BJ Upton at bat

After making it to the World Series last year it has been hard for me to watch the playoffs this year. There's nothing like playing in October. Playing on baseball's biggest stage was the most amazing experience I've ever had on the field and I was very disappointed we didn't make it there this season. Not making the playoffs has motivated me that much more to re-dedicate myself and help the Rays make it back to the playoffs in 2010.
One thing I'm doing with my free time is helping give back to the communities that gave me so much. Over the weekend, I went to the Trop and spent time with kids from the St. Pete area. Next week I'm holding a golf tournament with my brother Justin in Virginia that benefits Friends of the Portsmouth Juvenile Court. I'm also hosting my second annual BJ Upton Golf Classic in Tampa that will help the homeless in the Tampa/St Pete area.
I can't wait to get back on the field and get 2010 underway, hope to see you at the ballpark!
- BJ Upton

Ross Ohlendorf from the Pirates checking in

Hey adidas World, this is Ross Ohlendorf of the Pittsburgh Pirates. We have an off day today, and I've been taking care of some errands in preparation for the end of the season. We flew back from Los Angeles last night and got back to the field around 1:30 this morning. It's great to have a job where you can fly around and see different parts of the country. Dodger Stadium was awesome. I had never played there before and was really impressed with the crowds. It reminded me of Yankee Stadium. The California weather is great too after a long summer.

We start our final home stand tomorrow and then finish the season on the road in Chicago and Cincinnati. Our team hasn't done as well as we would have liked this year, but we can still finish strong and give ourselves something to build on for next year. Hope to see all the Pittsburgh fans come out for these last few games, and I'm looking forward to getting ready for a winning season next year.
Thanks for the chance to check in with you all and for your support this season!

LaTroy Hawkins giving a shoutout

adidas world what's good in the universe?,
LaTroy Hawkins coming your way Blogging, nothing huge going on in LaTroy's world. I'm home 8/17 on an off day kicking it with the family before the kids go back to school.
I recently returned from a DL stint, now when you hear of a player going on the DL, the first thing that comes to your mind is hamstring, shoulder, elbow, groin, ankle etc., you can see where I'm going with this. I was on the 15 Day DL for none of the above. I had shingles (everyone is scratching their head, as I was when the team Dr. diagnosed me) what in the world is shingles? It’s a virus in your body that the chicken pox leaves behind. It lays dormant in everyone that has had chicken pox until it feels the need to resurface. When it decides to come out it usually attacks a nerve in your back. You have small back spasms initially then they get worse by the day. I stood up for 17 days in the bullpen without ever taking a seat.. LOL.. There isn't a prescription to take for it, you’re at the mercy of the virus (how Fun). Good news… is it didn't kill me. Though, I've been the butt a lot of jokes following my battle with shingles.
Well I'm out of here for now. Catch me next time...Go Stros!!!!!

LaTroy Hawkins

P.S.: Anytime You Have An Opportunity To Make A Difference And You Don't, You’re Wasting Your Time On Earth.

Special Guest Blogger: adidas' own DJ Charma

What's up everybody? This is DJ Charma - you might recognize my name from some recent adidas events. As part of the adidas family, I wanted to let you know about an event we're hosting on August 13th in Seattle.

I'll be spinning from 9:00 PM-2:00AM @ the SeeSound Lounge as we welcome adidas Athletes Joba Chamberlain & Dellin Betances of the New York Yankees to the Northwest.

Come check it out, there won't be a hotter party in town! The music will be tight, as always, and we'll be giving away baseballs and cleats signed by Joba all night long. Come show your support of the players and adidas and welcome the guys to the Emerald City!

Get event details and RSVP here:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/event.php?eid=124974716061&ref=ts

Jayson Werth saying hey...

Adidas world, what's up? Writing you today to tell you about my first all star experience in St. Louis this year. Due to Carlos Beltran being injured, my manager Charlie Manual had to replace Carlos on the roster. Although I didn't get voted by the fans or by the players, it was almost a greater honor to be selected by my manager. the guy who gets to see me play day in and day out. Who choose me over some pretty good players that were having some pretty good years. Much love and respect for Chuck Cuz, what an expierience it has been!I started out the day of the Homerun Derby by getting to the Busch home clubhouse at and meeting my new teamates for the next two days. Watching the homerun derby from the field was cool, the atmosphere is nothing like that of a real game, everyone is there to see a demonstration of power by the games most prolific hitters in it did not disappoint. I was rooting for my teamate Ryan howard, but was happy that atleast we kept it in the national league with Prince. Day 2, game day, kicked off with a parade to the field from the hotel down a very long red carpet. we got to meet the president (for me and my phillies teamates it was the second time meeting him this year), and after the national anthem a stealth bomber flew over head for the pre game fly by, SICK! The game was buisness as usual, Carl Crawford robbed a homerun that Brad Hawpe hit that seemed to change the game. After that the AL pushed across a run late to beat us. The AL winning streak continues. Hopefully I'll get to be apart of another all star game but I realize that could be a once in a lifetime opportunity. It was a blast!

Thanks for listening in, and dont forget to check out those phightin
Phillies down the stretch, we are hoping for big things again this fall.
JW out.

Justin's Update...

Hey Whats up adidas World. Just wanted to thank all of you that voted for me to make the 2009 All Star Game in St. Louis. I am very excited to get there and play with so many guys I grew up watching. To be part of the All Star Team with guys like Derek Jeter and Albert Pujols is unbelievable. I am also happy that I get to share the experience with my Diamondbacks and adidas teammate Danny Haren. Danny has been awesome this season so far and deserves to be in St. Louis as well. We haven't had the success so far that we expected but its a long season and I expect things to really pick up in the 2nd half, so don't give up on 2009 yet, I'm not.

Josh Bard checking in....

This season has been a battle, but I've learned a lot about myself. When things get tough, you really have only two choices - to quit or to be a professional and keep grinding. So I have chosen to be a professional and keep going. That's the kind of player I want to be and have to be. But more importantly, it's the kind person I want to be. The thing I keep reminding myself in this long season, is that we have 100 games left and it is how you finish that matters, not how you start.

Thanks for letting me share my thoughts with you and thanks to everyone for your support this season. Let's see where we end up!