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Zaun to the Rays

Miller192

By Miller192
in Orioles Talk

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Saintbird All-Star

Saintbird

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Gregg Zaun had been scrambling earlier today to retrieve his cell phone, which he left in a cab in Toronto. If only he knew about the call that was coming.

"I was totally shocked," he said, after Andy MacPhail, president of baseball operations, informed him of the deal that sent him to Tampa Bay via a waiver claim.

"It's been straight panic since I got the phone calls. I'm running around. My wife's here with a car. I'm heading to the airport right now.

"I didn't expect to get traded. I figured once the deadline came and went, I was going to be with the Orioles, which was fine for me because I was enjoying my job, what we signed up to do, which was play a couple times a week and be there for Wiety (Matt Wieters) when he had questions, and hopefully try to show him the way a little bit. But I'm going to Tampa, and I have a home there, so it'll be easier for me to move right back into my house and play for a contender."

Zaun is joining a team that sits in third place in the AL East, six games behind New York and 2 ½ behind Boston.

"It's definitely going to be a shot of tonic, that's for sure," he said. "I'm just excited that I'm going to be on a team that's playing meaningful games in August and September. And it makes it even better that I get to go live in my house."

Zaun expressed his appreciation to MacPhail for the opportunity given to him, and for "how much class he showed in handling the situation." He also thanked the fans for their support.

http://www.masnsports.com/index_blog_roch.html

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sector7g Major Leaguer Cup of Coffee

sector7g

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Maybe the Rays were feeling desperate for a catcher (they should have been) and perhaps we got some value out of this. You never know.. I withhold my judgement.

Well.....Zaun might just be the best catcher that could clear waivers and Tampa's catching situation is terrible.

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blueberryale77 Hangout Veteran Council

blueberryale77

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This is a shocker and you do have to wonder about some kind of behind the scenes issue. With Mora's tantrum and Guthrie's uncharacteristic refusal to talk to the media both coming this week, and ongoing rumors and speculation about what's going on in the clubhouse with some other players, I'm getting the sense that it's at least as bad in there as it was in late 2005 after Raffygate. I would have thought Zaun would be more of a calming influence amidst all that, but who knows? Maybe all the players are basically ready to mutiny and he was the strongest personality and easiest to remove among the veterans?

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Mashed Potatoes Major Leaguer Rising Star

Mashed Potatoes

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I should hope it wasn't for nothing. He filled a real need. For the first time since Lenny Webster, the O's had a decent backup.

Tangent time! In 1997 I went to Atlanta with my family to see the O's play the Braves, it was our first ever interleague series and at the time we were the two best teams in baseball. The local papers in Atlanta were wildly arrogant leading into the series, talking about how the Braves would crush the team from the inferior AL.

In the final game of the series Lenny Webster hit a 2 run bomb that led to our 5-3 victory and 3 game sweep of the Braves. The O's were pretty well represented in the stands and all of the fans in orange mocked the crowd by imitating their racist Atlanta Chop, using the same tune except we put our arms up in an O shape and chanted "OooooOooOooOoO..."

Awesome experience, God Bless you Lenny Webster!

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