Tallahassee’s favorite Rappa Ternt Sanga wants you to know that there’s more to Florida than just the MIA.
Those Rays are depressing me as Carlos Pena signs with the Cubs, Carl Crawford with the BoSox, and Jason Bartlett was traded to the Padres. Reliever Dan Wheeler missed Crawford so much that he decided to join him Boston. Roger Mooney gives us the low-down on the Rays’ seemingly depleted bullpen.BWoodrum from DRays Bay gives us his take on that same bullpen. Then the ever-busy Mooney introduces the four new Rays that they received in the Bartlett trade. Cole Figueroa looks promising. The rest are 2 relievers and a 26-year old in AA. Mooney also reports that despite the losses, Joe Maddon thinks the Rays can be in the 90-win range this season if they can get upgrades to the bullpen. And I’d have to say, with that pitching, I’d have to agree. The good folks at D-Rays Bay pay a classy tribute to the franchise’s best player in history, Mr. Crawford. They also give us a look at David Price’s 2-seam fastball.
Those tricky Bucs. First of all, Ira Kaufman tells us that the Bucs are in the playoff hunt, even if no one wants to give them any credit. And speaking of credit, Raheem Morris deserves a ton of that. A lot should also go to Josh Freeman, who is now the 22-year old leader of this team, as he showed on Wednesday. And with all of the injuries, Roy Cummings tells us that “Next Man Up” is their rallying cry and Bucs Nation notes that they’re showing the team’s depth. Those great folks at Bucs Nation also break down how Ryan Torrain tore their defense a new asshole last week.
Moving to Jacksonville, where the Jags have a game with the Colts that is as big as it gets. Vito Stellini recaps the five most important regular season matchups of the Jack Del Rio-era. Gene Frenette puts the moment in perspective. Big Cat Country goes over the big bro/lil bro relationship of the Colts and the Jags. As of this typing, the Jags are down 14-10 in that game. I wish them the best, and I hate the Colts too.
And finally, we have the reason this post went up before Denver’s. Those sneaky Orlando Magic. Just when you thought they were afterthoughts in the Championship picture, they start off by trading Vince Carter, Marcin Gortat, and Mickael Pietrus to the Suns for Jason Richardson, Hedo Turkoglu, and Earl Clark. What’s that? Not impressed? You say, J-Rich and Hedo are fine for third and fourth options. Plus there’s still Jameer Nelson and JJ Reddick. But you just traded your clear-cut number two option. Well Otis Smith hears you and he responds by shipping Rashard Lewis to the Wizards for Gilbert Arenas. Of course, they then went out with 8 guys and lost to the surging Sixers that night. But Evan Dunlap at Orlando Pinstriped breaks down each new player and how they fit in. For what it’s worth Gilbert is ecstatic. The best part of that interview is when he talks about coming off the bench for the Wizards. They told him they needed a scoring punch off the bench, and he thinks “what about a scoring punch in the starting lineup?” Mike Bianchi reminds us that these moves are all about Dwight Howard. Otis Smith has the most to lose here as he’s sticking his neck out for Gilbert, who’s like a son to him. George Diaz lets us know that this was Smith’s way of admitting mistakes with the whole Hedo/Vince thing, and the Rashard Lewis contract. Meanwhile, while everyone’s talking about Otis Smith and Gilbert Arenas, Zach McCan wonders how much Hedo has left. I don’t think much personally. But J-Rich and Gil are important pieces here. And really, what I’m most excited about is that we have the two most interesting personalities in the league (Gil and Dwight) on the same team! If only I could change my League Pass subscription….
