B.J. Upton ~ CF [R]

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Also, B.J. Upton stood in against some live pitching on the minor-league side this morning, more to get used to tracking full-speed pitches than anything else. He said he only took a few swings and didn’t get a ball out of the infield.

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B.J. Upton continues to make progress in his comeback from offseason surgery to his left shoulder.

Sunday, the Rays center fielder walked over to the Minor League workouts to look at some live pitching.

Upton progresses to live pitching | raysbaseball.com: News

[love_that_reefer]

I expect big things from Upton this year. Lot more steals and homeruns.

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The Rays say X-rays were negative and the injury doesn't appear to be serious, but Upton will be examined further as a precaution on Sunday.

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CF B.J. Upton was headed for X-rays Saturday after being hit on the left hand by a pitch in a minor-league game in Port Charlotte

Upton told Dennis Maffezzoli of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune the pitch struck the bottom of his pinkie and he expected to be okay: "It should be all right. No problem.'' When hit by a pitcher from Boston's Triple-A team, Upton immediately let out a yell, dropped his bat and then threw his helmet to the ground as he headed to the Rays dugout.

Upton came out of the trainer's room after being attended to by Ron Porterfield and said, "You've got to be kidding.''

Upton has been feeling good enough in recovery from left shoulder surgery that he hoped to play in his first major-league exhibition by the middle of next week, so even with no serious injury this incident may delay that timetable, and make it even less likely he will be on the opening day roster.

Saturday was his third minor-league exhibition, and the first time he batted and played the field in the same game. He struck out swinging in his first at-bat.

[love_that_reefer]

Good news on Upton. He needs to get reps in so he can be ready for Opening Day. Glad his shoulder is feeling good so those power numbers will return.

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B.J. Upton got hit by a pitch on his left hand Saturday, but it appears the injury is not serious. He was determined to have a bone bruise and is listed as day-to-day.

Upton, who is working to come back from left shoulder surgery in December, was playing in a Minor League game when he took a pitch on his left hand. X-rays were taken and proved to be negative.

According to team spokesman Rick Vaughn, the injury does not appear to be serious, but as a precautionary measure, the Rays will continue to monitor the situation.

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B.J. Upton was hit by a pitch on his left hand Saturday and was later diagnosed with a bone bruise.
Upton is listed as day-to-day after X-rays came back negative, but the Rays will continue to monitor the situation as a precautionary measure.

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Manager Joe Maddon went along with that assessment and even a bit further, saying it it is all but official that Upton won't be ready for opening day. "I doubt that,'' Maddon said. "I would say no.'' With the Rays already being cautious and Upton now likely to miss at least a few days because of the bone bruise to his left hand, Maddon said: "It kinds of leads us to believe that he's not going to make that first road trip. I don't know what's going to happen after that."

And that makes it likely that the opening day centerfielder in Boston is likely to be ... Ben Zobrist.

The Rays hadn't been particularly optimistic that Upton would be ready for the April 6 opener anyway, and even though the bone bruise won't lead to "too much of a slowdown," the Rays are okay being without him.

"It's not a huge issue for me,'' Maddon said. "I want him to be healthy and well and ready and I want him to have the kind the year that he's capable of because he is healthy. I want to do nothing to jeopardize the latter part of the season by being a little bit too quick now. We're better off, I believe, to be prudent right now and do the right things. If he has to miss a couple days, so be it and we'll reap the benefits of that.''

Upton suggested before spring training he might not return until the April 13 home opener, though Maddon said that's "not necessarily" the target date.

"Believe me, I want no rushing with this; I want him to be right,'' Maddon said. "You saw what it was like last year when he was injured and played and then what it was like when we backed off and how good he had done in the playoffs. So you want to see that on a more consistent basis.''

Zobrist is starting in centerfield today, and Maddon acknowledged the Rays could look at carrying another infielder, such as Adam Kennedy, and using Zobrist as even the primary centerfielder until Upton returns.

Oh lord...

[love_that_reefer]

Zobrist over Matt Joyce? Damn!

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Zobrist over Matt Joyce? Damn!

Joyce is playing in an Triple-A game.
http://www.strike3forums.com/forums/...tml#post440511

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CF B.J. Upton said his left hand is feeling "a lot better," and is slated to play in the outfield today in a minor league game in Port Charlotte, where he'll also run the bases.

Upton was also planning to take batting practice today for the first time since getting hit with a pitch in a minor league game Saturday.

Manager Joe Maddon said the plan is for Upton to hit and play defense in a minor league exhibition Wednesday, and Upton could play on back to back days Saturday and Sunday. Maddon said Upton may or may not play in a big league exhibition before camp breaks, and, as of now, isn't likely to make the trip to Philadelphia for the final two exhibition games in early April.

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Looks like B.J. Upton's recent setback will be a minor blip on the radar.

Upton, who has been working hard all spring to come back from November shoulder surgery, got hit on the left hand during a Minor League game Saturday, which prompted x-rays and the whole drill to make sure he had not broken anything.

Fortunately for Upton and the Rays, the diagnosis was a bone bruise. Now he's feeling better and the Rays are scheduling him to play.

He was slated to play defense and run the bases during a Minor League game today in Port Charlotte. In addition, Upton also planned to swing the bat for the first time since Saturday -- but just batting practice.

According to manager Joe Maddon, Upton will hit and play defense in a Minor League exhibition Wednesday. Maddon couldn't answer the question of whether Upton will play in an exhibition game with the Rays before the Rays head to Philadelphia for their final two exhibition games of the spring. But Upton is not expected to be with the team in Philadelphia.

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According to the St. Petersburg Times, manager Joe Maddon "made it sound all but official" that B.J. Upton will begin the season on the disabled list.
In addition to coming back from shoulder surgery, Upton suffered a bone bruise Saturday when he was hit on the hand by a pitch. The newspaper reports that Ben Zobrist will likely be the Opening Day center fielder, with Upton hoping to make his debut on April 13. "It's looking more that way," Upton said. "Obviously I was pushing it, but I think they're definitely going to want to take it a lot slower now."

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"CF B.J. Upton went 0-for-4 and played four innings of defense in a Triple-A exhibition against Baltimore on Tuesday, and though he's still trying to get his timing down, he said his surgically repaired left shoulder and left hand (bone bruise) came through fine.

Upton, in his first game action since getting hit by a pitch Saturday, acknowledged he might not play in a big-league exhibition before camp breaks.

Manager Joe Maddon has said a main concern is building up Upton's endurance for a nine-inning game, and the Rays are treating him as if he just started spring training.

"As far as the stamina I was pretty good today,'' Upton said. ''I probably could have gone longer if they would have let me, but obviously they wouldn't. So hopefully we'll get to five or six innings (soon)."

Upton struck out three times and flied out to rightfield. He said when he swung and missed, "it felt pretty good, so we're moving forward."

He made one catch and fielded a grounder in center, both in the fourth. He also pinch ran, stealing second before getting caught in a rundown between second and third.

"If I can get in a (big-league exhibition) with them, that'd be cool," Upton said. "But if not, I'll just get my work in down here and when I come back, I should be ready.""

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B.J. Upton appears headed in the right direction with his rehab despite Saturday's setback when he got hit in the hand; Thursday he'll play in a Minor League game.

Meanwhile, Matt Joyce, who has missed much of the spring due to right-leg tendinitis, will make his first appearance of the spring in the outfield. Ironically, the start will come against the Tigers, Joyce's former team.

Finally, Akinori Iwamura is expected to be in camp Thursday and likely will see his first spring action with the Rays on Friday after playing the World Baseball Classic.

Rays Plays