Advertisement

Tampa Bay Rays: Joe Maddon shows support for USF basketball; Elliot Johnson impresses with Tim Kurkjian imitation

 
Published March 6, 2012

Bullish for USF

Manager Joe Maddon had the Rays wearing USF Madness T-shirts for batting practice Monday to draw attention to the Bulls' bid to make the NCAA Tournament field. "Based on the fact that the Bulls are in the running and the fabulous job Coach (Stan) Heath is doing up there, 12 conference victories, we thought it was time to throw our support their way," Maddon said.

Elliot at the mike

INF Elliot Johnson was eager to step in front of the ESPN cameras to do his best impersonation of broadcaster Tim Kurkjian. Johnson said he had the voice down, but needed a little work on his delivery. "It was really funny," Kurkjian said. "Hilarious." See the video at tampabay.com/blogs/rays

Substitution of the day

Held to one hit through seven innings, the Rays "benched" 3B coach Tom Foley and had 1B coach George Hendrick move over, then got two hits and a run.

Who is this Ray?

He played at North Carolina State and Oklahoma State. He was a first-round pick by Seattle in 2007. He made his big-league debut in 2010.

The dish

Rays vs. Twins

When/where: 1:05; Charlotte Sports Park, 2300 El Jobean Road, Port Charlotte

TV: MLB Network

Tickets: Reserved seats $19-27, berm/boardwalk $9. Available through raysbaseball.com and Ticketmaster, at Tropicana Field and Charlotte Sports Park box offices, Tampa team store

Gates open: 11 a.m.

Directions: Driving time from the bay area is 1½-2 hours. Suggested route: I-75 south to Exit 179 (Toledo Blade Road), west 6½ miles (crossing U.S. 41) to El Jobean Road (S.R. 776), right 2 miles, complex on left

Parking: $10, lots open 10:30

Rays information: Toll-free 1-888-326-7297 (FAN-RAYS)

Pitchers: Rays — Jeff Niemann, Jhonny Nunez, Ricky Orta, Ryan Reid, Wilking Rodriguez, Albert Suarez, Marquis Fleming; Twins — Scott Baker, Brian Duensing, Glen Perkins, Matt Capps, Phil Dumatrait, Matt Maloney, Daryl Thompson, Jeff Gray

Heads-up

There's competition for rotation spots, but RHP Jeff Niemann said he'll put no more emphasis than usual on his first spring outing.

On deck

Wednesday: at Yankees, 1:05. Rays — James Shields; Yankees — Hiroki Kuroda

Upcoming schedule

All games 1:05 unless noted

March

10: at Red Sox (7:05 )

11: Pirates

12: Twins

13: at Orioles

14: Marlins

15: Phillies

16: at Jays

17: at Pirates

18: Red Sox

19: Off

20: at Marlins

21: Yankees

22: at Pirates

23: Jays (7:05 )

24: at Twins (3:05 )

25: Marlins

26: at Twins

27: at Red Sox (1:35 )

28: Pirates (7:05 )

29: at Phillies

30: at Pirates

31: Red Sox

April

1: at Orioles

2: Twins*

3: at Twins

4: vs. Future Rays, 1:40, at the Trop.

* Value game, $2 off

Who is this answer: INF Matt Mangini