Spring has arrived! All you Tampa Bay Rays fans can rejoice! At 1:05 today, the 2010 season officially kicked off, with the Rays facing the Baltimore Orioles. Things do not look good so far, as the team is loosing 7-2 as I post this. Reid Brignac drove in the first RBI of Spring Training, and Sean Rodriguez one-uped him sending a solo shot yard, giving the Rays their second run.
More on this game after it is completed.
Now, on to the Daily Mashup
Tampa Bay Rays look to speed and rotation as key in 2010
Tony Lee of NESN takes a look at the Tampa Bay Rays in preparation for the upcoming season.
He says the keys to the teams success this year will be a strong performance from the young pitching rotation which includes James Shields, Matt Garza, Jeff Niemann, David Price and Wade Davis.
Lee also says that the Rays will have to rely on the speed of Carl Crawford, B.J. Upton and Jason Bartlett to do some serious damage on the base paths.
All in a days work for the Tampa Bay Rays, one of the most exciting teams in baseball.
Read the rest of what Lee has to say here.
Topkin’s Top Ten
Marc Topkin of the St Petersburg Times put together a list of the top ten things to look for when watching the Tampa Bay Rays this spring. When this guy talks, you should listen–no one in media knows the Rays better than Topkin, who has covered the team since their inception in 1998.
Topkin notes that we should see an increased intensity at the plate this spring:
2. Intensity at the plate
New hitting coach Derek Shelton believes more is good and plans to increase the number of spring at-bats for certain hitters, such as B.J. Upton and Pat Burrell, who are coming off bad years, and Evan Longoria, in hopes they’ll be more ready for the start of the season. “The benefits are obvious,” Longoria said.
To read the rest of Topkin’s list, check out this link!
Welcome back Rocco!
The guy with arguably the coolest name in all of baseball is back where he belongs. Outfielder Rocco Baldelli is back with the Tampa Bay Rays–but in a role you may not expect. No, Baldelli is not throwing his ring into the hat for a spot in the outfield (yet).
Instead, Baldelli will work as a “roving” advisor, helping out in the minor leagues and occasionally with the big league club.
Baldelli has always been a fan favorite, and a bit of an underdog ever since finishing third place in rookie of the year voting for the American League in 2003.
Baldelli signed with the Boston Red S0x–his home town team–in 2009 following several injury shortened years with the Rays. His most recent injury was a rare mitochondrial disorder that caused the once promising young outfielder to faces bouts of heavy fatigue.
My favorite Baldelli memory is the parting message he left fans after the 2008 season.
This is a story that will be worth watching throughout the year–who knows, maybe we will see Baldelli roaming right field before too long.
Thomas Gemkow is the editor-in-chief of TampaBayRaysFan.com. Founded in January of 2009, TampaBayRaysFan.com is a compilation of all the best of the Rays, from across the web. The website can be followed on Twitter
