Just the links this morning on George Hendrick’s 61st birthday.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

• If you missed it yesterday, don’t miss Jordi’s latest piece for us. [The Cold Dome of the Soul]
• Pat Burrell talks about why DHing doesn’t suit him...He better learn quick, because at age 33, his career is going to be over pretty quick if never DHs again. [Sacramento Bee]
• Minor League Ball asked who is the better pitching prospect: Jeremy Hellickson or Aroldis Chapman?…If the Reds value Chapman’s arm, he will stay a reliever. That makes Hellboy better by default. [Minor League Ball]
• Aki Iwamura wants to Read the rest of this entry »

Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated had the following to say about Pat Burrell during a segment on WFAN 660 AM in New York (via Twitter)…

“Nobody likes him. You can go up to interview him and say, ‘Do you have a few minutes?’ and he’ll ignore you and pretend you’re not there.”

When we checked with a couple of people close to the Rays, they confirmed that this description was indeed accurate.

Which leads us to this question: How the H-E-Double Hockey Sticks did the Rays ever let this guy anywhere near their clubhouse? As much as Joe Maddon values a close-knit group that is not afraid to have fun from time-to-time, everything we have ever heard about Burrell is that he is just a prickly bastard.

The GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe. 

click above image for boxscore

 THE GOOD: Jeff Niemann. Joe Maddon indicated earlier this week that he had already settled on his 4-man postseason rotation. The logical conclusion was that it would not include The Giraffe who had struggled since coming off the DL. But yesterday’s performance was more indicative of what we saw from Niemann earlier in the season when he was clearly one of the Rays 2 or 3 best starters. So did 4 hits and 1 walk against the Orioles in 7 innings do enough to change Joe Maddon’s mind about the postseason? We’ll find out soon…Free Stuff. During our worries about whether or not the Rays would be able to give away 20,000 free tickets on such short notice, several people told us not to underestimate the power of free stuff. They were not wrong. The Rays gave away the 20,000 tickets in less than 90 minutes and later announced a “sell-out” of 36,973. 

THE BAD: Not Exactly Murder’s Row. It is hard to get hits and score runs when the starting lineup includes six batters hitting under .240 and only one hitting above .270…The Effin’ Bat. On the same night the Rays were shutout on 3 hits, Pat Burrell hit another home run, this one a 3-run job in the Giants 3-1 win helping them maintain a 2-game lead. 

THE TELLING: As we speculated, the Rays did where their “BRayser” caps during last night’s game…Evan Longoria took batting practice on the field yesterday but will not play today…David Price will not start Sunday, but Joe Maddon said he will be used at some point this weekend. 

WHERE THEY STAND: The Rays are 94-64, a half-game ahead of the Yankees. After 158 games in 2008 the Rays were 96-62. 

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA… 

• If you give the Rays $100, it will guarantee you postseason tickets. [St. Pete Times]
• Joe Maddon says the postseason rotation will Read the rest of this entry »

The GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.

click above image for boxscore

THE GOOD: David Price. King David didn’t pick up his franchise-record 15th win, but he did bring the nasty stuff. He was regularly hitting 96 and topped out at 98, all while painting corners. Of his 119 pitches, 83 were strikes.

THE BAD: Scott Who? The Tampa Bay Rays, making mediocre pitchers look like Greg Maddux since 1998. This time it was Scott Baker who came into the game with a 5.00 ERA. All he did was hold the Rays to no runs on 3 hits and 1 walk in 8 innings…Dan Johnson Is Not That Important. A normal bullpen has 7 guys. Last night, the Rays had 4 (Andy Sonnanstine is on the DL, Rafael Soriano and Joaquin Benoit were unavailable). Of the 4 available, one had an ERA close to 8.00 (Qualls), another had an ERA over 5.00 (Choate) and a third hadn’t pitched in 2 weeks (Cormier). The fourth was Dan Wheeler. A big league team is not going to win a lot of games with only those 4 arms in the bullpen. And they sure as hell aren’t winning a game that goes 13 innings. Any second-thoughts on demoting Jeremy Hellickson for Dan Johnson instead of a relief pitcher?…Trusting Cormier? If you knock on the Devil’s door long enough, eventually somebody is going to answer. Lance Cormier, who hadn’t pitched in 15 days, looked, well, well-rested in the 10th, 11th and 12th innings. But how many times was Maddon going to go back to that same well? With both Rafael Soriano and Joaquin Benoit unavailable and Cormier having thrown a 30-pitch bullpen session prior to the game, it seemed that the Rays’ fate was sealed once the game went into extra innings and Cormier eventually gave up the go-ahead run in his 4th inning of work.

THE TELLING: Happy 29th Birthday to Carl Crawford…Last night’s crowd was 19,172…The start of the game was delayed 16 minutes when lightning knocked out some of the lights.

WHERE THEY STAND: The Rays are 67-40, tied with the Yankees for first-place in the AL East and 6.5 games ahead of the Red Sox in the Wild Card. After 107 games in 2008, the Rays were 63-44.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

• Carlos Pena may be well enough Read the rest of this entry »

The GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is niceand lean and the The Telling is ripe.

Rays 5, Twins 4

THE GOOD: Late Rallies. There is nothing more fun than a late rally in baseball. And thanks to a game-tying double by Evan Longoria in the 9th that scored Carl Crawford all the way from first and a go-ahead single by Willy Aybar in the 10th, the Rays won their first-ever game in Target Field…Most of the Bullpen. Randy Choate might be in the midst of one of his epic meltdown phases. But the rest of the ‘pen was strong, throwing 3 perfect innings and keeping the Rays in the game.

THE BAD: Former Rays. What is it about former Rays that elevate their game to new heights against Tampa Bay? We have seen it in previous years from players like Aubrey Huff, whose career has been lengthened by a few years just based on his numbers versus the Rays. But this year has seen an all-new level. There was Edwin Jackson’s no-hitter. And last night it was Delmon Young suddenly thinking he is a power-hitter with a game-tying home run in the 7th. He also threw out a runner at home to end an inning and added an RBI single. Delmon had moments with the Rays, but we don’t ever remember complete games.

THE TELLING: The Rays have now won 2 in a row for the first time since June 8 and 9 versus the Blue Jays…BJ Upton did not start for the 3rd straight game again citing a sore leg muscle. Ben Zobrist once again ledofff and played center.

WHERE THEY STAND: The Rays are 46-32, 2 games behind the Yankees and a half-game behind the Red Sox in the Wild Card. After 78 games in 2008, the Rays were 47-31.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

• Carl Crawford compares this win to how the Rays were playing earlier in the year (VIDEO). [The Heater]
• The Rays rank 6th (out of 144 professional franchises) in ESPN the Magazine’s “Ultimate Standings.” The rankings consider several factors including “Bang for the Buck” which has the Rays ranked second overall. Interestingly, the Rays rank only 106th in “Stadium Experience” and 58th in “Ownership” a category described as “honesty and loyalty to core players and local community.” [ESPN]
• Here is a fun video of Pat Burrell playing “defense” (h/t Jason Collette). [MLB]
• Elijah Dukes has signed with the Independent Atlantic League’s Newark Bears. [MLB Trade Rumors]
• Pop Life has a list of songs to describe BJ Upton. Our fave? Jay-Z’s “99 Problems.” [Pop Life]
• A young lady pissed on the hallowed grounds of Fenway Park Wednesday night During the Rays game. Since then, the Rays have won two in a row. Coincidence? (thanks Rob). [Deadspin]

DOWN ON THE FARM…

• Check out Rays Prospects for boxscores and more detailed recaps. [Rays Prospects]
• DURHAM: Carlos Hernandez didn’t give up a run, but was pulled after 4.2 innings with 99 pitches having allowed 5 hits and 2 walks. He struck out 6…Fernando Perez went 2-4 with his 19th stolen base…Dioner Navarro hit his first home run since being demote…Angel Chavez (6) and Justin Ruggiano (7) also homered…Desmond Jennings did not start but was used as a late-inning defensive replacement.
• MONTGOMERY: Jake McGee looked strong again, throwing 5 shutout innings, striking out 8 and walking 3. He gave up just 3 hits…In game 2, Alex Cobb pitched 5.1 scoreless innings with 5 Ks, giving up just 2 hits. He now has a 1.67 ERA in 10 starts…Matt Sweeney was 0-5 with 2 strikeouts in the double-header and is now hitting .203.
• CHARLOTTE: Shane Dyer gave up 4 runs in 6.1 innings. He struck out 4 and walked 2…Tim Beckham went 1-4 with a strikeout.
• BOWLING GREEN: Kyle Lobstein dropped to 5-4 after getting pounded for 6 runs in 5 innings on 7 hits and 4 walks…Chris Murrill went 2-5.
• HUDSON VALLEY: Miguel Sierra made his 3rd start and gave up 2 runs in 5 innings. He struck out 3…Jacob Thompson, the Rays 2nd round pick this year, made his professional debut. He pitched 2 scoreless innings of relief, striking out 2 and allowing just one hit.
• PRINCETON: Jacob Partridge gave up 2 runs in 5.1 innings.

The GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.

Red Sox 8, Devil Rays 5

THE GOOD: BJ Upton. He wasn’t benched, but he wasn’t in the starting lineup. And while grabbing some pine, BJ managed to find another gear. Pinch-hitting in the 8th, Bossman legged out a triple on a ball hit to left field. Not an easy thing to do in Fenway.

THE BAD: James Shields. In the 5th inning of a tie game with 2 outs and David Ortiz due up, Joe Maddon visited James Shields on the mound. Certainly JoeMa reminded Shields that first base was open and not to give Big Papi anything good to hit. What Maddon didn’t tell Shields to do was to groove a first-pitch, fastball right. down. the. middle. of. the. effin’. plate. And just like that the Red Sox were leading 3-0 and never looked back…Carl Crawford’s Sore Arm. On Monday Joe Maddon indicated that there was only a 60-40 chance CC would even play and indicated that if he did play, it would be as the DH. Well, not only did he start, he was in left field. And when Crawford needed a strong throw home on a sac fly, it sure didn’t look like his arm was 100%, as he short-armed it a bit and barely reached the cutoff from shallow left. Let’s hope this isn’t a lingering problem that eventually lands Crawford on the DL…Upton’s Rep. The damage has been done. Even if Upton goes on to post all-star numbers the rest of the season, Evan Longoria will get all the credit. And that’s too bad.

THE TELLING: The Rays are 9-12 in their last 21 games. Since May 23, the Red Sox have made up 9.5 games in the standings on the Rays…Pat Burrell hit his 5th home run in just 61 at bats for the Giants. He had 2 in 84 at bats with the Rays. In 70 plate appearances with the Giants, Burrell has been on base 29 times (.414 OBP). In 96 PAs with the Rays, he was on base a total of 28 times (.292)…

WHERE THEY STAND: The Rays are 44-32, 3 games behind the Yankees and 2 games behind the Red Sox in the Wild Card. After 76 games in 2008, the Rays were 45-31.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA… Read the rest of this entry »

The GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.

click above image for boxscore

THE GOOD: Lighting A Fire. Maybe it is just a coincidence, but Matt Joyce had 3 more hits and 2 walks last night and is now 8-8 with 2 walks since Justin Ruggiano was promoted. Sure the Rays needed a right-handed bat to replace Gabe Kapler. But when time came to promote an outfielder, it was not Joyce and that probably stung a little. Joyce is now 23-67 (.343) in 18 games with Durham and has 15 walks to just 12 Ks. He is also 7-16 (.438) versus lefties at Durham including a single last night.

THE BAD: Pat is Back. Pat Burrell hit another home run for the Giants. He is now 11-27 (.407) with 3 doubles and 2 home runs in 10 games.

THE TELLING: The Rays still have the highest percent chance of making the playoffs according to PECOTA. The Rays are at 79.3%, followed by the Yankees at 70.1%. The Red Sox have a 43.7% shot…Carl Crawford is now second in the All-Star voting among AL outfielders and is just 108K votes behind Ichiro Suzuki. It looks like Crawford will indeed make his 4th all-star appearance and first start…Jason Bartlett went 2-3 with a walk and a double for Durham. He will play with Durham again today and could rejoin the Rays tomorrow.

WHERE THEY STAND: The Rays are tied with the Yankees at 40-23 and are 4 games ahead of the Red Sox in the Wild Card. After 63 games in 2008, the Rays were 37-26.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

• We did a Q&A with Tomahawk Talk about this series with the Braves. [Tomahawk Talk]
• Desmond Jennings was named the IL hitter of the week.
• Joe Maddon on Rafael Soriano: “He has a mean streak…” [St. Pete Times]
• Tony Fabrizio writes about Dave Martinez’ job as bench coach. [Tampa Tribune]
• It is amazing how good a team can look playing the Orioles. The Yankees jump ahead of the Rays in the latest ESPN.com power rankings. [ESPN]
• Here is another good pick-by-pick review of the Rays draft. [Minor League Ball]
• Adam Berry writes about the relationship between BJ Upton and his father, the original Bossman. [MLB]

DOWN ON THE FARM…

• Check out Rays Prospects for boxscores and more detailed recaps. [Rays Prospects]
• DURHAM: Jeremy Hellickson allowed just 1 run in 6 innings. He struck out 5, walked 1 and allowed 2 hits. He was pulled after just 81 pitches…Dale Thayer was pounded for 5 runs in the 8th inning and took the loss…Matt Joyce was 3-3 with 2 walks…Desmond Jennings was 2-5 with a double. He is now 16-31 in the last 7 games…Jason Bartlett went 2-3 with a double and a walk in his rehab start.
• MONTGOMERY: Alex Cobb gave up 3 runs in 7 innings. He struck out 4 and walked 2. He had only allowed 2 earned runs in 5 previous starts and now sports a 1.89 ERA…Matt Fields hit his 7th home run…Matt Sweeney was 0-4 with 3 strikeouts one day after hitting his first home run with Montgomery.
• CHARLOTTE: Shane Dyer allowed 1 run on 8 hits and 1 walk in 6 innings. He struck out 3. He now has a 1.44 ERA in 5 starts since being promoted…Tim Beckham was 2-4 with a walk…Stephen Vogt was 3-5 with 3 RBI raising his average to .365 (.417 OBP).
• BOWLING GREEN: (no game scheduled)

The GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.

click above image for boxscore

THE GOOD: Sean Rodriguez. Rodzilla was 3-3 on Sunday to extend his hitting streak to 14 games. In that span, he is 21-49 (.429) with 5 doubles and 3 home runs. We think the Rays are running out of excuses to *not* have a Brignac-Rodriguez starting middle infield…Carlos Pena. Unfortunately, Pena did not homer on Sunday. But that marked the first time he failed to homer in a game since last Saturday a streak of 6 straight games with a home run. During that span, Pena was 10-27 with 7 home runs and 10 RBI.

THE BAD: Nobody To GTMI. Of Carlos Pena’s 7 home runs in 6 games, the grand slam against the Blue Jays was the only one that wasn’t a solo shot…Bad Inning James. On Friday, James Shields walked 3 batters in the Marlins 5-run 3rd inning. How rare was that? Only 6 times in his career has Shields walked more than 3 in an entire game. And only 1 time has he walked more than 4…Bobblehead Bartlett. Sunday was Jason Bartlett Bobblehead day. Unfortunately the Rays didn’t trade those bobbleheads and substitute a Reid Brignac Bobblehead...Kevin Kennedy Hurts My Brain. On one particular play Saturday night, a play Dewayne Staats and Kevin Kennedy spent way too much time praising, a ball hit high off the wall and past BJ Upton. Kennedy noted that Upton “would have caught that if it wasn’t so high up.” Yeah, and I could do a 360° dunk if the rim wasn’t so high.

THE TELLING: Jason Bartlett will play rehab games for Durham today and tomorrow. He will likely be activated on Wednesday. At that point the Rays will likely place Dioner Navarro on the DL with a sore left roster spot. Navi hasn’t played since Wednesday. After his DL stint, Navi will almost certainly need an extended “rehab” stint at Durham…Sunday was Jeff Niemann’s first loss at home in over a year…Evan Longoria has reached base in 31 straight games, the longest current streak in baseball…On Saturday, Jeremy Hall of Montgomery extended his scoreless innings streak to 35 before giving up 2 runs in the 6th inning…Pat Burrell hit his first home run for the Giants on Friday. He is 9-24 since switching back to the NL.

WHERE THEY STAND: The Rays are tied with the Yankees at 40-23 and are 4 games ahead of the Red Sox in the Wild Card. After 63 games in 2008, the Rays were 37-26.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

• Jeff Niemann talks about yesterday’s performance. [The Heater]
• Roger Mooney reports that Rocco Baldelli threw longtoss prior to Sunday’s game…It has been his ability to throw that has limited his efforts to return to the big leagues. [Tampa Tribune]
• Rays first-round draft pick Justin O’Connor will say thank you to his hometown tonight by signing autographs for free for area little leaguers. [Star-Press]
• Stacy Long writes about how Matt Sweeney has shortened his swing and become more selective at the plate. Sweeney was one of the pieces of last summer’s Scott Kazmir trade. [Montgomery Advertiser]
• Former Rays reliever Joe Nelson is pondering retirement after being designated for assignment by the Red Sox. [MLB]
• A look at how David Price uses his fastball. [DRaysBay]
• Prospect Henry Wrigley won the FSL home run derby. [Twitter]

DOWN ON THE FARM…

• Check out Rays Prospects for boxscores and more detailed recaps. [Rays Prospects]
• DURHAM: Carlos Hernandez gave up 5 runs in 5 innings…Desmond Jennings was 2-4 with a triple, 3 runs scored and 3 RBI. He is now 14-26 in his last 6 games and has raised his average to .279…Matt Joyce was 5-5 with 3 doubles and 2 RBI and raised his average to .313.
• MONTGOMERY: Jake McGee struck out 5 and walked 1 in 6 innings. He gave up 1 run on 5 hits for his second win…Matt Sweeney hit a 2-run home run for Montgomery, his first home run since being promoted.
• CHARLOTTE: (no game scheduled)
• BOWLING GREEN: Kirby Yates’ first start of the year was an impressive effort. He struck out 8, walked 3 and allowed just 1 hit in 4 innings…

The GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.

click above image for boxscore

THE GOOD: All The Giraffe Does Is Win. Jeff Niemann tied a franchise record with his 7th straight win and has not last at home in his last 16 starts. That is the longest streak in the majors (thanks JB). Last night, Niemann took a no-hitter into the 6th and finished with a complete game, 2-hit shutout. It was his 3rd career shutout…Bossman. Say hello to the Rays new leadoff hitter. At least against lefties. Last night he was on base 4 times in 5 plate appearances and at one point had reached base 9 straight times. On the season, he has been on base 10 out 20 plate appearances as a leadoff hitter…Carlos Pena. Is the sauciness back for reals this time? Two home runs for El Gato, including a grand slam. The slam earned Pena a curtain call. Does anybody remember the last time a player got a curtain call at the Trop? We don’t. It was Pena’s 2nd multi-HR game of the season and his 11th with the Rays.

THE BAD: Keeping Pace. Both the Red Sox and Yankees won last night. Not only are the two best teams in baseball in the AL East (according to record), but the East also has 4 of the top 9.

THE TELLING: Attendance was 12,937…Pat Burrell is 5-12 in 4 games with the Giants…John Jaso is likely to remain the leadoff hitter versus right-handers according to Marc Topkin.

WHERE THEY STAND: The Rays are 38-20, 2 games ahead of the Yankees and 4 games ahead of the Red Sox in the Wild Card. After 58 games in 2008, the Rays were 35-23.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

• Jacob Thomspon, the Rays second-round pick, says he is ready to sign. [The Heater]
• LeVon Washington, the Rays #1 pick a year ago, was drafted by the Indians in the second round and may have agreed to a $1.55 million deal. That would be about $500K more than the Rays offered a year ago (other sources dispute that an agreement has been reached). [Twitter]
• No Rich Herrera last night, tonight or tomorrow. He has switch places with Durham Bulls play-by-play guy Neil Solondz. [Rays Prospects]
• Check out the second graph on this link. Great look at how the Rays offense compares to the run production of the last 2 years. [Watching Durham Bulls Baseball]
• Rays are still #1 in ESPN.com’s power rankings. [ESPN]
• Matt Garza as Zoltar. [TAUNTR]
• The Rays were not among Keith Law’s “winners” of day 1 of the draft. [ESPN]
• Here is the complete list of players drafted by the Rays in the first 30 rounds. [Rays Prospects]
• Follow along on Rays Prospects’ draft signing board as they will update with all of the Rays draft pick signings in the coming weeks. [Rays Prospects]
• Chris Nowak was named the SL hitter of the week. [Rays Prospects]
• Shane Dyer was named the FSL pitcher of the week.
• Three Hot Rods were named to the ML All-Star team. [Rays Prospects]

DOWN ON THE FARM…

• Check out “The Rundown” from Rays Prospects for boxscores and more detailed recaps. [Rays Prospects]
• DURHAM: Carlos Hernandez struck out 8 and allowed just 1 hits and 2 walks in 6 shutout innings. He improved to 5-3 with a 2.90 ERA… Desmond Jennings batted second and went 3-5 with a triple…Ryan Shealy and Chris Richard homered for the Bulls…Matt Joyce was 1-4 with a walk.
• MONTGOMERY: Jake McGee allowed just 1 unearned run in 4.2 innings. He struck out 5 and walked 4, but did not allow a hit…Chris Nowak went 3-4 with a double.
• CHARLOTTE: Matt Moore picked up his first win in 12 starts this season by holding Clearwater to 1 run in 6.1 innings. He struck out 4 and walked 3…Tim Beckham was 1-3 with a double and a walk. He has 5 hits in the last 3 games, but is still hitting just .218.
• BOWLING GREEN: (postponed)

The GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.

click above image for boxscore

THE GOOD: Joe Maddon. With the Rays trailing by 2, Carlos Pena struck out looking for the second out even though he attempted to call time before the pitch. Joe Maddon then came out of the dugout and conducted one of the best, most entertaining manager arguments we have ever seen. After arguing with home plate umpire Angel Hernandez and dropping several F-bombs, he was ejected. JoeMa then turned and ran towards third base ump Joe West. Maddon was pointing at West and yelling “this is your f*cking fault!” West was genuinely confused and Maddon kept yelling “yeah, this is your f*cking fault!” Maddon was blaming West because of comments West had made earlier in the season about speeding up the game. And JoeMa picked this moment to let West exactly how he felt about those comments. Classic. And amazingly, after the ejection, 8 of the next 12 pitches were balls, several of which were very close. That loaded the bases before Sean Rodriguez cleared them with a go-ahead double…Sean Rodriguez. He finally did something big. He’s finally a real Ray! Arod’d.

THE BAD: Rafael Soriano. He got the job done in the bottom of the 9th, but not before he made our heart stop momentarily. With a runner on base and 2 outs, Vernon Wells missed a game-tying home run by about 2 feet when his linedrive hit off the top of the wall. The Jays would score one, but no more…Reid Brignac. Not his best game as a pro. The runner that scored in the 9th reached base via his throwing error. That followed a missed double-play in which he was ruled too far from the bag on the turn and 3 strikeouts at the plate…Stress. This was easily the most stressful game of the year to date. It was so stressful I shit a squirrel. And now I’ve got this shit-covered squirrel running around the house. I think I’ll name it Pat the Squirrel.

THE TELLING: With Jason Bartlett out, Joe Maddon’s “surprise” leadoff hitter was BJ Upton. We like it, but that’s not much of a surprise…Of Matt Joyce’s 58 plate appearances this season, only 4 have come against left-handed pitchers. In other words, he will never be more than a platoon player with the Rays…PECOTA gives the Rays an 84.1% chance of making the playoffs. CoolStandings.com says it is 77.7%.

WHERE THEY STAND: The Rays are 35-18 and lead the Yankees by 2.5 games in the East and the Blue Jays by 4.5 in the Wild Card. After 53 games in 2008, the Rays were 32-21.

THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…

• Here is video of Joe Maddon’s ejection. [Pro Rumors]
• Joe Maddon called last night’s game a “big win” and said about the ejection that he was making a stand “for all teams” (video). [The Heater]
• Joe West defended Angel Hernandez’ decision after the game. [The Heater]
• Joe Maddon said there is now a “50-50″ chance that Jason Bartlett ends up on the DL due to his sore hamstring. [The Heater]
• Evan Longoria still has a comfortable lead at third base in the AL All-Star voting. Carl Crawford fell to third among outfielders and Pat Burrell fell to fifth among DHs. [MLB]
• Hank Blalock will start working out in the outfield. He has never played the outfield at any level. [St. Pete Times]
• John Romano writes about the upcoming draft in which the Rays have 6 of the top 100 picks. [St. Pete Times]
• Tony Fabrizio calls the upcoming draft “important.” Andrew Friedman says this year’s draft “is probably void of depth with really significant-type prospects. [Rays Report]
• Tom Buehring of Bay News 9 had a sit-down with Andrew Friedman about the early part of the season (video). [Bay News 9]
• The Rays have partnered with the Sagicor Life Insurance company to start the “Rays Kids Spirits” program to support children at All Childrens Hospital. [PR Newswire]

DOWN ON THE FARM…

• Check out “The Rundown” from Rays Prospects for boxscores and more detailed recaps. [Rays Prospects]
• DURHAM: Aneury Rodriguez allowed 5 hits and walked 4 while striking out 4. Four of those runners scored…Matt Joyce was 1-4 with a walk…Kelly Shoppach went 1-4…Desmond Jennings once again batted 7th. This time he was 0-3 with his 12th stolen base…Justin Ruggiano had 2 hits and stole 4 bases.
• MONTGOMERY: David Newmann struck out 8 and walked just 1 in 5 innings. He did give up 10 hits and 4 runs.
• CHARLOTTE: Joe Cruz gave up 1 run on 5 hits and 3 walks in 6 innings. He struck out 5…Tim Beckham went 1-4 with a walk…Leslie Anderson hit his 3rd home run in 18 games.
• BOWLING GREEN: Kyle Lobstein allowed just 1 run on 2 hits and 2 walks in 6-plus innings. He struck out 5. The first hit off of Lobstein did not come until the lead off hitter in the 7th. Only two batters reached base (walk, error) in the first 6 innings…Ryan Wiegand homered twice and drove in 5 runs. It was his 5th 2-hit game in the past 10.