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David Price Makes #2 of the Best Starting Pitchers of 2010

This year is the first year in a long time that starting pitchers are dominating more than hitters. ERA’s are so low this year for many pitchers, which made it very hard to pick a top five. A lot of people probably know who number one is going to be, but the other four can be anyone’s guess.

2. David Price, Tampa Bay Rays: At the age of 25, Price is proving to be the Rays ace. Two years ago when Price entered the league at the end of the 2008 season, the Rays were expecting him to be their future ace. Price shined in the ALCS as the Rays closer beating the Red Sox. Last year Price moved into the rotation and had just an all right season going 10-7 with a 4.42 ERA. This year Price is now what the Rays expected two years ago. This year Price is the ace. Price is 11-3 with a 2.44 ERA and 84 strikeouts. Price just needed a little time to develop and is now helping the Rays stay in contention in the tough AL East. The Rays were the best team in baseball for the first two and a half months of the season. They fell back a little bit, giving the lead to the Yankees and also letting the Red sox pass them. I think the Rays just need a rest and they will get that in a few weeks when the all-star break rolls around. The Rays are still very much in the race for first, they are only three games back and have the fourth best record in baseball. Like I said with the Red Sox, the Rays still have a lot of games against the Red Sox and Yankees which will determine who is the best team not just in the division but, probably in all of baseball.

Click here for the full list at: Around the Diamond: Top Five Starting Pitchers of 2010

Team USA Sports Memorabilia
and other Team USA Autographed Cards
Below are links to autographed cards available for David Price.

David Price Autographs
David Price Autographed Cards

June 30, 2010 Posted by sportsfan1 | David Price, MLB, Rays Memorabilia, Tampa Bay Rays | , , , , | No Comments Yet

Evan Longoria top third baseman in 2010

Three out of the five third baseman on this list are having comeback years. One of the players career looked like it was over, one of them hasn’t had a good year since he was in the National League, and the last comeback player had a power outage last year.

1. Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays: No surprise here, Longoria made it clear the last few years that he is the elite third baseman in all of baseball. Longoria is getting better and better every year. In his third year in the league, Longoria is playing for the team with the best record in baseball. Thanks to Longoria the Rays can compete in the tough American League East and he is looking to bring them back to the World Series to win it this time. Longoria leads his team in hits with 79, doubles with 22, RBI’s with 51, on base percentage with .391, slugging with .573, and average with .321. Longoria continues to get better and better every season. At 24-years-old Longoria may be the best third baseman for a long time to come.

Read who else made the top in Eric Heyer’s post..
Around the Diamond: Top Five Third Baseman of 2010

June 16, 2010 Posted by sportsfan1 | Evan Longoria, MLB, Tampa Bay Rays | , , , , | No Comments Yet

Rays’ fall back to Earth was inevitable

Just nine days ago, the Tampa Bay Rays were 20 games over .500 and headed for a 118-win season, if only they could keep it up.

If you thought they could, though, you were dreaming.

No team has kept the pace they were on for an entire season. The major-league record for wins in the regular season is 116.

I mention this for a couple of reasons. It illustrates just how well the Rays navigated the first seven weeks, and it also shows this current patch of rough road is not really surprising.

One of the reasons “Moneyball” became popular to the point of cliché in baseball is that it showed that performance really is mathematically predictable. Little more than a week ago – on May 23 – the Rays were 32-12 after beating Houston 10-6. They’ve lost six of eight since then, including a supremely frustrating 3-2 setback Monday night at Toronto.

Click here to read the full article – By JOE HENDERSON of The Tampa Tribune


June 1, 2010 Posted by GameSetMatch | MLB, Rays News, Tampa Bay Rays | , , , , | No Comments Yet