Daily Mashup:Longo goes long (real long) Upton’s grab & more

Longo’s longball

Evan Longoria started the 2010 season with a bang. Predicted by most experts to have an MVP type season, Longoria hit his first home run of the season in the 4-3 Opening Day win against the Baltimore Orioles. But not only was it a homerun, it was the third longest ever hit by a Tampa Bay Ray at Tropicana Field.

Longoria’s 473 foot home run is only bested by Vinny Castilla and his 478 foot monster in 2001 and Jonny Gomes with a 474 foot dinger in 2005.

The upperdeck shot was said to leave his bat at 110 MPH an land 40 feet above the field, according to the team at hittrackeronline.com.

James Shields had this to say about Longo’s long ball:

“That was one of the farthest balls I’ve ever seen hit. I think he hit it five rows up in the party deck. That’s unbelievable. But it doesn’t surprise me, that guy is capable of doing anything. He’s the full package, man. I’m glad he’s on my team.”

Tampa Bay Rays sell out fifth opener

After much debate as to whether or not the Rays would sell out Opening Day 2010, turns out they did–for the fifth consecutive time.

The Rays, who have struggled with attendance every year since they started play in 1998, are hoping that this year, the team can turn the attendance corner, which would help justify a new stadium in the near future.

You can read more about the sell out, plus Stu Sternberg’s thoughts on the teams future here.

Are the Orioles the next Rays?

Lot’s of baseball analysts have had good things to say about the Baltimore Orioles this year, and many people expect them to break out to a certain extent during the 2010 season.

Loaded with young talent, you can’t help but draw comparisons between the Rays of late and the Orioles now.

You can read a bit more about that here.

Longoria stinks…literally

Evan Longoria may stink. Not his play, I mean, he may ACTUALLY stink.

Longoria sat down with Dan Patrick–a sports broadcaster known for his interesting conversations with players. The two got to talking about superstition, and Longoria had this to say :

“I don’t like to think of it as a superstition. I like to think of it as a habit. I even tell the clubhouse guys to not switch out my pants when I get a hole in the them. I just have them stitch them up or patch them up or whatever. I wear the same pair of pants for every game every year – the same undershirt, the same socks unless they get a hole in them.”

162 games is a LONG time…interesting “habit” from an even more interesting guy, but if it works for him, I will not argue. Keep doing what you do Longo.

Upton flashing the glove

B.J. Upton is out to prove something this year–so it seems. After having a solid spring at the plate, Upton proved his glove is pretty stellar too, making an incredible catch at the wall against the Orioles on Opening Day.

Many fans are hoping Upton plays with a motivation we’ve never seen. His younger brother Justin Upton got a hefty contract extension this off season, and the rumors are, B.J. wants some similar money, but he knows he will have to earn it.