Guyer said law suit hindered his play at the beginning of the Triple A season

Posted May 9, 2012 by Roger Mooney

Updated May 9, 2012 at 06:06 PM

ROGER MOONEY
NEW YORK The thought of being sued for $5 million for his role in Matt Bush’s alleged DUI and leaving the scene of the accident with bodily harm hindered Brandon Guyer’s performance during the start of the Triple A Durham Bulls season.

Guyer, recalled by the Rays for tonight’s game against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium, admitted as much before the game.

“I never had anything catastrophic happen off the field,” Guyer said. “That’s why the beginning of the season, just trying to get over it mentally, just trying to block it out when I got to the field was a challenge.”

Guyer was batting .191 before going on a 10-game tear where he hit .421 and raised his season average to .294.

Guyer blamed the slow start on “various things, some off the field stuff. I just let it get to me. It was beating me for a little while. Once I overcame that, mentally got stronger. I think in the long run it will make me a better player and person. It just took a little bit to get over it and get back to being who I am and being the player I can.”

That “off the field stuff” is his role in Bush’s alleged accident. Bush, who roomed with Guyer during spring training, was driving Guyer’s SUV when he allegedly ran over Tony Tufano, 72, of Port Charlotte on March 22 in Port Charlotte. The family of Tufano, who is recovering from numerous injuries, is suing both Bush and Guyer for $5 million each.

“I can’t really say much right now, just trying to focus on baseball and let that stuff work out,” Guyer said when asked about the law suit.

Bush remains in Charlotte County Jail and is facing seven charges.

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Jennings feeling better, S-Rod at 3B

Posted May 9, 2012 by Roger Mooney

Updated May 9, 2012 at 04:59 PM

ROGER MOONEY
NEW YORK With Jeff Keppinger on the restricted list and not with the team, Sean Rodriguez will move over and start at third base and Elliot Johnson will get the start at shortstop.

Desmond Jennings is not in the lineup but said his sprained left knee feels much better.

When asked when he might return to the lineup, Jennings said, “Soon. I feel like very soon (but) I can’t point out a day.”

Outfielder Brandon Guyer joined the team today to fill Keppinger’s spot on the roster and is not sure how long he will stay. With lefty CC Sabathia starting for the Yankees on Thursday, he might be here for another day. Or, Guyer might head back to Durham if Keppinger is back by Thursday.

Here are the lineups:

RAYS
Zobrist RF
Peña 1B
Upton CF
Joyce LF
Scott DH
Rhymes 2B
Johnson SS
Rodriguez 3B
Gimenez C
—
Niemann P

YANKEES
Jeter SS
Granderson CF
Rodriguez 3B
Cano 2B
Teixeira 1B
Swisher RF
Ibanez DH
Martin C
Wise LF
—
Phelps P

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Rays @ Yankees: More rain in the forecast

Posted May 9, 2012 by Roger Mooney

Updated May 9, 2012 at 03:12 PM

ROGER MOONEY
NEW YORK Another gloomy day in the Bronx, and this one with a greater chance of rain this evening than Tuesday night.

The grounds crew is setting up for batting practice, so whatever rain is headed this way won’t arrive until after the teams take BP.

As it stands now, Jeff Niemann is set to start against David Phelps of the Yankees.

Niemann is undefeated in five career starts against the Yankee, going 3-0 with a 3.10 ERA. He’s 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA at Yankee Stadium.

The Rays are trying to avoid their second four-game losing streak of the season.

Outfielder Brandon Guyer will join the team today as a replacement for Jeff Keppinger, who was placed on the restricted list because of a personal matter. No telling how long Guyer will remain with the team. The Rays said Keppinger is not expected to miss much time, maybe one game.

Rays manager Joe Maddon said Guyer was called up from Durham because the Rays wanted a right-handed bat to replace Keppinger’s.

No lineups yet, but it’s doubtful Desmond Jennings (mild left knee sprain) return to the lineup, especially on what is expected to be a wet field.

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Wednesday’s offers

Posted May 9, 2012 by Bill Ward

Updated May 9, 2012 at 08:51 PM

Wednesday’s local prep football players who have received scholarship offers, as reported by the head coaches:

Alonso—Sophomore WR/TE Marcus Mosely (6-4, 195) received his first offer this week, from South Alabama, Ravens coach Brian Emanuel said.

Gaither—Junior RB Shug Oyegunle (5-9, 170) has received offers from Lehigh and Furman, Cowboys coach Jason Stokes announced.

Wharton—Junior DB Vernon Hargreaves (5-11, 185) landed offer No. 39, from Michigan State. Expect No. 40 to be Oregon.

Tampa Catholic— Junior WR Zach Benjamin (6-3, 175) received an offer from the Air Force Academy, Crusaders coach Bob Henriquez announced.

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What’s up front counts for Bucs

Posted May 9, 2012 by Ira Kaufman

Updated May 9, 2012 at 12:02 PM

By IRA KAUFMAN

TAMPA—The young defensive line of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers carries a heavy burden into the 2012 season.

The Bucs used two of their first three draft choices to address needs at safety (Mark Barron) and linebacker (Lavonte David). Cornerback Eric Wright was targeted early in free agency to help a defense that allowed 30 touchdown passes.

Tampa Bay signed defensive tackle Amobi Okoye to provide competition at defensive tackle, but for the most part, the Bucs are relying on their young linemen to stay healthy and grow together into an effective unit. That wasn’t the case in 2011, as Gerald McCoy suffered his second torn biceps in as many seasons and fellow tackle Brian Price was limited to 28 stops and three sacks.

The bright spot was first-round pick Adrian Clayborn, who led the club with 7.5 sacks at right end. Fellow rookie Da’Quan Bowers started the final six games at left end, showing only brief flashes as a pass rusher.

Collectively, the group up front was ravaged on the ground as opposing clubs averaged 5.0 yards per carry. The defensive line failed to occupy blockers and running backs routinely broke through to the second level.

Pressure up front was also subpar as the Bucs registered only 23 sacks and opposing quarterbacks posted a glittering 97.2 passer rating.

If the Bucs are to challenge for their first playoff berth in five seasons, Tampa Bay’s defensive line will have to play at a much higher level. And after using four premium draft picks up front in 2010 and 2011, general manager Mark Dominik needs these young linemen to show marked improvement this fall.

The Bucs are 17-31 in three years of rebuilding under the Dominik regime and ownership is looking for a major step forward under new head coach Greg Schiano. A new coaching staff is determined to bring out the best in McCoy, Price, Clayborn, Bowers and Okoye—who have a lot to prove collectively for a franchise asking its fans to join the fight.

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Yankees 5, Rays 3: Some postgame stuff

Posted May 8, 2012 by Roger Mooney

Updated May 8, 2012 at 11:53 PM

ROGER MOONEY
NEW YORK The Rays had one hit in their first 14 at-bats, struck out a season-high 13 times and were 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position.

And they came within a hit or two of winning Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium.

The lack of timely hitting undermined a solid start by James Shields and resulted in a 5-3 loss to the Yankees.

It was the third straight loss to the Rays, who nevertheless remained tied with the Orioles atop of the American League East standings.

It was the Rays first loss this season to the Yankees and first in eight games.

Here are some odds and ends …

—Shields snapped his six-game winning streak, tied for the longest of his career. He allowed three runs on four hits in six innings, but two of those hits were home runs – a two-run shot by Raul Ibanez in the fourth inning and a solo home run by Curtis Granderson in the fifth.

Shields is winless in his last five starts at Yankee Stadium, going 0-4 with a 4.13 ERA.

—Jose Molina, who hit the final home run at the previous Yankee Stadium, hit his second home run of the season in the sixth inning.

—Luke Scott hit his team-leading seventh homer of the season. Five of those have come on the road. He is batting .322 with six home runs against right-handed pitching this season.

—Four of the Yankees five runs scored on home runs. For the season, the Yankees have scored 51.4 percent of their runs on the long ball. The Rays have scored 42 percent of their runs on homers.

—The win was the 400th for Joe Girardi as manager of the Yankees.

—Yankee starter Ivan Nova improved to 3-0 with a 3.26 ERA against the Rays.

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Sharks baseball trio commit to Webber International

Posted May 8, 2012 by Jarrett Guthrie

Updated May 8, 2012 at 10:01 PM

Three Riverview senior baseball players Chris Gauthier, Derek Jeffrey and Justin Rose committed to play together at Webber International next season, Sharks’ coach Bill Leiby said prior to Tuesday’s Class 7A-2 region semifinal.

Rose was second on the team in runs (19) and RBI (18) while hitting .328 with three homeruns, Gauthier had a .347 average with 10 runs, 17 RBI and two homeruns, while Jeffrey hit .292, scoring 12 runs and driving in 10.

The Sharks fell 2-1 to Brandon in the region semifinal ending their season Tuesday evening with an 18-9 record.

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Collect Call: 2011 Panini Limited Baseball

Posted May 8, 2012 by Bob D'Angelo

Updated May 8, 2012 at 10:39 PM

It’s almost a shame that Panini America has a product called Limited. I say that because due to licensing restrictions, Panini is extremely limited in depicting its players. For major-league players, that’s lots of airbrushed logos.

Never let it be said, however, that the folks at Panini shrink from a challenge. Restrictions like the ones the company faced have led to some original design ideas, and in Limited, I believe they turned out rather well.

This year’s Limited set marks the debut of USA Baseball team cards in Panini products; the multiyear agreement with the National Baseball Hall of Fame also comes into play.

A box contains seven cards, and the price hovers around $100. On the box, Panini promises three autograph or memorabilia cards (at least two autographs are guaranteed.

The box I sampled yielded several interesting designs. The Team USA card was of 16U national team member Hunter Mercado-Hood, an outfielder from California. That card was numbered to 199.

There were two prospect cards: Jace Peterson, drafted by the Padres in the 1st round (58th overall) of the 2011 MLB June amateur draft, is an unsigned card numbered to 199. The second prospect is an autograph card of pitcher Ryan Tatusko. At 27, Ryan’s an older prospect; he was drafted by the Rangers in the 18th round of the 2007 June amateur draft. That card is numbered to 620.

Pitcher Michael Fulmer is the pack’s lone entry of the Draft Hits subset. He was drafted by the New York Mets in the 1st round (44th) of the 2011 MLB June Amateur Draft.

One autograph already in the pack, with three cards to go —or is it four??

Autograph No. 2 is actually a redemption card. It’s a Limited Greats Signature card of Shawn Green.

The next card is a Rawlings Golden Gloves card of Ozzie Smith, numbered to 299. To me, this is the nicest looking design in the set. A cutout action shot of Smith is framed by a Rawlings baseball glove. Smith’s name is in gold foil, and the city (St. Louis) and baseball design on the card is also in gold. Pretty card.

An Andy Dirks Hard Hats relic card is next. I almost missed the piece of the helmet, which is nestled in the bottom left-hand corner of the card. The black stripe at the bottom of the card fooled me, and it took a second look to determine that it was indeed a memorabilia card. THis card is numbered to 93.

The final card is a Monikers card of Boston slugger David Ortiz, numbered to 10. It’s a combination autograph/relic card. It’s a sticker autograph, but the piece of the bat has a very nice texture to it and that makes it much nicer in my book. But this is a card where having an MLB license would have taken this card from sweet to phenomenal. Ortiz is pictured in a red shirt; a Red Sox uniform would have looked great.

Maybe it’s because this is a card of Ortiz; on a Dustin Pedroia card, for example, the shirt would not have been as apparent.

Despite the shackles placed upon its product, Panini still managed to put out a decent-looking set of cards. This particular pack was especially nice, since it basically had eight cards and yielded two autographs, a relic card and a combination auto/relic.

Certainly nothing limited about that pack.

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Keppinger placed on restricted list, Guyer recalled

Posted May 8, 2012 by Roger Mooney

Updated May 8, 2012 at 11:41 PM

ROGER MOONEY
NEW YORK The Rays placed infielder Jeff Keppinger on the restricted list after tonight’s loss because of a personal matter.

The team said Keppinger’s absence will be short-term, maybe a day or two.

As a result, the Rays recalled Triple A outfielder Brandon Guyer.

Guyer, who hit .195 in 15 games for the Rays last season, was batting .294 with three home runs, 13 RBI, a .365 on-base percentage and a .459 slugging percentage in 85 at-bats over 22 games for the Durham Bulls.

“What it does is give us another right-handed bat for right now,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said.

Guyer homered in his first major league at-bat last season, a two-run shot off Zach Britton of the Orioles at Camden Yards. He was the 108th player in major league history to homer in their very first at-bat and the first to achieve the feat at Camden Yards.

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Collect call: Panini Prime Signatures Football

Posted May 8, 2012 by Bob D'Angelo

Updated May 8, 2012 at 07:45 PM

It always a gamble when you spend $50 or higher for a pack of cards. Even if the card company promises an autograph per pack, it’s always a roll of the dice when you open the box.

That’s what will happen if you purchase Panini America’s Prime Signatures football set. There are only four cards to a pack, and one pack to a box.  Price will range from $50 to $60, depending on how or where you buy the cards. What’s nice about these cards is that they are thick — 72 point. And, there is one guaranteed autograph per box.

The card design has a cutout of the player feathered against a background that is tan and then turns into a whiter shade near the card edges. The photos in this post really don’t do the cards justice; guess it was a shadowy day when I took the pictures.

The autograph was of Hall of Famer Ron Mix, a parallel of base card No. 149 numbered to 35. The autograph is on a sticker, but Mix’s signature is bold and very legible.

There were two base cards in the pack, both numbered to 499. One card depicted Bucs receiver Arrelious Benn. The final card in the pack was a Prime Proof parallel of Brandon Spikes, numbered to 99.

A checklist accompanied the box. It shows there are 175 base cards, and cards 176 to 261 are rookies.

Collectors can pull Call to the Hall autographs, a subset dotted with names like John Elway, Joe Namath, Earl Campbell and Joe Montana. Signing Bonus Signature cards concentrate on the game’s up-and-coming players, like Percy Harvin, Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman, Tim Tebow and Rashard Mendenhall.

So there are some good autographs to be found. Is it worth the risk? That depends on your wallet.

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