Deadspin: carlos pena

Evan Longoria's Not Making a Lot of Amigos at ESPNDeportes

DAULERIO — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 13:45:02 EDT

Nice catch by Shysterball, about a minor controversy from Evan Longoria's Eva Longoria-filled interview with Big League Stew's Dave Brown earlier this month. It stemmed from this question, where Brown pithily asked who on the team should not sport a Rayhawk:

Q: Who on this team should not have gotten a Mohawk, no matter how much a team guy he wanted to be?

EL: Well, he still doesn't have one. Carlos [Pena]. And I told him not to. He asked me multiple times if he should get one. I just don't think he'll look good with it. He's the clean-cut Latin guy on our team. I guess it's debatable if he's Latin or not. He is Dominican. I told him not to.

Q: Has he been in the United States "too long" to be considered Latino anymore?

EL: I don't even look at him as Dominican, and that's nothing against Dominicans, but he's been in the States for so long — he went to high school and college here — in the States. He's very well educated and it's tough for me to look at him and think he came from the Dominican.

So, not exactly a Joe Biden-like gaffe, but apparently it was enough of an unintentional slight to infuriate the Dominican population and result in an apology from Longoria which was run on ESPNDeportes:

"Pido excusas a todos los dominicanos de todo corazón. Me excuso con los latinos si los hice sentir mal" Longoria said, which loosely translated means " I wholeheartedly apologize to all Dominicans if I made them feel bad." That photo of Longoria and Carlos Pena ran in the accompanying story, just to show that there are no hard feelings between the two. But in order for the apology to carry more weight, shouldn't the photo show Longoria embracing a dirtier looking, less educated Latino? What about Willy Aybar?

Evan Longoria apologized before he even had to [Shysterball]

Do Not Mock The Power Of The Taco

Rick Chandler — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 12:30:21 EDT

In case you haven't noticed, we're into September and the Tampa Bay Rays are still in first place in the AL East. This is no longer a joke, people; they could actually win this thing. The Red Sox relegated to the wild card race? The Yankees, out of the playoffs entirely? How did this happen? The Rays are in first by five games over Boston, even though playing without left fielder Carl Crawford, third baseman Evan Longoria and closer Troy Percival. What the fungus? Well, the folks at The Zone Blitz have been doing some research, and they think they've uncovered Tampa Bay's secret (eat it, Elias Sports Bureau).

It appears Carlos Pena has signed the taco two years straight. Since signing the taco, Pena had hit 71 homers (as of Aug. 17, 2008). His previous six seasons before signing the taco, he had a combined 86 home runs. Coincidence? You be the judge. This has gotta be the catch phrase that sweeps the nation: "Sign my taco."

This is not a euphemism, by the way. Pena actually autographs tacos, as seen in these videos. If the Rays were smart, they'd make a key minor league move and purchase the contract of Henry the Puffy Taco, the mascot of the San Antonio Missions.

The Rays — who have never had a winning season in their history — have six games remaining with the Red Sox and six with the Yankees; beginning tonight at Tropicana in the first of a three-game set with New York. Rays fans need to put this thing in overdrive for the home stretch. Get out to Tropicana, and bring your signs extolling the great and powerful taco. It's up to you.

Carlos Pena, Please Sign My Taco [The Zone Blitz]

The Rays Are Still Leading This Thing In August? What?

Rick Chandler — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 11:23:19 EDT

Carlos Pena was only halfway through explaining his game-winning, three-run homer during an FSN interview on Wednesday when an unidentified teammate doused him with a bucket of Gatorade. Such is the mood in Tampa Bay, where players are giddy, and people are actually beginning to show up for games. Yeah, baseball games.

"Even though they were doing well, in June and July people had the feeling that it wasn't for real," said Tony Fabrizio of the Tampa Tribune. "But here they are playing well in August, and now people are starting to believe."

In Tampa — and all of Florida, really — baseball has always finished a distant fourth to football, wet t-shirt contests and clamming. That's why Rays attendance has generally stunk, despite the fact that the team has the best home record in baseball. A losing tradition has taken its toll; hell, up until now, a Rays' fan's idea of getting an autograph was to have a player sign his taco, and then eating it. But with Wednesday's big come-from-behind win over the Indians comes the realization that things have changed. The Rays actually drew a decent crowd — 27,533 for a 12:40 p.m. start — and did not disappoint, as Pena's blast capped a six-run, ninth-inning rally for a 10-7 win.

"I grew up here, and football has always been the 800-pound gorilla," Fabrizio said. "If this were happening in New York or St. Louis, every night would be a sellout. But there's been a bad history here with baseball. It's going to take longer."

Attendance is up 30 percent from last season, to 1.3 million. And it sounded like all of them were there on Wednesday for Pena's homer, a walkoff shot which followed Gabe Gross's 437-foot, two-run homer that tied it. Tampa is three games up on second-place Boston in the East, with the Yankees — who this morning were forced to sign Crash Davis — 6 1/2 games back in third.

So what has been the secret for the Rays? Fortunately, Pena is here to break it all down.

"I'm not even going to waste time trying to explain this," he said. "I'm just having a great time." (Cue bucket).

Incredible Comeback: Rays Topple Tribe [Tampa Tribune]
Rays 10, Indians 7 [NBCSports]