Live from New York; Kazmir may pitch

UPDATE, 6:40: AL manager Terry Francona said he would "try to stay away" from using LHP Scott Kazmir at the request of the Rays, but left open the possibility of using him if the game went extra innings.

Don't count Rays LHP Scott Kazmir out of Tuesday's All-Star Game just yet.

Kazmir said he "felt great" on Monday - despite throwing 104 pitches on Sunday in Cleveland - and planned to meet with AL manager Terry Francona during or after Monday's workout about his status.

"I feel like I'm available,'' Kazmir said. "I'm still supposed to talk to Francona about it and see what we're going to do. We'll talk it over and see what we can come up with.'''

Rays manager Joe Maddon said Sunday the Rays would prefer Kazmir, who is scheduled to start Saturday, not pitch, and that he had talked to Francona about it. A league official said they were aware of the Rays concerns and would take that into consideration.

A hectic day of interviews and itinerary-setting gives way to baseball this afternoon, as the American League All-Stars - including Rays C Dioner Navarro, 3B Evan Longoria and Kazmir - are getting ready for their workout. The NL hits the field after that, and then most everyone will stick around for the home run derby.

Navarro was busy at the mid-day AL media session, answering questions in English and Spanish, and said he was enjoying himself. Kazmir fielded the usual questions about being traded by the Mets. Longoria attracted the biggest crowd of three, and had a doubleheader as he also appeared at a press conference with the seven other home run derby participants.

Comments

[Bodog]

DJ, it's like you said hindsight is 20/20. I'll bet that you and every other guy with two cents to say about Hamilton's circumstances and that includes media types wouldn't have given Hamilton as much chance as an ice cube in hell to pull himself out of that situation. You guys need to remember, after Hamilton was suspended for the FOURTH TIME for substance abuse, and out of baseball all together, it was the Rays that went to bat for him and petitioned MLB to give him another chance. Being a Rays fan, I can't blame them for putting Hamilton out there. If you can be honest with yourselves, you ask yourself - with his history do I take him. The answer is NO. This guy blew a 4 million dollar signing bonus in less than 2 years blewing crap up his nose and shooting crap in his arm. By all accounts Hamilton shouldn't be alive, but thank God for his grandmother and his resolve to get himself right that we, Baseball fans , will have the honor to see Josh become one the greats of all time. I just hope he stays the hell out of New York. Don't forget, this guy is one drink, one crack cocaine tote away from falling off the wagon. He has admitted that he doesn't trust himself. I just wish him well.

[DJ]

The Cubs plucked Josh off of the Rays roster in a pre-arranged deal with the Reds. The Reds traded a minor leaguer for Josh right after the Rule 5 draft.
He never played for the Cubs. We miss him here in Cincy, but the deal worked out for both the Rangers and Reds.
The only blame I'll place on the Rays is that they protected some marginal major leaguers versus protecting Josh. Bad move, but hindsight is 20/20.

[Y'all are nuts]

Man I have never seen so much rationalizing in one place. If the guy pulled himself out of his hole then the team certainly could have helped him do the same. YOU BLEW IT

[Ray F]

Everybody misses the point on Hamilton.

The Rays were too busy trying to rebuild a franchise with new owners, new GM, new look, new strategy to try and be competitive. They didn't have time to provide Josh with (for lack of a better word) a babysitter to keep him focused on baseball.

The Rays knew he was talented and they had to release him to a team that at least had more structure internally to be able to deal with his problems.

The move was perfect for Ham. and the Rays. There will be no regrets at the end of his career, I'm sure, from either side.

The same will happen with Gomes. The Rays don't have enough at bats for him and he will wind up getting traded or released and will find a spot that he can play every single day. He'll end up batting .260 with 30 HRs a year. It happens.

[Bill]

Perfectly said:
If you want to crap on someone for not reconizing talent - crap on the Cubbie. Cincy and Texas, they both come out smelling like a rose.

Don't you think the Cubbies would like to have him now?

Kincaid, of course the Rays understood the talents in Hamilton. Josh had been suspended from the league 4 times for drug and alcohol abuse and was out of MLB. It were the Rays that petitioned MLB to give Josh one more chance at baseball. MLB allowed Josh to join an Independent League. He got his crap together and the rest is history. Now keep in mind, when Josh was put on the rule 5 draft list, neither he nor Friedman thought anyone would pick him up because of his past behavior. Well the Cubbie picked him up and after 19 games released him, Cincinnati picked him up and after 80 plus games Josh had a 292 BA with 16 homeruns. Cincy then trades him to Texas For that pitching prospect Volquek. There you have it. STOP BLAMING THE RAYS for not keeping Hamilton, they gamble and lost. If you want to crap on someone for not reconizing talent - crap on the Cubbie. Cincy and Texas, they both come out smelling like a rose.

[Bill]

Yep. He overcame weak character..............great job Josh.

[Sox fan]

Bill said: "Hamilton is a great story....too bad he wasn't man enough to do things right the first time".

Greatness is not measured by what a man or woman accomplishes, but by the opposition he or she has overcome to reach his goals. ~ Dorothy Height

[Bill]

I took the briefcase to mean, "Anything that goes that far should have a stewardess on it...."........so, something about the ball being hit so far it was a flight.............but I could be wrong.

Hamilton is a great story....too bad he wasn't man enough to do things right the first time........so the Rays wouldn't have gotten screwed over.

[kincaid]

If you are a WWE fan the briefcase symbolizes "money in the bank"
He sure was.

Did the Rays really understand the talent that they had?

[Kipp]

does anybody have an idea what was in the brief case that Volquez gave Hamilton in the home run durby?

[Bill]

I can see both sides but keep this in mind, after 5 years Hamilton had only played in 15 minor league games at the A level or higher. So, it makes sense to think that no other team would take the risk to place a drug addicted, only played 15 games, guy on their major league roster. I'm tired of people blaming the Rays....it wasn't the Rays that was hooked on drugs.......its completely Hamilton's fault.

[Sox fan]

Hamilton...one word...amazing! What a great comeback story. I tip my Red Sox hat to him and look foward to watching him play during the second 1/2 of the season. He has several new fans in my house.

[PD]

Probably best young power bat in baseball along with the Canadian kid that beat him.

[Ray F]

I disagree about Hamilton.

Getting rid of Ham was the best move for the Rays AND Hamilton at the time. Hamilton will be the first to thank the Rays for just keeping him in their minds and the Rays are always the first to congratulate him.

...of course if Hamilton hits a game winning homer in an LCS vs. the Rays, they'll be singing a different tune.

but, Hamilton looked dialed in last night and I'm happy for him even though he didn't take home the trophy, he took home millions of new fans.

[Kincaid]

Josh killer mistake.