arty:
sorry meant Brewers :nohead:
<table id="pendingWager" border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td class="pending"><table><tbody><tr><td width="220">Parlay (3 Teams)</td> <td>08/06/08 12:17 ET</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="220"> bet 60.00 to win 366.30 </td> <td>Result: Pending</td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="pendingAltColor" colspan="2"> <table> <tbody><tr> <td width="220"> Brewers(Milwaukee) Suppan 6
Reds(Cincinnati) Bailey 3 </td> <td> 08/06/08(12:40 ET)
Under 10.5 (+105) </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="pending" colspan="2"> <table> <tbody><tr> <td width="220"> Brewers(Milwaukee) Suppan 6
Reds(Cincinnati) Bailey 3 </td> <td> 08/06/08(12:40 ET)
Brewers(Milwaukee) -129 </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="pendingAltColor" colspan="2"> <table> <tbody><tr> <td width="220"> Indians(Cleveland) Sowers
Rays(TampaBay) Kazmir </td> <td> 08/06/08(12:45 ET)
Rays(TampaBay) -1.5 (-105) </td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>
http://www2.tbo.com/sports/rays/2012/jan/21/carlos-pena-returning-to-the-rays-ar-349613/
Published: January 21, 2012
Home / sports /
Carlos Peña returning to the Rays
By Roger Mooney
James Shields caught up with his old teammate Carlos Peña this offseason at a celebrity golf tournament near Orlando, and he listened as Peña raved about his days with the Rays.
“He loved it here,” Shields said.
Peña reached his potential during his four years with the Rays and helped turn the franchise from the hapless Devil Rays into the playoff-contending Rays before leaving for the Cubs as a free agent after the 2010 season.
Now the Rays, looking very much to contend again in 2012, have asked Peña to come home. The 33-year-old power-hitting first baseman with one Gold Glove on his résumé agreed Friday to a one-year, $7.25 million contract. The deal will be finalized early next week.
“I’m coming back to Tampa (Bay),” Peña said in a text message to the Tampa Tribune. “I’m very excited.”
So are his teammates.
“I love it,” Sean Rodriguez said.
“Welcome back ’Los,” Jeremy Hellickson wrote on his Facebook page.
“It was kind of sad to see him leave when he left,” Shields said. “We’ve had some pretty good first basemen over the last five or six years, and now that we have him back I’m excited. He was one of the best teammates you can have. He’s a familiar face.”
Being a familiar face is a big part of Peña’s homecoming.
Whatever the Rays lost in terms of clubhouse leadership when they decided not to re-sign Johnny Damon they get back with Peña, who was one of the leading voices in the clubhouse from 2007 to 2010.
“Most guys coming to a team have to get a feel, see if they can be a leader,” Rodriguez said. “He was here for so many years, missed a year and now he’s back, it won’t be hard for him to transition into that role again.”
Peña replaces Casey Kotchman, who provided Gold Glove-caliber defense while hitting a career-high .306. Rays executive vice president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman wants a little more power at first base, though, which is why the Rays did not re-sign Kotchman, who hit 10 home runs in 2011 and is rumored to be on the Indians’ wish list.
“I had fun playing with my AWESOME teammates at home in front of my friends, family and fans,” Kotchman said in a text to the Tribune.
Peña, the Rays’ leader in career home runs (144) and home runs in one season (46 in 2007), certainly brings that. Despite his high strikeout rate, Peña has hit at least 28 home runs every season since 2007.
“Obviously it’s sad to see Casey Kotchman leave, with what he did for us last year. He was a big contributor to our team,” Shields said. “Obviously, Andrew wanted to go in a different direction and bring back ’Los. I think Carlos is going to be happy. He’s going to fit into our lineup pretty well. It’s always good to bring guys into our clubhouse who are going to be clubhouse leaders, and Carlos fits into that spot.”
Peña’s presence helps balance a lineup that includes left-hander hitters Matt Joyce and Luke Scott and right-handers Evan Longoria, B.J. Upton and Desmond Jennings. Peña should be able to provide protection for Longoria while adding power to a batting order that could use the quick strike that comes with home runs.
Just as important is Peña’s first baseman’s mitt, which earned him a Gold Glove after the 2008 season.
“The couple of things we really pride ourselves on in this organization is pitching and defense, and Carlos definitely fits in that category,” Shields said.
Peña’s contract pushes the Rays’ payroll above $60 million. The Rays have already committed $56.391 million to the payroll and have yet to give contracts to players still under team control.
He made $10.125 million in 2010 and was part of the exodus after the season, signing with the Cubs for $10 million. Peña, who batted .196 with 28 home runs and 84 RBIs in 2010, raised his average to .225 with 28 home runs and 80 RBIs with the Cubs.
Peña came to the Rays in February 2007 on a minor-league contract with an invitation to big-league camp. He made the team when Greg Norton injured his knee during the final week of spring training and joined the lineup when Akinori Iwamura injured his knee early in the season.
Peña had a career year that season, batting .282 with 46 home runs and 121 RBIs, getting a three-year contract that earned him $24.125 million. He was named the American League Comeback Player of the Year after the 2007 season and quickly developed into one of the most popular Rays.
“I think the fans are really going to like having ’Los back,” Rodriguez said.
Published: January 21, 2012
Home / sports /
Carlos Peña returning to the Rays
By Roger Mooney
James Shields caught up with his old teammate Carlos Peña this offseason at a celebrity golf tournament near Orlando, and he listened as Peña raved about his days with the Rays.
“He loved it here,” Shields said.
Peña reached his potential during his four years with the Rays and helped turn the franchise from the hapless Devil Rays into the playoff-contending Rays before leaving for the Cubs as a free agent after the 2010 season.
Now the Rays, looking very much to contend again in 2012, have asked Peña to come home. The 33-year-old power-hitting first baseman with one Gold Glove on his résumé agreed Friday to a one-year, $7.25 million contract. The deal will be finalized early next week.
“I’m coming back to Tampa (Bay),” Peña said in a text message to the Tampa Tribune. “I’m very excited.”
So are his teammates.
“I love it,” Sean Rodriguez said.
“Welcome back ’Los,” Jeremy Hellickson wrote on his Facebook page.
“It was kind of sad to see him leave when he left,” Shields said. “We’ve had some pretty good first basemen over the last five or six years, and now that we have him back I’m excited. He was one of the best teammates you can have. He’s a familiar face.”
Being a familiar face is a big part of Peña’s homecoming.
Whatever the Rays lost in terms of clubhouse leadership when they decided not to re-sign Johnny Damon they get back with Peña, who was one of the leading voices in the clubhouse from 2007 to 2010.
“Most guys coming to a team have to get a feel, see if they can be a leader,” Rodriguez said. “He was here for so many years, missed a year and now he’s back, it won’t be hard for him to transition into that role again.”
Peña replaces Casey Kotchman, who provided Gold Glove-caliber defense while hitting a career-high .306. Rays executive vice president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman wants a little more power at first base, though, which is why the Rays did not re-sign Kotchman, who hit 10 home runs in 2011 and is rumored to be on the Indians’ wish list.
“I had fun playing with my AWESOME teammates at home in front of my friends, family and fans,” Kotchman said in a text to the Tribune.
Peña, the Rays’ leader in career home runs (144) and home runs in one season (46 in 2007), certainly brings that. Despite his high strikeout rate, Peña has hit at least 28 home runs every season since 2007.
“Obviously it’s sad to see Casey Kotchman leave, with what he did for us last year. He was a big contributor to our team,” Shields said. “Obviously, Andrew wanted to go in a different direction and bring back ’Los. I think Carlos is going to be happy. He’s going to fit into our lineup pretty well. It’s always good to bring guys into our clubhouse who are going to be clubhouse leaders, and Carlos fits into that spot.”
Peña’s presence helps balance a lineup that includes left-hander hitters Matt Joyce and Luke Scott and right-handers Evan Longoria, B.J. Upton and Desmond Jennings. Peña should be able to provide protection for Longoria while adding power to a batting order that could use the quick strike that comes with home runs.
Just as important is Peña’s first baseman’s mitt, which earned him a Gold Glove after the 2008 season.
“The couple of things we really pride ourselves on in this organization is pitching and defense, and Carlos definitely fits in that category,” Shields said.
Peña’s contract pushes the Rays’ payroll above $60 million. The Rays have already committed $56.391 million to the payroll and have yet to give contracts to players still under team control.
He made $10.125 million in 2010 and was part of the exodus after the season, signing with the Cubs for $10 million. Peña, who batted .196 with 28 home runs and 84 RBIs in 2010, raised his average to .225 with 28 home runs and 80 RBIs with the Cubs.
Peña came to the Rays in February 2007 on a minor-league contract with an invitation to big-league camp. He made the team when Greg Norton injured his knee during the final week of spring training and joined the lineup when Akinori Iwamura injured his knee early in the season.
Peña had a career year that season, batting .282 with 46 home runs and 121 RBIs, getting a three-year contract that earned him $24.125 million. He was named the American League Comeback Player of the Year after the 2007 season and quickly developed into one of the most popular Rays.
“I think the fans are really going to like having ’Los back,” Rodriguez said.
