September 9-11, 2050: at Minnesota (3)
 

Game 1: Nicola Greico was excellent and so was the offense as the Rays took the opener 7-1 from the Twins at Target Field. The lefty pitched his best game in a while going 7 4 1 1 2 7 to improve to 10-6. Beau Bonczek (#30), Alex Duran (#20) and Jon Morales (#31) all homered to pace the offense.

Game 2: The Rays got a great start from Greg Bookhart and survived some shaky work from the bullpen to hang on to a 6-4 win. Bookhart went to 10-2 after a 7 4 0 0 1 7 outing but Mike Bertram and Chris Hetzel combined to allow 4 runs in the 8th. Steve Talbott cleaned up in the 9th for save #24. Juan Viatoro had a 2-run homer (#22) while Luis Barela drove in a pair including his 48th homer.

Game 3: Tampa Bay couldn't complete the sweep, losing the finale 4-2, losing a chance to gain ground on New York who lost today, and losing one of their top hitters for the rest of the season and perhaps until at least the World Series should they get there. The worst news first: Juan Viatoro took a fastball off his face and suffered a broken cheekbone, a 5-6 week injury. The 1B, who could always hit for average, added power to his game and finished his breakout season at 350/396/561 with 22 HR and 95 RBI, good for 5.2 WAR. Ruben Ramirez, himself a 327/360/606 hitter although mostly against lefties, is a good fall-back option at the position. As for the game Dave Rose (10-12) wasn't his sharpest at 6.2 7 4 4 2 7 and the bats didn't do a lot outside of Alex Duran's solo homer (#21).

Team record: 87-57, still 4 behind New York. Next up: A massive series as the Yankees come to Publix Park for 3 games. At a minimum they need to take 2 of 3 but realistically a sweep is imperative.

After the game Viatoro was placed on the 15-day IL and 1B Eric Wilson, who hit 282/344/508 with 22 HR and 95 RBI this year at Durham, was called up. Wilson is a lefty hitter but will Ruben Ramirez will get first crack against righties.

September 12-14, 2050: vs NY Yankees (3)
 

Game 1: The biggest series of the season opened at Publix Park with the Rays trailing the visiting Yankees by 4 games and Rex Bransington showed up, going 5 2 1 1 4 10 in a dominant performance. Unfortunately his teammates with bats didn't though, and the Yankees took the opener 3-0 to move back ahead by 5 games. Bransington dropped to 6-2 as a Ray and 11-9 overall with the undeserved loss while the offense, which scores runs in its sleep, only managed six hits.

Game 2: The Rays picked up a necessary win in the second game as the bats showed up and they routed the Yankees 9-2. It was a 4-1 game until they unloaded for 5 runs in the 7th. Luis Barela was 3-4 with a double and 2 RBI, Ruben Ramirez homered (#16) and drove in a pair, and Ismael Morales contributed a 2-run single. Alec McInerney went to 8-1 as a Ray with a fine 5 3 1 1 3 6 start and Brad Mabe made his season debut, going the final 1 2/3 scoreless.

Game 3: This was the pivotal game to decide whether the Rays were likely to be also-rans in the division or still had a chance, and to add to the tension it took 14 innings to decide before Ruben Ramirez's 2-run walk-off homer (#17) in the 14th gave the Rays a vital 5-3 win and pulled them within 3 of the Yankees with a 3-game series between the teams in New York scheduled to end the regular season. Tampa Bay took a 3-1 lead in the 5th on Mario Saro's 3-run jack (#39) as he joined teammates Luis Barela and Beau Bonczek in the 100-RBI club but New York quickly responded with 2 in the 6th off starter Nicola Grieco, who finished 5 3 3 3 2 3. Steve Morris (5-2), the fourth Rays reliever and a former Yankee, went the final two innings for the win.

Team record: 89-58. Next up: An off-day then Toronto visits for 3 games.

September 16-18, 2050: vs Toronto (3)
 

Game 1: If the Rays come back to win the AL East this season today's game is going to be high on the list of memories as they erased an 8-0 Toronto lead after 4 1/2 to take an 11-9 win in a classic Publix Park game. Greg Bookhart didn't have it today (3 9 5 5 2 2) and neither did former Jay Melvin Delgado who allowed three more runs. But they halved the lead in the bottom of the 5th including a 2-run Nelson Bocardo double, tied the game in the 7th on a 2-run double from Luis Barela and a 2-run Mario Saro single, and won it in the 8th with 3 more on Bocardo's RBI single and a 2-run Barela single. Willie Navarro (4-1) picked up the win in relief and Steve Talbott gave up his customary run (on a homer) in the 9th for save #25.

Game 2: Another lousy start from the staff but this time no stirring comeback was forthcoming and the Jays dealt the Rays a costly defeat 8-3. Dave Rose's season of inconsistency continued as he dropped to 10-13 after a bad 6.1 10 5 5 1 2 outing. Luis Barela did his MVP best to start a comeback, homering twice and knocking in all 3 Tampa Bay runs to improve to 50 and 130 in those categories.

Game 3: Once again the Rays played Lazarus as they came back from 5-2 down in the 8th to walk it off against Toronto 7-6. Today's struggling starter was Rex Bransington (3 7 4 4 4 3) but five 1-run innings from the pen kept it in reach and they took the lead in the 8th with a 4-spot featuring a solo Jon Morales homer (#32) and Juan Davila's clutch 3-run blast (#20). Of course Steve Talbott then blew the save (his 9th) in the 9th allowing Toronto to tie, but the offense rescued him in the bottom of the frame when they loaded the bases and Alex Duran brought home the winner on a sac fly. Morales was 4-4 with a walk and 2 RBI on the day.

Team record: 91-59. Alas all their late-inning drama this weekend only kept them from falling even farther behind the Yankees as New York swept Seattle and upped the division lead to 4 games with only 12 left. Their magic number to clinch a wild card is down to 2 and they are all but set to host Oakland (or the Angels, 3 behind the A's).

September 19-21, 2050: at Baltimore (3)
 

Game 1: Somehow a 1-1 game going into the bottom of the 8th ended up 8-5 with the Rays on the wrong end of the scoreline. Alec McInerney was decent (5.2 7 1 1 0 3) but the offense was quiet and in the 8th Willie Navarro (4-2) and Kevin Leonard conspired to allow 7 runs. The Rays then got 4 back in the top of the 9th, mostly on a 3-run Mario Saro homer (#40) but it was too little, too late and they fell another game behind the Yankees.

Game 2: The Rays bounced back to win by the same score they lost by the night before, getting by Baltimore 8-5. The big blows in the game were a pair of 3-run homers, one from Luis Barela (#51) and the other from CJ Yamaguchi (#10). The 51 homers are a season-high in the illustrious career of Barela (actually his 47th a little while ago was his career high as well). Nicola Grieco (11-6, 5.1 7 5 5 1 5, 3 HR) wasn't very good but was awarded the win and Steve Talbott had a rare 1-2-3 9th for his 26th save.

Game 3: Tampa Bay took the series with a run in the 9th thanks to a two-base Oriole error and scratched out a 7-6 win. A Yankees loss means they're back within 4 games but with only 9 left in the season the division is the longest of long shots, however they did officially clinch a wild card. They trailed 6-1 after 4 as Greg Bookhart was knocked around to the tune of 4 8 6 6 0 1 but a 3-run Alex Duran homer (#22) in the 5th got them back in it and RBI doubles from Mario Saro and Nelson Bocardo tied it in the 6th. And Saro was on base in the 9th when Jon Morales' grounder was thrown in the dugout and the winning run scored from second. Mel Mejia (7-2) picked up the win in relief and with all lefties due for Baltimore in the 9th Joe Roberts earned his first Rays save and 33rd of the year overall.

Team record: 93-60. Next up: 3 games in Seattle after a day off.

September 23-25, 2050: at Seattle (3)
 

Game 1: Dave Rose's star-crossed season was on full display in the opener as he was hit for 5 runs before settling down and watching the Rays take a 7-5 lead, then giving up a couple of more runs and Tampa Bay eventually lost 8-7. Rose finished 4.1 6 7 7 3 6 and saw his ERA rise to 5.21 despite nearly a 3-WAR season. Chris Hetzel (3-4) gave up the winner. Tampa Bay got a 3-run homer from Jon Morales (#33) and a 4-hit game from Alex Duran, who drove in a run.

Game 2: The Rays annihilated Seattle 10-0 in the second game. Rex Bransington (7-2, 6.1 4 0 0 2 5) and Mike Bertram combined on the shutout while Beau Bonczek was 2-4 with a 3-run homer (#31) and 4 RBI as he is now the fourth Ray with 100+ ribbies. Luis Barela added a 2-run shot (#52) and Juan Davila (#21) found the seats with a man on as well.

Game 3: Tampa Bay dropped the rubber game 7-3 to Seattle and is now one loss or one Yankee win from officially being relegated to second place, and with the loss they'll now need to win their final six to avoid failing to reach the 100-win mark for the first time in a quarter-century when they only won 95 in 2025. Alec McInerney (8-2) went 5 5 4 4 1 5, giving up 3 in the 5th to lose a 2-1 lead. Nelson Corona got a start and led the offense going 3-4 with an RBI.

Team record: 94-62. Next up: Back home for 3 vs Cleveland, our final regular season home games before a wild card home game. The opponent in that game had looked for weeks like Oakland, but the A's have seen their second wild card lead dwindle to one over the Angels and two over the Twins so it's now anyone's guess. That's the only race left in MLB with the Yankees, White Sox and Astros AL division winners and the Mets, Brewers and Rockies taking their divisions in the NL with a Giants-Diamondbacks wild card game all set up.

September 26-28, 2050: vs Cleveland (3)
 

Game 1: The Rays used a couple of longballs to pull out a 4-3 win over the Guardians at Publix Park with Jon Morales' 34th of the year walking it off in the 9th after Ruben Ramirez tied it in the 8th with his 18th, a solo shot. Juan Davila earlier hit #22 and Nicola Grieco pitched well (6.2 6 2 2 1 4) and deserved a win but left a 2-2 game. Melvin Delgado (10-8) pitched the 9th and picked up the relief win.

Game 2: Tampa Bay easily handled Cleveland 8-4 but officially lost the division for the first time in 25 seasons when the Yankees beat Baltimore. Ruben Ramirez drove in 3 with a single and a 2-run homer (#19), Mario Saro was 2-4 with 2 RBI including HR #41, and Luis Barela chased home two more runs. Greg Bookhart (11-2), in his final tuneup before pitching the wild card game next week, got the win going 5 7 3 2 3 3.

Game 3: The Rays completed the sweep of Cleveland and kept their hopes of winning 100 games alive (they'll have to sweep the Yankees on the final weekend) with another easy win 8-2. At age 35 and with 5 MVP awards already sitting on his mantel, it's almost surreal to say that Luis Barela is having his best-ever season this year. But after going 4-4 today with a pair of homers he now has career-highs in that category (54), RBI (140), WAR (9.4, matching his 2044 total and with three games left to increase or decrease), runs scored (137) and slugging (.645, just ahead of 2048's .643 and also subject to change). Just another remarkable season in a remarkable career. As for the game in addition to Barela's blasts they got homers from Mario Saro (#42), Nelson Bocardo (#12) and Jon Morales (#35). Dave Rose (11-13) closed his checkered season on a high note, going 5 3 2 2 1 10 for the win.

Team record: 97-62. Next up: An off-day then three games in the Bronx to close out the regular season, games that a couple of weeks ago looked like they might have meant something but now don't, other than for team and personal milestones.

MLB Playoff Update: The lone remaining race, for the 2nd AL Wild Card and a trip to Publix Park, looks to be Oakland's to lose as they hold a 2-game lead on the Angels with 3 left.

Down on the farm:

https://i.imgur.com/HVAw46z.png

Granqvist was our 5th round pick this year and looks like a steal with his pro career having hit the ground running (or raking). And his projections back it up: 70 contact, 55 power, 65 avoid Ks and 70/50/60 defensively across the outfield.

September 30-October 2, 2050: at NY Yankees (3)
 

Game 1: The Yankees took away the last team goal worth playing for as they beat the Rays 8-2 in the opener meaning Tampa Bay would not win 100 games. Rex Brasington (7-3) was awful, going 3 5 6 6 4 3. Beau Bonczek's solo homer (#32) was the Rays' lone highlight.

Game 2: Although the Rays came back to tie it in the 9th on Alex Duran's RBI single off former teammate Abelaldo Gray, the Yankees still prevailed 8-7 in 10 innings. Duran's equalizer capped a big day for him as he was 3-5 with HR #23 and 3 RBI, Juan Davila belted a pair of solo shots to give him 24 and Ruben Ramirez joined the 20-homer club with a solo clout of his own. It was the pitching that was the problem today as Alec McInerney was 5.2 8 5 4 0 3 and Joe Roberts lost his first decision as a Ray.

Game 3: The Rays closed the season in miserable fashion, getting swept by the Yankees in a 3-2 loss although these games were meaningless and Tampa Bay emptied the bench in today's game. One of those benchwarmers had the game of his life as Nelson Corona was 3-3 with his first MLB homer which accounted for both runs. Nicola Grieco wasn't bad at 5 5 2 2 1 7 but still took the loss to drop to 11-7.

Final Regular Season Record: 97-65, a great season for most teams but a major down year for this team although if they make a run through the playoffs and win another Series it will be a footnote. But first they have to win the Wild Card Game, and thanks to an Angels sweep of Oakland we don't know who they'll be playing yet as those two will meet in a fourth straight game, this time in a one-game playoff to get to a one-game playoff.

MLB News: The only other race in doubt turned out to be the NL East but the Mets finally won on the final day to secure the division at a mediocre 83-79 (shades of 1973).

October 3, 2050: AL Wild Card Tiebreaker Game
 

We now have an opponent...

https://i.imgur.com/ER9JSTS.png

And as it looked for most of the last couple of months it will be the A's after all as they eked out a win in the tiebreaker game to make up for being swept by the Angels over the weekend. So we'll see Oakland in a couple of days at Publix Park as the Rays play their first wild-card game since 2021.

Final 2050 Regular Season Standings and Rays Stats
 

https://i.imgur.com/Su5uWe8.png

An unfamiliar sight with a different team atop the AL East. Despite going down for the season with an injury on September 11, Juan Viatoro accumulated enough plate appearances to qualify for and win the AL batting title.

https://i.imgur.com/FT8JYHb.png

This team quite simply was the worst defensive team I've ever assembled, and consider how many poor ones I've had over the years, that's really saying something. You can tell that the pitching wasn't that bad since we were 2nd in WAR yet 13th in ERA in the AL, and all those extra hits allowed were the difference. The big change this year from last was the two best defenders we had either lost their ability to play effective D (Morioka) and went free agent (Chris Parham). And Henry Murillo broke his hand after we acquired him to provide good-glove, no-hit play at SS.

Next year I'm going to make a real effort to improve the D even at the expense of the O but for now we are what we are.

https://i.imgur.com/tXp15Wn.png

Nothing not to like about these numbers as usual.

https://i.imgur.com/onBNJ0G.png

Just look at those BABIPs and weep, I'm sure these pitchers did.

October 5 & 6, 2050: AL/NL Wild Card Game
 

A fitting end to the season....

https://i.imgur.com/q0Yonlo.png

The team that couldn't prevent runs all season didn't prevent them when it mattered most tonight and the Rays are out of the 2050 playoffs almost as quickly as they began, losing the wild card game to Oakland. Greg Bookhart, in what will probably be his final Rays start after becoming the team's all-time wins leader (128) and starts (234) earlier this year, set the dark tone early by giving up a pair of homers in the first including a 3-run shot, and things didn't get any better from there. Jon Morales and Luis Barela (who refused to make the final out) had late consolation 2-run homers but it was nowhere near enough. Oakland will move on to play the Yankees and it will be a Tampa Bay-free postseason from this point forward for the first time since 2021.

Since the Rays are out the rest of the playoff coverage will be in summary form, starting with the NL Wild Card Game:

https://i.imgur.com/nD5UTVO.png

Who knew Yuji Morioka would be going farther than his former teammates? Good luck to him and the Giants!

The playoff tree:

https://i.imgur.com/8q4KTJ2.png

The 2050 Division Series Round
 

In the AL:

https://i.imgur.com/tuteHXo.png
https://i.imgur.com/9TexGh6.png

Oakland came down from 0-4 after 6 innings to pull out the win in the deciding Game 5 with 3 runs in the 8th off former Ray Abelaldo Gray to do the trick. They've now upset the top two teams in the East and will play...

https://i.imgur.com/DvrjYHN.png

...perennial playoff underachievers the White Sox, who handled Houston shutting them out in the final two games.

In the NL:

https://i.imgur.com/lj8IzUd.png

Yes the "T.Laboy" who homered in Game 2 is former Rays corner IF Tomas Laboy, who along with Yuji Morioka have a chance to add to their already-sizable number of rings. Who knew though that leaving Tampa Bay would give them their best chance of doing so?

https://i.imgur.com/da0j1Ye.png

Laboy and Morioka will have to get by the Brewers to play for another ring, and Milwaukee also pulled off an NLDS sweep.

The 2050 League Championship Series Round
 

https://i.imgur.com/8vhV1lj.png

Chicago's Joel Taylor was named Series MVP as the White Sox took advantage of the Rays' absence at this stage to finally make it to the World Series for the first time since they won it in 2021, also a year in which the Rays lost in the wild card game.

Their opponents?

https://i.imgur.com/D338zwN.png
https://i.imgur.com/qr3Tvfh.png

So former Rays Tomas Laboy and Yuji Morioka still have a shot at yet another ring.

The 2050 World Series
 

Congrats to recent former Rays Yuji Morioka and Tomas Laboy - maybe they were the missing pieces for us this year, with Laboy named Series MVP after going 11-25 with a homer and 4 RBI. It was Laboy's 7th ring and his second series MVP after winning it for the 2048 ALCS:

https://i.imgur.com/VSi3Wiw.png
https://i.imgur.com/BgR2aqL.png

2050-51 Offseason: State of the Team
 

By the standards of recent years and most of this save, 2050 was a trying season which saw us fail to win 100 games, fail to win the division, and fail to advance beyond the wild card round. It was also a fairly unenjoyable brand of baseball we played with one of worst defensive clubs ever, meaning we had to constantly rely on our top offense to outscore the opposition.

So we have come to a turning point in the franchise as the perpetual-motion machine that cranked out 110+ win teams and regular World Series titles has finally sputtered and needs an overhaul. And owner Jorge Rios has forced my hand on that point as he's slashed payroll to $150M from the $180M we had last season. So not only does that mean there's no money to re-sign longtime staff ace Greg Bookhart (at least not yet), we're going to have to get rid of some high-salaried guys just to keep those who are due arbitration bumps.

Therefore we're going to have to "do more with less" and re-evaluate the team at several positions. First of all the priority is going to improve the defense. We don't need to acquire a slate of Gold Glovers but we have to at least get average guys in the field to replace the awful ones. The offense will take something of a hit, but that's the price we have to pay. A position-by-position look:

C: Nelson Bocardo dropped off last year to 2 WAR, is going into his final year of team control and is going to cost $22M. In other words, bye-bye. We have David Morales at Durham who can hit .300 in his sleep, just without any power (not that Bocardo was a slugger, more of a 10-15 HR guy aided by Publix Park). Morales is a 65-rated catcher so no issues there. I've tried shopping Bocardo but nobody wants him at that salary so as heretical as it may sound regarding an all-star catcher I may just non-tender him.

1B: We have a lot of guys who can play this position, most notably Juan Viatoro, who won the batting title and earned 5+ WAR. He's due for a raise to $6M in arbitration and Ruben Ramirez, who is insanely productive off the bench and against lefties, is due for a raise to $4M. Do I want to pay $10M for both? Maybe. These two aren't breaking the bank so they may both stay.

2B: Juan Davila can flat-out rake. And he also plays defense like he's using a rake instead of a glove. Despite an atrocious -14.7 ZR he still earned nearly 4 WAR. His best position is 1B or DH and we already have 1B taken care of. And he's due $20M in arbitration. I haven't shopped him yet but I will.

SS: Our big black hole as Yuji Morioka aged out of the position and rental defensive whiz Henry Murillo got hurt, pressing Ismael Morales (a decent backup IF) into the role. Morales hit over .300 with little power but also was a sieve defensively (-12.5 ZR). He makes the minimum so he could stay as a backup but we have to find a full-time SS who can play the position.

3B: Luis Barela's going to make another $35M this year but I have zero complaints: he had another MVP season and he had a slightly positive ZR making him the defensive wizard of our IF.

LF: Mario Saro was once a promising defensive CF who bulked out of the position and now can't even play a competent LF even though he has an elite bat. He put a -10.7 ZR in the least demanding OF position so that will give you some idea of how bad a fielder he is. Combine that with him being due for a little under $20M in his final year of team control and trade bait he is as well.

CF: Beau Bonczek had a great season with the bat but struggled in the field, where have you heard that before? We signed Beau on a make-good $1.1M one-year deal last season and he made good with 32 HR and 4.3 WAR despite a -12.0 ZR (I think our defensive zones this past season were a 3-foot radius around each player). He's arb-eligible at around $6.3M so I'd like to keep the bat and move him to LF where he should be decent. Of course that means I need to find a CF.

RF: Jon Morales dropped off from his amazing MVP/Rookie of the Year 2049 but was still pretty good at 4 WAR. And he can actually play RF with a +2.3 ZR while still making the minimum so nothing to change here.

DH: Alex Duran platooned with Ruben Ramirez here and Duran raked to the tune of 318/366/590 and I can't very well complain about defense. The only issue is that he's going to make $10-11M next year in arbitration and if I keep Davila I need the DH spot for him.

Bench: Chris Kidd can play a competent CF but I'm not sold on him being an everyday starter given that the bat is light and he's a lefty who really can't hit lefties. It may finally be Jon McGovern's time to shine as the rookie can hit a little better than Kidd and is his defensive equal. Ismael Morales could be the backup MI since he can hit .300 and steal bases and hopefully won't have to play much SS. Alvaro Alejandre is a decent backup C and can back up David Morales (man we have a lot of Moraleses) instead of Bocardo next year. And then there's CJ Yamaguchi, who only hit 383/435/652 in 141 AB filling in for Duran while he was hurt. He's a DH-only which makes it tough to keep him on the roster unless he's the full-time DH. Maybe I trade Duran but then there's Davila and Ramirez.

Rotation: As much as I want to bring Greg Bookhart back I doubt I can afford him given how much he'll command and our reduced payroll. So I'm going to assume here he's gone which leaves with a rotation makeover on our hands. Alec McInerney, Nicola Grieco and Melvin Delgado are free agents, leaving only Dave Rose and Rex Bransington as returnees and leaving three openings. Lefties Steve Morris and Brad Mabe can start and may have to, and there's Bill Ruiz who pitched decently in relief. Probably going to need to net a starter if I trade Saro, Davila and/or Duran.

Bullpen: The good and the bad is that most everyone's back. Steve Talbott was a terrible disappointment as the closer, and it wasn't all on the defense as he showed a surprising penchant to give up homers. He's owed $15M for another season so he gets another shot. Setup guys like Navarro, Mejia and Leonard had good years despite it all. Chris Hetzel was up-and-down but a lot of that was D-related as he has good ratings and stuff, and maybe Joe Roberts can regain the closer form he had in Texas. An improved D should make this a capable pen.

Prospects: We have some really good defensive shortstops in the pipeline (Tony Loera, Juan de Oca), a top-50 OF prospect in Jesus Avalos who was good at AA but probably will have to play a corner and those spots are full, and the #35 overall prospect in pitcher Randy Mastropietro who just needs to get his control under control to join the rotation. I mentioned McGovern earlier as a CF option. We also have 1B Nesty de la Rosa, who hit over .300 at AA and could be Juan Viatoro 2.0 but Viatoro 1.0 has the job now.

So the tl;dr version of the above is this:

1. Slash payroll $30-40M
2. Make over the team defensively
3. Find a couple of starting pitchers

#1 is going to make 2 & 3 the most challenging offseason in many years for this save.

2050-51 Offseason: Part 1
 

Let the bloodletting begin:

https://i.imgur.com/2SAfUvf.png

As mentioned in the previous post, Saro needed to go and in return we addressed a couple of our needs: starting pitching and defense. Winger isn't an ace but he'll help with the back end of the rotation and is coming off a 3-WAR, 10-5, 3.50 season with Boston. Wood meanwhile is a 70 2B and 60 SS defensively although he isn't much of a hitter. He could start but should at least work out as the backup MI.

Meanwhile in Tampa the weather's usually always too warm for even a light jacket, let alone a Chinchilla:

https://i.imgur.com/Y6g6kjZ.jpg

This was not a cost-cutting move as we traded three prospects to get Chinchilla, who may win the Gold Glove in the NL at SS and was recently considered one of the top prospects in baseball:

https://i.imgur.com/EfzuSa2.png

He had an impressive first full season in the bigs, holding his own at the plate and impressing with the glove and has potential to be better. The price was a bit high (why my AGM didn't like it). Wilson was down our pecking order at 1B but deserves a spot in the bigs, Black was our #1 pick a few years ago who has 2-way ability but hasn't wowed yet, and Ervin is a great defensive SS prospect with a questionable bat. Obviously Chinchilla gives us the slick-fielding SS we wanted with the promise of more.

One of the game's all-time greats (and one of the Rays') hung up the cleats so we retired his number:

https://i.imgur.com/H4PVJUp.png

His final career page:

https://i.imgur.com/RVIF3II.png

An easy first-ballot HOFer as you can see by his Hall metrics in the lower left.

Meanwhile in other MLB retirement news longtime superstar Kevin Crater, who had one great season for us in 2047, retired with 648 career homers which is good for 15th on the all-time list. He spent most of his career with the Dodgers, who retired his #28.

Awards season:

Gold Glove: No Rays, LOL. But Daniel Chinchilla did in fact win the award at SS.

Reliever of the Year: It was our old friend Steve Falcon who won in the AL with Houston with 49 saves, a 1.78 ERA and 3.0 WAR. If I knew he'd rebound like this I would have re-signed him; instead all I got Steve Talbott and this lousy T-shirt. In the NL another former Ray won as Freddy Zamora had a 44-save, 2.28 ERA, 3.2 WAR season for San Francisco. And a third former Ray, Willie Minier, finished second for Colorado.

Silver Slugger: We did have a couple of winners with Luis Barela at 3B and Beau Bonczek in CF.

Cy Young: Austin's Michael Bussey, who went 13-7, 2.65, won the AL award while the Dodgers' Sam Chapman (18-9, 2.73) took the NL honors.

MVP: We were privileged to have Jaiden Hardaway on our roster, and likewise we're privileged to have this guy:

https://i.imgur.com/SvYRWED.png

This is Barela's 6th MVP award, putting him one shy of the all-time record holder Barry Bonds. Maybe he can pull even with Bonds next season - I wouldn't put it past him. Our Juan Viatoro finished fifth.

In the NL, Brewers slugger Mike Sistare (.292-54-138, 6.8 WAR) won in a very close vote over Arizona's Greg Barrett, 18-14 and 378-358.

So long Nelson Bocardo:

https://i.imgur.com/UplunGP.png

And now we're down in the low 130s for payroll, under the 150 we were allotted this year. Bocardo is an All-Star catcher, but is coming off a down year, only had one year of team control left and was looking at $22-23M in arbitration so getting Scoggins beats non-tendering him. Scroggins is a low-contact, moderate-power, high-walk, average-to-slightly-above-average defense guy who profiles as an MLB backup, perfect for when we have to start paying Alvaro Alejandre more than the minimum.

December 11: Nicola Grieco, who had a decent run for us last season after being acquired from Toronto, signed a 5/91 deal with Cleveland.

December 21: Added 1B Nesty de la Rosa, OF Juan Rodriguez and P Randy Mastropietro to the 42-man roster.

de la Rosa and Mastropietro are two of our top prospects, and J-Rod has a fine bat but no real defensive position.

December 22: The Rule 5 Draft passed without losing anybody, although the Red Sox took one of my favorite names in baseball:

https://i.imgur.com/YtwK6Vy.png

Sounds like the name of a bad alt-country band.

December 27: Signed SP Jimmy Bernal to a 1-year, $1.6M contract.

Bernal will fill the back end of the rotation, as one might surmise from the modest contract he signed. He's rated 50/70/60 so if our defense really is improved from last year he can be effective. He's 34 and spent most of the early part of his career in relief before being converted into a starter in 2048. He was 7-10, 3.97 in 19 starts (28 appearances) combined with Minnesota and Boston last year and fills out our rotation for now.

2050-51 Offseason: Part 2
 

I had a whole Part 2 typed out but lost it in a browser crash so the tl;dr version is

*Mike Barkley, former Rays closer in 2043, was the only one elected to the HoF. Jasson Dominguez finished a few votes short and Danny Ayala wasn't too far behind

*Our ace of the last several years Greg Bookhart signed a 5/100 deal with the Red Sox.

No new player acquisitions.

2051 Opening Day Roster & Preseason Predictions
 

We had a real roster crunch in terms of guys who were without options so we had to wave the following to get down to 28: Brad Mabe, Jeremy King, Nate Cole, Steve Holt and Tony Olivo. Mabe and Olivo have been with the big club before and Mabe was most the most agonizing call in this regard. Holt was once a top prospect but isn't anymore, King came in a minor trade last season and is a useful lefty but we have several of those including one more we just got (see below) and Cole is a low-average slugging 1B we grow on trees.

And one more guy out of options was traded:

https://i.imgur.com/tsb6jJO.png

Tim James has always been a tease with his 75 stuff but his 35 control has played up a lot more whenever he's been up with the big club. He was too good to waive though and in shopping him I found Kay, a lefty who's rated 70/50/65 and has earned 2.5 WAR each of the last two seasons. Minnesota really worked him as he led the league in appearances the last two years (89 and 87) and threw 108 and 115 innings in relief, unheard-of numbers these days. Hopefully he's not worn down.

So this leaves the following Opening Day Roster:

C-D.Morales, Alejandre
1B-Viatoro
2B-Davila
SS-Chinchilla
3B-Barela
IF-Wood, I.Morales
LF-Bonczek
CF-McGovern
RF-Morales
DH-Duran, R.Ramirez
OF-Yamaguchi (really PH/DH, Duran can play the OF)

SP-Rose, Bransington, Winger, Morris, Bernal
LR-Bertram
MR-Hetzel, Roberts, Leonard, Ravin, Kay
SU-Navarro, Mejia
CL-Talbott


Preseason picks:

https://i.imgur.com/CKDoFYY.png

BNN is calling for a repeat of last season with the Yankees beating us out, but they do seem to be on board with our defensive improvements, projecting a team 3.99 ERA (including a 20-win season for Dave Rose!). Our offense still looks like the best in baseball although not so far above the pack, which makes some sense considering we traded out the bats of Saro and Bocardo for D.Morales and McGovern.

March 30-April 2, 2051: at Baltimore (4)
 

The opening day box...

https://i.imgur.com/oQeRjpr.png

Ugh. The more things change, as they say. The new-and-improved run prevention was nothing of the sort as the bullpen blew not one, not two, but three leads from the 9th inning onward to lose the season opener in Baltimore. Just like last year, Dave Rose couldn't keep the ball in the park. Just like last year, Steve Talbott couldn't have a save situation he didn't blow, and just like last year the pitching and defense gave up a ton of hits (17 in 12 innings). The new guys weren't the problem: David Morales doubled twice including the go-ahead run in the 8th, Jon McGovern had a steal and an RBI, and Dantel Chinchilla hit a 2-run homer in the 12th to give us a 10-8 lead. No, instead it was same old culprits that led to the loss.

Transaction: Brad Mabe was claimed on waivers by Minnesota. Sadly we lost the one guy I was afraid of losing from the batch we put on waivers.

Game 2: The Rays nabbed their first win of 2051, holding on to beat Baltimore 6-5. Juan Davila hit his first two homers of the year, driving in 3, Beau Bonczek had a solo shot and Luis Barela smashed a 2-run blast to supply the runs. Rex Bransington (1-0) wasn't spectacular, but good enough at 5 5 3 3 3 4 and Steve Talbott got the save this time but not without allowing a homer in the 9th.

Game 3: Unbelievable. Chad Winger made an impressive Rays debut by going 7 5 1 1 3 3 and surely the bullpen could protect a 4-1 lead after 7, right? Right? Nope. Mel Mejia gave up 2 runs in the 8th and with Steve Talbott unavailable Willie Navarro (0-1) did his best Talbott impersonation and gave up a 3-run homer to let Baltimore walk off a 6-4 win. Before the meltdown Juan Davila led the offense with a 2-run homer, his third in two games.

Game 4: No bullpen problems in the finale and that's because the Rays were blown out 8-0 by Baltimore. Steve Morris (0-1) was rocked at 2.2 9 6 4 0 1 and the bats were held to a mere three hits.

Team record: 1-3. And we're already 3 games behind the Yankees, who swept their 4-game series with Boston including a beatdown of former Rays ace Greg Bookhart in his Red Sox debut. Next up: Off to Toronto for 3 games.

April 3-5, 2051: at Toronto (3)
 

Game 1: Well we went from losing slugfests to now losing low-scoring games as Toronto edged the Rays 2-1 in 14 innings. The bullpen blew it again with Willie Navarro giving up a run in the 8th to lose a 1-0 lead earned on Juan Viatoro's 1st-inning solo shot (#1). Jimmy Bernal had a good Tampa Bay debut going 5 6 0 0 0 1 and the offense had some chances with multiple runners on late and early in extras, but eventually the dam broke and Toronto scored the winner off Chris Hetzel (0-1).

Game 2: Dave Rose was terrible again and the Rays went down to defeat once again 7-3 to the Jays. Our putative ace was hit to the tune of 5 9 6 6 1 5 and lost his first decision after a lousy start on Opening Day. The offense wasn't anything to write home about either with Luis Barela's 3-4 the only real bright spot.

Game 3: The miserable start to 2051 continued as the Rays finished the series with a 3-1 loss to Toronto for the sweep. Rex Bransington (1-1) wasn't that great at 3.2 4 2 2 2 3 on 74 pitches before leaving with Luis Barela again supplying the scant offense with a solo homer (#2). So far it looks like I've kept the lousy defense (30th in DE) at the expense of the offense (18th in scoring). Too early to overreact but it's been ugly so far, especially as the Yanks are off to a 7-0 start so we're 6 games behind already!

Team record: 1-6. Next up: A day-off then our home-opening series against Austin, maybe we'll get right at Publix Park.

April 7-9, 2051: vs Austin (3)
 

Game 1: The misery continued as the Rays lost their 7th game in 8 so far in 2051, shut out by the Dukes 3-0 in their home opener. Chad Winger (0-1) wasn't great (4.2 7 3 3 3 4) but he would have had to have been perfect to avoid the loss as the bats couldn't manage a run. Rookie Jon McGovern at least pulled his weight, getting 3 hits.

Game 2: Finally a win! The Rays ended up routing Austin 9-3 for only their second win of the season and first at home. They didn't hit the ball out of the park but did bang out 7 doubles and a pair of triples with Jon McGovern leading the way again, doubling, tripling and driving in 4 runs. Beau Bonczek and Alvaro Alejandre were each 3-4 with an RBI as well, supporting Steve Morris (1-1), solid at 7 6 3 3 0 5.

Game 3: It took a small miracle but the Rays scored 4 times in the 9th to pull out a 6-5 win over Austin to win consecutive games and a series for the first time in 2051. The miracle wasn't so much the 9th-inning rally but how it continued. Juan Viatoro blasted a 2-run homer (#2) to cut the lead to 5-4 and the Rays had a man on afterwards at second with two out. Jon McGovern came to the plate and struck out, but the ball got away from the catcher and McGovern beat his throw to first, keeping the inning alive for Jon Morales, who delivered a 2-run single to walk it off. Alex Duran earlier hit his first homer of the year. Jimmy Bernal struggled some at 4.1 5 3 3 2 0 and the win went to Willie Navarro (1-1) who pitched the 9th.

Team record: 3-7. Yes the Yankees are 10-0 but the way things are going right now let's see about getting to .500 first before worrying about the standings. Next up: Our road-heavy early schedule resumes with 3 in Minnesota.

He's baaack....Alec McInerney, who signed a 1-year, $8.7M deal with Houston, was inexplicably released by the Astros so we signed him to a minor league deal which will pay him $3.5M when he's recalled.