Tampa Bay Rays Thread

[YanksFan1992]

I have to admit... I enjoy watching them play, particularly when they're beating up on the Red Sox.

Don't get me wrong, though. I want the Yankees to crush the everytime.

Me too, and I really think it's time say their for real.

I'm hoping we win the division and they get the wild card (and then we sweep them in the ALCS ).

[yankeeman61]

Twenty games over .500.......20 over

Who ever would have thought?

[4bronxbombers]

Twenty games over .500.......20 over

Who ever would have thought?

[The FUTURE]

just imagine how good they will be once they get guys like J.Niemann,R.Brignac,F.Perez,W.Davis,J.McGee,D.Price,R.Reid,J.Jaso,D.Jennings,R.Royster,T.Beckham.

[YASS]

just imagine how good they will be once they get guys like J.Niemann,R.Brignac,F.Perez,W.Davis,J.McGee,D.Price,R.Reid,J.Jaso,D.Jennings,R.Royster,T.Beckham.

I hope they'll use some of their revenue from increased ticket sales to buy some first names for those guys.

[blumj]

Twenty games over .500.......20 over

Who ever would have thought?

If I remember right, Pecota had them pegged for 90+ wins.

http://baseballprospectus.com/fantasy/dc/index.php

It was 90.

[Prison Mike]

just imagine how good they will be once they get guys like J.Niemann,R.Brignac,F.Perez,W.Davis,J.McGee,D.Price,R.Reid,J.Jaso,D.Jennings,R.Royster,T.Beckham.

McGee is having TJ surgery this week- but that list is ridiculous.

Hellickson isn't chopped liver either.

[Mel Marquis]

Me too, and I really think it's time say their for real.

I'm hoping we win the division and they get the wild card (and then we sweep them in the ALCS ).

They are absolutely a very solid team but they are also on heckuva roll right now - reminds me alot of Colorado last season. Every break is going there way and they make you beat them. Interesting to see how long they ride out this current streak for.

As Hal Holbrook told Bud Fox in Wall Street "You're on a hot streak, kid. Enjoy it while it lasts... cuz they never do."

[Messerwhitescooter]

Just wondering if anyone know what Neil Diamond song the Tampa Bay stadium deejay was playing after the last game of the Rays' sweep of the Sox last week? I heard reference to it on a sports call in show in New England over the weekend.

[BigCheese]

Just wondering if anyone know what Neil Diamond song the Tampa Bay stadium deejay was playing after the last game of the Rays' sweep of the Sox last week? I heard reference to it on a sports call in show in New England over the weekend.

It was probably "Sweet Caroline," a song they play between the 8th and 9th innings at Fenway Park.

Red Sox fans would have you believe it has long been a tradition at Fenway Park, dating far back (and thereby claim it as their own), but it's actually a fairly recent addition.

According to wikipedia, it started with the Rangers (hockey), and worked itself around to many different sports venues.

Hilarious the Devil Rays would play it to rub it in...

[just-blaze]

just imagine how good they will be once they get guys like J.Niemann,R.Brignac,F.Perez,W.Davis,J.McGee,D.Price,R.Reid,J.Jaso,D.Jennings,R.Royster,T.Beckham.

Not to take away from the Rays but the bolded aren't exactly tearing up AAA and AA.

We have lesser known prospects doing as well or better than those 2.

And like someone else just mentioned, Niemann just had TJS.

Edit: i meant McGee

Edit pt. II: I could just about match a prospect from our system player for player that you just mentioned that has the similar ceiling/results.

[Yankees1962]

Actually Jake McGee is having TJS. Niemann just threw a complete game and SO 12 batters on July 2nd.

[Messerwhitescooter]

It was probably "Sweet Caroline," a song they play between the 8th and 9th innings at Fenway Park.

Red Sox fans would have you believe it has long been a tradition at Fenway Park, dating far back (and thereby claim it as their own), but it's actually a fairly recent addition.

According to wikipedia, it started with the Rangers (hockey), and worked itself around to many different sports venues.

Hilarious the Devil Rays would play it to rub it in...

Thanks for the info.

Red Sox fans have something else to whine about.

[bobbymagee]

Twenty games over .500.......20 over

Who ever would have thought?

Not declaring omnipotence here, but last year all of the signs were beginning to show their organizational progress. I've noticed the Florida Marlins before the 2003 season and the plethora of talent. Now here come the Rays.

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You very much....

[gold23]

Well....I am still quite skeptical of their ability to keep it up for 162 games. Don't get me wrong- this far above .500 has them poised to be a contender throughout unless they revert totally to pre-2008 standards, which I don't expect. But...

Their biggest difference, IMO, is the pen. And unless they change some names in there, I 100% expect it to be worse (possibly considerably) the second half of the year. Just about everyone is wildly overperforming their expected performance, and that is singularly the one area that can submarine a ballclub.

Longoria is the real deal. Whether he goes through a period of adjustment that many go through remains to be seen. If he does, that will be a hole. Their offense, as many have noted, has players who are playing at or near where they typically play- some below, with the exception of Longoria and Navarro. Defense is very good, and is the one constant that will not change.

Kazmir gets hurt every year, and if he goes down that is going to be devastating. Their starters have all been consistently good to very good, and with the youth on that staff it is VERY hard to imagine it being that consistent the whole season.

Don't get me wrong. This is an excellent young team. THey just haven't had a rough patch yet, and it's hard not to expect them to face that patch at some point. I think they will be a good team from here on out, but one that is still in development. I would not, however, be surprised by a Tigers-like nosedive from a few years back.

[The FUTURE]

Not to take away from the Rays but the bolded aren't exactly tearing up AAA and AA.

We have lesser known prospects doing as well or better than those 2.

And like someone else just mentioned, Niemann just had TJS.

Edit: i meant McGee

Edit pt. II: I could just about match a prospect from our system player for player that you just mentioned that has the similar ceiling/results.

David Price ???? Tim Beckham ??? you CAN'T match those guys.

besides I was by no means saying that they had better prospects than the yankees or something like that. I was simply saying they are a good ball club now and have some pieces down on their farm that they can use to upgrade the current team. Once playoff time comes around and the rays start bringing up some of those power arms they have stashed away in the minors, they are going to improve a bit, thats all i was saying.

[gold23]

David Price ???? Tim Beckham ??? you CAN'T match those guys.

besides I was by no means saying that they had better prospects than the yankees or something like that. I was simply saying they are a good ball club now and have some pieces down on their farm that they can use to upgrade the current team. Once playoff time comes around and the rays start bringing up some of those power arms they have stashed away in the minors, they are going to improve a bit, thats all i was saying.

The Joba Chamberlain's of the world are the large exception, not the rule. No doubt the Rays have some amazing arms in the minors- but to expect them to come up and succeed at the ML level right away is expecting a lot.

[The FUTURE]

The Joba Chamberlain's of the world are the large exception, not the rule. No doubt the Rays have some amazing arms in the minors- but to expect them to come up and succeed at the ML level right away is expecting a lot.

when david price comes up, ill be expecting a lot. way more than i was expecting from Joba and thats saying something.

[b-ball-lunachick]

Thanks for the info.

Red Sox fans have something else to whine about.

to be honest, that would piss me off too if I was a Sox fan or player...I'm more old school though -- I like the "act like you've been there before" attitude...

[b-ball-lunachick]

hmm, interesting quote by Kazmir before tonight's game:

We've got the Yankees that are kind of, you know, in desperate mode," said pitcher Scott Kazmir, the former Mets New York Mets farmhand. "It's going to be exciting."

Hope that was exciting enough for you Scott!

[Vin]

I'd love to see BJ Upton pitch.

[THEBOSS84]

I'm loving this slump that the Rays are in. Hopefully they question themselves now.

[TommyK8]

I'm loving this slump that the Rays are in. Hopefully they question themselves now.

I have a feeling that this is going to be a very long weekend for the Rays....they are heading into the all-star break, and Cleveland is overdue to take it out on some team soon....I think it will be the Rays.

[Panamaniac42]

I wonder how the back of their rotation is going to hold up. The 1-2 should be fine but the back 3 will all be venturing into uncharted territory, setting new career highs in IP.

[Dave Visbeck]

I like Tampa Bay when they are playing on the road. I'm glad they still have nine games to play before catching up with their home total games played.

[Big_E]

Something I never thought I'd see...the Rays planning for the post-season...

[Cap080279]

Something I never thought I'd see...the Rays planning for the post-season...

I wouldn't take those days off work just yet if I were a Rays fan.

[YankeePride1967]

I have a feeling that this is going to be a very long weekend for the Rays....they are heading into the all-star break, and Cleveland is overdue to take it out on some team soon....I think it will be the Rays.

You called it!

[TheoShmeo]

Hilarious the Devil Rays would play it to rub it in...

Then again, the Rays haven't won since they played it.

[SoCal Pinstriper]

Orioles reliever Chad Bradford has been assigned to the Tampa Bay Rays, via a waiver claim. In exchange, the Orioles will receive a player to be named later.

http://masnsports.com/2008/08/trade-made.html

Can't believe somebody didn't block this.

[YASS]

http://masnsports.com/2008/08/trade-made.html

Can't believe somebody didn't block this.

Seriously. That's a bullpen upgrade for them, I think. Bradford's pretty effective against righthanders.

[26 and counting]

The Devil Rays have already tied a team record with 70 wins. And it's only August 10th.

Yeah, I still call them the Devil Rays.

[RYMASTER or Ryan_Yankees]

The Devil Rays have already tied a team record with 70 wins. And it's only August 10th.

Yeah, I still call them the Devil Rays.

I generally call them the Devil Rays.

[roblyo33]

Call them what you want..............by any name they are pretty damn good!!!!

[THEBOSS84]

Crawford on the DL with a hand injury, Baldelli called up to replace him.

[RYMASTER or Ryan_Yankees]

Crawford on the DL with a hand injury, Baldelli called up to replace him.

Hopefully Baldelli is rusty.

[yankeesAZ]

Glad to see Baldelli back today when I went to the game. He has been through quite a bit and there were some in the crowd that recognized that and applauded him as he came up to bat.

[Jilali]

I look at their lineup, and I can't see how they do it. And yet they continue to win.

What is it? Pitching and defense and timely hitting? Lotsa luck?

[JPC74]

I look at their lineup, and I can't see how they do it. And yet they continue to win.

What is it? Pitching and defense and timely hitting? Lotsa luck?

They are insanely good at home.

[roblyo33]

I look at their lineup, and I can't see how they do it. And yet they continue to win.

What is it? Pitching and defense and timely hitting? Lotsa luck?

Pitching and a never quit style of play........IMO.

[Brick Tamland]

I look at their lineup, and I can't see how they do it. And yet they continue to win.

What is it? Pitching and defense and timely hitting? Lotsa luck?

They have great to solid starting pitching 1-5. They are comprised of top of the 1st round draft picks. They are resiliant, confident and have a great manager. And no one told them they aren't supposed to beat the Sox and Yanks.

[yankeeman61]

While it's understandable to think they are in trouble the next few games, does anyone realize they are 4-2 against the Angels this year?

[EvanJ]

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?...=.jsp&c_id=mlb

Evan Longoria to the disbaled list.

[26 and counting]

Does anybody else find it insane that at the end of October we could be watching a Tampa Bay-Milwaukee World Series?

As far as I'm concerned, anybody from the National League can make it to the World Series as long as it's not the stupid Mets. As for the AL, if the Yankees don't make the playoffs (which is a very likely chance at this point), I'll be rooting for the Rays.

[sjb23]

Prediction:

This team will go 4-8 (or worse) over the next 12 games. They're in trouble. By the time the Yankees come to Tampa for a 3-game set on Sept 2, the two teams will be jockeying for 1st place in the AL East along with the Red Sox.

You can take out a loan against your home and bet on it -- the Tampa Bay Rays are going down......

[Cheesyhoboe]

The Rays have been injury-free all season compared to most teams, and the ones they did have were nothing major (Bartlett out, Kazmir and Garza out for 2 weeks, Pena out for 3 weeks, Percival here and there). About time the injury bug came around and bit them, too.

[RYMASTER or Ryan_Yankees]

Does anybody else find it insane that at the end of October we could be watching a Tampa Bay-Milwaukee World Series?

As far as I'm concerned, anybody from the National League can make it to the World Series as long as it's not the stupid Mets. As for the AL, if the Yankees don't make the playoffs (which is a very likely chance at this point), I'll be rooting for the Rays.

Conversely, I'll be rooting for the Rays to get swept in the ALDS, become dejected, and lose 90 games in 2009.*

*Yes, I realize they won't be losing 90 games for a long time to come.

[wexy]

I just got a card from Hofstra where I went to school . The alumni of the year is Randy Frankel one of the Rays owners who owns Windham Ski Resort. I was friendly with him in school. He could party. I have no idea how he got so rich.

[LeapsNbounds]

Longoria and Crawford on the DL with hand/wrist injuries.

It will be interesting to see how resilient these Rays are.

[Imperialism]

The Rays have been injury-free all season compared to most teams, and the ones they did have were nothing major (Bartlett out, Kazmir and Garza out for 2 weeks, Pena out for 3 weeks, Percival here and there). About time the injury bug came around and bit them, too.

Kazmir missed all of April, not two weeks. At one point we had eight players on the DL, including Garza, Kazmir, Navarro, and Floyd). Plus there's that whole Rocco Baldelli thing. I mean, all three of our all-star reps will have spent time on the DL. Floyd is no big loss, I'll grant that. Garza's one of the better #3 starters in the league. Maybe we haven't had a crushing season-ending injury(though it looks like Crawford might be lost for the year), but to act like the injury bug hasn't bitten Tampa Bay is just wrong.