Don’,Cheap Indianapolis Colts Jerseys;t be surprised if the Postgame Cup Of Joe nearly merges with The Hangover. Such is life when the Rays play on the left coast,wholesale ryan kerrigan jersey 365djerseys.com G9. Of course Joe stayed up for the game! But had to hit the sack right after. Real life (work) calls. Joe can sum up this Rays 43 win this morning in one word: MFIKY. Nine pitches, three strikeouts. That’;s pitching! Speaking of pitching, James “,cheap superbowl ravens jerseys;No Game” Shields struggled worse than partying Scott Kazmir. If not for the Rays defense, this would have been a loss, no question. The Rays defense, Sean Rodriguez in particular,Cheap Buffalo Bills Jerseys 365djerseys.com T7, bailed out Shields time after time, inning after inning. Bossman, who has been hitting well the last month or so, almost made a circus catch in leftcenter field that would have made Jim Edmonds bow. Had Bossman pulled that off, the ball was off his glove, we’;d be watching that highlight for years. Pitching and defense, specifically relief pitching and defense,golden state warriors jerseys, got the win for the Rays this morning.

The bats are alive. The Yankees looked average. Joe’s blood pressure is way down. The contrast between Jeff Neimann and James Shields today was so glaring in their backtoback starts against the Yankees. It was on Joe’s mind all game. Shields, who’s easily got 80 or 90 career starts on Niemann, gives up homers and gets rattled.?Last week it was a balk against Cleveland that threw him off. Crap, a?gentle breeze,cheap robert griffin iii jersey 365djerseys.com E8,cheap Skelton Jersey?seems to unnerve the guy. Niemann is all poise. Coming off an injury without his best stuff today,Green Bay Packers Jerseys 365djerseys.com D6, the walking manbeast of a righthander managed the lead beautifully and clawed his way into the seventh inning and continued his extraordinary road success. Joe wonders what team outside Florida will pay Shields’ salary next year,Denver Broncos Jerseys? Like every selfrespecting Rays fan, Joe was giddy over Reid Brignac jacking two homers into the right field bleachers. And it was nice to see Carlos Pena revive his contract fantasies?look like a hitter. But Joe’s not fooled. To expect much from those guys down the stretch is foolish. The sheer dejection in the FOX announcers’ voices when Brignac’s threerun bomb gave the Rays an 82 lead was disgusting. It’s pathetic that after all those years in the booth — and with the Mets — that Tim McCarver feels compelled to suck up to the Yankees. Tell us another Steve Carlton story, Tim. For Joe’s money, McCarver made every effort not to paint Neimann as the superstar he is. Sure, B.J. Upton failed in yet another aspect of the game, twice fouling off safety squeeze attempts. No surprise,cheap bengals jerseys. Maybe the sprinkler will go off in his hotel room?later and he’ll?get Sunday off.

Yesterday we discussed why we should be . Now we have a reason to be worried about Mayor Foster’s sanity. , Mayor Foster now thinks the Rays will stay in the Trop through the end of the contract in 2027… Foster said he came out of the sometimes tense meeting confident that Sternberg and the Rays organization are prepared to honor their current contract through 2027…”They’re committed to this region, to the city of St. Petersburg and there was no indication that they had intentions of violating the terms of our use agreement at all.” That will never happen, so let’,orakpo jersey;s move on. Foster also said that the city was prepared to fight Major League Baseball with legal action if they try to force a move. But maybe the most telling thing we learn from BayNews9.com is that Mayor Foster left the meeting feeling Sternberg’,schaub jersey;s concerns are more regional… Foster felt Sternberg was concerned with whether the Rays were viable in the collective Tampa Bay region that is currently supporting three major professional sports teams This is something that we have previously discussed around here. We don’t know the answer,Eagles will talk with Lovie Smith on Thursday - phillyburbs.com Sports philadelphia eagles, lovie , but there are reasons to be concerned that the TampaSt,patriots jerseys 365djerseys.com H8. Pete area is only a 1 or 2team region. And if that is the case, we need to keep in mind that the Bucs and Lightning already have chairs in Tampa. So, if the music stops, it will be the Rays that are left without a seat,cheap matt schaub jersey.

I have speculated on here that if the Rays do trade a starting pitcher,Denver Broncos Jerseys, Jeremy Hellickson is the one most likely to be moved. Hellickson is the one pitcher that has a good mix of peaking talent and a pricetag that might not scare away other teams. Well,wholesale arian foster jersey, Rays’ consigliere why the Rays may prefer to trade Hellickson: Scott Boras. Why would the Rays trade him, as opposed to a more expensive pitcher such as Shields? Well, Hellickson is the only Rays starter represented by Scott Boras, which means he is unlikely to sign a clubfriendly extension anytime soon. Keep in mind that Rosenthal is one of the few national media writers with connections within the Rays organization,Cheap Philadelphia Eagles Jerseys 365djerseys.com Y1. While most in the media are focusing on James Shields and David Price, it’s possible that the Rays gently suggested that Hellickson was available in order to drumup interest in their young righthander,cushing jersey. On top of that, the column by Rosenthal reads like Hellickson’s resume, or something Boras would present to teams if Hellboy were a free agent,panthers nike jerseys 365djerseys.com Z4. Will other teams bite? We’ll see. But don’t be surprised if we start hearing rumors of teams targeting Hellickson.

The GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich,lewis jersey 365djerseys.com Y6, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe. THE GOOD: Rocco in Right. Rocco Baldelli got his first start in the outfield this season, making one nice running grab and going 23 at the plate. He still seems like a longshot for the postseason roster, but if he can play the outfield, it certainly opens the door to the possibility…Series Win. For just the second time in the Rays 13year history, they won the season series against the Yankees. This one was important as the win gives the Rays the tiebreaker in the division should the Rays and Yankees finish the season tied atop the standings…Yankees Flag Is White. With the score 103 in the 8th, Joe Girardi did something we’d only expect from Joe Maddon. He threw in the white towel by pulling every hitter from the lineup before the 8th inning. With the division title and homefield advantage on the line and with such a potent offense, we were surprised by the move…,cheap milwaukee bucks jerseys;Magic Numbers,Denver Broncos Jerseys. The Rays magic number is now 4 to clinch a playoff spot. THE BAD: PriceSabathia II,cheap chiefs nike jerseys. Sequels rarely live up to the hype of the original and this one was no different. While David Price fought through 6 tough innings, giving up a 2run home run to Marcus Thames, he outlasted CC Sabathia who finally fell apart in the 7run 7th inning. THE TELLING: The Rays are also 1 game behind the Twins for the best record in the AL. The Rays do hold the tiebreaker over the Twins having won the season series 53…Carl Crawford is hitting .333/,wholesale ray lewis jersey 365djerseys.com V2.379/.526 batting third this season, compared to .299/.353/.480 batting second. WHERE THEY STAND: The Rays are 9161, onehalf game behind the Yankees (tied in the loss column) and 7 games ahead of the Red Sox in the Wild Card race. After 152 games in 2008, the Rays were 9161. THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

Cool story on the history of AfricanAmerican baseball in Tampa,cheap superbowl ravens jerseys 365djerseys.com J0. Stu, please, please, PLEASE,cheap falcons jerseys, can we get one of these teams in a “throwback” game ASAP? Thanks (via )… “Many Tampa Bay area residents may recall old baseball team names like the Tampa Tarpons and the St. Petersburg Saints. That’,49ers Willis Jersey 365djerseys.com N7;s in part because our contemporary ball team, the Rays, have used each of those names on “throwback” uniforms…Less recognized are the Tampa Black Smokers, Pepsi Cola Giants,cowboys jerseys, Tampa Rockets, St,superbowl 49ers jerseys. Petersburg Pelicans, Plant City Aces and the Polk County All Stars. These were the Bay area’;s African American teams, formed when everything from schools to sports were segregated in the South.”

BJ Upton, who is sidelined with a sore ankle, is not ready to call it a season, saying . That’s nice, but what caught our attention was Upton speaking to the press about his shoulder and how it following offseason surgery and how that explains his poor performance this year. [Upton] believes his difficulties at the plate are tied directly to his return from [shoulder] surgery, which sidelined him into spring training and kept him on the disabled list for the first week of the season…”It was just kind of, all right,denver nuggets jerseys, go rehab and if you’re ready to play, you’re ready to play,” Upton said. “I never had time to really work and get the repetitions.”…Even worse,wholesale robert griffin iii jersey, the shoulder remains an issue even now, something in the background that he can’t quite seem to overcome…”It doesn’t hurt by any means, but it’,cheap bears jerseys 365djerseys.com I7;s just not fully there, fully healthy,”,Ravens Nike Jerseys; he said. “It’s healthy enough to play, definitely. Sometimes it aches, sometimes it just feels tired – it’s never that consistency that I’m looking for. One of our biggest concerns heading into the season was how Upton would adjust to life after shoulder surgery. Remember, this was not a onetime injury. Upton had injured his shoulder in the same manner (during a swing) each of the past six seasons. This just happened to be the first time the injury required surgery. Upton either needed to change his swing and risk losing his amazing bat speed or keep his swing the same and risk reinjuring the shoulder. On the surface, it appears as though Upton has not changed his swing. And one has to wonder if that has hindered his recovery from surgery. Either way,redskins jerseys 365djerseys.com K6, this at least provides hope that their is a better Bossman Junior on the horizon for 2010. Tampa Bay Rays’ B.J. Upton aggravates ankle injury in return to lineup [] Despite ankle, Upton still wants to play this year []

The GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe. THE GOOD: John Jaso. He had 2 hits. That’s it. THE BAD: Tip The Cap. Zack Greinke entered the game with a 5.23 ERA, but he has not been a 5.23 ERA pitcher,cheap minnesota timberwolves jerseys 365djerseys.com L1. In fact, he might be the unluckiest pitcher we have ever seen. His KBB ratio is over 7 (3 is good) and he has pitched more like a pitcher with a 2.50 ERA. In the end, you just tip your cap and be grateful that the Rays actually got 4 hits…,cheap manning jersey;JP Howell. Geez. After we celebrated the return of the Dude we all loved. He goes out and can’t retire any of the 3 batters he faced. THE TELLING: Johnny Damon started in left field again…,cheap colts nike jerseys;Andy Sonnanstine has pitched 1 inning in the last 18 days. During that stretch, he was paid ~$91,jones jersey 365djerseys.com D3,Cheap patrick peterson jersey,000. THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA… DOWN ON THE FARM…;

C’mon, you guys knew this was coming eventually…There is a general sense amongst some of our readers that all we do is bash the Rays media coverage. The truth is we actually admire most of the working media and respect most of their work. We just get a sense that the Rays media coverage can at times be lazy. Just because the Rays were a secondclass team for many years doesn’t mean we as fans deserved secondclass coverage. So while our frustration can manifest itself at times on this site,cheap titans nike jerseys, we want to know what you guys think of various members of the Rays media coverage,cheap superbowl ravens jerseys,cheap orlando magic jerseys 365djerseys.com C2. Next up…Tampa Tribune beat writer Marc Lancaster… Marc Lancaster gets a demerit right off the bat for being a University of Georgia graduate, but we will try to look past that. Before coming to the Tampa Tribune Lancaster covered the Reds for the Cincinnati Enquirer and as far as we can tell, he was one of the first baseball beat writers to start blogging on a newspaper’s website. For the last three years he has covered the Rays for the Tampa Tribune and spends a lot of time blogging on the paper’s website under the title of ““,J.J. Watt Jersey 365djerseys.com Z2;. We have on occasion, been…ok and yet we never take the time to praise Marc. We do like 87,los angeles lakers jerseys.3% of his work. But he seems to disappear when we need him most. While we were updating this site yesterday 21 times with trade rumors and reports, that was based on a report from the day before. Lancaster is the beat writer for the Rays with a blog that is supposed to be utilized to provide information in a more timely manner than the morning paper. And yet, with all the buzz surrounding the Rays yesterday, Lancaster was noticiably absent. So: Do you like Marc Lancaster? And let’s hear your reasons in the comments…

Below is a screenshot from the St. Pete Times. The image is of John Romano’s latest column and was posted to the tampabay.com website sometime prior to 10:30 last night (the entire article ). The article is a typical “these aren’t the Rays we know and love”,brady jersey 365djerseys.com Q8,cheap matt schaub jersey; piece,ed reed jersey. And there is absolutely nothing in the article about the Red Sox, except to mention that the Rays finished ahead of the Sox in the standings (the image was fixed sometime around midnight; thanks to several people for the screenshot). Would anyone like to try and explain that facking ginormous Red Sox logo that is basically slapping us in the face? A disgruntled Red Sox fan at the Times? Romano’,Carolina Panthers Nike Jerseys;s true colors? All of the above,Jacksonville Jaguars fire coach Mike Mularkey after teams worst season NOLA.com?

of several Rays receiving their Mohawks during the World Series from ,suggs jersey 365djerseys.com U7. While looking around LMontro’s website, we came across another Raysrelated item. is this photo of Carlos Pena wearing a “Montro 99″ wristband,cheap ryan kerrigan jersey. According to , Pena wore the wristband because he considered LMontro a “,matt ryan jersey;lucky charm”,Wholesale Chris Wells Jersey 365djerseys.com Q4; (Here is ). A shows that LMontro is the “,cheap jets nike jerseys;stylist for the baseball stars.”; While Pena may consider the wristband lucky, we wonder if Major League Baseball might consider it illegal. Wouldn’t the wristband be considered a form of advertising for the stylist? Unless the teams are , advertising on baseball uniforms is forbidden. Here is Manny Ramirez wearing a similar wristband. According to the above Boston Globe article, this is why Manny wore #99 while playing for the Dodgers. Sounds like a case for Paul Lukas at . Montro99 is Carlos Pe?a’s “lucky charm” []

Cork was kind enough to allow me to make this announcement here, and you folks have been really nice to me since I started here and I’,Position Battles A Look At Playing Time During High Leverage Innings Rays Index;m pretty sure you are all baseball fans, so I hope you don’;t mind,cheap raiders jerseys 365djerseys.com J5. When I am not writing here, I also write for a site called . We write about the minor leagues and one of the areas we take the most pride in is our interviews. We have interviewed top prospects, coaches, front office officials, media, and even fans. We try to leave no corner of the minors uncovered. We have taken the best of our interviews this year and put them in a book. From a Rays perspective, we have interviews with top prospect ,Indianapolis Colts Jerseys, former Devil Ray Mark Hendrickson, recent pick , Jim Donten of the Charlotte Stone Crabs blog , and and Tampa Tarpons employee and current Tampaarea blogger . Please check out . I’;m biased,Cheap Chicago Bears Jerseys, of course, but I think it would make a great gift for the baseball fan on your holiday list. Thanks,cheap panthers jerseys!

Joe Maddon likes silly slogans. In 2008 it was “9=8.” (it was) In 2009 it was ” ’09>’08 ” (it wasn’t) After declaring that there would be no math this year, where was JoeMa going to go for a silly slogan in 2010,Jacksonville Jaguars Jersey 365djerseys.com B5? Acronyms of course,cheap new orleans hornets jerseys. On Thursday … Our philosophy: Rays F,Minnesota Vikings Jerseys.A.C.T.O,foster jersey.R: Flexibility / Accountability / Consistency / Trust / Organization / Respect.. And then yesterday his … Maddon unveils #Rays season slogan: “,Steelers to pay price in secondary TribLIVE;What’s Important Now?” Stands for WIN. We thinks that JoeMa has spending a little too much time with the folks at .

Jeff Niemann is and looks to be about two weeks from throwing from a mound,cheap milwaukee bucks jerseys. With as much money as the team has invested in their 2004 first round selection and lack of potential frontoftherotation starters in the system,wholesale julio jones jersey 365djerseys.com O2, you can understand the patient approach that the organization is taking. Although no official word has been made,cardinals jerseys, look for Neimann to be on the mound for the Montgomery Biscuits in June with very limited pitch counts,joe flacco jersey 365djerseys.com X0. If he can stay healthy and regain his fastball, we anticipate that Neimann will be in spring training with the parent club with a shot at making the 2007 rotation,Buffalo Bills Jerseys. [Montgomery Advertiser]

This post, which will appear before every game, will include starting lineups (when we learn them) and during the game will include a Game Graph that will constantly update the percent chance the Rays have of winning this particular game. Playing A Little Pepper…,cheap arian foster jersey; Oddsmakers: What are the chances that James Shields is traded this offseason? As I always say, if another team steps up and makes what the Rays consider a fair offer (something most other teams don’t consider fair), the Rays will trade anybody. But consider how much the Rays love pitching depth. And consider that Shields’ 2013 option is for $9 million and never gets hurt. And then realize that $20,cheap anquan boldin jersey,wholesale julio jones jersey 365djerseys.com N2.0 million is coming off the books with Carlos Pena, BJ Upton, Joel Peralta, and Kyle Farnsworth (Pena could be back at a reduced rate),Cheap Denver Broncos Jerseys. Shields still fits very nicely within the Rays budget (which they like to keep in $4070M range). I’,Buffalo Bills Nike Jerseys 365djerseys.com T0;d say there is a very good chance Shields is back in 2013…;10% Game Graph…; [Will be up at game time] Source: Lineup…; Song to get you pumped up…;

Howdy, y’all. My most humble apologies for not posting here much since the season ended. I promise I’ll rectify that soon. But in the meantime, I would like to let you know what I’ve been up to since we last met. First and most important, I am now a published author. A few months ago, the head editors of Bus Leagues Baseball.com decided to pull the interviews posted on their site since 2009 and publish them,Cheap Chicago Bears Jerseys. This collection, entitled “,anquan boldin jersey 365djerseys.com A8;“;, is now available on Amazon.com. “;The Bus Leagues Experience” includes dozens of discussions with prospects, minor league bloggers, and front office people, including my interviews with the President of Minor League Baseball and the Stone Crabs folks who put together those awesome youtube videos last season. (Oh, and over there I write under my real name, Mike Lortz,cheap chargers jerseys. Part of my transition from anonymous blogger to legitimate writer.) Second, I am now a standup comedian. After months of intensive training under the tutelage of “;New York City’s Bad Boy of Comedy” , I made my comic debut at the Tampa Improv on October 3rd. It was a humbling and nerve racking experience and I think my eyes were closed the whole time. But I will be on stage again on ,bills nike jerseys, again at the Tampa Improv,flacco jersey 365djerseys.com N8. This time I know what I am doing. And don’t worry, like I said, I’ll be back here soon with new editorials.

The GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich,Atlanta Falcons Jerseys, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe. THE GOOD: What Is Left To Say,Trade Rumors Du Jour Dunn, Berkman, Jackson (UPDATE) Rays Index? James the Greater, being James the Greater. Yet another complete game, with 124 pitches, and 85 for strikes. And of course, it was the changeup. A whopping 41 changes, 28 for strikes, including 9 swinging. It was his 11th complete game, and the 14th for the Rays. Shields is the first pitcher since 1999 to have 11 complete games in a single season. And the reason Joe Maddon is OK with Shields going over 110 pitches for the 12th time this year and over 120 pitches for the 3rd time, is because Shields is cruising through these wins, without a need to go max effort and put extra stress on the arm. Where was this guy in last year’s playoffs?…Two Out Runs. The Rays are only hitting .223 with 2 outs this season, but yesterday, both Evan Longoria and BJ Upton homered with the bases empty and 2 outs. A team is only expected to score in those situations less than 10 percent of the time (think just the opposite of bases loaded with no outs),cheap minnesota timberwolves jerseys, so both of those runs were like bonus runs. THE BAD: The Big Snooze. With four weeks remaining, 7 teams have at least a , and the 8th (Rangers) is sitting at 86.3 percent. That means there is an 80.1 percent chance that all 8 playoff spots have already been decided. If the last month of the regular season fell in a forest, would it make a sound? THE TELLING: Ben Zobrist returned to the lineup after missing two games with a minor neck injury…,Cheap Patrick Willis Jersey;Evan Longoria has 4 errors in the past 7 games…If Jeremy Hellickson does get shut down after 3 or 4 more starts,panthers jerseys 365djerseys.com A7, that means Andy Sonnanstine will likely make 23 starts to wind up the season. THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA… DOWN ON THE FARM…

Is there a private group working to secure land in the Channelside area of Tampa for a new Rays stadium? … In another development, hints have surfaced that a private group is trying to assemble potential stadium land in downtown Tampa. Located just north of the St. Pete Times Forum, the site would be a tight squeeze for baseball but could piggyback with nearby entertainment venues for parking,portland trail blazers jerseys. When the owner of one piece of land in the Channelside area was asked if land was being purchased for a new stadium, he gave a very telling answer… “Actually, I can’t talk about that.” This comes on the heals of news that unlike the St. Pete city council, the Hillsborough County Commission would like to meet with the ABC group about their recommendations for a new Rays stadium. Still, they admit there is no money for a new stadium, even if they wanted to build one. So who is buying the land? And what assurances do they have from the Rays that the team can and will move there,cheap superbowl 49ers jerseys 365djerseys.com U2? The communication would have been offtherecord, and only through back channels and intermediaries, but it is safe to assume that these investors have spoken with the Rays,patrick peterson jersey. Whoever this group is, we can’t imagine they are buying land and preparing to build a stadium just on the hope that the Rays would one day call it home. That is just too much money to spend without some assurances. One problem with the story is the size of the land that would be used to build the new stadium. Combined with street vacations, the property could total 12 to 16 acres, comparable to St,49ers Gore Jersey. Petersburg’s Al Lang Field, where the Rays pitched a waterfront stadium two years ago. The issue not addressed is that the Al Lang site wasn’t big enough for the proposed stadium. A portion of the bay was to be filled in to accommodate the stadium. Still, we assume the investors already have an idea of how the new stadium would fit into the property. Buying land in Tampa for a new stadium is just the first step. But it is a step. And we are beginning to wonder if a move to Tampa is no longer a question of “if”,cheap bills jerseys 365djerseys.com Q6; but a question of “when.”

[Update 4:24 PM] that Calvin Medlock has been designated for assignment to clear room for Johnson on the 40man roster. However, there is still no word on who is being dropped from the 25man roster although Justin Ruggiano seems like the obvious choice. Lancaster also notes that Carlos Pena will not be going on the DL,johnson jersey,San Diego Chargers Jerseys 365djerseys.com Q3. Medlock came from the Reds in the Jorge Cantu trade. that the Tampa Bay Rays have claimed Dan Johnson off of waivers from the Oakland A’s. Johnson, a first baseman and DH,cheap oklahoma city thunder jerseys, hit .236/.349/.418 with 18 home runs in 117 games last season,cheap steelers nike jerseys. With Carlos Pena nursing a sore hamstring, he could get the start at first base for the next few days and afterwards he will likely DH against right handed pitchers. This is a very interesting move for the Rays and more evidence that the team has switched gears towards a winnow philosophy. With Eric Hinske, Cliff Floyd, Willy Aybar and Pena already providing lefthanded bats for first base and DH, this signing appears to just be a shortterm fix until Floyd and Aybar return from the DL. Afterwards it is hard to imagine that there will be room on the roster for Johnson. No word yet on who will be removed from the 25man roster to make room for Johnson,cheap dolphins nike jerseys 365djerseys.com R3. Tampa Bay Claims Johnson [] Dan Johnson claimed by the Rays []

Recently if Wade Davis might actually be closer to being ready for the majors than David Price. who makes it sound as if Davis is ready for the big leagues right now. Wade Davis of the Rays was the most impressive young minor leaguer I saw this spring. He throws 95 mph, and one of the days I saw him,Cheap Buffalo Bills Jerseys, he was unhittable. And right now,cheap dolphins jerseys, all of the Rays’,wholesale ed reed jersey; young players look pretty good,cheap cleveland cavaliers jerseys 365djerseys.com A7.” At this point Davis has more experience, is more polished and will be able to throw more innings in 2009,Cheap Baltimore Ravens Jerseys 365djerseys.com O0. Obviously a lot can change if Price establishes better command of his fastball in the next month or two, but we still feel Davis will get the first call when and if the Rays make a change to the rotation. Is Wade Davis Closer To The Majors Than David Price? []