Two weeks ago I wrote a post called “.” The conclusion was that Shields was throwing too many offspeed pitches,Cheap Zach Thomas Jersey 365djerseys.com S2,chiefs jerseys. And despite not having a great one, Shields needed to throw his fastball more. Since then,cheap chargers jerseys, Shields has made his two best starts of the year (based on Game Score) and lowered his ERA from 4.52 to 4.08. And what did Shields do differently? He threw more fastballs. Here’s a look at how his last two starts compare to the first 20 starts of the season as well as his 2011 season… The changeup usage is down a little bit, but the number of fastballs is way up. And the results were 17 innings having allowed just 5 hits and one run. Shields’ fastball is never going to be a great pitch,wholesale matt ryan jersey 365djerseys.com E6. And he needs to be careful that teams don’t sit on it too much,Indianapolis Colts Jerseys. But if he is going to be at his best, he needs his changeup to be most effective. And that is not going to happen unless he throws the fastball and keeps hitters offbalance.

The GBT –,cheap miami heat jerseys; The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich,wholesale 2013 SuperBowl Jerseys, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe. RAYS (offday) The New York Times . The piece talks a lot about how the Rays use the shift in unconventional ways against players and in situations that are not necessarily a typical threat. But the best part might be this stat: Last year the Rays saved 85 runs with their defense, and that was a lot. But according to John Dewan,Rocca, 39, hopes to return to Redskins CSN Washington, coauthor of “The Fielding Bible,” the Rays have already saved 28 runs in 29 games this season. At this rate, the Rays would save about 156 runs with their defense. That would be worth 1516 (,cheap denver nuggets jerseys!) wins in the standings. In other words, if the Rays had the pitching staff and the hitters of an 8181 team, this defense, along with the defensive shifts would turn that team into a 96 or 97win team. Wow. THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA… DOWN ON THE FARM… DURHAM Syracuse. (postponed) . Jake Thompson allowed 5 runs in 5 innings, but did strike out 7 and walk just 2…LF Omar Luna went 23 with 2 walks. He is now hitting .294 and also added his 10th stolen base…SS HakJu Lee was 14 with a walk and 2 strikeouts. . Wilking Rodriguez struck out 6 and walked 2 in 4.2 innings,Bills fire Gailey after 3 straight losing seasons CSN Washington. He allowed 5 runs…RF Mikie Mahtook went 24…LF Cody Rogers hit his first home run of the year, and C Mayo Acosta added his 3rd. . Jake Floethe gave up just 1 hits and 3 walks in 6 scoreless innings. He struck out 3…Drew Vettleson went 14 with a double and 2 RBI. He also threw out a runner at home…Josh Sale went 23 with a double and his first stolen base.

Playing A Little Pepper… After seeing the Rays stadium proposal earlier today, what are the chances it actually gets built? It’s a nice looking stadium. The price is about right. But there are still some major issues. The biggest one that immediately jumps out is the parking,cheap lions jerseys. They claim there are 14,000 spots already on site. But those are owned by local businesses who will want to be compensated. And even then, they are not giving up access to all 14,Postgame Shot Of Joe Singles Parade Grabs The Broom Rays Index,cheap lions nike jerseys,cheap utah jazz jerseys 365djerseys.com W4,000. And what happens during weekday afternoon games (approx 1 of every 67 home games)? And then there is trying to figure out who will pay for it. But that will be a question with any proposal. Still, this one just doesn’t feel like anything that is going anywhere…5% Game Graph… [Will be up at game time] Source: Lineup…,cheap falcons nike jerseys; Song to get you pumped up…

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. Game Graph…,raiders jerseys; Source: Playing A Little Pepper…; Carlos Pena has been huge so far, but he will eventually hit a cold streak,bengals jerseys. If he is so hot and cold, why is he so important to the Rays? All hitters are streaky to some extent, even Evan Longoria. And that is why Pena is so important. When Longoria was the Rays’ only big hitter, if he went cold,cheap anquan boldin jersey 365djerseys.com B9, the entire offense went cold. Now the Rays have two big bats. Both are capable of carrying a team. And the chances that both will go cold for an extended period at the same are slim. The Rays offense still isn’t great,Ultimate Texans Johnathan Joseph Loss of home-field advantage no excuse. But the Rays shouldn’t have any long periods of sucktitude either…;Another Big Bat Option When Longo Goes Cold Lineup…; Song to get you pumped up…,whitney mercilus jersey; The Red Sox can bully if they want. But let’s face it, the Rays are simply the better team right now…;

Joe is back with his postgame thoughts… Joe hates to be a broken record,Cheap Aldon Smith Jersey, but Joe’,cheap los angeles lakers jerseys;s had enough of this manufactured nonsense?by Derek Shelton of playingforawalk and Andrew Friedman being borderline irresponsible in not going out and getting a bat when the parent club has enough pitchers to fill out two teams’; starting rotations. No, Hellboy didn’,Chicago Bears Jerseys 365djerseys.com J2;t have a good night. But giving up four runs shouldn’;t mean the end of the world… until you look in the Rays dugout and see Shelton. As great —,griffin iii jersey; yes, Joe does mean “great” —; as Friedman is at overseeing an organization that is filthy with pitchers, it is equally inexcusable why he couldn’;t have traded for a bat (or two). Yes, the Rays are still in contention for a wild card thanks to vault full of pitching. But really, if the Rays do get a wild card berth, does anyone truly believe that some genie will come by and spread pixie dust on the Rays bats and suddenly they will have an offense? Please. Sam Fuld trying to steal third down four runs,wholesale terrell suggs jersey 365djerseys.com K9? Why, exactly? And people actually wonder why 33 percent more local sports fans Saturday night decided to sweat in the heat and brave a thunderstorm to watch the Bucs practice instead of sitting in a comfy dome watching a team still in the playoff hunt. A thundering tackle in a makebelieve game sure beats (a)nother Karlos Pena strikeout.

The GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe. RAYS 8, A’s 0 () THE GOOD: James the Greater,Cheap Kolb Jersey. After having 11 complete games and 4 shutouts in 2011. And just hours after the trade deadline passed. James Shields went out and tossed his first shutout of the year, and had easily his best start of the year. In fact, with a Game Score of 92 (measures how strong a pitcher’s performance was),Cheap Chris Wells Jersey, Shields had the 10th best pitching performance in all baseball this year. Yeah, I bet there are teams have second thoughts on the trade deadline…BJ Upton. One night after posting the first 07 game in Rays history, Upton rebounded with 2 hits, and drove in the first run of the night. THE BAD: Carlos Pena. Hitless in 3 at bats and is now hitting .195. And yes, he draws a lot of walks. But considering he doesn’t get hits, his OBP is still only .320 which is below average,boldin jersey 365djerseys.com Q1. THE TELLING: Brooks Conrad was optioned to Durham and replaced by Josh Lueke. After the 15inning marathon, the Rays needed an extra bullpen arm…The Rays are 5450, 2.5 games behind the A’s in the Wild Card race, 1 game behind the Orioles, and tied with the Tigers. THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA… DOWN ON THE FARM… . Cesar Ramos is taking nicely to his new role as a starting pitcher, throwing 5.2 shutout innings, giving up just 2 hits and 2 walks. He struck out 3…C Chris Gimenez had a double and drove in the only run with a single. He also had a walk in 4 plate appearances. . SS HakJu Lee went 13 with 2 walks. He also committed 2 errors and has 23 for the year…2B Derek Dietrich went 24 and RF Mikie Mahtook had a single and a walk. . 3B Riccio Torrez hit his 7th home run. . Parker Markel tossed 7 shutout innings, striking out 8 and walking none…Ryan Brett stole 3 bases, giving him 39 for the year,wholesale tom brady jersey 365djerseys.com T3. HUDSON VALLEY. no game scheduled ,Carolina Panthers Nike Jerseys. Lefty Kevin Brandt struck out 6 and walked 1 in 4 shutout innings…Andrew Toles went 24 with a double and is now hitting .370.

The GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe. Rangers 6, RAYS 5 () THE GOOD: Longo’,cheap ravens jerseys;s Mojo. After being openly concerned about his lack of power coming off the disabled list,2013 superbowl 49ers jerseys 365djerseys.com W0, Evan Longoria hit a home run last night on a sinker that he actually got fooled on. It was an ugly swing. You could see he was geared up for the fastball and got caught out on his front foot a bit. But the bat speed was there. And even though he had to reach a little for the pitch, and he was a little early,cheap ed reed jersey 365djerseys.com B6, he was strong enough to keep the ball fair and hit a home run off the foul pole. That’;s a good sign that Longoria still has good pop in his bat even though he is not 100%…BJ Upton. This is the roller coaster we ride with the Rays. When Upton tripled in the 5th, a hit that essentially tied the game (since Upton was on 3rd with no outs and was pretty close to a guaranteed run), I am sure I wasn’;t alone in thinking there was no way the Rays were losing this game. THE BAD: David Price. King David didn’;t do anything to help his Cy Young chances, and maybe we can blame the ballpark. In four career starts in Rangers Ballpark, Price now has allowed 19 runs in 16.2 innings (10.26 ERA). And while he may have been the favorite for the Cy Young yesterday, Price might only be the 3rd pick now, behind Felix Hernandez and Justin Verlander. But that also tells us that this race is far from over, and how each pitcher performs in September will ultimately decide the award. THE TELLING: Alex Cobb will start tomorrow after some thought to bumping him back a day…Don’;t look now, but the Rays are not only 4 games behind the Yankees,cheap atlanta hawks jerseys, but they are behind both the O’;s and A’;s in the Wild Card, trailing both by a halfgame (1 in the loss column). THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA… DOWN ON THE FARM… DURHAM. no game scheduled. . Matt Buschmann went 123 in 7 of the 8 innings he pitched. Unfortunately, in the other inning, he walked 2 and then gave up a 2out single and lost 10…LF Omar Luna was 34 with a triple and is hitting .305…RF Mikie Mahtook was 04 with 2 strikeouts and is hitting .250. Palm Beach CHARLOTTE. postponed ,cheap los angeles lakers jerseys. Jake Floethe was knocked out before the end of the second inning, giving up 4 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks. His ERA is now 3.31…C Alejandro Segovia went 35 with a double and drove in 3…RF Taylor Motter hit his 5th home run. . DH Richie Shaffer went 04 and is now hitting .300 in his first 25 pro games. . SS Brandon Martin went 04 with a walk.

Yesterday,cheap sacramento kings jerseys, Evan Longoria anounced that he would be unveiling a new haircut during the game,cheap miami heat jerseys. We’ll admit, we were a little worried he was going to come out bald. Turns out, Dirtbag just wanted to get in touch with …,cheap vikings nike jerseys 365djerseys.com A8; Well, if that wasn’t bad enough. We then got shots of Matt Joyce’s new haircut…; And Joe Maddon’s lack of a haircut…; Apparently,cheap boston celtics jerseys, we are the only ones in the Raysiverse to follow Maddon’s wishes of no haircuts. We haven’,Minnesota Vikings Jerseys 365djerseys.com E6;t trimmed our locks since pitcher and catchers reported. And unfortunately for Mrs. Prof, it looks like a dead squirrel is sitting on top of our head.

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: Breaking Out,ryan jersey. Man, if there was ever a time when the Rays needed an easy win and an offensive outburst, it was last night. This was the kind of game that can get a player feeling good about his swing. Let’s just hope it carries over for a few days. And let’s hope it is not too late…,Skelton Jersey;The DoubleNickel. There it was. There was the magic we have all heard about from number 55. In his first big league start, Moore struck out 11 and walked just 1 in 5 innings. And maybe the best part, was the offensive support. Because the Rays scored 13 runs in the first 5 innings,Snaps Final look at 12 on o-line - New England Patriots Blog - ESPN Boston, Joe Maddon was able to pull Moore after just 84 pitches…;Bossman and Zorilla. If the Rays are going to make the playoffs,Seattle Seahawks jerseys 365djerseys.com Z2, they need these two to get hot. And last night was a good start. Combined they went 68 with a triple and 2 home runs, driving in 6. THE BAD: Scrub Relievers. It is not easy to have a 130 lead and actually get a little nervous later on. But thanks to Dane de la Rosa giving up 8 hits and 6 runs in just 1.1 innings and Alex Torres giving up 2 runs (1 earned) in 1 inning, that is exactly what happened. And because those two were bleeding runs, Joe Maddon was forced to use three of his regular relievers in the final 2 innings. And now, Joe Cruz, Jake McGee, and Brandon Gomes have worked backtoback days, which probably leaves their availability for tonight’,griffin iii jersey;s game against the Blue Jays in question…;Tough To Watch. You would think putting up 15 runs against the Yankees would be fun to watch. But with the ugly taste of the previous two days still lingering, all we could think about was how things would have been different if the Rays got just a couple of those runs in the previous games. THE TELLING: The Rays trail the Red Sox by 2 games with 6 to go. If the Red Sox go 33, the Rays need to go 51 just to tie…;The Rays magic number to tie is 8…;CoolStandings.com gives the Rays a 7.4 percent shot at making the playoffs…;Jeff Niemann will start Saturday. RANDOM THOUGHTS: If the Rays do happen to complete their miracle comeback and make it to the postseason, is there anyway Joe Maddon can keep Matt Moore out of the postseason rotation? Is there any reason to think he is not one of Maddon’s four best pitchers right now? THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

In some of the most telling quotes yet from the east side of the Bay,china nfl jerseys, Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn says he in the Rays nasty divorce from the city of St. Pete. During a Q&,Smith Jersey;A session with the Tampa Chamber of Commerce, Buckhorn said that he spoke with St. Pete Mayor Bill Foster, and told him that he is “,Cheap Philadelphia Eagles Jerseys 365djerseys.com;not going to be the boyfriend in your divorce.”,Cheap Seattle Seahawks jerseys; Buckhorn later added that if the two sides do split,cheap titans nike jerseys 365djerseys.com Q9, that the region will have to decide if the Rays are worth saving stating that he personally believes the Rays should stay.? And if the Rays do (hypothetically) move across the Bay, Buckhorn would prefer a downtown location.

[Ed,49ers Willis Jersey 365djerseys.com Q6. note: This was put together before news broke that Lobaton was going on the DL,Cheap Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jersey. However,49ers Kaepernick Jersey, we still think the comments are relevent. The difference now is that the Rays may want Lobaton to get his timing back in the minors before bringing him back.] Joe Maddon spoke about Jose Lobaton prior to the catcher’s first start last night. And while Maddon is never short of praise for his players, he sure sounds like Lobaton is ready to be big league catcher and is not just an injury fillin. And if that’,cheap washington wizards jerseys;s the case,cheap bears jerseys 365djerseys.com B6, as long as he doesn’t look overmatched at the plate, Lobaton could be here to stay (via TampaBay.com).

The GBT –,Cheap Baltimore Ravens Jerseys 365djerseys.com R4; The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe. THE GOOD: Pickoff Wizard,Patrick Willis Jersey. James Shields didn’t get any help from the guys behind him, so he took matters into his own hands and picked off 2 runners, numbers 9 and 10 on the season. Since 1980, only 20 pitchers had more than 10 in a season,Cheap St.Louis Rams Jerseys 365djerseys.com Z5. It is the first week of July!…Hold On. Let’s see if we can think of something else. Hmm? Nope, nothing. THE BAD: No Longor Golden. The Twins scored their first run when Evan Longoria passed on an opportunity to throw a runner out at home choosing instead for the easy out at first. Just another example that his head isn’t screwed on quite right…But His Hair Is Golden,bills nike jerseys. In addition to trimming the back of his hair like Wild Thing from Major League, ,cheap broncos jerseys. Maybe his goal is to see just how **** his hair can look and still get laid whenever he wants…Maybe Matt Joyce Should Dye His Tips. Joyce whiffed on a blooper to right field that got by him allowing the Twins third run to score. THE TELLING: The Rays have scored just 2 runs in the last 18 innings. And 1 of those was unearned… THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA… DOWN ON THE FARM…

OK, so Mets knuckleballer R.A,49ers Smith Jersey. Dickey had a good game. Props to him. But why did Joe have the (big) gut feeling Dickey would flirt with a nohitter tonight at the Fruitdome,cheap atlanta hawks jerseys 365djerseys.com Z3? He damned near got one. Only a debatable Bossman single in the first inning kept the Rays from being hitless (again). Look, Joe loves the Rays. But there are serious questions to be asked. One of which is how can the Rays be considered a topnotch organization when it only takes the injury to a star player for its offense to totally collapse? Another question is,Cheap Denver Broncos Jerseys 365djerseys.com Q0, what kind of seedy evidence does nohitting instructor Derek Shelton have on the Rays’ brain trust? Opposing pitchers must have a pool to help pay for Shelton’s salary. Seemingly any little hitch, injury or distraction appears to cause the Rays to flirt with being nohit and Joe places that blame strictly at the feet of Shelton. For the Rays to get the job done in October, with this offense, they will need superior pitching each night — which they are capable of getting. Right now, Joe’,cheap packers jerseys;s not at all that confident that will happen,cheap nfl jerseys. Hopeful? Sure. Confident? Not really.

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… Prior to the season, it was calculated that . And right now,houston rockets jerseys, the A’s lead the second Wild Card and are on pace for 88 wins. How many wins will the Rays need to make the playoffs? The problem with this year’s Wild Card is the sheer number of teams still in the hunt. There are currently 4 teams within 3.5 games, and 6 teams within 6 games. You have to assume that a couple of those teams will get hot, just by sheer chance. And when that happens,cheap bills jerseys 365djerseys.com E9, the “pace” will increase. The number right now is 88. But will probably end up closer to…,cheap chargers jerseys;91 WINS Game Graph… [Will be up at game time] Source: Lineup…,J.J. Watt Jersey 365djerseys.com A6; Song to get you pumped up…,fitzgerald jersey;

Maybe the most interesting part of the Manny Ramirez and Johnny Damon signings is that the Rays would not sign one if the other said “no”,Houston Texans Jerseys 365djerseys.com Y4; . This suggests that Manny and Damon were the key to whether or not the Rays would make a push in 2011 or just wait until 2012,wholesale whitney mercilus jersey. The Rays may have had the feeling that just one of the pair would not have been enough of a difference in the AL East, so they may not have considered just one of the players worthy of the investment,cheap los angeles lakers jerseys 365djerseys.com P9. However,Carolina Panthers Jerseys, with both, the Rays may now be a team that can win 90+ games. And with a break or two,Panthers Jerseys From China, maybe they could get to the magical number of 94 wins. Now if the Rays could just add one more late inning reliever, we would sleep a little better at night. THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

“[Manny has been] been working out with a small group of major leaguers,2013 superbowl 49ers jerseys, including Pat Burrell and Cody Ross of the Giants, Boston’,cheap colts jerseys 365djerseys.com V5;s Jacoby Ellsbury and the Rays’; Evan Longoria…[Manny] dropped about 12 pounds during the offseason…This year he seemed to be very, very focused,” said Craig Friedman, who leads the elite gym’,Cheap patrick peterson jersey;s innovation team……Since he began training,cheap los angeles clippers jerseys, Friedman said Ramirez shed five pounds of fat and added five pounds of muscle onto his 6foot frame…”Manny is a fantastic athlete and he hides a lot under that baggy uniform…Now, we’;re seeing him move better and he probably feels better at this lighter weight,cheap ravens jerseys 365djerseys.com Y3.” []

The GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe. RAYS 9,Cheap Detroit Lions Jerseys 365djerseys.com S5, Orioles 8 () THE GOOD: 91,cheap bills jerseys 365djerseys.com Y4. On a day when the Rays needed to put some crooked numbers up on the board, the 9th hitter (Elliot Johnson) and leadoff batter (Ben Zobrist), combined to go 68 with 2 HRs, a stolen base, a walk and 5 RBI...Sean Rodriguez. After nearly making the greatest defensive play we have ever seen by a third baseman (charging, throwing to first from his butt), He responded by ending the game with a halfdive stop to his right and then throwing the runner out at first…Burke Badenhop. It’s been a rough start to the season for the pitcher that reminds us a little too much of Shawn Camp at times. But yesterday with the Rays’ big lead slipping away, Joe Maddon needed a groundball doubleplay, and Badenhop got it. Well, the batter was safe at first on a bangbang play, but Badenhop did his job,cheap bears nike jerseys. THE BAD: BJ Upton. Yikes. Bossman went bad. Four strikeouts, and then leaping at the wall for what should have been an easy catch (for him). Just not his best day at the ole ballpark…Another DL? No Desmond Jennings (again). And now it sounds like the Rays are considering a move to put him on the DL after all…Interfering Gimenez. Chris Gimenez has been called for interference three times this season. Not bad considering he is a parttime player that started the season in tripleA. And by “not bad” we mean “bad.” THE TELLING: Hideki Matsui will report to tripleA Durham on Tuesday…The Rays are 2114, one game behind the Orioles. They are also 1.5 games ahead of the Yankees, and 5,brian orakpo jersey.5 ahead of the Red Sox. THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA… DOWN ON THE FARM… . Chris Archer had a whopping 9 strikeouts in just 6 innings, but walked 4 and allowed an unearned run on 3 hits…,cheap raiders nike jerseys;Ryan Reid faced 7 batters in 2 innings of relief and struck out 4…SS Shawn O’Malley went 35 and stole his 6th base…1b Leslie Anderson? was 04. . Jacob Thompson struck out 5 and walked 3 in 4.2 innings. He gave up 3 runs on 5 hits…SS HakJu Lee was 04…2B Tyler Bortnick went 01 with a walk and stole his 11 base. . Three pitchers combined to allow just 1 runs on 3 hits and 3 walks in 7 innings…SS HakJu Lee was 14 with a strikeout and his 9th stolen base. CHARLOTTE. (no game scheduled) South Bend BOWLING GREEN. (postponed)

The GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe. RAYS (boxscore) THE GOOD: Can It Be This Simple? In the 10 games before Evan Longoria came off the DL, the Rays averaged just 2.5 runs per game. In the 6 games since he came back, the Rays are averaging 6,Woodson grew up after he left the Raiders - Inside the Oakland Raiders - A look inside the world of .2 runs per game. Does he really make everybody else that much better? Does having Longo in the lineup take pressure off other guys like Matt Joyce and Ben Zobrist who no longer feel the need to carry the offense? Or maybe it is all just an odd coincidence…James Shields. This is the James Shields the Rays need. It was an ugly performance without his best stuff. He only had 5 swingandmisses with the changeup. He only struck out 2 batters and he gave up his standard 2run home run. But he stuck with the new formula of fastballs (55 of 99 pitches) and gutted out 7 innings and kept the Rays in it. The Rays need the occasional great start, but they need his gutty starts more…Brian Dozier. With the bases loaded and 1 out in the 10th inning, Dozier fielded a bouncing ground ball (above) and instead of going home or trying to turn two, he went to first for the safe play, and the Rays took the lead for good. On the one hand, Dozier was at doubleplay depth and it sounded after the game as though he decided before the play ever happened that home was not an option with Desmond Jennings on third, but Dez looked like he was only jogging home,Carolina Panthers Jerseys. And it would have been a tough doubleplay, but it looked like he had a play at second. It just doesn’t seem like that is a good spot for the “safe” play. A gift. But the Rays will take it. THE BAD: Sac Bunts. Before the Dozier play. Ben Zobrist bunted the runners over to second and third. A bad play? Not necessarily. The Rays Win Expectancy did improve modestly on that play from 69.8% to 71.9%,cheap browns jerseys. And obviously it worked as the Rays went on to score 4 runs that inning and win the game. But the play does take the bat out of not one, but two of the Rays best bats. Not only did Zorilla sacrifice himself, but it opened up first base for the Twins to intentionally walk Evan Longoria. On the plusside,Carolina Panthers Jerseys 365djerseys.com Q0, walking Longo brought up Jeff Keppinger, who never strikeouts, in a situation where a strikeout is the only play that really hurts the Rays (or a doubleplay, which he almost did, but we’ll ignore that). THE TELLING: On Friday and Saturday, Joe Maddon used the same lineup. How rare is that? In 114 games, he has already used 107 different batting orders and is on pace for 148.? Last year he used 130 different lineups…The Rays have now won 6 in a row for the 3rd time this season…The Rays are now 131 in the last 14 games with Evan Longoria in the lineup and 208 overall…The Rays are now leading the Wild Card race, onehalf game ahead of the Orioles, and one game ahead of the A’s. The Rays are also just 5 games behind the Yankees, just 25 days after being 10.5 games back in the division…According to CoolStandings.com, the Rays now have a 55.8% chance of making the playoffs. It was less than 20% just 2 weeks ago. THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA… DOWN ON THE FARM…,julio jones jersey; . Chris Archer struck out 5 in 6 innings, but gave up 4 runs. His ERA is now 4.08…DH Henry Wrigley had a double, and is hitting .310…LF Leslie Anderson was 14 and is hitting .308…C Chris Gimenez went 14 and is now hitting .332. . Nick Barnese allowed 2 runs in 6 innings. He struck out 3 and walked 2…RF Mikie Mahtook hit his 4th home run in 20 games since being promoted. He also had a walk and is hitting .299…2B Derek Dietrich was 13 and is hitting .255. . Albert Suarez gave up 1 run in 4 innings with a strikeout and a walk…1B Steven Tinoco was 44 and drove in 2. . Elizer Suero last just 1.1 innings, giving up 5 runs (4 earned). . DH Jeff Malm went 14 with a double and an RBI…2B Ryan Brett hit his 6th home run. . 3B Richie Shaffer went 14 with 2 strikeouts and is now hitting .227 in his first 13 games as a pro. . The Rays beat local Tampa product?Lance McCullers who was making just his 2nd pro start…Bruedlin Suero had his second straight start with 6 shutout innings. His ERA is now 3.70.

Last night, the Rays announced that they had traded John Jaso to the Seattle Mariners for pitcher Josh Lueke and a player to be named later. Rays fans, meet your new pitcher… In 2008, while pitching for the Bakersfield Blaze, a singleA affiliate in the Texas Rangers organization, Lueke was charged with rape (). [Disclaimer: I have worked for several years as a Crime Scene Investigator. DNA is my specialty, and I have worked hundreds of sexual assault cases, and have testified in court on several occasions. So I do know a thing or two about this type of case.] … In May 2008, the alleged victim attended a Blaze game and then met with some of the players at a bar after the game…the woman willingly went to several bars with the players, including Lueke, Clayton Hamilton and Kasey Kiker…The woman eventually left the bar along with several of the players. She ended up in the apartment of Hamilton and Lueke…The woman told police she remembered vomiting into the toilet at the apartment. While doing so,cheap colts jerseys, the woman told police someone she could not identify was standing at her side masturbating on her…She said she passed out, and when she awoke at around 8:45 a.m., she told police she was lying on a couch with her pants down and other parts of her clothing were missing…She told police she felt violated and that she never agreed to have sex with anyone. Court documents also showed that ,Cheap patrick peterson jersey 365djerseys.com Q8, and that Lueke “lied multiple times to police investigating the suspected sexual assault,wholesale whitney mercilus jersey.” Investigators later obtained DNA samples from semen found on the woman’s jeans and white tank top and from an anal swab…A report from the Kern County Crime Lab states, “Josh Lueke matches this DNA” from the anal swab, tank top strap and hair of the alleged victim. This is very typical of a sexual assault case, and it is how most hesaidshesaid sexual assault cases are prosecuted. Typically, the suspect denies ever having sex. DNA then proves there was intercourse. And now, the suspect is a proven liar and is shown to be hiding what really happened. Not good if you are asking a jury to believe your version of events,Cheap Super Bowl Jerseys 365djerseys.com W5. But in this case, the victim did not want to go through with the trial, so she agreed to allow a plea bargain. At this point, Lueke changed his plea to “no contest” to a lesser charge of “false imprisonment with violence.” He served a total of 42 days in jail. Unfortunately, this is the evil side of “,cheap saints nike jerseys;The Extra 2%.” Lueke’s criminal past meant that the talent level is worth more than the price the Rays had to pay.

We have been begging Major League Baseball to add a second Wild Card team for a long time. And now our wishes have come true. Yesterday, Bud Selig announced that the playoffs ,cheap denver nuggets jerseys. Under the new rules, each league will have the three division winners and two Wild Card teams. The two Wild Cards will meet,cheap panthers jerseys, with the winner moving on to face one of the division winners in the next round. The only question that remains is whether the opening round will be a onegame playoff or a bestofthree format. The beauty of this format is that it places the emphasis back on winning the division. Under the current system, there is little incentive for winning the division if the team is already guaranteed to be at least the Wild Card. But under the new format, especially if it is a onegame playoff,Snaps Final look at 12 on o-line - New England Patriots Blog - ESPN Boston, there is too much risk in leaving your fate up to an even shorter series,browns jerseys, where just about anything can happen. Of course,St.Louis Rams Jerseys 365djerseys.com S2, the new system also protects the Red Sox and Yankees. Because god forbid there ever be a third good team in the East that keeps one of the big two out of the playoffs.