Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay’s three professional team leaders – Jon Cooper, Joe Maddon and Greg Schiano – display their personalities at the third annual Sneaker Soiree.

Just thought doing something productive after the crystallization of the annual May Royals slide would be a good idea. Or failing that, something where I could just vent a bit on the current situation.Don't act as if this is new territory. Don't act as if 21-23 after 44 is some sort of accomplishment. Don't act as if 21-23 after 44 is some sort of great thing.KC started 21-23 in 2008, with loss 23 being a Jon Lester no-hitter. They lost 11 more games in a row. Dropping to 21-34.KC started 22-22 in 2009, then they lost 9 of 11 to drop to 24-31.KC started 22-22 in 2011. Then they lost 5 in a row and were 26-36 on June 8th of 2011.21-23 after 44 is nothing to hold a plaza parade over. They set the expectations. They set the expectations of far more than a team on pace to win 77 games. They did it to get Dayton Moore a contract extension in order to keep the gravy train flowing. They sold their best assets in the farm system for a starter none of the hitters want to win, another starter who should be a reliever and a utility infielder.All this pitching, all this pitching, was supposed to make this team contend.Ervin Santana had a 2.00 ERA after April and 99 career wins. Ervin Santana has a 3.14 ERA after May 23rd and 99 career wins. Ervin Santana was very happy with his performance where his ERA went up by 37 decimal points. So at least he's happy for the remainder of the 2 months he'll be a Royal.James Shields has a better ERA in losses than wins. The better he pitches, the worse this offense performs. This team doesn't deserve a James Shields. This team put up more wins for the first 10 starts of Luke Hochevar's 2012 season than for the first 10 starts of James Shields' 2013 season. It's true, look it up. 29 other teams would love a James Shields. 29 other teams would have given James Shields more wins than this Royals team.Jeremy Guthrie is a mere mortal. Jeremy Guthrie is a nice guy from all indications. Jeremy Guthrie would have been an ace on a lot of Royals teams that didn't have a functional Gil Meche or the beginning of Zack Greinke's career peak. Jeremy Guthrie has seen his ERA go up by over a run in the last month.If you put Wade Davis in a corn maze, the guy would never get out. Amazingly irritating pitcher to watch. So slow during any sort of stress. He's a relief pitcher. He's being forced to start because he's the Mike Wood of this deal. A general manager who acquired Vin Mazzaro, Sean O'Sullivan, Will Smith, and an army of mediocrities. Wade Davis is just so incredibly irritating to watch. He wasn't put in the Tampa Bay bullpen because they had a great rotation. He was put in the Tampa Bay bullpen because he was their Luke Hochevar.Luis Mendoza used to be infuriating to watch. Back in 2010, the guy just showed up and spewed runs all over the scoreboard. He turned himself into something useful for a little bit. His 2012 was serviceable. He's better than Wade Davis. But that's like being a better drummer than Meg White.The idea of pitching winning championships is such a load of nonsense. Good pitching is nice. Teams with good pitching typically fare well. But this team has had great pitching for the first two months and they have a losing record. They could have had a losing record with a lot less effort to build a starting rotation.The problem is the hitting, but guess what?The hitting wasn't all that worse to start off the magical first 27 outside of the Philadelphia series.They put up 4 runs a game in those 24 games, and won 15 of 24 in those games. They've put up around 3.9 runs a game in their 17 games, and lost 13 of 17.One of those two things is a bigger fluke. I'd imagine the 5/8ths winning percentage while scoring 4 runs a game is far flukier than the 4-13.I never had this team marked as anything over 76 wins. Never. Not once. Not even at 16-10. Because every single Dayton Moore team always fades early in 2007, and 2008, and 2009, and 2010, and 2011, and 2012. Every single time. Dayton Moore has never built

Craft beer craze arrives in Brandon area with pubs, home brewing

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports The way things are shaping up, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers figure to have a pretty good defense in 2013. They’ve of course made a couple key additions to their secondary, but it’s their pass-rush that really needs to get going this season. In 2012 the Bucs only accumulated 27 sacks, good for 29th in the NFL. One of the main reasons for this, was the absence of defensive end Adrian Clayborn. The second-year starter suffered a season-ending knee injury in week three, and the team’s pass-rush was never the same. Clayborn is on track to return to the field this season, and he says he no longer is taking anything for granted: “I think the main difference between this year and last year for me is that I’m a little more appreciative of the game of football now and what I have. I don’t want to ever take that for granted, because I realize now that all it takes is one play and you could be out. One play and it could all be over for you, so, you know, knock on wood.” This is what you want to hear if you’re a Bucs’ fan, a young player that knows how great of an opportunity he has. What Tampa has, is a very talented DE with Pro Bowl potential. I watched Clayborn his entire career at Iowa, and I can tell you that he was definitely worth a first round pick for the Bucs. Clayborn fits the mold of how successful defensive ends look and play, and it seems that he also has the most important thing of all – heart. His comments show that he wants to be out there, and play football to the best of his ability. He’s not a player just collecting a paycheck. If he can stay healthy, I think we’ll start to see just how good Clayborn can be this season. Follow Andrew Fisher on Twitter

COMMENTARY | It was late in the 2012 season when the Boston Red Sox dumped a boatload of salary and players on the newly minted Los Angeles Dodgers, unloading $262 million worth of liabilities to a team willing to take them just to acquire All-Star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. View full post on Yahoo! Sports – MLB – Tampa Bay Rays News

J.A. Happ is continuing his recovery after being hit in the head with a line drive, and the Blue Jays pitcher says he could be back on the mound by June. The 30-year-old pitcher has been rehabbing at Toronto’s minor league complex near Tampa, Florida, since the May 7 incident. He was pitching to the Tampa Bay Rays’ Desmond Jennings when a line drive hit him directly in the head, caroming well into the outfield. Jennings, who ended up with a triple on the play, was visibly shaken and buried his face into his jersey. He watched on as team trainers rushed to J.A. Happ, who lay bleeding and motionless. The play took place in the second inning of the game, leading to an 11-minute delay as medical personnel immobilized Happ, loaded him onto a stretcher, and carted him off the field. J.A. Happ spoke publicly about the injury for the first time, saying he’s slowing getting back to full pitching ability. “I’m hoping mid-June but I think it’s hard to put a time frame on it exactly at this point, just because I haven’t really been able to throw quite yet,” Happ said. Happ said while he’s now throwing outdoors and is close to being physically ready, he can’t be sure what it will be like mentally to step on the mound for the first time. He added that he doesn’t think he could have done anything differently to avoid the hit. “Well, initially, I wasn’t sure what happened because to me it seemed like maybe I got hit from the first-base side, if there was like a collision somehow — cause I don’t remember seeing the ball at all and moving my head,” Happ said. “I thought something came in from the first-base side and knocked me over and then I guess for lack of better words, I was kinda looking [at] sort of an explosion — loud ringing. Everything else was quiet and just ringing in my ear and a lot of pressure, so that’s when my hands were on my head. I felt like I need to keep everything together. I was aware the whole time.” J.A. Happ added that he’s had a great outpouring of support from fans and fellow players. J.A. Happ Starts Throwing Outdoors, Eyes June Return is a post from: The Inquisitr

According to his public calendar, Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn will throw out the first pitch during Friday night's Rays/Yankees game at The Trop. That will be the second time Buckhorn has received the honor in the last 24 months (St. Pete's Mayor Foster=0).

Another edition of the NFL Top 100 is done, and we have another couple of Tampa Bay Buccaneers make the list. Doug Martin came in at number 57, which is the highest mark a rookie running back has attained in any of the three years the show has been on the air. He was joined by Vincent Jackson, who came on to the list at number 52. Martin and Jackson are the fourth and fifth Buccaneers to make the Top 100 respectively, with Darrelle Revis making the list at number 67, Gerald McCoy coming in at 92 and Goldson at 97. The only other Buccaneer with a remotely realistic shot to make the list would be Carl Nicks, widely regarded as one of the top two or three offensive guards in the NFL. But he played just seven games last season and was ranked at number 76 last season. A rise seems unlikely, but not impossible. Half the Doug Martin bit was various Minnesota Vikings and Oakland Raiders complaining that he tore up their defense, gaining over 200 yards from scrimmage against both of those teams. That was a ridiculous two-game stretch, but Martin was the foundation of the entire Bucs' offense this season, gaining nearly 2,000 yards from scrimmage and scoring 12 touchdowns on the season. Meanwhile, Vincent Jackson's video talked about his vertical ability, which was incredibly impressive. Falcons safety Thomas DeCoud was impressed with him. But the best quote came from Ronde Barber: "He's worth it!" and "You're still worth it, baby!" Jackson didn't come to Tampa for the warm weather alone, after all: he got a five-year, $55.6 million contract -- and so far, he's been worth every penny. Let's see if Martin and Jackson can repeat the past season, with a few more wins now that the defense has added a few stars, too. Read more: Tony Dungy is number 20 Johnthan Banks signs his contract Recency bias, narratives and clutch performers How many games will the Bucs win?

Mandatory Credit: Spruce Derden-USA TODAY Sports The Buccaneers put pen to paper with another rookie today, as Johnthan Banks, rookie corner out of Mississippi State, signed his first professional contract to stay on with the Buccaneers for 4 years. Sports Talk Florida’s Bucs Insider Jenna Laine broke the news of the contract details, outlining that Banks will receive fully guaranteed pay in years one and two of the deal, in addition to a singing bonus. Here is the breakdown from Jenna: Details of player contracts are not made available to the public, but a source tells Sports Talk Florida that Banks’ deal is worth $4,726,321 and includes a signing bonus of $1,817,324. Banks will earn a base salary of $405,000 in 2013, which is standard for NFL rookies. In 2014, that figure jumps to $619,833. In 2015, he’ll make $834,666 and in 2016, $849,498. This is just another sign of how valuable draft picks can be, because Banks will be making a very small salary (in NFL terms) for four years, and may wind up being an every week starter at some point during this deal, making him a massive value pick for the Bucs. Banks may not step into a starter’s role right away, but he doesn’t have to. He’s got plenty of competition at cornerback, which is a surprising statement given the results from the secondary last season, and there are questions about his speed and his lack of experience as a press-man corner. His inexpensive contract and the presence of Eric Wright and Leonard Johnson combine to allow him time to develop into the cornerback the Buccaneers drafted him to become. Mike Glennon remains the only unsigned rookie for the Buccaneers, which is not surprising, as quarterback contracts always take a while, even under a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. Expect to see Glennon signed soon, and the Buccaneers poised to make some bargain moves after June 1st, when another wave of cuts across the NFL may happen.

It's been a busy week on the border between Major League Baseball and the wild land beyond where top prospects roam free, waiting for their chance to break through.The Texas Rangers called up all-world shortstop Jurickson Profar, and young Baltimore Orioles right-hander Kevin Gausman is making his big league debut on Thursday night.Now that they're (back in Profar's case) in The Show, we have to ask: Who's next?That's always a tough one with prospects, as the dominoes have to fall just right and you just never know with the timing. The best you can do is take educated guesses.Shoot, I'm game. Here are some predictions for five top prospects who will be coming soon to a major league ballpark near you. Gerrit Cole, SP, Pittsburgh PiratesI feel obligated to include one of my preseason Rookie of the Year picks in this discussion, and that means either Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Wil Myers or Pittsburgh Pirates righty Gerrit Cole.Between the two, I like Cole's chances more.The issue with Myers is that the Rays outfield isn't quite hopeless, as it ranks about in the middle of the pack in OPS (see FanGraphs). Desmond Jennings has had issues, but Myers isn't the sort of true center fielder who could take his spot.Beyond that, Myers has hit the skids a bit in May. He's only a .154/.255/.256 hitter over his last 10 games, bringing his OPS for the season down to .712. Bill Chastain of MLB.com opined in late April that Myers isn't going to get the call until the Rays are sure he's major league-ready, and that's a bit of a question mark for now.As for Cole, the Pirates had an excuse to call him up when James McDonald went on the DL, but decided to go with Jeanmar Gomez instead. McDonald will soon be back, and then the Pirates will have a solid starting five with him A.J. Burnett, Wandy Rodriguez, Jeff Locke and Francisco Liriano.So...Where will Cole fit in?The best answer I can give now is "somewhere," and that it will be happening "soon." Even once the usual suspects are back together again, the Pirates aren't going to have an airtight rotation. There will be a chance for Cole to step in thanks to an injury, ineffectiveness or both.Yeah, I'm reaching a bit, but what it comes down to is that Cole is a guy the Pirates can't keep down forever.Cole is arguably the best pitching prospect in baseball in terms of pure talent, and he's running out of things to prove in the minors. His control is still iffy—he has a 4.3 BB/9 in nine starts—but his stuff is marvelous and he was cruising to the tune of a 2.55 ERA until he got lit up in his most recent start at Pawtucket.The Pirates' early success this season has been built much more on pitching than hitting. Adding Cole to the mix is one way they could make a strength even stronger, and I'd expect it to happen no later than mid-June. Nick Franklin, 2B/SS, Seattle MarinersStop me if you've heard this one before, but the Seattle Mariners are having trouble hitting again.It hasn't helped that guys who were supposed to hit haven't hit. That's your cue to look in the general direction of Dustin Ackley, Justin Smoak and Jesus Montero, though he may not be there when you look now that he's been optioned to Triple-A.You can also look in the general direction of Seattle's shortstops. Brendan Ryan and Robert Andino are responsible for a .170/.245/.204 batting line, the rough translation for which in baseball-ese is "Yuck."Meanwhile, there's Nick Franklin at Triple-A Tacoma with a .318/.441/.481 batting line. He's played second base more than shortstop this season, but that's a switch from the last couple years. Franklin isn't regarded as a great shortstop, but he's certainly not out of his element at the position.The Mariners don't necessarily have to view Franklin as an answer for only their shortstop quandary. They should also be thinking long and hard about what's to be done with Ackley, as he's following up a bad April with an even worse May. In 16 games, Ackley's hitting just .161/.266/.232.Bet