A Look at the Young for Garza Trade

If the old adage is true that pitching wins championships, the Rays moved in the right direction on Wednesday. The Rays added a very talented pitcher in Matt Garza, who has the potential to be a good number 2 starter in this league, a good stop gap shortstop in Jason Bartlett, and maybe their future closer in Eduardo Morlan. It is always difficult to have to part with a player that has the potential that Delmon Young has, but the opportunity to upgrade the team in three different areas was too much to pass up.

Read the Rest at The Stat Pack!!!

Boras

I am now a contributing writer on The Stat Pack. My first article is a piece on Scott Boras and if he has lost his effect with teams. The Stat Pack focuses more on baseball, but still has articles from all walks of sports. The writers over there are quality writers and have some great insight and connections to great interviews. My Articles at The Stat Pack will be different from the ones here and have different content. I will have an interview from the Pittsburgh Pirates 1B/OF Steven Pearce over there very soon. Be sure to go check it out!!

Closer Found?

Towards the end of last season the Rays finally cut their ties with Jorge Cantu and shipped him to Cincinnati and in return the Rays received Calvin Medlock and Brian Shackelford. The Rays were just trying to get something for Cantu, but they may have got their future closer in the deal.

Medlock has had good numbers since being drafted by the Reds. He has a career 3.24 ERA and 1.15 WHIP. What is most impressive has been his ability to adapt and get better as he goes through the minors. Medlock seems to struggle when he is first moved up in the minors, but later adjusts and puts up good numbers. He was having a tough season last year when the Rays traded for him, he had a 5.63 ERA for AAA Louisville in 16 innings. After the trade though, Medlock pitched 15.2 innings and had an ERA of 3.45. Maybe he adjusted or maybe pitching coach Xavier Hernandez helped him work through whatever his struggles are. Whatever it was that was fixed has only made him better.

The Rays sent Medlock to the Arizona Fall League to gain experience this off season. If what he did there is any indication of what he can for the Rays, than they robbed the Reds in the that trade. Medlock gave up 3 earned runs in his first 4 innings in Arizona, but fixed that and did not give up an earned run in the last 12.2 innings he was there. With the Fall League rapping up Medlock will most likely finish with a 1.62 ERA and 9.5 K/BB ratio. While in Arizona batters had an average of .127 against him and he had a .56 WHIP.

Medlock has all the makings of closer. He does not walk many, gives up few hits, and has the pitches to get the strikeouts when necessary. The Rays are in need of help in the bullpen, but they may not have to go out and get too much help. He is not ready to close just yet, but he will only get better as he gains major league experience. The Rays need to give him a real shot in Spring Training to see what he can do.

Will Rays Pursue Izturis?

Rotoworld is reporting that the Pirates have declined their 5.45 million option on Cesar Izturis today. With have Jack Wilson and his big salary on the team, plus Freddy Sanchez in the mix there was no need to spend that much money on a utility infielder. With the Rays need for a defensive shortstop will they pursue Izturis?

The members over at DRaysBay came up with a wish list of players they wanted to see on the Rays and Izturis was a name that popped up. Izturis was a gold glove shortstop in 2004 for the Dodgers, which was the last time he played a full season, and made the all-star team the next season. He was traded to the Cubs in 2006 for Greg Maddux and recently traded to the Pirates. Since he left the Dodgers he has not really been a full-time shortstop, but he is still young and has the potential to be a gold glove shortstop again.

Izturis is not much of a threat with the bat. He has a lifetime average of .259 and an on base percentage of .295, but the Rays do not need him for his bat. Izturis is very good defensively and has a lifetime fielding percentage of .979. Izturis has great range and does not make very many errors. The Rays need a veteran defensive shortstop to come in and be the stop gap at the position until Reid Brignac is ready to take over. The Rays defense was horrible last season and adding Izturis would help that immensely. Izturis is not worth what he was getting paid and many teams will want him to be a utility player for them and not the full time shortstop. The Rays may be the only team that can offer him a starting and full time spot, which may allow them to sign him for a lesser price.

Rays Moves

The Rays made a couple of roster moves today. They have exercised their option on closer Al Reyes and declined the option on 1B/DH Greg Norton. The Rays also reinstated outfielder Rocco Baldelli, shortstop Ben Zobrist, and catcher Sean Riggans. The Rays had until Thursday to pick up or decline the options on Reyes and Norton, but wasted no time.

Reyes was a fantastic gamble by the Rays during the off season last year and keeping him was an obvious choice. Reyes will still be the Rays closer at the moment, but they may make some moves in the off season, which would move him to the set up role he excelled in when he was with St. Louis. Reyes did struggle at the end of the season after being lights out in the first half, which could be a concern for the Rays, but those struggles could be due to not getting consistent pitching time, his injury, or because he had missed the previous year with an injury. Whatever the struggles were from, picking up his option was a no brainer.

Releasing Norton cam as no surprise either. The team is full of young talent that can play the DH position and Norton was not playing well when he did get a chance. The best thing he did as a Ray was get hurt in last Spring training, which allowed Carlos Pena to have the first base job. Thank You Norty.

The other moves were just to put guys back on the roster. Zobrist could be cut and let go in my opinion. he was terrible with the bat and is not a great defensive shortstop. Baldelli says he is healthy and the Rays will hope that is true once again. With the Rays releasing Josh Paul earlier, Sean Riggans becomes the back up catcher for the Rays.

Crawford to the Cubs?

ESPN 1000 in Chicago is reporting that the Rays and Cubs are are talking and maybe close to a deal that would send Carl Crawford to the Cubs for Rich Hill/Carlos Marmol/Ronny Cedeno. It was floated out earlier today and the guys over at DRaysBay picked it up and speculated that this could be the deal and ESPN 1000 has just confirmed the names.

The bad press has already started over this on local radio. Many fans are going to be upset if the Rays let go of Crawford, but they are not getting "no names" in return that many think they are. Rich Hill is a young starter who has tremendous upside, would be a great addition to the rotation, and the Rays would have control of him for a while at a the minimum. Carlos Marmol is a great you closer who could come in and immediately be the guy the Rays can go to and shut the door at the end of the games. Adding Marmol would allow the Rays to move Reyes to the 8th and be the set up guy like he was in St. Louis for a while. Cedeno is the least talented player, but he is still a very good defensive short stop that can come in and improve the Rays infield defense and hold down the fort until Reid Brignac can get up.

No one wants to see Crawford leave the Rays, but this trade would bring the Rays viable players in return that can help them win. All 3 players address needs that the Rays have, including the 2 major ones in another good starter and bullpen help. You would like to see maybe one more player added into the deal since Crawford is so talented, but they would be getting value.

EDIT - From what I have heard the Rays are not going to do this deal, but it was offered to the Rays. While I think the Rays could get more for Crawford, it was not a bad offer and could have helped the Rays in the long run.

This Offseason Very Important for Rays

The Rays have finally unveiled all of their new changes with the uniforms and name change. The Rays front office is hoping to not only change the design of the uniforms, but also the design of the team and the Rays fan base. With all the hype surrounding the new team and the Rays front office wanting a new stadium, this is the most important off season for the Rays franchise.

The Rays showed great offensive promise all of the 2007 campaign and the pitching seemed to get better as the year went on. The Rays had fans excited at the end of the year and it showed at the unveiling of the new uniforms and team name. They had 7,000 people show up in the middle of football season at a park in St. Petersburg to watch a fashion show of Rays players. A couple years ago they may have gotten 700 for something like that.

With all of the changes it has come out in the newspapers that the Rays front office wants to build a new stadium where Al Lang field is now located. The Rays confirmed the report a couple nights ago that they are looking at a $450 million dollar ball park, but will only need about $60 million from the city to have it built. In order for the Rays to get the 60 million needed they will need the voters to turn out and vote for a tax raise to get the stadium built. The Rays stated in the paper today that they want the referendum voted on in November 2008. If the Rays want people to come out and vote, they need to give the fans a reason to be excited and want to vote for the stadium to be built.

For the Rays to get the fans to come out and vote they will need to get people excited and have a reason to want to get a new ball park built. This is the reason that this off season is so important for the Rays. Right now they have the momentum and excitement of the fan base, but if they do not address certain areas of the team and go into next season with the same basic team and do not spend money there will be problems. While fans really need to act like this is only the third year of the franchise they have lumped this organization in with the last and are tired of seeing losing baseball. Fans in the bay are long for a team that is .500 and at least a little competitive. If the Rays organization can make some moves and get this team to .500 by the end of next season I can guarantee that fans will come out and vote yeas for a new stadium. If they do nothing and the team continues the way it has the fans will just believe that it is the same old thing and leave the vote alone.

The Rays know what spots on this team they need to address for the team to be competitive; the bullpen and the starting rotation. There are some key free agents that are available to the Rays that can help both if these areas. The Rays can also address the areas in trade and have some offers out there. Whatever the Rays do they need to make sure they show the fans they are committed and if they do the fans will return the favor come November 2008.

No Untouchables

Rays General Manager Andrew Friedman told the media earlier this week that none of the players on the Rays roster were untouchable. He went on to say that they will listen to offers for any of their players, including Scott Kazmir, Carl Crawford, BJ Upton, Delmon Young, and Evan Longoria. Friedman did not say that they were on the block, but said that they would listen to offers for any of their players.

Many Rays fans heard this news and figured what else is new and complained again about the management and the way the team is run. They have heard the rumors of Crawford to the Chicago Cubs, Rocco Baldelli to Minnesota, and Scott Kazmir to many different places and assume they are going to happen after Friedman's statement. Rays fans need to take a step back and read what was actually said by the Rays and look at where some of the rumors are coming from before they get all up in arms about the management.

The Rays have never said that they are looking to trade any of their players, all they said was that they would listen to offers. If the Padres were to offer Jake Peavy, Chris Young, and Heath Bell for say Delmon Young and some one else should the Rays just say no because Young is untouchable? The Rays know what they need to make this team better and have shown that they are going to build with their young players, but will need others. To make players off limits just because they are good would hamstring the team from making deals. Even if they have a high price they can listen and it opens up dialog with other teams throughout the off season. The Rays said that no one is untouchable, but they never said that they are willing to trade their best players for nothing in return or for prospects. Rays fans are a bit skeptical and have a right to be with how this team has been run in the past, but they must remember this is a new group and they are trying to move on.

With all of that being said, I do disagree with the way this all came about. It is one thing for a GM to tell other GM's in the meetings or privately that they are willing to listen to offers for anyone, but another to address the media about it. Players need their egos stroked from time to time and the last thing you would think they want to hear is that they are replaceable. Now that is not what was said, but just like fans they will read it anyway they want. We have already heard Kazmir voice his concern that he won't sign a long term deal until they get veteran help in here, and Crawford has also had similar complaints. If these guys do not feel like they are being listened to they may feel shunned by the organization and make it harder to deal with them or want out. Sometimes you have to let information known, but I think this was a case that could have been handled a little better.

Rays Offseason Update

The Rays have a lot of young players using the off season to gain experience in the Arizona Fall League, Team USA, and other international leagues. Some of the youngsters are playing well and could be in the big club starting next year, but others have not looked as good and may need more seasoning.

The Arizona Fall league, which is the premier off season league for minor leaguers, players include Reid Brignac, Justin Ruggiano, John Jaso, Chris Nowak, Calvin Medlock, Evan Meek, and Nick Debarr. Evan Longoria was playing in the AFL, but has left to play for team USA with the other top prospects. Elijah Dukes is playing in the Dominican league, while Brian Stokes is playing in the Mexican League.

Evan Longoria - 16 Games
Longoria is hitting .310 with 4 home runs and 9 RBI's
in the 16 games between the AFL and Team USA. Longoria struggled in the first couple games, but busted out and continued where he left off in Durham. He has looked great ever since being drafted and count on him taking the starting third base job during spring training with Akinori Iwamura moving over to second base. Longoria has not only been solid at the plate, but also in the field. Rays fans should be excited by this guy and when you combine him with the other young players, the Rays should be contending soon.

Reid Brignac - 15 Games
Many people hoped and thought that Brignac would be the Rays starting shortstop in the 2008 season, but he did not play well in AA this year and is struggling in the AFL. In his 15 games, Brignac is only hitting .177 with 1 home run and 3 RBI. He is also still struggling in the field and Rays fans should not be surprised to see him in the minors for all of 2008 and compete for the shortstop position in 2009.

Justin Ruggiano - 4 Games
He had a great season in Durham and was promoted late in the year to the big club to get a small look. He has struggled in his first four games batting .154 with no home runs. It is early and Ruggiano should pick it up. He is a great player and could be a nice bench outfielder for the Rays or great trade bait.

John Jaso - 5 Games
Jaso had a great season in Montgomery and has continued it in the AFL. Thus far he is batting .333 with 1 HR and 3 RBI in only 5 games. He has a great arm, but has struggled a bit with his defense. He stayed in AA all year, but expect him to go to AAA next year and maybe get a late season all up.

Chris Nowak - 8 Games
* EDITED TO INCLUDE RAYSRULE'S UPDATE -- It was Chris Nowak that replaced Longoria in the AFL, and he played for Montogomery, not Columbus, and he did not show a lot of power, he only slugged .440 with 7 home runs. He hasn't hit any home runs in the AFL either, and he's only slugging .240 there. His best attribute is his plate discipline, he had a .396 OBP in AA this year, and .397 the year before.

Calvin Medlock - 11.2 IP
The Rays acquired Medlock in the Jorge Cantu trade with the Reds. He has done well since coming to the Rays and is having a great AFL so far. He has a 2.31 ERA, .69 WHIP, and has a 1/7 walk to strikeout ratio. Medlock is a candidate to make it to the big club and help sure up the bullpen that had been so terrible last season. Medlock was a big pick up for the Rays and if his stats in the AFL are any indication, he will be a big help.

Evan Meek - 5.2 IP
Meek has played decent thus far and has only a 1.59 ERA and 1.06 WHIP. He does a 4/5 walk to strike out ratio, which isn't great, but is not bad.

Nick DeBarr - 7.1
Another one of the Rays young pitchers playing well. He has a 3.68 ERA and a .68 WHIP. DeBarr also has a 0:3 walk to strike out ratio.

Elijah Dukes - 6 Games
Dukes is tearing the Dominican up, just like you would expect. He has an OPS of 1.206 and is hitting .353. Talent has never been his problem though, but the good thing is he has not gotten in any trouble. The best thing for the Rays is that he plays great and they can trade him for something. Elijah could use a change of scenery from Tampa and his best way to do that is to play well now.

Brian Stokes - 13.1 IP
Stokes has continued where he left off this season; blowing games. He has an ERA of 6.08 and a WHIP of 1.88. The Rays just need to cut this guy.

No More Free Parking for Rays Games

The Devil Rays announced today that free parking will only extend to people that have four or more people in a car. Stu Sternberg decided to give fans another season of free parking last year, but ended it this season. The price to park will be $10 per car, as it was before the free parking, unless you have 4 or more people in the car, and than it will be free.

The Rays also cut the price of outfield tickets by a dollar, but raised the price of upper deck tickets, but upper deck tickets were raised by a dollar. These are minor changes for the Rays and it is good to see that the Rays have not increased the prices of tickets after another disappointing season.

The one difference in the Rays pricing that is a bit odd is a new $2 service fee charged to fans if they buy their tickets 5 hours or less before the first pitch of the game. I think this will have a bigger effect than raising prices and that's what the organization was thinking. Most people that go to baseball games go a little bit before the game and buy tickets. Many fans decide a couple hours before the game that they want to go to the game. Unlike football, baseball has 81 home games and most fans do not have season tickets, nor do they plan ahead if they want to go to games, unless they want to see a visiting team. While most will just pay it and not even know the difference, it will give the organization money that they had not had before. I think this will give them more money than had they raised every ticket price a dollar.

I do hope that since the parking is not free anymore, they will lower the concession prices back down. The beer prices were raised by a dollar after the free parking, and the cup size also went down. $10 per car is a lot of money, so hopefully they can take some of the concession prices down a bit.

Dave Martinez Named Rays Bench Coach

The Rays have just announced that former major leaguer Dave Martinez is the new bench coach. Martinez was played outfield for 17 seasons and was one of the original Devil Rays.

Martinez served as an instructor for the Rays during Spring Training the last two seasons. He was also a base coach for the Rays during the past season while George Hendrick was out for 3 weeks. Martinez has a lot to offer the young team and has a good rapport with the players, but the move is a bit surprising.

Martinez had been rumored as a candidate to join the coaching staff, but many, myself included, thought that he would take over a base coaching job and either Foley or Hendrick would move to bench coach. Other than the three week period he filled in for Hendrick last season, he has never been a coach at the major league level. The bench coaching position usually goes to a guy who has been around longer and has had some experience, so this move is a bit odd.

Joe Maddon stated that the reason Bill Evers was let go was because he wanted someone who he got along with better and could bounce ideas off of more. He knew Evers for a long time and got along with him before he was the bench coach, but now he has hired a guy that he has known a lot less than Evers. Hendrick seemed to make more sense because they knew each other when they both coached with the Angels. The big question is whether he did this because he wanted a new guy in there that could offer something different, or did he want someone who he did not feel threatened by?

Evers had been with this club for a long time and many people wanted him to take the managers job before Maddon got it. Foley was also rumored to take the managers job before Maddon and he is very popular as well. While Martinez is popular with players and fans, he lacks the experience that would be needed for him to be a threat to Maddon at the manager position. Right now the benefit of the doubt goes to Maddon and I hope this is a good decision for the Rays. Martinez is a younger guy who can relate to the players a little better than some of the older coaches on the staff now. He will be a great influence and help to this team.

Now if they would only let Hickey go and bring in Xavier Hernandez.

Dukes Headed to the Dominican for Winter Ball

Elijah Dukes is headed down to the Dominican Republic to play winter ball this off season. The Rays outfielder had been deactivated by the team while he has tried to get his life off the field back together. The club has said that he has made strides since being away from baseball and focusing on counseling and his family. He has had some problems with his ex-wife, but they seem to be coming around and she has even allowed him to have unsupervised visits. This move may indicate a movement in towards the next chapter in his life.

The Dominican winter ball is a great place to hone your skills in the off season. Dukes will be able to get back into the swing of things and start getting back into baseball condition. As long as he stays out of trouble while he is down there, this should be a great situation for him. Hopefully Elijah can stay out of trouble and get some good playing time down in the Dominican. If he can stay out of trouble and come back to Spring Training with the skills to play again, the Rays will have another viable option in the outfield that can be used in a trade. The Rays will once again have a good number of outfielders in there system and could trade Dukes away for some much needed pitching help. We are all rooting for Elijah not just to get better as a baseball player, but as a man also.

Rays Should Pursue Pudge If Tigers Let Him Go

The rumors out of Detroit are that the Tigers do not plan on picking up Ivan Rodriquez's 9 million dollar option for next season. If the Tigers do allow "Pudge" to go, the Rays need to make him one of their top priorities of the off season.

While he is not the same player he was a couple of years ago, Pudge is still one of the best catchers in the league. He has already worked magic with two young staffs with the Marlins and Tigers. Possibly the most important person on the baseball field is the catcher. He sets the defense, works with the pitchers, and keeps guys from stealing and getting into scoring position. Scott Kazmir has asked for veteran help, and this would be the perfect move.

Pudge one of the leagues youngest staffs when he was with both the Tigers and the Marlins, but they had their best years with him behind the plate. Both teams were terrible the year before Pudge go there, but made runs immediately after getting him on the team. While it was not all Pudge that did this for him, he was a huge part of why those teams made the runs they did. Ask any pitcher that Pudge has caught for and that guy will tell you exactly what Pudge does for a team and a pitching staff everyday.

Pudge is not only great with the pitchers about their pitches, but also has a cannon for an arm and may be the best defensive catcher in the league still. No one wants to run on him and he does not allow many pass balls. Pitchers feel comfortable with him behind the plate and go out to the mound focused on pitching and not worrying about anything else. He is getting older and is not in his prime, but he is still one of the best and a great upgrade for the Rays. His offense has declined recently, but he is still a much better hitter than Dioner Navarro.

The Rays young staff would listen to Pudge not only out on the field, but also in the clubhouse and during pitching sessions. It is like having another coach out on the field and on the team everyday he is with the team. The Rays know they need to address the pitching and get a veteran on the team. Acquiring Pudge would help both of those things out. They would still need to get another arm in the pen and maybe a starter, but Pudge himself will lower the team ERA a point. The Rays won't have to pay him 9 million, but may need to shell out a decent amount to get him here. He is worth it and not only will it help the team, but it will show fans they are serious about winning.

Rays Make Decision On Coaches, Sort Of

The Rays announced today which coaches will return: Bobby Ramos (bullpen), Steve Henderson (hitting), George Hendrick (1B Coach), Tom Foley (3B Coach). There are two notable coaches no on that list: Jim Hickey and Bill Evers. The Rays said that they are unsure about Hickey, but released Evers. Evers had been with the organization since 1995 and had won two IL titles for the Rays in the minor leagues.

Evers was a candidate for the Rays manager job, but the Rays front office decided to go with Joe Maddon. Maddon then hired Evers to be his bench coach when he took over the Rays. Maddon is taking the blame for Evers being let go, saying that he wanted someone he meshed better with and feels more comfortable bouncing things around with on the bench.

This was a terrible decision for Rays front office. Evers has given this franchise loyalty and great coaching since he has been here. He is a great baseball mind and will be missed by this franchise. I am sure we will never know the true reason that he was let go, but it may have something to do with Maddon feeling secure in his job. Many people wanted Evers to be the manager of this club and many of the players on it now were coached by Evers in the past. They may not have gotten along, but you don't always have to get along with someone for the relationship to have a positive influence on the team.

For now it will be interesting to see who gets the job as bench coach for the Rays and who is the pitching coach, especially if Jim Hickey is let go due to his recent trouble with the law.

Response to Home Field Advantage Article by St. Pete Times

The St. Pete times had an article today discussing how some Rays players are upset that the Trop is taken over by Sox or Yanks fans when they come into town. They say that it is like a road game at home and the younger guys are getting sick of it. I could not agree more with these players and have said so many times in the past.

I have been very critical of Rays fans recently for not showing up at the Trop for the games against the Sox/Yanks, but I have to admit I was one of those fans until the last 3 years. The excuses I have heard were the same ones I made; there are too many Sox/Yanks fans and you just don't want to be around those jerks. I agree, I hate going to those games when those fans are there because they are obnoxious and makes my game experience much worse. It finally hit me 3 years ago when I was at a Sox game and looked around and saw no Rays fans. My Brother mentioned to me that he hated being the only Rays fans and would rather watch it at home and not deal with the people. The problem is that most Rays fans feel the same way and they stay home to not deal with these fans. If Rays fans would just show up to the game than they would not be alone and we could start to drive out some of these Sox/Yanks fans from our house. I have been to many stadiums across the country and these types of things do happen when the Sox or Yanks come into town, but the teams with stronger fan bases do not have the problem. The onus is on the fans to get out there and support there home team.

While the Fans do have a duty to get out there, the owners and management of the Rays are at fault for many of these problems. Every time the Yanks or Sox come into town the Rays organization has a promotion in which they have old players from the visiting team come in and sogn autographs. I understand the rays don't have much history, but think outside the box and get a promotion that appeals to Rays fans and not the visiting team. This weekend the Rays have three former Sox players coming in to sign autographs, many of whom were not great, but Sox know them and Rays fans care less. The organization wants the money that the Sox and Yanks fans bring in and I understand that, but they need to start and appeal to the real Rays fans so they show up.

Something else that has always bothered me and contributes to the furtherance of the home field advantage of the away team is the selling of merchandise of the visiting team in OUR STADIUM. The second floor of the Rays shop Tropicana field is completely full of merchandise from the Yankees and the Red Sox. This is absolutely ridiculous. You will never see the Cubs selling White Sox gear, or the Yanks selling Mets stuff, and visa versa. Why is it that the Ray feel the need to bow to these fans that come into the stadium just because they spend money. Maybe if the organization made it easier for Rays fans to have a good time and harder for the visitors to have a good time, the Rays may finally have a home field advantage against these guys.

I agree with the players that it is ridiculous playing a game at home, but feeling like its a road game. The fans are at fault for not showing, the organization is at fault for not putting out a good product for so long, and the organization is at fault for how much they promote the visiting teams. The organization needs to step up and get Rays fans out there and not he visitors because until they do something it will be a road game at the Trop whenever we play important games.

Rays Make Roster Moves

The Devil Rays have made some roster moves before today's game and still have one more to make. The Rays shut James Shields down yesterday for the rest of the season due to the fact that he has thrown 215 innings this season. The Rays also called up outfielder Justin Ruggiano today. Ruggiano should see time in the outfield with Carl Crawford most likely done for the season with a groin pull. The last move the Rays will make has not been announced yet, but look for Jeff Niemann or Jason Pridie to be the other addition.

Shields previous career high for innings thrown was 186 last season between Durham and Tampa. Shields is 5th in the league in the number of innings thrown behind Sabathia, Webb, Blanton, and Harang, but he has thrown in one less game. While some fans will be upset by the move because they want to see Shields out there, it was the right move to make. The Rays are not contending for anything and Shields health is very important for the future of this franchise. When its all said and done, his number of innings thrown in the regular season will still be up at the top and we have seen enough from him to know that he can be a dominant pitcher going forward.

Ruggiano is finally getting the call after having a dominating season in Durham all year. He ended his AAA season with a .309 average, 78 runs, 20 home runs, 73 rbi, and 26 stolen bases. Ruggiano, a former dodger prospect, has really broken out this season and could be a very nice addition to the outfield for the Rays. He is also a great fielder to go with his hitting. The Rays could use another outfielder to give some of the starters days off during the season, or let them DH while he plays the field for them. With Rocco's health up in the air and Dukes still having legal problems, Ruggiano may be the 4th best outfielder on the Rays. It will be interesting to see how much time he gets and how he will do with his time up with the big club.

Boras Tells Rays Pena is Worth 15 Million

Scott Boras let the Devil Rays fans know how much he thinks Carlos Pena is worth and that this is the perfect test case for Rays to show fans that they are serious about winning. Boras told the St. Pete Times that Pena is the "greatest player to ever put on a Devil Rays Uniform," and that he had a season that was worth about $15 million dollars. This is classic Boras, using the media to get fans to put pressure on an organization to overpay for one of his clients. Hopefully the Rays fans will realize that this is how Boras is and understand that the Rays will do what they need to and not overpay for a Boras client.


Pena is having one of the best seasons for a player in a Rays uniform and while I love Pena, he is not the best player to wear a Rays uniform. Pena may not even be the best first baseman the Rays have ever had, as Fred McGriff is a former Ray. As smart as he is I am sure that Boras has heard of former Ray Wade Boggs, a hall of famer. No disrespect to Pena, but the statement that he is the best Ray ever is inaccurate and is just a PR move made by Boras to try and get the Rays to overpay.


I find it interesting that Boras is so forceful now that Pena has had this type of season, when earlier this year we never heard a sound when Pena did not make the team out of Spring Training. If Boras is so sure about Pena than why would he keep quiet when a $15 million dollar player was sent to the minors? The fact is that the Rays gave Pena a shot when no one else wanted him and Pena has run with that chance. Pena loves being a Ray and has said that he wants to stay with Tampa; maybe Boras needs to listen to his client before spouting off.


I have been a staunch supporter of the Rays extending Pena sooner rather than later, but if Boras is going to play hardball the Rays do have options. The Rays own Pena's rights for the next two years and can just wait and pay him his arbitration contract for the next two seasons. Pena is a great player, leader, teammate and should be a Ray, but they do not need to overpay for him. While Pena was a top prospect, this is the first time that he has had a year like this and it would be nice to see him repeat the feat before shelling out a lot of money. The Rays also need to extend Scott Kazmir this off season and have him set as the number 1 starter here for years to come. The Rays have talked about extending Pena and if they do I am all for it, but they do have time and they do not need to play Boras' game. Rays fans need to realize that this is how Boras' works and not get upset if the Rays do not extend Pena right away. The Rays have said they will pay when someone is worth it, so lets give them the benefit of the doubt and let them do the work.

Rays Will Have Big Effect on American League Playoffs

The Rays may not be in the playoff hunt, but they will have an effect on it. The race in the AL East and for the Wild Card is still close and the Rays will be playing those participants in the last 19 games of the season. The Rays start last stretch of the season this evening with the AL East leading Red Sox and get to play them in a 3 game set at home later.

The AL East race is close with the Red Sox leading the hard charging Yankees by 5 1/2. The Yankees are the wild card leader at the moment over Detroit by 4 and Seattle by 5. The Rays will play those Mariners in a four game set after their series in Boston. After the road trip the Rays will come back and play the Sox and than finish the home stand against the Yankees. The Rays can make or break some of these races if they start to take games and series.

The Rays have been playing very well recently and have had their best 40 game stretch in the history of the team. The bullpen has been solid and the starters have been dominant at times. The hitting has been on fire ever since the meeting they had after a dismal game against the A's and the Rays are showing everyone what many of us have been saying for a while, the future is very bright. The Rays have not lost a series since they played at Boston in the middle of August. This is not the same team that played in that series and the Sox should be ready for that. Scott Kazmir has dominated the Sox over his career and has held David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez in check throughout his career. The Mariners are running out of chances and while the Rays have not played well on the road in the past they are coming off of consecutive road series victories and will be a formidable opponent for them.


The Rays are not playing for the playoffs, but they may be playing for something more important and that is to show fans that they are going in the right direction. So far the Rays have given the fans something to be optimistic about and the fans have responded with showing up. The Rays fans showed up in pretty good numbers last Saturday during football season against a bad Toronto team. The momentum the Rays are building will have fans talking and caring about them in the off season. The Rays players are playing for themselves and the fans, which makes them more dangerous than the other teams that barley missed out of the playoffs. This run could give the Rays a taste of what it is like in a pennant chase and many of the teams they are playing will be wishing they are playing someone else.

2 Rays Affilates Advance to Next Round of Playoffs, Biscuits One Game Away

Chris Mason, The Southern Leagues most outstanding pitcher, had one of his worst outings of the year, but the Biscuits still manged to win the third game of a best of 5 series in extras. Mason gave up 5 runs, including 3 homeruns, in 4 innings, but the Biscuits bullpen only gave up one hit and no runs in relief. The offense was led by Brooks Badeaux and Gabriel Martinez, who combined for 3 of the Biscuits 6 RBI and 2 of the runs. The Biscuits lead the series against the Mississippi Braves 2 to 1 and are going for the series win this evening. The biscuits will send lefty Mike Prochaska to mound, who has a record of 7-7 and a 3.89 ERA. As of 8:30 PM the Biscuits had a 5-3 lead into the 6th inning.


The Duhram Bulls took the series against the Toldeo Mudhens with a strong outing by Jae Seo and great hitting by Evan Longoria. Seo went 7 innings giving up 5 hits and only 2 runs with 7 strikeouts. Longoria continued his hot hitting in the minors going 3-4 with 2 home runs and had 3 of the Bulls 5 RBIS. Longoria has hit very well his whole year in the minors and their isn't much for him to learn in AAA, so expect him to be the Rays starting third baseman next year.

The Columbus Catfish rode outstanding pitching performances by Heath Rollins and Jeremy Hellickson to a two game sweep of the Augusta Green Jackets. Rollins, who has pitched outstanding all year, went 7 innings and gave up one run on 5 hits. Hellickson, one of the Rays stud young arms, followed Rollins with a 4 hit, 1 run, 6 inning performance. The Catfish got contributions from everyone on offense and won both games handily. Next up is a 5 game series with West Virgina.

Rays Earn First Road Sweep in 2 Years

The Rays road their hot bats to a sweep of the Orioles in Camden yards. This was the first time in over 2 years that the Rays swept someone on the road. The last time the Rays swept a series was against the Indians in August 2005. The Rays have not played well against the Orioles in the past, but they made up for that in this series. The series was a slug fest and the Rays ended up on top.

The Orioles have been in a long slump and the Rays took advantage of that especially the O's bullpen. In two of the three games in the series the Rays went into the 8th inning down in the game. For the first time all season the Rays were on the other end of a bullpen blowing leads during the series and they took advantage of it. On top of the Rays taking advantage of the O's pen, the Rays bullpen stepped up and halted the Orioles offense and late rallies. Grant Balfour had an outstanding two innings in Wednesdays game to earn the win, and others also chipped in to keep the game close. The Rays offense seemed to be effected by the change of momentum that was felt in the game and seemed to gain confidence with every out that the Rays bullpen got.

The top 5 of the Rays order was dominant during the series. Of the 28 runs the Rays scored, the top 5 in the order accounted for 18 of the runs while driving in 14 of the 28 runs. The top 5 also accounted for 3 home runs and had a .311 average during the series. I do not know what coach Henderson said to these guys, but what ever it was it has worked rather well. The Rays hitters seem more confident and relaxed at the plate and it looks like they believe they will win the game. Part of the confidence may have come from the talk Henderson gave, but I also think the fact that the bullpen is holding leads and not blowing them the Rays feel that if they do score and get a lead they will win the game and not lose in a heart breaker. The Rays are starting to make a nice run toward the end of the season. This is an important time to make a run and get some momentum going into next year. Lets hope the Rays can keep it up and get fan excitement around the team so that the Rays organization goes out and spends in the off season.

Next up for the Rays is a 3 game set against the Yankmes in New York. The Yankmes are coming off of a sweep of Boston so they have some momentum as well. Now is the time for the Rays to show the nation that they are for real.