How good is it to be Evan Longoria these days? Las Vegas Weekly reminds us…

Tampa Bay Devil Rays third baseman Evan Longoria took Hugh Hefner’s VIP table at the Playboy Club with his eight friends for two hours atop the Palms and enjoyed several games of blackjack in between his dance floor duties with fans.

Of course, by “fans” they mean random Vegas hotties. And by “dance floor duties” they mean being a lucky son of a biscuit.

Dirtbag. He puts his pants on just like us, one leg at a time. Of course, after he puts his pants on, he gets to sit at Hugh Hefner’s VIP table and dance with “fans”.

For those suffering from baseball withdrawal as we are, following the links we present video of Willy Aybar hitting a home run for Licey in the Dominican Winter League.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

• Rays pitching prospect Jino Gonzalez was arrested at Tampa International Airport after an unloaded gun was discovered in his carry-on bag. Gonzalez made 37 appearances (11 starts) for double-A Montgomery in 2008, posting a 5.44 ERA with 68 strike outs and 57 walks in 87.2 innings. The left-hander was originally drafted in the 46th round of the 2002 draft. [Fox Sports]
• The Rays resigned Michel Hernandez to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training. The spring invite is simply due to the need for extra catchers in camp with so many pitchers needing work each day. During the season, Hernandez is likely to serve as the Rays’ “break glass only in case of emergency” catcher down at Durham. [The Heater]
• The Providence Journal caught up with Rhode Island native Dan Wheeler and spoke to him about his unusual rise to the big leagues. [Providence Journal]
• As usual Her Rays doesn’t disappoint with the imagery. This time it is her “New Years Rays-o-lutions” and an attempt to stay pure and stop reading so much smut. [Her Rays]
• Last night was Joe Maddon’s private dinner at the White House with President George Bush. [St. Pete Times]
• If you are interested, here is a news video clip featuring Joe Maddon’s recent effort to help raise money for his former high school. At this rate, we have a feeling Papa Joe is going to still be wearing that Rays Santa cap in the dugout next season. [YouTube]
• The King of Lists is back and this time he has outdone himself. David Chalk is now counting down the top 177 Devil Rays of all-time, starting with Kevin Witt…Witt was like the backup quarterback. For a while he was the most popular guy in the organization, but proved to be a four-A player. Since then he went to Japan was never heard from again. We assume he joined the Yakuza. [Bugs and Cranks]
• Just speculation on his part, but Buster Olney sees Pat Burrell landing with the Rays. [MLB Trade Rumors]
• No surprise that the Rays are involved, but Jon Heyman is reporting that four other teams have expressed interest in Ken Griffey Jr. While Griffey may prefer to play close to his Orlando home, he is clearly just one name on the Rays’ Plan B list for DH. [SI.com]
• The Examiner previews Carl Crawford. [Examiner]
• Peter Gammons has an interesting write up on baseball teams going young. [ESPN]
• ESPN includes BJ Upton on their list of players to watch in 2009. [ESPN]

Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe feels the Rays will add one of Jason Giambi, Milton Bradley, Pat Burrell or Adam Dunn.

Seems as if the prices for these guys are dropping rapidly, and the Rays might be able to add a pretty good hitter to replace Cliff Floyd and/or Rocco Baldelli.

It may seem that way on the surface, but some of these pieces are going to start falling very quickly. To no surprise, we are now hearing that the A’s and Giambi will soon be talking contract. And when push comes to shove, we feel the Cubs won’t let Bradley get away. Bradley may prefer the situation in St. Pete, but at some point the Cubs offer will be too much money to leave on the table.

Of course, that still leaves Burrell and Dunn, both of whom would provide the “impact bat” Andrew Friedman is seeking. But other teams like the Yankees and Angels may become interested if they fail to land either Mark Teixeira or Manny Ramirez. This could force the Rays to become more active in their pursuit of Burrell or Dunn.

And now Jon Heyman is reporting that the Rays and Burrell “are talking” and Heyman calls Burrell a “real possibility” for the Rays.

Burrell originally sought a three-year deal, but in a tough outfield/DH market he might have to settle for a one-year deal. Burrell’s outfield defense has slipped in recent years, but the Rays are mostly looking for offense.

Heyman also adds Bobby Abreu, Ken Griffey and Garret Anderson to the list of targets for the Rays, although this group is clearly “plan B.”

So if Burrell could stand to make more money from playoff-caliber teams like the Angels and Yankees, then why talk to the Rays now? Why not wait? Because the worst-case scenario may scare Burrell.

What if the Angels don’t want Burrell and the Yankees get Manny? What if Giambi signs a deal with the A’s for only $8-9 million, thus lowering an already low bar? And what if the Rays instead sign a Dunn or Griffey, taking a potent offense that will make a DH look very good in 2009, out of the bidding? If this scenario plays-out, Burrell could be forced to sign with a second-division team with a weak offense that will hurt his numbers in 2009 and hurt his chances of making a big score in next season’s free agent market. And he will have to sign for less than he could get from the Rays now.

While we liked the idea of Giambi or Bradley in a Rays’ uniform, we never thought it was a real possibility. But with the current state of the market, Pat Burrell and the Rays could be a marriage of convenience for both sides.

It’s the offseason of hope [Boston Globe]
A’s To Talk Contract With Giambi Soon [MLB Trade Rumors]
Burrell could fill Rays’ DH need [SI.com]

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

• It is not in our nature to be mysterious, but we can’t talk about it and we can’t talk about why. [Joe Bucs Fan]
  
• Andrew Friedman says the Rays would like to improve their performance against lefties, but will not do it at the expense of hitting righties who account for 70-75% of the games over the course of a season. [Tampa Tribune]
  
• Rays Digest takes a look at the middle infielders in the Rays’ system. [Rays Digest]
• Rays Prospects takes a closer look at the Columbus Catfish hitters from last season. [Rays Prospects]
• The Examiner takes a look back at the Rays’ game of the year. [The Examiner]
• Rays Prospects has the winter league stats updated through last Thursday. [Rays Prospects]

Let’s use this post for minor updates on previous rumors we have heard from the winter meetings and other minor tidbits. Unless something new or substantial comes along, we will continue to update this post the rest of the day.

[Update: 1:46pm] Andrew Friedman says the Rays have not made any formal offers to any free agents but have discussed parameters.

[Update: 1:21pm] Jayson Stark is reporting that the Angels have begun negotiating with Raul Ibanez as he is their backup plan should Mark Teixeira sign elsewhere…Just spit-ballin’ here, but we have to think that Ibanez is low on the Rays’ wish list.

[Update: 12:16pm] About 13 picks have gone by in the Rule 5 draft and nobody has taken Eddie Morlan. Is it possible nobody think Morlan can be hidden in a major league bullpen?

[Update: 12:00pm] Buster Olney chimes in on the Rays quest for a power hitter, noting that the situation is very good for the Rays with 8 top-level free agents and only 6 teams that appear to be in the market for a corner outfielder/DH type. He also notes that the free agents may find the Rays a very attractive one-year option. The Rays speedy lineup and solid bats could mean a solid season for one of the free agents as they gear up for another free agent run after the ‘09 season when the market may be more favorable…Another benefit to the Rays signing one of these free agents to a one-year deal on the cheap is the secondary benefit of the two draft picks the Rays would receive when the player leaves next season.

[Update: 11:33am] MLB Trade Rumors has a few links regarding Rocco Baldelli. The Red Sox may be backing off of Baldelli and the Reds may be interested. Rocco’s agent initiated talks with the Reds, which seems strange as Rocco would seem to prefer an AL team where he can DH. But later, Joe McDonald reported on a situation at the roulette table in which Dusty Baker and Co. were betting “on No. 5 for Rocco Baldelli.” Seriously.

[Update: 11:28am] Mark Feinsand of the Daily News is saying the White Sox are the leading contender to land the services of Bobby Abreu, noting that the Rays “won’t offer the kind of money he’s looking for.”

[From The Hangover] Two writers are reporting that Milton Bradley has become the Cubs top target to play right field with Raul Ibanez possibly as a fall-back plan. The Rays will likely wait out the negotiations and hope that Bradley and the Cubs fail to reach a deal. If that happens, the Rays may be next in line for Bradley despite the acquisition of Matt Joyce. With the Rays, Bradley can spend a considerable amount of time at DH…Right now it looks as if the Rays top two targets, Bradley and Jason Giambi are both likely heading elsewhere. Would the Rays prefer Ibanez or Bobby Abreu at $8-10 million (and a first round draft pick in the case of Ibanez) over Ken Griffey at $3-4 million?

Last night the Rays acquired outfielder Matt Joyce from the Detroit Tigers for Edwin Jackson.

What this trade means for the rotation…
Since the end of the World Series it seemed obvious that the Rays were going to trade either Andy Sonnanstine or Edwin Jackson. To most, Jackson seemed to be the logical choice as his peripheral numbers suggested the 14 wins in 2008 were a bit overrated. And despite a possible move to the bullpen he would have been a very expensive middle reliever.

With Jackson out of the picture, Sonny is a lock for the 4th spot in the rotation. That opens a spot that will eventually be filled by David Price. But will King David fill it in when the team breaks camp? Andrew Friedman made it clear earlier in the week that there is no guarantee Price is in the rotation to start the season. With only 5 starts above double-A, it would not surprise us to see Price in Durham for 5-6 starts to start the season. That means Jeff Niemann, Mitch Talbot and Jason Hammel will battle for the final spot in Spring Training. Since Talbot still has a minor league option, look for Niemann to get the nod as the Rays try to showcase him for other teams and then trade him to the first contender that loses a starting pitcher to injury.

What this means for the lineup…
Joyce fits in immediately at the 6-spot in the lineup as the most-days right fielder for the next six years. If the Rays are able to sign a player like Jason Giambi or Milton Bradley, Joyce falls to #7 with Evan Longoria at #6 to keep the R-L-R-L lineup. But that is another story for another day. In other words, the Rays could do a lot worse than Joyce at 6/7. And more importantly, it means the Rays don’t have to go through this mess again next year.

What this means for the roster…
We will touch on this a bit more later, but this move probably seals the door on Jonny Gomes’ career with the Rays. Already a candidate to be non-tendered on Friday night, that now seems like a foregone conclusion. 2009 will be much less Johnny-terrific. Now the question becomes, do the Rays have room for Gabe Gross? If they tender a contract to Gross, Fernando Perez is almost certainly in Durham in 2009.

What this tells us about the Rays’ front office…
The Rays have the quietest front office in baseball. Even though the Rays were talking with the Tigers for three days, we never heard a peep. Is that by design? Maybe. Most of the Rays trades seem to come from out of left field (so to speak). Did we hear anything before the Gross trade or the Willy Aybar trade or the Chad Bradford trade?

Do the Rays make it a point to keep everything under wraps as tightly as possible? Or is the front office still young enough, and the Rays still a relatively new player, that the national media has yet to establish connections within the front office?

One thing that is becoming very clear. No matter who we, as fans, think the Rays are targeting, most of the time they will get somebody we were not even thinking about. We don’t know about the rest of you, but we love it.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

• Marc Lancaster says the Rays and Tigers have been talking since day one of the winter meetings and that at one point they were working on a three-team deal with the Mariners in which JJ Putz would have gone to Detroit. That seemed to be falling through so the Tigers and Rays decided to keep things simple and make it one-for-one. [Tampa Tribune]
• Two writers are reporting that Milton Bradley has become the Cubs top target to play right field with Raul Ibanez possibly as a fall-back plan. The Rays will likely wait out the negotiations and hope that Bradley and the Cubs fail to reach a deal. If that happens, the Rays may be next in line for Bradley despite the acquisition of Matt Joyce. With the Rays, Bradley can spend a considerable amount of time at DH…Right now it looks as if the Rays top two targets, Bradley and Jason Giambi are both likely heading elsewhere. Would the Rays prefer Ibanez or Bobby Abreu at $8-10 million (and a first round draft pick in the case of Ibanez) over Ken Griffey at $3-4 million? [MLB Trade Rumors]
• Andrew Friedman indicated that the Rays are more likely to acquire a relief pitcher via trade, noting that the Rays need the flexibility of being able to send the acquisition to the minors. Why is this important? Because it took Troy Percival two months to decide he needed back surgery and the Rays are not sure if he will be available to open the season. [Rays Report]
• In the same report, Andrew Friedman said he would not be surprised if the Rays lose as many as three players in today’s Rule 5 draft. Which reminds us. Did you guys bid farewell to Eddie Morlan yet? You only have a couple of hours left to do so. [Rays Report]
• Joe Maddon says he is not concerned about members of the Rays participating in the World Baseball Classic. Marc Topkin lists several players that could be chosen. [The Heater]
• Joe Maddon guesses Team USA will take Carl Crawford and a starting pitcher from the Rays roster. Of course that is only the American players. [Tampa Tribune]
• A recent study showed the Tampa Bay Rays were directly responsible for over $100 million in direct spending by tourists in 2008. The study also showed that more than half of the Rays’ 2008 attendance (1.8 million) came from outside Piniellas County. [Tampa Bay Business Journal]
• Baseball America has the complete list of minor leaguers eligible for today’s Rule 5 draft including 43 members of the Rays’ organization. [Baseball America]

Ken Rosenthal is reporting that Milton Bradley got off a plane in Las Vegas at the Winter Meetings and went straight to lunch with Rays officials.

Jon Heyman adds that the Rays may be considering several of the top right field/DH free agents including Milton Bradley, Pat Burrell, Bobby Abreu, Jason Giambi, and Raul Ibanez. Ibanez is the only member of that group that would cost the Rays a first round draft pick as a Type A free agent.

Heyman also mentions that Ken Griffey Jr would “love to play near his Orlando hometown.”

We have said previously that with the Rays already pushing $60 million in payroll for 2009, Griffey at $3-4 million might be more realistic than the other names, even if the market pushes their salaries down. Then again, if the Rays can move salary in other areas (Edwin Jackson), that might be enough to justify adding one of the players listed above at $8-10 million for one season.

Rays Take Milton Bradley To Lunch [MLB Trade Rumors]
Griffey could be good fit for Rays [SI.com]
Griffey Could Be Good Fit For Rays [Rays Index]

Last month the Rays let go the lady that played the part of the mascot, Raymond. Do you think you can fill his enormous shoes? Here is your chance. The Rays have released an official announcement seeking a new “Raymond”. Some of the key requirements…

• Play a pivotal role in pumping up the crowd, while helping create a positive and energetic experience for all fans.
• Must be able to take on the brand and personality of Raymond, including but not limited to the signature “belly-wiggle”
• Must be able to cause little children to have nightmares*
• Be able to kick Wall E. Monster’s ass**

*Or is that just us?
**We might have made that up

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

• Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the Yankees are also interested in Rocco Baldelli, joining the Rays, Red Sox and Phillies. The Phillies still seem like a long shot considering Rocco would receive more playing time with a team that uses a DH. [Fox Sports]
• Peter Gammons says the Rays are in a “great position” with the current market. There is a glut of RF/DH types and nobody is spending any money. And the money that will be spent will primarily go to pitching. That could lead to a player that would normally not fit in the Rays’ budget to suddenly be on their radar. We still think a Ken Griffey Jr at $3-4 million makes more sense than a Bobby Abreu or Jason Giambi at $8-10 million even if it is considered a “bargain”. Of course the other advantage not being spoken yet is that some of these players may be willing to sign a one-year deal and hope the market rebounds next season. This is why teams chose not to offer arbitration to a number of players even though those teams will not receive the draft pick compensation that normally comes from losing a good free agent. [ESPN]
• A Pinellas County official met with a community advisory group about sites that could potentially be a future home of the Rays. The community group hopes to have a recommendation for the city and county by late 2009 or early 2010. Aaron Sharockman of the St. Pete Times reports that a new stadium likely would not open until 2014 and maybe not until 2016. [St. Pete Times]
• Troy Percival’s surgery “went well.” [The Heater]
• Trever Miller finally inked a deal with the Cardinals, however it was only for one year, rather than the originally stated two year deal. [MLB Trade Rumors]
• The Examiner looks at 6 potential replacements for Trever Miller in the Rays’ bullpen. The top choice is Arthur Rhodes, although Brian Shouse offers similar numbers against lefties and might come a little cheaper. [The Examiner]
• Rise of the Rays argues for trading Carl Crawford and his 2009 salary of $8.25 million. [Rise of the Rays]
• David Chalk of Bugs and Cranks continues his countdown of the 25 greatest Devil Rays. [Bugs and Cranks]

According to Jim Street, six American League teams are among the group that has contacted free agent Ken Griffey Jr.. Based on some comments from Griffey’s agent, you can be sure the Tampa Bay Rays are one of those teams.

“Kenny realizes that he probably would be a middle-ground guy when it comes to salary,” he said. “He also understands that a contract could include some incentives, but I don’t think he’ll price himself out of a job. He’s never been about being the highest paid.”…Goldberg said Griffey would be receptive to a one-year contract offer from “the right team in the right place,” but wouldn’t be any more specific than that.

Griffey’s agent says his client is healthy now after postseason season knee surgery and is ready to play a couple more years. A healthy Griffey posted 119 OPS+ with 30 home runs and a .372 OBP in 2007. Those numbers fell to 101 OPS+, 18 home runs and a .353 OBP.

This could come down to whether Griffey still wants to play the outfield on a regular basis. If he is willing to accept a role as a most-days DH, and an incentive-laden contract to play for a contender, Griffey is the type of player the Rays will target.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

• We will find out this week if Troy Percival will need surgery on either his knee or his back…Also, Joe Smith is reporting that the Rays are continuing to have conversations with Rocco Baldelli. [St. Pete Times]
• Tim Bogar, the Rays Quality Assurance Coach this past season, has been hired by the Red Sox to be their first base coach. [The Heater]
• Rocco Baldelli won the “Tony Conigliaro Award”, which is given to “a major league player who has overcome adversity through the attributes of spirit, determination and courage.” [The Heater]
• Carl Crawford had his baseball jersey retired by his high school prior to a recent playoff game. [Houston Chronicle]
• Joe Maddon is one of 10 finalists for Hazelton, Pennsylvania “Person of the Year”. [Standard-Speaker]
• According to Nick Cafardo, the White Sox would want more than Andy Sonnanstine or Edwin Jackson for Jermaine Dye…Huh, wha? More than Duke or Nuke for a player that is owed $11.5 million next season and a $12 million option in 2010? That should about do it for the “Jermaine Dye is a good fit for the Rays” talk. [MLB Trade Rumors]
• Rounding the Bases lays out 7 reasons to trade Edwin Jackson. [Rounding the Bases]
• Rise of the Rays takes a look at some options for the Rays in right field and at DH either through trade or via free agency. [Rise of the Rays]
• Baseball Analysts previews the top 11 pitchers available in next week’s Rule 5 draft, including Eddie Morlan and Chris Mason. [Baseball Analysts]
• The members of the Rise of the Rays community debate who will be the “key player for the Rays in 2009.” [Rise of the Rays]
• Rays Prospects has an update on winter league stats for several current and former Rays prospects. [Rays Prospects]
• Rays Digest looks at the top hitting prospects in the organization. [Rays Digest]
• Baseball Talk takes a look at some of the lesser known pitching prospects in the Rays system. [Baseball Talk...]
• After Rhyne Hughes’ solid Arizona Fall League season, Examiner.com tries to project how good the prospect can be. [Examiner.com]
• Ted Flemming offers several suggestions on what the Rays should do from the operations side of the coin, which includes broadcasting more spring training games. [Examiner.com]
• The King of Series, David Chalk’s latest is counting down the 25 greatest Devil Rays…as an advent calendar. [Bugs and Cranks]

THE GOOD: There is a video on YouTube in which Dwayne Staats compares Evan Longoria defensively, to Mike Schmidt, who won 10 gloves. But we wonder if Schmidt ever made a play to win a game the way Dirtbag did last night. Playing deep, with the tying run on third, Reed Johnson tried to bunt his way on first pushing the ball just to the left of the mound. Longoria ran in, barehanded the ball and made an off-balance throw to first base that was scooped on one bounce by Willy Aybar. Game over…What a top if the 9th. What a great catch heading face first into the wall, by Justin Ruggiano in left field for the first out. That out was just the first play that may have saved the game. Later on was not the best time in the world for Dioner Navarro’s second passed ball of the season as it lead to a run to make it 3-2, but another passed ball took a Rays bounce off the backstop to hold the runner at third and saved the lead…Scott Kazmir did not allow a hit until 1 out in the 5th inning, despite not having his best stuff…The Rays are lucky that the Rays tank beyond the right-center field wall is shatterproof as Evan Longoria’s solo home run to lead off the 6th went off the side glass…With 2 outs in the top of the 7th and a runner on second, Dioner Navarro threw out Reed Johnson trying to steal third. It even looked like Johnson got a bit of a shuffling lead before the pitch and he was still thrown out to end the inning…In the bottom of the 7th, a ground ball that would have been a single up the middle hits the pitching rubber and jumps straight up in the air. The pitcher tried to field the ball and throw to first. Aki was safe by a mile, but the throw went into the right field corner and Aki was on third to lead off the inning. Aki would later score what ultimately would be the decisive run.

THE BAD: Scott Kazmir may have not allowed a hit until 1 out in the 5th, but he would only record 1 more out after that, as he was pulled with 2 outs in the 5th. Yes the bullpen is better, but the Rays cannot afford too many nights with the bullpen having to throw 4+ innings…BJ Upton’s stolen base to end the first inning wasn’t bad on paper. With 2 outs, he has to try and get into scoring position. But for Upton to be thrown out by 10 feet was pretty bad…Bases loaded in the 3rd with only 1 out. A dribbler in the mound by BJ Upton led to a force at the plate followed by a strikeout by Eric Hinske and the Rays couldn’t score…In the 7th, the Rays had 5 batters reach base and only scored 1 run including the second runner thrown out at home in the game.

THE TELLING: The attendance for last night’s game was 31,607. We are just guessing, but that seems like it would be a record for a non-home opener, non-Red Sox, non-Yankees, weekday contest…Carl Crawford will be back on the field tomorrow night after completing his suspension. Aki Iwamura and Edwin Jackson have both appealed their suspensions. Jackson will make his next start on Saturday…

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• Don’t forget to VOTE for Carl Crawford to start the all-star game. If you haven’t voted yet today, go NOW! [MLB All-Star Voting]
• With Andy Sonnanstine and Carlos Zambrano on the hill tonight, there will only be one batter in either lineup that has faced the opposing pitcher. Carl Crawford faced Zambrano and struck out in the ‘04 All-Star game. [MLB]
• Carlos Pena expects to be back in the lineup on the next roadtrip. [Tampa Tribune]
• A Cubs blog takes some shots at Joe Maddon for his love of wine and Dr. Seuss, and uses these as examples as to why it is easier to manage in the AL…True story: We once had an Ecology class in college in which all the lessons were based on either Dr. Seuss or Monty Python. Best. Class. Ever. [The Ted Lilly Fan Club]
• Rays the Stakes makes a strong case for Aki Iwamura to make the All-Star squad. [Rays the Stakes]
• Maybe they should…But they won’t. [DevilRays Locker]
• Badsnap makes a strong, in depth case for Ken Griffey Jr coming to the Rays. [BADSNAP]
• According to Vegas oddsmakesrs, the Rays are now the 6th favorite to win the AL, behind Boston, LA, New York, Chicago and Cleveland. [LA Times]

*If we ever have one

THE GOOD: Give us a second….hold on….nope. We got nothin’.

THE BAD: Losing 2 hours and 55 minutes of our lives that we will never get back.

THE TELLING: The Rays drew 79,393 fans for the 3-game series against the Marlins. Last year, the Rays drew only 56,123 for the Marlins series in late May. That is an increase of 41.4% that cannot be entirely due to a Saturday night concert and a Sunday Father’s Day crowd. In fact, Friday’s attendance of 19,312 bested the Friday night game last year by more than 6,000.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• Don’t forget to VOTE for Carl Crawford to start the all-star game. If you haven’t voted yet today, go NOW! [MLB All-Star Voting]
• Joe Maddon is not overly concerned about Edwin Jackson’s recent struggles. [Bradenton Herald]
• Oh, but Martin Fennelly is. Fennely thinks the Rays should win every game, because one loss is apparently reason to panic…Believe us, winning is nice and it is a nice change to expects victories, but can we avoid the Yankees and Mets’ mentality of thinking that one loss is the end of the world? As the old baseball adage goes…Sometimes you win, Sometimes you lose, Sometimes it rains (ok, maybe that doesn’t work so well at the Trop) [Tampa Tribune]
• Ken Griffey Jr’s agent denies that his client is considering waiving his no-trade rights for a chance to play with the Rays. [MLB]
• Marc Lancaster finally comments on the buzz of Ken Griffey Jr.-to-the-Rays…Being last to the table is becoming an old habit for Lancaster. [Tampa Tribune]
• As the roster stands right now, Evan Longoria is the Rays’ backup shortstop. However, barring an injury to Jason Bartlett, Dirtbag won’t be seeing any playing time there anytime soon, thanks to the number of off-days in this current stretch of games. [Bradenton Herald]
• Lou Piniella will rotate some of his regulars into the DH slot when the Cubs play the Rays. [MLB]

THE GOOD: Andy Sonnanstine was lucky he only gave up 2 runs in the first inning. A strike-’em-out-throw-’em-out, got the Rays out of the top of the first only down 2-0. And the Rays offense did exactly what they needed, scoring twice in the bottom half of the inning on a 2-run double from Eric Hinske, to get back all-square and not have to play most of the game from behind. Sonny seemed to settle down past that point, retiring 12 straight before a 1-out double in the 5th…You know the Rays were having their way on the basepaths when Cliff Floyd steals a base…The top of the order had been struggling of late, but with Dioner Navarro in the 2-hole for just the second time this season and Eric Hinske batting cleanup, the top 4 combined for 7 hits and 5 RBI.

THE BAD: It is never good when the pitching coach goes to the mound after the first 3 batters of the game. Andy Sonnanstine gave up a triple, a double and a single to start the game…The unwritten rules says a runner should never make the 1st or 3rd out at third base. But there are bad times to make the 2nd out at third base also. Like last night when Eric Hinske was caught trying to steal third base with 1 out in the bottom of the first inning with Evan Longoria at the plate. With an RBI-guy at the plate, give him a chance to drive in the run.

THE TELLING: Andy Sonnanstine was taken out with 1 out in the 6th inning, having just struck out Jorge Cantu. Sonny had thrown only 86 pitches. In his last start, Sonnanstine threw only 76 pitches and was also pulled in the 6th inning. This is strange as The Duke seems to get stronger as the game goes along. This season opponents have an .855 OPS in innings 1-3, a .799 OPS in innings 4-6 and a .472 OPS beyond the 6th inning…One of the Marlins TV announcers is an idiot, at one point saying: “there is a differnet feel…you are used to coming in here and seeing young talent in terms of speed and power, a Delmon Young and Elijah Dukes”. Elijah Dukes played a grand total of 52 games for the Devil Rays…The Rays still lead the wild card by 3 games over Oakland.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• Don’t forget to VOTE for Carl Crawford to start the all-star game. If you haven’t voted yet today, go NOW! [MLB All-Star Voting]
• Troy Percival returned from the DL and nobody was DFA’d, as Al Reyes went back on the DL…At this point, we fully expect Percival to go back on the DL in 2 weeks with Reyes and Percy just trading places for the rest of the season. [The Heater]
• Marc Lancaster says that the Rays 1,000th loss “passed without much notice”…Dude. That shit was on Deadspin. 64 kazillion million people read that website. Mr. Lancaster should check it out sometime. All the cool kids are doing it. [Rays Report]
• Will Carrol weighs in on the Ken Griffey Jr-to-the-Rays speculation. [Baseball Prospectus]
• Baseball Prospectus breaks down some of Matt Garza’s numbers and suggest that he is pitching even worse than he appears. [Baseball Prospectus]