Mark Schlereth is a tardass whether I spelled his name correctly or not

I just heard this fucko say that Michael Vick should choose that new football league that none of us care about, and that JP Losman chose to be a part of, over the NFL to ... get his skills back together. He's paid money to say that. I'm paid nothing to say he's an idiot.

My history with Vick:

LOVED him at VA Tech because I hated Florida St.

Hated him at Atlanta because I love the Bucs, and ultimately, he was always really overrated as a quarterback. He may be a great football QB for any secondary league, but HE. WILL. NEVER. BE. A. GREAT. QB. IN. THE. N.F.L.

After all the dog killin' he's been through, he served his time, he should be allowed back into any corporation that will accept him, and each franchise is it's own corporation. STATES RIGHTS!!!!

Whether he's a good QB or not, it's ridiculous to judge his athleticism of 2+ years ago, and if he can be signed by an NFL team, there's not one single reason for him not to take it. NOT ONE MARK SCHELERETH!!!! Would Mark Schlereth sign in a lesser league to "tone his skills." Umm, no. You wouldn't either, and neither would I, and hence ... Mark Shclereth is an idiot whether I spelled his name correctly or not.

RAYS HAVE 4 ALL-STARS!!! INCLUDING ZOBRIST!!!

What's even better, is they all deserve it. Sure they're stuck in a rut right now with this current 3 game losing streak, and it seems as if they've lost like 8 billion games on the Yanks and Sox, but, I seem to recall the events of last year they were in a poor streak right before the all-star break as well, and they turned that around and went to the World Series.

So, the All-Stars

1. Evan Longoria. This is the first truly transcending Ray. You don't want to call someone a hall of famer while it's only their second year, but he just seems like a natural. Alex Rodriguez almost seems like an afterthought to this guy, which is amazing.

2. Carl Crawford. Carl's great. He's kind of a transcending Ray as well, and seems like he was our token all-star back when we lost 100 games a year and we were given a player by default. It's great to see him performing well this year, and despite having a gaggle of stars on this team, he's still recognized for his accomplishments.

3. Jason Bartlett. He's having the best year of any shortstop in the American League. I know, I know, I know, Derek Jeter. I like Jeter, seems like a nice guy but Bartlett will make orphans of his kids. Also, let's not forget it was Jason Bartlett who earned America a free taco last year but stealing a base during the playoffs. I've never seen Jeter do that.

4. Ben Zobrist. It's always exciting to see someone do well who has a "Z" in their name. Ben kept asking Joe for a shot and now that Aki is down, Zober is killing it. It's great to see him recognized for the big game.

End of June Rays Report

4 GAMES behind to Bosox after a beautiful choke job last night by the Sox.

1.5 GAMES behind the Eric Hinske led Yankees for the wild card spot, so yeah, they're in the thick of it.

The players?

Navy is a great catcher, not much of a hitter, but a great catcher.

Carlos Pena is the modern day Cecil Fielder or Rob Deer. Doesn't seem like a compliment, but somehow it is.

Zober ... the man. should be an all-star.

Bartlett ... the man. should be an all-star

Longo ... the modern day Mike Schmidt. will be an all-star

C-Craw ... the man. should be an all-star

BJ ... starting to pull it together, had a phenomenal June

Rightfielder to be named ... meh

Pat the Bat at DH ... meh

The pitching is getting alot better. Niemann is a solid starter now, probably the 3rd best guy in the rotation after shieldsy and garza. Kaz will be back, but don't know how good he'll be. Sonnanstine is the quintessential box of chocolates and The Price. Hmm, let's give him more time. He throws hard, and that's good for now.

The Matt Joyce Show

Ok, ok, so it's just Kansas City, but maybe, just maybe the Matt Joyce for Edwin Jackson trade isn't as nearly lopsided as it looks.  It's tough to witness to wonderful show Jackson is putting on in Detroit with the way our staff has been semi-floundering.  It's funny that one of the two trades that turned the Rays around (getting Kazmir), would've probably best been served if he was the pitcher we dealt (actually, I still think that would've been Sonnanstine) instead of Edwin Jackson, but Edwin Jackson is not walking through that door so I digress.

It's probably not too late to trade Kaz and get some much needed relief help.  I really don't know who's out there, but with a name like Kazmir I bet we could get somebody, anybody to close out a game consistently.  Say we lose him.  That makes our staff Garza, Shields, Niemann, Price and Sonnanstine.  Sure it'd be nice to take Andy out of there, but every now and then he pitches well, and for a fifth starter, that's not too bad, especially if Niemann can keep up with the learning curve.

Seeing there's probably not a major closer out there that we could probably land, maybe a lesser closer, and mix-in a utility man to help cover 2B with Aki out.    Something, I'm sure we can get something for Kazmir.  Or maybe, it's always best not to trade a solid starting pitcher, because you never know when you may need one, something we should've learned before we traded Edwin Jackson.

Now for Matt Joyce.  

Thank you Matt Joyce thank you.   Whatever you can do to block out the view of the awesome numbers Jackson is putting up in Detroit will be fantastic.  As Rays fans, aside from seeing Garza and Bartlett turn into borderline all-stars when they came here, it was also nice to see Delmon Young not turn into some superstar.  No ill will towards Delmon Young (wouldn't want him to throw a bat at me), but seeing Josh Hamilton bud into one of the games perennial superstars hurts just a bit.  The only reason we're not crying over that one is we are still the current American League Champions.  So keep up the good work Matt Joyce, every little bit helps.

Post-May Rays Report

It's been quite an up and down season.  If last year never happened, us die hard Rays fans would be quite ecstatic with this year, because we've been floating around .500 which would be our best season ever IF last year never happened.  IF last year never happened, I probably wouldn't be writing my Rays reports either.

 

First the pitching.  The bullpen is just terrible.  I can't think of one positive thing to say, so, if I can't say anything nice, why say anything at all.  It's just that bad.  Basically, every break in the world went in the Rays favor last year, and this year it's not happening for example ... the hitting.  These guys are hitting so much better this year, and they're losing more, because the hitting isn't as timely.  Goes to show you how important relief and fielding are.

 

All-stars right now:

 

1B - Pena

SS - Bartlett (it's too bad he's on the DL right now, this guy for some reason is the new Derek Jeter)

3B - Longo

LF - Crawford ... every time you blink your eyes, Crawford is stealing a base

 

Pitchers = None

 

The only guy worth anything really is Garza.  Shieldsy pouts if he doesn't get enough fan support.  Kasmir already lost it.  I don't think he's getting it back.  Sonnanstine schmonanstine.  Niemann is doing a good job for a rookie and Price has got the power.  He'll probably be our second best pitcher in a few months.  Hopefully because he's taking steps forward and not because everyone else is taking a step back.

 

Outlook - reserved but hopeful

 

It looks like the Jays are starting to suck which is helpful ,but the Yanks are starting to play like the highest paid team in baseball and the Sox, well, they're good.  It looks like Jason Bay is taking over for Manny just fine.  Which sucks.  I don't like Jason Bay.  He kind of bothered me on the Pirates and now that he's a dirty Sock, well, poor dude doesn't have a chance.  I have no reason for this, it's just the way it is.  I like nemesis' on the Sox though, its what sports are all about.  Now if someone can just give Papi his steroids back.

 

Bottom line:  Rays will not lose another game this season and win it all (of course)