Got my tix for the home opener a few nights ago… hope you all got yours, too.

Credit goes to the team over at NoMaas.org for digging this picture up. If you have any interest in reading from a group of devoted, knowledgable Yankee fans, they are a great place to go.

Anyways… the title says it all. Schilling is HUGE.

In the notes posted today on DevilRays.com…

And then Maddon was asked about talented youngster Delmon Young.

Maddon smiled.

"I think he will tell you that he’s going to boggle your mind," Maddon
said. "And I’m good with that. … This guy is out to make a mark on
this game. God bless him. I’m with him. He’s different. … He wants to
be a complete player."

What the heck does that mean? I’m not even sure there was a coherent thought there. My mind is boggled, all right. Well done, Joe.

In Baseball Prospectus’ Kevin Goldstein’s Top 100 Prospects list, the Rays have managed to claim 3 of the top 11 spots, and 7 out of the Top 100. Not too shabby. If you don’t care to peruse the entire list, here’s the Top 5 and all the Rays…

1. Alex Gordon, 3B, KC
2. Phillip Hughes, RHP, NYY
3. Delmon Young, OF, TB
4. Homer Bailey, RHP, CIN
5. Brandon Wood, SS, ANA

    10. Evan Longoria, 3B, TB
    11. Reid Brignac, SS, TB
    25. Jeff Niemann, RHP, TB
    45. Jacob McGee, LHP, TB
    77. Wade Davis, RHP, TB
    100. Elijah Dukes, OF, TB

Not too shabby at all.

Just got home from my softball game, and as I wait for my pizza so I can sit down to watch American Idol with my wife, I thought I’d direct you all to DRaysBay where friend of The Show Jake Larsen interviews the man who, for all intents and purposes, will be the Rays first round choice come June, David Price from Vanderbilt.

Devilrays.com has a nice story about how Casey Fossum is trying to become stronger and more consistent. I’m not going to argue either of those facts. I mean, just look at this right here:

Take last season. During his last 11 starts he averaged 10.34 strikeouts per nine innings. And in four 2006 starts against the Red Sox, he pitched a 1.16 ERA and posted a 2-0 mark. Conversely, he experienced three outings where he could not get through the second inning.

Fossum has too many tools to be as mediocre as he has been during his career. Obviously, staying healthy is a part of it. This is nothing but a gut feeling on my part (God, I sound like one of those managers that doesn’t look at numbers but just plays his feelings), but I think Casey is finally going to break out and have a decent year this year. Which, of course, means that he’ll likely be traded late in the season. Ah, such is the life.

Tacked onto the bottom of the Delmon Young article on devilrays.com was this gem:

Dan Miceli is sporting a svelte figure this spring as he should, sincethe right-handed reliever says he lost 30 pounds in the offseason by
limiting his carbs.

You don’t see the word "svelte" enough in everyday conversation and writing anymore. And good for Dan for shedding those pounds and adopting a healthier lifestyle. Hopefully along with those pounds, about .3 or .4 points came off of his WHIP in the process.

Today, XM Radio and Sirius announced plans for a merger between the two radio giants. The deal is going to face heavy scrutiny by the FCC, and there is still a chance that it will fall through, but it doesn’t change the fact that these two "rival" companies have an agreement in place to begin working as one entity in the future.

As a devoted XM subscriber, this deal leaves me scratching my head. Sirius is a mis-managed, mis-guided, money-hemorrhaging #2 competitor that they likely could have driven into the ground had they felt so inclined. Though you can argue that the takeover (similar to WWF buying WCW in 2001) is just that, they are now liable for the over 6 million customers that Sirius has paying for their services.

Not to mention that this now adds even more fuel to the Opie & Anthony-versus-Howard Stern fire. You can be that those two entities are going to have at it for the next few months while this plays out. (By the way, I’m a huge O&A fan and think Howard is the Randy Johnson of the radio biz.)

It will be interesting to see how the X-Sirius-M decides to play this one off. Do all customers get both Stern and O&A? Do you choose them a-la carte? What about the MLB and NFL packages? Premium content for subscribers? I can already see a situation where subscribers are forced to pay extra fees for the programming they want, and to me – having had all the stations that I want for the same flat rate every month – this is a scary proposition.

Pitchers and catchers are coming.

The infield was pretty good, but this is where the real mashing is going to happen on this team. Check out the kind of production we’re getting here!

Left Field — Carl Crawford – .305 BA, .830 OPS, 18 HR, 58 SB – $2,625,000

• The lone Ray on the team, we all know just how good C.C. is – and can be. He is explosive at the top of the lineup, runs down everything in left, and plays the game the right way. You might be able to get more pop from some players, but you’re hard-pressed to find a more exciting ballplayer.

Center Field — Gary Matthews – .313 BA, .866 OPS, 19 HR – $2,387,000

• I’ve NEVER been sold on this guy. I think his "tools" have always been terribly overrated, and I would probably bet money that his 2006 season was a fluke. Still, you can’t argue with the numbers he put up last year, and he would’ve been a solid addition to this club. He also plays very good defense. Strikes out too much, though.

Right Field — Jason Bay – .286 BA, .928 OPS, 35 HR – $1,000,000

• WOW – what a bargain! Bay is a masher, plain and simple, and he gets you a ton of production at a discount price due to his service time. He will terrorize pitchers in the middle of this lineup, and gives you a solid foundation to help build around for years to come.

Designated Hitter — Travis Hafner – .308 BA, 1.098 OPS, 42 HR – $2,700,000

• There’s nothing I can say about T-Haf that hasn’t already been said. Maybe the best hitter in the American League, he put up those numbers while losing 30 games to injury. He also comes nice and cheap – although that is certainly not going to last forever.

The Bench

• Juan Rivera, Outfielder — .310 BA, .887 OPS, 23 HR – $1,250,000
• Wes Helms, Utility — .329 BA, .965 OPS, 10 HR – $800,000

Synopsis
Of course there is no way that a team like this could have ever been put together, but its still fun to dream, right? The only real deficiency is that there isn’t much depth in the outfield, though I would probably give Brandon Phillips an outfielders glove and have him shag some flies during Spring Training. Still, I’m confident in this team’s ability to contend for the World Series.

The starting lineup looks like this:

1. SS – Hanley Ramirez
2. LF – Carl Crawford
3. RF – Jason Bay
4. DH – Travis Hafner
5. CF – Gary Matthews
6. 1B – Nick Johnson
7. 3B – Rich Aurilia
8. C – Josh Bard
9. 2B – Orlando Hudson

I like our chances. I think I’m going to pop this team into Out of the Park Baseball over the weekend, and have it play 162 games against the 2006 Cardinals, and see who comes out on top.

Come back tomorrow for a very special post.