Balfour back; Zobrist sent down

To bolster the bullpen, RHP Grant Balfour was called up from Triple-A Durham following Thursday's game, and INF Ben Zobrist was optioned.

The Rays needed another pitcher when closer Troy Percival was put on the 15-day DL (left hamstring strain) on Thursday.

With Zobrist gone, manager Joe Maddon said 3B Evan Longoria will serve as backup shortstop if Jason Bartlett needs a day off

-- JOE SMITH

joesmith@sptimes.com

Comments

[the clown]

I seriously doubt Gomes hits 30 in a full season either way...

[Bill]

Sonny, did you seriously compare Gomes to Ortiz! I'm laughing so hard right now. Of course if Gomes was Ortiz or could hit anywhere near Ortiz then we wouldn't be having this conversation. My point was Gomes gets credit for being able to hit 25-30 homers and my point was, who couldn't if they didn't have to worry about average, slugging, etc? Ortiz, over his career, is a monster overall offensive player, RBI's, walks, homers, etc.........gomes is a 1 trick pony.....homer or nothing.

[Bodog]

Got to agree with Bill on the Gomes issue, eventhough Gomes is one of my favorites, he brings absolutely nothing to this team to help them win. yeah, he's a high engery guy, but that ain't gonna get it. The Rays keep Gomes on the roster for his supposely right handed power against leftys. I say send him down and if he doesn't clear waivers - oh well. There is tons of young right handed talent in our minor system that could probably do a better job than Gomes if all they want is the right handed bat against leftys, Perez, Gimenez, Johnson,and a couple of others. Hell they could even use Aybar to dh - he hits from both sides of the plate.

[Sonny Sonnanstine]

That is what a DH is supposed to do, hit. When is the last time David Ortiz made a great defensive play?

As for Gomes being a distraction last year, yes on the day of the demotion he yelled so what the guy is passionate. He was hardly a distraction and after cooling down he took it in stride. If he wasn't a team first guy he would've been screaming this year while Nathan Haynes was getting ABs over him.

[Bill]

Sonny, you are wrong.

Gomes cried like a little girl when he was sent down. I remember it very clearly, Bay news 9 interviewed him and he was crying big time. He feins being a 'team guy first' but he definately is not.

PS: Almost any major leaguer could hit 25-30 homers if that was all you asked of them(don't play defense, don't worry about average, don't move the guy over, don't worry about sac. flies, etc.) so why does that make Gomes special?

[Sonny Sonnanstine]

Again folks, a little research goes a long way.

Jonny Gomes is out of options and would have to clear waivers(and he won't)before being sent to Durham. He'd then have to accept the assignement(again, he won't) or become a Free Agent. His trade value is low right now because he's struggling and not getting the playing time to break out of it. The guy gets on base and can hit 25-30 home runs if given the chance. I'm sure there are plenty of teams like Oakland and Seattle that would glady take Gomes and give him the playing time he needs.

Also Jonny is the ultimate team first guy. He didn't complain at all about his demotion last year. That was all Jorge Cantu

[Bill]

Oh, believe me, I'd prefer to trade him first if we can get something for him.

[Ray F]

To an extent, Bill, I agree. But, sending him down isn't a better option because last year he whined and created a distraction.

They need to trade him for whatever we can get to a team that isn't in contention. We need someone who plays a good first base so we can give Pena some DH days to get his mind straight. We have Dan Johnson and he plays 1st. Hinske is good, but better utilized as RF/DH.

[(A Different) Ron]

It is not a coincidence that both Gomes & Cantu's numbers disappeared once MLB started cracking down on steroids!!

[Bill]

I agree, if he has options, send him down to play. It worked for him last year and they pulled him up when they needed him.

I would take Hinske and Floyd over Gomes(hitting) any day.......add in the defensive aspect and it's not even an arguement(Hinske can play RF, 3B, and 1B)

[skp]

i agree ted - gomes is now the worst offensive & defensive player on the team, and provides less flexibility than zobrist (who's probably already a better RF than gomes)...between hinske, gross, floyd, and now Aybar there's nothing gomes adds to the team except free outs. i know he's a fan favorite, but he's not good enough to be on a division-leading roster and his playing time says so...

[ted]

In my opinion, Gomes should have gone down if he has any options remaining. He doesn't give the team anything defensively and his offense is putrid so far...4 K's last night. He does provide energy...I'll give him that.

[Caleb]

Ian and Brad, Aybar is a GREAT 3rd baseman. Longo will only play shortstop on days Bartlett needs off; he is much better then Zobrist and it won't negativly effect our defense. Remember, if Aybar didn't get hurt, Longo might not even be up yet, Aybar was batting around .300 when he got hurt and was playing excellent defense.

[Brad]

Evan needs to stay where he plays best 3rd Base Do not mess with success.

[Ian]

Joe keep Evan at 3rd everything else falls into place

[Ian]

Joe keep Evan at 3rd everything else falls into place