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The Process Versus James Shields & The Danks Theory
The core principle of the Danks Theory is to present the opposing pitcher with a lineup that encourages him to use his best weapon fewer times. Looking at James Shields—a right-handed pitcher—and his best weapon—a changeup—you may think he would be a prime candidate for such a strategy. But he wasn’t—at least not until now.
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The Process Versus James Shields’ Curveball Tendencies
When the Rays face off against James Shields tonight expect to see plenty of first-pitch curves.
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Rays Replacing James Shields’ Quantity, If Not Quality, Thus Far
At some point during the course of the offseason, the focus shifted from replacing the quality of James Shields’ innings to replacing the quantity. While both aspects helped make Shields into what he was, the latter became the go-to-topic. Through the first 15 games of the season Shields’ absence hasn’t made a difference. At least […]
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The “Big Game James Club’’ Lives On
A nice note from Jerry Crasnick’s piece on everyone’s favorite former Rays right-hander: How much did the Rays respect Shields? During their time in Tampa Bay, Shields and his wife, Ryane, started the “Big Game James Club’’ and invited foster children to games at Tropicana Field. Even though Shields is now in Kansas City, the Rays […]
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James Shields Returns (Sort Of) and Other Links
Here are three links while we wait on the Rays to make three 40-man roster moves: – James Shields stopped by the Trop today on truck day. Seeing Shields in a Royals hat, or writing about the Rays rotation without mentioning him remains a surreal experience, even as we near the two-month mark of the […]
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A Farewell to James Shields
In spring, 2008, Troy Percival wore a handcrafted spring training jersey bearing the message, “Kazmir Shields Garza/Glavine Avery Smoltz.” Referencing the Braves rotations of the 1990s is dangerous. Percival knew the risks of looking foolish. Sure enough, he messed up. Scott Kazmir—with a white-hot flash of brilliance—resembled Steve Avery, not Tom Glavine. That leaves James […]
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Rays Trade Shields, Davis To Royals for Myers, Odorizzi & More
The question this offseason has not been “will the Rays trade a starting pitcher?” It has been more like “who will it be? To what team? And when?” The answer(s): James Shields and Wade Davis to the Kansas City Royals on December 9th.
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Rays Exercise Options on James Shields & Jose Molina
The Rays made a few paper transactions on Tuesday: exercising James Shields and Jose Molina’s club options for the 2013 season. Retaining Shields’ rights is a no-brainer. Whether Shields pitches for the Rays in 2013 or not, other teams will find his cost certainty attractive in light of the league-wide cash windfall. In fact, Tampa […]
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The Present and Future of James Shields
James Shields was at his best for the Rays on Tuesday night, but will it be his last performance for Tampa Bay?