The 2021 (and only 2021) Tampa Bay Rays - Page 61

Art Deco · 07-11-2023, 10:57 AM

Oops, he did it again...

Joe Stack is fast becoming a legend in Tampa Bay and around the country as for the second time in four games the rookie came off the bench and slugged a game-winning 2-run homer, this one just inside the RF foul pole and giving the Rays a 6-5 win over the Yankees and a berth in the ALCS. While not a walk-off since it was on the road this one might have even been more dramatic as the Yankees held a 5-4 lead and were one out away from sending the series back to St. Pete for a deciding Game 5. It was quite the turnaround for the Rays, who fell behind 4-0 in the first when Chris Ferguson gave up four consecutive RBI singles. They fought back to tie it up (without the benefit of homers!) but New York took the lead back. Ethan McElvain was impressive with 3 innings of shutout relief after starting all season and Mike Moore had a 1-2-3 9th with 2 whiffs to close it out when he wasn't even expecting to pitch. So the threepeat hopes remain alive.

And their ALCS opponent has been determined:

It'll be the Rangers heading to the Trop to open the ALCS in a few days and figuring large in today's Texas win was former Rays CF Chris Gutierrez. Meanwhile Memphis saw their 103-win season come to an ignominious end as they were swept by the Cubs, who finished 8 games behind them in the regular season. Chicago awaits the Mets-Dodgers winner in what will be a big market NLCS.

Art Deco · 07-11-2023, 11:05 AM

The home team has still yet to win a game in this series:

Art Deco · 07-11-2023, 11:06 AM

Finally a home win:

Art Deco · 07-12-2023, 04:06 PM

A good start, in more ways than one...

Joe Marlette was in ace form and Danny Arroyave's 1st-inning RBI single stood up for the duration as the Rays edged Texas 1-0 in Game 1 of the ALCS. Kevin DiCostanzo will be hoping to return to his ace form tomorrow in Game 2.

Art Deco · 07-12-2023, 04:36 PM

Ugh...

A bullpen meltdown in the 8th cost the Rays a chance to head to Texas up 2-0 in the ALCS and instead consigned them to a 6-5 defeat to even up the series. Matt Cronin, Nathan Dettmer and Wes Mendes conspired to allow 4 runs in the 8th after the Rays were nursing a 3-2 lead into the inning. They fought back on a 2-run Nate Strickland single to get within one, and in the 9th with two out put men on 1st and 3rd only for Wander Franco to hit a scorcher right at the Rangers' Corbin Carroll. So Danny Morales will try to get things right again in a couple of days in Arlington.

Similar thing happened in the NLCS opener as the Cubs lost the lead late:

Art Deco · 07-12-2023, 04:49 PM

not great Bob...

The mighty Rays offense was held to a measly William Contreras single in the 2nd inning today as Texas won 2-0 and took a 2-1 lead in the ALCS. Danny Morales pitched well but the game played out much like Game 1 with the roles reversed as a first-inning Rangers run stood up before they added one in the 8th. Chris Ferguson will need to be on point in a near-must-win game tomorrow.

In yesterday's NLCS Game 2 the Cubs didn't let the late lead slip away this time as former Ray James Hays took a tough-luck loss:

Art Deco · 07-12-2023, 05:23 PM

Can't score, can't win...

The Rays are staring at elimination in the ALCS thanks to a sustained pathetic performance at the plate, losing today 2-1 after falling 1-0 in Game 3. An excellent Chris Ferguson start was wasted and they were at 17 straight innings without a run before Bobby Marin homered despite a back issue that would have disabled him had this been the regular season. And for a moment it looked like they'd pull it out when they got consecutive singles to open the 9th but two strikeouts and a fly out disabused that notion. They did nothing in the three extra frames and Texas got a leadoff triple in the 12th which scored on a fly ball. Joe Marlette goes tomorrow to try and keep the season alive, but even if he replicates his brilliant Game 1 performance the bats are going to have to do something.

In the NLCS:

Yep that's 2033 Ray Pedro Avila getting the win for LA.

Art Deco · 07-12-2023, 05:44 PM

Still alive, just barely....

The offense continues to stink on ice but thanks to a heroic effort from Joe Marlette the Rays live to fight another day and return to St. Pete to play more baseball. They did score two runs today, one more than the previous two games combined, but the hitters really didn't deserve any kudos today as it was due to the wildness of Texas starter Andy Williamson. The lefty walked four straight men in the 3rd including a pair with the bases loaded to plate both runs - had Williamson not had this bout of wildness we might still be playing. As it is Kevin DiCostanzo will be taking the ball in two days' time looking to force a Game 7. This team has come from 1-3 down in series before in their current multi-year playoff run but man a few runs would be nice.

Meanwhile the Dodgers are on the verge:

Art Deco · 07-13-2023, 07:29 PM

Turn out the lights, the party's over...

The quest for a threepeat is over as the Rays once again couldn't score runs and paid for it tonight losing 5-2 to the Rangers. Kevin DiCostanzo was excellent as have most of the Rays starters this series but with no run support he had no margin for error. And then Nathan Dettmer and Matt Cronin made a mess in the 7th with the latter giving up a grand slam that gave Texas an insurmountable-for-this-series 5-0 lead. So the 2034 season is over for the Rays. With the notable exception of Arturo Gutierrez (and starter Ethan McElvain) the entire crew could be back depending on how much of a payroll the owner will give me so the 2035 Rays should be contenders again.

I'll have a World Series recap post before diving into the offseason.

Art Deco · 07-13-2023, 07:46 PM

The Dodgers made quick work of the Rangers to win their first World Series since beating the Rays in 2026.

Art Deco · 07-15-2023, 03:25 PM

Well the emotional state is disappointment with not advancing past the ALCS and missing out on a chance to threepeat, but the overall state is pretty good. We're returning the bulk of the team outside of a couple of free agent defections and a couple more players who are going to be traded to make payroll room as well as room for up-and-coming replacements.

Owner Jon Paige has kept the payroll static at $160M. We did make a quick trade:

Mendes was going to be due $5M in arbitration and is coming off a couple of inconsistent seasons so I had no problem dealing him and a C-prospect in Ferrer for Blackwell:

He's listed as the #67 prospect in baseball and with Arturo Gutierrez going free agent we have a hole at 2B. He hit 312/349/477 in his rookie season with 7 HR and 40 RBI in 70 games but those numbers are undoubtedly Coors-inflated. Still he is a potential impact bat as well as a good and versatile fielder and makes the minimum. Can't ask for much more.

As a result of that deal, here's our salary outlook:

These all add up to about $165M so more payroll-shedding is in order. The name Nick Wallerstedt in that list is a new one - he was claimed on waivers from Cleveland during October, a true swingman who made 18 starts and 25 relief appearances with the Guardians and went 11-6, 3.78 with 1.8 WAR. The righty is a possibility to replace free agent Ethan McElvain in the rotation or could bolster the pen.

So let the payroll trimming continue:

To absolutely nobody's surprise (which is why I didn't mention it earlier) William Contreras exercised his player option at $23M for 2035 so we're kind of stuck with him for another year but that's it, and we didn't have an heir apparent behind him. And Orlando Tosado, whom I'd prefer not to part with as he might have been our best position player last year, was due $11.5M. So we made lemons from lemonade and dealt him to Kansas City for Gutierrez (keeping our string of Gutierrezes alive as Arturo departs after Chris - and we also have pitching prospect Leo), one of the game's better young receivers. Here's how he stacks up:

Yes he's at best an average defensive C (but so is Contreras and we won two World Series with him) but he has a great bat with the potential to be even better, and earned 2.8 WAR with the Royals last year. Additionally we come out ahead on a swap of pitching prospects as Brace has disappointed after being picked in the first round back in 2029 while the 20-year-old Marion is rated the #86 prospect overall and has 60/50/65 potential, himself a first-round pick in 2032.

And as a result of the deal we'll now trade or non-tender backup C Diego Cartaya, saving another $3-3.5M on top of the $11M we saved by dealing Tosado. Gutierrez will job-share with Contreras and may get the bulk of the starts.

So here's where things stand position-by-position heading into the offseason:

C-Gutierrez and Contreras as just noted.

1B-Joe Stack should have the job as he hit 29 HR as a rookie, a couple of more clutch pinch-hit homers in the postseason, and plays Gold Glove-caliber D at the position. And he isn't bad against lefties despite being a lefty hitter.

2B-Arturo Gutierrez leaves big shoes to fill, although he was down some last year despite hitting 41 HR as he only hit .243 with a .306 OBP. I'm seriously considering moving Wander here as his defense at SS isn't getting any better and he'll be 34 in March. Another possibility if Blackwell isn't ready is play Agustin Lopez here. Lopez could hit .300 without a lot of power and so-so defense but we could live with it for a season.

SS-If we don't move Wander to 2B then of course he plays here, otherwise we're looking at Blackwell. #43 overall prospect Claas Hoppenbrouwers could probably hit .260 with 40 doubles and 10 homers right now but I'd like to see the Dutchman get some more MiLB seasoning.

3B-Danny Arroyave was a 40-homer stud in his first full MLB season so we're good here.

IF-Lopez and Mu-Sang Park, a good glove at SS, are the front-runners here to be the backup.

LF-With Tosado gone, the path is open for the #3 prospect in baseball, Luis Berumen, to take over. Feast your eyes on his ratings:

Our next superstar in a productive farm system, Berumen should be able to step in and hit .300 with 25-30 homers right away. He did hit 357/402/551 in 112 games at Montgomery last year. He actually has two-way ability, starting 23 games for the Biscuits last year but was dreadful (1-14, 7.66, 147 hits allowed in 96 IP) and he's rated 35/35/30 with only 45/45/40 potential so no, he's not going to be pitching.

CF-Jake Westfall returns after a slightly disappointing season considering what he did in 2033.

RF-Bobby Marin was outstanding as a rookie (298/348/515) and should only get better.

OF-Right now vets Kevin Alcantara and Elijah Green are the backups with Green a front-runner due to his speed and elite defense. I may be looking for a little more here.

DH-Danny Charlton hit 298/386/589 with 22 HR in 96 games between Cleveland and us last year and will be the man. He's a bit suspect against lefties though so we might us someone like Alcantara or Lopez to platoon with him against tough portsiders.

One name conspicuously absent from the above is Nate Strickland, who's hit 80 homers and driven in 226 runs the past two seasons. As has been well-chronicled, Strickland dropped off precipitously in the on-base department last year (.306) and with no defensive value was worth only 0.8 WAR, a figure he about doubled with a hot final week of the season. With Stack and Charlton already lefty hitters filling 1B and DH, there's no room for him and now he starts making money in arbitration ($5.5M projected). As a result he's trade bait and once I figure out what I want to receive for him he'll be dealt. He's an attractive asset and should fetch something along the lines of the two deals already made.

SP-The twin aces of Marlette & DiCostanzo return for one last ride as each are in their final year of team control (and are projected to combine for nearly $50M in arbitration). Chris Ferguson is back as the ideal #3 starter, and Danny Morales would be the ace or #2 guy on a lot of teams. We will have an opening with McElvain going to free agency which could be filled by Wallerstedt, stalwart Slade Cecconi (who always looks good on paper as a starter but never seems to back it up), or prospect Leo Gutierrez who was 10-7, 3.73 at Durham but needs to bring his 40 movement and 40 control up closer to the 55 potential he has in both categories to go with his 60/65 stuff. Gutierrez is more likely to be up mid-season for that reason. Jeremy Brooks (rated 60/45/50) remains a tease on paper who always seems to falter in the bigs. Perhaps we acquire a starter for Strickland as well.

Bullpen-Endgame guys Moore, Detmer and Devon Williams are back but we're hurting for a lefty with Mendes dealt and Matt Cronin a free agent (re-signing him is an owner goal but he wants 3/20). Abeyta, Ericson are also back to provide more quality middle relief but Frankely Guzman is a free agent. Getting a late-inning lefty is a priority here as we don't want to rely on Dillon Adkins, coming back from missing most of the season and who isn't a big power guy anyway.

So overall we're in really good shape and ready to be a championship contender again in 2035.

Our offseason goals:

1. Trade Strickland, which could solve one or both of the remaining goals.

2. Acquire a power lefty reliever.

3. Acquire a starting pitcher.

4. Add a better backup outfielder.

Art Deco · 07-16-2023, 08:08 PM

Starting off with the "in memoriam" section, i.e., retiring players: former Rays Dustin May, Austin Meadows, and Angelo DiSpigna as well as Carlos Correa, Xander Bogaerts, Adalberto Mondesi, Alec Bohm and Logan Webb.

Awards season:

Gold Gloves: We won one for a change as Joe Stack got the nod at 1B. A couple of former Rays also were honored: Michael Prosecky (P) and Chris Gutierrez (CF).

Reliever of the Year: Chicago's Jadon Smith won in the AL after going 4-5, 2.45 with 43 saves and 2.7 WAR. Rays closer Mike Moore was 2nd, tied with....Rays setup man Nathan Dettmer in a surprise vote. The NL nod went to San Diego's Ricky Nunez, who wasn't the full-time closer (12 saves) but had a 1.12 ERA in 88.2 IP (allowing only 44 hits!) and earned 1.9 WAR.

Silver Slugger: Two Rays were winners - departing 2B Arturo Gutierrez and 3B Danny Arroyave.

Rookie of the Year: White Sox 1B Joel Morales, who hit .269-40-103 and earned 3.1 WAR, was a unanimous winner in the AL. Stack finished a distant fourth. In the NL the "new A-Rod", Miami's Alex Rodriguez, took 31 of 32 votes after a massive .308-41-135, 5.5-WAR maiden campaign.

Cy Young: Nathan Deschryver, the long-time Dodger who won a Cy in 2029 and signed with the Yankees as a big-name free agent, took the AL award in his first season in the league with a 14-10, 3.16 season in which he led the league in Ks (232) and WAR (6.4). Joe Marlette placed third and Danny Morales sixth. The NL honoree was former Gator 2-way star Jac Caglianone, 21-6 with an MLB-best 2.52 ERA and 5.5 WAR.

MVP: Seattle's Nate Miller took 31 of 32 first-place votes in running away with the AL award after a massive .315-55-139, 6.8-WAR season. Arroyave was our highest finisher in 6th. The NL award went to 36-year-old Juan Soto of the Cardinals, after a renaissance season of .305-43-114, leading the league in SLG (.637) and OPS (1.022) and compiling 6 WAR. Soto had previously won the award in 2023 with San Diego, and his 11-year gap between winning the award twice has to be one of, if not the, longest in history.

November 6: Well we made the Nate Strickland trade, and achieved two of the three offseason goals we set:

Scheu is coming off a great season in St. Louis and while he doesn't have great stuff he has impeccable movement and control and as we have a pretty decent team defense he should be able to continue his success and we now have our 5th starter:

And Rivas is a very exciting young outfielder who bats from the right side and has incredible contact and speed skills:

Look at those SB totals in his three minor league seasons. He'll fill in nicely platooning with Marin or Berumen in the OF (and possibly Charlton at DH), give us a great option off the bench when we need a hit or a steal, and also play some pretty good OF defense at all 3 positions. He could also be our successor to Jake Westfall, who has one more year of team control after the upcoming season.

Jimenez, who accompanied Strickland to St. Louis in the deal, is a C prospect.

November 23: After the dust settled with arbitration and non-tenders, we only have $4.7M to spend this offseason although we have a whopping $73M available for extensions as the huge salaries of Marlette, DiCostanzo and Contreras come off the books as well as Chris Ferguson's $7.9M. Of course we'll have to replace the top three spots in the rotation but that's a problem for next winter.

December 3: And there goes Arturo Gutierrez, off to Milwaukee on a whopping 7/220 deal. Meanwhile former Rays slugger Andrew Greckel will be tormenting us with the Yankees thanks to a new 3/58 contract.

December 8: Another of free agents signs elsewhere as Frankely Guzman got starter money from the Cubs on a 4/60 pact. And long-time Padres star Francisco Tatis Jr. decided the grass wasn't greener and opted to stay in San Diego for 3/97.

December 10: Bo Bichette is joining Tatis in San Diego on a 3/61 deal to play 3B alongside him.

December 11: And the third of our big three free agents found a new home with Ethan McElvain joining the Angels on a 4/79 contract while 36-year-old Yordan Alvarez is a Giant for 2/23 and NL Cy Young winner Jac Caglianone cashed in by inking a 6/143 extension with the Cubs.

December 21: 25 players were taken in the Rule 5 draft but nobody from our organization.

December 23: Matt Cronin is off to Philadelphia for 1 year at $4.1M.

December 24: Another 2034 Ray is gone as Nathan Dettmer joins the Phillies for 3/14.

Art Deco · 07-17-2023, 02:43 PM

January 3: The Hall of Fame balloting is in and one guy made it in:

Talk about pulling it out at last minute! In his final year of eligibility Ryan Braun squeaked over the 75% threshold to earn enshrinement at Cooperstown. Jose Altuve came close and Christian Yelich had an impressive first-year showing. After Molina, who needs a super surge next year before he drops off, nobody received more than 22%.

January 4: Former Ray Dominic Scavone, who spent the last few years in KC after we traded him for Dong-hwan Kim (also departed), signed a 5/71 deal with Houston.

January 18: Made a deal to complete the 3rd and final goal of the offseason:

Riddick is a decently-rated (60/55/50) lefty who can also start but we'll need him in the pen. He's started in the minors and only has pitched 7 2/3 innings at the big-league level so he's not a lock to be great but the cost wasn't steep with Ko, a 31-year-old Korean we signed last winter who has the Kyle Schwarber profile (45 contact, 65 power, 80 eye) and struggled with Durham last year (193/328/394) and didn't fit into our plans.

January 20: Made an interesting international signing:

Not sure how a 16-year-old earns the nickname "Mr. Clutch" but if he lives up to his 80 contact and 80 power potential he can call himself whatever he wants.

Nothing to report in February of significance, and we head into Spring Training with the roster relatively set.

Art Deco · 07-18-2023, 12:14 PM

While went a nice 15-9 in Spring Training it wasn't all fun and games as we suffered a pair of significant injuries. Danny Arroyave strained his hamstring and won't be back until late April or early May, and newly-acquired lefty reliever Ajani Riddick strained a hamstring as well and will be out until late April. As a result of these injuries and the fact we have next to nothing to spend on reinforcements, a couple of our top prospects will have their MLB debuts accelerated by being on the roster Opening Day. Claus Hoppenbrouwers, the #40 prospect in the game, will be part of the 2B mix along with Agustin Lopez as Wander Franco will now cover 3B in Arroyave's absence, and #31 overall prospect Leo Gutierrez, a lefty, will work out of the bullpen as the declining Dillon Adkins is our only other lefty reliever. I had hoped to have Gutierrez starting at Durham to get more innings but he did pitch a full season there last year.

With all that in mind, here's how the OD roster looks:

C-W.Gutierrez, W.Contreras
1B-Stack
2B-Hoppenbrouwers
SS-Blackwell
3B-W.Franco
IF-A.Lopez, Park
LF-Berumen
CF-Westfall
RF-Marin
OF-A. Rivas
DH-Charlton

Lopez will DH/2B some against lefties, Hoppenbrouwers can play the OF as well and Rivas will play against lefties.

SP-Marlette, DiCostanzo, D.Morales, Ferguson, Scheu
LR-R.Morris, Cecconi
MR-Abeyta, L.Gutierrez, Adkins, Wallerstedt, Ericson
SU-D.Williams
CL-M.Moore

Randy Morris made the staff ahead of Jeremy Brooks due to his lack of options.

One free agent signing of significance that didn't make the previous post: former Rays slugger Kelly Crumpton, who spent the last year with Toronto, inked a 1/9.4 deal with the Cubs.

The preseason predictions (which may peg us down a few wins with Arroyave not on the OD roster):

So OOTP likes our squad, but likes the Yankees even better, predicting another battle royale between the two clubs after last year's.

Art Deco · 07-18-2023, 03:48 PM

The Opening Day box:

Some not-great pitching doomed the Rays to an Opening Day 6-5 loss in Baltimore as Joe Marlette was not his ace-like self today, unable to hold a 4-2 lead handed to him in the 6th. Despite the loss it was an impressive debut day for rookies and new Rays with Luis Berumen living up to his mega-prospect status by blasting a 463-foot homer in his first MLB game and Claus Hoppenbrouwers singling in his first MLB at-bat and adding an RBI knock. Trade acquisitions Willie Gutierrez and Justin Blackwell each had hits with the latter driving in the team's first run of 2035. Danny Charlton had a day to forget though with 4 whiffs including one to end the game with the tying run on.

In the second game Danny Charlton atoned for his rough Opening Day and then some, homering three times to lead an eight(!)-homer attack in a 12-3 Rays rout of Baltimore. Charlton was 4-5 with the 3 homers and 4 RBI, including a 2-run shot in the 2nd to put them up 6-0. Luis Berumen did it again with his 3-run homer (#2) in the first getting them on the board, and Bobby Marin chipped in a pair of longballs as part of a 3-hit day. Also going deep were Jake Westfall and Justin Blackwell with just about all the homers today being solo shots. Kevin DiCostanzo won his 2035 debut going 5.2 7 3 3 0 6 and another touted prospect, Leo Gutierrez, made his MLB debut with a scoreless 9th featuring a walk and a whiff.

Team record: 1-1. The schedule is quirky with the Rays among 8 teams playing exclusively over the season's first two days and as a result they'll have two days off before resuming play in Boston for a pair.

Art Deco · 07-19-2023, 03:56 PM

The Rays split their pair at Fenway with a blowout win and a close loss, and through four games they've now outscored their opponents 31-16 yet are 2-2.

Coming off a 12-3 win in their last game three days earlier the Rays did it again, blowing out Boston 13-4. Although they didn't hit 8 homers like they did in Baltimore they did blast five. Wander Franco had a 3-run shot (#1) and knocked in 4, Joe Stack drove in 4 with a solo homer (#1) and a bases-clearing double, Bobby Marin was 3-6 with a 3-run homer (#3), Willie Gutierrez had 3 hits including his first Rays longball, and rookie Luis Berumen made it 3 dingers in 3 MLB games. Danny Morales (1-0) wasn't great but didn't need to be, getting the win after going 5.2 9 4 3 1 3.

When Bobby Marin and Wander Franco hit doubles to plate a run in the top of the first it looked like another big day at the plate was in order but that turned out to be all the Rays would get as they dropped the second game 3-1 to the Red Sox. Chris Ferguson (0-1) pitched gamely at 7 8 3 3 2 7 but his teammates could only manage three hits the rest of the game as it's feast or famine in early 2035.

Team record: 2-2. Next up: We have our home opener as Baltimore comes into town for 3 games.

MLB News: Kansas City's Ryan Mountcastle hit homer #300.

Art Deco · 07-20-2023, 03:32 PM

The Rays took 2 of 3 to kick off their 2035 home schedule.

Unfortunately they dropped the opener at a sold-out Tropicana Field, losing 4-2 to the Orioles. For the most part it was a pitchers' duel between Joe Marlette and last year's #1 overall pick Joe Brown as each allowed 2 runs with the Rays tying it in the bottom of the 7th on Justin Blackwell's 4th hit of the game, an RBI single. But the star-crossed Devon Williams gave up a couple of runs in the 8th to lose it in his 2035 debut with a Blackwell error looming large leading to both runs being unearned. Marlette finished a solid 6.1 6 2 2 1 7, a vast improvement over his rough Opening Day outing.

The Rays claimed their first home win of 2035 in the second game behind an excellent Tampa Bay debut from starter Joe Scheu in a 7-2 win. The groundballer went 6 7 1 1 0 4 and was staked to an early 6-0 lead when the Rays scored thrice in each of the first two innings. Joe Stack was the big man at the plate with an RBI single, a 2-RBI single and a sac fly (a Stack fly?) to drive in 4. Rookie Luis Berumen was on base all four times with 2 hits and 2 hit-by-pitches, and Slade Cecconi made his first 2035 appearance, going the final 3 innings for a save.

Tampa Bay left it late in the finale, scoring three times in the bottom of the 8th to pull out a 3-2 comeback win over Baltimore. It was scoreless until the 6th when Kevin DiCostanzo gave up back-to-back solo homers, including one from former Ray Jonathan Gutierrez and finished 5.1 4 2 2 2 7. The 8th-inning rally started with a couple of singles and an error loading the bases with nobody out before Luis Berumen came up big again with a game-tying 2-run double and Bobby Marin brought home the winner with a sac fly. Nick Wallerstedt earned his first Rays win with two scoreless innings and Mike Moore was finally called upon for the first save situation of 2035 and converted it.

Team record: 4-3. Next up: Oakland visits for 3 games.

MLB News: A couple of milestone homers as the Dodgers' Gavin Lux hit #400 and Minnesota's Triston Casas put his 300th in the seats.

Art Deco · 07-21-2023, 08:30 PM

The Rays suffered a shocking sweep at the Trop thanks to some lousy pitching, especially the bullpen which blew late-inning leads in the first two games.

The opener was particularly galling as Tampa Bay held an 8-3 lead through 6 innings and were on cruise control, only to lose 9-8 in 14 innings. Enter the Rays bullpen with Nick Wallerstedt giving up a 3-run homer with two of Danny Morales' men on, leaving Morales with a 6.1 7 5 5 3 3 line and letting Oakland within 8-6, Devon Williams remained un-clutch by giving up a run in the 8th and then Mike Moore coughed up a solo homer in the 9th to let Oakland tie it. The A's finally broke through against Chris Ericson (0-1) in the 14th when he gave up a homer. Although the offense went dark over the final 8 innings they did put 8 on the board before that led by Alex Rivas who was 4-6 with 2 doubles, a homer (#1) and 3 RBI while Wander Franco was 3-6 with a 2-run homer (#2). Jake Westfall (#2) and William Contreras (#1) also went deep. But spots 4-7 in the lineup were a combined 0-23, hurting them in extras.

The Rays came back three times on Oakland in the second game, once to go ahead and twice to tie it up late after they blew the lead, but the pitching just couldn't get the A's out when it counted and they lost again in extras, 10-9 in 12 innings. Chris Ferguson was tagged for 4 runs in the 1st but the Rays eventually came all the way back to go up 7-6 in the 6th on a 2-run Claus Hoppenbrouwers double. Ferguson finished a rough 5.1 8 5 5 1 3 although he settled in after the first. Once again it was the amazing-ratings-but-terrible-results Devon Williams who faltered, allowing the tying run in the 8th. Oakland then went ahead in the 10th only for the Rays to tie it up in the bottom of the inning, went ahead again in the 11th before Wander Franco hit a dramatic 2-out homer in the Rays' half to tie it once again but finally couldn't answer Oakland's run off Randy Morris (0-1) in the 12th. Joe Stack was 3-6 with HR #2 and 2 RBI, Wander had 3 hits and Luis Berumen 4 but all for naught thanks to the poor pitching.

At least they lost the finale in a different way as the Rays' bats were exhausted from doing all that work for nothing the previous two days and they fell 5-2. Joe Marlette (0-2) turned in his second subpar start in three outings this year, going 6 9 5 5 1 5.

Team record: 4-6. At least we're not digging a hole for ourselves in the division as Boston and Toronto are leading at only 6-5.

Art Deco · 07-22-2023, 06:05 PM

A decent time in Minnesota as the Rays took 2 of 3.

The bats came to play in the opener, especially Bobby Marin's, as the Rays clubbed four homers and beat the Twins 7-4. Marin homered in consecutive innings, a solo shot in the 3rd and a 2-run job in the 4th to give him 5 on the young season. Justin Blackwell (#2) and Joe Stack (#3) also went deep in support of the effectively wild Joe Scheu, who made it two wins in two starts after going 5.2 3 2 1 4 2.

Kevin DiCostanzo was dazzling and the Rays got just enough offense to eke out a 2-0 win over Minnesota in the second game. The righty improved to 2-0 with a sterling 7 3 0 0 1 5 outing and Mike Moore struck out a pair in a 1-2-3 9th for his 2nd save. Jake Westfall's RBI single in the 5th broke the ice and in the 6th Luis Berumen curled one inside the RF foul pole for his 4th homer, providing some insurance.

Danny Morales was keeping the Rays in the finale before he suddenly couldn't retire anyone in the 6th and the Twins broke the game open with 4 runs to go on to an 8-3 win. The game stood at 2-1 Minnesota going into that inning with Justin Blackwell's mammoth 487-foot shot to center (#3) the lone Tampa Bay score. But it all unraveled from there and Morales ended up a rough 5 7 6 6 2 2 to fall to 1-1. Bobby Marin drove in a pair with a couple of hits and is now 3rd in the AL in RBI with 12.

Team record: 6-7. Toronto swept its series so the Rays are now 2 1/2 back in the East. Next up: We head back east to Yankee Stadium to play 3.

Art Deco · 07-22-2023, 06:34 PM

This was all about saving some $ as we essentially doubled the money we had available from $2.2M to $4.4M. Cecconi also has lost some MPH off his pitches and dropped a bit in the ratings. The inspiration for this deal was a waiver claim I wanted to make for a guy with a salary of about $2.6M but in the end a team with higher priority grabbed him. So Instead we end up with Coblentz, who's fairly mediocre and will be expendable once we have the opportunity for someone better.

07-11-2023, 10:57 AM	#1201
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,067	October 11, 2034: ALDS Game 4 & NLDS Game 3 Oops, he did it again... Joe Stack is fast becoming a legend in Tampa Bay and around the country as for the second time in four games the rookie came off the bench and slugged a game-winning 2-run homer, this one just inside the RF foul pole and giving the Rays a 6-5 win over the Yankees and a berth in the ALCS. While not a walk-off since it was on the road this one might have even been more dramatic as the Yankees held a 5-4 lead and were one out away from sending the series back to St. Pete for a deciding Game 5. It was quite the turnaround for the Rays, who fell behind 4-0 in the first when Chris Ferguson gave up four consecutive RBI singles. They fought back to tie it up (without the benefit of homers!) but New York took the lead back. Ethan McElvain was impressive with 3 innings of shutout relief after starting all season and Mike Moore had a 1-2-3 9th with 2 whiffs to close it out when he wasn't even expecting to pitch. So the threepeat hopes remain alive. And their ALCS opponent has been determined: It'll be the Rangers heading to the Trop to open the ALCS in a few days and figuring large in today's Texas win was former Rays CF Chris Gutierrez. Meanwhile Memphis saw their 103-win season come to an ignominious end as they were swept by the Cubs, who finished 8 games behind them in the regular season. Chicago awaits the Mets-Dodgers winner in what will be a big market NLCS. Last edited by Art Deco; 07-11-2023 at 11:03 AM.

07-11-2023, 11:05 AM	#1202
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,067	October 12, 2034: NLDS Game 4 The home team has still yet to win a game in this series:

07-11-2023, 11:06 AM	#1203
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,067	October 14, 2034: NLDS Game 5 Finally a home win:

07-12-2023, 04:06 PM	#1204
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,067	October 15, 2034: ALCS Game 1 A good start, in more ways than one... Joe Marlette was in ace form and Danny Arroyave's 1st-inning RBI single stood up for the duration as the Rays edged Texas 1-0 in Game 1 of the ALCS. Kevin DiCostanzo will be hoping to return to his ace form tomorrow in Game 2.

07-12-2023, 04:36 PM	#1205
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,067	October 16, 2034: ALCS Game 2 & NLCS Game 1 Ugh... A bullpen meltdown in the 8th cost the Rays a chance to head to Texas up 2-0 in the ALCS and instead consigned them to a 6-5 defeat to even up the series. Matt Cronin, Nathan Dettmer and Wes Mendes conspired to allow 4 runs in the 8th after the Rays were nursing a 3-2 lead into the inning. They fought back on a 2-run Nate Strickland single to get within one, and in the 9th with two out put men on 1st and 3rd only for Wander Franco to hit a scorcher right at the Rangers' Corbin Carroll. So Danny Morales will try to get things right again in a couple of days in Arlington. Similar thing happened in the NLCS opener as the Cubs lost the lead late:

07-12-2023, 04:49 PM	#1206
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,067	October 17-18, 2034: ALCS Game 3 & NLCS Game 2 not great Bob... The mighty Rays offense was held to a measly William Contreras single in the 2nd inning today as Texas won 2-0 and took a 2-1 lead in the ALCS. Danny Morales pitched well but the game played out much like Game 1 with the roles reversed as a first-inning Rangers run stood up before they added one in the 8th. Chris Ferguson will need to be on point in a near-must-win game tomorrow. In yesterday's NLCS Game 2 the Cubs didn't let the late lead slip away this time as former Ray James Hays took a tough-luck loss:

07-12-2023, 05:23 PM	#1207
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,067	October 19, 2034: ALCS Game 4 & NLCS Game 3 Can't score, can't win... The Rays are staring at elimination in the ALCS thanks to a sustained pathetic performance at the plate, losing today 2-1 after falling 1-0 in Game 3. An excellent Chris Ferguson start was wasted and they were at 17 straight innings without a run before Bobby Marin homered despite a back issue that would have disabled him had this been the regular season. And for a moment it looked like they'd pull it out when they got consecutive singles to open the 9th but two strikeouts and a fly out disabused that notion. They did nothing in the three extra frames and Texas got a leadoff triple in the 12th which scored on a fly ball. Joe Marlette goes tomorrow to try and keep the season alive, but even if he replicates his brilliant Game 1 performance the bats are going to have to do something. In the NLCS: Yep that's 2033 Ray Pedro Avila getting the win for LA.

07-12-2023, 05:44 PM	#1208
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,067	October 20, 2034: ALCS Game 5 & NLCS Game 4 Still alive, just barely.... The offense continues to stink on ice but thanks to a heroic effort from Joe Marlette the Rays live to fight another day and return to St. Pete to play more baseball. They did score two runs today, one more than the previous two games combined, but the hitters really didn't deserve any kudos today as it was due to the wildness of Texas starter Andy Williamson. The lefty walked four straight men in the 3rd including a pair with the bases loaded to plate both runs - had Williamson not had this bout of wildness we might still be playing. As it is Kevin DiCostanzo will be taking the ball in two days' time looking to force a Game 7. This team has come from 1-3 down in series before in their current multi-year playoff run but man a few runs would be nice. Meanwhile the Dodgers are on the verge:

07-13-2023, 07:29 PM	#1209
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,067	October 22, 2034: ALCS Game 6 Turn out the lights, the party's over... The quest for a threepeat is over as the Rays once again couldn't score runs and paid for it tonight losing 5-2 to the Rangers. Kevin DiCostanzo was excellent as have most of the Rays starters this series but with no run support he had no margin for error. And then Nathan Dettmer and Matt Cronin made a mess in the 7th with the latter giving up a grand slam that gave Texas an insurmountable-for-this-series 5-0 lead. So the 2034 season is over for the Rays. With the notable exception of Arturo Gutierrez (and starter Ethan McElvain) the entire crew could be back depending on how much of a payroll the owner will give me so the 2035 Rays should be contenders again. I'll have a World Series recap post before diving into the offseason.

07-13-2023, 07:46 PM	#1210
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,067	The 2034 World Series The Dodgers made quick work of the Rangers to win their first World Series since beating the Rays in 2026.

07-15-2023, 03:25 PM	#1211
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,067	2034-35 Offseason: State of the Team Well the emotional state is disappointment with not advancing past the ALCS and missing out on a chance to threepeat, but the overall state is pretty good. We're returning the bulk of the team outside of a couple of free agent defections and a couple more players who are going to be traded to make payroll room as well as room for up-and-coming replacements. Owner Jon Paige has kept the payroll static at $160M. We did make a quick trade: Mendes was going to be due $5M in arbitration and is coming off a couple of inconsistent seasons so I had no problem dealing him and a C-prospect in Ferrer for Blackwell: He's listed as the #67 prospect in baseball and with Arturo Gutierrez going free agent we have a hole at 2B. He hit 312/349/477 in his rookie season with 7 HR and 40 RBI in 70 games but those numbers are undoubtedly Coors-inflated. Still he is a potential impact bat as well as a good and versatile fielder and makes the minimum. Can't ask for much more. As a result of that deal, here's our salary outlook: These all add up to about $165M so more payroll-shedding is in order. The name Nick Wallerstedt in that list is a new one - he was claimed on waivers from Cleveland during October, a true swingman who made 18 starts and 25 relief appearances with the Guardians and went 11-6, 3.78 with 1.8 WAR. The righty is a possibility to replace free agent Ethan McElvain in the rotation or could bolster the pen. So let the payroll trimming continue: To absolutely nobody's surprise (which is why I didn't mention it earlier) William Contreras exercised his player option at $23M for 2035 so we're kind of stuck with him for another year but that's it, and we didn't have an heir apparent behind him. And Orlando Tosado, whom I'd prefer not to part with as he might have been our best position player last year, was due $11.5M. So we made lemons from lemonade and dealt him to Kansas City for Gutierrez (keeping our string of Gutierrezes alive as Arturo departs after Chris - and we also have pitching prospect Leo), one of the game's better young receivers. Here's how he stacks up: Yes he's at best an average defensive C (but so is Contreras and we won two World Series with him) but he has a great bat with the potential to be even better, and earned 2.8 WAR with the Royals last year. Additionally we come out ahead on a swap of pitching prospects as Brace has disappointed after being picked in the first round back in 2029 while the 20-year-old Marion is rated the #86 prospect overall and has 60/50/65 potential, himself a first-round pick in 2032. And as a result of the deal we'll now trade or non-tender backup C Diego Cartaya, saving another $3-3.5M on top of the $11M we saved by dealing Tosado. Gutierrez will job-share with Contreras and may get the bulk of the starts. So here's where things stand position-by-position heading into the offseason: C-Gutierrez and Contreras as just noted. 1B-Joe Stack should have the job as he hit 29 HR as a rookie, a couple of more clutch pinch-hit homers in the postseason, and plays Gold Glove-caliber D at the position. And he isn't bad against lefties despite being a lefty hitter. 2B-Arturo Gutierrez leaves big shoes to fill, although he was down some last year despite hitting 41 HR as he only hit .243 with a .306 OBP. I'm seriously considering moving Wander here as his defense at SS isn't getting any better and he'll be 34 in March. Another possibility if Blackwell isn't ready is play Agustin Lopez here. Lopez could hit .300 without a lot of power and so-so defense but we could live with it for a season. SS-If we don't move Wander to 2B then of course he plays here, otherwise we're looking at Blackwell. #43 overall prospect Claas Hoppenbrouwers could probably hit .260 with 40 doubles and 10 homers right now but I'd like to see the Dutchman get some more MiLB seasoning. 3B-Danny Arroyave was a 40-homer stud in his first full MLB season so we're good here. IF-Lopez and Mu-Sang Park, a good glove at SS, are the front-runners here to be the backup. LF-With Tosado gone, the path is open for the #3 prospect in baseball, Luis Berumen, to take over. Feast your eyes on his ratings: Our next superstar in a productive farm system, Berumen should be able to step in and hit .300 with 25-30 homers right away. He did hit 357/402/551 in 112 games at Montgomery last year. He actually has two-way ability, starting 23 games for the Biscuits last year but was dreadful (1-14, 7.66, 147 hits allowed in 96 IP) and he's rated 35/35/30 with only 45/45/40 potential so no, he's not going to be pitching. CF-Jake Westfall returns after a slightly disappointing season considering what he did in 2033. RF-Bobby Marin was outstanding as a rookie (298/348/515) and should only get better. OF-Right now vets Kevin Alcantara and Elijah Green are the backups with Green a front-runner due to his speed and elite defense. I may be looking for a little more here. DH-Danny Charlton hit 298/386/589 with 22 HR in 96 games between Cleveland and us last year and will be the man. He's a bit suspect against lefties though so we might us someone like Alcantara or Lopez to platoon with him against tough portsiders. One name conspicuously absent from the above is Nate Strickland, who's hit 80 homers and driven in 226 runs the past two seasons. As has been well-chronicled, Strickland dropped off precipitously in the on-base department last year (.306) and with no defensive value was worth only 0.8 WAR, a figure he about doubled with a hot final week of the season. With Stack and Charlton already lefty hitters filling 1B and DH, there's no room for him and now he starts making money in arbitration ($5.5M projected). As a result he's trade bait and once I figure out what I want to receive for him he'll be dealt. He's an attractive asset and should fetch something along the lines of the two deals already made. SP-The twin aces of Marlette & DiCostanzo return for one last ride as each are in their final year of team control (and are projected to combine for nearly $50M in arbitration). Chris Ferguson is back as the ideal #3 starter, and Danny Morales would be the ace or #2 guy on a lot of teams. We will have an opening with McElvain going to free agency which could be filled by Wallerstedt, stalwart Slade Cecconi (who always looks good on paper as a starter but never seems to back it up), or prospect Leo Gutierrez who was 10-7, 3.73 at Durham but needs to bring his 40 movement and 40 control up closer to the 55 potential he has in both categories to go with his 60/65 stuff. Gutierrez is more likely to be up mid-season for that reason. Jeremy Brooks (rated 60/45/50) remains a tease on paper who always seems to falter in the bigs. Perhaps we acquire a starter for Strickland as well. Bullpen-Endgame guys Moore, Detmer and Devon Williams are back but we're hurting for a lefty with Mendes dealt and Matt Cronin a free agent (re-signing him is an owner goal but he wants 3/20). Abeyta, Ericson are also back to provide more quality middle relief but Frankely Guzman is a free agent. Getting a late-inning lefty is a priority here as we don't want to rely on Dillon Adkins, coming back from missing most of the season and who isn't a big power guy anyway. So overall we're in really good shape and ready to be a championship contender again in 2035. Our offseason goals: 1. Trade Strickland, which could solve one or both of the remaining goals. 2. Acquire a power lefty reliever. 3. Acquire a starting pitcher. 4. Add a better backup outfielder.

07-16-2023, 08:08 PM	#1212
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,067	2034-35 Offseason: Part 1 Starting off with the "in memoriam" section, i.e., retiring players: former Rays Dustin May, Austin Meadows, and Angelo DiSpigna as well as Carlos Correa, Xander Bogaerts, Adalberto Mondesi, Alec Bohm and Logan Webb. Awards season: Gold Gloves: We won one for a change as Joe Stack got the nod at 1B. A couple of former Rays also were honored: Michael Prosecky (P) and Chris Gutierrez (CF). Reliever of the Year: Chicago's Jadon Smith won in the AL after going 4-5, 2.45 with 43 saves and 2.7 WAR. Rays closer Mike Moore was 2nd, tied with....Rays setup man Nathan Dettmer in a surprise vote. The NL nod went to San Diego's Ricky Nunez, who wasn't the full-time closer (12 saves) but had a 1.12 ERA in 88.2 IP (allowing only 44 hits!) and earned 1.9 WAR. Silver Slugger: Two Rays were winners - departing 2B Arturo Gutierrez and 3B Danny Arroyave. Rookie of the Year: White Sox 1B Joel Morales, who hit .269-40-103 and earned 3.1 WAR, was a unanimous winner in the AL. Stack finished a distant fourth. In the NL the "new A-Rod", Miami's Alex Rodriguez, took 31 of 32 votes after a massive .308-41-135, 5.5-WAR maiden campaign. Cy Young: Nathan Deschryver, the long-time Dodger who won a Cy in 2029 and signed with the Yankees as a big-name free agent, took the AL award in his first season in the league with a 14-10, 3.16 season in which he led the league in Ks (232) and WAR (6.4). Joe Marlette placed third and Danny Morales sixth. The NL honoree was former Gator 2-way star Jac Caglianone, 21-6 with an MLB-best 2.52 ERA and 5.5 WAR. MVP: Seattle's Nate Miller took 31 of 32 first-place votes in running away with the AL award after a massive .315-55-139, 6.8-WAR season. Arroyave was our highest finisher in 6th. The NL award went to 36-year-old Juan Soto of the Cardinals, after a renaissance season of .305-43-114, leading the league in SLG (.637) and OPS (1.022) and compiling 6 WAR. Soto had previously won the award in 2023 with San Diego, and his 11-year gap between winning the award twice has to be one of, if not the, longest in history. November 6: Well we made the Nate Strickland trade, and achieved two of the three offseason goals we set: Scheu is coming off a great season in St. Louis and while he doesn't have great stuff he has impeccable movement and control and as we have a pretty decent team defense he should be able to continue his success and we now have our 5th starter: And Rivas is a very exciting young outfielder who bats from the right side and has incredible contact and speed skills: Look at those SB totals in his three minor league seasons. He'll fill in nicely platooning with Marin or Berumen in the OF (and possibly Charlton at DH), give us a great option off the bench when we need a hit or a steal, and also play some pretty good OF defense at all 3 positions. He could also be our successor to Jake Westfall, who has one more year of team control after the upcoming season. Jimenez, who accompanied Strickland to St. Louis in the deal, is a C prospect. November 23: After the dust settled with arbitration and non-tenders, we only have $4.7M to spend this offseason although we have a whopping $73M available for extensions as the huge salaries of Marlette, DiCostanzo and Contreras come off the books as well as Chris Ferguson's $7.9M. Of course we'll have to replace the top three spots in the rotation but that's a problem for next winter. December 3: And there goes Arturo Gutierrez, off to Milwaukee on a whopping 7/220 deal. Meanwhile former Rays slugger Andrew Greckel will be tormenting us with the Yankees thanks to a new 3/58 contract. December 8: Another of free agents signs elsewhere as Frankely Guzman got starter money from the Cubs on a 4/60 pact. And long-time Padres star Francisco Tatis Jr. decided the grass wasn't greener and opted to stay in San Diego for 3/97. December 10: Bo Bichette is joining Tatis in San Diego on a 3/61 deal to play 3B alongside him. December 11: And the third of our big three free agents found a new home with Ethan McElvain joining the Angels on a 4/79 contract while 36-year-old Yordan Alvarez is a Giant for 2/23 and NL Cy Young winner Jac Caglianone cashed in by inking a 6/143 extension with the Cubs. December 21: 25 players were taken in the Rule 5 draft but nobody from our organization. December 23: Matt Cronin is off to Philadelphia for 1 year at $4.1M. December 24: Another 2034 Ray is gone as Nathan Dettmer joins the Phillies for 3/14.

07-17-2023, 02:43 PM	#1213
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,067	2034-35 Offseason: Part 2 January 3: The Hall of Fame balloting is in and one guy made it in: Talk about pulling it out at last minute! In his final year of eligibility Ryan Braun squeaked over the 75% threshold to earn enshrinement at Cooperstown. Jose Altuve came close and Christian Yelich had an impressive first-year showing. After Molina, who needs a super surge next year before he drops off, nobody received more than 22%. January 4: Former Ray Dominic Scavone, who spent the last few years in KC after we traded him for Dong-hwan Kim (also departed), signed a 5/71 deal with Houston. January 18: Made a deal to complete the 3rd and final goal of the offseason: Riddick is a decently-rated (60/55/50) lefty who can also start but we'll need him in the pen. He's started in the minors and only has pitched 7 2/3 innings at the big-league level so he's not a lock to be great but the cost wasn't steep with Ko, a 31-year-old Korean we signed last winter who has the Kyle Schwarber profile (45 contact, 65 power, 80 eye) and struggled with Durham last year (193/328/394) and didn't fit into our plans. January 20: Made an interesting international signing: Not sure how a 16-year-old earns the nickname "Mr. Clutch" but if he lives up to his 80 contact and 80 power potential he can call himself whatever he wants. Nothing to report in February of significance, and we head into Spring Training with the roster relatively set.

07-18-2023, 12:14 PM	#1214
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,067	2035 Opening Day Roster and Preseason Predictions While went a nice 15-9 in Spring Training it wasn't all fun and games as we suffered a pair of significant injuries. Danny Arroyave strained his hamstring and won't be back until late April or early May, and newly-acquired lefty reliever Ajani Riddick strained a hamstring as well and will be out until late April. As a result of these injuries and the fact we have next to nothing to spend on reinforcements, a couple of our top prospects will have their MLB debuts accelerated by being on the roster Opening Day. Claus Hoppenbrouwers, the #40 prospect in the game, will be part of the 2B mix along with Agustin Lopez as Wander Franco will now cover 3B in Arroyave's absence, and #31 overall prospect Leo Gutierrez, a lefty, will work out of the bullpen as the declining Dillon Adkins is our only other lefty reliever. I had hoped to have Gutierrez starting at Durham to get more innings but he did pitch a full season there last year. With all that in mind, here's how the OD roster looks: C-W.Gutierrez, W.Contreras 1B-Stack 2B-Hoppenbrouwers SS-Blackwell 3B-W.Franco IF-A.Lopez, Park LF-Berumen CF-Westfall RF-Marin OF-A. Rivas DH-Charlton Lopez will DH/2B some against lefties, Hoppenbrouwers can play the OF as well and Rivas will play against lefties. SP-Marlette, DiCostanzo, D.Morales, Ferguson, Scheu LR-R.Morris, Cecconi MR-Abeyta, L.Gutierrez, Adkins, Wallerstedt, Ericson SU-D.Williams CL-M.Moore Randy Morris made the staff ahead of Jeremy Brooks due to his lack of options. One free agent signing of significance that didn't make the previous post: former Rays slugger Kelly Crumpton, who spent the last year with Toronto, inked a 1/9.4 deal with the Cubs. The preseason predictions (which may peg us down a few wins with Arroyave not on the OD roster): So OOTP likes our squad, but likes the Yankees even better, predicting another battle royale between the two clubs after last year's.

07-18-2023, 03:48 PM	#1215
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,067	March 31-April 1, 2035: at Baltimore (2) The Opening Day box: Some not-great pitching doomed the Rays to an Opening Day 6-5 loss in Baltimore as Joe Marlette was not his ace-like self today, unable to hold a 4-2 lead handed to him in the 6th. Despite the loss it was an impressive debut day for rookies and new Rays with Luis Berumen living up to his mega-prospect status by blasting a 463-foot homer in his first MLB game and Claus Hoppenbrouwers singling in his first MLB at-bat and adding an RBI knock. Trade acquisitions Willie Gutierrez and Justin Blackwell each had hits with the latter driving in the team's first run of 2035. Danny Charlton had a day to forget though with 4 whiffs including one to end the game with the tying run on. In the second game Danny Charlton atoned for his rough Opening Day and then some, homering three times to lead an eight(!)-homer attack in a 12-3 Rays rout of Baltimore. Charlton was 4-5 with the 3 homers and 4 RBI, including a 2-run shot in the 2nd to put them up 6-0. Luis Berumen did it again with his 3-run homer (#2) in the first getting them on the board, and Bobby Marin chipped in a pair of longballs as part of a 3-hit day. Also going deep were Jake Westfall and Justin Blackwell with just about all the homers today being solo shots. Kevin DiCostanzo won his 2035 debut going 5.2 7 3 3 0 6 and another touted prospect, Leo Gutierrez, made his MLB debut with a scoreless 9th featuring a walk and a whiff. Team record: 1-1. The schedule is quirky with the Rays among 8 teams playing exclusively over the season's first two days and as a result they'll have two days off before resuming play in Boston for a pair.

07-19-2023, 03:56 PM	#1216
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,067	April 4-5, 2035: at Boston (2) The Rays split their pair at Fenway with a blowout win and a close loss, and through four games they've now outscored their opponents 31-16 yet are 2-2. Coming off a 12-3 win in their last game three days earlier the Rays did it again, blowing out Boston 13-4. Although they didn't hit 8 homers like they did in Baltimore they did blast five. Wander Franco had a 3-run shot (#1) and knocked in 4, Joe Stack drove in 4 with a solo homer (#1) and a bases-clearing double, Bobby Marin was 3-6 with a 3-run homer (#3), Willie Gutierrez had 3 hits including his first Rays longball, and rookie Luis Berumen made it 3 dingers in 3 MLB games. Danny Morales (1-0) wasn't great but didn't need to be, getting the win after going 5.2 9 4 3 1 3. When Bobby Marin and Wander Franco hit doubles to plate a run in the top of the first it looked like another big day at the plate was in order but that turned out to be all the Rays would get as they dropped the second game 3-1 to the Red Sox. Chris Ferguson (0-1) pitched gamely at 7 8 3 3 2 7 but his teammates could only manage three hits the rest of the game as it's feast or famine in early 2035. Team record: 2-2. Next up: We have our home opener as Baltimore comes into town for 3 games. MLB News: Kansas City's Ryan Mountcastle hit homer #300.

07-20-2023, 03:32 PM	#1217
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,067	April 6-8, 2035: vs Baltimore (3) The Rays took 2 of 3 to kick off their 2035 home schedule. Unfortunately they dropped the opener at a sold-out Tropicana Field, losing 4-2 to the Orioles. For the most part it was a pitchers' duel between Joe Marlette and last year's #1 overall pick Joe Brown as each allowed 2 runs with the Rays tying it in the bottom of the 7th on Justin Blackwell's 4th hit of the game, an RBI single. But the star-crossed Devon Williams gave up a couple of runs in the 8th to lose it in his 2035 debut with a Blackwell error looming large leading to both runs being unearned. Marlette finished a solid 6.1 6 2 2 1 7, a vast improvement over his rough Opening Day outing. The Rays claimed their first home win of 2035 in the second game behind an excellent Tampa Bay debut from starter Joe Scheu in a 7-2 win. The groundballer went 6 7 1 1 0 4 and was staked to an early 6-0 lead when the Rays scored thrice in each of the first two innings. Joe Stack was the big man at the plate with an RBI single, a 2-RBI single and a sac fly (a Stack fly?) to drive in 4. Rookie Luis Berumen was on base all four times with 2 hits and 2 hit-by-pitches, and Slade Cecconi made his first 2035 appearance, going the final 3 innings for a save. Tampa Bay left it late in the finale, scoring three times in the bottom of the 8th to pull out a 3-2 comeback win over Baltimore. It was scoreless until the 6th when Kevin DiCostanzo gave up back-to-back solo homers, including one from former Ray Jonathan Gutierrez and finished 5.1 4 2 2 2 7. The 8th-inning rally started with a couple of singles and an error loading the bases with nobody out before Luis Berumen came up big again with a game-tying 2-run double and Bobby Marin brought home the winner with a sac fly. Nick Wallerstedt earned his first Rays win with two scoreless innings and Mike Moore was finally called upon for the first save situation of 2035 and converted it. Team record: 4-3. Next up: Oakland visits for 3 games. MLB News: A couple of milestone homers as the Dodgers' Gavin Lux hit #400 and Minnesota's Triston Casas put his 300th in the seats.

07-21-2023, 08:30 PM	#1218
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,067	April 9-11, 2035: vs Oakland (3) The Rays suffered a shocking sweep at the Trop thanks to some lousy pitching, especially the bullpen which blew late-inning leads in the first two games. The opener was particularly galling as Tampa Bay held an 8-3 lead through 6 innings and were on cruise control, only to lose 9-8 in 14 innings. Enter the Rays bullpen with Nick Wallerstedt giving up a 3-run homer with two of Danny Morales' men on, leaving Morales with a 6.1 7 5 5 3 3 line and letting Oakland within 8-6, Devon Williams remained un-clutch by giving up a run in the 8th and then Mike Moore coughed up a solo homer in the 9th to let Oakland tie it. The A's finally broke through against Chris Ericson (0-1) in the 14th when he gave up a homer. Although the offense went dark over the final 8 innings they did put 8 on the board before that led by Alex Rivas who was 4-6 with 2 doubles, a homer (#1) and 3 RBI while Wander Franco was 3-6 with a 2-run homer (#2). Jake Westfall (#2) and William Contreras (#1) also went deep. But spots 4-7 in the lineup were a combined 0-23, hurting them in extras. The Rays came back three times on Oakland in the second game, once to go ahead and twice to tie it up late after they blew the lead, but the pitching just couldn't get the A's out when it counted and they lost again in extras, 10-9 in 12 innings. Chris Ferguson was tagged for 4 runs in the 1st but the Rays eventually came all the way back to go up 7-6 in the 6th on a 2-run Claus Hoppenbrouwers double. Ferguson finished a rough 5.1 8 5 5 1 3 although he settled in after the first. Once again it was the amazing-ratings-but-terrible-results Devon Williams who faltered, allowing the tying run in the 8th. Oakland then went ahead in the 10th only for the Rays to tie it up in the bottom of the inning, went ahead again in the 11th before Wander Franco hit a dramatic 2-out homer in the Rays' half to tie it once again but finally couldn't answer Oakland's run off Randy Morris (0-1) in the 12th. Joe Stack was 3-6 with HR #2 and 2 RBI, Wander had 3 hits and Luis Berumen 4 but all for naught thanks to the poor pitching. At least they lost the finale in a different way as the Rays' bats were exhausted from doing all that work for nothing the previous two days and they fell 5-2. Joe Marlette (0-2) turned in his second subpar start in three outings this year, going 6 9 5 5 1 5. Team record: 4-6. At least we're not digging a hole for ourselves in the division as Boston and Toronto are leading at only 6-5.

07-22-2023, 06:05 PM	#1219
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,067	April 13-15, 2035: at Minnesota (3) A decent time in Minnesota as the Rays took 2 of 3. The bats came to play in the opener, especially Bobby Marin's, as the Rays clubbed four homers and beat the Twins 7-4. Marin homered in consecutive innings, a solo shot in the 3rd and a 2-run job in the 4th to give him 5 on the young season. Justin Blackwell (#2) and Joe Stack (#3) also went deep in support of the effectively wild Joe Scheu, who made it two wins in two starts after going 5.2 3 2 1 4 2. Kevin DiCostanzo was dazzling and the Rays got just enough offense to eke out a 2-0 win over Minnesota in the second game. The righty improved to 2-0 with a sterling 7 3 0 0 1 5 outing and Mike Moore struck out a pair in a 1-2-3 9th for his 2nd save. Jake Westfall's RBI single in the 5th broke the ice and in the 6th Luis Berumen curled one inside the RF foul pole for his 4th homer, providing some insurance. Danny Morales was keeping the Rays in the finale before he suddenly couldn't retire anyone in the 6th and the Twins broke the game open with 4 runs to go on to an 8-3 win. The game stood at 2-1 Minnesota going into that inning with Justin Blackwell's mammoth 487-foot shot to center (#3) the lone Tampa Bay score. But it all unraveled from there and Morales ended up a rough 5 7 6 6 2 2 to fall to 1-1. Bobby Marin drove in a pair with a couple of hits and is now 3rd in the AL in RBI with 12. Team record: 6-7. Toronto swept its series so the Rays are now 2 1/2 back in the East. Next up: We head back east to Yankee Stadium to play 3.

07-22-2023, 06:34 PM	#1220
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,067	A minor trade This was all about saving some $ as we essentially doubled the money we had available from $2.2M to $4.4M. Cecconi also has lost some MPH off his pitches and dropped a bit in the ratings. The inspiration for this deal was a waiver claim I wanted to make for a guy with a salary of about $2.6M but in the end a team with higher priority grabbed him. So Instead we end up with Coblentz, who's fairly mediocre and will be expendable once we have the opportunity for someone better.