Spring Training

[deerayfan072]

Went to workouts today. The guys looked good. Dioner is not there because his mom is sick in Venezula

Longoria showed up early, while Guzman and Aybar are not here yet, looks like someone wants a head start. I am going tommorow too, will report more.

[jlm53089]

Is it open to the public?

and thats good for Longoria, makes him look good.

[deerayfan072]

Is it open to the public?

and thats good for Longoria, makes him look good.

yea, it is open and free. It is at the Naomli Complex here in St. Pete. I am on my way out now

[deerayfan072]

Great day today

All the guys looked good. Riggans is looking solid behind the plate, although i did over hear that he will be limited in the amount they have him throwing early on in ST.

Jaso showed some nice pop with the bat and some good defense behind the plate.

Pitchers that impressed me today:

Kazmir -- his stuff has actually gotten filthier
Shields -- First one out to workout, almost last one to go in, change up working nice
Percy -- He still has it
Reyes -- the change up is back and looks to be an effective pitch again for him
Mason -- This guy looked good today. Had all his pitches working and locating real well. very nice guy also
Price --he is the real deal guys. he won't be up this season, but he will be there next year

I am heading back out this week so I will let ya know more

i love baseball season

[jlm53089]

Good news, I love hearing how the pitchers seem to be showing good stuff.

I would go out there if I was not so pre occupied with school.

Cannot wait for FanFest though

[deerayfan072]

Carl Crawford showed up a day ahead of the first full squad reporting day at Rays camp, and he had some interesting comments to make Tuesday.

In what has to be a jab at now former teammates Delmon Young, Crawford said (on tbo.com) "I just feel like it's going to be a little more peaceful this year... not so much crazy stuff."

On Monday Rays catcher Dioner Navarro arrived at the Naimoli Complex, thanking the organization for allowing him to spend time in Venezuela to tend to his ailing monther.

Mrs. Navarro suffered a brain aneurysm recently. Navarro said she is in stable condition but did not have many more comments on Monday morning.

Also arriving Monday were infielders Eric Hinske and Andy Cannizaro.

Reliever Troy Percival, who is making a big impact with his veteran leadership, created a scene by showing up in a specially made jersey Monday. After a St. Pete Times story compared the Rays' young pitching trio of Scott Kazmir, James Shields and Matt Garza to past young pitching standouts, Percival had a jersey that read KAZMIR SHIELDS GARZA... GLAVINE AVERY SMOLTZ on the back.

"We are always trying to set the bar high here," said Rays manager Joe Maddon. "He definitely did that today... but that's OK. He's having these young guys really see that and quite frankly I know that he means it too."

He has also said that he loved the trade that sent Delmon to MIN for Garza. Maybe there was something more there than any of us knew

[jlm53089]

Can that something be that CC pushed for the trade?
Haha

But every time I read one of your ST posts I just get goosebumps.
I cannot wait for the games finally to start.

[deerayfan072]

More on CC and the other guys:

When asked to expound by St. Pete Times writer Marc Topkin, Crawford indeed did so.

Talking about Dukes and Young, Crawford said "They could do whatever they want.... and they did. Being lound, talking too much, saying whatever they wanted to whoever they wanted to say it to. There weren't no rules for those guys

[joenovan]

How does Baldelli look? Is he working out full tilt?

[deerayfan072]

How does Baldelli look? Is he working out full tilt?

No he is not working full out. He is being limited in what he does. He is able to do everything, but he is not going full on like any other player at ST