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Roger Mooney

Roger Mooney covers the Tampa Bay Rays for The Tampa Tribune, TBO.com and News Channel 8. He has covered the Rays since their first season in 1998, including 11 years for the Bradenton Herald. Roger has also covered Florida, South Florida and Florida State football, the Bucs and the Lightning.

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Shields to sign copies of ‘September Nights’ Monday night in Tampa

Posted Nov 10, 2011 by Roger Mooney

Updated Nov 10, 2011 at 05:49 PM

ROGER MOONEY

James Shields will sign copies of his book “September Nights,” from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday at the Beef O’Brady’s in Tampa (2319 S. MacDill Ave.)

Shields co-wrote the book with Bill Chastain, who covers the Rays for mlb.com.

The book details the Rays chase of the division title during September, 2010.

Here is an excerpt …

When Evan Longoria gets up to bat with Crawford on second, Zim turns to me and says, “I’ll tell you a baseball phrase you’ve never heard before: ‘Longo needs to pickle one here.’”

I say, “What? ‘Pickle one?’ What does that mean?”

He says, “It means he’s got to hit one out,” and then he starts going at it. “Come on Longo, let’s pickle one.”

(Zim) hasn’t said anything the whole game, but now he’s excited because he’s using one of his phrases from back in the day. I feel almost like I a time traveler back to Brookyn’s Ebbets Field in the 1950s. Zim’s next to me on the bench and we’re both wearing flannel uniforms and yelling for Pee Wee Reese to pickle one, and Jackie Robinson and Gil Hodges are next to us yelling the same thing. Nobody on our bench has ever heard anything about pickling one, but that doesn’t stop Zim. The saying has been awakened in his mind, and he’s more than tickled to use it.

Price pitches a gem in front of us, but he gets taken out after the eighth inning. He’s allowed only a solo home run to John Buck in the fifth inning, but we’ve only scored once against Shaun Marcum. Price isn’t too happy when he gets to the bench, because he’s been taken out without a lead and may not get a win. Nobody wants to mess with Price when he’s like that—except Zim.

Zim turns to me and says, “Dad-gum, he thinks he’s so smart from Vandy, but he’s the dumbest pitcher I know.” I’m kind of taken aback, but Zim goes on, saying, “He’s so dumb, he’s mad that he got taken out. That idiot shouldn’t have given up the homer and he’d be winning 1–0.” I crack up, almost falling off the bench. I tell Zim he needs to tell Price what he just told me. He goes, “All right, I will.”

When Price gets up, I say, “Hey Price, Zim wants to tell you something.” Then Zim repeats what he told me, and Price loses it just like I did. He’s all smiles after that. Zim tells me that when he managed he used to needle his pitching staff that way. “They knew
I was serious, but they also knew I was joking,” he says. Then he tells me that Price pitched a hell of a game and shouldn’t be mad about anything.

Longoria singles in the bottom of the eighth to drive home Ben Zobrist to put us ahead 2–1. Then Rafael Soriano gets the final three outs to become the first pitcher in the major leagues to reach 40 saves, and Price gets the win.