Post from last season- Randomly re-posted today (totally random, I swear)

***REPOST original post June 25, 2008***

Welcome to Lazytown, population: 1, founded in early summer 2008 in the heart of center field at Tropicana Field (but not to worry- it travels around the country from one ball park to another-- it was last seen in Miami on the evening of June 24th).


I'm talking about our own dear, beloved Bossman Junior (BJ, for you folks who love to initialize everything) Upton.

As a fan who has only missed watching 2 games this year, I feel that I am more than qualified to chime in against one of our beloved Rays if I deem it necessary, and I do.

Let me expound:

Over the last several weeks I've noticed a decided difference in the defensive play of Mr. BJ Upton, in that he suddenly feels that it is no longer necessary to run at full speed or cover anything more than a 20 foot radius in CF.

While the rest of his teammates are bustin' their tails for every win it seems that Bossman has lost his will to compete. I guess winning a couple of games entitles him to acting like he deserves to be on the roster- regardless of his obvious lack of effort.

Mr. Upton will jog over in the direction of a soft blooper to middle center and watch it drop then once he finally finishes his stroll over to the ball, that inevitably dropped 6 feet in front of him, he grabs it and proceeds to throw a blooping hailmary to the plate... everytime! Hey BJ, throw it to the cutoff man sometimes! Or here's a novel idea: hustle after the ball and maybe you could catch it and record an out- or at least catch a runner at third and not have to throw a looper to the plate because you reacted so slowly... everytime! Yeah-yeah we know, "You're sooo talented..." , blah, blah, blah... I've seen tons of below average players have amazing years (or even careers for that matter) because they put forth the effort that "superstars" are too good to bother with, and we've all seen "superstars" get sent packing because they were "too good" to be benched or told what to do....

Okay, slow down... I am not implying that I want Upton shipped out of town or DFA'd or anything silly like that, but I am lobbying for a stern talking-to from management and a few days on the pine to think about it.

In case you haven't noticed, BJ's numbers at the plate are down as well, so its not like he's countering his laze-fair defense with superb offense either (stay tuned, I may just present statistical evidence to support that).

Case and point: BJ's gotten lazy. Winning's coming easily, so there's no pressure. How fast our beloved Bossman has forgotten how life as a Devil Ray was, or how much winning meant to The Rays as recently as this May. I think the whole team has lost some intensity as of late, but the "good ones", like BJ, are supposed to learn how to keep winning not how to rest on their laurels.

Here's Upton's batting numbers at this point this year vs. last year:

YEAR AVG OBP SLG OPS HR
2007 .320 .402 .545 .947 9

2008 .284 .397 .424 .821 5

Don't get me wrong, I still love our little buddy BJ, but I'm getting tired of the nonchalant, lack-luster performances as of late. I honestly believe that he needs to be humbled a little, and I think the Pittsburgh series would be the perfect time.

Maddon could even spin it to the press that he's just giving BJ a "well-deserved rest"...

Well deserved, indeed!

CHEESE & WHINE: It Hurts.

Rays: 2
Yankees: 4

CHEESE:

• Jeff Niemann. Niemann continues to prove why he belongs at the top of the rotation, and has quickly become the Rays' most consistent pitcher. Last night Jeff pitched a great game and was rewarded by his bullpen with a no-decision. Niemann lasted 7 innings, allowing 1 run on 8 hits while walking 1 and striking-out 8, several of which were swinging K's thanks to the addition of his new toy, the splitter.
• Jason Bartlett. His lead-off homer would've been enough for the win if the Rays had anything that remotely resembled a major league bullpen. JB is hitting .331 for the season.
• Watching History. Even if it is Yankees' history. Seeing Jeter tie Gehrig as the all-time Yankees' hits leader was a treat. When you see Jeter at the top of a list that includes Mantle, Ruth, and Gehrig it puts how good he really is into perspective. Jeter represents all that is good in baseball (except for the fact that he plays for the Yankees, of course).
  

WHINE:

• Grant Balfour. Balfour allowed a 3-run pinch-hit homer (Posada) which allowed the Yanks to complete the comeback win. This was Balfour's third blown-save in a week.

CRACKERS:

• Congrats to our friend Prof (aka Cork) over at Rays Index. Who welcomes a new Rays' fan to the world.

CAVIAR (game ball):

• Derek Jeter. Well done.

Dirtbag Gets "Player of The Week" Award, but has to Share

Rays third baseman and resident stud Evan Longoria received the AL Co-Player of the Week Award for the week which ended Sept 6th.

During the 7 games included in the week Dirtbag led the league with a .467 batting average, he also recorded 5 doubles, 10 RBI, and 3 HR's. On top of that he boasted a slugging percentage of .933 over that span.

Evan had already received the award twice this season, 4/13 and 5/4.

He shares the award with Toronto outfielder Adam Lind.

CHEESE & WHINE: And Yet Again...

*a picture truly is worth a thousand words:Rays: 2
Yankees: 3

CHEESE:

• David Price. King David looked solid, pitching 6 innings allowing 2 runs on only 3 hits while walking 2 and striking-out 6. Price looked like we expected him to look all season, and hopefully he can finish strong and head into next season with all the confidence he lost when he was sent down to Durham to start this season.
• Evan Longoria. Dirtbag is ridiculous. Another day, another homer. Dirtbag now has 30 homers.
• Chris Richard. Richard played a solid 1st base, making some nice stops on tough hops, and also managed to record his first major league hit in 6 and a half years.

WHINE:

• RISP. Team RISP 0 for 5.
• Beating Dead Horses. I'm tired of complaining about the bullpen. Every day its a new scapegoat, this time it was Wheeler who surrendered the walk-off homer. A little offensive help would've been appreciated though. When your bully has been struggling the guys in the dugout should work extra hard to put runs on the board to make certain that no matter how bad the relievers are- they'll still have a shot at the W.
• Tailspin. The fall into the abyss continues as this is the Rays' 7th straight loss- their longest skid since their pre-all-star break meltdown last season.

CRACKERS:

• Evan Longoria is just the ninth player in MLB history to finish a season with 30 homers, 40 doubles, and 100 RBI while under the age of 25.

CAVIAR (game ball):

• David Price. Quality start under pressure in the Bronx. Dirty, rotten shame his team couldn't get him the win.
  

CHEESE & WHINE: Hold the Cheese... Double Duty

Game 1
Rays: 1
Yankees: 4

Game 2
Rays: 1
Yankees: 11

Whine:

• Carlos Pena. El Gato is gone for the season thanks to a pitch that broke two of his fingers. Ouch. Its a darn good thing for the Rays that they're not playoff bound because they'd be lost without Pena's big bat.
• The Unnamed Feeling. I borrow a term form Metallica (the best song on their St Anger Album) when I call the sadness and frustration and anger that I feel from watching the Rays over the last 2 weeks the "Unnamed Feeling". The bullpen literally makes me ill. If you were a Rays fan waaaaay back in 2006 and 2007 you're very very familiar with the sinking feeling you get every single time a starting pitcher gets the hook. Its a foregone conclusion that no matter what the scoreboard reads when the call goes out to the laugh staff, the Rays are headed toward a loss. Suddenly, as of late, the names Stokes, Corcoran, Lugo, Fossum, Ryu, Seo, and Camp have come back from the dead to haunt me. They're laughing at the frauds currently hiding in the bullpen on a supposed contending team; Springer, Cormier, Shouse, Bennett... they whisper their names into my ear while I sleep and every day I wake to find that its actually true; they really are on the Rays active roster and the Rays really are no longer in contention in large part because of these clowns- and a little piece of my heart breaks off and floats slowly down to the depths of my blackened soul, and the unnamed feeling comes again.
• Andy Sonnanstine. 2.2 innings, 6 hits, 8 runs, 3 walks... whatever dude.

Well, THAT was almost fun

Instead of complaining about another bullpen meltdown, a sweep at home at the hands of the solidly mediocre Tigers, and the obvious and, by now, undeniable sinking of the Rays' post-season hopes, I'm gonna be excited about the performance Wade Davis turned in today. One walk, one run (off a dinger to, of course, Aubry Huff), three hits, and nine strikeouts over seven innings is a very nice bit of work. Welcome to the bigs, Wade. Too bad they couldn't get the win for you.

CHEESE & WHINE: Paging the Real JP Howell

Rays: 3
Tigers: 4


CHEESE:

• Evan Longoria. Dirtbag is a stud. Two more doubles brings his season total to 40. That certainly helps detract attention away from his league-leading double play numbers. Last night Longo was 2 for 4 with 2 RBI.
• Carlos Pena. El Gato was 3 for 4 with a double and an RBI.
• Jeff Niemann. Niemann was good again (which makes me wonder why I'm still pleasently surprised everytime he turns in a good performance), lasting 7 and 1/3 innings allowing 1 run on 6 hits while striking-out 6 and walking 2.

WHINE:

• JP Howell. 2/3 of an inning. 2 walks. 2 K's. 1 hit. 3 runs. Unacceptable.
• Randy Choate. 1 batter- 1 hit. Again.
• If there was any hope left for a playoff run last night closed the door. A win last night would've made-up a game on Boston who lost v. the ChiSox (and the dying dream may have stayed alive), but as has been the case all season, when it mattered most it just didn't happen.

CRACKERS:

• Happy Labor Day weekend.
• I'm not going to complain about Tom Foley, neither should you.

CAVIAR (game ball):

• Jeff Niemann. Another start, another solid performance.
  

CHEESE & WHINE: I'm Calling It

I'm calling it:

Rays time of death, September 3, 2009 @ 10:23 pm.

Rays: 3

Red Sox: 6

CHEESE:

• Gregg Zaun. Zaun is a great addition to this team. I really hope they keep him around through 2010, so he can, at the least, mentor the young guys behind the plate. Zaun has also been a force from beside the plate, last night he finished just 1 for 4, but his 1 hit was a nice RBI double.
• Evan Longoria. Longo has been on fire from the plate again. This time he went 2 for 4 with 2 doubles and an RBI.
• Young Guys. The sadness of knowing that the postseason is just not gonna happen is somewhat off-set by the excitement of getting to see what some of the top minor league prospects have to offer over the next several weeks. Wade Davis makes his major league debut on Sunday, and several other players are on their way soon. I'd love to see the Rays find a way to make room for Desmond Jennings also.

WHINE:

• Flippin' Bullpen. Springer, Bennett, Shouse... you can have 'em. I'm done with 'em. Russ Springer is completely useless and Shouse makes even him look good.

CRACKERS:

• The Rays are now 6 games behind Boston in what I call an already-over playoff race. But I do believe in miracles, so there's that. Its gonna take God's help to make it happen, because these guys sure aren't going to do it themselves.

CAVIAR (game ball):

• Longoria. 2 more doubles (37,38) and an RBI (94)

BJ Down-ton

BJ Upton has had a down season.

BJ Upton is just as disappointed in himself as we are in him.

BJ Upton is still the real deal.

That being said, at what point does his liability at the plate (and on the basepaths) supersede his ability in the outfield?

Is it time for BJ to take a seat for a few games, again? would it benefit the team to plug in someone else who could be a potential sparkplug much as Zaun has been from the catcher position?

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Holding-out Hope

Okay, so in the interest of trying not to completely throw in the towel, here is some fat to chew:

We've known all along that, whether they were in the hunt or not, the Rays would be limiting David Price's innings this season, so as not to put the team's present ahead of it's future.

I say what better time then right now to stick Price in the 'pen, and help solve several problems at one time... you know, two birds- one ball.

First, moving King David to the bully helps save his arm for future campaigns- which is of the greatest importance (obviously).

Second, moving Price to the 'pen would put a legitimate arm out there, so that if the game is on the line in the 6th or 7th inning of a must-win game the Rays can call-on someone with gas and a live, major league arm to come preserve the win.

I can't think of a more opportune time to make the move. Can you?