St. Petersburg, FL (Sports Network) – The Tampa Bay Rays have picked up their
2012 club options on right-handed pitchers James Shields and Kyle Farnsworth.

The Rays announced the move Monday, adding that they have declined the 2012
option for catcher Kelly Shoppach.

Shields, 29, went 16-12 with a 2.82 ERA in 33 starts last season and earned
his first All-Star selection. He set club records with 11 complete games and
four shutouts in his sixth MLB season — all with Tampa Bay.

The 35-year-old Farnsworth established career-bests with 25 saves and a 2.18
ERA in 63 relief appearances in 2011. The 13-year veteran has also spent time
with the Cubs, Yankees, Royals, Braves and Tigers.

Shoppach, 31, batted .176 with 11 home runs in 87 games for the Rays last
season, which included a team-high 71 starts as catcher. He has also played
with the Red Sox and Indians during his seven-year career.

The Sports Network

Updated Oct 31, 2011 7:10 PM ET

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP)

The Tampa Bay Rays have exercised their $7.5 million contract option for 2012 on pitcher James Shields.

The club also picked up a $3.3 million option for next season for reliever Kyle Farnsworth and declined a $3.2 million option on catcher Kelly Shoppach on Monday.

Shields went 16-12 with a 2.82 ERA and 225 strikeouts in 2011, leading the majors with 11 complete games, including four shutouts to help the Rays make the playoffs for the third time in four seasons. Farnsworth had a career-best 25 saves in his first season as a full-time closer.

Shoppach started 71 games and batted .176 with 11 homers and 22 RBIs.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays have exercised their $7.5 million contract option for 2012 on pitcher James Shields.

The club also picked up a $3.3 million option for next season for reliever Kyle Farnsworth and declined a $3.2 million option on catcher Kelly Shoppach on Monday.

Shields went 16-12 with a 2.82 ERA and 225 strikeouts in 2011, leading the majors with 11 complete games, including four shutouts to help the Rays make the playoffs for the third time in four seasons. Farnsworth had a career-best 25 saves in his first season as a full-time closer.

Shoppach started 71 games and batted .176 with 11 homers and 22 RBIs.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP)—The Tampa Bay Rays have exercised their $7.5
million contract option for 2012 on pitcher James Shields(notes).

The club also picked up a $3.3 million option for next season for reliever
Kyle Farnsworth(notes) and declined a $3.2 million option on catcher Kelly Shoppach(notes) on
Monday.

Shields went 16-12 with a 2.82 ERA and 225 strikeouts in 2011, leading the
majors with 11 complete games, including four shutouts to help the Rays make the
playoffs for the third time in four seasons. Farnsworth had a career-best 25
saves in his first season as a full-time closer.

Shoppach started 71 games and batted .176 with 11 homers and 22 RBIs.

It was quite the ride for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2011. After pulling off a historic comeback in the month of September to earn a wild card berth, the Rays fizzled out in the American League Divisional Series against the Texas Rangers. As there is every year in Tampa, there will be significant turnover on the roster this winter. But before we learn the fate of the Rays squad for 2012 and beyond, there’s the possibility of several individuals receiving hardware for the fine work they did defensively this season.

On Monday, it was announced that three Rays players had been nominated for Gold Gloves at their respective positions: Evan Longoria (3B), Casey Kotchman (1B) and Sam Fuld (LF). Were Longoria to get the nod, it would mark the third consecutive year that the 26-year old has taken home the Gold Glove award at 3B. Kotchman and Fuld have never won the award previously.

The Rawlings Gold Glove Awards will be broadcast live from Bristol, CT for the first time ever on Tuesday, November 1st. Here’s the announcement from ESPN, as well as a full list of players up for consideration:

ESPN2 will televise the first-ever Rawlings Gold Glove Awards Show – emanating from ESPN’s Baseball Tonight studio in Bristol – Tuesday, Nov. 1, at 10 p.m. ET. The one-hour telecast, hosted by Baseball Tonight’s Karl Ravech with analysts John Kruk and Barry Larkin (a three-time Gold Glove winner – 1994, 1995, 1996), will include the announcement of the 2011 Gold Glove Award winners and extensive highlights and analysis of the best defensive performers and plays during the MLB regular season.

There I was, in the middle of the hotel bar at the Baseball Winter Meetings, proposing the seemingly unimaginable: a woman throwing batting practice to a Major League team. Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon listened intently as I explained to him how it would help show girls and boys that baseball really is a game for all. He asked about my qualifications, then gave me his contact info and said he wanted to help.

And that’s when I joined the “cult” of Joe Maddon.

Joe Maddon lives an authentic life, one where he is true to himself regardless of the external pressures to conform. This authenticity translates into his successful work as a baseball manager. He is able to remain balanced in a sports world that often feeds on the frenzied state of wins and losses, salary wars and unsolicited opinions.

As the manager of the Rays, Joe has built a community. There is a sense of togetherness in the clubhouse, which makes for a unified team that can play well through both the highs and lows of a marathon-like season. To create a culture of fun, he surprises his players with different experiences: homemade hoagies, team letterman sweaters, wearing a Bucs helmet to a postgame press conference.

Beyond the fun, Joe Maddon also wins games. Many thought the Rays would be rebuilding during the 2011 season, but instead they made the playoffs — the third time in four years. The Rays led the league with a .988 team fielding average and were second in the American League in earned run average. With a team payroll of just $40 million, the 2011 Rays won without a roster of bought superstars.

Going into September, down by 8.5 games in the American League wild card chase, the Rays never gave up. Maddon’s balanced approach to managing kept his team loose but focused. The result was a month of peak performance in an atmosphere where every game meant something. The team finished the season with a five-game winning streak and clinched the wild card win in the 12th inning of the final game. The team never gave up; they kept believing. That belief is the result of Joe’s authentic leadership.

Joe’s tweets alone give a sense of his managerial style:

Sept. 7: “We want to be like the guys in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Relentless pursuers who prompted the line: Who are those guys?”

Sept. 11: “We’re kinda fun to watch right now. Our guys believe. They don’t need any speeches from me. I need to get out of the way and let them play.”

Sept. 15: “Now it’s about Friday. We have to think in those terms. It’s the only way we are going to do this. We need to stay in the present tense.”

Oct. 3: “Joel Peralta’s wife made some great Dominican food for the spread today. She’s a great cook.”

Oct. 4: “Had a postgame toast in the clubhouse. Told them I couldn’t be more proud. Back in April I toasted to the best 0-6 team ever. I was right.”

The day I pitched batting practice to the Rays, Joe Maddon and his team were amazing. Johnny Damon came over to introduce himself, and Sam Fuld stopped to tell me how great he thought my batting practice journey was. Joe spent half an hour with me and my daughter Jasmine making sure we felt welcomed. The whole team culture was supportive and inspiring.

The authenticity that Joe puts forth, and that his players model, is what drives the Rays and what made them one of the best and most exciting teams in baseball. The “cult” of Joe Maddon now has one more proud member.

On Aug. 31, the Red Sox were 83-52 and held a 9 game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays. During the month of September the Red Sox stumbled to a 7-20 record and ended up finishing the season 90-72, one game behind the Rays in the AL wild card race.

In many ways John Lackey(notes) became the poster boy for the Boston Red Sox historic September collapse. Lackey was never very good during the 2011 season, but he pitched his worst when the Sox needed him the most. In five September starts he posted a 0-2 record with a 9.13 ERA. He average less than five innings per start. This was not the type of production Boston hoped for when the signed Lackey to a five-year, $82.5 million dollar contract before the 2010 season.

On the surface, it appeared the 33 year-old right hander was struggling with a major deterioration of skill. The 2011 season was Lackey’s tenth season in the majors and its not uncommon for a pitcher of his age to see his skills diminish as he enters the final years of his career. Lackey’s ERA had been steadily increasing since he posted a career best 3.01 ERA in 2007 with the LA Angeles.

New Red Sox GM Ben Cherington announced on Oct. 25 that Lackey will require Tommy John surgery to repair his right elbow. The need for surgery may explain why Lackey pitched so poorly in 2011. When John Lackey returns to the field in 2013, will Tommy John surgery allow him to once again become the dominant starter that he was when he pitched for the Angeles? That’s the question many in Boston are asking today.

Before that question can be answered we need to understand what Tommy John surgery is and what type of injury requires a pitcher to undergo this procedure.

Throwing a baseball is a repetitive motion that places stress on the elbow. Over time this repetitious motion will lead to strain and tissue damage to the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL). Eventually the strain and trauma inflicted on the UCL can lead to the ligament tearing and thus Tommy John surgery is required to repair the elbow.

The procedure is named after Tommy John, a pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1970′s, who was the first person to undergo this procedure in 1974.

This procedure requires doctors to take a tendon from the patients forearm or hamstring and use that tendon to repair the damaged UCL. The surgeon must first drill a series of holes in the ulna and humerus bones of the arm. Then they graft the patients forearm or hamstring tendon into their elbow by weaving it through the drilled holes in a figure eight pattern.

In this day and age the procedure boasts a high success rate. About 83% of Tommy John surgeries go as planned. However, the road to recovery is a long and arduous one. Most patients require at least 12 months of strenuous rehab before they can return to the field.

Boston will have to wait until 2013 to find out if this procedure will allow Lackey to regain the form he showed with the LA Angeles.

There are several pitchers in the majors today who have had Tommy John surgery and were able to return to form after the procedure. Tim Hudson(notes) of the Atlanta Braves had the procedure in 2008 and has gone 35-20 since his successful surgery. Chris Carpenter of the St. Louis Cardinals had the surgery in 2007 and has posted a 44-22 record since his recovery. Stephen Strasburg(notes), the Washington Nationals young phenom, had the surgery in 2010 and was able to return by the end of 2011. In five starts he posted a 1-1 record with a 1.50 ERA and 24 strike outs in just 24 innings.

Red Sox fans will get a preview of how a pitcher can recover from Tommy John surgery when Daisuke Matsuzaka(notes) returns to the mound for the Sox, some time during the 2012 season. He had successful Tommy John surgery earlier this year.

If history is any indication then there is reason for Red Sox nation to be hopeful that Tommy John surgery will allow Lackey to reclaim some of the dominance he showed when he pitched for the LA Angeles.

Sean McDonnell lives in the Tampa Bay, FL area and is an avid baseball, football, golf, basketball and NASCAR fan.

Sources:

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=ApwwCLXtxN.DOk37h.u06BI5nYcB?slug=ap-redsox-lackeysurgery

http://aol.sportingnews.com/mlb/feed/2010-08/strasburg-injured/story/pitchers-who-have-had-tommy-john-surgery

http://health.howstuffworks.com/medicine/surgeries-procedures/surgery-change-baseball1.htm

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1840568,00.html

Additional articles from this author:

Is Theo Epstein the Best GM in Baseball; A Fan’s Opinion

B.J. Upton igniting the Rays’ offense: A fan’s take

Despite different expectations, Rays and Red Sox battle down to wire for wild card: A fan’s take

Tampa Bay Rays hope Red Sox peaked too soon: A fan’s take

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

Read More: Los Angeles Angels

It appears the Los Angeles Angels have a favorite in their search for general manager in Tampa Bay Rays executive vice president of baseball operations Andrew Freidman. However, the chances of Friedman landing in Anaheim are “slim,” according to Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times:

But Friedman’s loyalty to Tampa Bay owner Stuart Sternberg, who has referred to Friedman as “a partner,” appears to be the biggest obstacle to the Angels luring him to Anaheim.

Friedman met with Angels’ owner Arte Moreno and team president John Carpino in Tampa Bay last week, one of several candidates to interview with the Angels. DiGiovanna also reported that if the Angels were able to hire Freidman it would be as team president with one of the other candidates serving as GM.

This seems to be the hot trend this offseason, as the Chicago Cubs were able to lure Theo Epstein away from the Boston Red Sox by offering him (a) a boatload of money; and (b) a position of team president. Under Epstein, the Cubs are expected to also land GM Jed Hoyer and scouting director Jason McLeod from the San Diego Padres by Monday.

Why get one general manager when two will do? A passage from Jonah Keri’s book The Extra 2%, about Friedman’s Rays, addresses the issue of having a stable team of executives in place:

“We’re transitioning away from the GM as superhero,” said Vince Gennaro, author of Diamond Dollars: The Economics of Winning in Baseball. “Today you have to have an infrastructure in place if you want to successfully run an organization.”

DiGiovanna reported that the Angels hope to have a GM in place by next week.

For more on Angels baseball, head to Halos Heaven.

By Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer

In Print: Wednesday, October 26, 2011

---

ST. PETERSBURG — Dave Eiland liked working again for his hometown Rays as a scout and minor-league instructor. But what he really wanted was to be a major-league pitching coach again, and he got that opportunity with the Royals, agreeing to a two-year deal announced Tuesday.

“I’m very happy; it’s what I do,” Eiland said. “I wouldn’t have left Tampa Bay for any pitching coach job. It had to be the right fit, and Kansas City felt like a very good fit.”

Eiland, 45, grew up in Zephyrhills and pitched parts of 10 seasons in the majors, the last three with the Rays. He then went into coaching, working his way up to be the Yankees pitching coach in 2008-10. He spent last season as a special assistant with the Rays and would have returned if he hadn’t gotten a big-league job.

“In 25 years in the game, those were some of the smartest, brightest, sharpest baseball people I’ve been around,” Eiland said. “It’s really hard to leave.”

Also, director of baseball operations Dan Feinstein left the Rays to return to the A’s as director of professional scouting and baseball development. Feinstein, a native of Lafayette, Calif., worked for Oakland from 1994-2004. With the Rays, he assisted executive VP Andrew Friedman with contracts, arbitration, trades, rules and budgets.

[Last modified: Oct 25, 2011 07:59 PM]

Click here for reuse options!

Copyright 2011 St. Petersburg Times

You must enable javascript to view and add comments.

Read More: andrew friedman owns your soul, Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Angels

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are still in the midst of their search for a General Manager, and Rays vice president Andrew Friedman remains at the top of their list of candidates. However, according to a report from the Los Angeles Times, it remains most likely that Friedman will remain with the Tampa Bay Rays:

The Angels remain highly interested in Tampa Bay General Manager Andrew Friedman, but their chances of luring the 34-year-old executive away from the Rays are slim, according to people familiar with the team’s GM search who are not authorized to speak publicly on the topic.

The article goes on to state that Friedman’s loyalty to Rays owner Stuart Sternberg is the largest obstacle. Friedman and Sternberg both joined the Rays together back in 2005, switching over from Wall Street to baseball. The entire Rays’ front office seems to be a tight-knit bunch and Sternberg, Friedman, and Matt Silverman (the team president) are a night inseperable bunch. It’s also been rumored — although never confirmed — that Friedman owns a share in the Rays, so he has more invested in the team than most other GMs.

The Angels are willing to offer Friedman the role of President, much like Theo Epstein’s new role with the Cubs, and he would have considerably more financial flexibility than he currently has in Tampa Bay. But regardless, Friedman seems unlikely to switch allegiances at the moment. And if he’s not willing to take on this role, it seems highly unlikely that Friedman will be moving anywhere in the near future.