THE GOOD: Andy Sonnanstine. All The Duke does is win, improving to 13-6 on the season. Show of hands: Who thought Sonny would be leading the Rays in wins in the middle of August? Put your damn hands down. Of course, Duke did his best Scott Kazmir impersonation last night, lasting only one out into the 6th inning and needing 104 pitches to get there...Joe Maddon's use of Trever Miller. Miller was signed to be 1 or 2 batter per game lefty specialist. In his first 52 appearances this season, Miller faced more than 2 batters 26 times. That is not necessarily Papa Joe's fault. Injuries have forced him to alter his ideal bullpen. But in the last two games, Miller has faced 3 batters, including his 1 out performance last night, coming on getting the all-important leadoff hitter in the 8th inning...With Jason Hammel doing his best job trying to give us a heart attack, Jason Bartlett started a georgeous double-play, going up the middle behind the bag and back-handing the ball to Aki Iwamura who stepped back out of the path of the runner and fired a one-hopper to Carlos Pena who made a slick scoop to end the inning and the threat, preserving a 5-4 lead...Sac Bunts and ignoring signs. The Rays are last in baseball in sac bunts, yet, with a 5-4 lead in the 8th and Justin Ruggiano on first and no outs, Dioner Navarro bunted Ruggy to second. Gabe Gross followed with a single in which Ruggiano ran through Tom Foley's stop sign to score the Rays' 6th run and give the Rays a little breathing room.

THE BAD: There was a big difference between BJ Upton's baserunning gaffe last night and the incidents that led to his benching this past weekend. Upton who hit what should have been an easy double, got caught jogging into an uncovered second base, when Mark Teixeira came from behind to field a throw and tag Upton out. According to Joe Maddon (and we agree), this was "not a lack of effort." Rather it was "a mental mistake." That doesn't make it OK, but does explain why Upton will not be disciplined...Our stress level. Jason Hammel relieved Trever Miller with 1 out and nobody on in the 8th inning with the Rays nursing a 5-4 lead. Hammel walked the first batter and then settled down to retire the next 2 to get out of the inning. But, just seeing Hammel in that situation gives us agida. And he needed the double-play to survive. It has been a while since we needed to take Papa Joe Behind the woodshed, but if Hammel blows that lead...

THE TELLING: With 4 teams still in contention for 3 playoff spots, the Rays now have a 6-game cushion over the 4th team, the Twins. The Rays magic number for the playoffs is 33. The Rays are also now only 1 game back in the loss column behind the Angels for the best record in baseball.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• As of last night, the Rays are planning on playing tonight's game, but are obviously monitoring the situation with Tropical Storm Fay very closely. [The Heater]
• Cliff Floyd said that BJ Upton's baserunning brainfart made "his heart hurt," and added that Joe Maddon doesn't need to address the situation because the players will take care of it. [MLB]

"You've got a guy who, in my opinion, is going to be different," Floyd said. "I'm going to put my butt on the line by saying that. I'm going to do everything possible, and I think everybody in here is going to do everything possible to make sure it don't happen again. It's not in Joe's hands anymore. It's not in anybody else's hands but ours as players."

• Troy Percival will not need arthroscopic surgery on his knee. Even without the surgery, he is still scheduled to be out 2-4 weeks. [Rays Report]
• Tony Massarotti of the Boston Herald calls the Red Sox a "mystery", saying that "suddenly, [the postseason] doesn't seem so certain," and that we "don't know a thing about these Red Sox yet." [Boston Herald]
• Brittany Ghiroli reports that Evan Longoria is progressing well and is still on schedule to return to the Rays on or around Sept. 1. [MLB]
  
• Al Reyes has cleared waivers and declined a minor league assignment. He is now a free agent. [The Heater]
• Rocco Baldelli who played the field in 2 of his first 3 games, said it was not easy on his body. [MLB]

"It was something I hadn't done yet. It was difficult, not going to say it was easy, but I came out of it feeling good."

• The Rays make a return appearance at The Dugout with Barry Bonds trying to convince Joe Maddon to give him a job, any job. [Fanhouse]
  
• Her Rays thinks Grant Balfour may need to visit the same psychologist that helped Matt Garza. [Her Rays]
  
• The odds of the Rays winning the World Series has dropped from 65:1 in the spring to 3:1 now. [Gambling911]
  

THE GOOD: Cliff Floyd's knees. Somehow Floyd's legs were still intact after the game, despite having to run the bases a whopping 5 times. Twice Floyd had to score all the way from first base on extra-base hits by Willy Aybar. Floyd scored 4 runs in total.

THE BAD: James Shields. Shields walked a season-high 5 batters in only 5 innings...The Bullpen. No they were actually pretty good yesterday. Even though Grant Balfour blew the save after relieving the injured Troy Percival, as a group they only allowed 2 runs (1 earned) in 7 innings. However, Joe Maddon had to use his entire bullpen, all 7 relief pitchers, to get through the extra-inning affair. And while they performed well, some will be tired tonight in Texas and some may be unavailable. That puts a lot of pressure on Matt Garza tonight to work deep into the game...BJ Upton's absolute lack of any baseball instincts on the basepaths. In the first inning, with Upton on first, Carlos Pena flied out to deep right-center. Upton thought the ball would drop and took off, rounding second on his way to third. When he realized the ball was caught, he ran straight back to first base without even pretending to touch second base on the way. Upton was doubled-up on the appeal.

THE TELLING: Paul Byrd will make his Red Sox debut tonight. They might score 19 runs and win, but it won't be because of Byrd.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• Troy Percival was once again injured during a play. This time he fielded a sac bunt and rather than flip it first base for the out, he instead chased the runner into foul territory, spraining his knee. Marc Topkin reported Percival was on crutches last night and is likely headed to the DL after further evaluation today. [The Heater]
• Carl Crawford had sugery on his injured finger yesterday and it "went well". [MLB]
  
• MLBTradeRumors takes a look at some of the waiver-wire possibilities for the Rays. Does Rich Aurelia get anybody excited? [MLBTradeRumors]
• Looks like the Pirates might not be able to sign Pedro Alvarez prior to Friday's deadline. If that happens, there won't be any second-guessing on the Rays' selection of Tim Beckham. The sticking point appears to be a spot on the 40-man roster, which of course would move Alvarez closer to the majors and free agency. [MLBTradeRumors]
  
• This should about seal the Mets fate...And by fate we of course mean death. [MetsBlog]
• Bob Nightengale agrees with us that the Yankees are roadkill...OK. Not the word he used, but close enough. [USA Today]
  

Oakland 2, Tampa Bay Rays 1. (Sorry. The standings/schedule widget called in sick today. Should be back tomorrow)

THE GOOD: Scott Kazmir. We really don't want to put Kaz here, but we are trying to find something positive from last night. Anything. And Kid K has been so bad, that last night actually seemed pretty good. But SWEET FANCY MOSES! How in the H-E-DOUBLE HOCKEY STICKS does a "good" starting pitcher last only 5 innings when he only gave up 2 hits and 2 walks? He actually had three 1-2-3 innings, allowing only 5 baserunners, and yet he still needed 97 pitches. That doesn't even make sense.

THE BAD: That was as pathetic a loss as we have seen all year. Did the Rays play a throwback game without telling anybody? Give those guys some green unis and we'd swear that was the '02 Devil Rays. The Rays absolutely looked and played like a little league team last night. Exhibit A: Top of the 5th, the Rays have runners on first and second with no outs, down 2-1. Ben Zobrist makes the first out on what we assume was a safety squeeze. It was difficult to tell for sure. If it was a suicide squeeze, he took off too late. If it was a safety squeeze he took off too soon. If it was neither, Akinori Iwamura is an idiot. With Jason Bartlett now on second base, he was picked off for the second out. Mercilessly killing the rally. Exhibit B: Top of the 8th, 1 out, Willy Aybar on first base. Eric Hinske hits a lazy flyball to left field. Not good, but not terrible. Ahhh, but Aybar, who is now apparently so paranoid about not running hard, took off sprinting, rounding second and on his way to third. He was easily doubled-up, forgetting the number of outs. Exhibit C: The Rays were 2-11 with runners in scoring position, with 3 Ks.

THE TELLING: Gary Sheffield and Barry Bonds. Now that Carl Crawford will likely miss the rest of the regular season, we are more luke-warm to the idea of Bonds playing for the Rays, but we still put the chances of actually happening somewhere south of 1%. The other name making the circles now is Sheffield, who was placed on waivers by the Tigers. It would be very unlikely for the Rays to put in a claim on Sheffield, even if they would like to work out a trade. The risk for the Rays is for the Tigers to not pull Sheffield back from waivers. There is a good chance the Tigers would just let the Rays take Sheffield and his '09 salary of $14MM without asking for anything in return. If we were still in July, the Rays could work a trade in which the Tigers pay a good chunk of that salary....The Red Sox traded for veteran Paul Byrd, adding to an already deep pitching staff...

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• Carl Crawford has elected to have surgery on his finger and will be sidelined 6-8 weeks. There are 6.5 weeks remaining in the regular season. Andrew Friedman said if everything went well, he could play again in the regular season...It sounds like there is a good chance CC would be available should the Rays make the playoffs. [Tampa Tribune]
  
• The Rays are now hoping that Jason Bartlett, one of the weakest hitting DH's in baseball history, will be able to play SS this Friday. The Rays are also hoping that Evan Longoria, who did not have a broken wrist, but actually did, will be back in the lineup on Sept 1. [MLB]

When asked if Sept. 1 seemed like a reasonable projection for Longoria's return, Friedman answered: "Yeah, that seems reasonable. We'll re-X-ray it and go through that process again. I think it's very reasonable as we're sitting here today. But as everybody knows, bones heal at different paces, and it's too hard to say definitively at this point."

• Joe Maddon plans to use Justin Ruggiano (LF) and Rocco Baldelli (RF) against lefties while Eric Hinske and Gabe Gross will play against righties. Papa Joe also said Willy Aybar will be at 3B most days, but we can also expect to see Ben Zobrist and/or Eric Hinske at the hot corner. [St. Pete Times]
• Cliff Floyd says the biggest concern with all the injuries is the danger of the rest of the players trying to do too much. [Tampa Tribune]

"I just hope we don't all try to jump on that ship and go, 'It's me - let me be the man to take over,'" said Floyd. "No. Let's just stay within ourselves like we are and just keep it chill on the field...We all know how important those guys were. I mean, hell, you ain't going to replace them, no matter who you bring up or who you get, unless you go out and get one of the best players of the game. And you're still not replacing them because those guys are part of this team."

• Andy Sonnanstine, who grew a beard in support of Rocco Baldelli, is now clean-shaven, as is Rocco, now that Rocco has finally returned to the roster...While Rocco's "Lumberjack" look will be missed, The Duke's fuzz will not. [Bradenton Herald]
• Marc Lancaster agrees that Gary Sheffield does not seem like a good fit for the Rays. [Rays Report]
  

THE GOOD: The loss of Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria to the DL was relieved a little on Sunday when Rocco Baldelli was activated from the DL and made the start in right field. He played the first 5 innings, before being replaced by Gabe Gross. It was Rocco's first game since May of '07 and he drove in a run, going 1-4...The Rays now have a 95.9% chance of making the playoffs. That is a big number folks. At the other end of the spectrum, the Yankees now have a 6.0% chance at a playoff slot. They have dropped 13.7% in the past week. We love a world in which the Rays are in the playoffs and the Yankees are not.

THE BAD: A Monday without "The Hangover". You can file your complaints at JetBlue.com.

THE TELLING: Willy Aybar will be the starting third baseman tonight and Justin Ruggiano will get the start in left...Sunday's win, the Rays' 71st of the season, set the franchise record for wins in a season...The Rays magic number to clinch a playoff berth is 40.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• Carl Crawford, placed on the DL this weekend with an injured finger, had his finger examined by a hand-specialist. The Rays are expected to know more today. There are some concerns that he could be lost for the rest of the season. [MLB]
• Evan Longoria was placed on the DL with a broken wrist after being hit bay a pitch last week. Initial x-rays were negative. A second-opinion revealed the break. He is expected to be out 2-3 weeks. [MLB]
  
• Scott Kazmir made an adjustment to his mechanics that he hopes will help with his delivery tonight. [St. Pete Times]
• The injuries to Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria certainly pose a challenge for the Rays, but trips to the DL are nothing knew for this squad and Andrew Friedman notes that the Rays did not get where they are this season because of any one player. [Bradenton Herald]
• Martin Fennelly has a column about how tough the loss of Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria is going to be on the Rays...Does anybody else have a tough time reading Fennelly when he writes a column with 25 1-sentence paragraphs? We always get flashbacks to 9th grade English and bad poetry. [Tampa Tribune]
• Last month David Ortiz predicted that the Rays lack of experience would catch up to them. This month he is singing a different tune. [Boston Herald]
  
• Marc Topkin feels that a decision has already been made for David Price to be promoted to the Rays at some point this season. The question now is only whether he will be a starter or a reliever. Topkin notes that if Price is used as a starter (Price's preference) it could anger players in the clubhouse if Edwin Jackson or Andy Sonnanstine need to be bumped from the rotation. [St. Pete Times]
• Larry Stone of the Seattle Times compares the '08 Rays to several other teams that enjoyed sudden success after years of losing. [Seattle Times]
  
• Chad Bradford finally arrived to the Rays clubhouse in Seattle on Saturday afternoon after a whirlwind few days of cross-country flights. [Tampa Tribune]
• Joe Maddon speaks about altering his approach this season to how he handles his players both behind the scenes and in the public eye. He notes that this year the team is in a position where he can make a difference with a more critical, disciplined approach. [Tampa Tribune]
• A blogger interviews Cliff Floyd. [Eli's MLB Rumors]
  
• Baseball Digest Daily calls the Rays one of "10 Things To Watch for the Remainder of the 2008 MLB Season." They are the only team on the list. [Baseball Digest Daily]
• Marc Topkin has some notes about the '09 schedule (opening day, interleague, etc.). [St. Pete Times]
• Mike Francesa of "Mike and the Mad Dog" in New York City, has been dismissive of the Rays all season, saying that he wouldn't acknowledge the Rays until August. One blogger wonders why Mike is still not talking about the Rays. [Mike and the Mad Blog]
• Brittany Ghiroli tells how Grant Balfour only stumbled upon baseball as a child in Australia and says his fire and emotion come from his homeland and his father. [MLB]
  

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]

THE GOOD: Carl Crawford and the Royals defense. With 2 outs and Aki Iwamura on first, BJ Upton hit a lazy bloop to shallow right field that fell in for a double. Aki should have scored, but was held up at third. CC then hit a flyball in foul territory down the left field line that was dropped before hitting his 2nd triple of the game to drive in 2 and give the Rays the lead...Carlos Pena homered for the second straight night.

THE BAD: Troy Percival was shaky again, allowing 2 hits and a run. But he did seem to have a little more life on his fastball and he was finding the strikezone. In his previous 2 starts, he threw 29 pitches, only 14 were strikes. Last night it was 14 of 22.

THE TELLING: If there is still any lingering doubt that Joe Maddon has not turned the corner this season, then take this quote from last night in reference to the bloop double from BJ Upton:

“We should have scored on the bloop,” Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. “That was the wrong part about it. We got a break, and then Carl had to come up with a triple to take advantage of the break that should have been taken advantage of prior to that. If we are going to win this thing, we can’t make plays like that. We have to beat everybody to the punch. We just got lucky tonight.”

Keep in mind that both Aki Iwamura and BJ Upton would later score on a triple by Carl Crawford. And yet, Papa Joe takes either Aki or third-base coach Tom Foley to task for not scoring earlier. And Maddon is right. With two outs Aki has to try and score in that situation.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• As usual, Outs Per Swing has a nice roundup of the recent trade rumblings involving the Rays. [Outs Per Swing]
• Did he? Yes. Yes he did...This should be exhibit one when people ask why writers don't write their own headlines. *shaking head in shame* [Rays Report]
• Not to be outdone by Marc Lancaster's headline writing skills, Marc Topkin wonders what the Rays would look like as a football team...RAYSHEADS...This is your PAID Tampa Bay Rays media coverage. [St. Pete Times]
  
• Cliff Floyd's wife gave birth to a daughter on Saturday...Our congrats and best wishes. [MLB]
• The Rays are now just 10 wins shy of breaking the franchise record for wins in a season. Bugs and Cranks will be counting down, and in doing, will compare this season's 61st win with every 61st win in franchise history. [Bugs and Cranks]
  
• To say that TBSB is unhappy with BJ Upton would be an understatement. [Tampa Bay Sports Blog]
  

According to John Heyman of ESPN.com, Cliff Floyd indicated that he will likely retire following this season.

The Rays don't have a set starting right fielder, but the lefthanded-hitting Eric Hinske (11 home runs, 31 RBI) has done a nice job as part of a rotation, and a righthanded hitter might actually be a better fit. Veteran Cliff Floyd (.250, 5 HRs) has been solid serving as the lefthanded DH for the Rays but is injury prone and has been held out of the lineup in recent days. Floyd said earlier this year he's pretty sure this will be his last season.

Floyd signed with the Rays as a free agent this past off-season with a 1-year, $2.75 million deal. The Rays do have a team option for '09 at the same price. However, the buyout is a manageable $250K, so it will be very easy for both sides to just walk away. In fact, one would have to think that the Rays would consider the move even if Floyd does choose to play in '09. For all his leadership attributes, Floyd has only played in 24 of the Rays 68 games, having missed more than a month with knee surgery.

As a potential replacement, Jayson Stark suggested Ken Griffey Jr, noting that the Reds may prefer to trade Giffey, but might not find any suitors this season and are not likely to pick up his $16.5 million '09 option.

But if you're looking for a destination Griffey could land in next year, once there are no worries about surrendering prospects or picking up a $16-million contract, here's a club we've started to hear some guesswork about: Tampa Bay. The Trop is an easy commute from Griffey's home in Orlando. It's a fun team on the rise, with a chance to win. And it's an AL team that could mix in some DH-ing opportunities. So why not? "If I were them, I think it would be a great move," said one veteran baseball man. "You run him out there with his big smile and his sweet swing, and it's a drawing card. And even if he's slipped, you're putting another left-handed bat in the middle of that lineup. Could be scary."

Heyman responded today by suggesting that the Rays and Reds would make excellent trade partners this season.

Those who know Ken Griffey Jr. know that nothing is more important than family to the newest member of baseball's 600-home run club. Now Griffey, a longtime resident of the Orlando, Fla. area, is telling friends he's monitoring the surprising Tampa Bay Rays as a possible destination for him, should the Reds decide to deal him.

Griffey, 39, has a no-trade clause but has told intimates that if the Rays stay in the race, he'd consider waiving his veto power to go home. Or close to home, anyway. Tampa is much nearer his Orlando area residence than any other big-league city. Griffey's tony Isleworth community is about an hour from St. Petersburg, where the Rays play.

The biggest issue is of course money. Griffey still has about $7 million coming to him from his $12.5 million '08 salary. His '09 option has a $4 million buyout.

If the Rays were to trade for Griffey, it would in all likelihood require the Reds to pay a chunk of his remaining '08 salary. In addition, the Rays and Griffey would probably need to rework his '09 contract into a guaranteed salary at a lower rate. However, Griffey may only be willing to do that if the Rays agree to add a guaranteed second year to the deal.

The other issue of course is whether Griffey represents a significant enough upgrade over Floyd, Eric Hinske and Gabe Gross. With the opportunity to DH, Griffey could conceivably have an opportunity to play in more games which could allow him to rediscover his stroke. Depending on the price, that could be too much risk for what ultimately may only be a marginal upgrade statistically.

On the other hand, the chance to put one of the game's most loved faces in a Rays' uniform and his name written into the lineup every night, could make a significant impact at the turntiles.

While the idea of Griffey to the Rays is an intriguing one, we have to wonder how Griffey would hold up unless he was a DH on most days. We have already seen the effect of the Trop's artificial surface on Carl Crawford's knee.

Would Griffey consider being dealt to surprising Rays? [ESPN]
The life of a manager can be a whirlwind [ESPN]
Crawford wouldn't mind DH at times [MLB]

THE GOOD: James Shields faced only one over the minimum in 6 of the 8 innings he pitched. That's it. That's the only good thing we could come up with...Oh, and Evan Longoria had 2 doubles, responsible for half of the Rays' hits.

THE BAD: Jered Weaver? Unfortunately for the Rays, Weaver pulls one of these out of his ass once a month. In 3 previous starts this season he had thrown at least 7 shutout innings with 3 hits or fewer and yet he still had an ERA closer to 5 than 4...The top 4 hitters in the lineup were a combined 1-14 with 4 strikeouts and a walk.

THE TELLING:The Rays will go for the series win today. On the season the Rays are 12-6-3 in series. Only 4 teams have a better series mark, including the best mark of 15-3-3 by the Angels. The Rays won only 14 series in '07, and have not won a series in Anaheim since '99...All 5 teams in the AL East are over .500.

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]
• Cliff Floyd has not started the last 4 games and Joe Maddon says he is just going with the "hot bats". Floyd is 1-12 on the road trip. [MLB]
• Troy Percival threw 30 pitches to Jonny Gomes in a simulated game and is now ready to be activated Friday. [St. Pete Times]
  
• Playing on the Trop's artificial surface has been troublesome for Carl Crawford's sore knee and likes the idea of playing one or two nights of homestands as the Rays' DH. [MLB]
  
• An Angels draftee is reminding some in Nebraska of Carl Crawford. [Husker Extra]
• The Rays announced contracts with six of their draft picks, none from the first 10 ten rounds. [Rays Report]
  

THE GOOD: Evan Longoria, Willy Aybar and Dioner Navarro. Not only did they hit back-to-back-to-back and belly-to-belly-to-belly home runs in the 2nd inning for the first time in franchise history, but the trio went a combined 9-13 with 3 doubles, 4 home runs and 9 RBI...The Rays managed only 2 walks, but they made starter Joe Saunders work all night. Not even able to finish the 5th inning, Saunders threw 102 pitches, or more than 4 pitches per batter he faced...The Rays scored all 5 runs in the 5th inning on 2 outs...Edwin Jackson. This is why we couldn't feel too bad after Troy Percival blew 2 of Jackson's wins earlier this year. Jackson did not have his best stuff last night, but got plenty of run support and picked up a W he didn't earn. Jackson's biggest moment was facing the Angels top of the order in the bottom of the 5th after the Rays gave him the lead. That is easiest time to let up and let a team back into the game. Jackson put them down 1-2-3 on just 8 pitches.

THE BAD: We knew it was late, when in the 9th inning, we were actually considering that Dioner Navarro needed a triple for the cycle. When the lateness was conbined with enough beer, we actually yelled at Navi to "RUN!" when he hit a ball down the right field line only to realize as he was rounding first base that he is still "The Fat Catcher".

THE TELLING: According to the Angels radar gun, Edwin Jackson was still hitting 99 in the 6th inning...BJ Upton only had to work a half-day, working as the DH with Justin Ruggiano playing center field...The Rays extended their lead over the A's in the wild card to 3.5 games, 6 over New York, Toronto and Baltimore.

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]
• There were no fines or suspensions or even reprimands given out by the Rays to Matt Garza or Dioner Navarro after their scuffle on Sunday. Joe Maddon says everything has been worked out and Navi will catch The Garza Complex in his next start on Saturday.
• Probably not a coincidence that every team Cliff Floyd joins goes from perrenial losers to winners, and often the change is overnight. We are fairly certain that Andrew Friedman and Co. were aware of this. And this is why we call him Dr. Huxtable, due to his calming influence of the younglings...Of course, a Devil's Advocate would say those teams were all on the verge and Floyd is often considered a "final piece of the puzzle" and just happens to join these squads when they are about to break out. [MetsBlog]
  
• Rocco Baldelli was 1-4 in his latest extended spring game. He is expected to participate in one more and then he will likely join Vero Beach for an extended rehab assignment. [St. Pete Times]
• The future Mrs. Evan Longoria? [armchairgm]
  

DRG here again to get you through the weekend. I can be reached here..

The Good: The call by the White Sox announcers on Cliff Floyd's walk-off home run to lead off the 9th inning. "That ball hit way back...DeWayne Wise at the fence...jumps...AND MAKES THE CATCH...no...that ball is outta here and this ball game is over." For the record, Wise missed that ball by about 8 feet. I mean he was in the neighborhood, but anybody with a pulse knew he didn't catch it. Hawk Harrelson is such a homer, that he wishes the ball into White Sox gloves.

The Bad: Rays got the first 2 batters on in the 1st inning. What are the chances of BJ Upton grounding into a double-play with Carl Crawford on first? If they play together for the next 10 years, I would be surprised if it happens 5 more times...Hawk Harrelson's grandson proposed to his girlfriend at the game. Hawk knew it was going to happen and made sure the camera's were focused on his grandson so all the friends and family could watch back home. Why do guys think this is OK? For those of you that are yet to propose...TRUST ME...they want a private moment. Just the two of you. She doesn't want to share this with your grandfather or thousands of people on the big screen or the little screen at home.

The Telling: How fast is Carl Crawford? In the 9th inning somebody hit a line drive down the left field line that was 15 feet foul and with CC playing pulled over to left-center. There shoudn't have even been a play, but Crawford actually dove for the ball. He missed it. But he and NOBODY else would have even been close to the ball.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA...

• Tyler Hissey from Rays Digest will be on 1220 AM talk radio today at 3:40 to discuss the Rays. [Rays Digest]
• Marc Lancaster takes a none too subtle shot at Rays fans and their lack of support for the Rays. Tonight's game is a near-sellout and Lancaster attributes it all to the post-game concert, and the the apparent eager anticipation of people that will go to the game just to get their free trucker hat. According to Lancaster, 10,000 people will be there for baseball and 20,000 people will be there for a few country songs and a free trucker hat. [Rays Report]
• I wasn't the only one that thought Hawk Harrelson's call on Cliff Floyd's home run was atrocious. UmpBump has a link to the video with the call. [UmpBump]
• UmpBump also has a post comparing Dioner Navarro to Tony Gwynn and shows why this season might not be a fluke. [UmpBump]
  
• Could David Price still be in the plans for the Rays this season? As a Joba Chamberlain-type?...Interesting idea, but I have to think that there is a better chance of Wade Davis or Jake McGee being called up as a dominant 8th inning guy. [Outs Per Swing]
  
• Mayor Rick Baker and the city of St. Pete have recommended to the city council that they vote for the new stadium on June 5. This is just the first step in the process to put the new stadium on the ballot in November. [Ballpark Frankness]
  

DRG here again to get you through the weekend. I can be reached here..

• The Good: Best. Rays. Game. Ever...James Shields, 1 hit and one controversial hit batter short of a perfect game...Evan Longoria a 2-run walk-off home run with 1 out in the bottom of the 9th...Diving catches from Carl Crawford and BJ Upton...And let me point out one at bat at this point. Gabe Gross leading off the bottom of the 8th, may have been the best at bat I have seen from a Rays hitter this season. Gross had in mind getting on base at any cost. He was taking until he had a strike. He got ahead 2-0 before the first called strike. A foul ball on the next pitch and it was 2-2. Outside of the first pitch, everything was up-and-away. On the 5th pitch he fouled off a tough fastball. Next pitch he laid off a fastball off the plate. He then fouled off another fastball away. The 8th pitch was in very much the same spot as the last pitch, and Gross drove the pitch to left-center for a double. He didn't score, but that at bat sold me on Gabe Gross.
  
• The Bad: Did you guys see Joe Magrane's suit? Pinstripes with a diagonal striped tie. Doesn't he know that diagonal stripes clash with Dwayne Staats hair?...
  
• The Telling: James Shields only needed 92 pitches to pitch the 1-hit shutout. If the Rays do not score in the bottom of the 9th, Shields would have come out for the 10th inning...In his last 2 starts at home, James Shields has thrown 2 shutouts. In those two starts combined, 3 hits, 1 walk, 15 strikeouts...The Rays are 2 games back in the wild card chase...With the Rays winning this year, these out of division games have a different feel. In years past, I would look forward to these series, because I got a chance to watch some other teams and it was a respite from the grind that is the AL East. This year, I find myself dreading out of division series. The Rays are good, and I want every game to be a divisional rival.
  

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA...

• My fellow RAYSHEADS, you have been heard. Nathan Haynes has been DFA'd. The move comes with the Rays activating Cliff Floyd from the DL. [Rays Report]
• The Rays effort last night inspired the poetic side of Her Rays. [Her Rays]
  
• The Mockingbord takes a look at Troy Percival's pitches from Thursday when he blew a 3-run lead in the 9th. [The Mockingbird]
• Fire Joe Morgan questions why the Rays are on the list of the 10 worst franchises, considering that the team looks pretty darned good this year. [Fire Joe Morgan]
• Rays of Light argues that the Rays should no longer seek outside help for the lineup noting that the Rays are ahead of schedule and should just play out the 2008 season as is. [Rays of Light]