Percival reinstated; Glover on DL

Veteran closer Troy Percival was reinstated Sunday morning from the disabled list, saying that his left hamstring is feeling better than it has all year, and "10 times better" than it did when he came off the DL the first time.

In a corresponding move, RHP Gary Glover was placed on the 15-day DL with a left calf strain (retroactive July 11), whith manager Joe Maddon said he suffered in his last outing in Cleveland, when Glover gave up six hits and seven runs in 2/3 of an inning.

"My leg feels as normal as it can feel," Percival. "Can I go out and give you a guarantee that something else isn't going to go or that's going to go. I wouldn't do that. But it feels 10 times better than the last time coming off the DL."

Percival has spent two stints on the DL with a nagging left  hamstring that has bothered him since spring training. But the reason he's more comfortable now is that the club found out that problems in his back caused the hamstring issues, and so doctors spent more time treating the back to help curb the issue.

"It seemed to calm that nerve down that was shooting into my leg," Percival. "The nerve was weakening the hamstring and the hamstring kept popping. So we seem to have the nerve under control pretty good."

*In other pre-game news, rookie 3B Evan Longoria said he feels fine after fouling two pitches off his left ankle Saturday night. The Rays have put him at DH, though, today, in the cleanup spot, while Willy Aybar takes a turn at third.

*CF B.J. Upton has been moved in the lineup for the second straight day - this time he's in the second spot. Manager Joe Maddon had wanted to take some pressure off of  him by putting him in the No. 7 spot Saturday, and he responded by going 1-for-3. This move was more to break up his lineup against a lefty John Parrish.

(Pictured: Troy Percival. Times photo -- Brian Cassella. Click to enlarge.)

RAYS
Iwamura, 2b

Upton, cf

Crawford, lf

Longoria, dh

Pena, 1b

Aybar, 3b

Riggans, c

Gomes, rf

Zobrist, ss

Jackson, p

JAYS

Inglett, rf

Scutaro, 2b

Rios, cf

Stairs, dh

Overbay, 1b

Rolen, 3b

Lind, lf

Zaun, c

McDonald, ss

-- JOE SMITH

joesmith@sptimes.com

Comments

[Ray's Fan]

Please don't put "Blow The Lead Percival" back into any game again.

[Jeff Gilbert]

Hustle is the most ridiculous concept in baseball. You can't measure it, and since it's nearly impossible to judge a guy's speed without a reference (like another runner, or a stopwatch) you will always be making subjective judgements tinged with bias.

If I look at two guys running, one with short legs and then later one with long legs, it will look like the guy with short legs is hustling more. If BJ hustled like everyone's favorite knucklehead (#31) he would fall on his face because his strides would be off.

Baseball is about results, not getting after it and then passing around juice boxes because you played hard. All of you little league asst. managers need to check yourself. BJ's Avg. and Power numbers are down. That is why you guys are after him. I love Andre Roy errr, I mean Jonny Gomes as much as the next guy but his numbers are awful and no amount of hustle can fix that, just like no ammount of hustle can make BJ turn a ball hit to the wall into a single. Get over yourself. BJ has won many games with his legs this season, and you guys are focusing on the handful of times that he's played poorly in CF. Why? Because he doesnt catch the ball like you teach the pop warner kids? BJ is the very definition of an up-and-coming ball player. If and when his power starts to come, that 400 OBP will make him an elite. Mark it down, my name is on this post, write me a letter if you care to argue.

Truth-both these guys, BJ & CC do not run full out on every play.
CC starts pulling up 3-4 strides from the bag-always. He may be hurting this year but hustle has nothing to do with speed. If your tool, your gift is speed-dudes run full out. If only Pete Rose or Bernie Williams had the raw speed CC has they'd lead the league every year is SB's and hustle.

[Jeff Gilbert]

I am getting sick of the BJ bashing. As a white guy, I can tell you right now this is a racial thing. Commenters above put it perfect. Sorry the great white hope Jonny Gomes couldn't hustle his way into a good swing or buckle it up and go all out at taking a walk. White guys see BJ looking cool, flashing athleticism and not performing as well as last year, and toss him under the back of the bus.

Look-- last year this guy was very lucky at the plate. You are letting shapes in the wind affect your expectations-- BJ is a good line drive hitter, but very few players can sustain the high BABIP he had last year. (look it up non babseball people) If you thought a guy in his first full year in CF was going to hit and field like Mays, sorry he let you down.

If you want to pile on somebody, pile on CC. He has a horrible OBP because he refuses to take a walk and now he doesnt even want to hit balls in the gap anymore. Look, right now I would take BJ over Crawford ANY DAY OF THE WEEK. Find 1-- (ONE!) actual baseball metric in which BJ isn't totally DOGGING CC out on-- OB,OPS,SB!!!!! Why does CC get a pass? Why do you insist on jumping on BJ? Take a look in the mirror first, then go check the stats. Late.

[Big Tim]

True dat! I seen that JJ Evans look alike in my restaurant a few nights back trippin' on 8-Ball and suckin' the ribs right off the bone.
Ribs so good make ya wanna smack yo Momma!

[Ike's Liquor & Lounge]

I seen dat skinny, lolligaggin' boy down here the other night. He was gettin' his drink on wif some flyass hoochies.

Believe dat FELLA

[Andy]

You're right Jerome. What was I thinking? Everyone on the south side of St. Pete spends every waking minute smoking crack, drinking malt liquor, popping out babies, and cashing welfare checks. And because someone on a blog claims someone told them they saw BJ Upton on the wrong side of town, he's definitely the second coming of Doc Gooden. Happy Now?

[Andy]

You're right Jerome. What was I thinking? Everyone on the south side of St. Pete spends every waking minute smoking crack, drinking malt liquor, popping out babies, and cashing welfare checks. And because someone on a blog claims someone told them they saw BJ Upton on the wrong side of town, he's definitely the second coming of Doc Gooden. Happy Now?

[Ray F]

Upton DID lolly-gag to first base on the play with the throwing error that allowed him to go to second.

He didn't hustle one bit until he saw the throw go past the first baseman.

He is definately not playing with the enthusiasm from last year. If you've been watching the team for the last few years (BJ especially) there is a huge decline in his hustle. He needs to beat out more infield singles with his speed. I think Floyd may be rubbing off on him a little.

Floyd was supposed to be tutoring the younger guys; which means hustling every play and if your knee hurts so bad that you can't hustle down the line on a grounder, you should be on the DL.

[Jerome Jenkins]

>>>Well, my in-laws live in the south side of St. Pete.>>hanging out in his pool<<<
you obviously don't live in the same part of town that I do Mr Suckup

[Andy]

Well, my in-laws live in the south side of St. Pete. Judging by what they do, I'd suspect BJ spends a lot of his time down there going to church, mowing his lawn, hanging out in his pool, watching tv, and walking his dog.

Also, I'm glad the poster above me decided to bring race into the discussion. I hadn't, but now that you mention it, maybe it does explain why some people seem dead-set on finding a reason not to like the guy.

[The Uhurus of St Pete, FL]

Why you fools sweatin' BJ???

[James]

Edit: AndrUw Jones

[James]

I remember the said ground out and it was a routine play that only if Upton was leaving the left-handed batters box would he have beat it out.

Some people just don't understand certain things about certain players. As a person who grew up a Braves fan before the Rays came to town, I've watched a ton of Andrew Jones. And IMO, Upton is very much like jones in many ways, including the way he runs. Thier long strides make them look slow but when they get up to speed they are both really fast (Jones not so much anymore). Upton takes a few steps before he's up to speed and it looks at times he's "jogging" out of the box because of these reasons.

Now, take what I've tought you here and try to see it the next time your watching Bossman closely. You'll then see for yourself.

If you want to reject what I've tought you here then be my guest in continuing to be an ignorant fool.

Go Rays!

[JB]

BJ dogs it all the time. Maybe he's spending too much time in the south end of St Pete. People have said they see him there. What could he possibly be doing down there?

[Andy]

Jason,

After checking the boxscore from Friday, the only time Upton grounded out to 2nd was in the bottom of the 6th inning. I went and reviewed the play on MLB.TV. You are correct in that the second baseman had to go to his right.

However, he only had to go 1, maybe 2 steps from where he was set up pre-play. He did not have to backhand the ball, or go to one knee. His shoulders remained square to the plate the entire play. It was the epitome of a routine play.

If you have the opportunity to do so, view the play again. Nobody this side of Ichiro even makes the play at first a close one.

It's criticism of plays like these that drive me nuts. If Eric Hinske/Jonny Gomes hits the same ball, gets thrown out by three steps, looks winded walking back to the dugout (maybe because they don't 'hustle' as much during off-season conditioning drills), and no one bats an eye. Upton fails to beat out a hit that no one else in MLB would, and people are convinced he's dogging it.

[Jason]

Andy - I have to agree with Scott. My friends and I always talk about how BJ doesn't hustle in the outfield when a ball is hit in the gap or over his head.

Regarding his at bats, in Friday night's game BJ hit a ground ball up the middle and the 2nd baseman had to move to his right to field the ball. The 2nd baseman threw BJ out by a step while BJ jogged to 1st base. We thought that if he hustled down the 1st base line he might have beat the throw.

[Scott]

Andy - You obviosly misunderstood my post. The point I was making was that BJ NEVER hustles out of the box after he hits a ground ball. If you have been watching the games this season you know this is true. If you haven't noticed, then watch the next time he hits a ground ball to an infielder (he'll jog to first instead of sprinting). My comment has nothing to do with BJ after he gets on base. It would be crazy for me to say BJ doesn't hustle when he tries to steal a base or when trying to score on a base hit.

By the way Upton would not have been safe on that double play ball if there was an accurate throw. It would not have been close.

I don't have a negative perception of BJ. I know he is extremely talented but I don't like how he seems to dog it at times.

[Andy]

Scott,

Were we watching the same game? In the play you mention, the pitcher falling down had nothing to do with the error, which if anything should be credited to Iwamura's take-out slide And Upton was likely safe at first either way. If he wasn't hustling down the line there is no way he makes it to second on that play, as the throw quickly caromed back into foul territory in the infield.

I also saw Upton consistently get into the starting pitcher's head with his aggressive base-running. First he stole second after getting a ridiculous jump. Then he faked a steal to third which rattled Parrish, who threw a wild pitch on the play, allowing Upton to advance.

Later, while leading off of second, Upton again managed to get into Parrish's head, and he threw the ball into left field while trying to pick Upton off. On the following play Upton scored on an infield grounder.

Upton does hustle. But apparently you only pay attention when he does something that reinforces your negative perception of him.

Are these guys taking batting practice from little leaguers? WHY CAN'T THEY HIT AGAINST SOME OF THE OPPONENTS' WORSE PITCHERS??

[Scott]

I am getting so frustrated watching the lack of hustle from BJ. In today's game with Aki on 1st and no one out he hit a ground ball back to the pitcher (and the pitcher fell down) and BJ proceeded to jog to first base. Luckily the short stop threw the ball away allowing him to go to 2nd on the error. If the error had not occured, BJ would have been thrown out by 10 feet. This was just one example of many that I have seen from BJ. Why doesn't he hustle?

[James]

Although CC doesn't have #3-Hole power, he's the best hitter on the team and should be the #3 hitter everyday. Upton belongs at #2 IMO as well. Hopefully he can break out of his funk and start hitting the gaps again.

My ideal lineup...(vs LHP)

1. 2B Iwamura
2. CF Upton
3. LF Crawford
4. 3B Longoria
5. 1B Pena
6. C Navarro
7. DH Hinske
8. RF Gomes
9. SS Bartlett