Sep 29
Once again the Devil Rays are in the running for the first overall pick and have a very good chance at becoming the first team to ever have the top pick in the amateur draft two years in a row (until recently, the top pick alternated between leagues). Last season we tracked the race for the top pick and with the Devil Rays in the running again this season, we feel compelled now to make this an annual feature.
Last year at this time, the top pick was not a sure thing, but David Price appeared to be the clear favorite. Without an obvious top choice for the 2008 draft, we decided to name this feature after the inaugural namesake. While we plan on running this feature each year in September, we do hope that one of these seasons the Tampa Bay Rays are not among the contenders.
The 2nd Annual David Price Sweepstakes and the race for the top pick in the 2008 draft…
| TEAM |
W |
L |
GB |
L10 |
STK |
E# |
| Tampa Bay Devil Rays |
65 |
95 |
– |
2-8 |
L3 |
– |
|
|
| Pittsburgh Pirates |
68 |
92 |
3.0 |
2-8 |
L2 |
E |
| Kansas City |
68 |
92 |
3.0 |
3-7 |
L3 |
E |
| Baltimore Orioles |
69 |
91 |
4.0 |
5-5 |
W3 |
E |
Despite losses by Pittsburgh and Kansas City, The Devil Rays secured the worst record in baseball and clinched the top spot in the 2008 first year player entry draft by losing to the Blue Jays 5-4. Thus, the Rays have become the first team to ever have the top pick in the draft two consecutive years.
Champaign is for celebrating. I’ll have a Martini.
Sep 28
Once again the Devil Rays are in the running for the first overall pick and have a very good chance at becoming the first team to ever have the top pick in the amateur draft two years in a row (until recently, the top pick alternated between leagues). Last season we tracked the race for the top pick and with the Devil Rays in the running again this season, we feel compelled now to make this an annual feature.
Last year at this time, the top pick was not a sure thing, but David Price appeared to be the clear favorite. Without an obvious top choice for the 2008 draft, we decided to name this feature after the inaugural namesake. While we plan on running this feature each year in September, we do hope that one of these seasons the Tampa Bay Rays are not among the contenders.
The 2nd Annual David Price Sweepstakes and the race for the top pick in the 2008 draft…
| TEAM |
W |
L |
GB |
L10 |
STK |
E# |
| Tampa Bay Devil Rays |
65 |
93 |
– |
3-7 |
L2 |
– |
|
|
| Baltimore Orioles |
68 |
91 |
2.0 |
4-6 |
W1 |
1 |
| Kansas City |
68 |
91 |
3.0 |
4-6 |
L2 |
1 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates |
68 |
91 |
4.0 |
2-8 |
L1 |
1 |
The Devil Rays could clinch the top spot in the draft tonight, north of the border. It was erroneously reported this morning that that the Rays had
already clinched the top spot in the draft and last place in the AL East. That was simply a case of
Premature Ejacabration. After the Rays loss last night, combined with the Orioles win, the Rays sit 3 back in the AL East with 3 to play, and their magic number is now 1, with 3 other teams that still have a chance to tie the Rays for the worst record in baseball.
We have the champaign on ice and will certainly keep on eye on the score while watching a game tonight that actually means something (for once).
Sep 27
Once again the Devil Rays are in the running for the first overall pick and have a very good chance at becoming the first team to ever have the top pick in the amateur draft two years in a row (until recently, the top pick alternated between leagues). Last season we tracked the race for the top pick and with the Devil Rays in the running again this season, we feel compelled now to make this an annual feature.
Last year at this time, the top pick was not a sure thing, but David Price appeared to be the clear favorite. Without an obvious top choice for the 2008 draft, we decided to name this feature after the inaugural namesake. While we plan on running this feature each year in September, we do hope that one of these seasons the Tampa Bay Rays are not among the contenders.
The 2nd Annual David Price Sweepstakes and the race for the top pick in the 2008 draft…
| TEAM |
W |
L |
GB |
L10 |
STK |
E# |
| Tampa Bay Devil Rays |
65 |
93 |
– |
4-6 |
L1 |
– |
|
|
| Baltimore Orioles |
67 |
91 |
2.0 |
3-7 |
L2 |
3 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates |
68 |
91 |
2.5 |
2-8 |
L1 |
2 |
| Florida Marlins |
68 |
90 |
3.0 |
3-7 |
W2 |
2 |
| Kansas City |
68 |
90 |
3.0 |
4-6 |
L1 |
2 |
| Chicago White Sox |
69 |
89 |
4.0 |
5-5 |
L2 |
1 |
The And then there were six. Two more teams were eliminated last night. The Giants were eliminated on the basis of the Rays loss to the Yankees, and the Astros were eliminated after their win. The Rays magic number is now 3 with 4 to go. At this point it looks like the Rays best hope is to finish tied with the Orioles. If the Rays finish 4-0 they would need the Orioles to close out 1-3 to pass them. Not impossible. But asking a lot.
Sep 26
Once again the Devil Rays are in the running for the first overall pick and have a very good chance at becoming the first team to ever have the top pick in the amateur draft two years in a row (until recently, the top pick alternated between leagues). Last season we tracked the race for the top pick and with the Devil Rays in the running again this season, we feel compelled now to make this an annual feature.
Last year at this time, the top pick was not a sure thing, but David Price appeared to be the clear favorite. Without an obvious top choice for the 2008 draft, we decided to name this feature after the inaugural namesake. While we plan on running this feature each year in September, we do hope that one of these seasons the Tampa Bay Rays are not among the contenders.
The 2nd Annual David Price Sweepstakes and the race for the top pick in the 2008 draft…
| TEAM |
W |
L |
GB |
L10 |
STK |
E# |
| Tampa Bay Devil Rays |
65 |
92 |
– |
4-6 |
W2 |
– |
|
|
| Florida Marlins |
67 |
90 |
2.0 |
3-7 |
W1 |
4 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates |
67 |
90 |
2.0 |
1-9 |
W1 |
4 |
| Baltimore Orioles |
67 |
90 |
2.0 |
4-6 |
L1 |
4 |
| Kansas City |
68 |
89 |
3.0 |
5-5 |
W1 |
3 |
| Chicago White Sox |
68 |
89 |
3.0 |
5-5 |
L2 |
3 |
| Houston Astros |
69 |
88 |
4.0 |
6-4 |
W1 |
2 |
|
|
| San Francisco |
70 |
88 |
4.5 |
4-6 |
L1 |
1 |
|
|
Despite Dioner Navarro’s heroics against the Yankees, the Rays magic number is now 4 after both the Marlins and the Pirates also won their games. The Buccos ended a 9-game losing streak. The Rays did pull within 2 games of the Orioles and still have a shot at 4th place in the AL East…Another one bites the dust as the Washinton Nationals picked a W last night and were eliminated from contention for the top pick of the 2008 draft. San Fran and Houston can both be eliminated this evening although Houston would need a win and a Rays loss.
Sep 25
Once again the Devil Rays are in the running for the first overall pick and have a very good chance at becoming the first team to ever have the top pick in the amateur draft two years in a row (until recently, the top pick alternated between leagues). Last season we tracked the race for the top pick and with the Devil Rays in the running again this season, we feel compelled now to make this an annual feature.
Last year at this time, the top pick was not a sure thing, but David Price appeared to be the clear favorite. Without an obvious top choice for the 2008 draft, we decided to name this feature after the inaugural namesake. While we plan on running this feature each year in September, we do hope that one of these seasons the Tampa Bay Rays are not among the contenders.
The 2nd Annual David Price Sweepstakes and the race for the top pick in the 2008 draft…
| TEAM |
W |
L |
GB |
L10 |
STK |
E# |
| Tampa Bay Devil Rays |
64 |
92 |
– |
3-7 |
W1 |
– |
|
|
| Florida Marlins |
66 |
90 |
2.0 |
3-7 |
L3 |
5 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates |
66 |
90 |
2.0 |
1-9 |
L9 |
5 |
| Baltimore Orioles |
67 |
89 |
3.0 |
4-6 |
W1 |
4 |
| Kansas City |
67 |
89 |
3.0 |
4-6 |
L2 |
4 |
| Houston Astros |
68 |
88 |
4.0 |
5-5 |
L2 |
3 |
| Chicago White Sox |
68 |
88 |
4.0 |
6-4 |
L1 |
3 |
|
|
| San Francisco |
70 |
87 |
5.5 |
4-6 |
W3 |
1 |
|
|
| Washington Nationals |
70 |
87 |
5.5 |
5-5 |
W2 |
1 |
|
|
The Giants and the Nationals both picked up wins last night to drop their elimination numbers to 1. A win tonight or a Devil Rays loss and they will be eliminated. Baltimore also picked up a win to fall 3 games back with 6 to play. The victory may have ended the O’s last gasp and any thoughts of the Rays finishing out of the cellar for just the second time in the history of the franchise.
Sep 24
Several pages are still linking to our front page…for those looking for images of the new uniforms, CLICK HERE…
Once again the Devil Rays are in the running for the first overall pick and have a very good chance at becoming the first team to ever have the top pick in the amateur draft two years in a row (until recently, the top pick alternated between leagues). Last season we tracked the race for the top pick and with the Devil Rays in the running again this season, we feel compelled now to make this an annual feature.
Last year at this time, the top pick was not a sure thing, but David Price appeared to be the clear favorite. Without an obvious top choice for the 2008 draft, we decided to name this feature after the inaugural namesake. While we plan on running this feature each year in September, we do hope that one of these seasons the Tampa Bay Rays are not among the contenders.
Without further ado, we present the 2nd Annual David Price Sweepstakes and the race for the top pick in the 2008 draft!
| TEAM |
W |
L |
GB |
L10 |
STK |
E# |
| Tampa Bay Devil Rays |
64 |
92 |
– |
3-7 |
W1 |
– |
|
|
| Florida Marlins |
66 |
90 |
2.0 |
3-7 |
L3 |
5 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates |
66 |
90 |
2.0 |
1-9 |
L9 |
5 |
| Baltimore Orioles |
66 |
89 |
2.5 |
4-6 |
L1 |
5 |
| Kansas City |
67 |
88 |
3.5 |
4-6 |
L1 |
4 |
| Houston Astros |
68 |
88 |
4.0 |
5-5 |
L2 |
3 |
| Chicago White Sox |
68 |
88 |
4.0 |
6-4 |
L1 |
3 |
|
|
| San Francisco |
69 |
87 |
5.0 |
3-7 |
W2 |
2 |
|
|
| Washington Nationals |
69 |
87 |
5.0 |
4-6 |
W1 |
2 |
|
|
The race is getting a little tighter as the lead is down to two with the Rays win over the Red Sox on Sunday and Florida and Pittsburgh dropping their weekend games. Three teams (Texas, Cincinnati and St. Louis) were eliminated this weekend. At this point, it appears as though the Pirates will make a strong push in the final week as they have clearly given up on the season. On the other hand they have games remaining against the D-Backs and Cardinals, two other teams that are tanking, while the Marlins have series remaining against the Cubbies and the Mets, two teams fighting for the post-season. The Rays will face the Yankees and the Jays. The Orioles are a longshot at this point as the fear of finishing behind the Rays in the AL East appears to be just enough motivation to win once every couple of days.
Sep 22
Several pages are still linking to our front page…for those looking for images of the new uniforms, CLICK HERE…
Once again the Devil Rays are in the running for the first overall pick and have a very good chance at becoming the first team to ever have the top pick in the amateur draft two years in a row (until recently, the top pick alternated between leagues). Last season we tracked the race for the top pick and with the Devil Rays in the running again this season, we feel compelled now to make this an annual feature.
Last year at this time, the top pick was not a sure thing, but David Price appeared to be the clear favorite. Without an obvious top choice for the 2008 draft, we decided to name this feature after the inaugural namesake. While we plan on running this feature each year in September, we do hope that one of these seasons the Tampa Bay Rays are not among the contenders.
Without further ado, we present the 2nd Annual David Price Sweepstakes and the race for the top pick in the 2008 draft!
| TEAM |
W |
L |
GB |
L10 |
STK |
E# |
| Tampa Bay Devil Rays |
63 |
91 |
– |
2-8 |
L4 |
– |
|
|
| Baltimore Orioles |
65 |
88 |
2.5 |
4-6 |
L1 |
7 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates |
66 |
88 |
3.0 |
3-7 |
L7 |
6 |
| Florida Marlins |
66 |
88 |
3.0 |
5-5 |
L1 |
6 |
| Kansas City |
66 |
87 |
3.5 |
4-6 |
L1 |
6 |
| San Francisco Giants |
67 |
87 |
4.0 |
2-8 |
L4 |
5 |
| Chicago White Sox |
67 |
87 |
4.0 |
6-4 |
W1 |
5 |
|
|
| Houston Astros |
68 |
86 |
5.0 |
5-5 |
W3 |
4 |
|
|
| Washington Nationals |
68 |
86 |
5.0 |
3-7 |
L3 |
4 |
|
|
| Texas Rangers |
71 |
83 |
8.0 |
2-8 |
W1 |
1 |
|
|
| Cincinnati Reds |
71 |
83 |
8.0 |
6-4 |
W2 |
1 |
|
|
| St. Louis Cardinals |
71 |
82 |
8.5 |
2-8 |
L2 |
1 |
|
|
At this point the Rays have a comfortable 2.5 game lead as their current 4-game losing streak has dwindled their magic number down to 7 with 8 games remaining. Pittsburgh is making a nice late-season run at the anti-pennant with 7 straight losses, but it may be too little, too late. Three teams can potentially be eliminated tonight with a win or a D-Rays loss.
Sep 27
And then there were two. Last night the Cubbies beat the Brewers 14-6. Can the Cubs do anything right? It was a bad day all-around for the north-siders. For the last few weeks, it appeared to be a foregone conclusion that Joe Girardi would be managing the Baby Bears in 2007. Now comes word that Girardi wants to remain with the Marlins. Who is running the Cubs front office? Steve Bartman? Then last night, the Cubs win, coupled with the Royals loss eliminated the Cubs from the Anti-Pennant race…Kansas City maintained their 2 game lead by falling to the Twins 3-2. The Twins appear to be still gunning for the Division title as Johan Santana surprisingly worked 8 innings. The Royals have now lost 8 in a row…The Rays kept pace with K. C. by *drum roll please* losing on the road! Surprise! The Rays are now 2-29 on the road since the All-Star break.
David Price is a front-runner to be the top pick of Major League Baseball’s 2007 amateur entry draft. Price is a 6’6″ pitcher at Vanderbilt that some scouts have called the left-handed version of Mark Prior. This past season Price went 9-5 with a 4.16 ERA and 155 strikeouts in 110 innings. For Team USA this summer, Price went 5-1 and a 0.20 ERA with 61 strikeouts and 7 walks in 44 innings. He won Baseball America’s Summer Player of the Year award for 2006. Obviously a lot can change in the next 9 months. He could suck next year…He could sign Scott Boras as his agent…his arm could fall off…he could get abducted by aliens…he could get Matt Leinart pregnant…the possibilities are endless. In the meantime, the race is on! May the worst team win.
Sep 26
And then there were three. The Royals are bringing their ‘A’ game (or is that ‘F’ game?) and have now righted their ship. During one stretch, K. C. went 20-18, but things are back to normal in the other city in Missouri. Last night they rolled over for the Twinkies 8-1, for their 7th loss in a row. Come on! Did any of you guys really think that Kansas City was a .500 team? They are still the Royales with Cheese. The loss keeps their lead at 2 games in the race for the worst record in baseball…The Rays kept pace with a 16-1 loss to the Yankees and made sure the game was out of question early, falling behind 9-0 after three innings…The Cubs bullpen blew a 4-0 lead in the seventh and eighth inning last night and kept their faint hopes alive. They Cubbies remain 4.5 games back but their elimination number is now two and they can be eliminated as early as tonight. Things are so bad on the northside right now that they are writing about the Twins world series hopes. It must be bad when, as a fan, you are living vicariously through another team…Pittsburgh did not play last night, but the loss by the Royals eliminated the Pirates from the race.
So the chase is on. While the Cubs are not a real factor at this point, it is down to two teams. The Rays and the Royals. Both teams have six games remaining, three more in Minnesota and three more in Detroit. Luckily for the Rays, the Tigers clinched a playoff spot this past weekend and the Twins clinched last night. Both of those teams are now only playing for the division title, which may not be incentive enough to play all out the last week of the season. Johan Santana pitches for the Twins tonight, but we would be surprised if he was still in the game in the sixth inning. He has been roughed up his past two starts and may need some rest before the playoffs begin. The Rays have six games remaining, all on the road (two in Boston and two in Cleveland), where they are 2-28 since the All-Star break. Can the Rays make up 2 games in the last 6? Wouldn’t it be great if the league had a Monday 1-game playoff to decide the worst team in baseball? We can only dream.
David Price is a front-runner to be the top pick of Major League Baseball’s 2007 amateur entry draft. Price is a 6’6″ pitcher at Vanderbilt that some scouts have called the left-handed version of Mark Prior. This past season Price went 9-5 with a 4.16 ERA and 155 strikeouts in 110 innings. For Team USA this summer, Price went 5-1 and a 0.20 ERA with 61 strikeouts and 7 walks in 44 innings. He won Baseball America’s Summer Player of the Year award for 2006. Obviously a lot can change in the next 9 months. He could suck next year…He could sign Scott Boras as his agent…his arm could fall off…he could get abducted by aliens…he could get Matt Leinart pregnant…the possibilities are endless. In the meantime, the race is on! May the worst team win.
Sep 25
We have a new leader and two more teams have been eliminated…Fortunately the Rays have one more game left at The Trop (today versus the Yankees), as they are a decidedly different team at home than on the road. This past weekend, the Rays took two of three from the Yankees and now have fallen two games behind the Royals for the worst record in baseball. After pretending to be a major league baseball team the first part of this month, the Royals have come back down to earth with six straight losses. With seven games remaining, all on the road, all against Minnesota and Detroit, Kansas City is threatening to run away with this race. Still, the thoughts of the team and their fans may be elsewhere…On the northside of Chi-Town, fans are more worried about who will be managing the team in 2007. Speaking of which, when did Joe Girardi suddenly become Sparky Anderson? Yes he has done a superb job with a AAA team, but it is only one season. The Cubs have bigger problems, and we would argue less talent (especially the pitching staff) than the Marlins. As for the 2006 Baby Bears, they have lost 4 of 5 and are hanging on by a thread at 4.5 games out. Still, Chicago is quickly running out of time…The Pirates finally ended their 5-game winning streak, and have now lost four in a row. But like the Cubbies, it is too little too late and the Pirates can be eliminated as early as today…Both Baltimore and Washington were eliminated from the race this weekend.
