Upton leaves game with strained left quad
UPDATE: Upton said he felt some tightness during a first-inning play and it got progressively worse as the game went on, leaving him concerned that if he tried to run hard he would pull it. He also said his hope is to return to the lineup Friday in New York, but that is not certain.
The Rays, already missing Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria, are likely to call up help Tuesday.
- - - -
CF B.J. Upton was removed from the game with a strained left quad after the Rays hit in the top of the fifth. The Rays say he is day to day.
Fernando Perez moved from leftfield to center, and Ben Zobrist went into leftfield. Gabe Gross stayed in right.



Jesse
I apologize . I thought you were 9equals8. My original post was directed towards the Upton and Maddon Bashers AND thosse posters that suggest that dissatisfaction equals "rats leaving the ship" and that REAl fans can only go Rah Rah Rah. I will come and see you and buy you a beer.
Posted by: harold | September 10, 2008 at 12:02 AM
Hey Maddon, when are you going to make the kid who throws 98 the closer?
Ozzie, Ozzie, Ozzie, Oi, Oi , Oi!!!
Posted by: Angus Young | September 09, 2008 at 10:17 PM
um, no HARRY, I am not him, I am a season ticket holder...Come and say hello, section 147 row T, FRONT ROW LC FIELD...
Its people exactly like you im talkin about HAROLD...JESSE
Posted by: Jesse | September 09, 2008 at 06:04 PM
gee, can't we all agree we are true Rays fans and get along? I appreciate the passion and I am thinking this slight downturn has us on edge but let's all play nice and appreciate the other's opinion . . . unless of course they are yankees or red sox fans.
Posted by: Carl | September 09, 2008 at 05:34 PM
Hey Jesse let me know how that works out for ya
but wait aqre you 9equals8?
The posts he leaves here have turned rude. he has revealed himself to be a blowhard that hides behind somebody elses euphamism
Good luck and good night
Posted by: Harold | September 09, 2008 at 04:40 PM
Since when does a Rays blog, turn into constant bashing the rays and other bloggers???
This is probably the last time I check this site, because of pathetic bloggers..
see yall at 9equals8.com
Posted by: Jesse | September 09, 2008 at 03:36 PM
bj calm down,I mean harold, is this bj in diguise? sorry I hurt your feelings. that was the most ironic post ever , a rant about ranting, I enjoyed it although there was alot of bashing me in there , keep up the good work- you need to call the jim rome show I think you are ready for prime time
Posted by: kazmiroholic | September 09, 2008 at 03:19 PM
rats leaving the ship...
hmmm
does that mean that Im a Rat if I dont like them losing?
Or am I a Rat if I dont drink the Kool aid and sy everythings just perfect couldn't be better?
Im a fan and I am unhappy with Septembers performance to date.
getting swept by a team that is 10 or 11 games out gets me irritable.
winning one out of two to the yankees, 10 games out,AT HOME, makes me melancholy.
A Word about Upton. He is still learning to play the outfield. He has been playing hurt. He injured his quad.
Baseball players get hurt because of the length of the season. Please note the Ortiz ,Lowell, Drew, Becketts of teh Sox It happens .This repetitive bashing of Upton is foolish. yes he makes an error now and then.
He is hitting .313 over the last month
a feilding average this year of .981 and seven (thats 7) errors.
I hate to confuse the issue with facts . Its so much easier to rant and say unfounded crap like " upton is just a stupid player that wont change- that spectaular catch he made the other day didnt have to be - I guess thats what he is trying to do so he can get on highlites" or "I love the idea getting rid of upton if i never see him again im okay with It hope this kid could develop - upton is a cancer- "
Bunch of Nobodys spoutin off. thats cool. You can spout . Its a free country.
But keep your day jobs. Nobody is gonna pay you to have anything to do with baseball if you cant even take the time to research your tightly held beliefs. (misbeliefs)
Oh Yea , Dave?
Its a blog . Its not a school project. Nobody gives a Rats Hiney if the grammar is correct . Hence the use of "LOL" or "LMAO" of "IMHO".Only people that cant form intelligent post digress to harassing about grammar and spelling. Post something smart or witty or whatever .Nobody cares if you know how to correctly deconstruct a sentence. Wait , I'm wrong. My sons third grade teacher gets really excited about sentence deconstruction. My Bad
OUT
Posted by: harold | September 09, 2008 at 02:51 PM
great take mike s. who are you a fan of . I guess the red sox fans dont boo there palyers and manager when there not doing well or the met fans they dont say much ofr how about those philly fans there pretty calm - there is over 300 total years of fan base - they get pretty pissed when there team and manager is blowing it- if you are a rays fan you should be happy we are still here and emotional after the first 10 years of complete boardom
Posted by: kazmiroholic | September 09, 2008 at 02:29 PM
Agree with kamiroholic's take on Upton completely and glad you got it off your chest. As for my chest--if Maddon, according to quotes in the paper, insists he is "pleased" and "heppy" with the way they are playing, why is an old pro like Cliff Floyd calling for "team meeting" and then Cliff cites "unknown" players satisfied with their complacency and content to make the play-offs instead of doing whatever possible to remain in first? That sure doesn't sound much like solidarity to me, regardless what the main man with rose colored glasses says. after all, he said the same exact thing last year.
Posted by: Davey | September 09, 2008 at 01:49 PM
Hey Kazmo,
Did you take English in school?
Posted by: Dave | September 09, 2008 at 01:30 PM
Man... y'all must be skankie fans in disguise. Yeah, the Rays have had a bad streak of late, what of it? One day you praise the next demean. Geez, how long have some of you been around baseball? I can tell it hasn't been very long.
Posted by: Mike S. | September 09, 2008 at 01:19 PM
hey just to get something else of my chest - why doesnt the coaching staff force upton to play deeper- when I am at the trop I watch vernon wells posititoning himself for each batter tracking balls over his head and into the gaps - every time shields pitches a ball goes ove uptons head and he gives him a dirty look - upton is just a stupid player that wont change- that spectaular catch he made the other day didnt have to be - I guess thats what he is trying to do so he can get on highlites- the upton brothers are earmarked for the minors bad attitudes and not coachable
Posted by: kazmiroholic | September 09, 2008 at 01:12 PM
Did anyone actually see the Upton "injury" or was it a case of him not running it out for the gazillinth time and Madds just losing it?
Posted by: Bryan | September 09, 2008 at 10:28 AM
Hey Caleb, if you're gonna act like you know what you're talking about then please do so with knowledge of the fundamentals and not the utter stupidity you've displayed in the following quote talking about Eric Hinske... "The man has no speed, he's either a RF, 1B, or 3B he has NO business in LF."
You do realize that Left Field is reserved for the worst defensive player on the team right? Left Fielder's usually don't have any speed, glove or consistancy to boot. See Ryan Klesko, Pat Burrell, Adam Dunn etc.
So, this surely means Carl Crawford is an exception as was Barry Bonds but saying Hinske belongs in RF over LF is just so damn stupid and clueless I couldn't let you get by with such utter disregard to the fundamentals of modern baseball.
To clarify further, Eric Hinske is a Left Fielder in Tampa Bay. It's mighty unfortunet that Carl Crawford is uncomfortable outside of LF because he belongs in CF with Upton in RF while guys like Hinske and Gross play where they belong... LF.
Idiot on.
Posted by: James | September 09, 2008 at 09:56 AM
We'll see plenty of Hinske and Floyd against the righties tonight and tomorrow. Maddon seems very inflexible when it comes to hitter v. pitcher matchups. When the Rays' bats are struggling, I agree it would seem to make sense to give Hinske and Floyd extra at-bats, even if they have to face lefties. They're pros who, even if they don't hit, will at least give you a good at-bat to stretch the pitcher's pitch count. That's the worst thing about the Rays at the plate the last couple of games -- they make it too easy for the pitcher. Particularly Upton, Perez, Pena, Zobrist -- too many poor at-bats that only last 3-4 pitches.
Posted by: Ken | September 09, 2008 at 09:43 AM
Amazing.
All the Rats (fans) are jumping off the ship.
See ya in port guys, enjoy the swim.
Posted by: tad | September 09, 2008 at 09:43 AM
Dave give them time, after ten years it's hard to break the habit. 10 years of trained negative thinking.
Posted by: Richard | September 09, 2008 at 08:52 AM
kazmiroholic, Hinske...good defense? lol.
The man has no speed, he's either a RF, 1B, or 3B he has NO business in LF. I don't doubt his offensive contributions by any means, but clearly if we're going to call the Rays a "defensive team", then we can't have some guy who probably runs a 6 in the forty playing left field.
Posted by: Caleb | September 09, 2008 at 08:46 AM
You bunch of spineless whiners.
It's a tough road trip with a lot of games left.
Rays will bounce back - with Upton or no Upton.
Posted by: Dave | September 09, 2008 at 08:10 AM
I fit in well with this impotent AAA lineup
Posted by: RoKKKo Baldelli | September 09, 2008 at 07:45 AM
An OF of Perez, Gross, and Zobrist just is NOT going to do it!
Posted by: Herb | September 09, 2008 at 05:06 AM
yea caleby I dont know what season you have been watching but hinske has played a pretty darn good out field - with a pro bat - I dont need a 2 day old rookie in there they need some offense they have been shut out 29 out of the last 31 innings- I love the idea getting rid of upton if i never see him again im okay with It hope this kid could develop - upton is a cancer-
Posted by: kazmiroholic | September 09, 2008 at 12:44 AM
Listen Kazmiro, if the Rays are going to rely on defense, then Hinske cannot play LF, there is absolutely no defense there with him. Oh and BJ, welcome to the trade block, Perez just made you look very dispensable the past two games.
We'll get GREAT return for you though BJ.
Posted by: Caleb | September 09, 2008 at 12:27 AM
when i seen the rookie playing the green monster while a pro player hinske is in the dugout I got sick to my stomach floyd and hinske had 1 at bat combined - 2 of their best hitters this is painful - rocco is giving it his best but if you seen him off the field like I have you know he is very sick he should not even be out there.
oh well it has been a great season hope they could hang on with dear life to a playoff spot minny and the yanks will be coming hard.
Posted by: kazmiroholic | September 08, 2008 at 11:11 PM
hello this is roccos first bad game dom you are an idiot
Posted by: what | September 08, 2008 at 10:30 PM
Enough with Baldelli! Send Rocco to Morocco.
Posted by: Dom | September 08, 2008 at 10:26 PM
Why was Upton pulled?
Posted by: | September 08, 2008 at 08:21 PM