Hot Wheels

The Tampa Bay Rays gave manager Joe Maddon a three year extension last week which was well deserved. Maddon has built the Rays into an AL East contender and kept the team competitive despite financial constraints.

So after the extension was finalized Maddon did a little shopping for a reward for himself. He ended up getting himself a 1956 Chevy BelAir. Maddon called it a "new contract present".

Maddon bought the car in Arizona, had it restored and updated, and delivered to the Charlotte Sports Park. It has air-conditioning, so he said you'll see him driving it around Tampa and St. Petersburg once the season starts.


Maddon said he was looking for a Charger, Roadrunner or Barracuda, but couldn't find one he liked so instead picked this one over a '57 Nomad. "When I drive this it's pretty quick when it starts up, and I love the color and I love the interior,'' he said. Maddon already has two restored convertibles - a '67 Galaxy and a '72 Chevelle.


Maddon said his wife, Jaye, endorsed the purchase, which she named Bella.  "She was all for it,'' he said. "My wife is kind of like a guy sometimes - she likes big flat-screen TVs, she likes watching football on Sundays, she likes fast cars, she used to drink martinis, though she kind of toned that down a bit. She's got a lot of great man-cave qualities about her.''


Looks like Maddon went car shopping and ended up on 'Pimp My Ride'. It's a cool car and if I had the time and money I'd do the same. If the Rays keep winning, Maddon will have his own showroom.

Luke Scott takes shots at Red Sox fans

The Boston Red Sox choked away the American League wild card last season, which made for a joyous celebration in Tampa, Florida. But the Tampa Bay Rays weren't the only team celebrating that final night of the season. The Baltimore Orioles were doing their part by taking out the Red Sox on the final night and celebrating when the Rays came back to beat the New York Yankees.

Former Oriole Luke Scott was injured for the last game, but he took much pleasure in the Red Sox not making the playoffs. Scott became a Rays fan for those last few hours of the 2011 season.


"I'd already had [right-shoulder] surgery, so I was in the clubhouse during the game," Scott said. "The guys were battling. I was sitting in the clubhouse watching the game with some of my teammates, guys that weren't playing. We were following back and forth.


"We were pulling for Tampa Bay. They were down, 7-0, and we were like, 'Dang-it, we've got to beat Boston, so we can force this playoff.' And then the next thing you know the score [in St. Petersburg is] 7-6. Then it's 7-7. And we're going into the ninth against one of the best closers in the game."


Scott isn't one to hold his tongue though and had some parting shots for Red Sox fans. I'll say this, he doesn't like them very much.

"Just their arrogance," Scott said. "The fans come in and they take over the city. They're ruthless. They're vulgar. They cause trouble. They talk about your family. Swear at you. Who likes that? When people do that, it just gives you more incentive to beat them. Then when things like [the last game of last season] happen, you celebrate even more. You go to St. Louis -- classiest fans in the game. You do well, there's no vulgarity. You know what? You don't wish them bad."


"The clubhouse afterward was like we'd just won the World Series -- a lot of celebrating, a lot of high emotions," Scott said.


"Everybody's giving high-fives, then all of a sudden [Longoria] homers," Scott said. "Everybody's in the clubhouse and it's like, Bam! And we're like, 'Go home Boston! Pack your bags. See you next year."


I guess a last place team does have some kind of emotion, even though I don't think Buck Showalter had the Orioles packing it in. Scott fired more shots at the Sox fans.

"I got to see a priceless thing driving back to my apartment," Scott said. "I see all the Boston fans walking around, and I mean they were crying crocodile tears. People were like this, walking side by side."


Scott wrapped his arm around a reporter's waist and began to wail to demonstrate.


"It was like someone shot their dog. I rolled down the window and I'm like, 'Ah, hah, sucks doesn't it, when someone laughs or makes fun of you when things aren't going your way.'" 


I can hear him saying that in a Boston accent. Scott isn't one of the best players in the game, but I'm sure he'll get showered with boos and more when the Rays visit Boston. It should make for interesting theater this season.

Matt Garza Has His 2008 AL Championship Ring Stolen

When someone gets a championship ring of any kind the person that has it normally guards it with his/her life. They're pretty hard to come by and they don't get handed out like Halloween candy.

Chicago Cubs pitcher Matt Garza is finding out just how valuable those rings are. Garza was victimized in a robbery in which his 2008 American League Championship ring was stolen.

Sheriff's detectives are investigating a burglary at the Fresno County home of Chicago Cubs pitcher Matt Garza, a theft that included his 2008 American League championship ring earned while playing with the Tampa Bay Rays.

The ring is valued at $30,000, the Sheriff's Office said. The burglary happened between the afternoon of Jan. 26 and late Tuesday morning. Garza's name is engraved inside the ring, which has several white diamonds and one yellow diamond.

Hopefully this story has a good ending. 

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/01/31/2704859/local-sports-briefs-30000-ring.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/01/31/2704859/local-sports-briefs-30000-ring.html#storylink=cpy

 

On The Sneak Tip

I'm not knowledgeable about drug smuggling but there are lots of different ways to do, so I've heard. Former Tampa Bay Rays prospect Cristian Vasquez Martinez went a different route when he tried to smuggle drugs into the United States.

Martinez was busted trying to smuggle six pounds of cocaine through JFK Airport via the Dominican Republic. When the authorities searched him, they found the cocaine stashed in four pairs of sneakers. I guess good old odor-eaters weren't good enough. He could've at least tried to convince customs that it was shoe powder.

Apparently martinez turned to the drug trade since the Rays terminated his contract last month. In guess he'll never get a shot at the Major League dream.