, Peter Gammons and Jayson Stark need to be kidnapped and tortured until their last dying breaths. They are two of the most biased sports writers that I have ever seen. I believe that any D-Ray can attest that they are on the payrolls of Boston and New York. Even though we had a winning streak, Peter would continue blasting our team for no reason. Now he complains that the Rays are holding Lou Pinella hostage and that he needs to go to the Mets immediately, which makes no sense comparing the talent in our minor league systems. Jayson Stark saves himself by not appearing as much on tv and not getting camera time in which he can suck on Steinbrenner and/or Theo Epstein. The only saving points for baseball on ESPN are Jon Miller(one of my favorite commentators), Karl Ravech(doesn't SEEM to be as biased as the rest of the panel) and John Kruk(he may be spouting crap, but he isn't afraid to take shots if they are needed). Rob Dibble is also good with his rips of Skip Bayless and Peter Gammons, yet he's a complete dunce nonetheless...

Fox: All I have to mention are 2 things and I'm done with FOX....First, Tim McCarver is a complete bufoon and seems to be confused on the easiest of calls, which is why I'm figuring that FOX hired Al Leiter this season. Second, Slider...The Educational Baseball. It's meant to be for kids and idiots who don't watch baseball much or at all. This makes no sense because these playoff games aren't show at the time of day where many kids would be watching the games and I really don't think that a person who doesn't watch baseball much would keep the TV on FOX just because a little baseball explain how a sinker works. Buck is the only baseball mind working for FOX and he's nowhere near his dad as a baseball commentator.

Thank god we have good baseball games for this year's playoffs or else I'd rather hang myself than watching FOX...Rupert, bring back the Simpsons ASAP...

ALCS Game 7: Apocalypse Now?

2004-10-20T08:56:00.000-07:00

I, however, will not believe that this a full-fledged one until Boston meets the Cubs in the World Series. Who would have thought on Sunday morning that Boston would come back from being down 0-3 in the series to force a game 6, let alone Game 7. I'm betting that I'm not the only person who will be glued to their seat watching this game. I'm not getting my hopes up for Boston or nor will I be mad if New York ends up winning in it's last at-bat(ala Aaron "Friggin" Boone), fine I lied about not being mad if New York won. I'm predicting either a 17 inning, Low-scoring, bullpen marathon tonight or Derek "The Scarecrow" Lowe pitching the game of his career and shocking us all...

In other news, Jorge Cantu hit a double in his Mexican League debut...wow, big surprise there...

The "What if" Game

2004-10-17T13:35:00.000-07:00

Hey, we've all had a case of the "what if's" sometime in our lives, as a Devil Ray fan I'm pretty sure it's guaranteed. Well, I'm gonna start listing some and if you want you can post the result or add some yourself....

Here goes nothing,
1. What if Chuckles and Vincenzo actually let us work with a payroll of at least 60 mil.?
2. What if we stopped going after crappy Utility players?
3. What if Dewon actually won a road start?
4. What if our Starting Pitchers actually lasted more than 6 innings?
5. What if Doug Waetcher could stop giving up Gohper balls?
6. What if Rocco could take walks?
7. What if Rocco could hit 30 HRs?
8. What if CC could hit 20 HRs?
9. What if Gaitright could get his OBP over .400?
10. What if BJ could lower his Error Totals?
11. What if Huff could stay hot all season?
12. What if we actually gave Gomes and Diaz a chance?
13. What if Cantu could play ever game, would we have a doubles machine?
14. What if Delmon is ready to play in the majors in Spring Training?
15. What if Orvella is ready to play in the majors in Spring Training?
16. What if Reid Brignac becomes our Top Prospect?
17. What if Lou just snapped next season?
18. What if we actually could get 25,000+ fans per game at the Trop for the entire 2005 season?
19. What if we could go over 2 games over .500 sometime in our Franchise History?
20. What if we were playoff contenders by the All-Star Break in 2005?
21. What if we could actually sign Jeff Niemann before I turn 22(March 6th)?
22. What if we could draft Townsend or Verlander next year?
23. What if we could draft Justin Upton?
24. What if we won 20 games in a row?
25. What if I didn't stop typing?

Argh, For the Love of Pete(and I don't LaForest)

2004-10-14T08:50:00.000-07:00

Do you know what October means to most Devil Rays fans? For many, including me, October means Hibernation until February. Why February, you ask? It's because our cheapskate "braintrust"(a term I'd use loosely to describe them) of Chuckles and Vincenzo wait this late to make any major moves. Our major moves include the acquisition of grizzled veterans or, my personal favorite, below-average utilitymen. The braintrust must be happy to get 70 wins with the lineup that we put up with that payroll. I know that I'm not the only fan who just gets a vomit-filled taste in their mouth when they see names like "Brook Fordyce, Jose Cruz Jr., Damian Rolls or Geoff Blum" on the lineup card. Hey, if we can get 70 wins with these schmucks in the lineup, think of how many wins we could get with names like "Kevin Millar, Brad Wilkerson, Troy Glaus or Paul Konerko" in the same line-up as Rocco, CC and Huff Daddy... I think we could surpass 80 wins with that team with no changes to the current pitching rotation. That may be crazy talk to some, but I feel that our lack of offense was the reason for 90% of our losses and the pitching had to dig the team out of a hole that the offense put them in. Hey, I know that our pitching is nothing to write home to mom about, but we've got soldiers in there(well, maybe not all of them...yes, I'm talking to you Dewon) that will fight until they have no more fight left in them. Think of this, how many more wins would we have if the offense had scored 5 or 6 runs instead of the semi-usual 1 or 2 runs...I'm guessing we'd have maybe 7-10 more wins... Vincenzo, Vincenzo, where is your brain, Vincenzo? I've got an idea where it is, but let's not go there. Vinny, you wonder why Huff was mad at you guys for not opening your wallets to help this team? Is there any truth to the rumors that you guys make cost cuts as often as much as normal people brush their teeth. I've heard that he has people making inventories of how many pencils are in the office? Pencils! He also makes people use both sides of a sheet of paper so that they don't waste paper... Can you say money-grubbing, kids? Verrrry Goood... I wish that our new buddy, Sternberg, would become a vocal partner instead of a silent one. One day, One day...

Rocc's Random Question of the Day (10/13/04)

2004-10-13T13:15:00.000-07:00

If you were a superhero, what would your super powers be?

If I were a superhero, my powers would be about the same as Juggernaut's powers(from the X-men). I'd be the unstoppable force and invulnerable(when I choose to be)

Finally, The Rocc has...made it...to Blogspot..

2004-10-13T11:13:00.000-07:00

For all of you that don't know me, I'm a long-time (circa 1999) Devil Ray fan and an avid poster at Raysbaseball.com(aka HOME-PLATE) ::cheap plug #1:: known as "The_Rocc", which I feel that I'm the mouth(if you've ever read my rants and raves, you'd understand) and muscle(if you've ever met me in real life, you'd understand this) there. I also proclaim myself of the Unofficial Legendary Reid Brignac Fan Club Founder and President. Hehehe, hey, these kids got to get a fanbase somehow. Here's some more facts about me: I'm a Waukeganite(a suburb of Chicago) and a college student. I'm a fan of football and baseball, sometimes basketball. I'm an devoted weightlifter and I plan on being a walk-on football player at Western Illinois.

Things that you will learn through this daily(hopefully) blog are:
1. I'm not big on sabremetrics and I will take a jab at some players or people, if they piss me off.
2. You're bound to get a laugh out of my posts.
3. I'm random, very random.

I'd appreciate any criticism or praise from all you'se guys.

PEACE OUT