THE GOOD: The "Good" starts and ends with Matt Garza who pitched a 2-hitter for his second shutout of the season. One night after Joe Maddon was forced to use all 7 of his relief pitchers in an extra-inning contest, it was imperative Garza work deep into the night and he did not disappoint. Garza did not allow a hit until 2 outs in the 6th, when a blooper fell between Justin Ruggiano and Aki Iwamura...We should also point out that every starter had at least 1 hit, and the Rays "weak" offense produced 4 home runs, including number 24 for the red-hot Carlos Pena, who has now homered in 3-straight games and for the 9th time in his last 20 games.

THE BAD: BJ Upton. How angry was Joe Maddon that Upton failed to run hard twice last night? Papa Joe employed the harshest punishment a manager can do to a player. He embarassed him in the middle of the game. Having already decided to remove Upton from the game in the middle of the 6th inning, Maddon let Upton take the field in the bottom-half of the inning. Before Matt Garza was able to throw a pitch, Papa Joe sent Justin Ruggiano out to the field to replace Upton, foricing Upton to make the baseball-equivalent of the "Walk of Shame" back to the dugout.

THE TELLING: Jason Bartlett was back at SS last night for the first time in 12 days...Matt Garza and James Shields each have 2 shutouts which is tied for the major league lead. The Rays' 4 complete game shutouts is tied with the Dodgers, Milwaukee and Cleveland for the most in baseball. The pitching staff now has 7 complete games and this was the 11th time the team has shutout an opponent. That is second only to the 12 shutouts by the Red Sox and the Indians...The Rays magic number for the playoffs is now 36 over the White Sox/Twins. And the Yankees lost. Again. They should be ashamed of themselves. It is not even September and they are very close to being an afterthought even for the Wild Card.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• Thank you Marc Lancaster...Finally a local media member stood up and emphatically said Barry Bonds is not going to play for the Rays. Of course it took a telling report from Ken Rosenthal at FoxSports in which Bonds agent says he sent Andrew Friedman a text message asking if the Rays would be interested in Bonds and the message went unanswered. [Rays Report]
  
• BJ Upton will also be benched on Saturday. Joe Maddon would not talk to Upton on Friday after the game for fear of saying something he would regret...That is a side of Papa Joe we haven't seen before. [The Heater]
  
• Troy Percival went on the DL with an injury to the cartilage in his knee. Juan Salas was recalled from Durham. Percival will miss 2-4 weeks. [The Heater]
• Joe Maddon said Grant Balfour will not be the de facto closer, instead choosing to go closer-by-comittee. [St. Pete Times]
  
• Andrew Friedman says Juan Salas has been prepped in Durham to give the Rays more than 1 inning at times. [MLB]
  
• The Rays finally signed their 2nd round pick, LHP Kyle Lobstein avoiding the possibility of losing him to the University of Arizona basketball team. Lobstein received a $1.5 million signing bonus. Of the players signed as of yesterday morning, that is the highest bonus given to any player outside of the first round, including supplemental picks between the first and second rounds. The Rays will will wait until next season for Lobstein to make his pro debut...The Rays signed 26 of their top 28 picks. [Rays Report]
• Joe Maddon, a former catcher, spoke with Peter Gammons about what makes a good catcher. [ESPN]

"A well above-average catcher for me would be Mauer," says Rays manager Joe Maddon, a former catcher and noted catching mentor. "An average catcher would have to have the mental acumen to take charge of your staff and display a caring that can be felt by all the pitchers. Next, he has to have the receiving ability and stamina to play at least five games a week. Throwing, I would like to have at least average arm strength with a quick release and accuracy. He has to block balls well and is fearless on plays at the plate. He should be the best worker on the team, and hitting, I would settle for .250 hitter with around 10 home runs or better." "We are," says Maddon, "describing the player who wears 'the tools of intelligence.'"

• One Red Sox blog feels the Rays are upsetting the natural order of things in the AL East and they are not happy about it. [RedSoxSoul]
  

THE GOOD: Looonnnggggg home run by Carlos Pena in the 1st inning. That is 7 in the last 18 games. Pena's bat couldn't have woken up at a better time...Great relay to end the 3rd inning. With a runner on second, a single to left was sent home by Eric Hinske with a perfect relay from Willy Aybar to nail the runner and keep the lead at 2-0. The A's probably don't send the runner if there were less than 2 outs, but the Rays still had to make the play, and they did...The 5th inning could have been much worse. A double, single and intentional walk loaded the bases with no outs. A single to Gabe Gross scored 1, again leaving the bases loaded 2, leaving first and third with no outs. Andy Sonnanstine got the next batter on strikes and then delivered the big blow, a 5-4-3 picture-perfect double play to end the inning...Dioner Navarro's arm. With Troy Percival again struggling with his control and walking the leadoff hitter in the 9th inning of a 1-run game, the A's used a pinch-runner. Navi threw out Rajai Davis trying to steal for the first out. If Davis gets to second base with no outs, Percival would have very likely blown the save.

THE BAD: Troy Percival again struggled with his control, walking 2 in the 9th including the leadoff hitter. 1-run leads in the 9th are going to be an adventure from here on out...Rays batters struck out 12 times.

THE TELLING: For all the naysayers that think the Rays will fall back to Earth after their recent slew of injuries should note the Rays magic number for a playoff spot is now 38 over the Twins. There now appears to only be 4 teams competing for 3 spots as the Yankees are now 3rd in the wild card standings, 6 games back of the Red Sox. So the important numbers now for the Rays are the 3 game lead in the East and the 5.5 game lead over the Twins. No way Yankees will make up 9 games in 6 weeks. As we said last week, The Yankees are dead. The Yankees are roadkill.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• OK, OK...Fine. We'll do it. Today marks the long overdue return of the "Rays Index Live Blog-A-Baloo of the Week". So see you guys back here around 3:30 and we will try to help you through the last couple of hours at work.
• Joe Maddon would not rule out a return of Jason Bartlett to SS this afternoon, although tomorrow sounds more likely. Bartlett is still battling a "bad bone bruise." He played catch yesterday and Tom Foley said he looked better than the day before. [MLB]
  
• Mike Francesa of "The Fatso and Fruit Loops" "The Mike and the Mad Dog" show, finally admits he was wrong about the Rays...If you have never listened to this NYC radio show, let's just say it is a rare day when Mikey admits he is wrong about anything. [Mike and the Mad Blog]
• John Romano of the St. Pete Times takes a look at some recent contenders that also suffered key injuries down the stretch. What we learn is we have no idea what will happen. [St. Pete Times]
  
• The only one of the Rays' top draft picks yet to sign is 2nd round pick Kyle Lobstein. Both sides are expecting a deal to get done by Friday's deadline. [Tampa Tribune]
  
• In case you missed it in the early post, The Immaculate Inning was on hand last night for David Price's triple-A debut and wrote a detailed account. [The Immaculate Inning]
• Gerry Fraley thinks Evan Longoria's trip to the DL could actually help his chances at winning the MVP. [Sporting News]
  
• A Brewers fan offers advice to Rays fans on how to cope with this current rough patch...Listen Brewers fans: Keep your '07 taint as far away from the Rays as possible. Thank You. [The Grand National Championships]
  

If you are having trouble recognizing the individual above...That is Rocco Baldelli. The beard is now officially lumberjacktastic. Rocco...He is a Lumberjack, and he is OK.

Durham 2, Syracuse 1. Mitch Talbot struck out 8 in 6 innings, allowing 1 run on 5 hits and 2 walks...Chris Mason pitched 1 scoreless inning of relief...Scott Dohmann picked up his 12th save...Josh Johnson, the Rays roving minor league catcher drove in both runs with a double in the 7th...Reid Brignac went 1-3 with a walk...John Jaso DH'd and finished 1-4 with a strikeout.

Birmingham 3, Montgomery 1. Rocco Baldelli provided all the offense with a solo home run in the first inning. He struck out twice and finished 1-4...Jeremy Hellickson turned in his best double-A performance to date. He struck out 5 and walked 1 in 7 innings. He allowed 3 unearned runs. One batter after a throwing error by shortstop John Raburn that would have ended the inning Hellickson allowed a 3-run home run.

Dunedin 8, Vero Beach 4. Ryan Royster hit his 7th home run and Matt Fields added his 16th.

West Virginia 9, Columbus 4.

Auburn 7, Hudson Valley 1.

Princeton 4, Danville 2. Tim Beckham did not play.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM...

• Baseball Prospectus is reporting that the Rays are close to deals with their second and fourth round draft picks. [Baseball Prospectus]

Fresh off of one of the quicker No. 1 overall pick signings in recent memory, the Rays will continue to build their farm system as well with some big bonuses. Sources indicate that second-round pick Kyle Lobstein will sign with Tampa for $1 million, and that fourth-round selection Ty Morrision [sic], a toolsy outfielder with plus speed and power projection, will also sign for a 'slightly' over-slot bonus.