[THE HANGOVER] Opening Day To Feature More Bucs Jerseys Than Rays Jerseys In The Stands

Tampa Bay Rays (6 days until pitchers and catchers report)
Just the links this morning…we will be back in a little while.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• We thought we were going to have to retire our #40 Bucs jersey permanently, but it looks like it will get at least one more day in the sun dome. Mike Alstott will throw out the first pitch at the Rays home opener. Might there actually be more Bucs jerseys in the stands than Rays jerseys during the home opener. Magic 8 Ball says ‘Absolutely’. [TampaBay.com]
  
• Rays of Light breaks down how Trever Miller has fared against some of the better left-handed bats in the AL East. Verdict is, Miller will make a strong situational lefty for the Rays. [Rays of Light]
• Despite his most recent spat of legal issues, Willy Aybar is expected to join the team for the beginning of Spring Training. [TampaBay.com]
• Carlos Pena is only 50-1 to hit the most home runs in baseball in 2008. The Rays are currently 200-1 to win the World Series, tied with 5 other teams for the longest odds. They are 100-1 to win the AL, tied with the Orioles and the Royals and 50-1 to win the AL East, ahead of the Orioles at 100-1. The Red Sox are the current faves to win the World Series at 7-2, trailed closely by the Mets and the Yankees, both at 5-1. [Vegas Watch]
• Curt Schilling has a serious shoulder injury that may ultimately require season-ending surgery. This makes us giggle a little. Not because we enjoy schadenfreude, but because we wonder if those few people still think it would have been such a great idea to have him on the Rays for 2008. That would have been money well spent. [Boston Herald]
• The St. Pete City Council voted yesterday to accept community input on the fate of the land that is currently the home of Al Lang Field, if the area is not used for the Rays new stadium. a portion of the community would like to see the area become a park. [TBO]

THE HANGOVERStop The Friggin Presses! Curt Schilling Will Not Pitch For The Rays In 2008!

Team USA 10 , Mesa 2.
Evan Longoria did not start, but he did pinch hit in the 5th and played third base, going 1-2 with a single and a walk. Justin Ruggiano started in left and went 1-4. Ruggiano also stole a base.
Peo Javelinas 4, Scottsdale 3.
Reid Brignac went 0-5…again. John Jaso was 1-4 with a strikeout.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• This shouldn’t even be newsworthy so we won’t bother to give it its own post. Curt Schilling did not list the Devil Rays among the teams he would consider playing for in 2008. And seeing how he pitched the last month of the season and the playoffs, no team should want him, unless he is strictly a post-season starter. When he needs to, he can still get by on guts, but no pitcher can keep that up over the course of an entire season. And don’t give us this crap about how great he would be for the young pitching staff. If that was the case, why spend $8-12 million for one season on an over-the-hill pitcher, when you could just hire somebody like Orel Hershiser or another recently retired, above-average, starting pitcher to be the pitching coach for a whole lot less. Of course, the best part of this, is we no longer have to read about the “possibility” of Schilling pitching for the Rays in 2008. And by “possibility” we mean “There was never a chance in hell”. [tampabay.com]
• Backup catcher Josh Paul filed for free agency. That leaves the Rays with starter Dioner Navarro and Shawn Riggans who saw limited action at the major league level in 2007 before succumbing to injury. Most managers prefer at least one veteran catcher, even more so with a young pitching staff. Look for the Rays to make an attempt to resign Paul or pursue another veteran free agent catcher this off-season. [tampabay.com]
• We weren’t the only ones that loathed the idea of another championship for the Red Sox. Raymond did not take it to well either. But on brighter news, Raymond is going to get a makeover to coincide with the new Rays logo and colors. [The Big Blue Blog]
• What are the chances of the Rays winning the World Series in 2008? Apparently the same as Dennis Kucinich becoming President in 2008. So you’re telling me there’s a chance! [A Large Regular]

Why The Devil Rays Columnists Suck: Marc Lancaster

Marc Lancaster gets paid to write this shit? Makes us wonder why we went to college and grad school. Instead of applying to McDonalds when we were 15, we should have sent a resume to the Tampa Tribune.

In his latest blog entry, Marc Lancaster shows us exactly how desperate he is to find an interesting topic to write about the Devil Rays or he gets a kick out of showing somebody a pile of shit and telling them it’s gold.

The latest entry on Curt Schilling’s blog details his votes in the MLB Players Choice Awards.

Keeping in mind that players aren’t allowed to vote for anyone on their team, which in this case is particularly applicable to rookie of the year, Schilling tabbed Delmon Young as the top rookie and Carlos Pena for comeback player of the year while also voting for Pena as the top first baseman. Carl Crawford also gets a mention in sort of the “others receiving votes” category among outfielders.

I still have a very difficult time picturing Schill in a blue & sunburst Rays uni next year, but there you go.

We shouldn’t have to waste time pointing out how idiotic it is to go from “Carlos Pena for comeback player of the year” to “Curt Schilling wants to pitch for the Devil Rays”, but let’s do it anyway for shits and giggles.

1. Yes, he picked Pena for CPOY and top firstbaseman. What were his other choices? and let’s look at what Schil said about Pena…”Another accolade for an outstanding season by an outstanding person”. That’s right. Pena was with the Red Sox last year and even though he only spent the Spring a small regular season stint with the Sox, Schilling obviously got to know him well enough that there appears to be a personal bias towards a friend.
2. As Lancaster pointed out, Schill can’t vote for teammates. Everybody that knows baseballs are white with red stitches knows that the two top candidates for rookie of the year are Dustin Pedroia and Delmon Young. And what “praise” does Schill bestow upon Delmon and the Rays in this category?…”He’s going to drive in close to 100 runs and hit close to 300, not sure there are many guys outside of Dustin who can challenge that. Dustin, imo with a lot of obvious bias, deserves to win it. He’s had a phenomenal season on both sides of the ball”. That’s right, he praises Pedroia.
3. Schilling also names Alex Rodriguez for player of the year and top third baseman, along with Jorge Posada for top catcher. Is that Schilling’s way of expressing “love for the Yankees”? Or is he indicating he wants to pitch for the Yankees in 2008? And what is more likely. Schilling in a Red Sox or Yankees uniform in 2008 or Schilling a Rays uni? If you have to even spend more than 1 katrillion millionth of a second thinking about it, you need to need to reevaluate whether or not you should be a baseball fan.

More love from Schilling [TBO]
One celebration down, 4 to go. [38 pitches]

[THE HANGOVER] Curt Schilling Just Wants You To Talk About Him

Boston 8, Devil Rays 6.
Rays fans are abuzz after Curt Schilling announced during a radio interview in Boston that he would consider playing for the Devil Rays after his contract expires at the end of the year.

“It’s one of those situations you’d certainly have to look at. Knowing that I’m probably going to spend one more year playing, if circumstances happen and things happen and they made some moves that were positive, I’d love nothing more than to finish my career working on a pitching staff where I know that there are young guys that are going to be positively impacted by me being around [after] I was gone. I enjoy that. I love working and talking and being around young pitchers.”

If there is one thing Schilling loves, it is attention and headlines. This looks like nothing more than another attempt to say something so far out that writers will have no choice but to write about it and fans will have no choice but to talk about it.

It obviously made big headlines in Boston as well as in the Tampa area. But the story was also picked up in places like Atlanta as well as making the “notes” section of many other papers across the country.

The other angle that cannot be ignored here is that Schilling is a free agent after this season and he is probably looking to increase the number of bidders for his services. His first choice is probably to remain with the Red Sox, and Schill may be bluffing interests in other teams to increase the offer from Theo Epstein.

Still, we doubt the Devil Rays are the longest shot at acquiring Schilling’s services. We would still give them better odds than half of the teams in Japan.

Curt Answer [tampabay.com]
Schilling’s comments devilish [boston.com]
Schilling exclaims his love for Devil Rays [AJC.com]

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• Scott Kazmir is frustrated by being pulled with lower pitch counts in the second half. In his last ten starts, he has topped 100 pitches only six times. [Devil Rays]

“It just frustrates me,” Kazmir said. “It’s kind of in my head. You come to the late innings and you always have to look at the pitch count. It’s something where you just don’t need it. You’ve got enough stuff going on; you don’t need to be looking at the pitch count.”

• Fernando Cabrera, who turned down a waiver claim by the Devil Rays, signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles. [Baltimore Sun]
• Seth McClung was called up to the majors by the Milwaukee Brewers after winning the PCL pitcher of the week award. In his first appearance, he nearly blew a 3-run 9th inning lead, allowing two runs before being pulled. Seth being Seth. [WFRV]
• Could the last two months of the regular season be Joel Guzman’s last chance to become an impact player? Minor League Beat thinks it might be. Reality is, Guzman only seems like he has been a prospect forever…well, because he has been. He was signed by the Dodgers when he was 16. But he is still only 22, and he has something you cannot teach…size. He is 6 foot-friggin-6-inches tall. The dud is huge and wings a mean stick. If he fails with the Rays, somebody else will certainly give him a shot. Carlos Pena anyone? [Minor League Beat]

AL East Roundup: There Is A Chink In The Armor Of The Great Mariano

AL EAST	W	L	GB	L10	STK	E#
Boston Red Sox	10	5	–	8-2	W3	—
Baltimore Orioles	9	7	1.5	7-3	W2	146
New York Yankees	8	7	2.0	6-4	L1	146
Toronto Blue Jays	8	8	2.5	4-6	L3	145
Tampa Bay Devil Rays	6	10	4.5	4-6	L2	143

Red Sox 7, Yankees 6. This was as bad a loss for the Yankees as one can imagine this early in the season. With Andy Pettite on the mound and two rookies to follow in the next two games, this was the Yankees best chance for a win and they let it slip away. With the Red Sox wearing their Christmas uniforms in honor of the Celtic’s Red Auerbach, scored 5 in the 8th to overcome a 6-2 deficit. Two of the runs came off of Mo Rivera who has now blown two consecutive saves for only the seventh time in his career. But the worst part for the Yankees had to have been the performance by Alex Rodriguez. A lot of Yankees fans today will tell you that this game summed up A-Rod’s stint as a Yankee perfectly. With two home runs early off of Curt Schilling, Rodriguez lined out softly to the second baseman in the 9th inning when it “really mattered”. Also questionable was Joe Torre’s decision to go with Jose Vizcaino in the 8th with a 4-run lead rather than his usual set-up man Kyle Farnsworth.

Orioles 5, Blue Jays 4. Don’t the O’s know they are not supposed to be winning? Baltimore overcame a 4-2 deficit with 2 runs in the 8th and 1 in the 9th, on a walk-off single by Nick Markakis, his third hit of the game. The O’s are now 2 games over .500 for the first time in 87 years, while the Jays are in full survival mode while BJ Ryan is on the DL. Baltimore has now won 6 of 7.

NOTE FROM AROUND THE AL EAST...

• The Red Sox Times breaks down Curt Schilling’s blog entry following his first start against the Yankees last night.
• Apparently Jonny Damon has a hamstring.
• Joe Torre promised not to use Mo Rivera in the 8th inning this season. Well, that lasted a whole 3 weeks. So, is this the end of the Great Mariano?
• Mariano Rivera may well be the greatest relief pitcher in the history of baseball and has sustained his greatness over 10 years, a t time when relief pitchers rarely have more than one or two dominant seasons.
• BJ Ryan, on the DL with elbow pain, will miss 4-6 weeks.
• Hideki Matsui went 1-3 in his first single-A rehab start with the Tampa Yankees.
• This just in…Red Sox fans are not so classy.
• Jay Payton was activated for the first time this season for Baltimore.