Devil Rays (off day)
The schedule makers must have seen this past weekend coming and mercifully gave the Rays and their dwindling fans base a much needed day off.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• BJ Upton and Robinson Cano were selected as AL co-players of the week. Upton hit .414 with 2 home runs and 8 RBI. [The Sports Network]
  
• The Devil Rays at their current pace would finish the season 54-108 and become just the 12th team in history to allow 1,000 runs. Since June 12, the Rays are 9-27 and have allowed 7.26 runs per game. [The New York Sun]
  
• Jay Witasick was placed on the 15-day DL and JP Howell was optioned back to Durham. Jason Hammel, who never even left the ballclub is back on the active roster and Juan Salas was promoted back to Tampa for the first time since being suspended for 50-games for steroid use. Hammel who was being sent back to Durham so that he could return to being a starter, will instead take Howell's spot in the rotation and be a starter for the Rays. [tampabay.com]
• Casey Fossum will miss a couple of games to be with his family after the birth of their child on Tuesday. That sound you just heard was the moan from Orioles hitters. [tampabay.com]
  
• What happened to James Shields, indeed? We doubt it is a hidden injury. The Rays are going to be extra careful with guys like Scott Kazmir and Shields. An injured arm is usually easy to spot in a young pitcher. They will change their mechanics or they will be afraid to throw a certain pitch. More likely, Shields is just fighting through a "dead-arm" period. [armchairgm]
• A new low for the Devil Rays? How about a power ranking of #32. For those of you that haven't had your coffee yet, there are only 30 teams in baseball. And frankly, we are in no position to argue. [Chicago Tribune]