The 2020 (and beyond) Tampa Bay Rays

[Art Deco]

It wasn't pretty but...



This was a weird game but it ended in the most conventional manner: with a Rays win. Greg Bookhart struggled early and a Juan Viatoro error didn't help as the Rays found themselves down 4-0. And not only were they down, they didn't have a baserunner after 4 innings. Things changed when Luis Barela led off the 5th with a triple and Yuji Morioka took advantage of a dropped fly ball to blast a 2-run shot to make it 4-3. And when Jon Morales hit one deep into the Tampa night in the 6th to make it 6-4 Rays, it looked like the die was cast. But the Cubs got to the Rays bullpen with a run off Mel Mejia in the 7th and a solo shot yielded by Abelaldo Gray in the 8th. All this did though was set the stage for another patented Publix Park comeback as Barela doubled with 2 out, scored on Alex Duran's single with the winner and then after Juan Davila reached Morioka went deep for the second time to make it 10-6. Dave Rose will try to keep things in check tomorrow while the offense hopefully goes about its usual business.

[Art Deco]

Rollin' on...



I've just about run out of superlatives for Luis Barela. His trophy case full of hardware speaks for itself but he's somehow managed to find even another gear this postseason. Today he was 3-4 with 2 HR and 3 RBI as he led the Rays to a 10-4 win in Game 2 and this postseason he's hitting a mere 472/537/1250 with 8 homers and 14 RBI in 9 games. He's 34 now but showing no signs of slowing down and has to be considered the greatest player in the game. He and Juan Davila had 2-run homers in the first inning to send them on their way, and although Dave Rose was a bit shaky needing a strikeout to get out of a bases-loaded jam in the 5th with the score 7-4, it turned out to be a somewhat comfortable win in the end. Now the Rays will be trying to do the thing only they've done - sweep their way through the playoffs. Bob Riley will take the mound in two days at Wrigley for Game 3.

[Art Deco]

Oops...



A funny thing happened on the way to another Rays sweep through the playoffs: the bullpen faltered and they lost Game 3 6-4. The ingredients were all there for a win - Jon Morales and Luis Barela homered again, and although Bob Riley was giving up a lot of hits he was scattering them and getting double plays. But Mel Mejia let a Riley runner score in the 7th and then since he had yet to pitch in the series I felt it was time to let Steve Falcon go for a 2-inning save. The problem was he didn't even get a 1-inning hold as he was hit for a tying homer and then two more runs. And now as he's thrown 31 pitches he may not be available in Game 4. So suddenly we have a series on our hands, especially if the Cubs get even tomorrow against Melvin Delgado who didn't exactly inspire confidence in his ALCS appearance.

[Art Deco]

Welp...



We've gone from wondering if the Rays would sweep to now wondering if they're going to win the series as the Cubs evened it up at 2 games apiece with a 4-1 win. The offense was strangely muted, although they had some big chances in the 2nd and 4th, as well as the 8th but couldn't get the hit when needed. Juan Viatoro was the goat tonight, striking out with two men on in the 2nd and hitting into a force at the plate in the 4th along with making a key error in a 4-run Chicago 3rd that led to two unearned runs. Melvin Delgado wasn't very good, especially in that inning, but the offense for once was the trick and not the treat on this Halloween night. Now Greg Bookhart tomorrow will try to get the Rays back ahead and to keep them from having to win the final two games in Tampa.

[Art Deco]

Barela to the rescue...



Luis Barela has laid claim to having the greatest postseason ever as not only did his two homers provide all five Rays runs in a 5-4 win in Game 5 to put his team up 3-2 in the series, the two homers gave him the MLB single-season playoff record of 11, breaking Cody Bellinger's 9 in 2022 which had been the mark (as well as the real-life record of Randy Arozarena in 2020). Greg Bookhart was excellent but Mel Mejia gave up a 2-run homer in the 8th to let Chicago within a run. However tonight Steve Falcon was up to the task of a multi-inning save and struck out four of the five men he retired in order on only 18 pitches to preserve the Rays' slender lead in the game and in the series. We shift back to Tampa in two days when Dave Rose will have a chance to close it out in front of the home fans.

[Art Deco]

Hold the champagne...



The Cubs battered Dave Rose and the Rays to force a Game 7 as the Rays' coronation has been delayed, if not denied. The four runs in the first didn't faze anybody, especially after Yuji Morioka hit his 7th homer of the postseason to cut the Cub lead to 4-2, but the six runs in the third certainly did and although late efforts were made to come back (4 runs in the 8th and loading the bases in the 9th) it was too little, too late. So Bob Riley gets the ball in the biggest game of his life and the championship will be decided in one evening tomorrow.

[Art Deco]

Delayed but not denied...



It turned out harder than expected after winning the first two games but the Rays are World Champions again thanks to a 5-2 win in Game 7 over the Cubs, who put up quite the fight. Bob Riley picked the right time to pitch one of his best games in a Rays uniform as he went 7 shutout innings, and they got just enough offense including a couple of key hits from players who may have played their final game in Tampa Bay colors. Tomas Laboy, who is certainly out the door as he heads to free agency, had an RBI double in the 2nd to make it 2-0, and Chris Parham, also a pending free agent but who might be brought back, drilled a 2-run double to open the game up at 5-0. The title is their third straight and eighth in the last nine seasons as they've dominated the 2040s. The eight Series wins in nine seasons equals the Yankees' run from 1949-1957 and they'll look to win next year to match the Yankees' 9 in 10 as they won in 1958 as well.

The scene at Publix Park:

[Art Deco]

As has become customary, a look at the trophy:



The word on the budget from the bossman:



Some news from our longtime superstar:



Not a shock but we have an offer for an extension out to him and he seems favorably disposed, so stay tuned for good news in that department.

The salary situation for those not making the minimum:



Keeping everyone here is only about $116M, and if we re-sign Barela that'll take us to ~$150M so still about $30M to play with. We do lose the following notable players: 3B Tomas Laboy, CF Chris Parham, and the back end of our pen in relievers Abelaldo Gray and Steve Falcon. Incidentally Falcon had to leave Game 7 of the World Series with elbow tendinitis, an 8-week injury though but we might want to see how he looks after that's over before any attempt to bring him back.

Position-by-position assessment:

Catcher: Nelson Bocardo is probably the best in baseball so we'll gladly pay through the nose in arbitration to bring him back. Alvaro Alejandre played over his head as the backup last year and we might try to sell high on him since we have David Morales, one of our top prospects, ready to take over - he's a .300 hitter with little power but decent defense.

First Base-Juan Viatoro and Ruben Ramirez return. They both hit righty so there's no natural platoon but Viatoro is a .320 hitter while Ramirez has 70 power so they bring different skill sets. Ramirez will likely continue to DH against lefties. Eric Wilson is MLB-ready at age 26 and is a lefty hitter; he might be out of options so a decision may have to be made here.

Second Base-Juan Davila, no elaboration needed.

Shortstop-Yuji Morioka, ditto.

Middle Infield-Ismael Morales hit over .300 as the backup MI and provides good D so we're set there too.

Third Base-It all hinges on Barela re-signing; if for some reason he doesn't we have to find a 3B somewhere since Laboy is a free agent too. Indy league signee Kelvin Owens wasn't particularly convincing at Durham last year (265/318/398 with slightly below-average D), so he's not seen as the answer.

Left Field-Mario Saro is the man.

Center Field: I will test the waters with Chris Parham to see what he wants to return but Chris Kidd is capable of taking the job as well having played well as Parham's understudy this year. Kidd is a lefty hitter so we might have a platoon vulnerability there though.

Right Field: Jon Morales is also the man.

Designated Hitter: Alex Duran had a huge season and will be the DH against righties and as mentioned Ruben Ramirez can platoon with him.

Outfield bench: If Parham doesn't come back I'm going to need to find a righty-hitter who can play CF. A dark horse is switch-hitting rookie Jon McGovern, who was our 8th-round pick in 2045 and played a good defensive CF at AA Montgomery last year and has a little pop (14 HR).

Rotation: The top 4 (Bookhart, Rose, Riley, Delgado) all return and Chad Gardner, who was our 5th starter and is still under contract, is due back around mid-season (with what kind of stuff remains to be seen). Brad Mabe, who was so good down the stretch and threw 5 2/3 scoreless in a World Series game, has the inside track and Steve Morris is a possibility to get another shot in the rotation as well.

Bullpen: Our biggest hole (assuming Barela comes back) with our closer (Falcon) and primary setup guy (Gray) free agents. We'll definitely be shopping to improve here. Right now our top back-end options are Mel Mejia and Willie Navarro, the latter a bit of a disappointment last year. Tim James has closer stuff but control issues. Joe Clark was good in a swing role and Jose Morales is a solid lefty option. Chris O'Brien, who just doesn't have enough stuff and spent most of the year at Durham, probably gets non-tendered.

Possible minors help: Aside from those mentioned above, Tony Olivo is a decent hitter with elite speed and defensive versatility but the problem is he's bad defensively at all those positions he can play. C.J. Yamaguchi, whom we acquired last winter and then got hurt almost as soon as the season started, is a potential 65 contact/65 power guy but is essentially a DH-only so he'll be at Durham. Steve Holt, up briefly, is a pretty good hitter but a 40 at 3B so he is also likely not a solution. Our best prospect (#40 overall) is lefty starter Randy Mastropietro but he's only 21 and probably not going to help until 2051.

[Art Deco]

I'll go a bit out of chronological order to deliver the big news:



Barela is back! It won't be cheap and he'll turn 35 in March but he's showing no signs of slowing down after a record-setting postseason.

We also made a trade:



Traded from our catcher depth where Ferguson was 4th on the depth chart but is a capable big-leaguer, and received a quality reliever in Leonard. The only catch is that he's coming off a partially torn UCL and will miss the first couple of months of the season. It's a bit of a gamble but the price was right and we need some depth in the pen. We're still going to have to find a closer though.

Awards season:

No Gold Glovers for the Rays with Yuji Morioka at SS our best candidate.

Silver Sluggers: Juan Davila (2B), Luis Barela (3B), Jon Morales (RF), Alex Duran (DH).

AL Rookie of the Year, as if there was any doubt:



The NL nod went to Washington OF Butch Bain who hit .314-18-75.

AL Reliever of the Year:



It was the second time he'd won it, having received the nod in 2044 with Washington when he put up a 4-WAR season. And the NL winner is a very familiar name: Satoshi Sato, who left us last year as a free agent and signed a 1-year deal with Philadelphia where he went 7-4, 1.41 with 44 saves and earned 3.1 WAR. So both of these guys are free agents and we need bullpen help. Time will tell.

Cy Young:

Detroit's Eric Rimbach was the runaway AL winner, taking 27 of 32 first-place votes. He was 17-4, 2.75 and earned 5 WAR. Our Dave Rose was second with 4 first-place votes and 20-game winner Greg Bookhart finished 4th with the other first-place vote (mine). In the NL the winner was the Dodgers' Sam Chapman who earned 29 top nods after a 14-8, 2.62 season and 206 whiffs in 223 IP.

MVP (as there also could be any doubt):



Jon Morales joins Fred Lynn (1975) and Ichiro Suzuki (2001) as the only rookies in MLB history to win MVP and he was a unanimous winner. And it was a clean sweep of win, place and show as Rays took the top three spots with Luis Barela and Juan Davila right behind Morales.

December 10: First of the big free agent signings as perennial 40-homer guy Mike Collin signed for 3/71 with the Angels. The former Baltimore 1B hit his share of homers over the years against us so I'm glad to see him out of the division.

Some good news:



We'll see if he's lot any stuff in spring training but this is excellent news as he was originally projected to miss the first month or two of the season. As usual with OOTP23, despite this message it still showed 4 months left on his injury so I had to go into the editor to remove it. This bug has annoyed me and I've mentioned it several times in the bug forums but it's never been fixed.

December 12: And there goes Abelaldo Gray, signing with the division-rival Yankees on a 3/34 deal.

December 14: Lefty swingman Chris O'Brien, who never really panned out with us and who was non-tendered, signed a minor league deal with St. Louis.

December 18: Former Ray reliever Ed Pretty, whom I considered making an offer to, signed for 2/9.4 with Milwaukee.

December 21: Added IF/OF Jayden Jackson and OF Jon McGovern to the 42-man roster.

Rule 5 time. Even though we had 8 spots open on 42-man these were the only two I didn't want to lose. Jackson is an excellent defensive 2B/SS who can also play a good LF (his bat is a bit iffy though) and I've already mentioned McGovern as a potential platoon partner for Chris Kidd in CF. With all the openings we could grab someone in Rule 5 for a change.

December 22: Lost P Josh Callahan to Indianapolis, 2B Edwin Maldonado to Pittsburgh, RF Ramon Aponte to Milwaukee and LF Joel Wagner to San Diego in the Rule 5 Draft.

An incredibly active Rule 5 Draft with 26 players in total taken with 2049 expansion team Indianapolis grabbing 6. Our losses will open up a bunch of slots at Durham but not really set us back. Callahan is a 34-year-old starter with 40 stuff who was decent with the Bulls but not in our plans; Maldonado is a 36-year-old middle IF who's injured; Aponte has a torn PCL although it should be healed by spring training, he had a couple of fine seasons at AA Montgomery in 2048 and 2049 but got hurt last year and also wasn't in our plans. Wagner was the one I'd probably have preferred not to lose but at best he was a 4th OF with decent speed and contact ability but a marginal fielder who can't really play center. Also Chris O'Brien was left unprotected by St. Louis and was selected by Oklahoma City.

I didn't see anyone worth selecting as the best-rated players were only 2.5 stars with 3-star potential.

December 23: Lefty reliever Jon Cunningham, who had languished in our high minors for a few years after we acquired him from Oakland in 2044 before getting hurt and losing some stuff, somehow finagled a 2/7 deal with the Dodgers. He's rated 60/45/45 so nothing terribly exciting.

December 28: Swingman Angel Roig, who pitched decently for us out of the pen but flopped in the rotation last year, signed a 1/940K deal with the Rockies, and the clubhouse sent me a message they were glad to see him gone.

[Art Deco]

January 5: The Hall of Fame voting is in:



And nobody made it, although some former Rays stars came close including Danny Ayala in his first year of eligibility. Another Rays stalwart of the 30s did well his first time out with Dayle Jenkins gathering 60%. And of course their outfield mate Jasson Dominguez continues to be close in his 5th season. It would be something if that entire outfield made it in.

January 7: We have our closer!



Talbott's about as elite as closers come:



5 stars, 80 stuff, 75 movement, 60 control, 3.5 WAR last season, rated as an "iron man", what more could you ask? Kind of surprising he didn't win NL Reliever of the Year but old friend Satoshi Sato had just as good a year in Philly (by the way Sato signed a last-minute extension with Philadelphia, so he was off the market). It's the same 2/30 deal we gave Steve Falcon two years ago which worked out pretty well.

January 8: 2048 AL Cy Young winner Josh Gosa signed a massive 7/209 deal with the Indianapolis Comets as the soon-to-be third-year club looks to start making an impact. Gosa is rated "fragile" though, so we'll see how he holds up.

January 16: Marc Gibson, in our rotation during 2045-46, signed a 2/35 deal with the Dodgers.

January 24: Another former Ray on the move as reliever Doug Combs, in our pen from 2041-44, signed a 2/5.6 contract with the Austin Dukes.

January 30: We add another free agent:



We found our Chris Parham replacement, although he's a lefty hitter like Chris Kidd. His particulars:



He did have a rough season in CF (-7.2 ZR) so he'll probably get used more as a fourth outfielder. Still the power is real (29 HR last year) and I couldn't pass him up for only $1.1M. He had 12 WAR combined in four seasons with the Angels before a bit of a down year with Houston.

The signing leaves us with only $6.5M to spend so our free agent additions are likely over outside of signing someone to a minor league deal.

February 6: Tony Pasillas, disastrous for us last year in relief, signed a 3/11 pact with the Yankees. Notably I didn't get one of those "the fans can't believe you let him go" messages this time.

February 16: Dan Anderson, a 9-year veteran of our bullpen who decamped for Columbus last season, has landed in Austin on a 1/2.7 deal.

February 28: Well that bullpen help we thought we'd have to wait until June for is ready to start the season:



The scouts already had a look at him and the only downgrade was in his movement from 65 to 60.

[Art Deco]

We've reached the midway point of the century and it's time for another season. Spring Training was uneventful except for one major injury - swingman Brad Mabe ruptured a tendon in his finger and will miss 4-5 months. We were counting on him in a key role so he'll be missed.

Also in former Rays news Tomas Laboy signed a 1-year, $4M deal with Toronto so we'll be seeing a lot of him.

The Opening Day roster:

C-Bocardo, Alejandre
1B-Viatoro
2B-Davila
SS-Morioka
3B-Barela
IF-I.Morales, R.Ramirez
LF-Saro
CF-Kidd
RF-J.Morales
OF-Bonczek, Olivo
DH-Duran

SP-Bookhart, Rose, Riley, Delgado, Gardner
LR-Kimble, J.Clark
MR-S.Morris, J.Morales, James
SU-Navarro, Mejia, Leonard
CL-Talbott

Mabe's injury opened a spot for 37-year-old vet Noel Kimble, whom we signed to Durham last year and pitched well with a 2.41 ERA in 9 starts after 16 outings with a 1.83 ERA in the bigs with Milwaukee.

The preseason predictions are not that bullish on us in relative terms, very down on our pitching but very high on Juan Viatoro who they think will win a batting average title:

[Art Deco]

Opening Day, maybe those preseason predictions were onto something:



The revamped bullpen let us down in the opener, with old hand Mel Mejia and new acquisition Steve Talbott combining to allow 3 runs in the bottom of the 8th to cost us an season-opening win.

Game 2: The slow start to 2050 continued with an 8-4 loss at Oriole Park. After Greg Bookhart struggled (5 8 4 4 0 2) and put them in a 4-1 hole the offense battled back to tie the game at 4 by the 6th on homers from Luis Barela and Mario Saro, the second for Saro and a 2-run shot. But the bullpen faltered yet again with Tim James (0-1) making a mess and giving up 3 runs with new pickup Kevin Leonard allowing a couple of James' runners to score and one of his own.

April 2: Claimed P Chris Hetzel on waivers from Minnesota, optioned P Tim James to AAA Durham.

Hetzel is a pretty good 3.5-star reliever who was a victim of an Opening Day numbers game with the Twins with 65/65/50 ratings and will hopefully improve the pen. James has struggled with his command and control the last couple of years in the bigs and had an option.

Game 3: The Rays finally got into the win column for the season thanks to a fine outing from Melvin Delgado and just enough offense in a 4-1 victory. Luis Barela's 3-run homer (#2) broke open a scoreless game in the 6th and Delgado was 7.1 6 1 1 2 2 in his season debut. Steve Talbott recovered from his Opening Day issues to record his first Rays save and Yuji Morioka added a insurance solo shot in the 9th.

Game 4: Tampa Bay dropped the first series of the year, losing 6-4 to the Orioles in the finale. Nelson Bocardo and Juan Davila (a 2-run blast) each had their first 2050 homers in the 6th to put the Rays up 3-2, but Dave Rose ran out of gas in the bottom of the frame and the Orioles got those 3 runs back to go ahead to stay. Rose (0-1) finished 5.2 8 5 2 2 5 with a Davila error proving costly.

Team record: 1-3. Next up: Hopefully home cooking will cure what ails the Rays as they play their three first games of 2050 at Publix Park against Texas.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays' poor start to 2050 continued in their home opener at Publix Park against Texas as they fell 9-4 to the Rangers. Bad pitching, bad fielding, mediocre hitting - it's been a team effort so far. Chad Gardner was wholly unimpressive in his return to action after going down last June with a stretched elbow ligament, getting hit for 5 runs in the 1st to put the game away for Texas and finishing 4 5 6 6 4 3. The bats scored exactly 4 runs for the fourth time in five games (they had 3 in the other, their only win) with Jon Morales going deep for the first time. After the game Gardner's stuff and control were downgraded by the scouts so he may not be the answer as the #5 starter.

Game 2: An eked-out 3-2 win isn't normally cause for celebration with this team, but a win of any kind is appreciated to start the year and Juan Viatoro delivered a walk-off RBI single in the 9th for the Rays' second win of the year. Bob Riley started and was decent, even if he did give up a lot of hits (we have a team BABIP north of .360) while going 6 10 2 2 0 2. Luis Barela had a solo homer (#3) and Mel Mejia (1-0) was awarded the win after a scoreless 9th.

Game 3: After yesterday's glimmer of hope it was back to business as usual so far for the 2050 Rays as the Rangers beat them 7-4 to drop Tampa Bay to 2-5. Interestingly they've played 7 games, and in their five losses they've scored exactly 4 runs in each of them and exactly 3 runs in the two wins. Greg Bookhart was wild but semi-effective at 4.2 6 2 2 5 1 before Texas broke a 2-2 tie in the 6th off Chris Hetzel and then scored four more runs off the struggling bullpen. Chris Kidd's 2-run double in the 7th got them back within 6-4 but Steve Talbott was scored on for the second time in three outings in the 9th.

Team record: 2-5. Next up: An off-day then the Angels visit for 3 games.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The misery continued for the 2050 Rays as they were clobbered 12-5 at Publix Park by the Angels. Things looked good for 3 innings with a 3-0 lead thanks to a 3-run shot from Alex Duran, the first of his two homers on the day (his first of the season). But things went south in the 4th when LA scored 6 times as Melvin Delgado (1-1) didn't have much today at 4 7 6 6 4 0. The relievers provided no relief either, and Juan Viatoro's first homer of the year was a footnote.

April 9: Claimed P Mike Bertram on waivers, designated P Noel Kimble for assignment.

Kimble was unimpressive in a couple of outings this year including allowing 4 runs (1 earned) in yesterday's game. Bertram was actually claimed a week ago and finally needed to be activated; he's potentially a Chad Gardner replacement in the rotation but for now will pitch in long relief. The righty had a 3.80 ERA in 146 IP for Indianapolis last year and has 65 movement & control, but only 45 stuff as a starter (55 as a reliever).

Game 2: For the first time this season it all finally came together as the Rays routed the Angels 10-0 behind a great outing from Dave Rose and several longballs. Rose (1-1) was a brilliant 7 5 0 0 2 8 and he had plenty of support, although most of it came late. A 1-0 game on a Luis Barela RBI single became 3-0 in the 6th on Juan Viatoro's 2-run homer (#2) and then in the 7th Barela added a solo shot (#4) to make it 4-0. The 8th inning saw it get out of hand as the Rays put 6 on the board including a 2-run homer from Mario Saro (#3) and a 3-run blast from Juan Davila (#2).

Game 3: The Rays won consecutive games for the first time this season and as a result won their first series, edging the Angels 6-5. They had to overcome another bad Chad Gardner start; in fact here was the matchup coming into the game:



A combined 38+ ERA really screams "pitchers' duel". And it wasn't as Gardner was 3.2 4 5 5 5 1 with the 5 walks evidence of his newly downgraded 40 control. Gardner's likely replacement in the rotation Mike Bertram made his Rays debut and picked up the win with 3 1/3 scoreless while Steve Talbott whiffed a pair in a 1-2-3 9th for his 2nd save. A trio of 2-run homers provided the Tampa Bay scoring with Nelson Bocardo (#2), Luis Barela (#5) and Jon Morales (#2) doing the honors with Morales' blast in the 5th providing the winning margin.

Team record: 4-6. Next up: Baltimore visits for 3 games, having taken 3 of 4 in Charm City from the Rays to open the season.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Monday's game was rained out so we played a doubleheader on Tuesday and the Rays took the opener 11-3. Mario Saro was 3-4 with a 2-run homer (#4), Nelson Bocardo drove in 3 with a pair of singles, and Alex Duran and Chris Kidd each knocked in a pair to pace the attack. Greg Bookhart won his first decision of the season after going 6 7 3 3 1 5 in a more typical Publix Park game.

Game 2: The Rays swept the doubleheader with another rout, winning 9-4 behind homers from three bench players. A 5-run 5th broke it open with the big hit a 3-run shot from reserve catcher Alvaro Alejandre (#1) and also going deep for the first time this year were Ruben Ramirez and Beau Bonczek, his first homer in a Rays uniform. Bonczek added an RBI double and an RBI single as well to go with his solo homer and he backed an excellent outing from Bob Riley (1-0) who went 8 8 2 1 0 4.

April 13: Released P Noel Kimble.

He cleared waivers but refused a demotion to Durham so bye-bye.

Game 3: Tampa Bay completed the sweep and made it 5 straight wins to finally get above .500 in 2050 with a 6-1 win over the Orioles. Melvin Delgado hurled a 92-pitch complete game, improving to 2-1 with a 9 7 1 1 1 2 performance, giving him an odd 7/4 BB/K ratio in 20 1/3 IP. Luis Barela (#6, solo) and Mario Saro (#5, a 2-run shot) had the big hits and Barela added an RBI single to support Delgado.

Team record: 7-6. Next up: An off-day then we hit the road for 3 in Cleveland.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Dave Rose didn't have it today and neither did the offense as Cleveland took an easy 7-2 win over the Rays. Rose (1-2) was hit hard at 4.1 7 7 7 3 2 and a 2-run Luis Barela blast in the 4th (#7) was the extent of the hitting.

Game 2: Maybe that 5-game win streak coming into this series wasn't a turning of the corner as the Rays fell again to the Guardians 3-2. The final score was a bit deceivingly-close as with 2 out in the 9th Alex Duran (#3) and Mario Saro (#6) hit back-to-back solo homers - to that point they were being shut out on 5 hits. Chad Gardner (0-2) started and was a little better than his previous two rough outings at 5 3 3 3 4 1, but still not very good and he now has a 13/5 BB/K ratio in 12.1 IP which is hideous.

Game 3: The Rays we've come to know and love showed up in the finale as they laid waste to Cleveland 9-1. Greg Bookhart (2-0) was in fine form at 7 6 1 1 1 7 and he was supported with 2-run homers from Jon Morales (#3), Alex Duran (#4) and Chris Kidd (#1). Duran and Juan Viatoro, who drove in one, each had 3 hits.

Team record: 8-8. Next up: Back home for 4 big early games against the Yankees, who are off to a blazing start at 13-2 and sit 5 1/2 games ahead of us. Lose this series and it's going to be a long climb back even if it is still April.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays made a statement that despite being 5 1/2 games behind coming into this series it's still their division to lose by annihilating the Yankees 15-4 in the opener at Publix Park. Mario Saro had a massive game, going 4-5 with 2 HR and 3 RBI, giving him an AL-leading 8 dingers. Jon Morales added a 2-run shot in the first (#4) and drove in 3 while Chris Kidd went deep for #2 with a 2-run homer against his old organization. Juan Davila was 3-4 with an RBI double as the bats pounded out 10 extra-base hits (6 doubles, a triple and the 3 homers). It took Bob Riley 95 pitches to get through 5 but he went to 2-0 after going 5 4 2 2 1 4.

Game 2: It was a total 180 in the second game as after yesterday's offensive orgy the Rays were shut out on 6 hits by New York's Mike Rizzo in a 5-0 loss. Melvin Delgado (3-3) made one bad pitch, giving up a 3-run homer to former Ray Jose Castillo and he finished 6 3 3 3 3 7 with the 7 whiffs notable after he had a grand total of 4 in his first 3 starts.

Game 3: If (when) the Rays come back to take the division today's game might be looked back upon as a turning point. Down 6-1 after the Yankees scored three times in the 7th, Tampa Bay battled back to take a 7-6 win in 10 innings on Alex Duran's walk-off homer (#5) against recent former Ray Abelaldo Gray. The comeback started almost immediately in the bottom of the 7th with 3 runs including a 2-run Mario Saro single and then solo shots from Luis Barela (#8) and Juan Davila (#4, his second of the game) tied it up in the 8th. Davila finished 4-4 and has 9 hits in the first 3 games of this series. Dave Rose had a mediocre start (5 6 3 3 2 7) and Mike Bertram gave up the 3 in the 7th but Steve Talbott (1-1) picked up his first Rays win with a scoreless 9th and 10th.

Game 4: The Rays took 3 of 4 in this big early-season series by bookending it with another rout, this time 11-4. Ruben Ramirez swung the biggest stick, hitting a 3-run homer (#2) as part of an 8-run 2nd which blew the game open and he added an RBI single. Juan Viatoro was 3-4 with an RBI single in that 2nd, and Beau Bonczek and Alvaro Alejandre each hit their 2nd homer of the year. This was plenty of support for the struggling Chad Gardner, who picked up his first win of the year after going 7 9 4 4 1 3, a line that was marred by giving up a 2-run homer in his final inning of work. The win pulled the Rays back within 3 1/2 of New York and they handed the Yankees more losses in this series (3) than they had coming in (2).

Team record: 11-9. Next up: A trip to Austin to play 3 against the Dukes, who are off to a middling 8-12 start.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Greg Bookhart hurled 6 shutout innings and the Rays edged past the Dukes 2-1 in the opener at Austin. Bookhart (3-0) went 6 7 0 0 0 2 and Steve Talbott needed only 6 pitches to retire Austin in order in the 9th for his 3rd save. Juan Viatoro had a solo shot in the 4th (#3) and Beau Bonczek's RBI double in the 7th proved to be the difference.

Game 2: Runs were at a premium again in Austin and this time the Rays didn't get enough of them, falling 3-2 to the Dukes. Bob Riley (2-1) was 6 8 3 3 0 5 in the loss and Beau Bonczek had a solo homer (#3) for naught.

Game 3: The finale was yet another low-scoring nail-biter but the Rays prevailed this time with a 3-1. It was scoreless until the 7th when Chris Kidd singled in a run, stole second and scored on Beau Bonczek's RBI knock. Alex Duran singled in Kidd in the 9th to provide some insurance as Melvin Delgado (3-2) was excellent at 6 2 0 0 2 5 and Steve Talbott secured save #4 despite putting a couple on in the 9th.

Team record: 13-10. The Yankees dropped 2 of 3 over the weekend so the Rays have crept within 2 1/2 of New York. Next up: We had to Boston for 3 games.

An aside: One thing I missed even though I usually check the player development reports daily is that 35-year-old Yuji Morioka has gotten old all of a sudden; he dropped from a plus defender at SS to a 35 rating this spring and already has a -2.7 ZR not even through a whole month. His contact rating has also suffered so expect a lot more of Ismael Morales at SS.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Monday's game was rained out so we played a Tuesday doubleheader, and the matinee showed the Rays weren't ready for prime time as they were shellacked 8-2 by the Red Sox. Dave Rose (1-3) continued homer-happy, giving up a pair in a rough 5 10 5 5 1 5 outing. Juan Viatoro 2-4 with a pair of doubles and an RBI, was the only Ray of note in this game.

Game 2: Tampa Bay turned the tables in the nightcap, blasting Boston 10-4 behind a pair of homers from superstar Luis Barela. The Sox went ahead 4-3 in the 4th against Chad Gardner, lousy as usual at 5 3 4 4 3 2 but good enough to improve to 2-2 thanks to Juan Davila's 2-run homer (#5) to put the Rays ahead to stay. Barela then went to work with a 2-run shot in the 7th and a 3-run jack in the 9th as he reached double digits in dingers. Steve Morris contributed three scoreless to bridge the gap.

Game 3: Everything was 10-4 for the Rays again in the finale as they won by that score for the second straight game over the Sox. Like yesterday they were led by a 2-homer performance with today's hero being Alex Duran, who had a 3-run shot in the 4th to break the game open and then added a solo blast to give him 7 for the season. Yuji Morioka's RBI double broke a 1-1 tie in the 2nd and Mario Saro went yard in the same inning with a man on for his 9th as part of a 3-hit day. Greg Bookhart went to 4-0 with a good 5 5 2 1 2 7 outing on 94 pitches.

Team record: 15-11, still 2 1/2 behind the Yankees who won 2 of 3 as well. Next up: An off-day then home for 3 vs Oklahoma City.

[Art Deco]

Made a trade for a starting pitcher:



Grieco was 3-0, 2.19 for Toronto so far and pitched to a 3.50 ERA and 3.4 WAR last year, so he's pretty good. He's also a free agent at year's end and Toronto is in rough financial straits. The two guys we traded probably won't be missed.

Game 1: The Rays broke open a 4-3 game with a 4-run 5th and went on to beat the Sunbirds 9-3 in the opener at Publix Park. Luis Barela had a 2-run homer (#11) in that 5th while Mario Saro led the game off with a homer (#10) and Juan Viatoro (#4) also went deep. Jon Morales was 3-5 with a pair of doubles and an RBI and Beau Bonczek was also 3-5 with a triple and 2 RBI. Bob Riley had to leave in the 3rd with a strained back and will be out a couple of weeks; Mike Bertram (2-0) picked up with the win with 4 innings in relief.

April 30: Placed P Bob Riley on the 10-day IL with a strained back, recalled P Tim James from AAA Durham.

Mike Bertram, who took over for Riley yesterday, will take Riley's spot in the rotation while newly-acquired Nicola Grieco will replace Chad Gardner, who moves to the pen.


Game 2: I'm not even going to bother recapping or describing perhaps the most ridiculous game I've played in this or any of my other saves, except to note that the Rays should have won when they had the bases loaded and nobody out in the 16th but somehow failed to score. Instead here's the box:



May 1: Placed P Tim James on the 10-day IL with a strained abdominal muscle; optioned IF/OF Tony Olivo to AAA Durham, activated SP Nicola Grieco and purchased the contract of P Willie Briones from AAA Durham.

James got hurt in his first appearance back in yesterday's slugfest and Briones gives us a fresh arm for a taxed bullpen. Briones was actually briefly a Ray in 2041 when we claimed him on waivers in February but traded him in March before the season started to the Phillies for Jose Morales in Morales' first tour with us. We had signed him to a minor league deal with Durham last season.

Game 3: After yesterday's 23-20, 8+ hour extravaganza it wasn't shocking to see the offenses listless today and that's what happened as it was a 1-0 Oklahoma City lead going into the bottom of the 9th. But the Rays loaded the bases against former teammate Chris O'Brien and then with two out Mario Saro stepped up and drilled a grand slam (#12, tops in the AL) to walk it off and give Tampa Bay the game and the series 4-1. Dave Rose started and pitched quite well at 7 7 1 1 3 8, saving the tired pen. Chris Hetzel (1-1) picked up the win after pitching the 8th and 9th.

Team record: 17-12, still 2 1/2 behind the Yankees who were winners of 2 of 3 as well. Next up: A 3-game series in New York with those very same Yankees.