Today, we start off with our two leftfielders (D-SPAN2 was considered a centerfielder for my purposes). Jason "the Dude" Kubel is typically the DH, while Delmon "_elm_n" Young has no D and no O.
(Kubel '09, '08, '07, '06; Young '09, '08, '07, '06)
I don't know how the Dude got his nickname. Could anyone fill me in? I don't know what's up with Del's 2008, it's clearly a photoshop, but I don't know of which year. And it's not like he was traded after '08 pictures were taken, or missed spring training.
Rightfield is now pretty much the exclusive domain of Michael "Cuddy" Cuddyer, the longest-tenured member of the team.
(Cuddyer '09, '08, '07, '06, '05, '04, '02; Cuddyer '98)
Cuddyer's been here so long, his pics don't even fit on one line.
------
The AL Champion Tampa Bay Rays have 25 or so players on the DL. Hopefully, it isn't because they caught Tuberculosis from their hats. I guess we should just be happy that the team isn't situated in Hidden Indian Valley or Central Jersey/Dayton.
Currently in their system is my all-time favorite player ever, former Twin Julio DePaula. He's not on their 40-man roster, but he is on their AAA affiliate, the Durham Bulls.
(DePaula '09AAA, '09, '08, '07)
Just so everyone knows, through Wednesday, he's got an 0-2 record in 15 relief appearances totalling 28 2/3 IP, and a 2.51 ERA. With the way Rays have been dropping like flies, I assume he may get the call before the year's out.
Two of the best Rays are former Twins, Matt Garza, and Jason "Bart" Bartlett.
(Garza '09, '08, '07, '06; Bartlett '09, '08, '07, '06)
I believe that one day Garza will pitch a no-hitter. Probably between starts in which he gives up like 8 runs. Preferrably not this weekend. Bart is currently on the DL.
Two Rays were born in December of 1977, which is close enough to the fall for me. Former Twin Grant "Bawfer" Balfour and fellow reliever Dan Wheeler.
(Balfour '09, '08, '07AAA, '07, '06, '04, '01; Wheeler '09, '08)
Last I checked, neither of these guys were on the DL.
Two more relievers for whom I have only two pictures: Chad "BS passed on picking me up from waivers last year" Bradford and Troy "Squinty" Percival.
(Bradford '09, '08; Percival '09, '08)
Both are on the DL right now. I think Percival may be retiring for the second time. But hey, he got a cool short comeback.
Pat Burrell came over as a free agent this past winter, and Scott "Victor Zambrano" Kazmir came from the Mets in some trade that no one noticed.
(Burrell '09, '08, '07, '06, '05; Kazmir '09, '08, '07, '06, '05, '00HS)
Both are currently on the DL...Wait! No, I was right, both are on the DL. For a second there I thought I was just assuming that Kazmir was on the DL.
I assume that Akinori "A-Iw" Iwamura and Dionner "Dinner" Navarro were both on WBC rosters this spring, because neither got a now mugshot for the year.
(Iwamura '09, '08, '07; Navarro '09, '08, '07, '06)
Iwamura is on the 60-day DL, and Dinner is not.
Not a single one of these players are currently on the DL: Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, and Ben Zobrist.
(Crawfore '09, '08, '07, '06; Pena '09, '08, '07; Zobrist '09, '08, '07)
MLB.com does not recognize special characters like tildes, umlauts, and accents. I believe that we all will appreciate that decision once Iceland, Norway, and Germany start producing 5% of major-leaguers each. I think Pena wears a tilde on his jersey, but I don't feel like confirming that.
Finally, centerfielder Melvin "Bossman Junior" Upton.
(Upton '09, '08, '07, '06)
Yes, that is what "BJ" really stands for. He is not currently on the DL.
Does the Dude have a little muscular problem on the left side of his face? We need to have a WGOM screening of The Big Lebowski. I've seen it once.
Only once!?! I've seen it enough times I can give you a practically verbatim rendition.
i can help you on that one.
Is it just me, or do those '09 and '07 Dude pics look suspiciously similar to one another?
Kazmir's HS photo is sweet. Looks like it was taken with a pinhole camera...from a moving car.
Heh. And developed at a Wallgreens one-hour photo.
I guess Dan Wheeler wasn't happy that his beard hadn't totally come in yet in '08?
GW had a player named T.J. Thompson. After he graduated, I finally found up that his real name was Ernest Thompson, Jr. and that T.J. was short for "Thompson Junior".
re: The Dude. Apparently credit goes to citizen Kevin G, from 2007 Game 12:
Wow. Talk about catching lightning in a bottle. It was just a random act of genius, apparently unconnected in any obvious way to facts on the ground about Kubel.
from the same game log:
Two things. One, yes, that's Delmonstrosity that the Boss is bagging on there. Too bad B.S. wasn't listening. And two, could Casilla had a better role model than LNP?
I think he was, albeit a bit selectively:
Tagged! What more proof could you want.
Harris and Young. There you go.