Tag / B.J. Upton

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Rays All Time Leaders – Through 2015

414_tampa_bay-rays-miscellaneous-2012With 5 months until baseball in Chicago returns, I thought it would be interesting to look at the all time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams.  We start things off today with the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Rays began life in 1998 as the Devil Rays, dropping the Devil portion of their name in 2008.  I’ve seen them play 13 times, 5 as the Devil Rays and 8 as the Rays, including the 2008 ALDS, where they defeated the White Sox.

Home Runs

Name Total
B.J. Upton 5
Matthew Joyce 3
Ben Zobrist 2

Hits

Name Total
B.J. Upton 18
Ben Zobrist 16
Carlos Pena 9
Evan Longoria 9

Runs

Name Total
Ben Zobrist 11
B.J. Upton 9
Matthew Joyce 7

RBI

Name Total
B.J. Upton 11
Carlos Pena 8
Ben Zobrist 7

Doubles

Name Total
Ben Zobrist 3
Evan Longoria 3
Jason Bartlett 3

Triples Continue reading →

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Playoff Batting Leaders

baseballs3Now that the Cubs have gotten past the Pirates in the Wild Card game and will face off against the Cardinals in the NLDS, it’s time to take our first ever look at the offensive leaders from the 17 post-season games I have attended since 2000.  So, without further ado, we start off with:

Home Runs

Name Total
Paul Konerko 3
B.J. Upton 3
Moises Alou 2
Miguel Cabrera 2
Chipper Jones 2
Eric Karros 2
A.J. Pierzynski 2
Scott Podsednik 2
Manny Ramirez 2

Hits

Name Total
Moises Alou 9
Juan Uribe 8
Derrek Lee 8
A.J. Pierzynski 7
Mark DeRosa 7

Runs

Name Total
Paul Konerko 6
A.J. Pierzynski 5
Continue reading →
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A Carlos Marmol Problem

Carlos-Marmol-bummedOne week into the 2013 season, the Cubs find themselves with a Carlos Marmol problem.  In May of last year, new manager Dale Sveum removed Marmol from the closer role after Marmol’s continued control issues and an over-reliance on his slider.  Marmol eventually worked his way back to the closer role and finished the year on a high note.  And that’s when things got weird.

Looking at another year of rebuilding and Marmol’s impending free agency, the Cubs decided the time was right to move him.  Last November, word leaked, from Marmol himself, that he had been traded to the Angels for Dan Haren, but that deal fell apart.  Japanese reliever Kyuji Fujikawa was signed over the winter, with the expectation that he would be the new closer.  The Cubs then told Marmol’s agent to expect a trade during spring training, which, of course, never happened.

The Cubs entered the season with Marmol as their closer, with the hopes of showcasing him for an eventual trade.  What they didn’t plan for was Marmol’s complete meltdown over the first week of the season.  Coming in to yesterday’s home opener, he’s faced 13 batters and has managed to retire 4 of them, culminating in Saturdays blown save to the Upton brothers and the Braves.

The Cubs now find themselves in the unenviable position of needing to send Carlos Marmol out there to prove that he can get people out but unable to do so because he so clearly cannot.  He actually managed to pitch an inning of mop up relief in yesterday’s home opener without giving up a run, but it will take more than that to rebuild whatever value he may have had.