THE GOOD: Jason Bartlett stole 3 bases, including 3rd base twice...BJ Upton threw a runner out at third base on the fly...

THE BAD: The Golden Sombrero for Jonny Gomes...Edwin Jackson being Edwin. After 27 pitches in the 2nd inning we knew it was going to be a long night...Rays batters had 11 strikeouts and only 2 walks...Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria combined for 9 runners left on base...Aki Iwamura just missed tying the game in the 5th when a drive down the leftfield line was foul by less than a foot. Jason Bartlett would end up stranded at 3rd.

THE TELLING: In the 6th inning, they zoomed in on Jason Hammel as he scurried to get loose quickly. You can just read the expression on his face, "God, I hate this shit"...Jonny Gomes got the start in right field against the left-handed pitcher, while Willy Aybar got the start at DH.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• Don't forget to VOTE for Carl Crawford to start the all-star game. If you haven't voted yet today, go NOW! [MLB All-Star Voting]
• Was Troy Percival cursed by The Sporting News? [Babes Love Baseball]
  
• Troy Percival's injury is not serious, but not surprisingly, he is being given a 2-week break in the form of a trip to the DL to make sure he is 100% when he returns. Willy Aybar was called up to take Percival's spot on the roster. After the game, Ben Zobrist was demoted and replaced by Grant Balfour...As we have said before, demoting Zobrist is certainly only a temporary move, until a better solution presents itself. We can't imagine that Joe Maddon wants to go too deep into the season with Evan Longoria as his backup shortstop. Or maybe he likes having 1 shortstop on the roster and 4 guys that can play right field. [The Heater]
• Joe Maddon will go with closer-by-committe for the next two weeks...Of course, let's hope he was just being kind when he included Gary Glover's name in that group. [Tampa Tribune]
  
• Richard Justice says what we have been screaming for a long time. Be patient. The fans in the Tampa-St. Pete area deserve the benefit of the doubt and it is way too early to be screaming about low attendance. And a big part of this is that baseball owes Florida because they used the state for so long. Many teams used the state of Florida as a bargaining chip in their quest to get public funding for their own stadiums. [The Sporting News]
• Rocco Baldelli got some hacks in an extended spring training game as a DH. He went 1-5. [The Heater]
  
• There is a new blog in the area and with their first post, they take a look at the Rays why the best is yet to come. [The Emerging Voice on Sports and More]
  
• Gary Thorne says that Don Zimmer and his experience are a very valuable piece for the young Rays roster. [USA Today]
  

Tampa Bay Rays (19 days until Opening Day)

Yesterday: Tampa Bay Rays 7, Twins 1. Joe Maddon and Jim Hickey is starting to let their starters stretch it out early this year. James Shields worked 5 scoreless innings, giving up 4 hits and 1 walk. His last inning was his strongest with his only 1-2-3 frame. Elliot Johnson has not let all the media hoopla get to me or his poor 2007 campaign. Johnson led off going 3-5 with his first home run and his 3rd stolen base. He is now 9-18 in the spring with 3 walks. And people thought we were crazy to keep his name so high on our list of prospects...Willy Aybar started at third and went 2-2 with a double. Some kid named Evan Longoria hit his first spring home run. Eric Hinske saw time at first in his effort to show Joe Maddon he can be a utility player. Joel Guzman started in left field but later moved to third base. Dioner Navarro hit his first spring home run.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• After pitching a perfect ninth inning, David Price was sent to the minors along with Jae Kuk Ryu and Justin Ruggiano. Ruggiano's demotion is a bit surprising considering the unknown status of Rocco Baldelli. The move leaves non-roster invitees Jon Weber, Eric Hinske and John Rodriguez as the only in-house options to be the Rays' fourth outfielder. The Trib also quotes Ben Zobrist as saying he will be ready for opening day and that he will be 100%. [Tampa Tribune]
• David Price says there is no doubt in his mind that he is ready. He also feels that the clubhouse knows he is ready also but acknowledges that the team has a plan for him and a process that needs to be followed. Don Zimmer noted that Price's first appearance was as impressive as it gets. [Tampa Bay Rays]

"To me, where are you going to see anything better the whole spring than that one inning?" Zimmer said. "I don't care if you're 17 years old or if you're 77 years old -- that was thrilling. Strike, strike, strike, strike, and low, and breaking balls. It's easy to say they didn't have their regular lineup in there. That, to me, has got nothing to do with it. It's where he was throwing it."

• Andrew Friedman spoke at length yesterday about Rocco Baldelli noting that he does not have a good feel of the situation and will not be proactive in looking for a replacement until they know for certain that Rocco cannot play. [Herald-Tribune]
• Joe Girardi says there will be no bad blood when the Rays play the Yankees after last weekend's home plate collision. Girardi seems to have changed his tune a bit after hearing so many big names side with the Rays (incl. Lou Piniella and Mike Scioscia). Girardi now says that he thinks there was enough plate left exposed for Elliot Johnson to slide into home around the catcher. [Newsday]

Girardi said he had not told his catchers to leave some extra plate open in case of any Rays sliding into home... "I thought there was plate open the other day, and it still happened," Girardi said.

• Anaheim Angels All the Way, who previously used their CHONE projections to predict that the Rays will win 89 games this year, now looks at those results a little closer. The biggest difference will be from the pitching staff and the defense as the Rays are projected to allow 200 fewer runs in 2008. Of course, the Rays could throw out 9 guys off the street and allow about 50 fewer than the 2007 Rays. [Anaheim Angels all the Way]
• SI.com profiles the Rays proposed stadium. One question that recently pooped into our heads about the new stadium...When the "roof" is closed, it seems that the tunnel effect could produce very strong wind currents inside the stadium. This could lead to some very low-scoring games as we would think most of the wind would come from the bay. [SI.com]
  

It is not just spring training for the guys playing in the 9th inning of a spring game.

For those that missed, and we don't know how you could, the Rays' Elliot Johnson, a second base prospect, collided with the Yankees Francisco Cervelli, a reserve catcher in the 9th inning of yesterday's game at Legends Field. The collision resulted in a broken bone for Cervelli.

Joe Girardi, the Yankees new skipper was the first to chime in.

During the season, I’m all for it. It happens in the season.” But, he added, “In spring training, I don’t believe in it...I’m all for playing hard, but I don’t think it’s the time where you run over a catcher.”

Cervelli on the other hand had no problem with the play.

“It’s part of the game,” said Cervelli, who turned 22 on Thursday and played last season at Class A Tampa. “It’s O.K.”

Former Yankees bench coach Don Zimmer said that Girardi's comments "stunk" noting that Girardi is a former catcher and knows how the game is played.

"Then when I pick up the paper this morning, I was dumbfounded. He blocked the plate. What happens if our man slides in with the plate being blocked and breaks his leg? ... I am surprised the way Girardi said what he did. The plate was blocked, and our guy bowled him over. That's the way to play the game. I mean, I'm talking about a guy who is like a son to me. But I can't believe he went after it the way he did, because that's not Joe Girardi -- and being a catcher on top of that."

Zim is absolutely correct. Not surprisingly the Yankees Blogosphere is doing what they do best...whining.

But Elliot Johnson was unnecessarily rough coming home and broke Francisco Cervelli. Turd. It's freaking Spring Training. There's no need to barrel someone over.

Here is the problem with that statement: For the guys that are playing in the 9th inning of a spring training game, this is their regular season. These are players that are most likely not making the team, that are fighting for jobs and trying to make an impression on the coaches and front office. You absolutely CANNOT ask them to dial it down for the sake of somebody might get hurt.

Get over it. Go out and buy yourself another AAA catcher. Personally I love the intensity being shown by the Rays in spring training. The Rays compete in the toughest division in baseball with two of the best teams in baseball. The Rays could put their collective tails between their legs and accept losing or they can stand up to the bullies.

The 2008 Tampa Bay Rays have chosen to punch the bully right in the nose and I love it.

Girardi Says Collision At Plate Is Uncalled For [New York Times]
Rays' Zimmer weighs in on collision [Tampa Bay Rays]
Freaking Devil Rays [Joblog Chamberlain]

Tampa Bay Rays (39 days until Opening Day)

A while back we were critical of Joe Maddon for the following quote...

I think [81 wins is] a reasonable goal...But of course I don't want us just to stop there.

Some thought we were too hard on Papa Joe. Our point was simple...While 81 wins may be a "realistic" goal, it is not a reasonable goal. If winning games is the goal, as it is this year, then the playoffs are the only reasonable goal. If a manager sets a goal of .500 and only 'wants' more, the team will never attain more.

Yesterday Carlos Pena was asked about the recent comments by Scott Kazmir in which Kaz stated that the playoffs were something "that's possible". Pena's comments are exactly what we want to hear from the team's manager.

"Obviously, in our minds we are a playoff team," Pena said. "And first we have to believe that. So that has to almost be ingrained in you and not a second thought. We just know we should be playing in October.

"We also know there's a process. Every game needs to be played to the best of our ability. We need to optimize every single opportunity that comes our way to win ballgames. We know that there's a process involved. But we do have a vision about becoming a winning team. And we see that in the very near future. We don't really think that's very far-fetched."

It takes more than 'wanting' to achieve greatness. It starts with 'believing'. The Rays are beginning to believe and that is the first step. If a manager/coach can convince his players they can be great, there is a better chance of achieving greatness. Let's hope that Papa Joe's words behind the scenes exuded more confidence than his words to the press.

Maybe we are nitpicking the choice of words put forth by Maddon, but for a leader...Every. Word. Counts.

Joe Maddon Considers Mediocrity A 'Reasonable Goal' [Rays Index]
Playoffs?! Did he say playoffs? [St. Pete Times]
Notes: Baldelli healthy, ready to go [Tampa Bay Rays]

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• Rocco Baldelli says he is healthy, but he can't go all out in workouts the way he would normally. [Bradenton Herald]

"I don't worry about it. My body might respond a little different if I went out there and killed myself...Normally I go out there in spring training and every drill that I do I do all the reps I'm supposed to and then some, and I do them as hard as I can until when I leave the field...That's my normal routine, that's the way I've done it for the last eight years...I don't take reps off. I do everything, and I do it as hard as I can. And maybe that's not something that my body may agree with, so if I don't have to I'm not going to. It's tough, when you play one way, I've pretty much always tried to play hard my whole career in every aspect of the game, so it's an adjustment to not do that every single time you take the field, but it's something I'm going to do this year, I'm going to take it easy some times."

• Jonny Gomes reported to camp with plans for being an everyday player. Sorry Jonny. You are one of our faves, but if Rocco Baldelli is healthy, you are sitting against righties most nights. That means 50-60 starts. [Tampa Tribune]
• Di you realize that only two players from last year's opening day lineup will be in the same position on opening day 2008? Carl Crawford and Dioner Navarro. [The Ledger]
• Rays of Light spotlights Cliff Floyd...who we affectionately refer to as "Dr. Huxtable", because he is old and wise and jolly and loves pudding pops*. [Rays of Light]
  
• Don Zimmer will be wearing #60 this year to commemorate his 60 years in professional baseball. We remember an interview with Zims once when he thought it was weird when he received his first Social Security check because it was the first check he had ever received outside of baseball. [TampaBays10]
• Tonight the St. Pete city council will hold the first public meeting on the proposed waterfront stadium for the Rays. [Tampa Tribune]
• Evan Longoria stays away from newspapers and blogs. However, his mother is an avid reader of everything that is 'Evan Longoria' on the 'net. [Tampa Bay Rays]
• Riverwalk Talk has a couple of quotes from Joe Maddon on Evan Longoria and why they do not want to rush the Dirtbag, and a couple of quotes from Longoria. [Riverwalk Talk]
  
• And yes! We have our first sighting of a blog that has attempted humor by dedicating an entire post to the Evan Longoria-Eva Longoria name-likeness. The joke? Eva should have married Evan instead of Tony Parker. Hey Jim Baumbach! We have a joke for you. Peter Pan called. He wants his costume back... It's not even March. Jim Baumbach of Newsday is now officially on our shit-list. [Newsday]
• Elijah Dukes said something. Honestly, we don't give a shit anymore. We barely cared when he was here. Dukes is a loser. He failed the Rays, his teammates, his coaches and the fans. Instead of playing baseball and helping the Rays win games, he turned his own life into a circus. Not only was he an idiot for getting himself suspended and thus not able to help the team, but he made life for his teammates and coaches more difficult. He is dead to us. If Glenn Gibson never pitches one inning for the Rays we will still be glad the Rays got rid of Dukes. [Rays Report]

*we might have made that up

Scottsdale Scorpions (1-10)

thurs
Mesa 6, Scottsdale 2. Reid Brignac led of for Scottsdale, going 2-3 and hitting a olo home run, his first in the AFL. Evan Longoria was 2-3 with 2 doubles and a walk.

fri
Scottsdale 9, Peo Javelinas 3. Evan Longoria was 3-4 with 2 doubles, a home run and 3 RBI in Scottsadale's first win. It was Longoria's 4th home run. John Jaso also homered for the Scorpions, going 1-2 with 2 RBI. Reid Brignac was 0-4. Mike Prochaska started and picked up the win, going 3 innings, and allowing 1 run on 3 hits, and a walk, while striking out 2. Calvin Medlock relieved and pitched 2 scoreless innings striking out 2.

sat
Phoenix 3, Scottsdale 2. Evan Longoria went 1-4 and is now hitting .317. He also committed his 3rd error of the AFL.Longoria is 4th in the AFL with a 1.063 OPS. He is tied for the league lead with 4 home runs, is third with 8 RBI and second with 4 doubles. Chris Nowak started at first base and went 1-3 with an RBI. Nick DeBarr and Evan Meek each pitched in relief. DeBarr threw 2 perfect innings with a strikeout, while Meek strike out two, but gave up a hit an a walk in two-thirds of an inning.

sun
OFF DAY

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• 2007 has been unkind to the state of Ohio. [The Sporting Orange]
• Was anybody esle disturbed a little to see a member of the Orioles in the Boston dugout and throwing the first pitch in game 7? [The Kansas City Star]
  
• We believe the Dustin Pedroia should be and will be AL Rookie of the Year...But Baseball America thinks that Delmon Young was only the 13th best rookie (5th best in the AL)...seriously. [ArmchairGM]
• Yet another blogger that thinks Joe Torre should take a year off and then replace Joe Maddon as manager of the Devil Rays. After hearing Torre refer to the Yankee's contract offer as an "insult", we are starting to warm to the possibility if Maddon gets off to a bad start in 2008 or if the Rays fail to reach .500 at the end of the season. It is not a secret that George Steinbrenner considers Tampa his home turf and has never been fond of the Devil Rays franchise. Taking the Tampa job and beating the Yankees could be the ultimate answer from the manager that is a lot more fiery and calculating than his public persona would suggest. [Quick Hits From The Sidelines]
• Keep in mind that Joe Torre and Don Zimmer are close, and Zim was none-too-happy about the way the Yankees handled his pal Torre. [tampabay.com]
  
• More funky baseball math. This time, Roto Authority suggests that Andy Sonnanstine was the 4th unluckiest pitcher in 2007 which suggests he could be much better in 2008. [Roto Authority]
• Minor-ity Report take a look at David Price and compares his numbers to Mark Prior. Not the first time we have heard the comparison, but Price's numbers in college were actually better than Prior's and Price has an extra year of college under his belt. And did we mention that Price is left-handed. We are starting to get giddy. [Minor-ity Report]
  
• Despite a big dropoff in production in 2007, the Devil Rays still believe that Reid Brignac is their future shortstop. It just won't be in 2008. [TBO]
  
• "The only thing that keeps this organization from being recognized as one of the finest in baseball is wins and losses at the major league level." – Devil Rays GM Chuck Lamar...We are not sure why this is one of "The 35 Dumbest Sports Quotes Ever". Isn't it true? [LiveJournal]
• Jon Garland or Jose Contreras for Carl Crawford? Contreras? No. Garland? Not likely. He is set to make $12 million in 2008 and will be a free agent at the end of the year. [Mets Blog]
• Then again, MLB Rumors cites "industry sources" that "The Devil Rays and White Sox have worked over the past couple months on possible deals this off season that involve Jon Garland and Carl Crawford". Maybe THIS GUY qualifies as an "industry source" [MLB Rumors]
  
• In the four professional sports leagues in North America, there are 92 teams. Sports Frog ranks the Devil Rays 89th, ahead of only the Memphis Grizzlies (90), Charlotte Bobcats (91) and the Houston Texans (92). See? The Rays don't always finish last. [Sports Frog]
• RJ Anderson discusses his upcoming book about Chuck LaMar. [The Stat Pack]
  

Surprise 9, Scottsdale 6.
Reid Brignac was 0-4 and is now hitting .118 (2-17) and Evan Longoria was 1-3 with a single and a walk with 2 strike outs. Calvin Medlock pitched a perfect 4 outs with 1 strike out. He now has a 5.06 ERA in 5.1 IP covering 3 appearances. He has struck out 7 while only walking 1.

Here is footage of Evan Longoria's first AFL at bat. You need to fast forward to the 2:00 mark. It is only a flyball but it is nice to see the Dirt Bag in a Rays uniform swinging the lumber.


Here is footage of Longoria's only base hit in the AFL's first week that was not a home run and the swing was not his best


DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• The latest mailbag by Bill Chastain originally stated that the new Rays uniforms would be available in local Champs stores on November 9. Now the original question and answer are no longer found in the mailbag. Either the news was inaccurate or more likely, the Rays front office did not want the information made available yet. Oops. So for those of you looking for discounts on the old green uniforms, or for those of you that are looking for expensive material for your winter fireplace, November 9 is your target date. [Devil Rays]
• For those of you that hate the new uniform designs, it could be worse. They could have hired one of these "designers". [Cleveland Plain-Dealer]
  
• With the Colorado Rockies advancing to the World Series, the Rays are now one of only three four teams to never appear in the Fall Classic, along with Seattle, Washington and Texas. [6 Things To Consider]
• Ever want to know what Joe Maddon thinks about Bruce Springsteen? Neither did we, but Marc Lancaster seems to think we would be interested. Lancaster lands a 1-on-1 with Maddon in the off-season and he does not ask a single baseball question. [TBO]
  
• We rarely talk fantasy around these parts. We still haven't recovered from the Wally Joyner ruining our Rotissirie team ever season. But we need to say something when one person ranks Dioner Navarro as only the 28th best catching option entering 2008. Now we are not saying that Navi is going to have the 3rd highest OPS for catchers in 2008 (as he was in the second half of 2007) but there are at least 15 catchers ranked ahead of Navi that he could out-perform with Don Zimmer strapped to his back. [San Antonio Express-News]
• Jonny Damon has a limited no-trade clause and he has listed the Devil Rays as one of 12 teams that the Yankees are allowed to trade him to. Sounds an awful lot like Judas was forced to list 12 teams and filled the list with teams that would never be interested in trading for the veteran outfielder. Along with the Rays, he also listed Royals, Marlins and Twins, teams that would never be interested in his diminished talent or the $26 million in salary he is due the next two seasons. [Times Herald-Record]
• David Price has reached an agreement to appear on Donruss baseball cards. [Dave and Adam's Card World Blog]
  

Devil Rays 2, Red Sox 1.
The Devil Rays struck out 9 times last night. How unusual is that? Not at all. The Rays lead the AL with 986 strikeouts. The AL record was set by the 1996 Detroit Tigers who whiffed an amazing 1,266 times. They are averaging 7.8 Ks per game. At the current pace, the Rays would go down on strikes 1,268 times, breaking the previous record.

There are some that would argue that a strikeout is not necessarily a bad way to get out. After all it is still just one out. Obviously a double-play is worse. Still, for all the ways a batter can make one out, the K may be the worst.

A strikeout is a rally killer. With runners on base (except for a double-play) a strikeout is the worst thing a batter can do. It does nothing except move the other team closer to getting out of a jam. A strikeout does not move runners. A strikeout does not force the defense to make a play. A strikeout pumps up a team. It rallies a road stadium or it deflates the home field.

A good pitcher doesn't necessarily pitch for strikeouts as a large number of Ks translates to a large number of pitches. But there are clearly times when a pitcher needs a strikeout with runners on base and all-too-often the Devil Rays kindly oblige.

Rays on record strikeout pace; Bedard dominant [USA Today]

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• The Devil Rays are now 3-1 against Boston in games in which Daisuke Matsuzaka is the starting pitcher. They are 0-9 in all other games against the Red Sox. [tampabay.com]
  
• BJ Upton has batted cleanup before last night, he just doesn't remember when. Upton took to the new role as well as can be expected hitting a home run and driving in both runs. [TBO]
• Sure sounds like we can expect to see Jeff Niemann added as a sixth starter in September. [TBO]

"If the whole group feels that it's appropriate to bring him here, I could see value in that," Maddon said. "No question about it. A lot of times a guy will come up in September like that, and that one month of experience really can catapult you into the next year."

• Grading any draft immediately after it happens is rediculous, but even more so in baseball where most prospects require 3-4 years of development and most first round picks will never make a significant impact. So please tell us why in hell the Hardball Times feels the need to give out "The DRAFTYs:The 2007 MLB draft awards". [The Hardball Times]
  
• Carlos Pena is having a career year, having bested his previous career-best with his 28th home runs. He is now six home runs shy of Aubrey Huff for the franchis record. [Devil Rays]
• Don Zimmer will have to change his number next season to #60 as he is planning on returning to the Rays for his 60th season in major league baseball. [MLB News Blog]
  

• Josh Hamilton is not the only former Rays first round pick that is trying to stick with another major league club this spring. One time opening day starter, Dewon Brazelton is in camp with the Kansas City Royals as a non-roster invitee. Don't the Royals employ scouts? Then again, it couldn't possibly turn out as bad as his stint in San Diego last year...could it?
• Josh Hamilton hit his first home run in a game since 2002. Seriously, 2002. And it was prodigious.
• Papa Joe Maddon wishes that nobody had to compete for a job in Spring Training. Can't we all just get along?
• Greg Norton will DH again today in the first Spring Training game. Maybe our prediction of 300 ABs for Jonny Gomes was actually too high.
• The fifth spot in the rotation may come down to who can throw strikes the most consistently.
• Andrew Friedman promises not to rush Jeff Niemann, Mitch Talbot and Andy Sonnanstine. All three are likely to start at AAA and when they are ready, Friedman promises to find a spot on the Rays for each of them.
  
• Several spots are still up for grabs, but it is going to take more than just gaudy numbers this Spring to win those spots. Papa Joe and Andrew Friedman will also be looking at intangibles. That leads us to believe that they probably already have a sense of what the roster is going to look like and the other players will have to force them to change their minds.
  
• Hey! It's another Delmon Is Soooo Mature story. On top of that, for those of you that are familiar with the website Fire Joe Morgan they would have a field-day with this story. There are about 20 single-sentence paragraphs.
  
• We made an oopsy last week. This will actually be Don Zimmers 59th season in the major leagues (not 58th as we had previously reported) and hence he will be wearing #59 on his uniform this season. A truly impressive feat.
• A pleasant interview with Stuart Sternberg just don't expect him to say anything.

• The Hardball Times have made a gallant effort to try and project Akinori Iwamura's stats for 2007. The problem they face is that there have not been many comparable players that have made the jump from Japan to the Majors. The only similar player (ie. slugger) was Hideki Matsui. Well, Matsui was Matsui has become a solid contributor, but did struggle his first season. Using several predictive measures, it looks like we can expect .292/.348/.446 with about 20 home runs. Like many of us expected his batting average should be similar, with a slight dip, and a big fall off in power.
• Baseball Prospectus noticed that Dioner Navarro had some decent projections for 2007 and were surprised. That take a closer look and determine that major league experience at a young age for catchers almost guarantees that they become a good hitter.
  
• Earlier this week we worried aloud about Elijah Dukes' weight. He is apparently at 245 pounds even though he has publicly said he would prefer to play at 220. Well we received some first hand accounts from the first day of workouts and the general consensus is that we should shut up and stop worrying. He is in shape. Just a little bigger. Also another feel-good story about leaving his problems behind. This one was an AP article and ran all over the country. If Dukes makes the team and plays in an all-star game some day look for a Sunday night movie.
• How bad is the Rays bullpen? Well apparently a 2006 campaign with a 4.68 ERA and 1.493 WHIP guarantees you a spot in the 2007 pen without having to compete in Spring Training. We thought Shawn Camp had a shot at the big league club, but figured he would at least have to work for it.
  
• The Trop. Only the 28th worst stadium in baseball! Wait...Taking the entire package into consideration (Ticket prices, concession prices, etc.) and The Trop jumps up to 25th. At least Ken Macha understands the need for domes. Personally we are sick and tired of the knocks on the Trop. The city was blackmailed by Major League Baseball into building a stadium on the cheap without a team to help foot the bill. And how many teams out there owe their new state-of-the-art stadiums to the threat of moving to the Tampa Bay area back in the 80s and early 90s? San Fran, Seattle, the White Sox, etc. So back off! Or we will shoot the stuffed animal.
• Don Zimmer, who will wear #58 this season to mark his 58th season in baseball, has spoke out on the on-going Derek Jeter-Alex Rodriguez story. This is what cracks us up about New York sports. For various reasons, we spend a lot of time in New York City and read the newspapers and listen to sports radio and talk to the local fans, and New York fans can get crazy about silly things. But this story has us shaking our collective heads. Seriously? Would we care if Rocco Baldelli and Carl Crawford used to be buddies but no longer hang out together? The way the New York media is spinning this story, we half expect both of these guys to die in drive-by shootings in the next year or two.
• This is a bit stale, but Baseball America has released their annual "Top 10 Prospects" list for the Rays. Delmon Young's eligibility as a rookie keeps him at the top of the list. Evan Longoria debuts at #2. The best news? With all the talent in the minors these days, five of the top ten are pitchers, led by Jeff Niemann and Jacob McGee at four and five. And the list doesn't even include Mitch Talbot who came on strong at the end of 2006. They also provide a projected 2010 lineup.
• Baseball Prospectus has ranked the minor league systems of every major league team. Not surprising is that the Rays top the list. Surprising is that the Rays not only rank first among hitting prospects but fourth among pitching prospects. To quote The best system in baseball and it's not even close.