Joe Maddon Ops out of Contract

Oh boy, here we go.

With the news last week of the Dodgers stealing Andrew Friedman, Joe Maddon has also decided to jump the Tampa Bay Rays ship and opt out of his current contract that ran through 2015. Which, according to Jon Heyman, was his right. Yes, I did just link a tweet by Jon Heyman. That's how serious this is.

Rays Invade Boston Disguised In Wigs

The Tampa Bay Rays are three games out of Oakland's Wild Card spot with nine games to go and the Angels sitting only two games behind the A's. While technically the Rays still have a chance, the shots are long. Let's call it a 10.5% chance because Cool Standings is awesome. The Rays go to Boston for a three game set where the Red Sox have a 0.0% chance to make the playoffs and are playing just to spite other teams.

Joe Maddon, the unorthodox and crafty manager, decided to sneak his team into enemy territory incognito. Donned in wigs from "bathtub meth addict" to "Wendy's red pigtails" to my favorite "Santa out of context," the Rays hair'd up and were encouraged to be as creative as possible. Any real wigs (from players or employees I assume, the wording is vague) will be donated to the Moffitt Cancer Center.

It's a good cause, sure, but I'm sure this is some kind of mastermind team-building/lulling-the-Sox-into-a-false-sense-of-security plan from that evil genius Joe Maddon. That's why he is the best in the game. Maddon thinks outside of the box and, occasionally, makes forts out of the boxes. He seems fun.

Let's take a look at a few of the looks from the Tampa Bay Rays/Skip Milos via Tampa Bay Times...

Elliot Johnson did his best Joe Dirt or "I need an extra $2 to buy this case of Pabst Blue Ribbon." Red Sox pitchers will be caught off guard because he looks more likely to make a bong out of the bat than hit .243/.305/.351. That bit would have worked better if Johnson was actually good at baseball.

This one is either Sean Rodriguez or the guy who sells drugs out of every kitchen in the French Quarter.

Finally, Matt Joyce chose the Wendy's red pigtails causing me to nickname him Matt "Always Fresh" Joyce because Matt "Where's the Beef" Joyce doesn't sound family friendly.

BBA AL Connie Mack Award Ballot 2011

After a full year of writing nonsense, the Baseball Blogger Alliance has yet to kick us out and still encourages us to vote on stuff. And not just things we know like "how awesome does that dog look wearing a hat." Which, of course, the answer is always "very." First up is the Connie Mack award for manager of the year.

1. Joe Maddon, Tampa Bay
I think Maddon is one of the smartest managers in baseball despite his time in Anaheim when Mike Scioscia would smack him with a ruler every time he read something about sabermetrics. Maddon has his share of goofs but, for the most part, he helps his team win games instead of blowing them. It doesn't hurt that he's backed by one of the smarter organizations in baseball. With a full year of Desmond Jennings and Matt Moore next season, Maddon might want to get comfortable in this spot.

2. Joe Girardi, New York
Resident Yankee enthusiast, Derwood, pitched Girardi for top manager. I'm sure he was making a reasonable argument but all I heard was a pencil scratching Derek Jeter into the leadoff spot.

3. Phillip Seymore Hoffman, Hollywood
20 wins in a row and he had to deal with Brad Pitt and the nerd from Superbad?

3. Jim Leyland, Detroit
Jose Valverde didn't blow a save all season long. That's just good bullpen management.

3. Terry Francona, Boston
I had Francona as my top manager last year. And sure, they didn't make the playoffs again and had an epic collapse but I still think he's a great manager. He won't be unemployed for very long unless John Lackey is his publicist. Francona taught Jacoby Ellsbury to hit 30 home runs. Prove me wrong. Despite the end of the season debacle, let's not forget they rebounded from a 0-53 start this year.

Shot Of The Night

Shot Of The Night is Off Base Percentage's toast to a player who had an exceptionally good or bad night. There's always a reason to drink.

Tonight's shot of the night is Jim The Destroyer: 1/2 oz Jim Beam® bourbon whiskey, 1/2 oz Bacardi® 151 rum, 1/2 oz Chivas Regal® Scotch whisky, 1/2 oz Jose Cuervo® Especial gold tequila. And it's in honor of Jim Thome.

Jim Thome went 3-4 today with 2 home runs. He also only saw 7 pitches so he wasn't wasting any time. The 2 jacks give him 574 for his career and moves him past Harmon Killebrew for 10th all time. I'm not sure if anybody noticed but Thome's career slash line is .277/.404/.556. A career .400 OBP? Yep. And he has a career .406 wOBA. For a guy who only made 5 All Star appearances, he sure looks like a first ballot Hall of Famer to me.

Honorable Mention: Matt Joyce
Matt Joyce helped ruin Thome's career milestone by hitting a pinch-hit grand slam in the top of the 8th to put the Rays ahead for good. What a dick. Joyce was traded for Edwin Jackson a couple of years ago and hasn't been able to break into the Rays never-ending rotation of everyone but Pena, Longoria and Crawford. Joe Maddon is like some kind of mad scientist when it comes to handing out positions.