BJ Upton began his path to super-utility on Tuesday by taking ground balls at second. Upton is a man without a position since the landing of Iwamura, and desperately needs to prove he can help the Rays, or he may find himself a man without team.
Upton is becoming an interesting case as his career now swerves onward by way of the latest set of expectations. If he doesnít pan out, it will be difficult not to point a finger towards those who saw fit to continually alter his game throughout his development. But he is only 22, so there is still plenty that could go well.
Seth McClung was not at Tuesdayís practice in order to serve jury duty. There is no word on the outcome of the trial, but with McClung on the jury, it is safe to assume the defendant walked.
Joel Guzman, Elliot Johnson, Hee-Seop Choi and Jorge Velandia are the only position players not to show up early. I sympathize with them, as showing up early for work is traditionally for suckers.
For 2007, Scott Kazmir is expected to sign for $425,000. Thatís a bargain, as he will be making around $14,166 per start. Barry Zito is not a bargain, and will make around $567,000 per start.
Tony Peguero and Juan Salas continue to be stuck in the Dominican Republic with visa issues. This has been in the SP Times for 3 consecutive days, and I ignored it twice.
Casey Fossum reports his bum arm is on the fast lane out of bum town, reporting that his bullpen sessions are going off without a hitch. Looks like Raysí fans are going to get one more year of the Fossum Flop, who is an adequate place holder at $2.2 million for 2007. The club has a $3 million club option for 2008, with a $300,000 buyout.
And as for the man with the plan, Carl Crawford reported that his wrist feels good, but will wear extra protection of both wrists just in case.
Despite a majority of position players already reporting, tomorrow marks the official report date, and workouts will begin at 9:30 at the Naimoli Complex. The SP Times was used in this report.
February 21st, 2007 at 1:23 pm
"Seth McClung was not at Tuesdayís practice in order to serve jury duty. There is no word on the outcome of the trial, but with McClung on the jury, it is safe to assume the defendant walked."
Pardon me while milk shoots from my nose. Bravo.
February 21st, 2007 at 8:00 pm
I saw Big red today at the Pitchers/Catchers workout. Seth looked as he gobbled down several buckets of KFC on his day of and washed em’ down with a few chocolate shakes.
February 21st, 2007 at 10:44 pm
that McClung joke is possibly the funniest thing I’ve heard in months.