jd77's Signature

[E.T.]

...

Love this signature:

Can you do it with a FootBULL and we can put a team each week ?

Can any of our graffic guys handle this ... think it's cool.  8-)

:GoBulls

[___ Eats It]

The dude in that signature is on roids...  ;D

[Triple B]

The dude in that signature is on roids...  ;D

It's MLB's new DRays Rule. Any team that has never won 75 games in a season doesn't have to be tested for steroids.

[jd77]

Thanks ET!

A friend of mine from Raysbaseball.com and Pewterreport.com made it for me.

I have actually retired it on all the other boards, but had forgotten to change it on this board for some reason.

And for those who don't know.  The Rays are 6-0-1 since they have started playing mostly regulars in the spring training games and most of those wins have been in blowout fashion.  I.E. 7-0 over the Indians, 15-1 over the Reds, 12-4 over the Pirates today, etc.

The pitching has been outstanding all spring and for the last week when the regulars have played together they have been killing the ball.  It is time to start supporting this team hard in this town.  Sports Illustrated and Baseball America both wrote articles this past week stating that the Rays will be the best team in baseball by 2010. It is time for this town to shed the bandwagon label and get out there and support this team before its the cool thing to do like we did with the Bucs and Lightning.  How can you not want to pay money to see CC, Rocco, and Delmon Young in the same OF?  Elijah Dukes, BJ Upton, and Jonny Gomes will be the reserve OF's this year.  Not Damon Hollins, Russel Branyan, etc.  So even if there is an injury there is a young star sitting on the bench ready to replace them.  

And the pitching staff is ALOT better than people give them credit for.  Don't forget that Jeff Niemann and Mitch Talbot are starting in AAA this year so they aren't too far off either.  The 2nd decade of Rays baseball is going to make everyone forget about the first decade.  I can promise you that.  Now get out to the Trop and root root root for the home team.

*steps off soap box*

[Triple B]

Thanks ET!

A friend of mine from Raysbaseball.com and Pewterreport.com made it for me.

I have actually retired it on all the other boards, but had forgotten to change it on this board for some reason.

And for those who don't know.  The Rays are 6-0-1 since they have started playing mostly regulars in the spring training games and most of those wins have been in blowout fashion.  I.E. 7-0 over the Indians, 15-1 over the Reds, 12-4 over the Pirates today, etc.

The pitching has been outstanding all spring and for the last week when the regulars have played together they have been killing the ball.  It is time to start supporting this team hard in this town.  Sports Illustrated and Baseball America both wrote articles this past week stating that the Rays will be the best team in baseball by 2010. It is time for this town to shed the bandwagon label and get out there and support this team before its the cool thing to do like we did with the Bucs and Lightning.  How can you not want to pay money to see CC, Rocco, and Delmon Young in the same OF?  Elijah Dukes, BJ Upton, and[highlight] Jonny Gomes will be the reserve OF's this year[/highlight].  Not Damon Hollins, Russel Branyan, etc.  So even if there is an injury there is a young star sitting on the bench ready to replace them.  

And the pitching staff is ALOT better than people give them credit for.  Don't forget that Jeff Niemann and Mitch Talbot are starting in AAA this year so they aren't too far off either.  The 2nd decade of Rays baseball is going to make everyone forget about the first decade.  I can promise you that.  Now get out to the Trop and root root root for the home team.

*steps off soap box*

JD, saw the Times today and it said that Gomes may struggle just to make the roster. Is that possible?? I didn't get a chance to read the whole article....

Mods may want to move this to the generic sports board.  

[jd77]

As of about 4 days ago it was possible.  He had a great 2nd game of the spring in Dunedin against the Blue Jays.  He hit 2 HR's that day both to the opposite field.   But, for the next 2 weeks, he couldn't buy a hit and was striking out in 50% of his AB's.  This coming off an awful 2nd half last year when he really struggled with a shoulder injury.

But, he has homered in the past 2 games and leads the team in HR's doubles, and RBI now for the spring.  He also has a spring OPS over 1.000.  He'll be on the team.

Jorge Cantu might not though.  Which would have seemed impossible after his 2005 season, but this team is getting really deep, really fast. There are no guarantees anymore. Just wait until Reid Brignac and Evan Longoria are ready in about a year.  There are going to be some tough decisions to make.

[Brad]

This thread was pretty dull all the way up to the Eva Longoria part...

[Herman_Momart]

Hey JD you sound like a knowledgeable drays fan, maybe you can answer this rumor i heard, or anyone for that matter.  

Is there any truth in the Devil Rays may move to the NL EAST and the Marlins somewhere else as soon as next year?  I heard it from someone i usually trust and I personally never heard one peep about it.  

btw, im not a rays fan but i attend a good amount of games.  But what i think is what i thought last season, ahhh they'll blow it in the ninth.  Good luck rays.  

[AndytheBull]

Thats always been a dream(about moving to the NL East) but I'm not aware of anything/anybody that said it was realistic any time in the near future. I havent followed it too closely this off season, so JD knows more about it than me.

[jd77]

I have not heard that rumor since the Marlins got approval for their new stadium.  The rumor last year was that the Marlins would move to San Antonio and into the AL West. And in turn the Rays would move to the NL East.

But, as much as people complain about being in the AL East, its really not that big of a deal.  The Yankees are an old team and half of their rotation is already hurt this year. Then one of their replacements, Karstens, got hurt today.  They are planning to pitch Carl Pavano on opening day for God's sake.

The Red Sox last year were barely over .500 nad had one of the worst records in baseball in the 2nd half.

Toronto, is a very solid team right now, but their farm system is really weak.  The Yankees have actually improved their farm system greatly by trading veterans for prospects over the offseason and now their farm system is ranked 4th in MLB by Baseball America.  The Rays are ranked #1. The Rays system is unbelievably stacked at every level and is loaded with pitching talent.  Just last year their AA team, the Montgomery Biscuits won the Southern League Championship. And their High A team, Visalia Oaks, lost a 1 run game in game 5 of the California League Championship.  They were that close to winning championships in High A and AA.  That shows you what is on the way. Side note, the Rays High A affiliate is now Vero Beach and they will play in the Florida State League, so they will be right in our backyard. Very exciting.

My point is the AL East is very overrated.  You want to talk about tough divisions, look at the AL Central.  Detroit, Chicago, and Minnesota are arguably the 3 best teams in the AL. Then throw in a very good, young Cleveland team.  I would much rather be where we are.  It is the best place for our team to get the most exposure.  Going up against the Yankees and Red Sox 38 times per year gives you a lot of national exposure.   When the Rays win the AL East they will be given a lot more respect than if they had won the AL Central regardless of which division was tougher, because people think the Red Sox and Yankees are invincible. They obviously have very short memories.  :