Tampa Bay Rays Fan Blog

Talk about the Tampa Bay Rays

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

Garza extends mastery of Orioles, Crawford and Brignac homer to lead Rays to 5-1 win

Matt Garza allowed one run in eight innings for the Tampa Bay Rays in another sparkling performance against the Baltimore Orioles, and Carl Crawford went 4 for 4 with a homer in a 5-1 victory Monday night.

The game drew 9,129 fans, the smallest crowd in the 19-year history of Camden Yards.

Reid Brignac also homered for the Rays in their first road game of the season.

Felix Pie connected for the Orioles, who fell to 1-6 with their fourth straight loss. Baltimore has scored only three runs in its last three games.

Garza (2-0) gave up six hits, struck out five and walked three in beating the Orioles for the second time this season. The right-hander is 8-1 lifetime against Baltimore, including 5-0 with a 3.00 ERA in six career starts at Camden Yards.

Click here to read the full article – By DAVID GINSBURG of Associated Press


Tampa Bay Devil Rays T-Shirts
and other Devil Rays Apparel

Tampa Bay Rays Hats Off II T-Shirt

Tampa Bay Rays Hats Off II T-Shirt
Tampa Bay Devil Rays MLB Property Of T-shirt

Tampa Bay Devil Rays MLB Property Of T-shirt
Tampa Bay Rays MLB Navy Property Of T-shirt

Tampa Bay Rays MLB Navy Property Of T-shirt

April 13, 2010 Posted by GameSetMatch | MLB, Matt Garza, Rays Apparel, Rays News, Tampa Bay Rays | , , , , , , , , , | No Comments Yet

Rookie trio brightens future for Rays

Because he was pitching against the Blue Jays that day, David Price needed to find someone else to complete his new pregame routine. Price, Tampa Bay’s rookie left-hander and recently appointed lineup card attendee, had to designate someone else to bring the card to the umpires before the day’s first pitch.


Price decided on Wade Davis, his quiet, sharp-eyed, square-jawed fellow rookie starter.

After Davis returned to the dugout, home-plate umpire Mike Estabrook walked to Rays manager Joe Maddon and whispered that he’d never seen anything like it.

“[Davis] didn’t say one word,” Maddon said, laughing in his office after the game.

Such is the deadpan reality of Davis. There are few aspects in baseball he doesn’t take seriously.

As the 24-year-old right-hander has emerged over the course of the past two weeks for Tampa Bay, the seriousness of his pitching ability has also rounded into focus. The fierceness of his breaking ball only matches the looks he gives when squinting over his glove on the mound.


Click here to read the full article – By Zach Schonbrun of MLB.com


Tampa Bay Devil Rays Sports Memorabilia
and other Tampa Bay Devil Rays Gifts and Collectibles

September 22, 2009 Posted by GameSetMatch | David Price, Jeff Niemann, MLB, Rays News, Tampa Bay Rays, Wade Davis | , , , , , , , , | No Comments Yet

Rays’ rookie starters will finish out year

With an off-day on the horizon Monday, the Rays have not set their rotation past Sunday. But don’t expect a lot of change, particularly where the rookie pitchers are concerned.



Currently, the rotation includes rookies Jeff Niemann, Wade Davis and David Price, but Rays manager Joe Maddon doesn’t believe any of them will be shut down before the end of the season.

“We’re OK with all three right now,” Maddon said. “They’re all on the border, on the top side of the borderline, so we can, but we’re not overtly concerned right now.”

Davis has thrown a total of 168 1/3 innings, Niemann 165 2/3, and Price 144.


Click here to read the full article – By Bill Chastain of MLB.com


Tampa Bay Devil Rays Sports Memorabilia
and other Tampa Bay Devil Rays Gifts and Collectibles

September 17, 2009 Posted by GameSetMatch | David Price, Jeff Niemann, MLB, Rays News, Tampa Bay Rays, Wade Davis | , , , , , , , , , | No Comments Yet