Larry Brown Sports

Nobody wants to be remembered for being on the wrong side of a record. No player wants to have his name in the history books for being the guy who allowed an opponent to reach a milestone. Except maybe David Price.  There’s a fine line between being a good sport and looking like a mush, and Price may have crossed it in order to do Derek Jeter and memorabilia collectors a favor.

On Thursday, Steiner Sports announced that Price has agreed to autograph memorabilia in honor of his giving up Jeter’s 3,000 career hit, which as you know was a homer.  If you don’t consider Price a sellout for signing stuff, consider the fact that he has also agreed to include the inscription, “I Gave Up DJ’s 3K.”  Perhaps I’m a hater, but that seems like a little much.  If Price is doing it for the money, he probably should have taken a page out of Christian Lopez’s book and let the money come to him in other ways.  I doubt that he is.

You could certainly argue that Price is just being a sport and respecting one of the game’s all-time greats, but I doubt anyone would have blamed him for having some pride and declining the “I Gave Up DJ’s 3K” part of it.  Autographs are one thing — making sure no one will ever forget that you’re the guy who gave up the most important bomb in Derek Jeter’s career is another.

Last month we told you that the Rays were planning to replace Manny Ramirez’s bobblehead day with a Super Sam Fuld cape giveaway. Fuld is in his first season with the Rays since being traded from Cubs in the Matt Garza deal. He started off the season scorching hot, batting .396 over the first 16 games of the year. His hot start plus his superb defense in the outfield earned him cult-hero status amongst Rays fans. A twitter hashtag called “legend of Sam Fuld” was born where folks shared stories about Fuld’s accomplishments. The Rays recognized how popular he was and acted swiftly by creating the giveaway.

Though Fuld’s bat has quieted down, the giveaway was no less fun on Sunday. Check out Johnny Damon and David Price both wearing the cape on Sunday prior to the game:

Damon wore the cape as he presented the lineup while Price sported his during warmups. Sam Gardner says many of the players also wore the cape on Friday during warmups. The cool thing about the cape is that it appealed to folks of all ages. Check out the pics:

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When thieves robbed the home that David Price, Evan Longoria, and Reid Brignac rent on Saturday, they made off with just about everything you would expect. We have no idea how much evidence was left behind or if police will catch the men who broke into their Bradenton home, but from the look of it the process was well-planned.

According to the St. Petersburg Times, the house was broken into in the middle of the day when all three men were at a game next door at Charlotte Sports Park.  One would have to assume the culprits knew exactly whose home they were robbing, or they probably would not have attempted it in broad daylight.  As of now, they must be satisfied with the results.

The thieves made off with a 60-inch flat screen TV, three iPads, two Xbox systems, headphones, a laptop, and several expensive watches.  Price told reporters that his estimated loss alone was around $50,000.  Police are exploring the idea that the crime was committed by some people who stopped at the house earlier in the week to ask if it would be available to rent soon.

“The good thing was that nobody was there and nobody got hurt and everything is material that we can replace,” Brig­nac said. “It’s very unfortunate that people would stoop that low. That’s what we get for being trusting, kind people. These random people came up and we could have been like, ‘No, y’all get out of here.’ “

With baseball at the All-Star break, we assembled the staff here at LBS to select our mid-season baseball awards. Up first, the AL Awards. Tomorrow, the NL Awards.

Alan Hull says Miguel Cabrera, 1B, Tigers: While Robinson Cano, Justin Morneau and Josh Hamilton are all in the mix, the MVP Award should probably be called the Triple Crown Category Leader on a Winning Team Award. Cabrera isn’t very good defensively, doesn’t play a difficult position, but with Albert Pujols having a down year, he has sneaked into the conversation for the best hitter in baseball. I could see Cano winding up winning it in the end.

Steve DelVecchio says Robinson Cano, 2B, Yankees: Cano has been the best hitter on the best team in the majors, and on top of that he’s only made one fielding error so he has second base locked down defensively. With a line of 16 HR 67 RBI and a .337, he doesn’t necessarily have the best stats in the AL, but you have to give weight to the Yankees position and also what he’s done on defense.

Larry Brown says Miguel Cabrera: From the beginning of the season all the way to the All-Star break, Miggy has been the most consistent hitter in baseball. He sobered up in the offseason and that seems to have taken his already ridiculous offensive game to an Albert Pujols-level. He’s heading for his best season ever.

Jake Walker says Miguel Cabrera: He’s leading the AL in batting average, RBIs, and he’s second in home runs. He has a legitimate shot at winning the Triple Crown in the AL. How can you not say he’s MVP? In another year Cano might get it, but not with the year Cabrera’s having.

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David Price is such a baller that I made the case for him as ESPN The Magazine’s “NEXT” athlete over Matt Ryan, Joey Logano, and Ricky Rubio. Hard to go from calling him the next greatest pitcher in baseball to seeing the Rays option him down to Triple-A to start off the season. So if this guy already proved he’s the goods by nutting up huge in October, and if the Rays are serious about repeating as AL East champs, then why would they send potentially their best pitcher down to the minors to start the year? The Rays argue that they want to see Price develop more command of his fastball and better pitch efficiency. Whatever that means. I’ll tell you what they really mean.

The Rays are doing something the Yankees never would have the discipline to do — they’re taking it slowly with a player. For the Rays, most of the decision has to do with the economics of the game. Sure, in there eyes it probably can’t hurt Price to work on a few more things at a lower level but I imagine they all know he’s ready for the big time. The bottom line is that Tampa is trying to build a team that can achieve long-term success, not just be a one year wonder. And you don’t achieve long-term success by bringing guys up earlier than you should nor by starting their league service time clock earlier than needed (because it brings players that much closer to free agency). Lastly, and this is probably the part most people don’t realize, the Rays are handcuffed by Jeff Niemann and that’s why Price is suffering. Niemann was the team’s first-round pick, 4th overall in ’04. Since the 6’9″ right-hander is out of options, they have to give him a crack at the final spot in the rotation before they just let him go. Niemman’s a guy who went 17-0 his second year at Rice. They know he could be a gem. They’re not just going to let him walk for nothing, so might as well see what he can do because they could end up with some excellent trade bait that will only make the team stronger in the long run.

In the meantime, poor David Price, though he seems as ready as a pitcher can be, must grit through another April in Durham. He’ll be up with the club in no time and hopefully it won’t be too late for Tampa by then. Think long-term, Rays fans (however few you may be), and have faith in your team’s front office.

Each year ESPN The Mag runs a “NEXT” edition in which they try to select four major athletes who will be the next superstars. They usually select young athletes who are early in their careers thus leaving the future to chance. Some of the athletes they got right include Kobe, LeBron, and Randy Moss. The bad calls? How bout the likes of Kordell Stewart, Keith Van Horn, and Kaz Matsui. No doubt that prognostication and fortune telling is a matter of difficult conjecture leaving much up to chance. That being said, I had no hesitation in giving my opinion of who’s NEXT for ESPN the Mag. The four candidates this year are Matt Ryan, Joey Logano, David Price, and Ricky Rubio. Aside from Rubio, I’ve had lots to say on each particular athlete. Some things were positive, other commentaries, not so much. Anyway, I got to defend one of the athletes for ESPN the Mag and make the case that he was NEXT. You can probably guess who it is and hopefully my argument was strong enough to have him bring home the honor. Check it out at ESPN the Mag.