***7/8 Royals v Keep Yo Mouth Shut Dickie V Rays Still Suck GDT***
 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Dude, You&#39;re Being That Guy Lineup: Cain 8, Hosmer 3, Perez 2, Gordon 7, Infante 4, Moustakas 5, Butler DH, Ibanez 9, Escobar 6, Vargas 1.</p>&mdash; Andy McCullough (@McCulloughStar) <a href="https://twitter.com/McCulloughStar/statuses/486585475353034754">July 8, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Butler and Ibanez at 7 and 8? Could they both soon be gone?

Are we really going to continue playing Ibanez over Dyson everyday?

probably until aoki completes his rehab stint later this week at which time we will probably see:

aoki
hosmer
perez
gordon
butler
moustakas
cain
infante
escobar

on a related note, we need these guys:

#Dodgers lineup at Detroit:
Gordon 2B
Puig RF
Ramirez DH
Gonzalez 1B
Kemp LF
Ethier CF
Uribe 3B
Ellis C
Rojas SS
Ryu P

to kick these guys:

#PickRick ‏@tigers · 16m
#Tigers lineup vs. LAD:
Jackson CF
Kinsler 2B
Cabrera 1B
J.D. Martinez DH
Hunter RF
Castellanos 3B
Avila C
Suarez SS
Davis LF
Verlander P


asses!


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MLB?src=hash">#MLB</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Tigers?src=hash">#Tigers</a> - Victor Martinez, Side - is not in the starting lineup Tuesday (7/8) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers</p>&mdash; SportsInsights.com (@SportsInsights) <a href="https://twitter.com/SportsInsights/statuses/486586174723883009">July 8, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Is JD Martinez the scrap heap pickup of the year?

BEAT TAMPA BAY

Seriously, though. Why is Ibanez starting? Gordon/Dyson/Cain is the best defensive outfield in the league, and obviously better offensively as well. I cannot comprehend the stupidity of this franchise sometimes. Most times.

go royals, be royal

ned delaying the inevitable

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Ned Yost indicated the Royals want Nori Aoki to play six or seven rehab games. So the roster crunch likely won&#39;t be decided until after ASB.</p>&mdash; Andy McCullough (@McCulloughStar) <a href="https://twitter.com/McCulloughStar/statuses/486604068065148928">July 8, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

By Roger Mooney | Tribune Staff
Published: July 7, 2014 | Updated: July 7, 2014 at 11:37 PM




ST. PETERSBURG — Rays RHP Jeremy Hellickson returns to the mound tonight for the first time since Oct. 8, when he started Game 4 of the AL division series against the Red Sox.



“I’m really anxious,” Hellickson said.



He missed the first 92 games of the season after having right elbow surgery in late January to remove loose bodies in the joint. It was originally thought Hellickson would miss the first six to eight weeks of the season, but soreness in the elbow nearly doubled that time frame.



Hellickson said the soreness he feels after a start is the typical muscle fatigue, where as last year he couldn’t bend his elbow the day after he pitched.



“I think everything is going to be better, because I don’t have it in the back of my head. I don’t feel it on every pitch, it’s not sore every pitch,” Hellickson said. “I just think being able to extend on my change-up and fastball and get on top of my curveball a little bit better will hopefully make everything a little better.”



Hellickson allowed 15 runs in 18 2⁄3 innings during his five rehab starts for Triple-A Durham. His fourth start was cut short by soreness in his right elbow, though Hellickson said that went away after one day of rest.



Hellickson is aware his numbers at Durham do not look good.



“The first couple (of starts) it didn’t matter what happened. I just wanted to get out there and get my work in. The last one was pretty good, but the two before that I wasn’t really working on stuff, I was trying to get outs and it still wasn’t happening,” he said. “I felt they should have been a lot better than they were.”



Now he joins a team that is enjoying its best stretch of the season.



“I don’t really have time to work through that stuff,” Hellickson said. “The way we’re playing right now, I have to give us a chance to win right away. I can’t think about what I did down there, I have to come out and give us a chance.”



THE BEDARD DECISION



LHP Erik Bedard, originally scheduled to start tonight, will head to the bullpen as Hellickson makes his season debut. Rays manager Joe Maddon said Bedard could provide insurance if Hellickson has a short outing.



Maddon also said Bedard could serve as the long man in the bullpen, freeing LHP Cesar Ramos for higher-leverage moments. But for how long? The Rays are carrying an extra pitcher right now. That will go away when SS Yunel Escobar (sore right shoulder) is activated from the disabled list Friday.



“There’s still things to be talked about as we continue along,” Maddon said.

I decide who plays/Yost

This maddens me about baseball. It's the only sport where you do a "rehab" start(s). Its ridiculous. In the NFL or the NBA send their guys to minors before they play? Hell no. When you are ready you play and dont waste time and money.

I was thinking the same thing. He has almost 10 homers, doesn't he? Never heard of him before.

Football and basketball both have the benefits of:

Not playing every day
Being able to simulate live action at the elite level in practice on those off days

They're also much more physically-based sports. Hitting and pitching are so exacting on muscle memory that you need a little gear-up time before you're ready for the major leagues, in many cases.