1 Sox, 0 Rays

Thank God for Dustin Pedroia because I did not want to stay up any longer to be honest. It was 16 innings, 5 hours long and once Papelbon closed the door in the 16th, I could finally go to sleep.

This game shouldn't have gone this long to begin with, 1st the Tampa Bay relievers walked 10 batters, and in the 9th A Gon popped out in a clutch situation and in 10th he grounded out to the shift.

Josh Reddick made a stellar catch in the 10th robbing Justin Ruggiano that certainly would have been an extra base hit.

Josh Beckett and Jeff Niemann both looked great, giving up a combined 3 hits over 8 innings apiece. It's good to see Beckett is over that devastating "knee injury".

Red Sox @ Rays Preview

Thank God that All-Star break is over. I really couldn't care less about the HR Derby, who did and didn't show, or the All-Star game itself, so I am ready for the 2nd half to get going. Tonight be get Andrew Miller against David Price.

Tampa Bay has taken three of the first five games with Boston, one of them coming when David Price won 3-2 at Fenway after allowing two runs in 7 2/3 innings. Price is one of the best left handers in baseball, but is having a little bit of a down year by his standards. He is only 8-7 on the year and has an ERA of 3.70. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but I guess we are just spoiled of what he can do.

Miller hasn't lost as a member of the Red Sox. He is 3-0 with a 3.57 ERA, and has been a very nice surprise especially with all the injuries the Sox have had to deal with. The one thing I would like to see from Miller is him getting deeper into games. So far this season he has yet to make it past the 6 innings marker. That can come in time though.

Boston has won six of the last nine meetings in Tampa. Even though they are going against an ace tonight I think Boston will win, as they seem to play up when the chips are stacked against them.

Red Sox win 5-4
Player of the Game: Pedroia
Game starts at 7:10pm

4 Sox, 2 Rays

The good news is that Adrian Gonzalez, David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia and Darnell McDonald all knocked in runs and the Red Sox won again. The bad news is that Clay Buchholz left the game in the 5th after giving up 2 hits, 1 run and only threw 81 pitches. Daniel Bard retired all four batters he faced and closer Jonathan Papelbon worked through a ninth-inning jam to earn his 13th save in 14 opportunities.

The Sox got to David Price early as they seemed to have men on bases the 1st couple innings, but he was able to straighten out and only let up 3 earned runs.

I don't know the extent of Buchholz injury but lets hope he's ok, because the Sox can't afford another starter to go on the DL.

Red Sox @ Rays Preview

Lost in all the awesomeness of the Bruins last night was Beckett's almost perfect game. Boston's offense didn't really hit their stride once again last night, and it could be even thougher tonight as Buchholz goes again David Price.

Price is 3-1 with a 2.54 ERA in four starts versus Boston. He is one of the toughest lefties in the majors, and the Sox could have trouble with him tonight. Buchholz has had a hell of a career against the Rays going 3-2 with a 1.81 ERA, and has allowed three earned runs over 25 1/3 innings in his last four starts against the Rays.

Boston seems to play better when they are going against the best pitchers in the MLB. I think that continues tonight, and Sox get it down.

Red Sox win 6-3
Player of the Game: Pedroia
Game starts at 7:10pm

3 Sox, 0 Rays

Tim Thomas wasn't the only person who was shutting down a team last night, Josh Beckett pitched a hell of a game himself, 9 innings, 1 hit and 6 ks. Beckett was spectacular and is making an EARLY case for Cy Young considerations as he dropped his ERA to 1.86. Beckett picked up his sixth win and stuck out six Rays in the win.

Youk hit a 3 run bomb and that was pretty much all that happened. Beckett has been unstoppable.

Red Sox @ Rays Preview

The Sox blew that game last night. They had all the chances in the world, and they blew it. It looked like more of the team we saw in the beginning of the year, then the one we had been seeing recently. Obviously, you can't get too worked up since they are 9-1 in their last 10, but it was annoying.

Tonight, no one will be watching with the Bruins on, but it is a pretty good pitching matchup with Beckett going against Jeremy Hellickson. Hellickson is having a very nice rookie campaign for himself (7-4 with a 3.03 ERA), but he is coming off a rough outing against the Baltimore letting up 5 runs on 7 hits in 5 2/3 innings. The 24 year old has played the Sox once before and won going 5 1/3 innings allowing two runs.

Beckett has been the ace of the Sox staff. He might only have 5 wins, but he has the lowest ERA (2.06) in the MLB. Pretty impressive for a guy we were all worrying about before the season started. He improved to improved to 3-1 with a 1.81 ERA in his last seven starts letting up just 2 runs in 7 innings against the Yankees.

Beckett has been rolling and I don't see the Sox offense making the same mistakes tonight.

Sox win 6-1
Player of the Game: Beckett
Game starts at 7:10pm

4 Rays, 0 Sox

Tim Wakefield has been exceeding expectations since joining the starting rotation. He keeps the game within striking distance and gives the bullpen a decent rest. He went 7 innings and only gave up 2 runs. I don't fully understand why they are replacing him with Andrew Miller next week. Last night we have seen we saw something we haven't seen in a while, the Sox bats go quite. James Shields pitched a masterful game as he went the distance and struck out 5.

This game was pretty boring and was wrapped up in under 2 hours and 30 minutes.

The Sox are 0-3 against the Rays.

Red Sox @ Rays Preview

The Red Sox are 0-2 against the Rays this year, but haven't played them since April, and man have things changed. The Sox are riding a 9 game winning streak in which they are averaging 9.2 runs per game. That's just silly.

The Rays are no pushovers though and tonight it could be very tough to get to 10-0. The Rays have James Shields on the mound and even though his record is 5-4 he has an incredibly impressive ERA of 2.85 and 93 Ks in 94.2 innings. Shields hasn't had much success against the Sox (5-9 with a 5.17 ERA), and the Rays just don't seem to score when he is on the mound (AL-low average 1.19 runs of support at home).

Wake is on the hill for the Sox, and he has been everything they have been looking for in a 5th starter. The ageless knuckleballer is 3-0 with a 4.32 ERA in his last four starts. You really can't ask for much more then that.

Obviously the big story line is it's Crawford's first game back in Tampa. I think he has a strong game, and Ortiz and Gonzalez keep raking.

Red Sox win 7-5
Player of the Game: Ortiz (.364 3 HRs against Shields)
Game starts at 7:10pm

Longoria Nears Return

"Evan Longoria's long-awaited return to the Tampa Bay Rays' lineup is now set for Tuesday against Toronto, barring any setbacks, reports Marc Topkin of the St. Pete Times. Longoria, who has been on the disabled list since the first week of the season with a left oblique strain, took batting practice in the cage again Tuesday and will start a short rehab assignment with Double-A Montgomery on Thursday (ESPN)."

Much has been made about the Red Sox turnaround, but the Rays have also been playing a lot better after a very slow start (7-3 in their last 10 games). That's pretty impressive since they have had to do it without Longoria in their lineup. The Rays have the pitching staff to be a very good team, but I still question (even with a health Longoria) if they have the lineup to challenge for the top spots in the AL East.

Rays @ Red Sox Preview

I doubt they will play tonight, and maybe that's a good thing.

The Rays put James Shields on the hill against John Lackey. Lackey has a win, but has been horrible (15.58 ERA), and I really don't see him playing better anytime soon. Maybe I have just gone sour, but what about his game gives you confidence? No matter what Lackey will let up at least 4 runs, and right now Boston's offense is not good enough to overcome that.

I can point to three people that are truly causing this offensive debacle. Ellsbury, Crawford, and Youk. Ellsbury was supposed to be the leadoff hitter, but he hasn't shown a ability to get on the bases, which makes him completely not affective. Thus, Tito dropped him to the bottom of the order. Crawford took over the top spot in the order and is batting less then .150. He seems completely not confident in himself, and even when he gets on base he makes bone headed mistakes like getting picked off. Then there is Youk, who is our cleanup hitter and is hitting .182. He used to be one of the best hitters with runners in scoring position, but has done nothing this year. At least with Youk he still walks, but that's not good enough if you're batting 4th.

So, yes I am going to pick the Rays, and maybe that's a good thing. Maybe the Sox need us all to stop acting like nothing is wrong. Right now, they have 2 SPs that you can't see pitching well (Lackey, Dice-K), two question marks (Buccholz, Beckett), and an ace (Lester). A lineup that has a bunch of holes, and a coach that seems to be panicking. I guess you can say the backend of the bullpen has looked good, but that's about it.

Rays win 7-4
Player of the Game: Fuld
Game starts at 7:10PM

Rays 3, Red Sox 2

This just gets worse and worse. You knew this would be a pitcher's duel, you knew it would be tight, but watching this offense still hurts. Crawford's struggles are beyond a slump. Same with Youkilis. It's psychological, or physical, or physiological. It's not a run of the mill, ordinary slump.

Lester was good, apart from the 5th inning. And even though he allowed 3 runs off 4 hits in that frame, the Rays were hardly knocking him around. It's Lester's second Quality Start in a row, and the second time the Sox have failed to win with such a start.

One of the few bright spots has been the performance of Jed Lowrie. He hit a pair of doubles and knocked in a run. He's now hitting .438. There's no reason he shouldn't be starting every day, at least until he's cooled off.

The Sox are now in danger of being swept for the 3rd time this season. John Lackey takes the mound to face James Shields. I'm rooting for the rain.

-The Commodore

Rays @ Red Sox Preview

Well, I was certainly wrong about last game, but I guess that's what I get for trusting Dice-K. Tonight it's Jon Lester vs. David Price which will be one of the better pitching matchups of the season. I know the Rays broke out last game, but Dice-K was throwing every pitch down the middle and at the point Wakefield is some odd charity case the Red Sox feel like keeping around. Tonight will be different.

I have all the confidence in the world that Lester will shutdown the Rays, but the question is whether or not the Sox can get going vs Price. They were able to against Sabathia, and one would think this would be another "pride" game for the Sox, after getting their ass whooped. Price went 2-1 with a 2.61 ERA in three starts against the Red Sox last season, and I expect him to have a great outing tonight. The difference is Boston has better hitters and will be able to squeak out a very close game tonight.

Boston wins 3-2
Player of the Game: Pedroia
Game starts 7:10pm

Rays 16, Red Sox 5

It took Tampa Bay 5 games before they scored 7 runs. Daisuke allowed that many in 2 innings. Everything he threw was a meatball, with no action, no bite, it was essentially batting practice for the Rays.

The people that think Daisuke is a good pitcher really baffle me. They allude to his 18 win season. But if any normal player came up through the minors, had a decent rookie year, then had an 18 win sophomore campaign, then struggled for two years, we'd dismiss them as washed up. As Brian Rose redux. Why is Daisuke any different?

He's just not a good pitcher. He doesn't throw strikes. He needs 20+ pitches to get out of an inning. He taxes the bullpen. And who knows if he's healthy or hurt?

That's pretty much all there is to say about this game.

Jon Lester faces David Price tonight.

-The Commodore

Rays @ Red Sox Preview

The Red Sox got their first series win when they took down the Yankees in amazing game, still they are only 2-7, but tonight they face a Rays team that only has one win. One would hope that Yankees series will be the turnaround for the Sox, and I think it will be.

The Rays have Hellickson on the hill, and this kid is going to be a stud. Says that, he is still very young, and a right hander which the Sox should be able to handle very easily. The Sox have been able to collect a lot of hits over the past couple of game, but the key is to get hits with runners in scoring position. Guys like Ortiz, and Youk need to bring their game to the next level and bring in those key runs when players are in position.

Obviously, you never know when what you are going to get from Dice-K, but I like the matchup a lot. Longoria is out, and the rest of the lineup isn't doing very well. Honestly, the only guy who scares me at all is B.J. Upton. I actually see Dice-K having a really strong game. Something like 6 innings 1 run with a bunch of K's.

Red Sox win 7-3
Player of the Game: Ortiz
Game starts at 7:10pm

Manny Ramirez Retires

Manny Ramirez abruptly retired from baseball after another failed drug test for PED, he would rather have retired than serve the 100 day ban. How will I remember Manny Ramirez? I will think of him as a Hall Of Famer (If you read this site, you will know I completely dismiss Steroid or PED when talking HOF), A 2 time champion, I will think of him as the best right hander that's ever played, I will think of him as an asshole, and most importantly I will remember his numbers. Nobody can argue 2,574 hits, the 555 homers, the .585 career slugging percentage, the .996 OPS. Only two other people have put up numbers that gaudy Babe Ruth and Barry Bonds.

So all the people who question his credentials and how he got them can shove it. As much as Manny Ramirez was a pain in the ass for us as Red Sox fans, he was an all time great and should be looked at as that. The Hall Of Fame should be waiting for you Manny and if it's not, it's a travesty.

Rays Extend Wade Davis

The Rays announced that they agreed to a four-year extension with Wade Davis that's worth at least $12.6MM and could be worth up to $35.1MM. Jet Sports Management represents the right-hander.

The 2011-14 seasons are guaranteed and the Rays hold options for the 2015, 2016 and 2017 seasons.MLBTradeRumor

So they basically signed him to a cap friendly 7 year deal. It's pretty amazing how the Rays work with their young talent. They have very cap friendly signings for most of their good players. The option-heavy extension mirrors those signed by Ben Zobrist (2 club options), James Shields (3 club options) and Evan Longoria (3 club options). They are really going to love that Longoria one. As much as the Rays are in a shitty place they do it correctly Ah hem Pirates.

This Whole Rays Burglary Thing Gets Interesting

I am sure you guys all saw the story yesterday that the summer home of David Price, Evan Longoria, and Reid Brignac was broken in to. The burglars took a 60 inch HDTV, watches, jewelry, ect. I didn't think much of it, I mean shit happens. Then I read this today...

"But we hadn't heard about a certain "personal item" that belonged to Longoria. Nothing too important, you know, just your average run-of-the-mill ... AK-47 assault rifle. "It's a personal item," Longoria on Monday afternoon, before the Rays game against the Yankees at Steinbrenner Field. "Obviously they're going to say things that are taken. I think everything within the house is personal and we'll just leave it at that (Yahoo)."


Ummm, WTF? There is really no reason ever to have an AK-47. Honestly, lets think about this for a second. What are the reasons to have a gun?

Personal Protection - Well unless Cuba decides to invade Florida, I think he is all set with that much fire power.

Hunting - That's a little aggressive to take down a deer.

I have only come up with one idea. Evan Longoria is the Punisher. It makes sense. I don't really hear too much about what he does in the offseason, and I could totally picture him being a badass. Maybe him and Delonte can hangout and go all Mad Max on the South. Anyways, crazy story and I will not be asking Longoria for an autograph anytime soon.

MLB Preview: Tampa Bay Rays

2010 Record: 96- 66

Offense:
C John Jaso
LF Johnny Damon
3B Evan Longoria
DH Manny Ramirez
RF Ben Zobrist
CF B.J. Upton
1B Dan Johnson
2B Sean Rodriguez
SS Reid Brignac

The lineup certainly doesn't look that scary without Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena in there but they are still going to be alright. I think the additions of Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez are overlooked and underrated. Not only do I expect both of them to have bounce back years, I expect them to provide more then enough protection for Evan Longoria. I also expect Longoria to have MVP type numbers. This line up could be dangerous if all clicks, but Zobrist can be inconsistent and BJ Upton is the definition of inconsistent. The bottom of the line up makes me throw up.

Pitching:
LHP David Price
RHP James Shields
RHP Jeff Niemann
RHP Wade Davis
RHP Jeremy Hellickson

Without Matt Garza this team looks a little less scary as well. David Price should continue to battle for the Cy Young, the rest of the rotation has tons of questions surrounding them. Shields is a wild card, I have no faith in Jeff Niemann, Wade Davis is coming off a solid rookie campaign and Jeremy Hellickson is a rookie. They are going to hit a couple of road bumps and that will kill them in this division.

2011 Record: 85-77

2011 MLB Prospects

So Keith Law finally came out with his top 100 MLB prospects for 2011. DP and I have referenced the fact that we are in an AL Only fantasy baseball league in which each team also has a minor league. So, when this comes out it is a big day. Here is the link if you want to take a look...

Keith Law Top 100 MLB Prospects (You do need Insider).

The reason I am bringing this up, is because he also breaks down how many players each team has in the top 100. The Royals were one of the top teams with 6, which is why over the next couple of years you will hear a lot of people start picking them to be a "surprising team".

KC:

1. Eric Hosmer, 1B (5)
2. Wil Myers, C/RF (8)
3. Mike Moustakas, 3B (23)
4. Mike Montgomery, LHP (28)
5. John Lamb, LHP (41)
6. Danny Duffy, LHP (98)

On top of that they have two guys that are just outside of the top 100 (LHP Chris Dwyer, and RHP Jake Odorizzi). Lot of people think the Royals are going to be the new Rays, by that I mean they are so loaded in the minors that they should have a window of being a really good team before they have to actually pay these guys.

Speaking of the Rays, you might think that they are about to fall apart after loosing so many prospects, but they shouldn't be down fro very long considering they have 8 prospects in the top 100.

1. Jeremy Hellickson, RHP (14)
2. Matt Moore, LHP (16)
3. Desmond Jennings, CF (20)
4. Chris Archer, RHP (40)
5. Hak-Ju Lee, SS (49)
6. Alex Torres, LHP (77)
7. Alex Colome, RHP (89)
8. Jake McGee, RHP (97)

Hellickson and Jennings we should see this year, and if they are as good as advertised the Rays should be able to rebound very quickly from a tough offseason.

In case you were wondering here is how Keith Law ranks the top 10 minors programs throughout the MLB...

1. Kansas City Royals
2. Tampa Bay Rays
3. Atlanta Braves
4. Toronto Blue Jays (really like what they are doing)
5. Philadelphia Phillies (amazing considering how good their team is already)
6. Los Angeles Angels (#1 prospect Mike Trout)
7. Minnesota Twins
8. Cincinnati Reds
9. New York Yankees (been awhile since we've seen them on any list)
10. Seattle Mariners

Red Sox are #11.

Idiots Reunited: Rays Sign Manny and Damon

The Rays stirred up the AL East over the weekend by signing former Sox outfielder Manny Ramirez, and former Sox and Yankee outfielder Johnny Damon.

If this were 2006, these would be monumental acquisitions. As it is, these pickups shouldn't shake up the standings too much. But it is something noteworthy to discuss. And if Tampa Bay has a fanbase, it will be entertaining for them to have some big name talent watch.

Manny Ramirez hasn't hit more than 20 homers since 2008. He hit 9 in 90 games last year. His OBP is still as impressive as ever (.409 last year. compared to a .411 career OBP), but his slugging numbers have dropped considerably, ever since he was suspended for PEDs. Coincidence? Perhaps. He's getting up there in years too. He's 38, and it's hard to imagine a resurrection at that age.

Damon hit .271 with Detroit last year. He's 37. He's a slightly less powerful hitter than in his prime, and he was never much of a slugger to begin with. He doesn't get on base (.355 OBP last year), doesn't run (11 SBs, although he was only caught once), and he strikes out (90 last season, 98 in '08).

Manny's contract is said to be worth $2 million for one year, while Damon's will pay him $5.25 million (Source: SI.com). Manny's salary seems reasonable, and should be recouped by the added attention he'll bring to the team. Damon's seems a bit high, especially if the primary goal was to generate interest in the team. Then again, both guys are Boras clients, and this was probably a packaged signing. So Manny is the 39 cent soda that comes with the Johnny Damon value meal.

These signings will give the Rays more press than they will victories. I guess they don't have much to lose with either signing, and at least they'll have some names on the field. But in the long run, these moves are a turn in the wrong direction for that franchise. This reminds me of when they signed Wade Boggs, and when Greg Vaughn was down there. They've acquired names, not talent.

But even when they had no-name talent, and made it to the World Series, their city failed to support them.

It should make Rays/Sox games more intriguing, even if it is just for off-field storylines. The Rays come to Fenway on April 11.

Photo Credit:
John Cordes/Icon SMI

-The Commodore