A couple of quick programming notes…We will be back later today for our weekly look at the 2009 roster lineup and payroll projections. After that we will be working on some changes around here. As a result, at some point this weekend, we will be offline for a few hours. Fear not. We think we know what we are doing. If not, and you never hear from us again…well, it has been a fun ride.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

• The Rays avoided arbitration with Grant Balfour, agreeing on a one-year, $1.4 million deal…We had projected The Mad Australian to make $1.2 million in 2009. [Rays Report]
  
• Scott Kazmir and JP Howell have accepted invitations to pitch for the US team during the World Baseball Classic. Kazmir will be one of four starting pitchers and Howell is not worried about how the tournament will affect his preparation for the regular season, feeling it may actually help…Despite both players confidence, the Rays have to be concerned. Both pitchers are already dealing with a shortened off-season due to the Rays postseason run. Kazmir is coming off a season in which he battled an arm injury and never felt right with his mechanics. And Howell suffered from a tired arm down the stretch and needed to be benched for long stretches in September. [Tampa Tribune]

“I think it’s good because it may be less games, but the intensity of the games will match [the regular season] more than any spring training game could,” [Howell] said. “So that’s a positive in that it will kind of get your brain going a little bit before April 1, maybe get a little bit of that flow going.”

• Now that we know Evan Longoria will not be playing for the US in the World Baseball Classic, we have to wonder if Mexico will once again extend an invitation. Longoria made it known that he was contacted “informally” about playing for Mexico but declined the offer because his first choice was to play for the US. [St. Pete Times]
• The Padres claimed JK Ryu off of waivers feeling he is good enough to compete for a job on their 25-man roster. Ryu had been designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Gabe Kapler. [MLB Trade Rumors]
  
• The Examiner previews Scott Kazmir. [Examiner.com]
• The Rays gave a tour of their new Spring Training home to the media. All reserved seats for the 16 home spring training games have been sold out. [Tampa Tribune]
• Stacy Long found a video tour of the Rays new spring home. [Biscuit Crumbs]

Click on image for a larger view

The Tampa Bay Rays will be unveiling their new alternate jersey later today. Above is James Shields sporting the new threads (click here for The Duke wearing the new jersey).

Besides the new color, the sunburst is 40% larger than on the home and away jerseys. According to the team, the new jersey will be worn “occasionally at home and on the road.”

“Rays apparel, marked by our signature sunburst and light blue accents, has been embraced by fans throughout the state of Florida and across the nation,” said Rays President Matt Silverman. “The amplified sunburst on our new alternate jersey represents the brightness of our organization and its growing impact throughout the Tampa Bay region and central Florida.”

All-in-all, the new jersey is not terrible. We would have liked to have seen “Tampa Bay” across the front and maybe even a new patch on the sleeve as a shout-out to the city of St. Pete.

On the other hand, at least we won’t be subjected to any more “pit stain” games.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

• Too make room on the 40-man roster for Gabe Kapler, the Rays designated JK Ryu for assignment. Ryu appeared in only 5 games (all starts) at triple-A Durham in 2008. He was shelved most of the year with an elbow injury. Ryu was orgininally acquired from the Cubs prior to the 2007 season for a pair of minor leaguers. [Rays Report]
• The Rays have hired their new quality assurance coach (basically the Rays scout themselves to see what other teams are seeing). It is Todd Greene, who has a long relationship with Joe Maddon. [Rays Report]
• Game 7 of the ALCS will be reaired on Thursday at 3pm et on MLB.com/Live. [MLB]
• On third thought, Gabe Kapler’s 2009 salary will indeed be $1,000,018, with the extra 18 being Kapler’s lucky number and a Jewish symbol of life. [St. Pete Times]
• Drays Bay weighs the pros and cons of keeping Chad Bradford or Dan Wheeler. [Drays Bay]
• The city of St. Pete made it clear that they want the new Rays stadium within the city limits. Of course, they still aren’t sure if they want to help pay for it, but gosh darn it, it better be in St. Pete. [St. Pete Times]
• The Mischievous Little Badger is once again facing jail time. This time Elijah Dukes was ordered to pay $57K in back child support or face 90 days in the clink. [Rays Report]
• The 2009 season will be broadcast on 620-AM. [The Heater]

THE GOOD: Willy Aybar collected 3 of the Rays 8 hits while Jason Bartlett was 2-2…With 1 run in already in the 6th, the O’s had 1st and 3rd with no outs. Andy Sonnanstine got out of the jam with a pop up to Aki Iwamura and then an inning-ending double play started by Willy Aybar who had a great night with the glove. The double play showed how quickly Aki has adapted to his new position as he was taking a throw from third rather short, so there was a different angle to the bag, he had to wait longer on the bag and made the necessary strong relay throw…The O’s were rained out last night and will play a double-header today. While the Rays should be done with their day by 4:00, the O’s won’t even arrive in Tampa for another 12 hours.

THE BAD: The Rays 1-5 hitters were a combined 1-18. This just in. That’s not good…Which led to the Rays 4th straight loss after starting the year 1-3…Justin Ruggiano in his first game since being recalled from Durham, misplayed a ball to right field that got over his head and instead of sprinting after the ball that should have already been in his glove, he decided to turn and look back and make sure everybody in the stadium new he lost the ball in the lights. If it wasn’t so painful, it might have actually been funny. Like when somebody trips over a crack in the sidewalk and they immediately turn back to look at what could have possibly reached up and grabbed the foot…With the game still in reach in the 7th, the Rays got a leadoff double from Willy Aybar and he failed to score…The 3-run homer in the 8th was the lady-killer…0 stolen base attempts. Like a wise man once said, You can’t steal first base, and the Rays could not get any of their speedsters on first.

THE TELLING: Yesterday there was some speculation that JP Howell could still get the open starters slot on Sunday with Matt Garza on the DL. Howell faced 9 batters last night indicating that he is not a candidate afterall…With Cliff Floyd now on the DL, Eric Hinske and Nathan Haynes will share the RF/DH duties against righties, while Jonny Gomes and Justin Ruggiano will get the starts against lefties.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• Haha. Cliff Floyd to the DL. Alright. Knock it off guys. This isn’t funny anymore…He is scheduled to have surgery for a torn meniscus in his knee and will be on the shelf for 4-6 weeks. [Fox Sports]
• Matt Garza is going to rest his arm for 2 weeks and then be reevlauated. If all goes well, he could be back in 4 weeks. [Tampa Tribune]
• With all the injuries, Brittany Ghiroli notes that the Rays are depending more on their veteran bullpen than they would prefer. [MLB]

“Going through a full season you’re going to have a lot of injuries, especially in your starting rotation, you just deal with it,” Percival said.”Usually it doesn’t happen this early in the season, but these guys have been around a long time [in the bullpen],” he said. “We just have got to suck it up until we get everybody healthy and they go out there and start going seven, eight innings at a time.”

• Nice pick up by Outs Per Swing…MLB.com already has Jeff Niemann listed as the probable starter for Sunday’s matchup with the Orioles. [Outs Per Swing]
• Marc Topkin relates an awkward story about the call-up of JK Ryu and Justin Ruggiano. Both were having dinner with Jeff Niemann and Mitch Talbot. Niemann could not have been happy that he did not call when a starting pitcher went down, even if it is just a temporary promotion. [St. Pete Times]
• In the Rays first 8 games, 5 different players have started in right field…The Rays have commmitted 7 errors in 8 games. None by infielders. [Bradenton Herald]
• On April 15, every member of the Tampa Bay Rays will wear #42. [MLB]
• There is yet another public hearing tonight on the proposed redevelopment of Tropicana Field and a new open-air stadium for the Rays along the St. Pete waterfront. [Suncoast News]

THE GOOD: Carlos Pena hit his 3rd HR of the young season, this one off of a tough lefty in Erik Bedard. One thing El Gato did well in ’07 was hitting lefties. 11 of his 46 HR came off of lefties last year or about 1 every 11 at bats compared to 1 every 10 at bats versus righties…Willy Aybar tied the game in the 3rd with the best kind of RBI, a 2-strike, 2-out single…BJ Upton made two catches, one to end the 4th and the other to start the 5th that looked a lot easier than they were. Usually when watching a flyball over the head of an outfielder on TV when the camera first catches the outfielder, they are just starting to stride towards the wall. In both of these cases, Upton was already in full stride by the time the camera caught him, suggesting he is getting incredible jumps on the ball and is much more comfortbale going back on balls this year as compared to last year. Upton will win a Gold Glove award in the near future…Jason Bartlett made a couple of outstanding defensive stops and combined with Aki Iwamura on a flawless 4-6-3 double play in the 2nd and another on a tough slow hopper that ended the 8th and saved a run.

THE BAD: The Rays had 1st and 3rd with 1 out in the 1st and failed to push a run home. BJ Upton struck out followed by a Jonny Gomes ground out…Before pulling himself from the game, Matt Garza had already thrown 70 pitches in less than 3 innings including a bases loaded walk in the 3rd…The biggest gaffe of the night was Shawn Riggans brainfart in the 6th inning. After catching a pop up behind the plate with runners on 1st and 3rd, Riggans forgot to call time allowing the runner on 1st to advance to 2nd. That runner would score the run that would give the M’s the lead for good…Of course that only slightly beats out the play at third that eventually led to Joe Maddon’s ejection. Even though replays showed that BJ Upton was in fact safe, will somebody please explain to us WHY THE HELL Upton is trying to leg out a triple with 1 out in this 7th inning of a 1-run game WITH ONLY ONE FRIGGIN’ SHOE?!?! Dumb…Dumb…Dumb.

THE TELLING: Shawn Riggans hit his first major league home run and you sure could tell from his home run “trot”. He looked like he was trying to leg out an inside-the-parker…Jeff Niemann pitched for AAA Durham last night which would put him on schedule to pitch again on Sunday, which is when the Rays will need another starting pitcher to replace the DL’s Matt Garza.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• Matt Garza removed himself from the game with 2 outs in the 3rd inning with an irritated nerve in his throwing arm. According to Garza this has been a recurring problem that he can usually pitch through, but last night he was having trouble gripping his pitches. Garza was placed on the 15-day DL after the game and JK Ryu was recalled from Durham. Ryu will pitch in relief for the next 4 days and then he or somebody else will be sent to Durham for a starting pitcher to take Garza’s spot in the rotation. That pitcher would most likely be Jeff Niemann who would be making his big league debut. Niemann pitched last night for Durham and will be on full-rest for Sunday’s game against Baltimore. [Rays Report]
• Back in December and January we ran our “12 Days Of Raysmas” and on the 8th day we wanted “8 Ejections For Joe Maddon” in 2008. Prior to this season, Papa Joe had been ejected 6 times. Of those ejections, 3 were versus his former empoyer, the Angels, in only 17 games. While Maddon may indeed be just as competitive against other teams, we felt it would boost the morale of fans and the players to see the intensity against the rest of the league. And while 8 ejections may be a bit extreme, Papa Joe got off to a good start with his first of 2008 in the 7th inning arguing a call at third base. Maddon is now on pace for 23 ejections this season…Just sayin’. [MLB]
• Last night was the 9th sellout in the 11-year history of the Tampa Bay Rays. Five of those were home openers. Joe Maddon would like to see the Rays build on the momentum of the opening night crowd by having a strong homestand. [The Ledger]

“To me, opening day is opening day, regardless of if it’s home or the road,” said Maddon. “But it’s always nice to come back, especially with what’s going on right now, with the spring that we had and the nice road trip to start the season.”

• Scott Kazmir threw 42 pitches to several teammates in a bullpen session. He was consistently in the mid-90s and threw several changeups and sliders. Kaz says he is ready to see game action and could pitch in an extended spring training game as early as this Friday. [MLB]
• MLB President Bob Dupuy showed up for opening night and put his support behind the Rays proposed stadium, noting that it was a win-win situation for the city of St. Pete. And while he said he was impressed with the improvements to the Trop in recent years, the Rays can’t compete in this stadium long-term. [Tampa Tribune]

“I think when you see what’s happened in other communities,” Dupuy said, “and you see what’s happened in attendance, you see what’s happened in enthusiasm and you see what’s happened in the community, I think it’s important to get that type of ballpark here.”

• Carlos Pena received his Comeback Player of the Year award prior to last night’s game. [MLB]

Tampa Bay Rays (19 days until Opening Day)

Yesterday: Tampa Bay Rays 7, Twins 1. Joe Maddon and Jim Hickey is starting to let their starters stretch it out early this year. James Shields worked 5 scoreless innings, giving up 4 hits and 1 walk. His last inning was his strongest with his only 1-2-3 frame. Elliot Johnson has not let all the media hoopla get to me or his poor 2007 campaign. Johnson led off going 3-5 with his first home run and his 3rd stolen base. He is now 9-18 in the spring with 3 walks. And people thought we were crazy to keep his name so high on our list of prospects…Willy Aybar started at third and went 2-2 with a double. Some kid named Evan Longoria hit his first spring home run. Eric Hinske saw time at first in his effort to show Joe Maddon he can be a utility player. Joel Guzman started in left field but later moved to third base. Dioner Navarro hit his first spring home run.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• After pitching a perfect ninth inning, David Price was sent to the minors along with Jae Kuk Ryu and Justin Ruggiano. Ruggiano’s demotion is a bit surprising considering the unknown status of Rocco Baldelli. The move leaves non-roster invitees Jon Weber, Eric Hinske and John Rodriguez as the only in-house options to be the Rays’ fourth outfielder. The Trib also quotes Ben Zobrist as saying he will be ready for opening day and that he will be 100%. [Tampa Tribune]
• David Price says there is no doubt in his mind that he is ready. He also feels that the clubhouse knows he is ready also but acknowledges that the team has a plan for him and a process that needs to be followed. Don Zimmer noted that Price’s first appearance was as impressive as it gets. [Tampa Bay Rays]

“To me, where are you going to see anything better the whole spring than that one inning?” Zimmer said. “I don’t care if you’re 17 years old or if you’re 77 years old — that was thrilling. Strike, strike, strike, strike, and low, and breaking balls. It’s easy to say they didn’t have their regular lineup in there. That, to me, has got nothing to do with it. It’s where he was throwing it.”

• Andrew Friedman spoke at length yesterday about Rocco Baldelli noting that he does not have a good feel of the situation and will not be proactive in looking for a replacement until they know for certain that Rocco cannot play. [Herald-Tribune]
• Joe Girardi says there will be no bad blood when the Rays play the Yankees after last weekend’s home plate collision. Girardi seems to have changed his tune a bit after hearing so many big names side with the Rays (incl. Lou Piniella and Mike Scioscia). Girardi now says that he thinks there was enough plate left exposed for Elliot Johnson to slide into home around the catcher. [Newsday]

Girardi said he had not told his catchers to leave some extra plate open in case of any Rays sliding into home… “I thought there was plate open the other day, and it still happened,” Girardi said.

• Anaheim Angels All the Way, who previously used their CHONE projections to predict that the Rays will win 89 games this year, now looks at those results a little closer. The biggest difference will be from the pitching staff and the defense as the Rays are projected to allow 200 fewer runs in 2008. Of course, the Rays could throw out 9 guys off the street and allow about 50 fewer than the 2007 Rays. [Anaheim Angels all the Way]
• SI.com profiles the Rays proposed stadium. One question that recently pooped into our heads about the new stadium…When the “roof” is closed, it seems that the tunnel effect could produce very strong wind currents inside the stadium. This could lead to some very low-scoring games as we would think most of the wind would come from the bay. [SI.com]

Devil Rays
Since the we embarked on our Thanksgiving shenanigans, the Rays made several changes to the 40-man roster.

Dropped from the 40-man roster

• Chris Snelling (traded to Phillies)
• Jon Switzer (DFA’d)
• Brian Stokes (DFA’d)

Added to 40-man roster

• John Jaso, C
• Jason Pridie, OF
• Fernando Perez, OF
• James Houser, SP

The only real surprise of the group is James Houser. Certainly any team would take all necessary precautions to protect a big left hander that is a major league prospect. This is especially true when a left handed pitcher is a common selection in the rule 5 draft because it is easy to hide a young inexperienced pitcher in the bullpen. However, James Houser is not any left hander.

On August 17 of this past season, Houser tested positive for a performance enhancing drug and was suspended for 50 games. Houser missed the final 17 games of the regular season for the Montgomery Biscuits. As a result, he will be forced to sit out for the first 33 games of the 2008 season.

One could argue that Houser would have been more attractive in the Rule 5 Draft since he would not take a roster spot for the first month of the season. However, once the suspension was lifted, his new team would have to make a roster spot for a young pitcher that had been out of action for nearly 9 months and with no experience above AA.

In the end Rays management decided the risk of losing a young left handed starter was too great and decided to protect Houser on the 40-man roster at the risk of losing another player that may be more likely to be taken. At the top of that list are two of Houser’s Montgomery teammates, Nick DeBarr and Dale Thayer. DeBarr was a Rule 5 selection of the Red Sox in 2007, but was returned to the Rays at the end of Spring Training. Thayer, the Biscuits closer, holds the Southern League record for saves in a season. Both players fit the ideal Rule 5 selection…A mid-level pitching prospect that has yet to live up to their potential, that a team can take a flyer on and hope for the best. If the player works out, their new team has an extra arm in the bullpen and only had to give up the drafting fee of $50,000.

Rays tweak roster to hang onto prospects [tampabay.com]
Down On The Farm: James Houser Suspended 50 Games [Rays Index]

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• With the changes that have been made to the 40-man roster, our 40-man roster and 25-man roster projections have been updated in the sidebar. One change we have not made yet is the 5th spot in the rotation. A very strong argument can be made for the team giving the spot to Jeff Niemann without any further time at AAA and moving Jason Hammel to the bullpen to be the long reliever and spot starter.
• A report came down that Carlos Pena turned down a 3 year/$30 million offer from the Rays. Pena’s response when asked was that the report was that the report was “a straight lie”. He also laughed when breaking the news to his wife, which suggests that Pena would not have turned down such an offer. In our 40-man roster projections, we have Pena listed with a 2008 salary of $5 million. This is assuming that Pena and the Rays settle on a 1-year deal to avoid arbitration. Our feeling is that the Rays would not offer more than $8 million per year on a multi-year deal. [tampabay.com]
• Rays of Light is up to #8 of their list of off-season ideas. This one is a no-brainer…”Sign Scott Kazmir to a longterm contract”. However, we disagree with the contention that the Rays should be tossing around numbers such as 6-years and more than $70 million. While $12-13 million per season might be the price for Kid K in free agency, there is no need to give him that money in his arbitration years, nor is there any reason to give him that type of money for his free agency years, three years before he reaches them. The best comparison could be Jeff Francis of the Rockies, another left hander, who signed an extension in 2007 (prior to his third season), that covered all three of his arbitration years and his first free agency season. His arbitration years were bought out at an average of $4.25 million and his first free agency year will cost the Rockies $7 million. Add a year of inflation plus consider the talent level of Kazmir and a comparable contract would fall in the range of a $6 million average for his arbitration years and $10 million for his first free agency season or a total of $28 million over 4 years. [Rays of Light]
• Another trade rumor that refuses to die: Delmon Young to the Twins for Matt Garza. For those that are not familiar, Garza was the Twinkies first round pick in 2005 (25th overall). He is a 24 year old, big (6-4, 205) righty that split time between AAA and Minneapolis in 2007 going 5-7 with a 3.69 ERA and a 67:32 strikeout to walk ratio in 83 innings. In the minors, he was consistently around 10 K’s per 9 and less than 2.5 walks per 9 innings. [TwinCities.com]
• Like every other team that needs an outfielder, the Rangers have inquired about Rocco Baldelli and his legs. [MLB]
• John Herbert has written a column critical of the Rays plan to invest $150 million in a new stadium along the St. Pete waterfront. His two biggest gripes are 1) The Rays are willing to invest $150 million in a stadium but will not invest in the product that will play in the stadium, and 2) he believes that there will not be any parking available in the new location and all fans attending the game will be subject to parking tickets from meter maids running around in modified golf carts. [Hernando Today]
• DRays Bay warns that JK Ryu’s performance with the Korean national team may cost him a spot on the Rays’ 40-man roster. We are not sure how much weight the performance will have, but we have Ryu on the roster bubble, so it can’t help. [DRays Bay]

Devil Rays (66-96)

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• The Rays 68-94 record was only 2 wins less than their expected final record. [Baseball Musings]
• Jim Hickey. We guess being the coach of one of the worst pitching staffs ever would be reason to drink, but it is not reason to drive and it is not reason to take your frustration out on the batboy. By the looks of the mugshot, Hickey lost the argument. [Lion in Oil]
• Jim Hickey’s arrest comes only days before the team is to decide whether he and the rest of the coaching staff will be retained in 2008. Hitting coach Steve Henderson is the most likely coach to come back. Before Sunday, we would have assumed that Hickey was a lock to be given at least one more season to work with the staff. However, after his DUI, the Rays may turn to their pitching coach-in-waiting, Xavier Hernandez, who is highly regarded for the work he has done the last two seasons at Montgomery and Durham and with whom many of the Rays younger pitchers are already familiar and comfortable with. [tampabay.com]
• Its difficult to make an assessment of Akinori Iwamura’s ability to play second base, based on one game and especially one play, but when the opportunity arrived to turn his first double play from the middle infield, Mu-Rah was flawless. [TBO]
• Scott Kazmir finished as the Major League leader in strikeouts. Of course that goes a long ways to explaining whe he led the majors with 6,432,867 pitches thrown. [Bradenton Herald]
• Carlos Pena was named the AL Player of the Week for the final week. [tampabay.com]
• Carlos Pena finished with 46 home runs in less than 500 at bats, which makes him the most underrated first baseman in baseball. “If Pena was a Red Sox or Yankee’s player he would finish second in MVP voting. Instead he was underrated.” Actually, if Pena was playing for almost any other team, he probably finishes second in the MVP voting. That is the mark of being underrated. [I'm smarter than you]
• ArmchairGM makes a case for considering Carlos Pena for MVP. [ArmchairGM]
• Carlos Pena is a finalist for the “Pepsi Clutch” award that goes to the clutchiest player. We agree that he is a worthy nominee, but we disagree with the notion that “few people knew of Pena before the year”. Anybody that follows baseball even remotely, knew of Pena as one of the top prospects in baseball a few years ago. [MLB]
• We have a feeling that Delmon Young will finish second in the Rookie of the Year balloting, but it will not be because of his outburst following Saturday’s game in which Joe Maddon pulled Young from the game for not running out a ground ball. Ballots for the award were due on either Sunday or Monday, which means most writers are likely to have already made their selections prior to Saturday. [Yahoo! Sports]
• It was a disastrous season for Korean baseball players. Of course, Jae Seo, Jae Kuk Ryu and Hee Seop Choi were all member of the Devil Rays at one point, so it is kind of like the Chicken and the Egg argument. [Korean Times]
• Greg Norton will have surgery on his elbow. A case can be made that Norton should share team MVP honors with Carlos Pena. If Norton had not gotten hurt the final week of Spring Training and was hitting well to start the season, it might have taken the team a while to call up Pena. [Devil Rays]
• Some of the players believe that the team is very close to competing. [tampabay.com]

“We don’t need much,” All-Star Carl Crawford said. “Maybe another starter and probably a little more bullpen help. Just three players and we’re right there. We’re right at the tip.”

• Marc Lancaster takes a look back at the 2007 season and hands out a bunch of awards, we like to call the Marckie Marcs. Our favorite category is “Veteran of the Year” for a team that has exactly 3 players over the age of 12. And then there is the “Most Frustrating Season”. He should just rename that one the “The Rocco”. He also looks ahead to what we can expect for 2008. [TBO]
• Marc Lancaster can’t wait for next year. We would take it a step further. We would like to replay this season with the group the Rays ended with. Playoff contender? probably not, but definitely not the worst team in the league and maybe a run at .500 would be in order. [TBO]
• Bill Chastain takes a look back at the 2007 season and calls the second half lineup “one of the best lineups in team history”. He also takes a look forward to 2008. [Devil Rays]
• Hey! It’s the off-season. It is time to start reading a million and one articles about how [Insert Team Name] should acquire Carl Crawford and that the Rays would probably give him up for 20 rusty nickels. The Akron Beacon Journal wasted no time. [Ohio.com]

Devil Rays 5, Blue Jays 4.
It was the type of game that can help a team salvage a little dignity in a lost season. It was the type of game that can remind team that they do know how to win a game.

Andy Sonnanstine allowed 2 runs in the first inning and immediately we assumed it was going to be just another night like most other nights in the last month and a half. The Rays cut the lead to 3-2 in the 5th inning, but Sonny was touched for a 4th run in the top of the 7th and it appeared that the Rays would play just well enough to tease us and just well enough to lose. We envisioned a final score of 7-2 with the Bullpen falling apart in yet another hapless game a the Trop.

We never harbored any hope of a win last night. We had lost our optimism weeks ago. But there were two factors we did not account for. The first was the suddenly revamped Devil Rays bullpen. Last night, five relievers, including two acquired over the weekend and a third that was called up from Durham, combined for 4.1 shutout innings.

The second factor was Superman. Carl Crawford took batting practice before last night’s game and his sore wrist needed at least one more night off. In fact, it now looks like C.C. will battle a sore wrist for the rest of the season. In the 9th inning, Crawford pinch ran for Jonny Gomes after he drew a 1-out walk. Crawford’s legs are just fine and he immediately moved into scoring position by stealing second base. He then moved to third on a fly ball to right field by Greg Norton. A Josh Wilson base hit and the game was tied.

We still assumed the bullpen would implode in extra innings. We can only expect them to hold the opposition down for so long. Al Reyes gave up a lead off double in the 10th but settle down to retire the side. In the bottom of the 10th, Crawford once again factored into the game without even making a plate appearance. With Brendan Harris on second with 2 outs, Delmon Young singled on a ground ball up the middle. With Crawford and his sore wrist on deck, Harris tried to score but was thrown out at the plate.

In the 11th, Scott Dohmann allowed the first two batters to get on base. “Here we go again,” is all we could muster. Yet somehow, Dohmann pitched his way out of trouble.

Superman is due to lead off the bottom of the 11th. Joe Maddon decides not to pinch hit for C.C. despite his sore wrist. Would he try a drag bunt? No. And on a 3-1 pitch, Crawford fouled off a ball on his first swing and winced in pain. Now we wondered aloud if we would not only lose this game, but we would lose Crawford for longer than “day-to-day”. But this is Superman. Crawford took the very next pitch to just left of center field for a walk-off home run.

In baseball, more so than football, fans often root for the players as much as the team. We try not to get too attached to any one player. If a trade is presented that will significantly improve the team, we want Andrew Friedman to make the move no matter what the Rays have to sacrifice. But Carl Crawford is the one player that we hope the Rays never trade. He is the one player in which we make sure we never miss a single pitch in which he is at bat or on the bases. He is the most exciting player in baseball. He can do it all…even with a sore wrist. Superman.

Here is hoping that Carl Crawford is a Tampa Bay Devil Ray for the next 15 years.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• Jays fans are not taking last night’s game very well. Great name for a blog, by the way. Before Tampa had a team, we spent much of our childhood in Dunedin for Spring Training and we were just as frustrated as most Jays fans every time Dave Stieb just missed a no-hitter. [THE TAO OF STIEB]
• They really aren’t taking it well. [Drunk Jays Fans]
• Entering last night’s action, the Rays had struck out in 23.7% of their at bats in July. ouch. [ESPN]
• The Rays may not be done dealing, as several teams may be interested in the Rays veteran relievers and/or Jonny Gomes. [tampabay.com]

[Andrew] Friedman said Monday night he “wouldn’t characterize anything as close or even likely to happen,” but acknowledged it could change quickly.

• Andrew Friedman could be actively trying to move Dan Wheeler who was just acquired from the Astros. MLB Trade Rumors offers some scenarios in which the Rays would move Wheeler for younger players. [MLB Trade Rumors]
• Al Reyes may be the Rays most valuable trading piece that remains. While the Rays do have an option on Reyes for 2008, we still believe that trading him is the best move. He will be 38 in 2008 and is only one year removed from his second Tommy John surgery. Now is the time to sell high. [TBO]
• Could the Mets be trying to acquire Carl Crawford? [MLB Trade Rumors]
• With Ty Wigginton gone and Ben Zobrist recalled from Durham, Brendan Harris will likely become the team’s most-days second baseman. [Devil Rays]
• JK Ryu was optioned back to Durham where he will enter the Bulls’ rotation to be a starting pitcher. [Devil Rays]
• Don’t get us wrong, we loved the way Ty Wigginton played the game, but for some reason we never really had such a strong affinity for the player, and were not all that sad to see him go. With Akinori Iwamura and Evan Longoria there was no room at third base with Iwamura likely to move to second base sooner rather than later. In addition, Carlos Pena looks like a fixture at first base for the next few years. Wiggy was a nice bat. He hit some clutch home runs and he was consistent defensively. Still, he was never going to be any better than a 20-home run, 90-RBI bat with no range defensively. The Rays pitchers have extremely high BABIP numbers and part of that is due to an infield that lets more groundballs through for base hits than would normally be expected. [TBO]

Wigginton was nothing but classy and professional during his time here but he also was soon to be a man without a position.

• Shawn Camp was surprised by his demotion…Shawn: Players have been castrated for less. [TBO]
• What if the Giants did move to Tampa-St. Pete in 1993? What if Barry Bonds was wearing a Tampa Bay uniform instead of a San Francisco uniform? [The Sporting Orange]
• Some bloggers made the trip to the Trop on Friday night and lived to write about it. [Sports Indeed]
• How many titles have the Devil Rays won? Well, since you asked, it is exactly one less than the Red Sox have won in the last 89 years. [the mighty quinn media machine]
• Red Sox fans did not take Sunday’s loss to the Devil Rays too well. [Surviving Grady]
• We are a little late on this, but congratulations to Casey Fossum and his wife on the birth of their third child. [Celebrity Baby Blog]

Angels 3, Devil Rays 0.
Despite being “small” for a right-hander and despite not being blessed with a plus-fastball, Andy Sonnanstine breezed through the minors with amazing numbers. His status grew to almost legendary proportions among Devil Rays fans who had never even seen him pitch. For a team that always seems to be about 10 pitchers short of a major league pitching staff, Sonny was seen as savior to many.

We always understood the fascination with Andy Sonnanstine. We saw the numbers and we were in awe. His control was impeccable and despite not having a plus-fastball he had impressive strikeout totals. We always understood the fascination with Andy Sonnanstine but we were skeptical. A pitcher can fool minor league hitters, but that is much more difficult to do in the majors. We worried aloud that Sonnanstine would be very hittable once he was called up and that he would need to be nearly perfect just to give the Rays a chance to win.

Now that Sonny has 9 big league starts under his belt, we feel we were both right and wrong. He is never going to be a dominant major league pitcher but he will be good. In fact he is an ideal back-of-the-rotation guy. He will eat innings every time out and on most nights he will give the team a chance to win. Despite dropping to 1-5 after last night’s loss to the Angels, Sonny worked 7 strong innings and has now pitched into the 7th inning in 7 of his 9 starts.

He also will not walk many batters. Nothing kills a team more than walks. Take away his June 16th start in Colorado in which he walked 2 in 5 innings, and Sonny has walked only 5 in 58.2 innings or 0.76 walks per 9 innings. And while Sonny will always be prone to giving up home runs (11 in 9 starts) most managers will tell you that it is not the home run that kills you, it is the walk just before the home run.

Sonnanstine is 1-5 with 5.37 ERA in 9 career starts but he has proven that is capable of being a big league pitcher and is likely to be a mainstay in the Devil Rays rotation for the foreseeable future.

1. Scott Kazmir
2. James Shields
3. ?
4. ?
5. Andy Sonnanstine

The beauty of this is that there are now only two question marks in the rotation down the road. Jeff Niemann and Mitch Talbot are knocking on the door and David Price, Wade Davis and Chris Mason are close behind. The Rays now only need two or three of those five pitchers to become dominant. In the past the Rays had no room for error with their pitching prospects. When Seth McClung, Doug Waechter and Dewon Brazleton failed, the team failed. Now if Jeff Niemann or Mitch Talbot fail, there will be another option ready to fill the hole.

Now if we can just find some help for the bullpen monstrosity.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• JK Ryu and Scott Dohmann have been called up from Durham. Either Ryu or Jason Hammel will start the first game of the double-header tomorrow in New York. Dustin Mohr was designated for assignment and Jorge Cantu was demoted to Durham. [MLB]
• No surprise here, but Jorge Cantu is not happy and we have most likely seen him for the last time as a Devil Ray. [Sports Talk]
• As the trade deadline nears, the Devil Rays have no “untouchables” on their roster. That means people will ask about Carl Crawford. It would be interesting to know what the Rays would seek in return for C.C.. Kinda like walking through the car lot and looking at the price tag on a car you know you cannot afford but you are still curious how much they are asking. [New York Post]
• The Devil Rays will begin a roadtrip tonight. Is it possible that we have seen one or two members of the Devil Rays for the last time in the green and grey? [TBO]
• Of the three major sports teams in the Tampa Bay area, the Devil Rays actually have the best all-time winning percentage. Sad. Just sad. [Sticks of Fire]
• A recent Sports Illustrated poll of major league baseball players ranked Stuart Sternberg as the third worst owner in baseball with 18% of the votes. This is likely a reflection of many baseball players being unaware that there is a new owner in the last year and a half, as it is still a little early to pass that type of judgment on a new owner. [Sun-Sentinel]
• Who knows the who plays second base for the Devil Rays? Anybody? [The D-Rays Blog]
• The Devil Rays are in discussions with the Big East about the possibility of bringing a bowl game to the Trop. We are unable to confirm that the bowl would feature the 5th place team in the Big East each season. [TBO]
• We asked to be corrected and our loyal readers came through. The Devil Rays have indeed been present in Tampa since the Westshore Plaza shop closed. The kids play area in the International Plaza is co-sponsored by the Devil Rays (Thanks Matt). [DevilRays.com]