The 2020 (and beyond) Tampa Bay Rays

[Art Deco]

What a postseason for TJ Powell (4-0, 0.33) and that's coming off an 11-0, 1.58 regular season where he was converted from relief to the rotation and made 12 starts down the stretch.

[Art Deco]

It's all over but the chirping for the Jays:

[Art Deco]

They had the champagne ready in the Milwaukee locker room but little-used Blue Jay backup C Ray Torres (who hit .148 with 1 HR in the regular season) delivered a 3-run walk-off in the bottom of the 14th after Milwaukee scored in the top of the frame, keeping Toronto alive one more day.

[Art Deco]

Surprise, surprise - the Jays aren't dead yet and we're going back to Milwaukee for a Game 6.

[Art Deco]

Congrats to the Brewers, World Series winners for the first time ever!



A look at the celebration:

[Art Deco]

Sadly there's no trophy to show off although there should be plenty of individual hardware forthcoming. Here's a look at the projected salaries (for the non-minimum guys) for 2038 and we're going to need to cut payroll.



This group of players is getting expensive and we need to clear about $30-40M. I'm targeting these guys to go: Soranno, Medina, Golunski and Quintana, so that's $37M right there. Soranno I'm sure will bounce back next year but we have a lot of starter options, Medina and Golunski are great but we have a lot of relief prospects and if they don't work out during the season it's always easy to trade for relievers. Quintana is great, but he's getting expensive, Mike McKee needs to play more and Kevin Morley needs to be promoted. I worry a bit about a defensive downgrade from Quintana but I'd still rather trade him than McKee. They all likely be dealt for prospects or minimum-salary guys.

We're giving qualifying offers to Nate Thompson and Eric Titcombe so we can get the draft picks, and we're also saying goodbye to Tim Siqueiros.

And the first award to come in:



This marks the third time in four years Kawase has won this award and he's simply the best reliever in baseball, which is why I don't mind paying $12-13M for him when he earns 3.5-4 WAR. Mike Barkley of the world champion Brewers took the award in the NL.

As always we dominate the AL Silver Sluggers, and here are this year's winners:



Vasquez and Ayala still won after down years for them.

The AL announced its Rookie of the Year, and although it wasn't a Ray, it kind of was:



Good for Ricky Loya, a draft pick of ours who came up through our system before being dealt last winter due to 1B and DH being occupied. Also the second-place guy came up in our system and was dealt last winter.

This next award isn't a surprise, but what is a surprise is that it was unanimous:



I'm sure he'd trade it for a do-over of his two poor starts in the ALDS, but an impressive season nevertheless. Josh Doyle of Columbus won it for the 2nd straight year in the NL.

Sadly Jaiden Hardaway's 4-year reign as AL MVP is over, that's because he finished 2nd to...



Omar had a rare 10-WAR season and it would have been 5 straight for Hardaway as he had an MVP-worthy season. As did Bo Angeac once again and as you can see above the top 5 vote-getters were all Rays. Meanwhile, one guy who had MVP-worthy seasons for the Rays but suffered the same fate as Angeac and others when Hardaway and others bested him finally got one for his mantel:



The numbers above show this season really didn't hold a candle to his Rays years, but like former teammate Jasson Dominguez he found the competition less difficult in the NL. The vote of course was extraordinary close as he barely beat out former Rays-killer and Yankee slugger Mario Aguilar who had a great first year with the Dodgers, and de Jesus was also fortunate Aguilar missed about a month of the season or his number really would have dwarfed de Jesus's.

[Art Deco]

Time to make some trades.



We did some one-stop shopping, dealing away 3 of the 4 guys we needed to cut payroll for, and in return we picked up a top 50 and a top 100 prospect with Willis ranked #46 overall and Leonard #94. The only negative is that they're both outfielders, and we're awash in OF prospects. But assets are assets, and Willis is a couple of years away.

Here's a look at Willis:



His profile screams future batting champion, possible OBP champ, and possible stolen base champ. The last two years in A and AA he's hit over .300, had an OBP over .400 and stole 62 and 55 bases respectively. He lacks power, but does everything else on offense. Unfortunately, he's a mediocre defensive OF. Here's Leonard:



Leonard is big-league ready and would hit .260-.280 right now with 30 HR and an 875-900 OPS. In fact he made a cameo with the Astros last season. Don't be fooled by the defensive ratings - they're from a lack of game experience in the corners and he has the potential to be a 55-60 there and perhaps as good as 50 in CF.

And the other shoe drops...



Will Quintana is off to join former teammate Victor de Jesus in Columbus (among others) and coming back our way is a catching prospect in Willie Zerman, although he's more of a hitter than a catcher, rated 35 at the position. Zerman can hit, though, he had 23 HR and 78 RBI between AA and AAA last year and has 60 power, 60 gap power and a 55/potential 60 eye. He's like a .240-.250 hitter but with 800+ OPS potential. Kevin Morley becomes our new backup and Mike McKee will see the bulk of the action behind the plate. Christensen, the guy thrown in to get the deal done, is more suspect than prospect with fringy stuff.

December 10: In the first transaction of significance this winter aside from our deals, the Yankees shipped off their longtime ace Eric Peterson to the Diamondbacks for prospects.

December 11: Today was "Sign an aging-but-still-productive vet" day as Juan Soto went for 2/37.2 to the Mets and Vlad Guerrero Jr. joined the Cubs for basically the same deal, 2/37.6. Both can still rake but Soto has had trouble staying on the field the last few years, missing about 50% of his team's games.

December 14: The first of our free agents has signed elsewhere as Eric Titcombe inked a nice 4/69.6 pact with the Diamondbacks. We'll take the comp pick.

December 15: We'll be facing Nate Thompson at least a few times a year as he signed in the division with Baltimore on a fairly modest 2/28.8 deal after turning down a 1/18 qualifying offer; had I known that would be all he'd want I might have made an effort to re-sign him. We do pocket a comp pick though. Meanwhile the Yankees signed former NL Cy Young winner Fabian Petrovich to a 7/101.7 deal while former Rays Jim Connors (2/16.6 with Toronto), Dorian Gonzalez (4/58.4 with Philly) and Adley Rutschman (1/9.4 with the Cubs) found new homes.

December 17: And the third of our three free agents signs as Tim Siqueiros joins Atlanta for 2/6.6.

December 22: Added Ps Jose Mendoza, Chris Crabb, Ken Burgess and Steve Beaver to the 40-man roster.

Rule 5 time again. Burgess is projected to be in our bullpen this season, while Mendoza, Crabb and Beaver are too good of arms to expose to the draft. We also had to add Willie Zerman and Jimmy Leonard to the 40-man as they were already on their previous clubs'.

UPDATE: The Rule 5 draft was kind of a bust, two catchers were taken in the 1st round and that was it.

December 25: A couple of fan bases found new players under their Christmas trees as grizzled vet Gavin Lux, still productive at 40, signed an optimistic 3/58.2 deal with Houston, while Mario Aguilar returns to haunt us in the division as he signed a 6/72.9 deal with Boston.

January 6: The Hall of Fame voting is in:



Ozzie Albies sailed in on his first year of eligibility and he was nearly joined by first-timer Yordan Alvarez, who fell one vote short. It was a sad day for Joey Votto, though, as he had gotten into the low 70s but fell short in his final year, backsliding a bit. I consistently voted for him.

[Art Deco]

Big Rule Change: The commissioner's office has advised the teams that they may now trade draft picks, bringing MLB into line with the other big professional team sports.

And a big trade:



We sell off some our of outfield prospect glut for one of the AL's best starters in Danny Romero. We didn't need another starter but Romero is an upgrade over most of the starters we have and he's on a very reasonable contract ($9.4M for 2038, $13.8 for 2039 and $18.8 for 2040 and 2041). He's a 3-time All-Star and last year's runner-up to Josh Carsello for the AL Cy Young. Glasson and Castrellon should become forces in the middle of the Cleveland lineup with both projected for OPSes over .900, and both make the minimum. Normally that would be a high price but we're awash in OF prospects after the trade with Houston, plus we have Rey Cervantes, Josh Alexander, Ben Hill and others. Glasson was in the mix to replace Eric Titcombe, and now it's possible one of those three could be.

February 25: News from the bossman, our budget's been slashed $12M, which is about the same amount we're left with to potentially add salary. I may try to move Kevin Kerstetter, who despite a pair of 20-win seasons in the last 3 years is probably our weakest start based on ratings and projections, and he's pulling down $10.6M.

March 6: The Padres are replacing one former Rays 1B with another as they signed Caleb Picciotti to a 2/27 deal to take over for Rodolfo Rivas, who went to free agency this year (and remains unsigned).

March 8: Gil Wayne, once a top pitching prospect of ours before injuries derailed his career, signed a 1/1.3 deal with Atlanta.

March 12: Speaking of Rodolfo Rivas, he inked a 1/11.6 pact with Oakland.

April 3: We made it through spring training unscathed; the only minor injury was ribcage tweak for Jaiden Hardaway but he's fine.

[Art Deco]

We made a deal to get down to 27:



Rey had a mediocre year in his debut season with us, and would have been Durham-bound if he had options but he didn't. We need another outfielder like a hole in the head but Stapleton was the best offer, he was a 2nd round pick of the Astros in 2035 before being traded to the Mariners organization. He projects as a potential .300 hitter with 40-double power and moderate power in the 15-20 range. He hit .330 with 5.2 WAR in high-A ball and doesn't need to go on the 40-man.

So here's how the opening day roster shakes out, with some rookies and a revamped bullpen:

C-McKee, Morley (R)
1B-D.Vasquez, Jimenez (DH)
2B-Hardaway
SS-Baez
3B-Angeac
IF-Gebers
LF-Ayala
CF-Malone
RF-O.Rodriguez
OF-Hayes, J.Leonard (R)

SP-Carsello, Romero, Gates, Adams, Curtis
LR-Kerstetter, Willard (R)
MR-Cotton, Hoyte, Toombs, Reece (R)
SU-Wherry, Burgess (R)
CL-Kawase

The big story here is the Kevin Kerstetter conundrum. Tried hard to shop him, even looked at retaining 25-40% of his salary, just didn't get offered anything worthwhile. He had a poor spring and I think Curtis and Adams are better starting options, despite the optics of demoting a guy who's won 20 games two of the last three seasons. Since coming back from his 2036 injury his movement has gotten worse and he was very home-prone last year despite the wins. Inevitably someone's going to get hurt so he'll likely end up in the rotation anyway.

The other story is the bullpen, where the roles listed above (with the exception of Kawase closing) are very fluid now that the old reliables of Medina, Siqueiros and Golunski are gone. I'm thinking Wherry is the top lefty setup guy and Burgess, while a rookie, has 80 stuff and projects to be our best reliever aside from Kawase so he's the nominal setup guy. But I won't hesitate to use Cotton or Willard in that role if Burgess struggles.

Also Jimmy Leonard, the key guy in the big Houston deal in the offseason, makes the team and will split time with Daniel Malone. It won't be a strict platoon although Malone will face most lefties.

Here are the preseason predictions - we're expected to win the East but not be quite as dominant as usual, which is quite possible:



If these predictions verify, this could be the worst the Dodgers and Yankees both have been in the same season in memory.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: We start the 2038 season where we ended 2037 - at home to the Toronto Blue Jays after they knocked us out in Game 5 of the ALDS. And the result was the same on Opening Day as the Jays edged the Rays 4-3 on a Chris Corella homer off Vinny Willard in the 8th as the new-look bullpen didn't get the job done, with Ken Burgess also giving up the tying hit although he was thrown into and 1st-and-3rd with one out situation in relief of Josh Carsello, who was better today than he was in the playoffs but not good enough. And the offense was fairly muted today with Mike McKee the only one having a good day. Here's the box:



Game 2: The Rays picked up their first win of 2038 thanks to a couple of off-season acquisitions as Danny Romero was brilliant and Jimmy Leonard hit the decisive homer in a 2-1 triumph over Toronto at Publix Park. Romero proved to be one lefty who could navigate the righty-hitting Jays lineup, struggling only in the 2nd and finishing 7 5 1 1 2 8 in his winning Rays debut. Ken Burgess looked good in the 8th, fanning a pair, and Kikuo Kawase did his usual thing with a pair of whiffs as well for save #1. Toronto's Dave Collins was tough on the Rays, holding them to 8 4 2 2 1 10, but the two came on solo homers from Bo Angeac in the 2nd and Leonard in the 5th, the rookie's first MLB circuit clout and the game-winner.

Game 3: Tim Gates was dominant and the Rays took a 5-0 win over Toronto to make it 2 of 3 on the young season. The righty, who was 13-1 last year, went 7 1 0 0 2 7 on 89 pitches for the win, while Jeff Reece and Chris Toombs completed the shutout. Jaiden Hardaway waited until third game to pick up his first hit of the season but made it count with a 2-run blast in the 5th, and Bo Angeac delivered a 2-run single in a 3-run 7th to break it open. Angeac later suffered a hand contusion on a play at the plate and will miss a week.

April 7: Placed 3B Bo Angeac on the 10-day IL with a hand contusion, recalled IF Devin Boatman from AAA Durham.

Game 4: The Rays eked out a 4-3 win to take 3 of 4 from Toronto to open the season. Jim Gebers, getting to play the next 10 days with Bo Angeac out, took advantage of his newfound playing time by blasting a 3-run homer, and after Toronto tied it at 3 in the 6th a Jaiden Hardaway infield single brought home the winning run in the bottom of the frame. Ron Adams started and looked good until he ran out of gas in that 6th inning, and Damani Cotton gave up the tying RBI single to the first man he faced in 2038. Adams finished 5.2 7 3 3 2 9 and Cotton vultured the win after pitching through the 7th. Vinny Willard got a chance to set up in the 8th but loaded the bases with 2 out so Kikuo Kawase was brought in for a 4-out save, something we'll see more of this year with his longtime setup corps gone. He escaped the inning when Omar Rodriguez made a diving catch in right, and then got through the 9th with only a walk for save #2.

Team record: 3-1. Next up: An off-day then we visit Baltimore for 3, including a projected date with former teammate Nate Thompson in the Sunday game.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: A frustrating loss for the Rays as they fell 2-1 to Baltimore on a 9th-inning walk-off single. Aside from the nature of the loss, the fact that they hit into 5(!) double plays to kill rally after rally was particularly galling as they outhit the Orioles 7-2. Jeremy Curtis was brilliant, going 8 1 1 1 1 4, allowing only a solo homer to former Ray Mike Harms. The guy we got for Harms + others was Danny Ayala, and he supplied the offense tonight with a pair of doubles including one which drove in the Rays' only run. Ken Burgess got the call in the 9th, walked the leadoff man, saw him bunted over and then gave up the game-winning single to none other than Harms. The Orioles are now off to a 4-0 start, 1 1/2 up on Tampa Bay.

Game 2: Groundhog Day for the Rays as they continue to struggle to score runs and lost another 1-run game 3-2 to Baltimore. Daniel Vasquez had a 2-run single in the 3rd to put them up 2-0, but Josh Carsello gave Baltimore 3 back in the bottom of the inning and that was the end of the night's scoring. The Rays again had several golden chances to score but hit into two more double plays, one a runner thrown out at the plate on a fly ball and the other after they put men on 1st and 2nd to start an inning. Carsello finished 5 6 3 3 2 6 and is 0-1. They now trail the undefeated Orioles by 2 1/2 games and face former ace Nate Thompson tomorrow.

Game 3: The well-advertised pitchers' duel between Danny Romero and Nate Thompson failed to materialize when Jon Jimenez and Danny Ayala homered off Thompson in the first and he had to leave with a twisted ankle. Romero held up his end of the bargain, though, throwing a 6-hit shutout in an 8-0 Rays win. Romero went 9 6 0 0 0 4 and threw a "Maddux", retiring Baltimore on 96 pitches. He's now 2-0, 0.56 and has been everything as advertised when he was acquired from Cleveland in the off-season. The bats finally woke up as well - in addition to the Jimenez and Ayala homers, the 1st of the year for each, rookie Kevin Morley broke it open with his first MLB longball, a 3-run shot in a 4-run 6th. Jim Gebers added a 2-run shot in the 7th, his 2nd of the year as the Rays dealt Baltimore its first defeat of the year and moved back within 1 1/2.

Team record: 4-3. Next up: An off-day before Cleveland visits Publix Park for 3 games.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays blew a 4-1 lead but thanks to a well-timed Jim Gebers homer they pulled out a 6-4 win over the Guardians at Publix Park. Daniel Vasquez's 2-run single was the key hit in a 4-run 3rd which gave them the early lead but Jeremy Glasson, who went to Cleveland in the Danny Romero trade, hit a 2-run homer off Tim Gates in the 6th to cut the lead to 4-3. Gates finished 5.2 7 3 2 1 4, and Billy Hoyte then struggled in his first action of the year in the 7th, loading the bases. Ken Burgess came in and walked the first man he faced to force in the tying run, but he pitched through the 8th and picked up his first MLB win when Gebers led off the bottom of the inning with his 3rd homer of the year. A further rally ensued, and Jaiden Hardaway singled in an insurance run which Kikuo Kawase didn't need in a 1-2-3 9th, his 3rd save. Baltimore lost for the second straight day so the Rays are in a 3-way tie with them and Toronto for the division lead.

Game 2: The Rays aren't exactly firing on all cylinders in this young season but they found a way to win today again after blowing leads of 2-1 and 3-2, taking a 5-3 victory in 10 innings on Danny Ayala's 2-run walk-off homer (#2). Ron Adams started and he was victimized by the guys we traded to Cleveland again, Jeremy Glasson and Jesus Castrellon, who combined to drive in all 3 Guardians runs. He finished 6.2 9 3 3 0 5 and Mike Wherry turned in 2 1/3 innings of fine relief while Vinny Willard pitched the 10th and picked up the win thanks to Ayala. Daniel Malone also had a nice day, going 2-3 with a double, stolen base and RBI. Toronto won while Baltimore lost, so the Rays share the lead with the Jays.

Game 3: A much more comfortable win for the Rays today as they crushed Cleveland 10-2 to sweep the series and make it four straight overall. Jeremy Curtis was excellent again, going 6 3 0 0 1 4 for the win and he sports an 0.64 ERA through 2 starts. A 4-run first sent them on their way which included the first RBI in the season's 10th game for last year's AL MVP Omar Rodriguez and a 2-run double for the red-hot Jim Gebers. Kevin Morley added his 2nd homer in his 3rd start and a 4-run 8th highlighted by a 2-run shot from Jaiden Hardaway (#2) truly broke it open. As all of our starters have pitched well so far this year there hasn't been a long relief opportunity so with the big lead Kevin Kerstetter came in for his first 2038 action in the 8th and showed his rust, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits over the final 2 innings. A Toronto loss means the Rays stand alone atop the AL East.

Team record: 7-3. Next up: The White Sox visit for 3 over the weekend.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Josh Carsello was in 2037 Cy Young form and the Rays took care of the White Sox 5-1 in the series opener at Publix Park, making it 5 straight wins. The lefty went 6.2 5 0 0 1 6 to record his first win of the year, and Jeff Reece got him out a jam in the 7th and pitched through the 8th. Reece came back out for the 9th at 5-0 but walked the bases loaded, and left with elbow inflammation which will sideline him 4 weeks. Kikuo Kawase came in and got the final two outs for save #4. The offense got single runs in the first three innings with Daniel Malone driving in two of them, and Omar Rodriguez looked to be shaking off his slow start with a 2-run shot in the 7th, his first homer of the year.

MLB Note: The Minnesota Twins are off to a horrendous 0-10 start.

April 17: Activated 3B Bo Angeac from the 10-day IL and recalled P Jose Mendoza from AAA Durham; placed P Jeff Reece on the 10-day IL with elbow inflammation and optioned IF Devin Boatman to AAA Durham.

Bo is back which will help the offense, and the exciting news is the callup of Mendoza, who has 80 stuff (it'd be 85 stuff if the scale went that high), 55 movement (he's only allowed 4 homers the past two season combined in the minors) but 40 control (nobody's perfect). He impressed in spring training and had a 1-2-3 2K inning last night closing for Durham in his season debut. Also he's a lefty, and has 70 stamina with his ultimate role as a possible strikeout-king type starter.

Game 2: Except for Opening Day and the playoffs, I normally don't post box scores but I have to for tonight's game:



Yes this game was absurd, ludicrous, ridiculous, whatever you want to call it. I'm certain it's a team record for runs in a game and of course margin of victory. A few notes: Jimmy Leonard's 3-run homer in the 1st was an inside-the-park job, somehow Bo Angeac had 6 RBI despite only 1 hit (and his homer wasn't a grand slam), and Vinny Willard, who got one of the least save-y saves ever, now has 16 whiffs in 6 2/3 IP this year. And Danny Romero is 3-0, 0.82 in 3 starts as a Ray.

Game 3: After scoring 26 yesterday the Rays put another 8 on the board today, but it wasn't enough as their 6-game win streak was snapped in a 9-8 loss to the White Sox. Tim Gates had a rare rough start and the Rays found themselves down 4-1, but a 5-run third made it 6-4 and it looked like business as usual. However in trying to get him through the 5th for the win Gates allowed 2 more runs (finishing 4 8 6 4 3 5), and a pair of homers in the 8th off Damani Cotton, including one from former Ray Joe Barker, broke the deadlock and made it 9-6. A 2-run homer in the bottom of the 9th from Kevin Morley, his 3rd in 4 starts behind the plate, cut it to 9-8 and they put a couple of more on before Omar Rodriguez flew to left. Earlier Bo Angeac made it 8 RBI in 2 days with a 2-run homer in the 3rd (#3) and Daniel Vasquez found the seats for the first time this year in the 2nd. Jose Mendoza made his MLB debut and was impressive in going 2 scoreless with 3 whiffs.

Team record: 9-4. Next up: An off-day then we head to Fenway for 3 games.

MLB Note: Minnesota still hasn't won, they're now 0-12.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Having scored 34 runs the last two games the Rays decided to keep that average going by blasting Boston 17-1 in the series opener at Fenway Park. It was your run-of-the-mill rout at 8-1 going into the 9th but Sox pitching imploded, walking 3 men with the bases loaded and hitting another as things got silly. While all of this was going on Ron Adams was perfect through 5 before giving up a leadoff homer in the 6th and finished 7 2 1 1 0 9 to pick up his first win (and decision) of the year. The hit parade was led by Daniel Vasquez (4-5 with HR #2 and 4 RBI), Omar Rodriguez (2-4 with HR #3 and 4 RBI), Daniel Malone (2-4 with a double and 2 RBI) and Mike McKee (HR #1 & 2 RBI).

MLB Note: Our long national nightmare is over as the Twins finally won last night while we were idle, but returned to losing ways again tonight and are 1-13.

Game 2: And now for something completely different: a low-scoring game. It was 1-1 going into the 9th when Jim Gebers doubled (he had doubled in the lone run earlier) and scored on a Mike McKee double before Kikuo Kawase gave the run back to Boston in the bottom of the inning for his first blown save of the year. No problem though as the Rays scored in the 10th on a Daniel Vasquez RBI single and Kawase stayed in to save his own vultured win, his 1st of the year. Before all that it was a great duel between Boston's Rory Knopp, who fanned 8 Rays, and Jeremy Curtis who actually saw his ERA rise to 0.86 after a 7 3 1 1 2 6 outing.

Game 3: For a change the Rays got to be on the wrong end of a lopsided score as they were routed by the Red Sox 9-0. Josh Carsello had one of those games today, 3.2 8 5 5 6 5 and Kevin Kerstetter stunk again in long relief, allowing 4 runs in 2 1/3 innings. The bats only managed 5 hits, only one more than Rays-killer Mario Aguilar had today for Boston.

Team record: 11-5. Next up: We head down I-95 to the Bronx as 3 games with the Yankees are on the agenda.

[Art Deco]

(sorry, double post)

[Art Deco]

April 23: Placed 2B Jaiden Hardaway on the 10-day IL with a strained oblique, recalled IF Devin Boatman from AAA Durham.

Hardaway should be back when the 10 days are up.

Game 1: The Rays broke open a 1-1 game in the 7th and went on to a 6-3 win over the Yankees behind their new ace Danny Romero, who went to 4-0, 0.96 with a 6 4 1 1 4 6 outing. Omar Rodriguez tripled to lead off the 7th, scored on a Bo Angeac sac fly, and then Jimmy Leonard and Jeff Baez (who combined for the 1st Rays run) each had run-scoring hits to make it 4-1. Angeac later added a 2-run double to provide more of a cushion. Vinny Willard went the final 3 innings, and although he allowed a couple of runs he was credited with his 2nd save of the season.

Game 2: Like last night a tight, low-scoring game was broken open late by the Rays as Tim Gates and two relievers combined on a 6-0 shutout of the Yankees. Daniel Malone hit his first homer of the year to lead off the game against former Ray Leo Ortega, and that run stood up until the 8th when Tampa Bay put five on the board, first with Daniel Vasquez's 3rd homer of the year leading off the inning, and later a grand slam from Omar Rodriguez (#4). Gates meanwhile had to pitch of several early jams but did so and finished 6 6 0 0 1 5 to improve to 2-0, 2.38. Ken Burgess had a 6-pitch 1-2-3 7th and after the lead expanded to 6, Jose Mendoza went the final two innings allowing only a hit and fanning a pair.

Game 3: Different day, same stuff for the Rays as for the third straight time they turned a close game into a romp in the late innings. Today it was a 10-3 win after they held a 5-3 lead through 8 innings as Danny Ayala capped a 5-RBI day with a grand slam (#4) in the top of the 9th. Earlier they got longballs from Jeff Hayes (#1), Kevin Morley (#4, all coming in his last 5 starts) and Jim Gebers (#4). Ron Adams was sharp today, going 7 6 2 2 1 7 and improving to 2-0, 3.08 while Ken Burgess picked up a hold in the 8th despite allowing career homer #371 to 43-year-old Shohei Ohtani, who announced before the game he was retiring at season's end.

Team record: 14-5. Next up: Back home for 3 vs Baltimore.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: The Rays took a 7-4 win over the Orioles at Publix Park thanks to a big bases-clearing double from Daniel Malone. After Baltimore had taken a 4-3 lead in the top of the 6th, the Rays loaded the bases and Malone came through with his 8th double of the year to provide the game-winning hit as he's off to a hot start at 358/460/642. Tampa Bay batters hit 6 doubles in all including one from Jim Gebers, who drove in a pair and is raking too at 358/492/698, playing every day with Jaiden Hardaway out. Jeremy Curtis got the win despite losing the lead in the 6th, going 6 6 4 3 1 8 and is now 2-0, 1.67 while Kikuo Kawase struck out the side in the 9th for save #5.

Game 2: 5-0 deficit in the 6th? No problem as the Rays came from behind and topped Baltimore 6-5. Josh Carsello simply did not have it today against his former team, going 3.2 7 5 5 2 0 with the lack of strikeouts telling. Kevin Kerstetter came on, and unlike his first two long relief appearances he was very sharp today and went 3.2 1 0 0 1 3 which gave the offense a chance to come back. It started with 3 in the 6th keyed by a Danny Ayala 2-run double, and 3 more in the 7th put them over the top with Jon Jimenez's RBI double tying it and Bo Angeac's single to score Jimenez providing the winning margin. Kerstetter earned the win and Kikuo Kawase picked up the save (#6) for the second straight day.

Game 3: The Rays fell behind early 3-0 and today there would be no comeback as they lost to Baltimore 3-1. It was a rematch of Danny Romero vs. Nate Thompson and Thompson came out the better today, going 5 2/3 and allowing only an unearned run. He was aided by the fact that Omar Rodriguez and Bo Angeac needed to rest today and of course Jaiden Hardaway is on the IL at the moment. Romero meanwhile had his poorest Rays start but it was still a quality one, going 6 6 3 3 1 4. He took his first loss as a Ray and saw his ERA "balloon" to 1.59.

Team record: 16-6. Next up: An off-day followed by Toronto coming to town for the weekend.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Jim Gebers had a career night and the Rays hit two grand slams in the same inning as they torched Toronto 11-0 at Publix Park. Gebers had the first of the grand slams in the 3rd and later in the inning David Vasquez (#4) went yard with the sacks full. Gebers lated added a 3-run shot in the 7th (#6) to make the rubble bounce and cap a 7-RBI day. Keeping the Jays off the board was Tim Gates, outstanding again at 7 3 0 0 2 5 and upping his record to 3-0, 1.82 while Chris Toombs and Billy Hoyte completed the team shutout.

Game 2: Where were these routs of the Blue Jays in the ALDS last year? The Rays handled Toronto easily again 9-3 and moved to 18-6 in the process. They banged out 16 hits including 3 apiece from Omar Rodriguez (a triple, a steal and 2 RBI), Bo Angeac (an RBI) and Jeff Baez (two doubles & 3 runs scored). And Jim Gebers homered again (#7) as he's now 3rd in the AL in RBI (22) and OPS (1.162). Meanwhile Ron Adams had a strange day on the mound, giving up hits by the bushel and striking out Jays left and right to finish with a 6 10 3 3 0 10 line. None of them left the yard and Adams continues to have the worst luck with a .365 BABIP despite a brilliant 3/40 BB/K ratio in 32.1 innings. As a result he's third in the AL in pitcher WAR at 1.2. Vinny Willard threw 3 perfect innings for his 3rd 3-inning save of the season.

Game 3: Well as always it's problematic to throw a lefty at Toronto's all-righty lineup, which we found out in last year's ALDS and which Jeremy Curtis found out today when he was hit for 4 runs in the first inning in a 7-5 loss to the Blue Jays. Curtis did settle down to go 5 7 4 4 3 6 but as they say the damage was done, and a righty reliever, Damani Cotton, struggled and yielded 3 more runs. The offense had some spurts, including homers from Danny Ayala (#5) and the unconscious Jim Gebers (#8) as his two-run shot in the bottom of the 7th got them within a pair. Ken Burgess had to leave in the 9th with mild shoulder inflammation which will sideline him a week, so off to the IL he goes.

Team record: 18-7. Next up: An off-day then it's LA week as the Dodgers (and Dayle Jenkins) visit for a pair and then we visit the Angels over the weekend.

[Art Deco]

May 4: Activated 2B Jaiden Hardaway from the 10-day IL, optioned IF Devin Boatman to AAA Durham, placed P Ken Burgess on the 10-day IL with mild shoulder inflammation and recalled P Steve Beaver from AAA Durham.

Beaver was a 6th round pick of ours in 2032 and has steadily made his way through the system. He doesn't have overwhelming stuff but has a rounded repertoire and could make a useful swingman. He'll pitch in long/middle relief while up.

Game 1: Josh Carsello's struggles continued and the Rays dropped a close one to the Dodgers 5-4. The reigning AL Cy Young winner has pitched anything like one this season and gave up runs in each of the first 2 innings. Still he settled in after that and the Rays took a 3-2 lead on a 2-run double from Jaiden Hardaway, just off the IL. But he served up a 2-run homer to Steve Cholette, a one-time Yankees top prospect traded to LA earlier this year and finished 5.1 5 4 4 2 10 with at least the return of the strikeouts a good sign as he drops to 1-3, 5.46. He left two men on with one out in the 6th for Steve Beaver, making his MLB debut, and Beaver whiffed the first two men he faced to get out of it. Unfortunately things didn't go as well for Beaver in the 7th as he allowed Cholette's second homer of the day to make it 5-3. A Jeff Baez RBI double in the 8th made it 5-4 with nobody out but they couldn't get him home nor do anything in the 9th.

Game 2: Today's game was a lot like yesterday's with one glaring exception: the Rays completed the comeback this time and took a 7-6 win in 10 innings on a walk-off wild pitch from LA's Danny de Jesus. It was kind of shocking to see the Dodgers have their way with Danny Romero, who's pitched so well this year, but they chased him in the 4th having scored 6 runs, the last two coming on a double from former Rays star Dayle Jenkins. He finished 3.2 8 6 6 3 4 and saw his ERA about double to 2.87. But the Rays kept chipping away at the 6-2 lead. Daniel Vasquez delivered a couple of sac flies and with the score 6-5 LA going into the bottom of the 9th, Omar Rodriguez led off the inning with his 5th homer of the year to tie it up. Mike McKee, who had earlier hit HR #2, doubled to put men at 2nd and 3rd, and shortly thereafter de Jesus uncorked his wild pitch to make the Rays walk-off winners. Mike Wherry picked up his first win of the year with 1 1/3 scoreless but shouts to Kevin Kerstetter with 3 scoreless innings and Vinny Willard for 2 more to hold the Dodgers at 6 and enable the comeback.

Team record: 19-8. Next up: An off-day to travel to LA where we'll take on the Angels for 3 over the weekend.

[Art Deco]

Game 1: Through 5 innings the Rays were outhitting the Angels 7-2 yet trailed 2-0 as they couldn't buy a hit with RISP while the Angels got two of 'em. So they decided to solve this problem by hitting homers, and three of them later they had a 6-3 win over Los Angeles. Bo Angeac's 2-run jack (#4) tied it up in the top of the 6th and Daniel Vasquez put them ahead to stay with a solo shot (#5). The Rays then added 3 more in the 7th, including a 2-run Danny Ayala blast (#6) and it was mission accomplished. The outbursts saved Tim Gates from being a hard-luck loser as he was excellent again tonight at 7 3 2 2 1 6 to improve to 4-0, 1.96 and 17-1 as a Ray including last year. Jose Mendoza gave up a homer in the 8th so that presented a save situation for Kikuo Kawase, who ran with it by striking out the side in a perfect 9th for save #7.

Game 2: After last night's game the Rays figured it would behoove them to keep hitting homers and they blasted 4 more tonight in an 11-3 rout of the Angels. 3 of those 4 came from Danny Ayala, who tied the club record for homers in a game held by many and drove in 6 on the night. Jim Gebers continues to rake whenever he gets to play, and after coming in for an injured Jeff Baez he launched a 2-run shot of his own, his 9th to tie Ayala for the club lead after he had held it by himself, while Jon Jimenez was 3-5 with a 2-run double. Ron Adams was the beneficiary of all this support tonight, and he went 7 4 3 3 4 9 for the win, improving to 4-0, 3.43. The 4 walks were one more than he had allowed in total over his first 5 starts.

May 9: Placed SS Jeff Baez on the 10-day IL with a hamstring strain, recalled IF Devin Boatman from AAA Durham.

Baez could play through this as it's only "minimal" but it's going to persist for 2 weeks and given that he's rated fragile and always seems to get one significant injury a year I'm not going to fool around with it. Meanwhile Boatman wins callup bingo as he's been up for injuries to 2B Jaiden Hardaway, 3B Bo Angeac and now SS Baez.

Game 3: Quite a remarkable game at The Big A today as the Angels took a 3-0 lead into the 9th holding the Rays to only 2 hits. That was before LA closer Jeff Moyer melted down by walking the first two Rays, giving up an infield hit and then watching as 4 runs scored, 2 of them on a Daniel Malone single and the Rays suddenly had the lead. Turn the ball over to Kikuo Kawase and go home, right? Eh, not quite. Kawase gave up a homer to pinch-hitter Mike Patrick to tie the game leading off the 9th, a shocking sight given that Kawase had allowed a grand total of 5 homers in the previous 4 seasons combined. Tampa Bay then put 2 men on in the top of the 10th and couldn't bring them home, and Kawase surrendered an RBI single with two out in the bottom of the inning allowing the Angels to walk it off with a 5-4 win. Jeremy Curtis started and deserved a better fate, going 6 5 2 2 1 6 and lowering his ERA to 2.61.

Team record: 21-9. Next up: Off to the Pacific Northwest to play 3 in Seattle.