THE GOOD: Ben Zobrist. In the second inning, BenZo made a Jason Bartlett-esque play in the hole, turning and making a one-hop throw to first for the out. Later, with the Rays trailing 1-0 in the 7th and one of the game's best pitchers on the mound, Eric Hinske drew a walk on a 2-out, 3-2 check swing that very easily could have been ruled a strike out. Zobrist followed with a home run to give the Rays the lead for good, and saved the Rays from having to deal with questions of an extended losing streak...James Shields came out with a chip on his shoulder and proved once again that he is the Rays stopper. His one blemish was a long home run, which he is prone to give up. But you just have to hope they happen with the bases empty and last night that was the case...Grant Balfour came on in the 8th and after falling behind Alex Rios 3-0, he came back and struck him out to end the inning. In the 9th inning, he struck out 2 for the save...Eric Hinske saved a potential run-scoring opportunity when he made a running grab for the second out of the first inning.

THE BAD: The Rays had first and second with no outs in their half of the first when BJ Upton was caught looking on a belt-high fastball for the first out. One out later, Evan Longoria would strike out on a pitch in the dirt...BJ Upton had an awful game at the plate. After going down in the first with his bat on his shoulder, with a pitch he would normally plant in the right-center bleachers, he struck out in the 3rd. This time he swung the bat, but was horribly late on the fastball. Upton is a player with some the quickest wrists in baseball and should never get beat by a fastball. Right now, he has no confidence and is at the plate hoping for breaking balls that he can handle...In the 3rd inning, Carl Crawford broke his 0-26 skid and then promptly got picked off first base.

THE TELLING: We will never know for certain, but Ben Zobrist's home run may have saved the Rays' season. Imagine if the Rays lose that game at home to a mediocre opponent, without scoring a run, and extending their losing streak to 8 games into the second-half of the season. That would be tough to come back from for a young team...If you were a betting person and you were going to bet on who would be closing for the Rays in 2010, would you bet against Grant Balfour?...Scott Kazmir is now officially set to make his second-half debut on Monday. Does anybody else find it strange that Kid K needs 5 days rest after throwing 14 pitches in the All-Star game, when he would normally only need 4 days after a regular start throwing 100+ pitches?...Of Ben Zobrist's 13 hits for the Rays, 7 have been for extra-bases...Attendance was 23,706, which is a decent number against the Jays after a 7-game losing streak.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• Troy Percival says he feels "perfect" after throwing a 30-pitch batting practice session. [Tampa Tribune]
• Baseball Analysts defends Dioner Navarro as being a legit all-star. [Baseball Analysts]
  
• USA Today ran a feature story outlining the Rays' second-half quest for the playoffs. [USA Today]
• ESPN.com took a closer look at the struggles of Rocco Baldelli. The most interesting note is one we had not seen before. Apparently doctors have finally found a cocktail of medicine that has Rocco feeling better...Could Baldelli be the right handed hitting outfielder the Rays are seeking? [ESPN]
  
• Skyking162 feels Houston Street would be a perfect fit for the Rays. [Skyking162]
  

THE GOOD: The Red Sox lost to the D-Backs so the Rays pulled within 1 game of the AL East and are actually a game up on the Sawx in the ever-so-important loss column.

THE BAD: Sutter Home wines (well, there goes a potential sponsor).

THE TELLING: We should be back up to full speed tomorrow.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• Don't forget to VOTE for Carl Crawford to start the all-star game. If you haven't voted yet today, go NOW! [MLB All-Star Voting]
• The Rays made it official, recalling Ben Zobrist from Durham. [Rays Report]
• This is the first we have heard Xavier Nady's name mentioned with the Rays, but it is an interesting possibility. [Outs Per Swing]
• Bugs and Cranks spoke with Durham hitting coach Gary Gaetti. [Bugs and Cranks]
  

Tampa Bay Rays (42 days until pitchers and catchers report)
It is a slow time in baseball right now and a lot of baseball team blogs are struggling to find things to write about. To fill the time, most of these sites are (over)analyzing 2007 and picking apart the numbers and delving deeper in the endless foray of the new age statistics. Other sites are assigning rankings to dozens of minor league prospects that they have never seen play and probably couldn't pick out of a police lineup. Of course, if they decide to take a week or two off during the holidays, the natives get restless. We can't risk that, so we will now bring back "The Hangover" and analyze the 2007 Tampa Bay Devil Rays by the numbers...Ready? OK, here goes...66-96. Done. Let's move on.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• For those that have asked. No. Mrs. Professor did not give me a dog named Herpes for Christmas (although she wanted to). [What I absolutely love]
• There is yet another new Tampa Bay Rays blog written by somebody that is not a fan of the team. Nothing wrong with that...Just sayin'...In the latest post, they discuss the Rays' bullpen and how to improve it (Apparently steroids is no longer an option). The post is fine and dandy until we read "Bill Chastain, an eminent MLB.Com reporter..." Eminent? I do not think that word means what you think it means. We read everything by Chastain. A lot of it is very good. A lot. is. crap. Also, we are confused by the name of the new blog. Where does "Dough" come into this? Is that Dough as is in bread? Or Dough as in money? Is it a metaphor? And does the title mean the blog will only be around for one year? And does the blogger know that 2008 is a leap-year? Will he take one day off this year? Does he already know which day? [365 Days of Dough, Rays, and Me]
  
• A little old, but Baseball Prospectus gives us the Rays' Top 11 prospects, and the list includes five 5-star prospects. We are glad to see that some still consider Reid Brignac an elite prospect. And having seen both Wade Davis and Jake McGee pitch, we have our money on Davis being the better major leaguer. McGee's only advantage over Davis at this point is being left-handed. [Baseball Prospectus]

Five-Star Prospects
1. Evan Longoria, 3B
2. David Price, LHP
3. Wade Davis, RHP
4. Desmond Jennings, CF
5. Reid Brignac, SS
Four-Star Prospects
6. Jacob McGee, LHP
Three-Star Prospects
7. Eduardo Morlan, RHP
8. Jeff Niemann, RHP
9. Jeremy Hellickson, RHP
10. Fernando Perez, CF
11. Ryan Royster, OF

• In addition, hidden behind the Baseball Prospectus member wall is the list of the Rays top players under the age of 25, which they call "a borderline obnoxious collection of excellent young talent". We love that Dioner Navarro is ranked so high. As you know, we are still big believers in Lil' Pudge. [Baseball Prospectus]

1. Scott Kazmir, LHP
2. Evan Longoria, 3B
3. David Price, LHP
4. B.J. Upton, CF
5. Matt Garza, RHP
6. Wade Davis, RHP
7. Desmond Jennings, CF
8. Reid Brignac, SS
9. Dioner Navarro, C
10. Jacob McGee, LHP

• DRaysBay interviews Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus about their list of the top prospects in the Rays organization. If you only marginally know the Rays farm system, this is a must-read. [DRays Bay]
  
• Bill Chastain interviews Jacob McGee. [DevilRays.com]
  
• Jayson Stark looks at how the Tampa Bay Rays plan to keep up with the heavyweights in the American League and speculates that they will be able to win 90 games in 2009. [ESPN]

Maybe nobody on the outside takes this team seriously. But within the sport, the Rays are already a source of rapidly loudening buzzing. Offensively, they just outhomered the Red Sox, outscored the Blue Jays and outstole all but two teams in the league. Meanwhile, on the other side of the ball, their stockpile of young pitching is up there with anyone's. So this is a team with a chance to win 90 games by 2009. Whether it can ever spend $90 million to keep that group intact is another story. But for now, the Rays are locked inside that tunnel vision. They're all about development and more development.

• The Sporting News features Evan Longoria as one of "Baseball's next wave of stars". [The Sporting News]
• Fox Sports lists Scott Kazmir and James Shields as one of the top 10 pitching duos in baseball. [Fox Sports]

You don't find many 23-year-old lefties who are capable of leading the league in strikeouts, but Kazmir is just that. He's always had tremendous gifts on the mound, and now the numbers are following suit. If he stays healthy, then Kazmir's going to win multiple Cy Youngs in his career. The trade that sent him from the Mets in exchange for Victor Zambrano is going to turn out to be one of the steals of the decade. As for Shields, he's a four-pitch, command guy who turned in an exceptional first half. Matt Garza's eventually going to replace him as the No. 2 man in the Tampa rotation, but right now Shields is a nifty complement to Kazmir.

• The Rays have set up a website for the proposed stadium along the St. Pete waterfront. [MajorLeagueDOWNTOWN.com]
• Small world. Ben Zobrist and I were both in Iowa City, Iowa on Christmas Eve, although we were gone by the time Zobrist spoke at a Christmas Eve service where his wife Julianna sang. [Iowa City Press-Citizen]
  

[Ed. note (4:29pm): Eduardo Encina is reporting that the contract has not been finalized]

Yahoo! Sports (are we the only ones that loathe the exclamation point?) is reporting that the Rays have signed Cliff Floyd to a 1-year contract with a team option in 2009. Floyd will make a base salary of $2.75 million with the opportunity to earn an additional $2 million in incentives.

We already wrote at length about what adding Floyd to the lineup would mean in terms of run production. As for the 25-man roster, Floyd fills multiple needs. He is the left-handed bat and part-time right fielder and DH the team was seeking. In addition, he will be able to spell Carlos Pena at first base whenever the latter needs a day off.

On the offensive side of the ball, there is now one less opening for the 2008. The team is still in the market for a veteran back-up catcher to fill one of the bench spots (could the Rays bring back Josh Paul in 2008?). Assuming that Ben Zobrist is the back up middle infielder, that leaves one bench spot that is wide-open. At this point, we give the edge to Joel Guzman because of his glove-work and defensive flexibility.

The signing of Floyd also raises the projected payroll to over $40 million. This is a jump up from what most thought would be the opening day payroll based on comments from the team that the payroll would raise approximately 20%. A $41 million payroll would be a raise of greater than 40% over the 2007 opening day payroll ($28 million).

OF Cliff Floyd agrees to $3 million, 1-year deal with Rays [Yahoo! Sports]
Rays: Floyd not on the dotted line...yet [tampabay.com]

Devil Rays 17, Orioles 2.
In last night's offensive outburst, Brendan Harris hit his first home run since June 18. Teamed with Ben Zobrist and Josh Wilson, the Rays have been sporting below-average hitters and brick-glove defensemen at the shortstop position. With Reid Brignac still at least a year away from contributing at the major league level, shortstop is the one defensive position that the Rays would like to upgrade in the off-season. There are three possible moves for 2008.

The first option is that the Rays will stay with Brendan Harris and/or Josh Wilson for one more season as they await the arrival of Brignac. This is the trickiest of the potential moves. Both Harris and Wilson are below-average defensively, at best. Wilson is atrocious, while Harris is simply blessed with the range of a person with their feet stuck in cement. Offensively, both players are passable as major leaguers with Harris having the potential to break out. After a near-all-star level performance in the first half (.310-8-39), Harris has cooled off considerably in the second-half (.253-1-15).

Acquiring a shortstop via a trade is always possible, but the most difficult to predict. While the team can never assume the future arrival of a minor league prospect, the team would have to view the team's starting shortstop in 2008 as a one or two year solution at most. It is hard to imagine the team would part with any key pieces to acquire a player that may only be needed for one season.

In the past, opening the checkbook and signing a veteran free agent would seem as likely as Chuck LaMar ever being given another chance to run a major league baseball team. But Stuart Sternberg and Andrew Friedman have promised that money will be spent on the right players and when the time is right. While pitching is the most likely target during free agency, signing a veteran shortstop to a 2-year deal could be a solution to the team's opening in the middle of the infield.

The Baseball Analysts have compiled a list of shortstops that will be free agents at the end of the year.

David Eckstein      STL
Cesar Izturis       PIT
Ramon E Martinez    LAD
John McDonald       TOR
Neifi Perez         DET
Juan Uribe          CHW
Omar Vizquel        SF

This is your year if you like good-field, no-hit shortstops. Even steroids haven't helped one of the members of this punchless group.

First of all, please do not let the Rays sign David Eckstein. He looks like he is going to get a hernia everytime he throws a ball across the diamond.

But what about Juan Uribe? He would look to make about $3 million per season. But would he be willing to sign a 2-year deal with a club option for 2010? Is the marked improvement in defense worth the pricetag?

A Preview of This Year's Free Agent Class: Part One - The Hitters [The Baseball Analysts]

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• The Devil Rays set new marks for most runs (17) and hits (22) in a game at the Trop last night. Carlos Pena had two home runs and now has 11 in his past 17 games, adding more digits to his 2008 salary. His seven RBI are a new franchise record for a single game. [TBO]
• The Devil Rays have scored 101 runs in their past 12 games, tops in the majors. The pitching staff has walked only 28 batters over that stretch, which is the third lowest total. The team is 9-3 in that stretch. [Devil Rays]
  
• Carl Crawford was suspended for 2 games for his little tirade the other night. Crawford will appeal the suspension. [TBO]
• Carl Crawford has been named as the Devil Rays nominee for the Roberto Clemente award given to a player that "best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual's contribution to his team." [MLB]
  
• Andy Sonnanstine is proving very difficult to steal against. He has allowed only 1 stolen base in 439 batters faced. [Roto Authority]
  

Devil Rays 15, Orioles 8.

Just the links today

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• The Rays elimination number in the division remains 3, and is 10 for the wild card. With 30 games remaining, the Rays need 11 wins to avoid another 100-loss season. They have a 5-game lead over the White Sox for the worst record in baseball.
  
• The Rays tied a club record with 11 runs in the 8th inning last night. [Devil Rays]
  
• Delmon Young homered for the first time since June 22. [Bradenton Herald]
• Aubrey Huff hit his 5th home run against the Devil Rays. [tampabay.com]
  
• The Devil Rays may have the best outfield bargain in baseball with Carl Carawford, BJ Upton and Delmon Young who combined, will make less than $7 million in 2007. [TBO]
• How many wins would James Shields have if he were pitching for a contender? Joe Maddon thinks it would be 15. We have a hunch it would be 16-17. [Devil Rays]
• With Ben Zobrist on the DL, Josh Wilson has become the everyday shortstop. [TBO]
• Elijah Dukes met with Cecil Fielder and coached first base for Fielder's Independent League Charlotte County Redfish. [tampabay.com]
• We are not sure what bananas have to do with peanut butter and jelly or for that matter, what any of them have to do with the Devil Rays. [Phorce Impressive Media]
  

Devil Rays 4, Indians 3 (12 innings).

PLAYING A LIL' PEPPER WITH THE RAYS (random thoughts on yesterday's game)...

Joel Guzman hits singles? When did that start happening?

How many people watched the game-winning hit and thought there was no way Jonny Gomes was going to score. We still aren't sure how he managed to cross the plate after Guzman hit the ground ball up the middle and Gomes' first move was to start running back to second base.

We have talked a lot recently about the horrible Rays defense. In the 10th inning we saw a perfect example of how bad the defense can be without committing an error. With a runner on first base and 1 out, Trot Nixon is facing Al Reyes with the score tied 2-2. Reyes is not a hard thrower, so a lefty is more likely to pull the ball through the hole on the right side, so Brendan Harris was cheating a little in the direction. Nixon hit a routine ground ball to Harris' right. Harris basically took one step and then fell down in what we can only assume was an attempt to dive for the ball. It should have been a tailor-made double play. Rather, it was now first and third with 1 out. Harris not only showed perhaps the worst range ever for a second baseman, but he also showed a lack of natural baseball instincts. While he needs to cheat a little towards the hole with Reyes on the mound, he should have noticed that Dioner Navarro had set up about six inches off the plate, away, from the batter. Even at 87 mph, there is no way Nixon is pulling that ball. Harris should have been leaning up the middle before the pitch was even thrown.

We know this is unlikely, but it was hard not to watch the game yesterday and wonder what if Joel Guzman could hit well enough to be a major leaguer and play defense well enough to be a 6'6" shortstop? It would settle a lot of issues with the Devil Rays lineup in 2008 and beyond. Evan Longoria at third, Goose at short, Iwamura at second, Upton in center. Rocco in another uniform after being flipped for a middle of the rotation starter, and Brendan Harris as the utility infielder. Not a bad lineup...Not bad at all.

It is fun watching BJ Upton in center field, and it looks like BJ Upton is having fun playing center field. He must be kicking himself for being so stubborn about switching positions the last two years. He is basically Alfonso Soriano with a better glove.

James Shields needs a nickname. The problem is he is almost boring on the mound. But that is a good thing. He is a professional. Yesterday, he walked the first batter of the game, and Shields actually showed a little emotion, that we don't recall ever seeing from him before. He was right to be upset. That walk led to a run, but he settled down and did not walk another batter.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• Ben Zobrist was placed on the DL with a strained oblique. Joel Guzman was called up from Durham to take Zobrist's spot in the roster. [tampabay.com]
• Joel Guzman could see playing time at all four infield positions. [TBO]
  
• Some guy named Rocco Baldelli will begin a rehab assignment this week with the Vero Beach Devil Rays. We vaguely remember hearing about this kid. Supposed to be pretty good, but something happened to him...He will play four games this week, and will play a grand total of three innings in center field. The rest of the time will be served as a DH. [Devil Rays]
• Joe Henderson believes that bringing Joe Maddon is the right move. [TBO]
  
• Manny Stiles is back on the radar and he has set out to debunk 12 myths about the Devil Rays, including "Tropicana Field is horrible", "Joe Maddon isn't a good manager" and "The Devil Rays are the worst team in baseball." We agree with most of Manny's points, but know that the argument will fall on deaf ears to most. [Armchair GM]
  
• We are big fans of Paul Lukas of ESPN and UniWatchBlog. In his most recent ESPN column, Lukas tackles uniform prototypes for professional teams that never made it onto the field or the court. Two of the local teams were mentioned in the article. First, we are all familiar with and likely scarred by the Devil Rays Rainbow Warriors uniforms. And most probably remember the hideous patch that adorned the sleeves in the inaugural season as seen HERE. Apparently that trumped a patch that as produced, but never used, which would have been easier on the eyes, as seen HERE. Lukas also points us to some prototype helmets that the Buccaneers toyed with before settling on their current design. This reminds us too much of the Tampa Bay Bandits...The Black design is hideous...But we kinda like the white, that reminds us of the South Carolina Gamecocks helmets. And apparently distance does make the heart grow fonder, because sometimes we do miss Bucco Bruce. [ESPN]
  

Indians 8, Devil Rays 1.
BJ Upton is hitting .313 with a .397 OBP. By our count he has been on base 160 times, between Tampa Bay and his rehab stint earlier this season. Yet despite the number of the high number of times on base, he has only stolen 13 bases in 19 attempts. His season totals of stolen bases prior to this year were 40, 24, 44 and 57. And granted he missed considerable time with a leg injury.

Joe Maddon may be hesitant to send Upton following the injury, but he was not even running before the injury. 13 of the stolen bases came before the injury. Upton was on pace for approximately 30 stolen bases for the year before going to the DL. That is a paltry total for a player with Upton's speed that is having such an outstanding offensive season.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• Ben Zobrist was injured and had to be removed from the game. He is likely headed to the DL. [Devil Rays]
  
• Marc Topkin speculates that Joel Guzman could be called up to replace Ben Zobrist. [tampabay.com]
• Contrary to earlier reports, Fernando Cabrera has not signed with the Devil Rays. Rather, he turned down the Rays' waiver claim and decided to become a free agent. [Devil Rays]
• A new Tampa Bay sports blog has started with an open letter to Stuart Sternberg. The author suggests that the Rays need to go after big names this off-season, listing several examples, such as Bartolo Colon. The problem with this is that if the money is equal, no big-name free agent is coming to Tampa Bay. Therefore, not only would the Rays need to open up the pocketbook, they will have to go above and beyond what other teams offer, by a considerable margin. [Tampa Bay Sports Report]
  

Devil Rays 5, Blue Jays 4.
It was the type of game that can help a team salvage a little dignity in a lost season. It was the type of game that can remind team that they do know how to win a game.

Andy Sonnanstine allowed 2 runs in the first inning and immediately we assumed it was going to be just another night like most other nights in the last month and a half. The Rays cut the lead to 3-2 in the 5th inning, but Sonny was touched for a 4th run in the top of the 7th and it appeared that the Rays would play just well enough to tease us and just well enough to lose. We envisioned a final score of 7-2 with the Bullpen falling apart in yet another hapless game a the Trop.

We never harbored any hope of a win last night. We had lost our optimism weeks ago. But there were two factors we did not account for. The first was the suddenly revamped Devil Rays bullpen. Last night, five relievers, including two acquired over the weekend and a third that was called up from Durham, combined for 4.1 shutout innings.

The second factor was Superman. Carl Crawford took batting practice before last night's game and his sore wrist needed at least one more night off. In fact, it now looks like C.C. will battle a sore wrist for the rest of the season. In the 9th inning, Crawford pinch ran for Jonny Gomes after he drew a 1-out walk. Crawford's legs are just fine and he immediately moved into scoring position by stealing second base. He then moved to third on a fly ball to right field by Greg Norton. A Josh Wilson base hit and the game was tied.

We still assumed the bullpen would implode in extra innings. We can only expect them to hold the opposition down for so long. Al Reyes gave up a lead off double in the 10th but settle down to retire the side. In the bottom of the 10th, Crawford once again factored into the game without even making a plate appearance. With Brendan Harris on second with 2 outs, Delmon Young singled on a ground ball up the middle. With Crawford and his sore wrist on deck, Harris tried to score but was thrown out at the plate.

In the 11th, Scott Dohmann allowed the first two batters to get on base. "Here we go again," is all we could muster. Yet somehow, Dohmann pitched his way out of trouble.

Superman is due to lead off the bottom of the 11th. Joe Maddon decides not to pinch hit for C.C. despite his sore wrist. Would he try a drag bunt? No. And on a 3-1 pitch, Crawford fouled off a ball on his first swing and winced in pain. Now we wondered aloud if we would not only lose this game, but we would lose Crawford for longer than "day-to-day". But this is Superman. Crawford took the very next pitch to just left of center field for a walk-off home run.

In baseball, more so than football, fans often root for the players as much as the team. We try not to get too attached to any one player. If a trade is presented that will significantly improve the team, we want Andrew Friedman to make the move no matter what the Rays have to sacrifice. But Carl Crawford is the one player that we hope the Rays never trade. He is the one player in which we make sure we never miss a single pitch in which he is at bat or on the bases. He is the most exciting player in baseball. He can do it all...even with a sore wrist. Superman.

Here is hoping that Carl Crawford is a Tampa Bay Devil Ray for the next 15 years.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• Jays fans are not taking last night's game very well. Great name for a blog, by the way. Before Tampa had a team, we spent much of our childhood in Dunedin for Spring Training and we were just as frustrated as most Jays fans every time Dave Stieb just missed a no-hitter. [THE TAO OF STIEB]
• They really aren't taking it well. [Drunk Jays Fans]
• Entering last night's action, the Rays had struck out in 23.7% of their at bats in July. ouch. [ESPN]
  
• The Rays may not be done dealing, as several teams may be interested in the Rays veteran relievers and/or Jonny Gomes. [tampabay.com]

[Andrew] Friedman said Monday night he "wouldn't characterize anything as close or even likely to happen," but acknowledged it could change quickly.

• Andrew Friedman could be actively trying to move Dan Wheeler who was just acquired from the Astros. MLB Trade Rumors offers some scenarios in which the Rays would move Wheeler for younger players. [MLB Trade Rumors]
• Al Reyes may be the Rays most valuable trading piece that remains. While the Rays do have an option on Reyes for 2008, we still believe that trading him is the best move. He will be 38 in 2008 and is only one year removed from his second Tommy John surgery. Now is the time to sell high. [TBO]
• Could the Mets be trying to acquire Carl Crawford? [MLB Trade Rumors]
  
• With Ty Wigginton gone and Ben Zobrist recalled from Durham, Brendan Harris will likely become the team's most-days second baseman. [Devil Rays]
• JK Ryu was optioned back to Durham where he will enter the Bulls' rotation to be a starting pitcher. [Devil Rays]
  
• Don't get us wrong, we loved the way Ty Wigginton played the game, but for some reason we never really had such a strong affinity for the player, and were not all that sad to see him go. With Akinori Iwamura and Evan Longoria there was no room at third base with Iwamura likely to move to second base sooner rather than later. In addition, Carlos Pena looks like a fixture at first base for the next few years. Wiggy was a nice bat. He hit some clutch home runs and he was consistent defensively. Still, he was never going to be any better than a 20-home run, 90-RBI bat with no range defensively. The Rays pitchers have extremely high BABIP numbers and part of that is due to an infield that lets more groundballs through for base hits than would normally be expected. [TBO]

Wigginton was nothing but classy and professional during his time here but he also was soon to be a man without a position.

• Shawn Camp was surprised by his demotion...Shawn: Players have been castrated for less. [TBO]
  
• What if the Giants did move to Tampa-St. Pete in 1993? What if Barry Bonds was wearing a Tampa Bay uniform instead of a San Francisco uniform? [The Sporting Orange]
• Some bloggers made the trip to the Trop on Friday night and lived to write about it. [Sports Indeed]
• How many titles have the Devil Rays won? Well, since you asked, it is exactly one less than the Red Sox have won in the last 89 years. [the mighty quinn media machine]
  
• Red Sox fans did not take Sunday's loss to the Devil Rays too well. [Surviving Grady]
• We are a little late on this, but congratulations to Casey Fossum and his wife on the birth of their third child. [Celebrity Baby Blog]
  

Durham 7, Norfolk 2. Tony Peguero making just his 8th start for Durham, allowed 2 runs in 6 innings to pick up his 2nd win of the year. Jon Weber was 2-5 an hit his second home run since being acquired by the Devil Rays. He now has 7 RBI in 5 games. After struggling most of the season at Durham, Ben Zobrist was 2-3 and is 14-36 in the last 10 games (.389) to boost his average up to .276. A name we haven't mentioned much this year, Elliot Johnson was 2-3 with a double and 2 RBI. He now has multi-hit games in 6 of his last 10 (.378) but is still only hitting .217 on the year.

Mobile 9, Montgomery 5. James Houser gave up 6 runs (4 earned) in 5 innings to drop to 4-4 on the season. Three players collected three hits, including Fernando Perez (3-5) and Evan Longoria (3-4). Reid Brignac was 1-5 but did collect his 13th home run, a 2-run shot in the 9th.

Mahoning Valley 13, Hudson Valley 3.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM...

• Bulls catcher Michel Hernandez extended his hitting streak to 15. [Herald Sun]
  
• The Vero Beach Rays game versus Jupiter was postponed due to rain.
• The Columbus Catfish game versus Kannapolis was postponed due to rain.
• The Princeton Rays had two games postponed due to rain. Their regularly scheduled game versus Burlington, as well as a second game versus Bluefield that was a makeup for a previously canceled game.
  

Durham 7, Indy 3. Rocco Baldelli didn't waste anytime getting his bat warmed up. In just the second at bat of his first live action in over a month, Baldelli hit a solo home run. He finished the game 1-3 with a walk as the Bulls' DH. Justin Ruggiano went 3-4 and is now hitting .296. He also stole his 11th base. Ben Zobrist was 0-4 and committed his 9th error...On the mound, some guy name Jae Seo made his second minor league start giving up 3 runs in 5 innings.

Jacksonville 5, Montgomery 4. James Houser returned from a strained quad and gave up 3 runs before being pulled with 2 outs in the 5th. Reid Brignac was 1-4 and Evan Longoria was 1-2 with an RBI. John Jaso hit his 6th home run.

Greenville 12, Columbus 7. Heath Rollins was pounded for the 3rd straight start. This time he allowed 9 runs (8 earned) in 3 innings on 8 hits and 2 walks. Desmond Jennings was 4-4 with 3 doubles to raise his average to .297.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM...

• Wade Davis has been promoted do AA Montgomery. Davis was 3-0 with a 1.84 ERA in 13 starts with Vero Beach. He struck out 88 in 78.1 innings.
  
• Doug Waechter will join the short-season Hudson Valley Renegades for a rehab assignment.
  
• Juan Salas will join AA Montgomery in order to prepare for his return from his 50-game suspension.
• An interview with Ben Zobrist on his demotion to Durham.
  
• Evan Longoria hit his 15th home run on Saturday.
• Jeremy Hellickson gave up 5 runs in 6 innings on Saturday.
  

Devil Rays 4, Twins 3.
Delmon Young likes to throw things very hard and very far and very accurately. We call it Gettin' A Delmon...Jason Kubel Got A Delmon...In the 4th inning, Kubel rambled a little too far towards second base on a line drive to Delmon Young in right center. Despite catching the ball while moving away from first base, Young turned and fired a pea to Carlos Pena at first to double-up Kubel and get the Rays out of the inning...Justin Morneau Got A Delmon...In the 6th inning, Morneau hit a rocket off the right field wall that would be a double on any other night. But on this night Delmon Young was roaming the FieldTurf II of the Trop. He played the ball off the wall, spun and fired a rocket to Brendan Harris at second base. Both Kubel and Morneau should just be grateful that Young wasn't throwing a bat.

As for the rest of the game, the Rays once again were able to get to Twins closer Joe Nathan, scoring 2 in the 9th to tie the game. In 3 appearances this season against the Rays (3 innings) Nathan has given up 9 hits and 4 runs. In his other 10 appearances (10.1 innings) he has allowed only 10 hits and 1 run. In the bottom of the 10th inning (the Rays first extra inning affair of the year) Ben Zobrist fell rounding third base on Harris' double, but made up for the gaffe beating the throw home on Dioner Navarro's ground ball to short.

The Rays are now in sole possession of third place in the AL East, 5.5 games behind the Red Sox and only 1 game behind the Jays for 2nd place. Even more intriguing is that the Rays are only 4 games back in the wild card. But that is the last time we will mention that number until the Rays reach a more important milestone, .500. In our minds there are three numbers the Rays are chasing. 6.5 games is the Rays "mark" in the AL East. 4 games in the Rays mark in the wild card race, but neither of those numbers mean anything until the Rays reach "The Charlie Hough Line". For his career Hough was 216-216. The knuckleballer was the epitome of a .500 pitcher. The Rays cannot think of any other teams until they first surpass Hough's career winning percentage. So from now on we will only speak in terms of "Games behind Charlie Hough". Right now the Rays are 1.5 games behind Charlie Hough.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• The Rays base stealing is greatly improved in the last 10 days. After only being successful on 14 of their first 27 attempts, the Rays have stolen 14 of their last 17.
  
• Josh Hamilton was named NL Rookie of the Month for April. During the month, Hamilton, who started the season as a reserve, hit .266 with 6 home runs, 16 RBI and a stolen base.
• Akinori Iwamura finished second in the AL Rookie of the Month voting to fellow Japanese rookie Hideki Okajima of the Red Sox.
• Greg Norton has been getting at bats in extended spring training, and will begin a rehab assignment in Montgomery on Friday, where he will get 27-30 at bats (6-7 games). Norton should be back with the Rays a week from Friday when the Rays begin a series in Toronto.
  
• Now that Benny Boo Boo is on the bench, he has more free time to visit local school children. The upsetting part is that apparently BenZo was accompanied by his wife and mlb.com could not provide us with any pictures. That's ok, we still have Julianne's MySpace page.
  
• FoxSports has their first power ranking of the season and the Rays come in at #22. Might be the highest we have ever seen the Devil Rays ranked in any power rankings. Of course they mention that Jeff Niemann is returning from Tommy John surgery. Must have him mixed up with Wade Townsend.
  

Devil Rays 6, Cleveland 5.
After last night's victory the Rays have another opportunity to win a series when James Shields takes the mound. Last night the Rays battled back from an early 2-0 deficit and rebounded after blowing a 5-2 lead. Jae Seo picked up just his second win as a Devil Ray, but gave up 5 runs in 6 innings. Four pitchers combined to shut down the Indians over the last 3 innings, including another perfect 9th by Al Reyes for his 6th save in 6 chances. Ty Wigginton went 3-4 with his 4th homer and Delmon Young and BJ Upton each added 2 hits. Upton raised his average to .340.

• Ben Zobrist was dropped form the 2-hole to the 8th spot. In reality, he should just be happy he was in the lineup. Without BenZo in the lineup, Joe Maddon will utilize the spot much differently.
  
• Travis Hafner continues to beat up on the Rays.
  
• The Rays have only had one game decided by more than 4 runs (12-5 loss to Twins).
• Everybody loves the Rays lineup. So do we, but it is like icing on a cake. The icing is great, but doesn't do much without a cake to cover. The Rays are still the only team in baseball with an ERA over 6.
• Everybody.
  
• Jake Westbrook goes to the mound for the Indians today. In his last start, his first after signing a contract extension, he gave up three home runs and 8 runs in 1.2 innings.
• A Mets fan actually attended a game at the Trop before passing judgment and came to the conclusion that it is not that bad.
  
• Should we feel bad for the interpreter when he tells the press that Aki Iwamura wants to speak English fluently? When that happens, the interpreter is out of a job.
• If you were running the Devil Rays, what would your 2009 lineup look like?
  

• We predicted a few days ago that Brendan Harris would start digging into Ben Zobrist's playing time. That is starting to look like a reality.
• The question is whether the Brendan Harris we are seeing is the real Brendan Harris, or if we will soon see the player that was designated for assignment by the Reds.
  
• Where would the Rays be right now without the consistent dominance of Al Reyes?
  
• Buster Olney reports that there is nothing wrong with Brad Lidge's arm or mechanics. His only problem right now is confidence. That could make acquiring him much more difficult.
• The White Sox are in the market for an outfielder....hmmmmm? Paging Mr. Williams.
• Season-ticket holder Dick Vitale is going to the mattresses with a local landlord over the closing of his favorite restaurant.
• An interview with Rays skipper Joe Maddon. The usual party-line commentary.
  

The Rays dropped their third straight, 8-4 to the Rangers in Arlington. Edwin Jackson made hist first start of the season. He had pop on his fastball, hitting 96-97 regularly. He also had control, with only 1 walk. But he did not have command. He gave up 8 hits and did not make it out of the 6th. Still, he left with 2 outs in the 6th with two runners on and the scored 2-2. It took three pitchers to record the final out of the 6th inning, and by the time Gary Glover got the third out, the Rays bullpen had allowed 6 runs to cross the plate. Carl Crawford who we think will hit 30 home runs this season, hit his second on the young season.

• Joe Maddon will consider production at DH to help decide who plays center field on a regular basis. That sounds like a great idea! So if Elijah Dukes wants to play center instead of DH (and why wouldn't he?) his 0-4 last night as DH actually helps him.
• Tonight's starter for the Rangers, Jamey Wright, is not on the active roster. To make room, Texas may have to release Bruce Chen unless they can trade him today.
  
• Usually we find player diaries boring, but in this case we were actually captivated. Akinori Iwamura recounts his first week in the major leagues, which includes receiving a shaving cream pie to the face from James Shields.
• Baseball Musings wonders allowed if the Rays picked up the steal of the off-season in Akinori Iwamura.
  
• Ben Zobrist led the Rays in hitting this spring. Unfortunately it looks as though he used up all his hits in March.
  
• Minor League Ball wants to know who you think Jeff Niemann will compare most favorably to. We say he already compares to this guy!
  
• SportsIllustrated.com has released their first power rankings for 2007. The Devil Rays debut with a respectable #21, one spot ahead of the 2005 World Series champions.
• Diasuke Matsuzaka of the Red Sox may not throw the Gyroball, but Akinori Iwamura sure does. Or at least he likes to throw it during practice.
• The Indians, who have already had 46 games snowed out, are moving their upcoming series with the Angels to Miller Park in Milwaukee. Before they did, they called to see see if the Trop was available.
  

• OK, maybe there is as the Rays and Red Sox tied 1-1. Edwin Jackson struck out 6 and only walked 2 in 4.2 innings. Gary Glover only surrendered 1 walk in 2 innings.
  
• It seems like a bit of a stretch that Jorge Cantu could be sent down to Durham to start the season, but to hear Cantu talk about it, he sounds worried.
  
• Has Gary Glover earned a spot in the bullpen? The way Papa Joe Maddon is speaking of him, he just might have. The problem is Glover is not on the 40-man roster and the team already has one player to remove from the 40-man to make room for Al Reyes.
  
• Dioner Navarro is working his way back from his sore hamstring. He worked 5 innings yesterday and will have today off before working 7 innings tomorrow. Carl Crawford and Rocco Baldelli will both have the day off today as they work back from their ailments.
• The Rays may have caught a break in their season-opening series against the Evil Empire. The Yankees placed Chien-Ming Wang on the DL.
  
• Edwin Jackson has a new mental approach this season and it could translate into a spot in the rotation.
  
• Peter Gammons says that the Rays are one of only four teams with no shot at finishing .500, but that the Rays' talent is "NFL level"...whatever that means.
  
• The Rays and the Pink Sox don't play until July 3, and Joe Maddon does not know yet whether he will employ the "Maddon Shift" that he used against David Ortiz last season.
  
• FoxSports.com is reporting that the Rays have expressed interest in Jorge Julio of the D-Backs. Yes, the Rays need bullpen help, but we can't see this one happening.
  
• Manny, Tim and Neil unleash their mathematical genius and a few big words mixed amongst a lot of little ones to project the 2007 Tampa Bay Devil Rays, with their first installment of "Raise or Raze the Rays". The consensus appears to be that there is no consensus and the Rays may be the biggest question mark in baseball. The guys make a case for the Rays finishing with anywhere from 60 wins in a worst-case scenario to 86 wins with a lot of luck. The most telling statement is the they believe the Rays could potentially contend this season if they were in one of the other divisions. High praise indeed.
• We never liked the "Z-man" nickname, and "Benny Boo Boo" was never going to stick, but "Zoey"? That could work.
  

• Stop us if you have heard this before: The Rays bullpen blew a...Yeah...we thought you might have heard it before. Yeah, yeah, its the first Spring game, but when a guy who is supposed to be one of the only bright spots in the pen gives up a three-run home run to a guy wearing #93, thats not so good. On top of that between the intrasquad game and this game against the Yankees, it took the regulars 10 innings before they picked up their first base hit, a single by Rocco Baldelli to lead off the fourth. Back...is...starting...to...tense up.
• These new Spring Training uniforms are hideous.
  
• Al Reyes will take a major step today towards coming back from surgery.
  
• We have long held the belief here that the team would not be active in this year's free agency but rather they would hold off, allow the young roster one more season of maturation and then become much more active in the market following the 2007 season. This year's over-priced and under-talented free agent class made sticking to the plan much easier for the front office. Many have stated that the 2008 free agent class is much deeper which should bring the prices down a touch. Here is an early look at that class.
• Benny Boo Zobrist is starting to remind us more and more of "Jimmy" from Bull Durham. Jimmy was the very religious guy on the Durham Bulls that would never say a bad word, everybody made fun of him and then he married the hot chick.
  

This hottie attractive lady is Julianna, the wife of Rays shortstop Ben Zobrist. In this piece, we learned that Julianna is an aspiring singer. In fact, not only is she a singer, but she would like to use that music to get in touch with your Christian sensibilities (or whatever the purpose of Christian Rock is).

We were curious and found Julianna's MySpace page. Unfortunately it does not look like Ben has his own MySpace page, and there is not a lot of personal information. However, we did learn from Julianna's comment sections that at least one of their friends refers to Ben as Benny-Boo. ahhh, how cute! There is also a picture from Ben and Julianna's wedding...and here we have a picture of Ben showing off his baserunning skills?

We admit that we have a lot of different genre of music on our iPod, but Christian Rock is not among them. We always thought that Christian Rock singers just wore turtle necks and ankle-length skirts (and those are just the guys). If more Christian Rock singers look like Julianna, we might be willing to give it a shot. How bad could it be if her inspirations include Radiohead?