Thank You, Evan Longoria

One of my biggest issues with watching professional athletes, especially baseball players, is their lack of hustle at times. These guys get paid to play the sport they love, you would think the least they could do is hustle, right? Well, for some players, they believe they are either too cool or do not need to hustle at all times. I was always taught to "run off the field and run on the field," yet BJ Upton deems it not necessary to run in the middle of an actual play.

If you missed the play of him traipsing after a ball in the outfield during yesterday's 2-1 loss against the Arizona Diamondbacks, here it is. The ball was hit into the left-center field gap, and instead of sprinting to the wall in an attempt to limit Gerardo Parra to a double, Upton "lollygagged" after the ball and casually tossed it into the cutoff man standing in shallow left field. (The preceding link is a hysterical scene from Bull Durham starring Tim Robbins and Kevin Costner that helps to explain the term "lollygagger.")

In the dugout between innings, Tampa Bay's young star Evan Longoria got in the face of Upton for not hustling after the ball. Longoria explained that Upton's decision not to fervently chase after the ball is a mere microcosm for how things have been going of late for the Rays: 

"It's a byproduct of a frustrated team. We're trying to win games and guys are going to have differences of opinion. I just wanted to know what was going through his head. The bottom line, we've talked about it and it goes no further than today." 

Longoria gets it, manager Joe Maddon gets it, and many of the other pissed off Tampa Bay Rays get it, too: you hustle and go 100% when on the field. For whatever reason, BJ Upton believes he is above that mentality.

I commend Evan Longoria for making a scene in the dugout for the rest of his team, Major League Baseball, and baseball fans around the country and world to see. Too many times ballplayers jog while running to first base, settle into their home run trot too early only to see the ball not clear the fence, and have a carefree attitude while going after a ball in the field. Thank you again, Evan Longoria, for instructing your teammate BJ Upton on how to play the game of baseball.

Fearless Prediction: Tim Hudson outduels Stephen Strasburg tonight in Atlanta.