BJ Upton's Golden Sombrero

A golden sombrero is awarded to a player who manages to strike out four times in a single game (real golden sombrero not included). It's quite the feat unless you're Ryan Howard or Mark Reynolds. Unfortunately, no-hitters and Brian Wilson's beard are all the rage nowadays. Not for me, though. I will pour over the box scores to bring you the finest at swinging and missing.

What a difference a day made for Bossman Junior. Less than 24 hours after a walk-off home run followed by the celebratory chocolate and whip cream pie to the face, Upton picked up the Golden Sombrero in a rather spectacular fashion. He got rung up looking thrice and was none too happy about it. He had to be physically restrained from umpire Chad Fairchild who ejected Upton in the ninth as well as Jay's manager John Farrell in the seventh. Joe West also took part, ejecting Rays manager Joe Maddon in the seventh. I think somebody got into the tequila a little early yesterday.

Let's see what drew the ire of the elder Upton...

Bottom 2nd: Upton struck out swinging against Brandon Morrow. 3 pitches. It's not like his day got off to a great start.

Bottom 4th: Upton struck out looking against Morrow. This was a called strike on a 3-2 count.

Bottom 6th: Upton struck out looking against Morrow again. Another called strike but on a 1-2 count.

Bottom 9th: Upton struck out looking against Frank Francisco. He took all three strikes looking but this is the one that set him off. He was tossed and threw everything he could get his hands on while making his exit. Personally, I'd like to see more of that after a good Golden Sombrero.

Sam Fuld's Golden Sombrero

A golden sombrero is awarded to a player who manages to strike out four times in a single game (real golden sombrero not included). It's quite the feat unless you're Ryan Howard or Mark Reynolds. Unfortunately, no-hitters and Brian Wilson's beard are all the rage nowadays. Not for me, though. I will pour over the box scores to bring you the finest at swinging and missing.

The legend of Sam Fuld continues as he became the most recent leadoff hitter to record the golden sombrero. Fuld is hitting .365/.407/.541 this season, already good for a 1.2 WAR. But he ran in to the buzzsaw known as Ricky Romero for one pretty unproductive Easter Sunday...

Top 1st: Fuld struck out swinging against Romero.

Top 2nd: Fuld struck out looking against Romero. Fuld doesn't always get a sombrero, but when he does he likes to change things up.

Top 5th: Fuld struck out swinging against Romero.

Top 8th: Fuld struck out swinging against Marc Rzepczynski.

To be honest, this was a rather bland golden sombrero. Fuld worked the counts a little and just had one of those days. I prefer my futility to have bells and whistles. If you're going to strike out four times in one game, have the decency to do it in 12 pitches.

Would You Rather Own The Mets Or Rays?

Unless your mysterious uncle recently passed away and you inherited all of his Nazi gold, you probably can't afford to buy an MLB franchise or even a stake in one. But the Mets have some shares available and investors are lining up. The most recent rumor is about a group that includes a minority owner of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Starker’s consortium includes Kenny Dichter, a co-founder of Marquis Jet, a company that pioneered the fractional private jet card concept; and Doug Ellin, the creator of “Entourage,” the HBO series; and Randy Frankel, a minority owner of the Rays.

The group’s interest in the Mets was first reported by The New York Post, but the Rays connection was not known until now.

Frankel would sell his share in the Rays should his group’s bid for the Mets be successful, people with knowledge of the investment group said.

Which leads us to the title of this post. Would you rather own, even partially, the Mets or the Rays? I guess it depends on which camp you fall into.

1. Straight Cash Homey
Despite the Wilpons affection for Ponzi schemes, the Mets are the third most valuable MLB team at $858 million according to Forbes. But the Mets aren't exactly on stable ground right now, hence the opportunity to buy in, and they even took a $25 million loan from MLB last season. When the ship is righted though, a stake in the Mets would likely help line your designer pockets.

On the other hand, the Rays only top the A's and Pirates in cash value. Hopefully, a new stadium is on the way and fans won't have to cross that dreaded bridge. The Rays get good ratings for televised games so the fan base is there. Money can be made just not at the New York market level.

2. Championship Bling
The Rays play in the toughest division in all the land but they're being run by an incredible braintrust. Aside from passing on Buster Posey, they draft, trade and sign at a brilliant level. With a deep farm system and franchise corner stones already in place, the Rays figure to contend for the foreseeable future.

The Mets also play in a tough division with the Phillies and Braves at the top and the Marlins and Nats on the upswing. The Mets don't have loads of talent to count on in the minors and haven't exactly lit the world on fire with their free agent acumen. Johan Santana isn't the pitcher he used to be, David Wright lost his power, Jose Reyes is about to be a free agent, and they still employ Ollie Perez and Luis Castillo.

So which team would you choose? The big market, potential cash cow or the team with the potential to bring home some rings in the next few years? Personally, I'd stick with the Rays because if I was in that situation, I'd already be plenty rich and winning is fun. Just ask Charlie Sheen.

The Rays Fan Fest Preview

The Tampa Bay Rays' Fan Fest is this Saturday and is free to the public. With a $40 donation, you get the opportunity to collect autographs from the players in attendance. Everything else is pretty much a la carte. In true Off Base fashion, I'll preview the scheduled events for the Fan Fest while adding my suggestions for improvement.

RAYS CHARITY YARD SALE

What it is - Fans will have the opportunity to purchase unique game-used and autographed memorabilia dating back to the inaugural season.

What it should be - An actual yard sale of junk Rays personnel are trying to unload. Evan Longoria's futon that he wasn't able to get the foot stench out of. Jeremy Hellickson's socks that produced the aforementioned foot stench. B.J Upton's collection of Justin Upton rookie cards that he drew funny facial hair on. Joe Maddon's 1950s style eye-glasses that are no longer up to date with his prescription.

MADDON’S FEAST

What it is - Tampa Bay Rays Manager Joe Maddon will serve up his traditional “Thanksmas” meal. A limited number of fans will have the opportunity to chat with Maddon over a plate of his homemade spaghetti, meatballs, sausage and pierogies. $30 in advance, $40 at the door.

What it should be - If spaghetti, meatballs and sausage are Maddon's thing, I want him slaving over them like he's in a Top Chef elimination challenge. I want to watch him run around Whole Foods trying to buy everything he needs on the Jumbo Tron and then watch him panic cook in the on-field kitchen trying to make enough for everybody. I'd also like Tom Colicchio to critique his salt usage.

FIELD TURF FOR SALE

What it is - For $25 fans can purchase one-by-one foot squares of Tropicana Field’s playing surface that was removed earlier this month. Also on sale at the same price are one-by-one foot squares of the carpet from the Rays clubhouse still soaked with champagne from the Rays 2010 postseason clinching celebration.

What it should be - Boy, that mildew infested carpet sure is tempting. But they'd probably raise more money by selling $25 bags of pot. The Joe Maddon glaucoma special, if you will.

CHAT WITH KEN ROSENTHAL FROM FOX SPORTS

What it is - Ken Rosenthal will take any and all baseball questions from fans from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m.

What it should be - Midget juggling. The first person to successfully juggle Rosenthal, Tony Cox and Verne Troyer wins season tickets.

READING WITH THE RAYS

What it is - The event will also include a designated area for “Reading with the Rays,” the club’s summer reading program that will feature Rays players reading selected stories to children throughout the day.

What it should be - Christopher Walken reading Goodnight Moon, Three Little Pigs and, of course, Lady Gaga's Poker Face.

Would you be more or less inclined to attend the event if my suggestions are approved?

[h/t to Marc Tompkin who has all the deets concerning the Rays]

Rays Avoid Arbitration With Garza

Yikes. I thought the Angels were having a poor offseason. The Rays continued their "it's not really a fire sale" fire sale by dealing pitcher Matt Garza to the Cubs before he could hit arbitration for the second time. Rays fans, both of them, already had to deal with losing Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena and Rafael Soriano to free agency. Luckily for the Rays, it sounds like Jose Canseco is ready for his prodigious return to the baseball world and that just sounds like fun for the whole family.

What it means for the Rays
Uh, believe it or not, it doesn't mean that much. Garza is a fine pitcher but I don't think they miss a beat plugging Jeremy Hellickson into the rotation full time. The only fallout to the Rays rotation from this trade might be the removal of Jake Shields from the trading block. The Rays get Chris Archer, Brandon Guyer, Robinson Chirinos, Hak-Ju Lee and Sam Fuld from the Cubs to bolster their farm system.

Archer was the Cubs third best prospect according to Baseball Prospectus (or Kevin Goldstein if you're keeping score at home) but has some command issues to deal with before becoming a star. Lee was the fifth best prospect but his future short stop endeavors were blocked by Sterlin Castro similar to his new blockage at short by Reid Brignac. Guyer and Chirinos were 11 and 12 respectively but BP expects me to pay for any insight into them. Jerks, trying to make money and whatnot.

What it means for the Cubs
Garza jumps into the mix as the number two starter for the Cubs with Ryan Dempster and Carlos Zambrano. And one of those guys is going to have to the ace. My guess is that the Cubs rehash how much money they'll have to eat to move Zambrano and his psychiatry bills. It doesn't seem like a big hit to their minor league system that was already devoid of any big impact guys.

Texas at Tampa Bay

As soon as I start a baseball blog, the Angels miss the playoffs for the first time since 2006. I hope you like your post-season previews filled with animosity and tears.

The post-season officially kicks off at 12:37 on Wednesday. That's right, I live in the Central Time Zone, adjust your clocks accordingly. The Rangers will visit Tampa Bay and deal with the dozens of fans who will cross that godforsaken bridge and enjoy that craptastic stadium. But hey, at least they altered the rules about a ball hitting the catwalk at the Trop to essentially being a do-over. Seriously, get a new stadium.

My Completely Biased Opinion.
I'll be rooting for the Rays in this series for all of the apparent reasons. I'm not afraid to admit them. The Rangers toppled the Angels from atop the AL West division and made their way onto my enemies list which also include Nazis and PETA. And secondly, Joe Maddon was the bench coach for the Angels once upon a time and he makes some pretty cool shoes. I'm pretty sure one of those is true. I do deduct a few points from the Rays for their epic draft FAIL of passing on blog favorite Buster Posey. The Rangers get a bonus point for the ballpark in Arlington resurrecting the career of Vladimir Guerrero.

Just Some of the Facts M'am.
Cliff Lee brings his 3.18/2.58/3.23 (ERA/FIP/xFIP) line to the Trop to battle David Price and Evan Longoria. Price had his breakout year as an ace posting a 2.72/3.42/3.99 line and the 19 wins will probably garner more Cy Young love than he deserves. I'll have Felix Hernandez, Lee, Francisco Liriano and probably Jered Weaver over Price on my imaginary ballot once I post it. Longoria put together another MVP caliber season hitting .294/.372/.507 while playing Gold Glove defense at third (11.0 UZR). Of course, he'll finish somewhere behind Josh Hamilton and his .359/.411/.633 line in the MVP voting.

Prediction.
I think the Rays are the better team with more pitching. The home field advantage is less of an advantage for the Rays as it is a disadvantage for the Rangers. Did you follow that? The Rangers are 39-42 away from their bandbox park while the Rays are good whether they're at home (49-32) or not (47-32). I could give you a whole lot more splits analysis but I trust you can work Baseball-Reference on your own at this point. Rays in 4.

Rays Trying New Look To Draw Fans?

I have a feeling that the new uniforms might be counterproductive to onfield success. I mean really, are the lab coats necessary? This was actually the scene of the Rays' rookies (Jeremy Hellickson, Jake McGee and Desmond Jennings ) leaving the Trop after losing 2-0 to the Orioles and I assume heading to a lavish party in West Hollywood. Or it's just good old fashioned rookie hazing, I never know with these youngsters nowadays.

The Rays clinched a playoff spot despite being just 5-5 over their last 10 and Evan Longoria, David Price and Mitch Williams all complained about the attendance in Tampa Bay. Longoria and Price have since apologized and I'm awaiting Mitch Williams' apology for having a job on the MLB Network any day now. Attendance has always been an issue because of that damn bridge or so I hear, what am I, a city planner?. But the fans will show up for the playoffs, maybe, and so why not have a little fun as the long regular season winds down?

As for the rookies themselves, only Jeremy Hellickson has a decent amount of playing time. And 35.1 innings might be stretching the definition of "decent." But in those 35.1 innings, Hellickson has looked good posting an 8.41 K/9 and a 3.57/3.82/3.95 line. That's ERA/FIP/xFIP and I don't know if anybody uses that line or not but get used to it around these parts. McGee has tossed 3.2 innings of 2.45/2.82/3.56 ball so we don't know anything about him. Likewise, Jennings has only 24 plate appearances and a .190/.292/.333 line but really pulls off the knee-highs with sandals look. I am getting old, I'm still just wearing pants.

[image via TampaBay.com]

Brad Hawpe's Golden Sombrero

A golden sombrero is awarded to a player who manages to strike out four times in a single game (real golden sombrero not included). It's quite the feat unless you're Ryan Howard or Mark Reynolds. Unfortunately, cycles and no-hitters are all the rage nowadays. Not for me, though. I will pour over the box scores to bring you the finest at swinging and missing.

In honor of Brad Hawpe's first Golden Sombrero with the Rays, and it's a good one, I searched Youtube for an accurate depiction of his night at the plate using a pinata FAIL video. I think this sums it up.



Brad Hawpe swung just as wildly tonight but even when he made contact there was no candy. It was sad for everyone involved. Well, maybe not the pitchers. Hawpe went 0-0 with 4 strikeouts for a nice looking .000/.000/.000 line in the American League. Let's take a look at a whole lot of swinging and missing...

Bottom 2nd: Hawpe struck out swinging against Shaun Marcum. Hawpe took ball 1 befor swinging at the next 3 pitches.

Bottom 5th: Hawpe struck out swinging against Shaun Marcum. Only 2 swinging strikes at this at bat while he took 1 looking and a ball.

Bottom 7th: Hawpe struck out swinging against Shawn Camp. Again it was a looking strike and a ball and 2 swinging strikes. The man knows what he likes.

Bottom 8th: Hawpe struck out swinging against Camp.

It would take a lot more research but it appears that Hawpe struggles against pitchers with some form of the first name Shawn.

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.

Shot of the night is late to work again because someone was up too late playing vodka-pong. New Orleans is not a good place to hang out if you already like the drink a little. The shot of the night is obviously a No Hitter: 1 oz Jagermeister® herbal liqueur, 2-3 oz Stolichnaya® vodka, 1 can Amp Overdrive and it's obviously in honor of Matt Garza.

Garza tossed the 5th effing no-hitter of the season last night. Are hitters even trying anymore? By the end of the year, no-hitters will be all worn out just like your mom. Garza faced the minimum even though he walked one to barely miss the prefect game. Max Scherzer had his own no-hitter broken up in the 6th by a Matt Joyce grand slam.

Honorable Mention: Matt Wieters
Last year's mega-prospect showed some promising signs of life after freshly coming off the disabled list. The switch hitting catcher went 2-2 with 2 home runs and 2 walks. I, of course, left him on my DL spot on my fantasy team.

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.

Weekly Cup Of Joe

I prefer to think of this as more of a tribute to Fire Joe Morgan than a blatant ripoff. But who are we really kidding here?

I almost missed another Joe Chat this week. I've been swept up in this vuvuzela madness that's taking over the globe (download the iPhone app here). So between drinking in the morning while watching 0-0 ties during the World Cup and my subsequent afternoon naps, I missed all of the Tuesday baseball chats at the Four Letter. That doesn't mean we can't still grab a nugget of wisdom...

Dan (New York)

Joe, from a former players and fan perspective do you get more enjoyment seeing a young team like the Rays who have built themselves from internally or a team of veterans (some perhaps bought) like the Yankees win?

Joe Morgan (11:21 AM)

From a fans perspective, I like to see a good team, an exciting team, young guys grow into roles of stars and play well. But I also like to see a dominant team. When a team becomes a team that everyone looks at, a team that everybody wants to beat or emulate, I like that as well. Everyone in the AL starts the season saying they need to beat the Yankees to get to the World Series and I like that. But I also like a team like the Rays that people say can be dangerous. It just depends. They both bring a lot to baseball. The Yankees have been great all these years and have been great for the game. The Rays have become an up and coming team and they're good for the game. I'm just a fan of the game and like to see it played well, whether young or veteran players.

Sorry Pirates and Orioles, Joe Morgan hates you. Joe only likes the good/dominant teams. Does Joe even answer the question? It's hard to tell. He clearly likes good teams. I got that. Oh, okay. He just likes to see the game played well. Sorry Diamondbacks, Joe hates you too.