If you have not seen it before, here is an easy way to catch up with the show. Catch the recording of any broadcast right here!

A little more than a week into spring training the Rays have won 7 games in a row and the battle for roster spots are well underway. It’s still early but a few players have been standing out, some positively and some negatively.

At the middle infield position we have an interesting battle heating up for the backup job. Sean Rodriguez was tearing it up with a home run in each of his three first games, and he has been solid ever since. But Reid Brignac is holding his own and while he doesn’t have any home runs his average is slightly higher and he has batted more runs in. In the meantime the two players battling for the right field spot Kapler and Joyce haven’t been nearly as spectacular. This made Maddon come out and say yesterday that Ben Zobrist will be starting at both second base and right field during the season, opening up room to keep both Rodriguez and possibly Brignac to play in the infield and only keeping one of Kapler and Joyce for right field. It would probably be Kapler since he can start against left handed pitchers and then Zobrist gets the spot against right handed pitchers.

At catcher both Shoppach and Navarro has been doing alright as far as I can tell but it seems like Shoppach has the edge at this point and that Navarro will have to do a lot to beat him.

continue reading "Spring Training Update"

Alright, I’m tired of messing with this thing. I’ve been battling with a few unsettled picks, but I’ll just go with them for now. Here’s a post-Combine look at how I see the draft playing out:

ROUND 1

1) STL – Sam Bradford (QB, Oklahoma)
Ok, I’m biting. The Rams choose 2010 to not pass on a franchise QB.

2) DET – Russell Okung (T, Oklahoma St)
I’m biting again. This is what they should do, so it probably won’t happen.

continue reading "2010 NFL Mock Draft 2.0 (Post-Combine) – 2 Full Rounds & All 10 Buccaneer Picks"

OK, so the Bucs made a splash in free agency after all! We sent a 2011 6th Round draft pick to Philly for one time 2nd Round pick, Reggie Brown. While Brown’s output has dropped off over the last two years, his stat sheet seems to still put him at the top of our depth chart no matter how you slice it. Is he Anquan Boldin? Nope. Not even close. Is he a clear upgrade to Brian Clark, Yamon Figurs and Mike Clayton? Seems like it.

What is more interesting to me is the fans reaction. At this point, I am not sure anything the FO can do will quell the hatred for ownership. Not that I really care (but they should) but it is odd to me. They came out and said that the Bucs would not be a big player in Free Agency. They sid that the plan was to build through the draft. Now, once Free Agency started and we are not a player, the crowd is displeased. This team is a mess. We need better talent almost everywhere. Adding one or two big play guys will not fix anything. Now if the Glazers spending money for the sake of spending money will somehow make you happy, then here’s to ya. Right now, I would rather focus on accumulating young talent (no guarantee on any of it of course) and get the squad to the point where one or two guys can make the difference.

The ironic thing is that it seems many of the people most upset right now are the same ones that think the FO is a crew of mental midgets and the head coach may be the shortest of the crew. If that is your stance, then no Free Agents fix that short of new ownership and a new FO. So own your anger. Losing sucks. But please stop masking it and rebranding on every single action or inaction. It is clearly your right to voice your disapproval. Whether you do that verbally, in profanity laced tirades on message boards or by not going to the games, they are all valid outlets.

But for the love of all that is holy, be consistent.

We will be discussing this and much more this Thursday night at 7:00 PM for our weekly show. Tune in right here and join the fun. We never agree but we always have a great time talking about sports and specifically, our Buccaneers.

As you may know, the fine folks at 1010 AM in Tampa have, from time to time, allowed me to host the morning show for them. This is a great opportunity to gt on terrestrial radio and gain experience in this craft that I muddle through here on our program. Well, with an obvious lack of concern for safety, the team at 1010 has asked me to fill in again Thursday and Friday AM. I will be on the mic with Jim Lighthall, the 1010 Chicken and “Dead Air” Sanchez keeping you folks company as you drive to work or cram down Starbucks CoffeClowns (no, they are not a sponsor. In fact, I just changed the name so they get no credit! Take that Seattle!)

With Free Agency about to open and the Combine in the books, we should have plenty of things to discuss. For Thursday, we are working on a special guest call-in but do not have confirmation yet. Once we do, I will let you guys know. Friday, Shelton Quarles will be joining us in the 8:00 hour. Shelton is always a wonderful interview and I expect Friday to be no exception.

Big questions we will be working on and asking for your feedback on:

1. You still stuck on Suh or did McCoy woo you?
2. You believe the hype about the Rams picking <insert QB Here>?
3. Any hopes of a new receiver in Free Agency?

For you non-football centric listeners, we can cover almost anything poorly . We will tlak about hockey, I am sure we will not skip out on the latest information on Tiger Woods and his bowel movements and who could forget about the upcoming NCAA tourney? If you want to participate, give us a call at 1-888-404-1010 or hit us up with email during the show!

Returning Tight Ends:

Kellen Winslow – 5 years ($6.725 million, $8.29 million, then $16 million split between 3 years I think)

Jerramy Stevens – 1 year, $1.4 million

John Gilmore – 1 year, $1.25 million

Ryan Purvis – minimum

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Status/Needs:

Winslow was easily the top receiver on the team last year and was quick to develop chemistry with Josh Freeman, catching at least 4 passes in each of the rookie’s 9 starts.  Young passers tend to look to the tight end early on, and Freeman has one of the game’s best at his disposal.  Assuming Winslow stays healthy, there’s no reason to think they can’t/won’t build upon that relationship.

continue reading "2010 Draft Prospects – Tight End"

We’ve reached the final article in this series leading up to the 2010 Tampa Bay Rays season. But the last unit is arguably the most important for the team’s success. Any fan who has watched the team for the past three years have seen how important the bullpen is. There was no denying the impact the improved bullpen had in 2008 and there is no doubt it lost the team too many games in 2009. Thanks to the trade for Rafael Soriano there is reason to believe the unit will be a lot closer to its 2008 level than 2007 or 2009.

When Troy Percival got injured last year it threw a big wrench in the plans for the bullpen and perhaps the coaches weren’t good enough at re-organizing the unit. Check out this mlb.com article for a couple of very interesting quotes from Dan Wheeler and James Shields. When Percival went down they went away from having defined roles and instead played to create the best possible matchups. While that might not seem like a bad idea it created confusion among the pitchers and I believe a big reason why they seemed to be wearing down quick during the season was the fact they always had to be mentally ready to be called upon.

continue reading "Rays 2010: Relieve Pitchers"

Spring Training has officially started!  Pitchers and catchers have reported and the first game is a little over a week away. The Rays will meet the Oriols on March 3^rd. So far the biggest news have been lots of stadium talk, but just the same old talk, the reveal of a new powder blue home jersey and Soriano had to leave the first practice early because of a chest cold. I’m sure more interesting news should start coming in soon.

Until then though, let’s have a look at what is believed to be the opening day pitching rotation. Kazmir is gone but this is still a very strong rotation with a good mix of experience, energy and two very young but very talented arms.

continue reading "Rays 2010: Starting Pitchers"

Returning Linebackers:

Niko Koutouvides – undisclosed; made $627,000 in ’09

Lee Robinson – minimum

Adam Hayward – 1 year $550,000

Geno Hayes – 2 years ($470,000 and $555,000)

Barrett Ruud – RFA

Matt McCoy – RFA

Quincy Black – 1 year $550,000

Rod Wilson – RFA

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* Angelo Crowell – free agent (“earned” nearly $3 million from the Bucs in ’09)

continue reading "2010 Draft Prospects – Linebacker"

Maybe it is the odd hour, but it hit me that after four years doing this site, the show and various other activities around the area focused on my beloved Bucs, I have not said thank you enough. From our regular readers/viewers/listeners, to the extended staff and support crew, this is truly a passion project that I could never have predicted the impact of (in my own life…not that arrogant folks!).

It is an amazing testament to the power of the internet (Thanks Al Gore!) that a loud mouth like myself could start up something like this and get an opportunity to reach so many Bucs fans both here and abroad. I try to thank folks on a regular basis. I am regularly humbled by our live shows and tailgates and more recently when going to games both home and away where people know about what we do here. Now I know that we are nowhere near ESPN (yet!) but it is still pretty amazing.

Most recently this hit me when finishing up on a guest spot for 1010 AM. A fellow Buccaneers site owner, Joe Bucs Fan, got my contact information and sent me a very nice email.  It was unnecessary but very much appreciated. We try and provide something a little different here at WTB? It looks as though we are doing that.

So, to wrap up this sappy post, I should probably post something about the team. It looks as thought Aqib Talib will be able to avoid the Federal Pen in his battery case (which is good to our already depleted secondary). Much debate is going on about our draft as people try to predict trades (one rumor has us already locked in with a trade partner to move down, a move that will excite IF and only IF Suh and McCoy are off the board) or lobby aggressively for doing something that has not been done since 1997 (drafting a secondary player in the top 3 picks). I have a feeling we will get one of our top two guys. Not sure why, but as I type this at 4:46 AM, I feel like we will have a new DT from the 1st round. Then again, I thought there was no way in hell we would draft Josh Freeman last year, so what do I know? For those of you who did not listen in last night to our broadcast, here is a link to the Podcast. Our shows are all available in video on demand (for those of you who want it!) and via Podcast here, in the Zune Marketplace or in iTunes. As usual, everything is free. Spread the word!