2004 Tampa Bay Devil Rays: Youth Brings Hope

[Skywalker76]

Reading and enjoing it as well
Although I hope my O's will stay ahead of your team

[BostonRS14]

Glad to see people are enjoying it so far...

And I would be very sad if I were an O's fan to see them get passed by this horrible pitching staff...

[BostonRS14]

Upcoming Series:

Minnesota Twins vs. Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida

Team Records:
Tampa Bay Devil Rays: 15-28, .349 (HM: 10-12), 5th AL East, -10.5
Minnesota Twins: 23-20, .535 (RD: 13-8), t-2nd AL Central, -1.5

Season Series:

Pitching Matchups:
05/25: Kyle Lohse (4-2, 3.54) vs. Jeff Suppan (1-6, 6.14)
05/26: Johan Santana (3-2, 4.21) vs. Mark Hendrickson (3-1, 4.04)
05/27: Carlos Silva (5-3, 3.41) vs. Victor Zambrano (1-3, 6.36)

Series Preview:
Many figure Jeff Suppan saved his spot in the rotation when he faced down his former Red Sox teammates and was the hardluck loser against Pedro Martinez. Now comes a bigger challenge, taking the momentum of that great start and translating over to the next game. Tampa needs to buck the trend of two losses for every win and start putting together some solid winning ballgames.

Facing a Twins team that realisticly is looking to take all games will be a difficult task. After watching the Indians take 4 of 6 to take away the Central division lead, Minnesota should be pumped to come to Florida for this matchup. Highly touted catcher Joe Mauer is adjusted nicely, hitting a respectable .272, while working with a pitching staff 6th in baseball with a .420 ERA.


Tampa Bay Team News: (05/21-05/24)

• none

Around the League: (05/21-05/24)

• 05/21:
  -Cleveland Indian C.C. Sabathia pitched a one-hit shutout against Tampa Bay.
  -New York Met C Mike Piazza brok his finer in a collision at home plate. He will be sidelined for six to seven weeks.
• 05/24:
  -Cincinnati signed free agent MR C.J. Nitkowski to a one year $300,000 contract.
  -American League Player of the Week: RF Jody Gerut (CLE). He batted .476 in 21 AB, with 2 HR and 7 RBI.
  -National League Player of the Week: CF Steve Finley (ARI). He batted .542 in 24 AB, with 2 HR and 5 RBI.

American League East Standings: (5/25/2004)

Team        W-L   PCT   GB  Streak Last 10
New York  26-18  .591    -    L2    5-5
Boston    24-22  .522  3.0    L2    5-5
Toronto   22-23  .489  4.5    L1    4-6
Baltimore 17-27  .386  9.0    L2    4-6
Tampa Bay 15-28  .349  10.5   W1    3-7

[BostonRS14]

Devil Rays raly late, take opener in 11th
Game 44: Tampa Bay 7, Minnesota 4

Could Jeff Suppan have finally figured out what has been bothering him all season long?

Insiders claim that Suppan has been tinkering with his mechanics lately, and it appears it might have paid off as the right hander work into the eight inning for the second straight start, this time allowing four runs on eight hits. Despite a season high six strikeouts, Suppan didn't figure in the decision.

Minnesota jumped out to an early lead with runs in the 3rd with RBI-doubles from Luis Rivas and Cristian Guzman. After Jacque Jones hit a two-run homerun to make the lead 4 runs, Suppan settles down, allowing only 4 hits over the next five innings to keep the Rays in the game until the bats woke up.

Julio Lugo hit a two-run homerun off Kyle Lohse in the bottom of the 6th to cut the lead in half. Tampa Bay tied the game up in the 8th when Carl Crawford scored from third on a Lug ground out. Damian Rolls scored early in the inning on a Rocco Baldelli infield single.

With one out in the 11th, Jose Cruz doubled off Twins' closer Joe Nathan. Aubrey Huff was intentionally walked in order to create the chance for a double play when Geoff Blum stepped to the plate. Hitless up to that point, Blum was called back to the dugout momentarily before entering the batter's box and depositing the 1-0 fastball into the seats in right-center for the game-winning walk off home run.

Minnesota threatened in the top of the 11th against Chad Caudin, but Luis Rivas was stranded at third after a triple when Torii Hunter and Joe Mauer both struck out swinging.

W: Chad Gaudin (2-1, 2.70 ERA); L: Joe Nathan (3-4, 6.50 ERA)
Player of the Game: Geoff Blum. 1-5, GW-HR (4), 3 RBIs (20)

Twins beat up Hendrickson, take second game
Game 45: Tampa Bay 5, Minnesota 7

It says something about your ballclub when only 7,420 fans show up at Tropicana Field to watch you battle a playoff contender. It says even more when you fight back to tie the game late only to watch the opponent score 4 runs the following half inning to pull away for the win. And, so goes the Devil Rays' season.

A disappointing crowd witnessed a disappointing start from Mark Hendrickson, who never looked comfortable on the mound, surrendering 9 hits in six and a third innings. He was charged with a 7 Twins' runs.

Matt LeCroy opened the scoring in the top of the 1st, putting a two-out offering over the outfield wall for an early one-run lead. A RBI-double the following inning by Michael Cuddyer doubled the lead.

Batting in the bottom of the 6th against Johan Santana, Tino Martinez hit a two-run homerun to deep left-center, opening the scoring for the Rays and breathing life into a ballgame that, up to that point, had seen Santana on cruise control. Three batters later, Carl Crawford lined a single past a diving Cristian Guzman into right field to score Aubrey Huff from third with the tying run.

In the top of the 7th, the Twins quickly took the lead back, scoring four runs against Hendrickson before Travis Harper entered to retire Doug Mientiewicz with a runner on third. With one out, Joe Mauer took a walk and then was followed by back-to-back doubles by Shannon Stewart and pinch hitter Lew Ford. Matt Lecroy, batting with a two run lead and a runner on second, hit a long single to the left-center gap, scoring Ford. Torri Hunter batted next, doubling to right to score LeCroy. Hunter was stranded 90 feet away from home after stealing third base.

The Devil Rays added runs in the 8th and 9th innings, but ended up falling short. Geoff Blum hit a bases loaded sac fly in the 8th, scoring Huff from third. Pinch hitter Fred McGriff struck out looking with the tying run on second to end the inning. Jose Cruz, batting as the tying run with one out in the 9th, hit a sacrifice fly to center that brought home Eduardo Perez. Aubrey Huff, like McGriff the inning previous, struck out looking to end the inning and the game.

W: Johan Santana (4-2, 4.22); L: Mark Hendrickson (3-2, 4.65); SV: Joe Nathan (7, 6.52)
Player of the Game: Matt LeCroy. 2-5, 2B (9), HR (10), 2 Runs, 3 RBIs (38)

Twins take rubber game on combined 3 hit shutout
Game 46: Tampa Bay 0, Minnesota 4

Carlos Silva was cruising when Ron Gardenhire made an unlikely decision to remove his starter with one out in the 6th inning against the Devil Rays. The 25 year old, who had only given up two hits, was well within reach of his first career shutout when the twins manager pulled him in favor of Aaron Fultz.

"I was a bit surprised," Silva said to reporters. "I don't think I have a pitch count, and even so, we were cruising along and my arm was feeling good. I was placing my pitches and my defense was there for me. I don't know. We won, that's the most important thing i guess."

Gardenhire was unavaliable after the game to comment.


Minnesota Twins outfielders, shown here in batting practice, had little to worry about when they were in the field,
as the Devil Rays managed only three hits.

Michael Cuddyer hit a solo homerun in the 2nd to supply Silva with the only run support he would need. The homerun, which measured 421 feet, was the fifth of the month for the 25 year old, who appears to have taken over the Twins starting second base position from Luis Rivas. Jacques Jones and Shannon Stewart also added solo homeruns for Minnesota.

Victor Zambrano, who took the hill for Tampa Bay, pitched eight and a third innings, striking out 6 and walking two. The three homeruns he surrendered brought his season total to 10, most on the staff. Despite their struggles, Tampa Bay has allowed only 52 homeruns this season, which ranks 13th in baseball. Rookie Chad Gaudin, who is becoming more dependable by the day for Lou Pinella, worked the final two thirds of an inning, getting Joe Mauer and Shannon stewart to ground out with runners on second and third.

On a good note, Tampa Bay attendance climbed back over the eight thousand makr as 8,391 fans filled Topicana Field, which holds 43,772!

W: Carlos Silva (6-3, 3.08); L: Victor Zambrano (1-4, 5.93); SV: Juan Rincon (2, 5.68)
Player of the Game: Carlos Silva. 6.1 IP, 2 Hits, 2 BB's, 5 K's, 93 PI.
Game Notes: Jacque Jones hit the longest homer of his career, it went 414 feet. Shannon Stewart hit the longest homer of his career, it went 400 feet

[BostonRS14]

Upcoming Series:

New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida

Team Records:
Tampa Bay Devil Rays: 16-30, .348 (HM: 11-14), 5th AL East, -12.5
New York Yankees: 29-18, .617 (RD: 12-14), 1st AL East, +5.0

Season Series: 4-2, Tampa Bay.

Pitching Matchups:
05/28: Mike Mussina (4-4, 3.58) vs. Jeremi Gonzalez (4-2, 5.75)
05/29: Kevin Brown (4-3, 5.17) vs. Todd Ritchie (1-4, 4.91)
05/30: Jeff Suppan (1-6, 5.88) vs. Jose Contreras (4-2, 4.68)


Series Preview:
To say this series means nothing to the Yankees, would be to assume that losing the season opening series that was split between Tokyo and Florida didn't still sting. Despite claims to the contrary, the Yankees are coming to beat the Devil Rays handidly. With the exception of Texas, Tampa Bay is the only team with a winning record against the Yankees and for a team with high aspirations like the Yankees, that is something that is not supposed to happen.

Not much will be expected out of the Devil Rays here. The team has struggled horribly since opening the season with an improbable 4 game sweep of the Yankees. Jose Cruz appears on the verge of joining Lou Pinella's doghouse, joining most of the bullpen and half the starting staff. Chuck LaMar is working the phones nonstop now, attempting to build some type of market for his veterans. It is clearly time to shift focus to 2005 and the promotions of Jonny Gomes and Bobby Seay for this series is the first step.

Tampa Bay Team News: (05/25-05/28)

• none

Around the League: (05/25-05/28)

• 05/25:
  -Boston claimed CF Tsuyoshi Shinjo off waivers from Milwaukee.
  -Boston's Pedro Martinez struck out 15 Oakland batters on his way to a 2-hit shutout.
  -Arizona LF Luis Gonzalez hit ihs 2,000th career hit against San Francisco. Gonzalez hit a first inning double off Jermome Williams for the milestone.
• 05/26:
  -Florida claimed LF Geoff Jenkins off waivers from Florida.
  -Oakland C Adam Melhuse set a new American League record with 6 hits in a game against Boston.

American League East Standings: (5/19/2004)

Team        W-L   PCT   GB  Streak Last 10
New York  29-18  .617    -    W3    7-3
Boston    25-24  .510  5.0    L2    5-5
Toronto   23-24  .489  6.0    W1    3-7
Baltimore 17-30  .362  12.0   L5    4-6
Tampa Bay 16-30  .348  12.5   L2    4-6

[BostonRS14]

Devil Rays continue to baffle Yanks, win rout 11-2
Game 47: Tampa Bay 11, New York 2

On Glove Day at Tropicana Field, Tampa Bay continued their surprising success against the New York Yankees with a costly 11-2 win. Jeremi Gonzalez, who had earned the top spot back in the rotation following Jeff Suppan's struggles, had to leave the game early with an undisclosed injury.

An early two-run homerun by Jason Giambi looked like it might doom Gonzalez, but when he entered the dugout after the first inning, he walked right up to manager Lou Pinella and told me he could win this one.

"I knew that I left a bad pitch over the plate for Giambi, but I knew what I did wrong there and I was aware of how to fix it. It wasn't mental, it wasn't physical. It was just a bad grip. I knew it in my windup and tried to correct it but couldn't."

After the Giambi hit, Gonzalez look very unlike himself. Over the next three plus innings Gonzalez was unhittable, allowing just two baserunners to reach, both on walks. Gonzalez was forced to leave the game after retiring Hideki Matsui with the final out of the 4th. A diagnosis from team doctors was not avaliable at the time of this report.

Aubrey Huff cut the Yankee lead in half in the bottom of the 2nd with a 369 foot homerun down the left field line. Julio Lugo hit a two-run shot himself in the bottom of the 3rd to give the Rays the lead at 3-2. Geoff Blum followed two batters later with a souble to the right-center gap, scoring Jose Cruz and Aubrey Huff.

Fred McGriff added homerun 495 in the bottom of the 7th.

Aubrey Huff hit his second of the game in the bottom of the 8th, a two run blast to left-center off Tom Gordon. After walking Geoff Blum, Gordon was replaced by Paul Quantrill who didn't fare much better. McGriff walked, putting runners on first and second with no outs. Damian Rolls hit a double down the left field line, which brought Blum home. Carl Crawford followed with a base-clearing single before Rocco Baldelli and Julio Lugo both flied out to end the inning.

Lance Carter worked a much-needed four innings out of the bullpen for Gonzalez, allowing four hits and a walk to earn the victory.

W: Lance Carter (2-1, 5.16); L: Mike Mussina (4-5, 4.07)
Player of the Game: Aubrey Huff. 2-3, 2 HRs (7), BB, 3 Runs, 3 RBIs (29)

[BostonRS14]

Jeremi Gonzalez tears tricep muscle, Switzer to get first start
Neil McCaulley, Devil Rays columnist

Jeremi Gonzalez, SP Tampa Bay Devil Rays
John Switzer, SP Tampa Bay Devil Rays

In a season already mared by poor attendance and mounting loses, losing another key contributor to a lenghty injury is not what Lou Pinella and the Tampa Bay staff needed.

"It comes at a bad time. We don't have a true ace here, and Jeremi was one of those guys we thought could take up that mantle," Pinella said after the seriousness of the injury was announced.

Gonzalez left Friday's game against the Yankees after retiring Hideki Matsui for the final out of the 4th inning. He went into the hallway with team doctors and was not seen again. Almost immediately, Lance Carter jogged down to the bullpen and started warming, a clear indication that Gonzalez was not returning.

"I was in the clubhouse eating," Carter said, explaining his unorthodox entry into the game. "Not too many times we get called on that early in a game, so Lou lets us hang back until the start of the fifth. That's when we are stupposed to be down there in uniform."

Gonzalez wasn't avaliable after the game, but GM Chuck LaMar spoke briefly after leaving the trainor's room.

"At the time, we thought it wasn't too serious. Just a pulled muscle, maybe a missed start. But now, it is looking like atleast a month until he can get back on the mound, nevermind rehabbing time."

When asked about a replacement, LaMar said: "I've already called Durham and John Switzer is on his way here. If that doesn't work out, then we will call around and handle it that way, but my first choice is for someone in the organization to take that spot."

For the year, the 29 year old had a 4-2 record in 12 starts, with a 5.67 ERA. In 60.1 innings, opponents were batting .272 against him. He has struck out 37 while walking just 26. Gonzalez joins Toby Hall (out for year - broken wrist), Seth McClung (7 weeks), John Webb (6 weeks), and Josh Hamilton (drug suspension - 22 weeks) on the DL.

John Switzer, after missing the first month of the season with a inflamed rotator cuff muscle, has made 3 starts with Triple-A Durham, compiling a 1-0 record in 17 innings of work. Opponents are hitting just .177 against the lefty. He has walked 2 while striking out 19. This will be his first time starting at the major league level after 5 unimpressive late season relief appearances in 2003.

The pick of Switzer, who has made only three starts this year with Durham came as a bit of a surprised considering Tampa Bay acquired veteran Shawn Estes earlier in the season as an emergency starter. Estes, who was claimed off waivers from Colorado, has made 5 starts with the Durham Bulls, pitching 37 innings, with 37 K's and 10 BB's. Despite two straight season with an ERA over 5, look for Estes to make an appearance in Tampa Bay should another start struggle or go down with an injury.

[BostonRS14]

Yanks rebound with blowout, Switzer rocked in first start
Game 48: Tampa Bay 1, New York 10

John Switzer, make his first major league start, didn't impress many of the 13,551 in attendance at Tropicana Field Saturday. In just one and a third innings, Switzer surrendered 6 runs, all earned, on four hits and 5 walks.

"It was a learning experience," Switzer said, looking dumbfounded in hsi locker after the game. "I just couldn't find the plate and when I did it was without any movement on my pitches."

The rookie left-hander looked nervous from the first batter, when he walked Derek Jeter on four pitches that were nowhere near the plate to lead off the game. After a quick chat from catcher Mike Redmond, Switzer grooved his next pitch right down the middle of the plate, allowing Bernie Williams an easy chance to deposit it as a souvenier for a lucky fan in deep left-center. After getting the nest two batters to fly out to deep center, Switzer walked Jason Giambi and Jorge Posada before Hideki Matsui grounded out to end the inning.

The Devil Rays went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the first, before the Yanks came to bat with hungry eyes against the rookie. In the bottom of the send, the Yankees sent 10 batters to the plate, socring 4 runs on 3 hits, 2 walks and 2 hit batsmen. With one out, Kenny Lofton triples to the left-center gap, past a diving Rocco Baldelli. Derek Jeter walked for the second consecutive inning and Bernie Williams drove in another run with a single to right field. Jeter stole third before Switzer hit Alex Rodriguez with a pitch to load the bases. Lou Pinella visited the mound to try to calm his pitcher, but, with no one warming up, was forced to stick with Switzer for the time-being. Gary Sheffield followed withe conference with a single to left that scored two runs without a throw home. The Yankees loaded the bases again when Jason Giambi was hit by a ptich and jorge Posada walked. Finally, Pinella showed some mercy on Switzer and pulled him in favor of Bobby Seay, who was added to the roster before the series but had yet to see any action this season. Seay retired the two batters he faced to escape the inning with the bases loaded.

Seay wouldn't pitch much better than Switzer, allowing three runs in two fill innings of work. Derek Jeter hit his 5th homerun of the season off Seay in the 3rd inning. Lance Carter worked two scoreless innings before Chad Gaudin and Travis Harper finished the final three and two-third innings, allowing one run on two hits between them.

Jonny Gomes, starting for the second straight day for the slumping Jose Cruz, got his first major league RBI in the 8th when he singles home Rey Sanchez from third. The run was the only mistake on the day for Kevin Brown, who left once his shutout was gone. Gabe White replaced Brown to close out the final inning and a third.

Manager Lou Pinella wouldn't comment after the game concerning the long term plans for keeping Switzer with the ball club.

W: Kevin Brown (5-3, 4.77); L: John Switzer (0-1, 40.51)
Player of the Game: Bernie Williams
Game Notes: Jorge Posada was injured while running the bases.

New York take rubber match, Rays end homestand 4-8
Game 49: Tampa Bay 2, New York 5

Jeff Suppan's career high personal losing streak has reached seven consecutive decisions. Despite a less than great pitching record (5 quality starts in 11 games), the main culprit for this losing streak is the Devil Rays bats. Tampa batters have averaged only 3.3 runs per game support for Suppan, the lowest total for an American League starter. And despite holding the second best scoring club in baseball to just two runs over six innings, Suppan took another loss, one which will likely cost him his spot in the rotation, at least temporarily.

"I don't blame the guys behind me," Suppan said, shouldering some of the blame himself. "We all go out there on that field. Each one of us is responsible is we lose as much as we are all responsible for the wins. If I can cut down on some of the runners I'm allowing, then we are in a better chance to win the close ones."

New York scored the first run of the game on a Hideki Matsui single in the top of the second. Gary Sheffield, running with the pitch from first, slid under the tag of Mike Redmond for the early lead. Jonny Gomes, not quite blessed with the arm of Jose Cruz, was unable to beat Sheffield home with the throw from right. Alex Rodriguez hit his 16th homerun of the season in the 3rd off Suppan for a two-run lead.

Tampa Bay got one run back in the 3rd. Rey Sanchez reached on a fielders choice, with DH Jose Cruz being retired at second. Damian Rolls advanced Sanchez to second with an infield single before Jose Contreras retired Carl Crawford with a fly ball to Matsui in left. Rocco Baldelli came up next with two outs and hit a bloop single to shallow left-center that ell behind a back-peddling Derek Jeter to score Sanchez from second. Gomes walked to load the bases, but Aubrey Huff struck out looking to end the inning.

New york put a runner in socring position in each of the next three innings with less than two outs, but Suppan was able to work out of the jam each time without surrendering a run. Bartolome Fortunato replaced Suppan to start the seventh after he had thrown a 115 pitches. Jeff ended the game allowing 7 hits and 4 walks with one strikeout.

Fortunato surrendered pinch hitter Jorge Posada's three-run homerun in the top of the 8th that proved to be the game deciding hit. Tampa Bay added one run in the bottom of the 8th on a ground out by Carl Crawford. Damian Rolls scored after tripling to the corner in right field against Gabe White.

W: Jose Contreras (5-2, 4.31); L: Jeff Suppan (1-7, 5.62); SV: Mariano Rivera (14, 3.91)
Player of the Game: Alex Rodriguez. 3-5, 2B (7), HR (16), RBI (41)
Game Notes: Jeff Suppan's losing streak reaches a career high 7 consecutive decisions.

[BostonRS14]

Disgruntled Jose Cruz shipped to Oakland in 6 player deal
Neil McCaulley, Devil Rays columnist

Jose Cruz claimed he knew his time with the Devil Rays was over when he was Jonny Gomes had been called up from Triple-A Durham before the Yankees' series. Jose continue to tell anyone who would listen that he was healthy and it was his teammates, who were not getting on base in front of him, that were causing his poor batting. "I came here to play right field and bat in a position to drive in runs, and, lately, they haven't been using me to do either so I welcome the change." Clearly, he was wearing out his welcome with a young, developing ballclub.

His claims seem to be unsubstanciated. Jose was often batting cleanup for Tampa Bay, with Rocco Baldelli (.362 OBP), Carl Crawford (.360 OBP) and Julio Lugo (.340 OBP) batting in front of him. In 166 atbats, he batted just .223. With runners in scoring position, Curz was worse, hit just .182 with Tampa Bay. Not numbers that will be missed by Lou Pinella.

"We need guys that can produce runs and put our pitchers in a position to win ballgames," Pinella said after the trade was annouced. "I don't put the blame on one or two guys, but, come on, there are a few in that clubhouse that haven't earned the right to put that uniform on everyday. I need guys that will shut up and play. Bust their butts and set a good example. No more prima-donnas. You whine and complai about playing time, guess what, more bench sittig for you. I'm tired of it. We are going to get guys that are excited to be here and want to show up early and do what we need to to win."

RF Jose Cruz MR Travis Harper 2B Damian Rolls

In exchange for Jose Cruz, MR Travis Harper and 2B Damian Rolls, Tampa Bay received a shot of youth into their pitching staff. SP Rich Harden and SP Bill Murphy both look to be long term fixtures in the rotation, while 2B Frank Menechino, who has spent most of 2004 in Triple-A Sacramento, should replace Rolls as a utility infielder for Pinella off the bench.

"I started making some calls, and everyone I talked to said the Rays were shopping me and there was buzz in their locker-room about if I was going here or there," Cruz said while clearing out his locker after he went 0-3 while batting seventh as the DH for the Devil Rays in a loss to New York.

Oakland will be the fifth club for Cruz in an eight year career spent that started with Seattle (1997) before a long tenure with Toronto (1997-2002). Cruz spent one season in San Francisco (2003) before being lured to Tampa Bay in 2004. Cruz still makes his offseason home in the Bay Area after spending the 2003 season with San Francisco.

SP Rich Harden 2B Frank Menechino SP Bill Murphy

In bringing back two young pitchers, GM Chuck LaMar successfully set up his ballclub to be serious contendors for 2005. Harden and Murphy, 22 and 23 respectively, project to be solid 2-3 guys in the rotation and should be fixtures in Tampa for many seasons. Looking ahead to 2005, Tampa Bay hopes ot field a rotation of Jeremi Gonzalez, Rich Harden, Victor Zambrano, Bill Murphy and 24 year old Juan Dominguez. Also getting a look will be Doug Waechter, John Switzer, Andrew Good, and Seth McClung.

"We felt good bringing in these two guys," LaMar said at the press conference announcing the deal. "Bill [Murphy] has above-average stuff and will do a nice job with us. I expect him to come to Spring Training next season and win a spot with us. [Rich] Harden, on the otherhand, will contribute immediately. That kid is ready now! He has good command of the strikezone, as evident by his K's-to-walks ratio (41:17). He'll blow hitters away with two pitches, his fastball and his splitter, not something many 22 year olds can do."

The Athletics were reluctant to deal Harden, but with Jermaine Dye's recovery froma broken hand taking longer than expected, Eric Byrnes was not the long term solution in right field. SP Justin Duchscherer was called up to replace Harden in the rotation, but many scouts expect Joe Blanton to be ready by the trade deadline to take the 5th spot in the rotation.

"We needed a bat more than we needed Rich [Harden] right now," Oaklang GM Billy Beane explained on a conference call. "He's a good kid and will do well in Tampa someday, but right now, Joe [Blanton], in the eyes of our scouting department, is the better long term piece for us so we dealt from our strength to fix our weakness. We were able to hold onto Brad Sullivan too, who Tampa wanted more than Murphy, but Jose will be around here for a few seasons so it was worth it."

Harden and Menechino were immediately placed onto the 40 man roster and actived. Murphy, on the other hand, was sent to Triple-A Durham. With few options on the free agent market, Jonny Gomes, despite struggling early, will continue to be given every chance to earn the starting right field position. With little depth in Triple-A (Adam Hyzdu, Jason Gathright, and Cody Ross are the starting Durham outfielders), Gomes has has little to worry about to take his place, and should soon relax and produce like expected.

With some pitching depth in the system now, look for the Devil Rays to focus on finding an infield prospect to compliment BJ Upton in the early rounds of the upcoming first year draft.

[BostonRS14]

Upcoming Series:

Tampa Bay Devil Rays vs. Minnesota Twins
Hubert M. Humphries Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Team Records:
Tampa Bay Devil Rays: 17-32, .347 (RD: 5-16), 5th AL East, -13.5
Minnesota Twins: 27-22, .551 (HM: 10-12), 2nd AL Central, -1.5

Season Series: 2-1, Minnesota.

Pitching Matchups:
05/31: Mark Hendrickson (3-2, 4.65) vs. Rick Helling (1-1, 5.71)
06/01: Victor Zambrano (1-4, 5-.93) vs. Carlos Silva (6-3, 3.08)
06/02: Shawn Estes (NR) vs. Brad Radke (5-5, 3.91)
06/03: Rich Harden (3-2, 2.77 w/ OAK) vs. Kyle Lohse (4-3, 3.99)


Series Preview:
The Minnesota Twins are everything the Devil Rays wish they could be. A successful small market ballclub winning games based upon defense and pitching in an inadequate ballpark. Unfortunately, the Devil Rays are still playing for the sins of the past and have yet to continuously develop the talent that the Twins appear able to.

After dropping two of three to the Twins less than a week ago, Tampa Bay looks less prepared now to put up a fight against a team like the Twins. Ranked in the top 7 in batting and pitching, Minnesota looked poised to jump the Indians and reclaim the American League Central lead until Johan Santana went down with a torn tricep muscle (similar to Jeremi Gonzalez's injury). A mjor blow to their playoff hopes, Minnesota is going to have to fight without their ace for close to two months.

Tampa Bay Team News: (05/28-05/30)

• 05/28:
  -MR Trever Miller and CF Adam Hyzdu were sent down to Triple-A Durham. RF Jonny Gomes and MR Bobby Seay were promoted from Durham to the active roster.
  -SS Deivi Cruz refused assignment off the 40-man roster.
• 05/29:
  -SP Jeremi Gonzalez torn his tricep muscle while pitching and was put on the 15 Day DL. He will recover in about 4-5 weeks.
  -SP John Switzer was called up from Triple-A Durham to the active roster.

Around the League: (05/28-05/30)

• 05/28:
  -New York's CF Bernie Williams hit his 2,000th career hit against Jeremy Gonzalez with a single in the thrid inning of New York's 11-2 loss.
  -Tampa Bay SP Jeremi Gonzalez tore his tricep muscle in his pitching arm while throwing againt the New York Yankees. Team officials claim he will be ready for action in about 4-5 weeks.
• 05/29:
  -Cincinnati claimed 2B Eric Young off waivers from Texas.
• 05/30:
  -Minnesota SP Johan Santana tore his tricep muscle pitching against Kansas City and is expected to be sidelined for about 7 weeks.

American League East Standings: (5/18/2004)

Team        W-L   PCT   GB  Streak Last 10
New York  31-19  .620    -    W2    7-3
Boston    26-26  .500  6.0    L2    3-7
Toronto   23-27  .460  8.0    L3    3-7
Baltimore 18-32  .360  13.0   W1    3-7
Tampa Bay 17-32  .347  13.5   L2    4-6

Player draft mistakenly set for pre-season, so no first year June 1st draft for 2004.

[BostonRS14]

Reyes surrenders 6 in 9th, Jones Slam wins game for Twins
Game 50: Tampa Bay 10, Minnesota 13

It seems that endings like this only happen to teams that are in the habit of losing heartbreakers. Closer Al Reyes, who hadn't worked since the last game against the Twins on the 26th of May, blew a three run lead, giving up 6 runs in the ninth, highlighted by a walk-off game-winning Grand Slam by Jacque Jones.

Cristian Guzman's one-out infield single started the rally. Matt LeCroy drove him home with a double down the left field line. Torri Hunter followed with a single and Doug Mientkiewicz walked to load the bases. Corey Koskie four pitches to drive in LeCroy and forced the game winning run to scoring position for Jones, who drove a 2-1 slider over the right field fence for the dramatic victory.

After the Twins took a one run lead in the 2nd against starter Mark Hendrickson, Tampa scored four runs in the top of the 3rd. Fred McGriff scored the first run on a double by Julio Lugo afer walking to open the inning. Carl Crawford lined a sharp single past Corey Koskie one batter leater to score Lugo. Crawford advanced to second on the throw to the plate. Rocco Baldelli reached on a Guzman error and stole second on the first pitch to Frank Menechino. Menechino hit a sacrifice fly in his first Tampa Bay atbat. Aubrey Huff was thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double, but Rocco Baldelli scored first from second base with the 4th run of the inning.

Both teams exchanged a run in the 5th, and, with a 5-2 lead in the top of the 7th, the Devil Rays tried to distance themselves from the Twins. Pete Monro, who replced Eric Knott with two out sand a runner on first, surrendered back-to-back singles to Carl Crawford and Rocco Baldelli, scoring two run. Aubrey Huff followed a Menechino base on balls with a single to right, driving home Baldelli from second. A wild pitch to Geoff Blum allowed Menechino to walk home easily from third before a ground out to second ended the inning.

Minnesota rallied back in the bottom half of the inning, scoring 5 runs on 3 hits. Recently recalled reliever Bobby Seay continued to struggle, walking two batters before Guzman hit a bases-loaded three-run double to left field. Seay, who failed to record an out, was credited with three runs allowed. Jesus Colome replaced him, and after a run-scoring double by LeCroy, retired Torri Hunter with a groundout to first.

Highly touted rookie Joe Mauer was unable to keep the Devil Rays from running, as they stole four bases in the game, increasing their league leading total to 82.

W: Joe Nathan (5-4, 5.73); L: Al Reyes (0-3, 5.40)
Player of the Game: Jacque Jones. 3-5, 2B (8), GW-GS HR (7), 2 Runs, 4 RBIs (32)
Game Notes: Jacque Jones set a career high for RBI (4) in a game!

Twins rally again, Rays win on Sanchez HR in 15th
Game 51: Tampa Bay 8, Minnesota 6

Al Reyes blew a save for the second consecutive game, but Rey Sanchez bailed him out, hitting his first homerun of the season in the 15th inning off Aaron Fultz to get the Rays the victory. Sanchez blast to deep left field came after Rocco Baldelli's hit a one-out single, the first Tampa Bay hit since Baldelli led off the 10th with a single.

After increading their lead to two runs with a run-scoring ground out by pinch hitter Eduardo Perez in the top of the ninth, Lou Pinella called upon his closer to shut the door for the victory. A walk to Joe Mauer and a single by Shannon Stewart to open the inning brought the game winning run to the plate. Cristian Guzman flied to right-center, but Corey Koskie doubled to the right-center gap, scoring Mauer and advancing Stewart to third. With the winnin run now in scoring position, Pinella opted to intentionally walk Jacque Jones, the hero from the night before, and face Doug Mientkiewicz with the bases loaded. Unfortunately, a great slide by Jones at 2nd base broke up a potential double play and allowed the tying run to score from third.

Victor Zambrano pitched past the sixth inning for the fifth time in his last sixth starts but didn't factor in the decision. Zambrano allowed 4 runs, three of which were earned, on eight hits and 5 walks.

Aubrey Huff scored the first run of the game on a solo homerun to deep right field off Twins' starter Carlos Silva in the top of the 4th. Minnesota took the lead in the bottom of the inning when Jonny Gomes threw the ball past catcher Mike Redmond on a sacrifice fly by centerfielder Lew Ford. Michael Cuddyer scored on the play to give the Twins a one run lead. Joe Mauer followed Ford with a single to short right-center that scored Matt LeCroy from second with the 3rd run of the inning. Cuddyer led off the bottom of the 6th with his 8th homerun of the season to make the lead 4-1.

Tampa Bay rallied back in the top of the 7th to take the lead on a three-run homerun by Julio Lugo. Goeff Blum scored early in the inning on a double by Redmond that skipped past Jacque Jones in left and rolled all the way to the outfield wall. With a one-run lead, Pinella turned the ball over to hs bullpen after Zambrano walked Mientkiewicz to lead off the 8th. Bartolome Fortunato retired oall three batters he faced in the 8th before Al Reyes came out fo the 'pen for the final three outs of the game.

With a tired bullpen, Pinella had Lance Carter pitch the final five and one-third innings of relief to earn his third victory of the season. He allowed four baserunners, only one of whom reached scoring position.

W: Lance Carter (3-1, 3.90); L: Aaron Fultz (1-2, 4.91)
Player of the Game: Lance Carter. 5.1 IP, 2 Hits, 2 BB's, K, 67 PI.
Game Notes: Carlos Silva sets a career high for K's (7) in a game! Rey Sanchez hit the longest homer of his career, it went 396 feet.

Estes roughed up in first Tampa start, Twins rally for win
Game 52: Tampa Bay 6, Minnesota 7

Shawn Estes said he wasn't upset when John Switzer got called up when Jeremi Gonzalez was injured, vowing that he would get his chance to prove his value to the club at some point in time. Well, that time came at the Metrodome in game three of a four game set and it didn't go the way the 31 year old lefthander wanted. After 5 well recieved starts in Durham, Estes was slapped around by the Twins, surrendering 5 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks in just two and two-third innings of work.

"This is not the kind of performance we need from our veteran starters," Lou Pinella said after the game. "We need our starters to work long into games. Jesus [Colome] continues to look good out there, but we are not going to be able to use Lance [Carter] for a few days now so we are short a guy. We went 15 innings last night, and to call on them in the third tonight wasn't a good thing."

The Devil Rays rallied back from a five run deficit against Brad Radke, started for the Twins. Behind homeruns by Eduardo Perez and Fred McGriff, in the 4th and 5th innnings, respectively, Tampa Bay took a one run lead in the top of the 6th, 6-5 when Frank Menechino followed a Rocco Baldelli stolen base, his 30th of the season, with a single to left field that score the speedy Baldelli without a throw. JC Romero replaced Radke, and, after striking out Tino Martinez got Eduardo Perez to ground into a fielders choice, forcing Menechino out at 2nd base. Mike Redmond came up and smashed a double off the outfield wall, driving Perez home from first with the go-ahead run.

Chad Gaudin lost the lead in the 6th on a Cristian Guzman sacrifice fly to deep right field. Jonny Gomes once again was unable to connect with the catcher on the tag up and threw the ball away, allowing Joe Mauer to tie the game at six.

That error proved costly as Minnesota scored the winning run against Bobby Seay in the 7th on a passed ball. Corey Koskie hit a one-out triple to right field and scored easily when a breaking ball from Seay to pinch hitter Lew Ford got away from Redmond.

W: JC Romero (1-0, 1.00); L: Bobby Seay (0-1), SV: Pete Munro (1, 5.49)
Player of the Game: Joe Mauer. 2-4, 2 2Bs (8), RBI (22)

Harden Tampa deput spolied by silent bats
Game 53: Tampa Bay 0, Minnesota 4

Despite Fred McGriff's first stolen base since the middle of 2002 and two doubles by Julio Lugo, Tampa Bay was unable to figure out Minnesota starter Kyle Lohse in dropping the final game of the four game series. Lohse worked eight and two-third innings, allowing just four hits and four walks to go with eight strikeouts on 119 pitches before turning the game over to rookie Jesse Crain for the final out, a strikeout of Lugo.

After putting runners on the corners in the bottom of the first with no outs, Harden worked out of the jam, surrendering just one run. Cristian Guzman was thrown out trying to steal second and Corey Koskie struck out swining on a failed hit-and-run play before Doug Mientkiewicz single home Lew Ford for the first run of the game. Michael Cuddyer followed with a four pitch walk before Matt LeCroy grounded out to second base.

Michael Restovich added a solo homerun in the 3rd inning off Harden for a two run lead. Getting little playing time in a crowded outfield, it was Restovich's first homerun of the season, and just second of his career.

The Twins added two insurance runs in the 4th on back-to-back RBI-triples by Torri Hunter and Joe Mauer.

The Devil Rays would challenge, loading the bases with one out in the top of the 6th, but Lohse struck out Brook Fordyce and Geoff Blum looking to end the threat.

These two teams meet one more time this season, a short two-game series after the All Star break in Minneapolis.

W: Kyle Lohse (5-3, 3.55); L: Rich Harden (3-3, 3.16)
Player of the Game: Kyle Lohse. 8.2 IP, 4 Hits, 4 BB's, 8 K's, 119 PI.
Game Notes: Michael Restovich hit the longest homer of his career, it went 416 feet.

[BostonRS14]

Upcoming Series:

Tampa Bay Devil Rays vs. Baltimore Orioles
Orioles Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore, Maryland

Team Records:
Tampa Bay Devil Rays: 18-35, .340 (RD: 6-19), t-4th AL East, -16.0
Baltimore Orioles: 18-35, .340 (HM: 9-17), t-4th AL East, -16.0

Season Series: 3-3

Pitching Matchups:
06/04: Jeff Suppan (1-7, 5.62) vs. Eric Dubose (4-3, 4.56)
06/05: Todd Ritchie (1-4, 4.91) vs. Rodrigo Lopez (1-3, 4.30)
06/06: Victor Zambrano (1-4, 5.72) vs. Sidney Ponson (3-7, 5.29)

Series Preview:
After six straight seasons of being the fourth best team in the American League East, 2004 was supposed to be the season where that streak ended. Unfortunately, that streak is in jeopardy as the Devil Rays have improved enough to climb out of the basement and challenge the struggling Orioles for fourth.

Baltimore enters this series without a single regular batting over .300. In fact, the Orioles, despite adding Miguel Tejada (.278, 7 HR, 24 RBI), Javy Lopez (.263, 14, 41) and Rafael Palmeiro (.265, 20, 38) are the worst hitting team in baseball (.244). In every major category except homeruns, the O's rank in the bottom third in pitching and batting. Too much was expected from a young, inexperienced pitching staff.

With the playoffs a pipedream at this point, the Orioles, much like the devil Rays, will give their fourth rank minor league system a good look this season. Three potential front of the staff ptichers (Matt Riley, Adam Loewen, and John Maine) are tearing it up in Ottawa and should get a promotion soon.

After missing his last start in Minnesota in favor of Shawn Estes, Jeff Suppan returns to the rotation hoping to snap his personal seven game losing streak. Tampa Bay continues to test their young players, calling up catcher Koyie Hill from Triple-A Durham to replace Brook Fordyce as Mike Redmond's backup. Also getting a chance is RF Matt Diaz, who is taking Estes' roster spot. Team officials are hoping Diaz's addition will force Jonny Gomes (.121 avg, .158 obp, 0 exb) to start hitting better for fear of losing his job.

Tampa Bay Team News: (05/31-06/03)

• 05/31:
  -SP Rob Bell was released.
  -CF Joey Gathright was promoted from Double-A Orlando to Triple-A Durham.
  -SP John Switzer was sent down to Triple-A Durham from the active roster.
  -SP Shawn Estes was added to the 40 man roster and promoted from Triple-A Durham to the active roster.
  -CF Adam Hyzdu and SP Joe Little were removed from the 40 man roster.
  -RF Jose Cruz, MR Travis Harper, and 2B Damian Rolls were traded to Oakland from SP Rich Harden, SP Bill Murphy, and 2B Frank Menechino. Murphy was assigned to Triple-A Durham while Harden and Menechino were placed on the 40 man roster and added to the active roster.
  -MR Jesus Colome was added to the 40 man roster and promoted from Triple-A Durham to the active roster.
• 06/03:
  -MR Trever Miller was claimed on waivers by Florida.
  -SP Jorge Sosa was claimed on waivers by Detroit.

Around the League: (05/31-06/03)

• 05/31:
  -Oakland traded SP Rich Harden, SP Bill Murphy, and 2B Frank Menechino to Tampa Bay in exchange for RF Jose Cruz, MR Travis Harper, and 2B Damian Rolls.
  -Anaheim released SP Ramon Ortiz.
  -American League Player of the Week: CF Garret Anderson (ANA). He batted .577 in 26 AB, with 2 HR and 9 RBI.
  -National League Player of the Week: LF Barry Bonds (SFN). He batted .529 in 17 AB, with 4 HR and 5 RBI
• 06/01:
  -American League Pitcher of the Month for May: Roy Halladay (TOR). He had a record of 5-1 in 6 games started, with an ERA of 2.01 and 2 shutouts.
  -American League Batter of the Month for May: Jason Giambi (NYA). He batted .404 in 94 AB, with 11 homers and 31 RBI.
  -National League Pitcher of the Month for May : Russ Ortiz (ATL). He had a record of 5-1 in 7 games started, with an ERA of 3.24.
  -National League Batter of the Month for May: Jim Thome (PHI). He batted .384 in 86 AB, with 17 homers and 37 RBI.
• 06/03:
  -Florida claimed MR Trever Miller off waivers from Tampa Bay.
  -Detroit claimed SP Jorge Sosa off waivers from Tampa Bay.

American League East Standings: (6/04/2004)

Team        W-L   PCT   GB  Streak Last 10
New York  34-19  .642    -    W5    8-2
Boston    26-28  .481  8.5    L4    2-8
Toronto   26-28  .481  8.5    W3    4-6
Baltimore 18-35  .340  16.0   L3    1-9
Tampa Bay 18-35  .340  16.0   L2    3-7

[BostonRS14]

Rays pound O's, move out of basement in East
Game 54: Tampa Bay 12, Baltimore 3

Tino Martinez said before the game he was tired of seeing his starters losing confidence on the mound when they weren't perfect becuase the offense was giving them enough leads. In repsonse to a closed door meeting, the Devil Rays scored 8 runs in the final three innings to blow out the Orioles in the opener of a three game set of the bottom dwelling AL East ballclubs.

Despite the final score, this game was close until two runs in the 8th were followed by 5 in the ninth for a strong nine run win.

Jeff Suppan started for Tampa and snapped his personal seven game losing streak with six hits scattered over seven innings. Larry Bigbie's two-run homerun in the bottom of the 5th cut the lead to one, but Suppan reitred the next three batters in the inning to stop the rally. Javy Lopez led off the inning with a solo shot to deep left-center before JT Snow singled to bring up Bigbie.

The Devil Rays scored first with four runs in the 5th off starter Eric Dubose. Matt Diaz started things off with a one-out single to left. Mike Redmond followed with an RBI-double down the left field line, scoring Diaz with the game's first run. Tino Martinez got his first RBI of the night with a single to right that drove home Redmond without a throw. Edurado Perez, who is batting one-hundred and fifty points higher against lefties than righties this season, followed Martinez with a two-run homerun that landed in the Baltimore bullpen in left-center.

Aubrey Huff added a sacrifice fly in the 7th for an insurance run before Tampa broke the game open in the 8th. Geoff Blum and Matt Diaz hit solo-homeruns off reliever Rick Bauer for a four run lead. Diaz's homerun, which traveled an estimated 366 feet to right field was the first of his brief major league career.

With a comfortable four run lead and Jeff Suppan already hitting the showers, the Devil Rays got a few more runs for good measure in the ninth. Frank Menechino led off the inning with a solo homerun to left field against Bauer. Julio Lugo and Geoff Blum each followed with singles before B.J. Ryan was summoned from the 'pen. Carl Crawford, the first batter faced by Ryan, walked and Diaz grounded into a fielders choice, forcing Lugo out at home. With the bases still loaded, Tino Martinez slammed the first offering from Ryan to the deepest park of the ball park, easily clearing the centerfield wall for the Grand Slam homerun. After singles to Perez and Huff, Felix Heredia came in an struck out Menehcino to end the inning.


Tampa Bay Devil Ray first baseman Tino Martinez is greeted by
teammates after hitting a Grand Slam homerun in the ninth
inning at Orioles Park.

Jesus Colome worked the final two innings for his first save of the season. In 4 appearances this season, Colome has yet to allow a run.

W: Jeff Suppan (2-7, 5.45); L: Eric Dubose (4-4, 4.85); SV: Jesus Colome (1, 0.00)
Player of the Game: Tino Martinez. 4-6, GS_HR (7), 2 Runs, 5 RBIs (19)
Game Notes: Matt Diaz hit the longest homer of his career, it went 366 feet. Mike Redmond set a career high for hits (4) in a game! Frank Menechino hit the longest homer of his career, it went 388 feet. Tino Martinez set a career high for RBI (5) in a game!

Reyes continues struggles, O's take game in 9th
Game 55: Tampa Bay 5, Baltimore 6

Al Reyes might not have earned the loss against the Orioles, but his ninth inning performance was clearly to blame. Coming into a tied game with a runner on second and no outs is a tough position, but to be a successful closer in this league, these situations must be handled. A bobbled bunt attempt by Reyes allowed Jay Gibbons to advance Larry Bigbie to third base. Jerry Hairston took one for the team when he leaned a bit into an inside fastball to load the bases with no outs. Not messing around, Melvin Mora drove the first offering from Reyes to deep left field, just far enough for Bidgbie to score the game winning run without a throw.

Mora's solo homerun to lead off the game against Todd Ritchie gave the Orioles a brief lead, before Eduardo Perez launched a three-run bomb to deep centerfield. Perez, who has gone deep in his last three games, is not half way to his season best of 16 he hits in 1997 with Cincinnati. Geoff Blum added his 6th homerun of the season in the 4th inning off starter Rodrigo Lopez for a three run lead.

Baltimore would tie the game at four in the bottom of the 5th when Todd Ritchie got into some trouble keeping the ball off the bats of the O's. JT Snow and Larry Bigbie led off with singles, and advanced to second and third on a Jay Gibbons's fist sacrifice bunt of the season. Hairston grounded out to Frank Menechino to score Snow. After walking Mora, Ritchie surrendered a run-scoring single to Miguel Tejada to tie the game.

Jay Gibbons solo homerun in the bottom of the 7th gave the O's a brief lead that Tampa took away in the following half inning with a RBI-double from Geoff Blum. Jonny Gomes, who has come into the game as a pinch runner for Aubrey Huff, scored easily from second on the play.

Bobby Seay, who replaced Ritchie after the Gibbons' homerun, worked two innings of hitless relief before allowing the lead off double to Bigbie in the ninth.

W: Jorge Julio (1-3, 7.00); L: Bobby Seay (0-2, 11.37)
Player of the Game: Miguel Tejada. 3-4, 2B (8), R, RBI (25)
Game Notes: Carl Crawford sets a new single season Team Record for Stolen Bases with 31! Jay Gibbons hit the longest homer of his career, it went 456 feet.

Zambrano looks strong, Rays take series finale to stay out of cellar
Game 56: Tampa Bay 4, Baltimore 3

Victor Zambrano was all smiles sitting in front of his locker after earning just his second victory of the season.

"It was a big game for me. I wanted to prove that I could be counted on. We moved out of 5th place for the first time in a long while, and it feels good. Now we have to turn our sights to 4th place Toronto and star chipping away there."


Tampa Bay starter Victor Zambrano, shown above
warming up before the game, pitched eight innings
to earn his second victory in 13 starts.

In earning his first victory since early April, Zambrano survived scttering six hits by striking out 8 Orioles batters. Sidney Ponson, who got the start for the Orioles, pitch well, but was outdueled by Zambrano on the night. Ponson was victimized by a season high 11 hits before exiting after 7 with a tied ballgame.

Fred McGriff continued his climb to 500 with his 497th homerun in the 2nd inning off Ponson. McGriff moved one ahead of Cincinnati Red Ken Griffey, Jr. in the chase to join the elite club.

Baltimore took the lead in the bottom of the inning when Zambrano seemed to lose control of his pitches momentarily. After loading the bases on two walks and a single, Zambrano hit Melvin Mora to force in th tying run and followed that up with a wild pitch to Miguel Tejada that allowed Keith Osik to walk in from third. After a brief meeting with Mike Redmond, Zambrano shaked off the wildness and retired Tejada with a fly ball to centerfield.

Frank Menechino's single to right field in the top of the 3rd tied the game at two. With Mike Redmond on second and Matt Diaz on first, Redmond smacked a 2-2 offering from Ponson cleanly into right, scoring Redman without a throw.

Rafael Palmeiro took back the lead for Baltimore in the 5th with a RBI-single to center that scored Jerry Hairston from second with the third run of the night for the O's. Luis Matos followed Palmeiro with a single, but Raffy was thrown out by Diaz trying to advance to third on the play. Hairston had led off the inning with a double.

The Devil Rays took the lead for good in the 8th, after Buddy Groom was called out of the bullpen to replace a worn out Sidney Ponson. With Eduaro Perez already on first, Groom retired the first two batters he faced before Tino Martinez doubled Perez home from first with a shot off the rightfield scoreboard. Julio Lugo followed with a single to the right-center gap that scored pinch runner Jonny Gomes from second with the game winning run. Gomes came into the game when Martinez had to leave after injuring his hamstring muscle rounding first base. Al Reyes relieved Zambrano to start the ninth and work a perfect inning to earn his 6th save of the season.

W: Victor Zambrano (2-4, 5.47); L: Jorge Julio (1-4, 7.16); SV: Al Reyes (6, 5.19)
Player of the Game: Victor Zambrano. 8 IP, 6 Hits, 3 Runs, 2 BB's, 8 K's, 115 PI.
Game Notes: Rocco Baldelli sets a new single season Team Record for Stolen Bases with 31! Tino Martinez was injured while running the bases.

[BostonRS14]

Upcoming Series:

San Francisco Giants vs. Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida

Team Records:
Tampa Bay Devil Rays: 20-36, .357 (HM: 12-16), 4th AL East, -16.0
San Francisco Giants: 32-26, . (RD: 18-11),

Season Series: 0-0, 1st meeting.

Pitching Matchups:
06/08: Jason Schmidt (3-3, 3.53) vs. Rich Harden (3-3, 3.16)
06/09: Jeroime Williams (5-3, 3.64) vs. Jeff Suppan (2-7, 5.45)
06/10: Jim Brower (5-0, 2.41) vs. Todd Ritchie (1-4, 5.24)

Series Preview:
Interleague play has come for the 2004 season, and the devil Rays kick if off against the National League West San Francisco Giants. While Rich Harden and Jason Schmidt might be familiar with each other from their battles in the bay area the past, these two clubs have almost no history. A brief three game series during the 2002 season is the only meeting they have had. Hopefully Devil Rays fans will take advantage of the arrival of Barry Bonds to come out and see their Rays.

The Devil Rays will look to make a statement in this series after Giants slugger Barry Bonds gave the team some bulletin board fodder when asked about the trip to Tampa. "Lou is a good man, but I don't think he knew what he was getting into down there. They are not as good as us, and anything less than a sweep is a disappointment for a club like this. I wish they had a retractable roof, so I could really show those six fans that show up every game how to hit a baseball player is supposed to hit the longball."

Tampa Bay Team News: (06/04-06/07)

• 06/05:
  -LF Carl Crawford set a new team single season record for Stolen Bases with 31.
• 06/06:
  -CF Alex Sanchez was claimed off waivers from Detorit. Sancehz was added to the 40 man roster and promoted from Triple-A Durham.
  -RF Jonny Gomes was sent down from the active roster to Triple-A Durham.
  -1B Tino Martinez was injuried running the bases. Team doctors diagnosed the injury as an inflamed hamstring muscle that will keep him day-to-day for about 4 weeks.

Around the League: (06/04-06/07)

• 06/04:
  -Pittsburgh claimed RF B.J. Surhoff off waivers from Baltimore
• 06/05:
  -Tampa Bay LF Carl Crawford set a new Tampa Bay team record for Stolen Bases in a season with 31.
• 06/06:
  -Tampa Bay claimed CF Alex Sanchez off waivers from Detroit.
• 06/07:
  -Pittsburgh released SP Rick Reed.
  -American League Player of the Week: 1B John Olerud (ANA). He batted .526 in 19 AB, with 2 HR and 6 RBI.
  -National League Player of the Week: C A.J. Pierzynski (SFN).He batted .522 in 23 AB, with 3 HR and 13 RBI.

American League East Standings: (6/08/2004)

Team        W-L   PCT   GB  Streak Last 10
New York  36-20  .643    -    W2    8-2
Boston    28-29  .491  8.5    W1    3-7
Toronto   27-30  .474  9.5    W1    4-6
Tampa Bay 20-36  .357  16.0   W1    4-6
Baltimore 19-37  .339  17.0   L1    2-8

[BostonRS14]

Player Milestone Watch:

• Homeruns:
  -Barry Bonds: 688, 3rd All Time, 26 B. Ruth.
  -Sammy Sosa: 554, 9th All Time, 9 behind R. Jackson.
  -Rafael Palmeiro: 548, t-10th All Time (w/ M. Schmidt), 6 behind Sosa*.
  -Fred McGriff: 497, 20th All Time, 7 behind E. Murray.
  -Ken Griffey, Jr.: 496, 21st All Time, 1 behind McGriff*.
• Runs Batted In:
  -Barry Bonds: 1800, 16th All Time, 12 behind F. Robinson.
  -Rafael Palmeiro: 1726, 18th All Time, 6 behind H. Wagner.
• Doubles:
  -Rafael Palmeiro: 551, 18th All Time, 9 behind E. Murray.
  -Barry Bonds: 548, 19th All Time, 3 behind Palmeiro*.
• Base on Balls:
  -Barry Bonds: 2,125, 2nd All Time, 65 behind R. Henderson*.
  -Frank Thomas: 1,417, 21st All Time, 3 behind F. Robinson.
• Runs scored:
  -Barry Bonds: 1,993, 8th All Time, 3 beinhd C. Anson.
• Stolen Bases:
  -Kenny Lofton: 547, 19th All Time, 21 behind B. McPhee.
  -Barry Bonds: 507, 21st All Time, 33 behind J. Ward.
  -Robbie Alomar: 496 25th All Time, 8 behind P. Molitor.
• Wins:
  -Roger Clemens: 315, 15th All Time, 3 behind P. Niekro.
  -Greg Maddux: 293, 22nd All Time, 7 behind E. Wynn/L. Grove.
• Strikeouts:
  -Roger Clemens: 4,161, 2nd All Time, 1,553 behind N. Ryan.
  -Randy Johnson: 3,981, 4th All Time, 245 behind S. Carlton.
  -Greg Maddux: 2,797, 16th All Time, 6 behind C. Young.
  -David Cone: 2,668, 18th All Time, 105 behind F. Tanana
  -Curt Schilling, 2,644, 19th All Time, 24 behind D. Cone*.
  -Pedro Martinez: 2,527, 23rd All Time, 29 behind J. Koosman.
• Saves:
  -John Franco: 424, 2nd All Time, 54 behind L. Smith.
  -Trevor Hoffman: 360, 5th All Time, 7 behind J. Reardon.
  -Roberto Hernandez: 320, 9th All Time, 10 behind J. Wetteland.
  -Rob Nen: 314, 11th All Time, 4 behind R. Aguilera.
  -Mariano Rivera: 298, 17th All Time, 2 behind B. Sutter.
  -Troy Percival: 297, 18th All Time, 1 behind M. Rivera*.
  -Rod Beck: 286, 19th All Time, 11 behind T. Percival*.
  -Jose Mesa: 249, 20th All Time, 37 behind R. Beck*.
  -Billy Wagner: 230, 21st All Time, 19 behind J. Mesa*.
  -Ugeth Urbina: 213, 23rd All Time, 14 behind B. Wagner*.
  -Armando Benitez: 204, 24 All Time, 9 behind U. Urbina*.
  -Todd Jones: 184, 25th All Time, 10 behind A. Benitez*.
• Shutouts:
  -Roger Clemens: 46, 25th All Time, 2 behind K. Nichols.

[Dougiestyle]

Great dynasty!!!

[BostonRS14]

Originally Posted by Dougiestyle

Great dynasty!!!

thanks...really starting to get into it myself...looking for some more indepth aspects to bring out so if anyone has ideas or things you'd like to see more of, let me know...

[BostonRS14]

LaMar continues to add youth, three-way deal nets Sweeney and Wagner.
Neil McCaulley, Devil Rays columnist

As a part of the three team deal involving Tampa Bay, the Chicago White Sox and Cincinnati Reds, the Devil Rays bolstered what is becoming a deep farm system with some much needed talent. Coming south to Florida were RF Ryan Sweeney (Chicago) and CL Ryan Wanger (Cincinnati) in exchange for SS Deivi Cruz (Chicago) and MR Bobby Seay (cincinnati). Chicago also shipped SP Scott Schoeneweis to the Reds in the deal.

To Tampa Bay:
CL Ryan Wagner RF Ryan Sweeney
To Cincinnati:
MR Bobby Seay SP Scott Schoeneweis
To Chicago (A):
SS Deivi Cruz

"We look at it this way, GM Chuck Lamar explained. "We lose Bobby [Seay] but upgrade our relief core with Wagner. That was the key here. Upgrading a weakness. Deivi has not been happy here all season and with B.J. [Upton] in Durham, he wasn't getting the at bats he deserved."

Cruz has spent the entire 2004 season with Durham after signing for the veteran's minimum during the offseason. In 56 games, Cruz batted .312 with 12 HR's and 31 RBIs. He will be joining his fifth organiztion in 6 seasons. The White Sox expected him to step into the starting spot created by Jose Valentin's injury.

"I got a call asking about Deivi, and it just flew from there. I told Kenny that I needed some solid young guys and we were able to work it out quickly once it became apparent that the Reds covetted Schoeneweis (5-4, 4.65 ERA, .282 opp avg.) more than we did."

The Reds had been reluctant to part with Wagner, but with Seay coming onboard and Dany Graves ready to step back into the closer role after a failed attempt at starting, finally agreed late Monday night. Wagner, who debuted with the Reds late in 2003, will immediately fill in as Tampa Bay closer, becoming the third to do so this season. Drafted in the 2003 First Year Player's Draft with the 14th selection of the first round out of Houston.

"It's becoming almost as bad as the drummer position in Spinal Tap," One anonymous team offical said about the revolving door closer position that has plagued the team this season.

"Ryan will do many great things with this club," LaMar boasted. "He will go back there with Chad [Gaudin] and Jesus Colome for the next few years and shut down teams and close out lots of wins someday. We've been able to address some of our pitching concerns with trades with Oakland and St. Louis, but now we need to build a bullpen to ensure we win those close games."

Ryan Sweeney, who can play both corner outfield positions, was also drafted in the 2003 First Year Player's Draft. Chicago drafted the 19 year old out of Xavier High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in the second round, 52nd overall. Sweeney had apparently worn out his welcome with the White Sox minor league instructors after showing a flare for poor judgement in the field. "He has very little ranger and will miss even routine balls. Quite frankly, he's a bit of a mess defensively and probably best suited to be a DH if he makes it." Sweeney will remain in Single-A with the Devil Rays, reporting to Bakersfield (30-29, .508, 9th place, 4.5 GB), where he will join fellow 2003 draftees Delmon Young, James Houser, and Travis Schlichting.

Bobby Seay, who went to the Reds in the deal, had struggled for most of his time with the club this season. After an impressive stretch in 2003, the club was hoping Seay would be able to break camp with them, but it was not until Danys Baez lost his job with the team that he was called up and a string of poor performances and the ability to upgrade with Wagner made his departure easier.

[Dougiestyle]

Does OOTP allow 3 team trades? If so, I had no clue.

[BostonRS14]

Harden chased in 1st, Giants rout Rays
Game 57: Tampa Bay 3, San Francisco 14

Rich Harden's first start inside the dome in St. Petersburg made him look like just one of the guys when the Giants tagged him for seven runs on four hits and and four walks. Rich's home debut was done before most fans had actually gotten to their seats after Harden was unable to record an out before departing with the bases loaded and a five run deficit.

After a lead off walk to Ray Durham, Edgaro Alfonzo open the scoring with a double to left field. Harden pitched around Barry Bonds before Mike Lowell triples past a diving Aubrey Huff at first to score both runners. One batter later, Michael Tucker smacked a single to score Lowell from third. With runners of first and second, Pedro Felix loaded the bases with a bloop a single. Jeffrey Hammonds took a four pitch walk to force in the fifth run of the game. Pinella finally came out of the bullpen to visit his starter and decided that it was enough for Harden.

Lance carter, who has proven himself valuable ot Lou Pinella as sort of a long man out of the 'pen, relieved Harden to face Craig Counsell with the bases loaded. A fielder's choice retired Counsell, but scored Michael Tucker from third. Ray Durham followed with a single to right to score Hammonds before Edgardo Alfonzo capped the scoring with a RBI ground out to Julio Lugo. Carter stuck out Barry Bonds swining to end the inning.

The Devil Rays got one run back in the bottom of the inning when Rocco Baldelli hit a RBI-ground out to Counsell to score carl Crawford from third after he hit a one-out triple off starter Jason Schmidt. Mike Lowell took the run right back in the 2nd though, when he deposited a Lance Carter fastball into the seats in left field. He would add a two-run shot in the 3rd against Jesus Colome to earn player of the game honors with 5 runs batted in.


San Francisco Giant Jason Schmidt throws a pitch in the third inning
against the Devil Rays in St. Petersburg, Florida.

With an eleven run lead after three, Jason Schmidt turned on the cruise control and effortlessly worked into the eight inning before giving way to Rob Nen for the final four outs. Despite surrendering 7 hits and 3 base on balls, Schmidt was able to work himself out of a few jams and ended up with only three runs scored against him.

Mike Redmond led of the bottom of the 6th with a walk, and after a pair of fielder's choices, Rocco Baldelli stroked a single to right tho advance Carl Crawford to third. Aubrey Huff followed with a walk to loade the bases and Geoff Blum dropped a single into shallow left field to score Crawford and Baldelli, but, before a rally got get started, Schmidt busted a fastball on the wrists of Fred McGriff, enducing a weak groundout to the first baseman Lance Niekro to end the threat.

One good piece of news did escape the stadium for the Devil Rays. After bashing the team in the local papers, Barry Bonds started the series hitless in 5 atbats with a walk and 4 strikouts.

W: Jason Schmidt (4-3, 3.53); L: Rich Harden (3-4, 4.26)
Player of the Game: Mike Lowell. 3-5, 2 HRs (10), 3 Runs, 5 RBIs (31)

Giants put Rays alone in the East cellar with easy win
Game 58: Tampa Bay 3, San Francisco 11

After spotting the Giants an eight run lead the previous day, the Rays decided to lose this one later in the game, actually giving the almost 9 thousand in attendance a little hope. Despite not taking a lead for the second consecutive night, the Devil Rays were in the game until a three-run fifth proved to be enough for the Giants to cruise to their third straight victory.

Trailing 2-0 after a Pedro Felix two-run double in the top of the 2nd, Tampa Bay tied the game up in the bottom half of the inning. With the bases loaded and one out, Julio Lugo took a controversial ball of his leg to force home the first run. Felipe Alou immediately joined his catcher, A.J. Pierzynski, in protesting Lugo's apparent lack of avoidance of the pitch from starter Jerome Williams. After a brief discussion with the other umpires, crew chief and home plate ump Tim McClellan awarded Lugo first base.
Mike Redmond followed the dispute with a sacrifice fly to right-center to tie the game before Alex Sanchez ran his hitless streak with the Rays to seven, when he struck out looking to end the inning.

San Francisco responded in the next half inning with a two-run double by Pierzynski to back the lead. The second run, scored by Mike Lowell from first, proved to be the game winner off Jeff Suppan. The devil Rays got on back in the bottom of the 3rd after Rocco Baldelli advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored easily when Aubrey Huff smacked a clean single through the hole on the right side of the infield.

San Francisco put the game away in the 5th when Pierzynski, Michael Tucker and Jeffrey Hammonds all hit RBI doubles to chase Suppan. The Giants added two unearned runs off Lance Carter in the 7th after Julio Lugo's sixth error at short this season. Al Reyes, fresh off losing his closer position, looked uncomfortable working the final inning and two-thirds, surrendering two runs on three hits.

W: Jerome Williams (6-3, 3.69); L: Jeff Suppan (2-8, 5.94)
Player of the Game: A.J. Pierzynski. 4-5, 2 2Bs (16), 3 Runs, 3 RBIs (38)
Game Notes: A.J. Pierzynski extends his hitting streak to a career high 12 games!

Giants shut out Rays to sweep series
Game 59: Tampa Bay 0, San Francisco 3

After a disasterious three game series in which nothing went right, the Devil Rays have to be pleased that the Giants are gone. On top of being swept and outscored 28-6, the Giants put the Rays back into basement as the Orioles swept the Diamondbacks in their three game matchup. Luckily, the Giants now move onto Camden Yards to meet the O's in a weekend series.

Thirty-one year old journeyman Jim Brower continued his unexpected run with seven shutout innings against the Rays. After only five starts the previous two seasons between San Francisco, Montreal and Cincinnati, Brower has put up an astounding 6-0 record in 13 starts with the Giants this season. He leads the National League with a 2.18 ERA and is looking like a contendor for an All Star position next month.

Todd Ritchie, who continues to struggle for wins despite decent starts, was the unfortunate loser, surrendering two runs on nine hits over six and a third innings. Todd took a shutout into the 7th before loading the bases with only one out. Ater a 114 pithes, Lou Pinella brought in Jesus Colome to try and work out of the jam. Unfortunately, Colome surrendered a single to the first batter he faced, catcher Yorvit Torrealba, scoring two of the inherited runners. Pedro Feliz lined into a double play to end the inning, but the damage was done and Brower was given all the support he needed.


San Francisco Giants' Barry Bonds tosses his bat after
striking out for the third time against Todd Ritchie to end
the 6th inning with a runner on third

The Giants added an insurance run in the ninth after Julio Lugo booted an inning ending ground ball. With an extra out, Pedro Feliz slapped a single up the middle to drive home Michael Lowell with the third and final run of the game.

W: Jim Brower (6-0, 2.18); L: Todd Ritchie (1-5, 4.96); SV: Matt Herges (16, 2.68)
Player of the Game: Jim Brower. 7 IP, 5 Hits, 0 Runs, 5 K's, 87 PI.