The 2020 (and beyond) Tampa Bay Rays

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The bats only managed 5 hits through 11 innings and the Rays fell 5-1 to Oakland at Publix Park to open the series. Mario Berumen (2-6) was pushed to a third inning in the 11th which turned out to be a mistake as he allowed 4 runs to see his ERA balloon to 5.79 in a season that's been nothing like last year's masterpiece. Joel Bland gave the Rays a 1-0 lead in the 7th with an RBI single but Dave Flores's struggles also continued as he allowed a game-tying homer in the 8th, wasting a great start from Steve Swords (6 6 0 0 1 7).

Game 2: Another loss for Tampa Bay as the offense failed them again in a 3-2 loss to the A's. Jorge Barraza (1-2) pitched well at 6 6 2 2 1 5 but suffered the loss thanks to little support. Vinny Colon hit a solo homer in the 9th (#3) to make it a one-run game and Paul Mayes followed with a double but they couldn't get him home.

Game 3: The losing streak hit 4 games as the Rays lost once again to A'sl 7-4 with the bullpen letting it get away. They lost a 2-0 lead but tied it back up at 3 in the 6th before Chris Resnick (1-2) coughed up two runs in the 7th and after they cut it back to 5-4 Danny Sanchez allowed two more in the 9th. Randy Mastropietro gave them another good start that went to waste at 6 7 3 2 1 2.

Game 4: Thanks to a dominant effort from Dave Rose and just enough offense the Rays salvaged the finale at home to Oakland 4-1. Rose (7-1) was cooking today at 6.2 5 0 0 1 13 on 111 pitches and after Victor Boria made a mess in the 9th Mario Berumen got the final two outs for save #10. Angel Gonzales was 2-3 with a walk and a solo homer (#2) to lead the offense.

Team record: 34-26. As a result of the bad series they've dropped 4 behind Baltimore and are clinging to WC2 by a game. Next up: 3 games in Toronto. We also had the amateur draft which will be recapped in the next post.

[Art Deco]

Navarro: A college lefty from Tennessee Tech with 75 potential stuff and 60 potential control but 45 movement is the catch here. The scouts do like him as a potential #1.

Adams: High school SS from Michigan who probably will be moved off the position but does have lightning in his bat with 70 potential power (and 55 contact).

Barbour: College 3B from Robert Morris who won't necessarily wow you but is projected for 55 batting ratings across the board and if those pan out 60 defense at the position could make him a useful regular. He also the great nickname "Love Machine".

Corchero: A JuCo catcher with 55 potential behind the plate and possible 50 contact/60 power, could be a sleeper.

Avila: High school 3B from the other "bay area" (San Fran) who could top out at 70 contact and 60 potential but will probably end up across the diamond at first, which is fine if he lives up to that potential.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: A tough loss in 12 innings as the Rays fell 3-2 thanks to a general lack of offense. Joel Bland's RBI double tied it in the 7th and sent us to extras, where we couldn't do a thing and the Jays finally broke through against Victor Boria (4-2). A good start from Elijah Whitaker (6 5 2 2 3 4) went to waste.

Game 2: After Toronto put 5 on the board against Steve Swords in the first inning it looked like another long day at the ballpark, but the offense came back and the pen shut down the Jays as they took a 7-5 win. The key was a big 5-run inning of their own in the 4th highlighted by a 2-RBI double from Dantel Chinchilla who knocked in 3 on the day. Swords went 3 6 5 5 2 3 but long man Tim Johnson (4-3) was brilliant going 4 2 0 0 0 3 and Mario Berumen finished it off for save #11.

Game 3: The Rays took the series from Toronto thanks to a 13-4 rout which saw them collect 19 hits, 5 of which came from rookie Vinny Colon. The rookie first-sacker started his day with a first-inning grand slam (#4), added a pair of doubles, and finished 5-5 with 5 RBI. Another rookie, Paul Mayes, had a big day as well going 4-5 with a 2-run double and Dave Gonzalez was 2-5 with 2 RBI. Luis Barraza (2-2) continued to have some issues but was decent enough at 6.1 8 4 3 2 4 to get the win.

Team record: 36-27. We dropped 5 behind Baltimore but at least opened up a 3-game lead for the second wild card. Next up: An off-day then a big 3-game series at home against those Orioles where we'll hope to make a dent in their division lead.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays took the opener of their big series with Baltimore via an unusual 1-0 win at Publix Park. The game was scoreless until the 8th, when the slumping Jesus Avalos singled in Paul Mayes with the game's only run, making a winner of Adan Guardado (3-1) in relief. Guardado fanned 5 in 2 1/3 impressive innings and Mario Berumen finished for save #12. Randy Mastropietro had a fine start at 5.2 3 0 0 0 2.

Game 2: For most of today it was a similar game to yesterday with Baltimore holding a slim 2-0 lead for 8 innings, before they broke it open with 3 in the 9th and took a 5-1 win over Tampa Bay. Dave Rose (7-2) battled until that 9th, when he put 2 men on and Danny Sanchez came in and gave up a 3-run homer, giving Rose a final 8 8 4 4 0 6 line. Ezequiel Avalos hit HR #14 in the bottom of the 9th to keep the Rays from being shut out.

Game 3: While a sweep would have been great the Rays at least were able to cut Baltimore's division lead to 4 thanks to a thrilling 5-4 walk-off win in the finale. Dantel Chinchilla doubled in Paul Mayes in the bottom of the 10th to win it for Mario Berumen (3-6). It was Chinchilla's second RBI knock of the night and Mayes was 2-4 with 2 RBI himself, raising his batting average to .340 (he's still looking for his first homer though). Elijah Whitaker wasn't his best at 5.1 9 4 4 1 4 but the bullpen was excellent with 4 2/3 scoreless including a pair from Berumen, who might finally be regaining his 2055 form.

Team record: 38-28. The Rays also remain 3 up in the second wild card. Next up: Off to Boston for 3 games.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Steve Swords was outstanding the Rays got just enough offense to get by Boston 3-0 in the opener at Fenway. Swords (6-0) took a 2-hit shutout into the 9th before giving up a one-out single to finish 8.1 3 0 0 1 8 and lower his ERA to 3.36. Dave Flores got the final two outs for his 3rd save and Joel Bland drove in two of the three runs on a solo homer (#6) and a groundout.

Game 2: After losing a 3-0 lead and falling behind 5-3 the Rays got to slugging and ran past the Red Sox 11-5. Dantel Chinchilla had a massive game going 3-5 with 2 homers and 4 RBI, doubling his HR output for the season. His second was a shot that went over The Monster and ended up on Lansdowne Street, tying the game at 5 in the 5th. Rookie Paul Mayes also had a night to remember as he hit his first MLB homer, a 3-run shot in the 9th to put the game away. Jorge Barazza (3-2) wasn't very good, giving up 5 runs in the 5th including a slam, but still got the win after a 6 11 5 5 2 4 outing.

Game 3: The Rays completed a rare sweep in Fenway after beating Boston 5-3 in the finale. All the scoring came in the first three innings with homers from Dave Gonzalez (#4, a 2-run shot) and Jose Machado (#4, solo) leading the way. Machado had a 3-hit day and now leads MLB in batting average at .338. Randy Mastropietro did his usual high-wire act with baserunners but managed to improve to 3-1 off a 5 9 3 3 2 1 performance and four relievers turned in a scoreless inning apiece to preserve the lead with Mario Berumen closing for save #13.

Team record: 41-28. The sweep enabled the Rays to halve Baltimore's division lead to 2 games after the Orioles dropped a couple at home to Minnesota. The Rays are also now in sole possession of WC1. Next up: An off-day as we travel down I-95 to the Bronx, where the Yankees await for 3 games.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Rays were never competitive in this one despite starting their ace Dave Rose as they fell 9-4 to the Yankees. Rose (7-3) got his whiffs but was otherwise knocked around at 5 7 5 5 1 7 and the bullpen gave up 4 more to make it 9-0 before they scored 4 in the 9th including a 3-run Paul Mayes homer (#2).

Game 2: The opposite of yesterday's game as Elijah Whitaker and three relievers combined on a 6-hit shutout as Tampa Bay beat New York 5-0. Whitaker (4-4) was outstanding at 6.1 4 0 0 0 6 and he got much of his support from Dantel Chinchilla, who had an early 2-run double and added an RBI single with Jose Lozada going 3-5 with 2 RBI and 2 steals.

Game 3: The Rays took the rubber game of the series from New York 8-4. Steve Swords improved to a perfect 7-0 despite going a less-than-perfect 6.1 4 4 4 3 8 although his line was marred by the bullpen allowing two runners he left on to score. Paul Mayes had a big game, driving in 4 including a bases-clearing double in the 8th that broke open a 5-4 game, and Ezequiel Avalos had 3 hits including a solo homer (#15). Another rookie, Vinny Colon, added a solo shot of his own (#5).

Team record: 43-29. We stayed 2 behind Baltimore and now return home to play 3 against Austin.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: It was one of those wild Publix Park affairs but unfortunately the Rays came out on the short end of the stick, losing 10-8 to the Dukes. Jorge Barraza has been more of a problem than a solution since being acquired and his pitch-to-contact style has not worked for us (although it does for Randy Mastropietro). Today Barraza (3-3) went 5.1 12 6 6 1 5 and it didn't help that he let two balls leave the park. He's now allowed 78 hits in only 52 IP since coming over although he has a nice 9/39 BB/K ratio and is suffering from a .396 BABIP. Combined with his Milwaukee numbers he's projected to finish 9-11, 6.25 yet be good for 2.9 WAR. Somebody make it make sense. Anyway, he kept the Rays in the hole today despite homers from Brian Whittaker (#4), Vinny Colon (#6) and Jesus Avalos (#15), the latter a 3-run shot in the bottom of the 9th to make things interesting but not interesting enough.

Game 2: After yesterday's crazy game sanity was restored as the Rays pulled away to beat Austin 9-3. The aforementioned Mastropietro was excellent at 5.2 5 0 0 0 3 and left with a 3-0 lead only to see the bullpen squander it in the 8th when Adan Guardado and Dave Flores conspired to allow a pair of runs. But the Rays answered with 6 in the bottom of the frame with Dantel Chinchilla's RBI double the winner and Dave Gonzalez's 3-run homer (#5) blowing it open. Flores (2-2) ended up vulturing the win.

Game 3: It was the Dave Rose show at Publix Park today as the Rays ace hurled a complete-game 6-hit shutout in a 7-0 win over the Dukes. Rose improved to 8-3, 3.42 while walking one and fanning 12 in a herculean 126-pitch outing. He was only up 4-0 until the Rays added 3 in the 8th to make another inning for Rose possible with Paul Mayes' 2-run double the big hit. Joel Bland was 2-2 with 2 walks, a steal and an RBI.

Team record: 45-30. Not only did the Rays reach the .600 mark with the series win but they are now the first-place Tampa Bay Rays as Baltimore was swept by the Yankees in a 4-game series to fall 1/2 behind us. Next up: A day off then 3 games in Cleveland against the 34-42 Guardians.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Rookie Elijah Whitaker was brilliant and the Rays got a clutch homer from Jesus Avalos to edge the Guardians 2-1 at Progressive Field. Whitaker (5-4) held Cleveland in check at 8 3 1 1 0 7 but looked like he'd be a hard-luck loser before the slumping Avalos drilled a 2-run homer (#16) in the 8th. After a massive April and first part of May he's tailed off to the point where he was only hitting 209/284/302 in June and that's with the homer. Mario Berumen got all 3 outs on whiffs to nail down save #14.

Game 2: Tampa Bay took a 3-2 lead into the 7th before the bullpen imploded and when the dust settled they were on the wrong end of a 9-6 scoreline with Cleveland. Joel Bland had homered (#7) and Steve Swords was a solid if inefficient 5 2 2 2 3 3 on 93 pitches and Danny Sanchez got them through the 6th. But Dave Flores (2-3), an 80-stuff reliever who saved 37 games last year for the Giants and was supposed to take the heat off Mario Berumen in the late innings, continued to underwhelm in Tampa Bay colors and by the time he and Tim Johnson were done, 5 runs had scored for the Guardians and they tacked on two more off Johnson in the 8th. Late homers from Dantel Chinchilla (#5) and Vinny Colon (#7) made the final score semi-respectable but the horse had already left the barn.

Game 3: The Rays snapped back from yesterday's loss to take the rubber game of the series and got a fine start for a change from Jorge Barraza in a 7-1 win over Cleveland. Barraza, who had seemed a human batting practice machine of late, actually didn't allow a hit until the 4th and finished 7 5 1 1 1 2 to improve to 4-3 as a Ray. Tampa Bay didn't homer but they did bang out 7 doubles including a pair each from Paul Mayes and Jose Machado. Mayes had 3 hits on the day and an RBI while Machado, Dantel Chinchilla and Dave Gonzalez each knocked in a pair. The bottom part of the order has been great this year with rookies Mayes (.325) and Gonzalez (.314) hitting over .300 along with Machado (.332) while Chinchilla is hitting .290 with 51 RBI in the 9-hole as those guys are always on ahead of him.

Team record: 47-31. With Baltimore also winning 2 of 3 we remain 1/2 game up in the division. Next up: 3 games in Boston.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays won a Fenway Park slugfest over the Red Sox 18-9, although it was a more conventional 12-4 rout entering the 9th inning. Jesus Avalos was the star today, hitting a pair of 3-run homers including one in the 4th that sent the Rays on their way and giving him 18 on the season. Rookie Paul Mayes was 4-5 with 3 doubles and 2 RBI, Dave Gonzalez doubled and knocked in 3, and Angel Gonzales had a solo shot (#3). Randy Mastropietro (4-1) was decent until he ran out of gas in the 6th and finished 5.2 7 4 4 2 3. Melvin Lopez gave up 5 runs in the bottom of the 9th after coming in ahead 18-4.

Game 2: Tampa Bay could have used a few of those extra runs from yesterday as they fell short 6-4 in the second game with Boston. Dave Rose (8-4) wasn't his best today and couldn't hold a 3-2 lead, finishing 5.1 9 6 4 1 5. Paul Mayes (#3) and Dantel Chinchilla (#6) homered for the Rays.

Game 3: The Rays dropped the rubber game of the series 5-2 to the Sox and finished out the first half of the season. Elijah Whitaker (5-5) had his issues (along with his strikeouts), going 4 9 4 4 2 7 in the loss. Ezequiel Avalos had HR #16 in a losing effort.

Team record: 48-33. The two losses were enough to cost them first place as the Orioles won 2 of 3 and moved 1/2 game ahead in the AL East. Next up: A day off then a return home for 3 against Detroit. I'll have a midseason report up next.

[Art Deco]

The Rays had a decent, albeit unspectacular first half of 2056 with some bouts of inconsistency but find themselves in the thick of a race for first in the AL East and still have one of MLB's better records.



But although the Rays have one of the league's better records they don't have much margin for error at the moment since they're only 1 game up in WC1 and WC2 is only 1 1/2 up on Texas. Jose Machado has maintained his lofty batting average all season and at one point recently was the leader, while Jesus Avalos is 2nd in MLB in RBI. Not shown here is that Dave Rose is 2nd in the AL in strikeouts and pitcher WAR.



The team stats tell the story in the sense the offense is very good as usual, but on the pitching side the bloated ERAs are largely a function of the awful defense as despite being middle-of-the-pack in ERA we're first in WAR and in strikeouts. Look no farther than the horrible defense at the bottom right - a .660 defensive efficiency is just brutal and implies a .340 team BABIP against. Some of it is the hitter's paradise that is Publix Park but most of it is just plain bad D. The primary culprits are Jesus Avalos in CF (-5.9 ZR), Ezequiel Avalos in RF (-7.9) and the double play combo of Machado at 2B (-5.8) and Dantel Chinchilla at SS (-4.7). The problem is that they're all excellent hitters and we can only use one DH and that's Dave Gonzalez right now, who's hitting 308/379/458. So barring a full makeover of the team as constructed, we're just going to have to live with it. J.Avalos could play a decent RF and Chinchilla a decent 2B but we'd have to go with Brian Whittaker (an average-to-good CF) and Alex Brown (a decent SS) in the lineup and sacrifice offense.



Interestingly our top player this year is Paul Mayes, the rookie 3B who took over full-time from Kang-cheol Lee and has done nothing but hit while being one of our few players to field his position in an above-average manner. Despite their fielding issues Machado and Chinchilla have been valuable thanks to their bats and another surprise WAR earner is Whittaker, who has played an average CF (ZR right at 0.0) and stolen a bunch of bases while hitting well. The jury's out on our Gonzales/Colon platoon replacing Nesty de la Rosa, with only 1.3 WAR earned between them and Barraza, the guy we got for Nesty, struggling in the rotation thanks to our horrendous defense.



We have an excellent top 3 of the rotation as Rose, Swords and Whitaker are a combined 20-9 with an ERA in the mid-3s and averaging 2.5 WAR apiece in this half-season to date, and Rose and Whitaker would be even better if everything hit off them wasn't falling in front of or getting by a fielder. Barraza of course has been our biggest victim of the defense while Swords has somehow gotten by unscathed. The bullpen is solid except for the surprising struggles of Flores, brought in to be our 1B, 8th-inning guy but has been a problem. BABIP (.296) hasn't been his issue - it's the 5 homers allowed in 28 IP.



The farm system is pretty mediocre, with this year's #1 pick Navarro slotting in as our top prospect. Colon is already up of course and the one other guy who can help now is Dominguez at #8 and I'm thisclose to calling him up to take over CF although that would mean something would have to be done with one of the Avaloses, more likely Zeke. Dominguez has MLB ratings of 60 contact/55 power/65 stealing/60 D in CF so he's more than ready and has hit well at Durham.

[Art Deco]

Writing up the midseason report enabled me to take a good, hard look at this team and I decided the defensive woes were just untenable.

So we start with a big trade:



As mentioned if we were going to improve the D an Avalos had to go, and it wasn't going to be Jesus. So we say goodbye to the popular Zeke (the fan interested almost crashed!) and hello to White, a slick-fielding 2B who can hit (career 282/330/445 and is right on those numbers this year) and is on pace for 4.6 WAR this year. So by moving Jesus to RF where's he's an average-to-plus defender and putting White at 2B where he's about +11 ZR compared to Jose Machado, we've greatly improved the D. What does that mean for the .330+ hitting Machado? Well for one I don't think he's going to keep hitting .330 - he's a 50-55 contact guy who's shown as a .275 hitter in the editor so regression was coming, and we'll platoon him and Dantel Chinchilla at 2B/SS. White can also play SS but not much better than Chinchilla. Meanwhile to play CF we've recalled Henry Dominguez, who was profiled at the end of the midseason review. Dominguez is a LH batter who needs work against lefties, so he'll platoon with Brian Whittaker, who's already been playing CF against LHP and doing quite well. To make room for him we're going to do something with Kang-cheol Lee, either trading or waiving him as he lost the 3B job and White and Alex Brown can back up at 3B when necessary. I haven't traded him yet since I used up my 5 "shop a player" tries working on the above deal and will have to wait until the next day.

There's also a salary savings element as White is making the minimum and Avalos was pulling down about $12M, so we free up about $6M to take on in salary if we want to. White is arb-eligible next year but his projected $4-5M pales in comparison to the $17M Zeke was expected to receive. All in all, we do take a hit on offense as Zeke was our second-biggest power source, but we should more than make up the lost offense with a major upgrade at CF, RF and 2B defensively. And I almost forgot - we upgraded prospect-wise as well as Jimenez has 50-60 hitting tools and should be an average CF or above-average corner guy in the future while Polk was a reliever with decent stuff who never looked to have more than 35 control.

[Art Deco]

To make room for the new players, 3B Kang-cheol Lee was dealt:



Lee had a decent season as our everyday 3B taking over for legend Luis Barela last year, earning 2.5 WAR and hitting a respectable 246/333/415 with 18 HR while providing good defense. But he got off to a terrible start this year (171/257/295) and lost his job to rookie sensation Paul Mayes. And with Alex Brown and new pickup Alex White capable of filling in at 3B Lee was the odd man out. We did get a marginal lefty reliever prospect back in Melendez, who's rated 60/40/50 and is maxed out on potential. He'll go to Durham and could fill in should we have a hole and need a lefty - if he were a righty, he'd probably be roster filler.

Game 1: The Rays kicked off the second half of their season with their new-look defensive configuration and everything looked good in an 8-3 win over the Tigers. Things did take a while to sort out as Erik Witten allowed the tying run to score in the 7th but the Rays answered with a 3-run Dantel Chinchilla homer (#7) in the bottom of the frame and tacked on two more in the 8th. Dave Gonzalez (#6) and Vinny Colon (#8) had early solo shots and the two newest Rays had excellent debuts - trade pickup Alex White was 3-4 with 3 runs scored and rookie Henry Dominguez impressed in his MLB debut by going 2-3 with a walk, two steals and an RBI. Steve Swords was a very good 6.1 6 2 2 0 6 while Witten (4-1) vultured the win.

Game 2: The most likely beneficiary of the new-and-improved look on defense should be contact pitcher Jorge Barraza and sure enough he was in today's 7-2 romp over the Tigers. Barraza, who had allowed 83 hits in 59 IP since joining the club, allowed a mere 4 through 7 before giving up 3 to start the 8th and still went 7 7 2 1 1 4 for the win. Melvin Lopez loaded the bases in the 9th after being entrusted with a 7-2 lead so Dave Flores came in and got the final two outs for his 4th save. Jesus Avalos led the charge on offense, going 2-4 with HR #19 and 3 RBI.

Game 3: The Rays completed the sweep of a good Detroit team that was 45-37 coming in, pulling off their third straight romp 8-1. Randy Mastropietro (5-1) is another contact pitcher who will benefit from the upgraded defense and went 5 4 0 0 1 3 before leaving with minor back tightness. Alex Brown was 2-4 with 2 RBI, Dantel Chinchilla knocked in another pair, and Joel Bland 3-4 with a triple and an RBI to provide the offensive support. We'll declare the team's new look a success!

Team record: 51-33. Unfortunately we couldn't regain first place as the Orioles also swept their series keeping the Rays 1/2 game behind. Next up: Toronto visits for 3 games.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Time for a PPPC (Patented Publix Park Comeback) as the Rays erased an 8th-inning 5-2 deficit and walked off a 6-5 win over the Blue Jays to kick off their 3-game series. They grabbed a run in the 8th to cut it to 5-3 but the real fireworks came in the bottom of the 9th. First pinch-hitter Jose Machado belted a solo homer (#5) and then Dantel Chinchilla, who has been clutch all year (61 RBI out of the 9-hole), sent the fans home happy with a 2-out, 2-run blast (#8) to win it. The first two runs came on solo shots from Dave Gonzalez (#7) and Vinny Colon (#9) while Dave Rose had his ups and downs at 6 9 5 4 0 8. Chris Resnick (2-2) ended up with the relief win.

Game 2: Elijah Whitaker was dominant and the Rays cruised to their fifth straight win 6-1 over Toronto. The rookie is turning into a true #2 starter these days and was 7 6 1 1 0 10 his gem to improve to 6-5, 3.51. Another rookie had a day to remember as well as Henry Dominguez hit his first MLB homer, a 2-run blast in the 2nd, and Dave Gonzalez went deep again with his own 2-run jack (#8).

Game 3: The "new-look" Rays made it 6-0 since the roster shuffle last week by blowing out the Blue Jays 11-0 behind a complete-game 4-hit shutout from Steve Swords, who went to 8-0 with his 108-pitch 9 4 0 0 1 5 gem. The fact he allowed a mere 4 hits while only fanning 5 spoke to the revamped defense today. Of course there was plenty of offense with Jesus Avalos (2-5 with HR #20 and 3 RBI), Dave Gonzalez (3-5 with HR #9 and 2 RBI, his third straight game with a homer and fourth in his last five) and Joel Bland (3-4 with a bases-clearing double) leading the way. On the 6-game homestand since the shakeup they outscored the opposition 46-12.

Team record: 54-33. The sweep put them back in first place as the Orioles did lose one of their games, so they lead the Orioles by 1/2 game. Next up: After an off-day the acid test for the new look comes when they head to Baltimore for 3 games in a big division showdown right before the All-Star break.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The acid test for the new-look Rays came in the opener of their showdown series in Baltimore and they passed the first exam with flying colors, taking a taut 4-1 win over the Orioles to move 1 1/2 games ahead in the division. And it was Jorge Barraza again succeeding with the new-look D behind him, going to 6-3 as a Ray after an excellent 7.1 6 1 1 1 8 outing with Mario Berumen getting a 1-2-3 9th for save #15. And the big blow came courtesy of one of the new guys with rookie Henry Rodriguez belting a 2-run homer (#2) in the 6th to break a 1-1 tie. The other two Rays runs came on solo shots from a resurgent Jesus Avalos, giving him 22 on the year.

Game 2: Dave Rose was dominant as Tampa Bay once again rode pitching and defense to a 3-1 over Baltimore, assuring a series win. Rose (9-4) took a 5-hit shutout into the 9th before allowing a homer and a triple and giving way to Mario Berumen for the save (#16). Rose finished 8 7 1 1 0 7 in one of his typically excellent performances. Paul Mayes' 2-run triple in the 2nd was the key hit as the Rays made it 8 straight wins since their mini-makeover.

Game 3: The Tampa Bay 8-game win streak crashed and burned in the finale as the Orioles routed the Rays 9-1. They jumped all over Randy Mastropietro (5-2), scoring 5 off him in the first two innings and leaving him with a 4 8 5 5 1 5 line. Meanwhile the bats couldn't get anything going, only avoiding a shutout thanks to Angel Gonzales' solo homer (#4) in the 8th.

Team record: 56-34. We now hit the All-Star break and when we return it'll be for 4 games against the Yankees at Publix Park.

[Art Deco]

The players:

This year, the American League will be represented by these All-Star performers:

SP David Garza (CLE) - 5-5, 2.95 ERA, 119.0 IP, 1.13 WHIP, 13.2 K/9, 4.1 WAR
SP Randy Heller (HOU)* - 11-2, 1.87 ERA, 115.1 IP, 0.90 WHIP, 10.5 K/9, 4.6 WAR
SP Daniel Lockhart (SEA) - 3-3, 2.45 ERA, 55.0 IP, 0.98 WHIP, 6.4 K/9, 0.9 WAR
SP Bobby Rojas (TEX) - 8-4, 2.00 ERA, 94.1 IP, 1.05 WHIP, 6.9 K/9, 2.1 WAR
SP Elias Trujillo (BAL) - 9-5, 3.63 ERA, 124.0 IP, 1.26 WHIP, 10.0 K/9, 2.3 WAR
SP Anthony Tucker (HOU) - 7-4, 2.53 ERA, 106.2 IP, 1.02 WHIP, 9.6 K/9, 2.5 WAR
SP Jared Young (BAL) - 10-2, 2.53 ERA, 99.2 IP, 1.20 WHIP, 11.1 K/9, 3.2 WAR
RP Ron Jones (OC) - 1-0, 2.02 ERA, 49.0 IP, 0.88 WHIP, 7.0 K/9, 1.2 WAR
RP Enéas Pelayo (DET) - 8-2, 2.75 ERA, 95.0 IP, 1.18 WHIP, 6.2 K/9, 0.8 WAR
RP Jon Perkins (AUS) - 4-4, 3.69 ERA, 95.0 IP, 1.36 WHIP, 6.3 K/9, 0.2 WAR
CL Willie Feist (DET) - 0-1, 28 SV, 2.47 ERA, 47.1 IP, 1.20 WHIP, 12.9 K/9, 1.0 WAR
CL Eddie Knowlton (MIN) - 4-1, 6 SV, 1.30 ERA, 41.2 IP, 1.01 WHIP, 8.6 K/9, 1.2 WAR
CL Bill Sutherland (LAA)* - 5-3, 25 SV, 2.35 ERA, 46.0 IP, 0.83 WHIP, 11.3 K/9, 1.8 WAR
C David Luna (OAK) - .260/.334/.424, 262 AB, 8 HR, 115 wRC+, 2.5 WAR
C Troy Roberson (MIN) - .354/.400/.625, 96 AB, 6 HR, 187 wRC+, 1.1 WAR
C Bernie Sapp (BAL)* - .272/.331/.331, 257 AB, 2 HR, 88 wRC+, 1.4 WAR
1B Mario Delgado (CWS)* - .296/.374/.599, 314 AB, 28 HR, 2 SB, 175 wRC+, 3.5 WAR
1B Mario Pineda (BAL) - .296/.336/.537, 365 AB, 24 HR, 1 SB, 142 wRC+, 2.2 WAR
2B Jerry Esparza (TOR)* - .322/.383/.565, 345 AB, 21 HR, 3 SB, 164 wRC+, 4.2 WAR
2B Danny Fernandez (BOS) - .307/.374/.445, 238 AB, 3 HR, 19 SB, 131 wRC+, 1.9 WAR
2B Jose Machado (TB)* - .328/.385/.470, 296 AB, 5 HR, 3 SB, 141 wRC+, 2.0 WAR
2B Angelo Sandoval (BAL)* - .268/.301/.454, 366 AB, 16 HR, 12 SB, 107 wRC+, 1.0 WAR
3B Danny Arriaga (NYY) - .273/.373/.537, 322 AB, 21 HR, 1 SB, 157 wRC+, 3.3 WAR
3B Zach McKinney (TEX) - .311/.367/.538, 338 AB, 14 HR, 154 wRC+, 3.4 WAR
SS Agustin Orozco (MIN)* - .282/.352/.460, 326 AB, 10 HR, 128 wRC+, 3.6 WAR
LF Ruben Cummings (LAA)* - .309/.381/.556, 333 AB, 21 HR, 1 SB, 162 wRC+, 4.1 WAR
LF Juan Herrera (LAA) - .303/.362/.504, 254 AB, 8 HR, 19 SB, 144 wRC+, 3.1 WAR
LF Alex Reynoso (MIN) - .295/.355/.477, 325 AB, 9 HR, 8 SB, 133 wRC+, 3.5 WAR
CF Jesus Avalos (TB)* - .263/.354/.486, 350 AB, 22 HR, 1 SB, 128 wRC+, 1.9 WAR
RF Xavier Higgins (TEX) - .295/.357/.524, 332 AB, 21 HR, 3 SB, 148 wRC+, 3.5 WAR
RF Kevin Hill (BAL)* - .292/.342/.539, 349 AB, 19 HR, 3 SB, 143 wRC+, 3.8 WAR
RF Juan Martines (CWS) - .315/.388/.657, 178 AB, 16 HR, 3 SB, 193 wRC+, 2.5 WAR
RF Ed Silver (OC) - .347/.414/.569, 320 AB, 12 HR, 24 SB, 171 wRC+, 4.4 WAR
RF Omar Urrutia (NYY) - .274/.349/.491, 336 AB, 19 HR, 9 SB, 137 wRC+, 3.4 WAR
.
While the National League best will include these stars:

SP Sam Chapman (LAD) - 8-6, 2.48 ERA, 109.0 IP, 1.12 WHIP, 9.1 K/9, 2.1 WAR
SP Cesar Diaz (SD) - 6-7, 3.95 ERA, 95.2 IP, 1.22 WHIP, 7.0 K/9, 3.2 WAR
SP Josh Langford (COL) - 9-4, 4.40 ERA, 100.1 IP, 1.30 WHIP, 7.5 K/9, 1.9 WAR
SP David Marrero (NYM) - 5-7, 3.83 ERA, 112.2 IP, 1.22 WHIP, 8.0 K/9, 1.8 WAR
SP Eric Saenz (COL)* - 3-8, 4.37 ERA, 94.2 IP, 1.62 WHIP, 7.2 K/9, 2.5 WAR
SP Jesus Silva (LAD) - 6-3, 2.31 ERA, 105.1 IP, 0.86 WHIP, 7.6 K/9, 2.0 WAR
SP Mario Uribe (ATL) - 6-4, 1.93 ERA, 107.0 IP, 1.00 WHIP, 7.0 K/9, 3.4 WAR
RP Phil Asadoorian (SF) - 3-1, 2.60 ERA, 52.0 IP, 1.04 WHIP, 8.1 K/9, 0.4 WAR
RP Andy Bowie (ATL) - 5-3, 2.48 ERA, 58.0 IP, 1.02 WHIP, 8.7 K/9, 1.1 WAR
RP Ramão Cameira (PIT) - 2-0, 2.35 ERA, 53.2 IP, 1.17 WHIP, 7.5 K/9, 0.4 WAR
CL Jake Cid (WSH)* - 5-0, 4 SV, 1.85 ERA, 34.0 IP, 0.68 WHIP, 12.4 K/9, 1.1 WAR
CL Victor Rosa (ATL) - 2-4, 22 SV, 3.32 ERA, 40.2 IP, 1.20 WHIP, 8.6 K/9, 0.1 WAR
CL Lupe Salazar (IND) - 0-3, 27 SV, 2.81 ERA, 48.0 IP, 1.15 WHIP, 10.1 K/9, 1.3 WAR
C Ju-zheng Kum (WSH)* - .307/.372/.467, 274 AB, 7 HR, 133 wRC+, 2.2 WAR
C Ryan Rivera (SF) - .258/.317/.394, 221 AB, 8 HR, 1 SB, 102 wRC+, 1.6 WAR
C Pete Welch (PHI) - .276/.313/.497, 286 AB, 18 HR, 123 wRC+, 2.1 WAR
1B Jordan Daniels (NYM)* - .273/.333/.462, 333 AB, 18 HR, 129 wRC+, 1.6 WAR
1B Chris Davison (COL) - .278/.352/.519, 324 AB, 21 HR, 2 SB, 134 wRC+, 1.9 WAR
1B Jesus de la Rosa (COL) - .313/.369/.553, 329 AB, 19 HR, 152 wRC+, 2.3 WAR
1B Andres Miranda (IND) - .341/.386/.668, 205 AB, 17 HR, 195 wRC+, 2.6 WAR
1B Mike Sistare (MIL)* - .244/.323/.443, 348 AB, 17 HR, 12 SB, 114 wRC+, 2.1 WAR
2B Tony Aleman (PIT) - .301/.358/.460, 322 AB, 11 HR, 132 wRC+, 2.9 WAR
2B Juan Davila (PHI)* - .289/.372/.554, 332 AB, 22 HR, 6 SB, 156 wRC+, 3.4 WAR
3B Jim Furtado (STL) - .237/.291/.420, 300 AB, 15 HR, 2 SB, 100 wRC+, 1.6 WAR
3B Orlando Gallegos (ARI) - .267/.315/.396, 359 AB, 8 HR, 22 SB, 98 wRC+, 1.6 WAR
3B Ricky Ulloa (CLB)* - .261/.329/.438, 322 AB, 14 HR, 9 SB, 117 wRC+, 2.1 WAR
SS Kareem Powell (ATL) - .286/.357/.518, 255 AB, 15 HR, 8 SB, 146 wRC+, 3.0 WAR
SS Nick Villafana (PIT)* - .310/.406/.620, 326 AB, 26 HR, 2 SB, 186 wRC+, 5.5 WAR
LF Ramon Herrera (CIN)* - .293/.374/.563, 334 AB, 24 HR, 162 wRC+, 3.3 WAR
LF Bill Jones (IND)* - .287/.384/.583, 254 AB, 20 HR, 166 wRC+, 2.8 WAR
LF Josh Williams (PIT) - .296/.337/.474, 382 AB, 13 HR, 14 SB, 128 wRC+, 2.8 WAR
CF Oscar Cervantes (COL)* - .360/.415/.616, 172 AB, 7 HR, 2 SB, 180 wRC+, 2.7 WAR (Injured)
CF Hector Gomez (CHC) - .278/.339/.432, 370 AB, 7 HR, 24 SB, 116 wRC+, 2.8 WAR
CF Jesus Lozano (CIN) - .281/.332/.463, 335 AB, 14 HR, 7 SB, 122 wRC+, 3.3 WAR
RF Willie Shaje (NYM) - .308/.369/.455, 292 AB, 9 HR, 137 wRC+, 2.6 WAR

(former Rays in italics - Davila was the only one)

A weak showing for the first-place Rays at the All-Star game as we only sent two players, one of whom kind of lost his starting job (Machado, who will start in his first ASG appearance) and the other who slumped badly for a while but has gotten hot of late (Avalos, his 4th selection).

The Derby (for which Avalos was selected):



They were either using a dead ball or the wind was blowing in at gale force since these HR numbers were absurdly low. Avalos made the final round but lost as we never seem to have anyone win it.

The Game:



The Derby was a portent of the Game as only one was scored but our Jesus Avalos was involved as he scored it after doubling in the 4th inning, his only hit in 3 trips while Jose Machado was 0-3.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays had this one in hand with a brilliant Elijah Whitaker outing and just enough offense, leading 2-0 after 8. But Mario Berumen's checkered season continued and he surrendered 3 runs in the 9th, dooming Tampa Bay to a 3-2 loss to the Yankees. Whitaker went 7 4 0 0 0 7 and fellow rookie Henry Dominguez belted homer #3 before Berumen (3-7) blew his second save of the season, although as you see with 7 losses he's had other issues as well and a 4.89 ERA is not what you want from your closer.

Game 2: Tampa Bay turned the tables on the Yankees after yesterday's blown game by scoring twice themselves in the 9th to pull out a 3-2 win. Down 2-1, Vinny Colon led off the 9th with HR #10 and then Paul Mayes singled and stole second before coming home with the walk-off winner on an Alex Brown single. The rally made a winner of Erik Witten (5-1) and Dave Rose had a fine start at 6.2 5 2 2 3 9. Earlier Joel Bland had a solo shot for the Rays (#8).

Game 3: It was another close one in late innings between these two teams but the Rays bullpen let it get away late and the Yankees beat them 7-2. Dantel Chinchilla was 3-3 with a couple of RBI singles to keep them in it, but Danny Sanchez imploded in the 8th allowing 4 runs to score and that was that. Steve Swords (8-1) took his first loss as a Ray in a rough 3.2 6 3 3 2 2 outing which took 90 pitches.

Game 4: The Rays salvaged a split thanks to a come-from-behind 5-4 win over the Yankees. Down 4-1 after New York scored twice in the 6th the Rays mounted a 4-run rally in the bottom of the frame. Henry Dominguez and Paul Mayes had RBI singles and then Dantel Chinchilla stepped up and was clutch as ever this season, roping a 2-run double. Chinchilla now has a whopping 71 RBI from the 9-hole and has seemingly come through in all the big situations. Vinny Colon hit HR #11 for the first Tampa Bay run. Despite a rough day, Randy Mastropietro (6-2) hung around long enough for the win at 6 8 4 4 0 0 with 3 homers allowed. Mario Berumen did manage to get the save this time (#17) but not without some drama as he allowed men to reach first and third on a couple of hits.

Team record: 58-36. Despite the split the Rays still gained ground on Baltimore, which lost 3 games to lowly Boston at home and fell 2 1/2 behind. Next up: Seattle visits for 3 games.

[Art Deco]

Some help for the bullpen:



Tadlock is a rookie reliever who was San Diego's closer with 21 saves, and sports 80/60/55 ratings. Speaking of ratings Lopez's remained very good although the results weren't there (7+ ERA) but the Padres think he can help their rotation. Haley and Salazar are fringe prospects that got the deal done. This deal is about the future as well as our current back-end relievers (Berumen and Flores) are free agents at season's end so Tadlock can step in as our closer next year, unless he takes the job away from those inconsistent vets even sooner.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays took a quick 4-0 lead then held on for a 4-3 win over the Mariners at Publix Park to open their 3-game set. David Morales had a 2-run double in the 3rd and Paul Mayes launched a 2-run homer (#4) in the 4th to give them that lead, which Seattle slowly eroded. Jorge Barraza (7-3) turned in another good start at 5.1 5 3 2 0 5 and although the bullpen did allow the third run against him to score they held the rest of the way. Mario Berumen came on for the 9th as usual but departed with two out thanks to a dead arm which will sideline him a week, so the newest Ray Devin Tadlock came on to get the save in his first appearance with the club, his 22nd overall this season.

Game 2: Seattle overcame a 4-3 Rays lead in the middle innings to beat them 7-4 in the second game. Jesus Avalos had a huge game with a solo homer in the 1st and a 3-run shot in the 3rd (#23 & 24) to erase an early Mariners lead but the good times were short-lived as Seattle tied it in the 5th off Elijah Whitaker and then went ahead in the 6th, dropping the rookie to 6-6 after a 5 7 5 5 3 3 outing. The pen gave up a couple of more runs and that was that.

Game 3: The Rays bounced back to take the rubber game 5-2 thanks to a typically outstanding game from Dave Rose. The star right-hander might be having his best year yet, now on pace for 7.2 WAR which would easily eclipse last season's career high of 5.3 thanks to a 7 4 0 0 2 5 performance which improved him to 10-4. Dave Flores gave up a 2-run homer in the 8th which created a save situation in the 9th for Devin Tadlock, who got his 2nd as a Ray and 23rd in total. Jose Machado was 2-3 with a double and an RBI as five different Rays plated a run.

Team record: 60-37. Tampa Bay maintained its 2 1/2-game lead on Baltimore and will take a day off to fly across the country before playing 3 in Anaheim against a 58-39 Angels squad currently tied with Houston for 1st in the AL West.

[Art Deco]

July 21: Placed OF Joel Bland on the 10-day IL with a torn abdominal muscle, purchased the contract of OF Dae-Sung Park from AAA Durham.

Bland suffered the injury in the finale of the previous series against Seattle and will be out until late August. His power/speed combo will be missed. Park, a free agent signee from South Korea during the 54/55 offseason, will replace the speed part as he's a guy who will hit for average (60 contact) and gap power (65) but doesn't walk or hit homers. He's an excellent defensive OF though and we'll have some kind of mix or match with him (against RHP), Jose Lozada and Brian Whittaker at the position until Bland returns.

Game 1: What an MLB debut for Dae-Sung Park as he and Steve Swords led the Rays to a 5-0 win at Anaheim over the Angels to start their 3-game series. Park had a hand in all 5 Rays runs, scoring 3 of them and driving in the other 2 with a double as he was 3-5 in his first MLB action. Not to be overlooked was Swords, who went 7 1 0 0 3 8 to improve to 9-1 as he and Erik Witten combined on a 3-hit shutout. David Morales drove in Park twice with a double and a triple.

Game 2: Rays pitching pulled off their second straight shutout as they got by LA 2-0. Randy Mastropietro (7-2) was in fine form at 6.2 4 0 0 1 3 and the save went to Adan Guardado, his 2nd. The only offense came in the 5th courtesy of a 2-run homer from Dantel Chinchilla, his 9th.

Game 3: The series ended up featuring three shutouts but this time the Rays were on the wrong end of the scoreline, falling 3-0 to the Angels and managing only one measly hit the entire game, an Aaron White single in the 4th. Jorge Barraza (7-4) wasn't bad, but had no chance with today's offense after going 5.2 8 2 2 1 5.

Team record: 62-38. Unfortunately Baltimore swept its series and moved back within 1 1/2 games of Tampa Bay. Next up: Home for 3 against a pretty good Atlanta team, atop the NL East at 60-41.

Rays news: Despite his brilliant MLB debut Park apparently rubbed some of his teammates the wrong way with Jesus Avalos calling him out for a lack of hustle and Park getting into a clubhouse scrape with him. I've decided not to suspend Park and we'll see how it goes.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: A tough one for the Rays as new boy Devin Tadlock gave up 3 runs in the 9th to turn a 4-2 win into a 5-4 loss. Elijah Whitaker was excellent (6 5 2 2 0 5), Jesus Avalos was 3-5 with an RBI double, and it looked like Vinny Colon's solo homer (#12) in the 8th would provide necessary insurance. But it wasn't enough as Tadlock (0-1) gave up 3 runs on 4 hits in the 9th with regular closer Mario Berumen still out a couple of more days.

Game 2: It was Tampa Bay's turn to pull one out in the 9th after the bullpen blew another lead with Aaron White contributing the biggest hit of his nascent Rays career, homering (#1/9) in the bottom of the inning to provide a 3-2 walk-off win over Atlanta. The Rays got another outstanding start from Dave Rose at 7 6 1 1 3 9 and led 2-1 going into the 8th but Adan Guardado gave up a solo homer to let Atlanta equalize, setting the stage for White's heroics. Devin Tadlock got through the 9th this time without incident and evened his Rays record at 1-1.

Game 3: Steve Swords was put to the sword and the Rays dropped the rubber game of the series 8-5 to Atlanta. The righty dropped to 9-2 after a rough 3 7 7 4 3 3 outing that wasn't helped by an error from last night's hero Aaron White. The offense tried to fight back from the big hole Swords put them in with Dantel Chinchilla going 4-5 with 3 doubles and 2 RBI but it wasn't enough.

Team record: 63-40. Luckily Baltimore also lost 2 of 3 so the division lead remains at 1 1/2 games. Next up: An off-day then the 61-42 Dodgers come to town for 3 games.

Trades? We've got some trades for you as the deadline approaches.



Welcome to Tampa Bay, legendary closer Jake Cid! The 35-year-old lefty has 405 career saves, is an 8-time all-star and 3-time winner of Reliever of the Year, and hasn't lost a step: he's still rated 80/55/65 and had 7 saves with a 2.04 ERA and 7/53 BB/K ratio in 39 innings for Washington. He's a rental of course, which is why we were able to acquire him for a marginal prospect in Cisneros. He may become our closer or will mix and match with Berumen depending on the handedness of the opposition lineup in the 9th. He also gives us a second lefty in the pen, which frees up Guardado to be used earlier in games when needed.

To make room for Cid on a staff that's comprised almost entirely of guys with no options (except Tadlock whom I want in a setup role), I had to make room so goodbye Chris Resnick:



Resnick has closer stuff (70 with 75 movement) but only 35 control so we've had to carefully use him. Add in that he's a free agent at year's end and he became the odd man out. We did well in dealing him as Aponte is a 1B who was hitting 321/387/477 for the Phillies in his first 54 MLB games and is rated 60 contact/55 power with 65/60 potential. Positionally he adds to a huge glut we have but he was by far the best value available and will go to Durham. We already have two young 1B platooning in Colon and Gonzales and Montgomery's Ruben Brown is more than MLB-ready (not to mention guys like Manny Mendoza and Takayuki Tsujimura who have MLB experience), so Aponte gives us a real glut from which we will probably trade from in the offseason.