• Of all the Rays' injuries this season (The Curse of LaMar-Naimoli), one that hasn't been mentioned much is the shoulder injury suffered by Jonny Gomes. That will change this weekend when the D-Rays travel to Philadelphia to face the Glue Sticks. Without the DH, Gomes would have to play the outfield and that appears unlikely in his current state. According to manager Joe Maddon, he is unable to throw more than a few times without great pain. In the end, one of the team's best hitters will only be available for pinch-hitting duty. What does this mean in the grand scheme of things? First and foremost, it means that we need to rethink our position on the DH. Life without the DH this season would be much less Jonny-terrific, and for the first time, we will swallow our pride and admit that maybe the DH is a good thing. (that was painful...and by painful, we mean like watching a Keanu Reeves movie) [tbo.com]
• On Monday, recently demoted Doug Waechter made his first start for the Durham Bulls. He was effective, if not overpowering. He picked up the win, working 6 innings, allowing 7 hits, 2 walks and 2 runs. He struck out 1. [milb.com]
• Chad Orvella who was also demoted recently from the Rays bullpen down to Durham has pitched twice for the Bulls. Orvella has pitched 3 innings, surrendering 2 hits and 1 walk. He has struck out 5 and allowed 3 unearned runs. Let's hope Orvella finds the confidence he needs to compete at the big league level.
• Juan Salas was recently promoted from AA Montgomery to AAA Durham. Quite frankly, we are wondering if Salas is not the best reliever in the entire organization right now. And we don't just mean in the minors. At Montgomery, Salas appeared in 23 games. He pitched 34.2 innings, giving up only 13 hits and 14 walks. He struck out 52 and allowed only 4 unearned runs. That's is not a typo. He did not yield a single earned run all season. So how did he fair in his debut for Durham? 'Bout the same. On Thursday night, he went 1.1 innings, allowing no hits and one walk. He struck out 3. Salas who was originally, an infielder for the Devil Rays has only been pitching for the organization since late 2004. In his first full season as a pitcher in 2005, he posted strong numbers for Visalia and Montgomery. We are not sure if Salas is still working on something, but if he is, the team better stop. He can't pitch any better and it might be time for Salas to be working the 8th innings at the Trop. Of course, with Tyler Walker on the DL, is there a worse option than Salas to be closing games? [Montgomery Advertiser]
• Surprise, surprise. Jeff Neimann's scheduled start tomorrow in Montgomery has been pushed back to Monday or Tuesday. We knew that had to have been written in pencil. [Montgomery Adveriser]
• Speaking of Monday, we expect and hope to see Delmon Young back on the field for the Bulls when his 50-game suspension ends. That did seem a bit quick, but let's hope it took an eternity for Young. [Our Sports Central]