DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• BJ Upton was benched for this afternoon's game for not running out a ground ball back to the pitcher in the 9th inning of last night's game. Joe Maddon did not rule out using him late in the game. [The Heater]
  
• As we expected, Rocco Baldelli is waiting for a roster spot to come available. Marc Lancaster speculates that Ben Zobrist will be sent back to Durham tomorrow when Jason Bartlett is ready to play SS. However, we wonder if Zobrist will stick around as a utility-guy for a few more days as the Rays are not scheduled to face a lefty until at least next Tuesday. [Rays Report]
• Jason Bartlett and Carl Crawford are both expected back in their familiar positions on Thursday. [MLB]
• The Tampa [sic] Rays have become the business-model for at least one non-sports entity. [tvnewsday]
  
• Remember way back in Spring Training when RF and DH was supposed to be a 3-headed monster, with Jonny Gomes, Cliff Floyd and Rocco Baldelli? Yeah, us neither. [Herald-Tribune]
• Jonny Gomes is starting to wonder aloud if his career with the Rays is over. [Herald-Tribune]
• Last night was only the 5th time in franchise history that the Rays posted win #67. Bugs and Cranks compares last night's win to the previous 4. [Bugs and Cranks]
  
• Jerry Crasnick says the Rays are only the 9th best bullpen of all the teams still in contention. [ESPN]

Durham 9, Richmond 6. Heath Phillips made his 2nd start for the Bulls and gave up 2 runs in 5 innings...Juan Salas pitched 2 perfect innings with 4 strikeouts and Scott Dohmann got his 17th save with a perfect 9th...6 different Bulls had at least 2 hits including Justin Ruggiano who finished 3-5 with a double and his 10th home run...John Jaso was 1-5 and Reid Brignac was 2-5 with 2 strike outs batting in the 2-hole. Brignac has been hitting in the bottom-third of the order most of the season.

Montgomery 9, West Tenn 4. Mike Prochaska gave up 4 runs in 6 innings...Eddie Morlan pitched 2 perfect innings of relief with 2 strike outs...Gaby Martinez (18), Rhyne Hughes (11) and Matt Spring (6) homered for the Biscuits.

Brevard Co. 3, Vero Beach 0. Brandon Mann struck out 7 in 5 innings, giving up 4 hits, 1 walk and 3 runs (2 earned)...Vero Beach managed only 3 hits.

Columbus 4, Asheville 2. Alex Cobb allowed only 2 hits in 6 shutout innings. He struck out 4 and walked 1 as he improved to 8-7 with a 3.17 ERA...Mike McCormick was 0-4 with the "Golden Sombrero". He struck out 4 times.

Hudson Valley (off-day)

Kingsport 5, Princeton 4. Tim Beckham had 3 hits, including 2 doubles in 5 at bats. He raised his average to .226.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM...

• David Price says he approaches every batter as if that batter is standing between him and the big leagues. [Yahoo! Sports]

“I want to be there today. That’s me,” said Price, a hard-throwing, 6-foot-6 lefty. “I have no say in that. It’s just whenever they feel I’m ready.”

• Ben Zobrist was named the IL player of the week...We are guessing here, but we assume that Benny Boo Boo is glad he is not around to collect his prize, which we assume is his very own Wool E. Bull Team Head (kinda like a foam cheesehead). [The Raw Feed]
• James Houser threw his first simulated game after knee surgery and everything went well, throwing only fastballs and changeups. [Montgomery Advertiser]
  

THE BAD: We were orignally planning to bring back the Live Blog-A-Baloo of the week on Wednesday. We are long overdue for an installment and Wednesday could be the '08 debut of Rocco Baldelli. But, when the casting director for a very popular NBC drama calls and asks if you are available on Wednesday to film a scene, you guys get shafted...Sorry.

THE TELLING: With Jason Bartlett limited to pinch-runner availability, Willy Aybar made his first major-league start at SS. Eric Hinske started in LF in place of Carl Crawford. Shawn Riggans made his first professional appearance in the OF after pinch-hitting, and replacing Hinske in LF...

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• In a move that could have a big impact on how soon Rocco Baldelli is activated, Jonny Gomes has been demoted to Durham and Ben Zobrist has been recalled. Clearly, Joe Maddon was not happy with Willy Aybar starting at SS. Gomes was expected to be demoted when Rocco was ready. Now Rocco will have to wait until Jason Bartlett is ready to be inserted back in the lineup. At that point, we expect Zobrist will be demoted and Baldelli will be activated. [SI.com]
• Sixty Feet, Six Inches recaps an interview with Rocco Baldelli in which he addresses various topics including the fate of his beard. [Sixty Feet, Six Inches]
  
• Carl Crawford missed last night's game with a sore hamstring and could be out again tonight. [The Heater]
• Tom Verducci of SI.com tells us why the Rays are here to stay...Of course, you would think a 3-game lead in August is enough evidence to show that the Rays "have what it takes to stay in AL East race." Just shows you how little people outside of the Bay Area think of the Rays. Even if the Rays took a nose-dive over the next 3 weeks, they would at worst be 2-3 games out of the division lead with a month to go. And that alone is "still in the race."[SI.com]
  
• Not the first time we have heard this one...Buster Olney compares the '08 Rays to the '69 Mets...Olney is hidden behind the evil password wall called "Insider" at ESPN, but Marc Topkin has the details. [ESPN via The Heater]
• BJ Upton may or may not have met the president of his fan club. [Her Rays]
  

THE GOOD: Rally Time. The Rays are now 3-0 in games in which Troy Percival blew a save and are 27-0 in games in which he has appeared.

THE BAD: The offense for the first 6 innings. Prior to the 7th inning, the Rays only hit was an infield single by Evan Longoria in which he beat out a routine ground ball to third. Prior to BJ Upton's grond-rule double to lead off the 7th, Fernando Galarraga had retired 14 in a row...

THE TELLING: After Jason Bartlett was removed from the game and Shawn Riggans was used as a pinch-hitter and was the Rays' last player off the bench, meaning he would have stayed in the game had Rays not won the game in the bottom of the 10th. The question then becomes: What would the defense have looked like had the Rays taken the field in the top of the 11th (We were on the Detroit feed, so not sure if Dwayne and Joe discussed this) [Ed. note: See second bullet below]? Our guess is Riggans would have been in right field, with Willy Aybar coming in to play third and Evan Longoria shifting over to play short. Riggans has never played a position other than catcher in his major or minor league career...The Rays are 16-1 at the Trop this season when the crowd is more than 30,000. Bodes well for any potential playoff hopes.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• Jason Bartlett will need a couple of days off after taking a pitch off the index finger of his throwing hand, but there is no break and he will not need a trip to the DL. This likely means that Evan Longoria will be the starting shortstop for the next few days, unless the Rays recall Ben Zobrist and demote Jonny Gomes...Also, Shawn Riggans has a significant bruise on his chest, but is otherwise OK, after taking a 97mph fastball to the middle of his chest. [St. Pete Times]
  
• Marc Topkin says that Shawn Riggans would have come out of the game, with Jonny Gomes moving from DH to right field had the Rays needed to play the 11th inning. That would have elimnated the DH spot forcing the pitcher to bat in Riggans' spot (#9). Therefore, whoever pitched the top of the 11th, would have been the 4th batter in the bottom of the 11th. We are not sure if this is Topkin's speculation or if this came from Joe Maddon, but we are not sure that scenario is better than Riggans playing right field. How much worse than Gomes could he be? [The Heater]
• Rocco Baldelli is back with the Rays and is set to meet with Joe Maddon and Andrew Friedman today to discuss the next step in his return...That next step is likely to be activation from the DL, and we are hearing that could be as soon as today. Of course that could be altered if the Rays need to recall Ben Zobrist and demote Jonny Gomes. [MLB]
• If and when Rocco Baldelli returns, the Rays are asking that he not give 100% all the time. [St. Pete Times]
• Brant James does a Q&A with Rocco Baldelli. The biggest revelation is that Rocco does not sound optimistic that he will ever be able to be an everyday player again. [The Heater]
  

"It's a weird thing to say to an athlete. Rocco would sprint after balls 110 percent, no matter what the scoreboard (said)," Friedman said. "That's how he played the game, or plays the game. We're trying to get him to pick situations and understand situations on the scoreboard, different things to conserve his bullets, for lack of a better word."

• Trever Miller got the win, ending his record streak of 121 straight apearances without a decision. [Bradenton Herald]
• In Ted Flemming's blog, he ponders Eric Hinske and Dioner Navarro for Comeback Player of the Year...Hinske, sure. But Navi? Not sure where he came back from. [Speaking of Sports]
  
• The Rays are up to 3rd in the latest Chicago Tribune power rankings, behind only the Angels and the Cubs (of course). [Chicago Tribune]
  

THE GOOD: James Shields outside of the back-to-back home runs in the 2nd inning. After the 2 home runs, he retired 13 of the next 14 batters and faced the minimum over that span. Other than the 2 solo homers, he allowed only 4 hits and 1 run, striking out 7 and walking none, while working into the 9th inning...Ben Zobrist on the day he was to be demoted to Durham, drove in 2 runs, including a solo home run in the 5th that gave the Rays the lead and an RBI single in the 7th which proved to be the game-winner...Jonny Gomes one week before the Rays may trade for his replacement, hit a 2-run home run that got the Rays back in the game in the 5th...Huge double-play by Aki Iwamura in the 7th. With 2 on and no outs, a slow-roller was hit to second. Aki charged hard, scooped the ball and tagged the runner, before throwing to first. It was the only chance to turn two and killed the rally.

THE BAD: Troy Percival got his 20th save but looked shaky in doing it. He walked 1 batter, threw a wild pitch and almost had a second wild pitch if not for a great stop by Shawn Riggans, with a runner on 3rd...BJ Upton got picked off trying to steal 3rd in the 6th inning with 1 out. That was bad by itself, but as Joe Magrane noted after, we were screaming "Balk!" at the TV as the pitcher brought his leg back down, paused, and then spun towards second.

THE TELLING: Joe Maddon called for a sac bunt, and it wasn't even an interleague game. After Willy Aybar led off the 7th with a double, Shawn Riggans laid down the bunt and moved Aybar to third. Aybar would later score on a Ben Zobrist single. That was only the Rays' 14th sacrifice this year, which is the fewest in the majors. For comparison, the Rockies lead the majors with 63 and the Rangers lead the AL with 31...The Yankees are now alone in second-place in the Wild Card standings (3 gb), which means it is now a 3-team race for 2 playoff spots in the AL East...

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• In the end, it was Ben Zobrist that was sent packing to Durham with the activation of Jason Bartlett from the DL. That keeps Jonny Gomes as the right-handed hitting...hitter(?)...and Evan Longoria is once again the backup shortstop. [The Heater]
• Rays from across the pond finds irony in demoting Ben Zobrist, who has 5 home runs in the past month, with the offense struggling. [Rays from across the pond]
  
• This season the trading deadline means something different for the Rays. In the past the Rays would have 2-3 players that they were "selling" for prospects. Now that the Rays are in the other corner, most of the organization is in play and the Rays must decide "at what cost" do they trade for major league help. [St. Pete Times]
  
• One name that is getting a lot of press in regards to the Rays is Casey Blake, the Indians third baseman...If he comes to the Rays, they will almost certainly convert Blake to the outfield. He was the Indians right fielder in '05 and '06 and played 7 games there last season. Blake is hitting .288/.365/.488 for the Indians and will be a free agent at the end of the year. His best season came in 2004 when he hit .271-28-88. [Baseball Prospectus]
• If you are interested in this sort of thing, Marc Lancaster is live-blogging his life today...well, he is live-blogging a day in the life of a traveling baseball beat writer... [Rays Report]

Yesterday we presented our updated Trade Value Index (TVI). With a little over a week until next Thursday's trade deadline, rather than take a look at the players the Rays may target we will take a look at the players most likely to be sent packing should Andrew Friedman and Co. decide to pull the trigger on a deal.

Gerry Hunsicker, Rays' Senior VP for baseball operations and Friedman's guru, has made two of the best deadline deals in recent memory. In 2004, Hunsicker landed Carlos Beltran and 6 years earlier he traded for Randy Johnson. While the Astros failed to reach the World Series in either year, both Beltran and Johnson were key figures in Houston's playoff runs.

On the other hand Friedman sounds more like a guy that is willing to sit on the talent in place.

Keep in mind all of the "rumors" in the media recently are 99% speculation. They have a simple formula and the Rays always fit the formula. The media looks at a player and picks the teams still in contention that would view that player as an improvement. Then they decide which teams have the stronger farm system. The Rays will almost always satisfy both criteria.

The problem is the Rays are not like most ball clubs and are in the process of redefining success for small-market clubs. We feel that the Rays are more likely to follow the blueprint of the Angels who rarely make in-season deals and prefer to hold on to their homegrown talent.

That being said, there is still a chance the Rays will swing a deal for a mid-level player such as a middle reliever to add depth to a staff that has suffered a number of injuries. There is also a need for a right-handed hitting outfielder as the Rays have struggled against lefties this season and possibly a utility infielder that is an upgrade over Ben Zobrist and can serve as a backup shortstop.

So if a trade is made, which players are most likely to be used as bait...

Jason Hammel 3:2
Any deals involving pitchers will almost certainly involve Hammel to open a spot in either the bullpen or the rotation (with either Edwin Jackson or Andy Sonnanstine moving to the bullpen). Hammel can still bring the heat with a mid-90s fastball, but do any teams still think he can be a starter?

Jeff Niemann 2:1
While other teams will certainly ask for David Price, Wade Davis or Jeremy Hellickson, Niemann is the piece of value that the Rays would prefer to trade. While certainly Niemann's star shines less brightly these days, he is still young, and very big and he has a lot of upside.

Jonny Gomes 3:1
Like Hammel, any deal for a right-handed hitting outfielder will almost certainly involve Gomes going in the other direction. Nobody doubts Gomes' power or his intensity, and if given regular playing time, he could be a solid DH or outfielder for another team.

Fernando Perez 7:2
Perez has loads of talent but he still struggles with strikeouts. The Rays have no room in center with BJ Upton but could Perez play right field in '09 and be the Rays leadoff hitter? Or is he expendable? Like Niemann, Perez is one player we can see the Rays using as trade-bait.

Ben Zobrist 5:1
Whether as a utility infielder or a starting shortstop, Benny Boo Boo has proven that he can be a major leaguer. He will never be an all-star, but there are plenty of teams out there with worse options plaing short or second.

Mitch Talbot 5:1
Talbot would not be the key player in a trade, but he could be the arm that puts a deal over the top. He is a bit of a tweener. He has shown flashes of brilliance, like his performance in '06 SL playoffs, but he has been very up-and-down since moving to Durham. There is some upside and there does not seem to be a future for him with the Rays.

Dale Thayer 7:1
Thayer who seemed destined to be a career minor leaguer, has blossomed this season in Durham with a 1.43 ERA and 57Ks in 50.1 innings with only 17 walks. With Jeff Niemann and Juan Salas also in Durham as bullpen insurance, Thayer is certainly expendable. He is also Rule 5 eligible this winter, so now may be a good time to move him.

Eric Hinske 7:1
Hinske is a free agent at the end of the year, and with Gabe Gross and a healthy Cliff Floyd, Hinske is certainly expendable. But he has also been one of the Rays better hitters this season. Would the Rays risk moving an offensive contributor with the offense struggling a bit?

Juan Salas 8:1
If the Rays don't trade for a relief pitcher, Salas is probably the next guy up from Durham when somebody is needed. He has pitched well for Durham, with a 2.12 ERA and 38Ks in 34 innings with only 8 walks. Might somebody be enticed by the comparisons of Salas' cutter to Mariano Rivera's?

James Houser 8:1
Like Jeff Niemann, Houser is another name that the Rays will counter with when teams ask for one of the big pitching prospects. He is a tall lefty with some upside. Could be more tempting than a Mitch Talbot.

Justin Ruggiano 8:1
Ruggiano is similar to Mitch Talbot in that he is a bit of tweener. He posts good numbers in triple-A and could be serviceable as a 4th outfielder in the major leagues, but does he have a future with the Rays? Again, would not be the key player in a trade, but he could be the bat that puts a deal over the top.

Joel Guzman 10:1
Won't be 24 until November, and while he has a ton of power and a very good glove with plenty of positional flexibility, he still strikes out way too much (88 in 355 ABs this year) and his OBP is embarassing (.271). He will also be out of options in '09, so a move now or this winter may be necessary. Might somebody else be tempted by the talent?

Shawn Riggans 10:1
To us, this is the most intriguing name on the list. Riggans can hit. He still has plenty of room for improvement behind the plate and he is not that young (even for a catcher; 28 in a few days). The Rays also have Mike DiFeLice in Durham. DiFelice will be on the team in September no matter what happens, but would Maddon prefer DiFelice on a potential playoff roster? There is also John Jaso who was recently promoted to Durham and could make Riggans even more expendable.

Reid Brignac 10:1
Have the Rays soured a bit on Brignac? We can't see Brignac being traded, especially until Tim Beckham shows that he is a major leaguer-in-waiting. And there is also that open right field slot in '09. Could the Rays give Brignac a shot at RF in spring training? Still, no matter what the plans are, teams will ask for Brignac. Will the Rays bite?

Dan Johnson 12:1
Having a huge season since being demoted to Durham. Unfortunately, he has shown little or no power in the majors and has very little positional flexibility for a guy that is better suited for a bench role. Still, he has big league experience which a NL contender might value.

Al Reyes 15:1
A free agent at the end of the year, but has been struggling with injuries which make him more valuable to the Rays than to any suitor.

Chris Mason 15:1
Would anybody want him?

Gary Glover 20:1
Ditto

Grant Balfour 50:1
Another name that is very intriguing to us. If there is any inkling in the Rays front office that this recent run by Balfour is a fluke, then now is the time to trade the power righty and sell high. But everything we have seen indicates that Balfour is the real-deal and maybe he just needed to find some confidence which he has plenty of right now.

THE GOOD: Sometimes you watch a game and you just know early on that it is not the Rays' night. It is easier on the liver.

THE BAD: Andy Sonnanstine against the A's this season. The Rays have only played the A's 5 times and yet two of their worst losses are at the hands of the green and gold. In addition to last night's 8-1 drubbing, the A's got the beat-down on May 21 in Oakland to the tune of a 9-1 score. Sonny was the starting pitcher in both games. The only game worse than either of those was the 13-2 pounding just before the break in which we were thankfully in St. Lucia sans baseball. Oh yeah. Sonnanstine started that game also.

THE TELLING: Why was Houston Street brought into the game with an 8-1 lead? Might it be because he was being auditioned for the Rays brass? Managers will often bring closers into non-save situations if they have not been used in a while, but it had only been 3 days since Street last pitched. We counted 15 times this season in which Street had more than 2 off-days. The only explanation is that the A's wanted to make sure that Andrew Friedman and Co. got a first-hand look at Street before the trade deadline.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• Jason Bartlett will likely be activated after today's afternoon game. It looks like Ben Zobrist will not be demoted after all which means Jonny Gomes could be the odd-man out. That would leave Zobrist or Willy Aybar to play right field against lefties. [Bradenton Herald]
• And yet Marc Lancaster tells us that some in the organization think that Jonny Gomes can be the right handed bat that the Rays desparately need against lefties. [Tampa Tribune]
  
• As per our assertion in yesterday's "Hangover" that Grant Balfour screamed "fastball!" to Dioner Navarro in the 8th inning of Monday's game...Someone close to the team told us that Balfour says that he yelled "Fuck!" and not "Fastball!". We went back and looked at the tape and it looks to us as if there are either two syllables or two words. So, either Balfour is thinking of a different situation or he does yell the F-bomb with a second word attached. [Rays Index]
  
• Outs Per Swing is doing a great job keeping up with all the Rays trade rumors...Normally we would be more on this stuff, but we would be surprised if the Rays make a move for anybody significant. Maybe a middle reliever and maybe a utility infielder. The rest is just speculation because the Rays are in contention and have a deep farm system. [Outs Per Swing]
• Brittany Ghiroli points out that the Rays have still been able to score runs with several top hitters struggling thanks to their speed on the basepaths. [MLB]
  
• Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports gives the Rays 2/5 odds of making the playoffs. That is 3rd in the AL behind the Angels (a lock at this point) and the Red Sox. [Yahoo! Sports]
• ESPN is running one of their silly "Sports Nation" specials looking at the all time best player for each team. They are taking votes for each team. Follow the link for your chance to vote for the Rays' all-time greatest player...It is pretty sad when Roberto Hernandez is considered one of the five best Rays in franchise history. And it might seem silly, but one could make an argument that Evan Longoria is already the best player in franchise history. [ESPN]
• Reader J.J. pointed us to this auction for the game-used uniforms and equipment from the Rays turn-back-the-clock game recently in which the Rays donned the threads of the St. Pete Pelicans. [MLB]
  

THE GOOD: Ben Zobrist. In the second inning, BenZo made a Jason Bartlett-esque play in the hole, turning and making a one-hop throw to first for the out. Later, with the Rays trailing 1-0 in the 7th and one of the game's best pitchers on the mound, Eric Hinske drew a walk on a 2-out, 3-2 check swing that very easily could have been ruled a strike out. Zobrist followed with a home run to give the Rays the lead for good, and saved the Rays from having to deal with questions of an extended losing streak...James Shields came out with a chip on his shoulder and proved once again that he is the Rays stopper. His one blemish was a long home run, which he is prone to give up. But you just have to hope they happen with the bases empty and last night that was the case...Grant Balfour came on in the 8th and after falling behind Alex Rios 3-0, he came back and struck him out to end the inning. In the 9th inning, he struck out 2 for the save...Eric Hinske saved a potential run-scoring opportunity when he made a running grab for the second out of the first inning.

THE BAD: The Rays had first and second with no outs in their half of the first when BJ Upton was caught looking on a belt-high fastball for the first out. One out later, Evan Longoria would strike out on a pitch in the dirt...BJ Upton had an awful game at the plate. After going down in the first with his bat on his shoulder, with a pitch he would normally plant in the right-center bleachers, he struck out in the 3rd. This time he swung the bat, but was horribly late on the fastball. Upton is a player with some the quickest wrists in baseball and should never get beat by a fastball. Right now, he has no confidence and is at the plate hoping for breaking balls that he can handle...In the 3rd inning, Carl Crawford broke his 0-26 skid and then promptly got picked off first base.

THE TELLING: We will never know for certain, but Ben Zobrist's home run may have saved the Rays' season. Imagine if the Rays lose that game at home to a mediocre opponent, without scoring a run, and extending their losing streak to 8 games into the second-half of the season. That would be tough to come back from for a young team...If you were a betting person and you were going to bet on who would be closing for the Rays in 2010, would you bet against Grant Balfour?...Scott Kazmir is now officially set to make his second-half debut on Monday. Does anybody else find it strange that Kid K needs 5 days rest after throwing 14 pitches in the All-Star game, when he would normally only need 4 days after a regular start throwing 100+ pitches?...Of Ben Zobrist's 13 hits for the Rays, 7 have been for extra-bases...Attendance was 23,706, which is a decent number against the Jays after a 7-game losing streak.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• Troy Percival says he feels "perfect" after throwing a 30-pitch batting practice session. [Tampa Tribune]
• Baseball Analysts defends Dioner Navarro as being a legit all-star. [Baseball Analysts]
  
• USA Today ran a feature story outlining the Rays' second-half quest for the playoffs. [USA Today]
• ESPN.com took a closer look at the struggles of Rocco Baldelli. The most interesting note is one we had not seen before. Apparently doctors have finally found a cocktail of medicine that has Rocco feeling better...Could Baldelli be the right handed hitting outfielder the Rays are seeking? [ESPN]
  
• Skyking162 feels Houston Street would be a perfect fit for the Rays. [Skyking162]
  

THE GOOD: Carlos Pena's solo home run with 1 out in the bottom of the 9th inning to tie the game. Could this be the moment that gets El Gato back on track? Prior to that at bat, Pena had left 2 runners on in the 1st inning, 3 in the 2nd, 1 runner in the 4th and 2 more in the 6th.

THE BAD: Evan Longoria and Dan Wheeler in the 10th inning. You absolutely cannot lose that game. You are at home, going for a sweep against an inferior ball club and Carlos Pena had just bailed you out in the bottom of the 9th. You have to shut the Royals down in the 10th and give your team a shot to win. Longoria put Wheeler in a jam right off the bat with a throwing error that left the leadoff runner on 2nd and Wheeler gave up a 3-run home run to a guy who only had 3 coming into the game. This is one of those games that if the Rays miss the playoffs by a game or 2, we will look back and cringe.

THE TELLING: In order to give BJ Upton a day off, Joe Maddon penciled Carl Crawford into center field and CC was not happy about it...Reid Brignac did not play and is 0-4 with a walk and 3 strikeouts in his brief major league career...Remember that "reasonable goal" of a .500 season (81 wins)? The Rays need to go 27-47 over the remainder of the season in order to surpass that mark...Even though Boston has a 1.5 game lead in the Wild Card, the Rays magic number over the second place Twins is also 69 (for a playoff spot) as both the Twinkies and Red Sox have the same number of losses.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• We are back, if ever so briefly. On Thursday Mrs. Prof (no longer just figuratively) and I will be on our way to the Islands for a week. There will be updates while we are gone, although we are still working on the exact details. More to come in the next day or two.
• The Rays have a 77.8% chance of making the playoffs this season. [The Heater]
  
• Al Reyes threw a simluated game and says he is ready to come off the DL. [Herald-Tribune]
  
• Dioner Navarro and Scott Kazmir were named to the AL All-Star squad and Dan Shanoff says the Rays got screwed by politics. [The Sporting News]
• Evan Longoria still has a shot to be named to the final spot on the AL roster, and is currently leading the voting. [The Heater]
  
• John Romano says that Joe Maddon should have been named an all-star coach. [St. Pete Times]
• Marc Lancaster says the Rays are more likely to make a small move before the trade deadline, rather than go after some of the big names that are being tossed around right now...We agree. As we have stated before, our prediction is Eric Hinske for a utility infielder that is an upgrade over Ben Zobrist and possibly a relief pitcher to add to the bullpen depth. [Tampa Tribune]
• The Rays appear to have interest in Brian Fuentes. Of course the Rockies want Wade Davis or Jeremy Hellickson. That doesn't mean they will get one of those top pitching prospects. [The Heater]
  
• Bill Madden says that with the Rays on top of the AL East, the Yankees and Red Sox lack the "spark" from years past. [NY Daily News]
• The New York Daily News says the Rays are the new "beasts of the AL East." [NY Daily News]
• Richard Justice says that the Rays could be even better in the second half...While there is definitely room for improvement, it will be difficult to keep up this torrid pace of wins especially with more games on the road in the second half. [Yahoo! Sports]
  
• Now that the Rays are on the lips of media outlets everywhere some are offended that the Rays are often referred to as the "Tampa Rays". [St. Pete Times]
• The Rays surpassed 1 million in attendance in their 48th game this season. That is second fastest in franchise history, out-paced only by the inaugural season. [Tampa Tribune]
• A writer for the Aspen Times says the Rays are "not yet" this year's Rockies (upstart World Series participant)...He is right. While the Rays may not make it to the World Series, this Rays squad is much better than the Rockies squad that got hot late and ran through a weak NL playoff field. [Aspen Times]
• Marc Topkin lays out 5 keys to the Rays playoff hopes. [St. Pete Times]
• Former Rays prospect Wes Bankston hit his first major league home run for the A's. [MLB]
• Former Rays GM Chuck LaMar would like to take credit for the Rays success. We don't have the energy to give this it's proper beatdown. [The Heater]
  

THE GOOD: Matt Garza. Nothing we can write will give justice to just how dominating Garza was yesterday. 108 pitches, 76 for strikes. 1 hit, 1 walk. Faced only 1 over the minimum. 7 1-2-3 innings. Garza was strike-one to 19 of 28 batters (68%). On his bad days, that number is around 40% or worse...Also, we don't won't to overlook Evan Longoria who homered and doubled twice in his first 3 at bats.

THE BAD: Marc Lancaster deciding to blog about Matt Garza's attempt at a no-hitter and then having Matt give up the no-hitter and the shutout, on the very next pitch. C'mon Marc. Let's save the Live-Blogging to the professionals...

THE TELLING: This was the Rays' 6th sweep of the season and 1st on the road...The Rays still have a 4-game lead over Oakland in the wild card. They are 4.5 up on the Twins and 5 games ahead of the Yankees. It is nice to see a 2-team bumper between the Rays and the Yankees.

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]
• Jim Hickey says that Matt Garza is capable of pitching as he did yesterday, every time he goes to the mound. [The Heater]

"The scary thing is this guy's capable of doing that time and time again," Rays pitching coach Jim Hickey said. "This isn't like some game he pitched way above and beyond what he's capable of doing. This is something, you hear people throw out (Braves great) John Smoltz and compare him to that, and you watch him do something like that, and it's not all that farfetched."

• Both Carlos Pena and Jason Bartlett are expected to be in the lineup tonight. It is expected that Ben Zobrist will be sent back to Durham. [Rays Report]
• Tribe Report believes that the Brewers and the Rays are the front-runners for CC Sabathia and they give the Rays a 40% chance of landing the lefty...Of course, losing Jake McGee to Tommy John surgery is only going to make it that much harder for the Rays to trade one of their pitching prospects. [Tribe Report]
  
• Bugs and Cranks' latest power rankings are up and the Rays remain at #2. [Bugs and Cranks]
• Fielder's Choice Baseball Card Blog has a good write-up about Josh Hamilton that sums up how we have felt about the Rays former prospect...While we root for Hamilton and he is a good story on many levels. There is most certainly a part of us that is still very angry with Hamilton for letting the organization, his potential teammates and the fans down. Say what you will about the Rays not protecting Hamilton (at the time we didn't think it was necessary), but if you are going to assign blame in this situation, Hamilton deserves far more than the Rays front office. [Fielder's Choice Baseball Blog]
  

THE GOOD: The extra-base hits are coming more frequently for Carl Crawford. Last night CC drove in 5 with a pair of home runs. He has 5 extra-base hits in his last 7 games after only having 1 in the 10 previous games. He also has 6 multi-hit games in his last 10...Every member of the Rays batting order scored a run in the Rays' 10-run 5th inning.

THE BAD: Using headlines like "Rays' 10-run fifth fuels 15-3 win over Marlins" or "Rays ride power surge" or "Rays' 10-run 5th fuels easy win over Marlins" one day after the Rays and Marlins played a carbon-neutral game. Not to mention those headlines are just unoriginal...The Rays drew 9 walks but still struck out 10 times. The Rays are 4th in the AL with 551 Ks...With Jason Bartlett away to be with his expecting wife, Ben Zobrist made the start at short, fresh off the IL disabled list. In the first two innings he made 2 errors.

THE TELLING: This was James Shields' first win in 8 starts. Apparently he just needed a little run support...Has Ben Zobrist changed his stance since we saw him last? He is very upright, with an awkward lean that we don't recall...The Rays now have a 4 game lead in the Wild Card race over the A's. Their magic number is 82.

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]
• The Rays Index Live Blog-A-Baloo of the Week will be this afternoon for the final game of the Citrus Series with the Marlins.
  
• We were a few days late, but we finally updated the Cork-Board in the sidebar. We now have updated rosters/lineups for Hudson Valley and Princeton. [Cork-Board]
• We realize that with so many topics in the "Pepper" feature it may be difficult to discuss just one or two in the comments. So we are now taking a selection of those topics and will start individual discussions on the RAYSHEADS Facebook page. As usual, feel free to comment on the post directly, but keep in mind that we do have the Facebook page if you want a more in depth discussion of just one of the topics. [RAYSHEADS on Facebook]
• Carlos Pena will play in a minor league game tonight for Vero Beach. [Rays Report]
  
• DRaysBay has an open letter to Joe Maddon questioning his move to leave Troy Percival in the game on Tuesday night...Of course Percy got the save even though he walked 4 batters. What is that old saying? "Hindsight is 20-2,000"?? [DRays Bay]
  
• Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com has listed Joe Maddon and Andrew Friedman as the first half's "Best performance by a general manager and manager". [ESPN]

Maddon creates a productive environment for young players by giving them the freedom to fail, provided their mistakes are aggressive. He's shown he won't back down from the Yankees or the Red Sox, no matter how daunting their mystique, and lately it seems he's had a knack for pushing the right buttons...Friedman is building an impressive body of work with assistance from consigliere Gerry Hunsicker. With the exception of Josh Hamilton's departure through the Rule 5 draft, it's hard to find a blemish on his résumé. In the past year alone, Friedman has made moves to fortify the Tampa bullpen (Troy Percival), defense (shortstop Jason Bartlett), starting rotation (Garza) and bench (Gross and Willy Aybar). In Tampa these days, nobody is lamenting the departures of Delmon Young and Elijah Dukes...Three years into his tenure with Tampa Bay, Friedman's résumé is starting to look like one giant heist fest.

• The Rays and Pirates will wear Negro League throwback unis on Saturday night. The Rays will sport the threads of the Jacksonville Redcaps. [UNIWATCH]
  
• We are not the only fans that are a miffed by BJ Upton's play in the outfield recently. Rays the Stakes says Upton is the sole inhabitant of "Lazy-Town". [Rays the Stakes]
• Bugs and Cranks calls in the experts to analyze the fuzz on Andy Sonnanstine's face. [Bugs and Cranks]