The Anti-Pennant Race: 2nd Annual David Price Sweepstakes

Several pages are still linking to our front page…for those looking for images of the new uniforms, CLICK HERE…

Once again the Devil Rays are in the running for the first overall pick and have a very good chance at becoming the first team to ever have the top pick in the amateur draft two years in a row (until recently, the top pick alternated between leagues). Last season we tracked the race for the top pick and with the Devil Rays in the running again this season, we feel compelled now to make this an annual feature.

Last year at this time, the top pick was not a sure thing, but David Price appeared to be the clear favorite. Without an obvious top choice for the 2008 draft, we decided to name this feature after the inaugural namesake. While we plan on running this feature each year in September, we do hope that one of these seasons the Tampa Bay Rays are not among the contenders.

Without further ado, we present the 2nd Annual David Price Sweepstakes and the race for the top pick in the 2008 draft!

TEAM	W	L	GB	L10	STK	E#
Tampa Bay Devil Rays	64	92	—	3-7	W1	—
Florida Marlins	66	90	2.0	3-7	L3	5
Pittsburgh Pirates	66	90	2.0	1-9	L9	5
Baltimore Orioles	66	89	2.5	4-6	L1	5
Kansas City	67	88	3.5	4-6	L1	4
Houston Astros	68	88	4.0	5-5	L2	3
Chicago White Sox	68	88	4.0	6-4	L1	3
San Francisco	69	87	5.0	3-7	W2	2
Washington Nationals	69	87	5.0	4-6	W1	2

The race is getting a little tighter as the lead is down to two with the Rays win over the Red Sox on Sunday and Florida and Pittsburgh dropping their weekend games. Three teams (Texas, Cincinnati and St. Louis) were eliminated this weekend. At this point, it appears as though the Pirates will make a strong push in the final week as they have clearly given up on the season. On the other hand they have games remaining against the D-Backs and Cardinals, two other teams that are tanking, while the Marlins have series remaining against the Cubbies and the Mets, two teams fighting for the post-season. The Rays will face the Yankees and the Jays. The Orioles are a longshot at this point as the fear of finishing behind the Rays in the AL East appears to be just enough motivation to win once every couple of days.

The Hangover: If The Devil Rays Scored 42 Runs On A Football Sunday, Would Anybody Notice?

Devil Rays 6, Red Sox 4.
The Devil Rays played yesterday? Unfortunate that the Rays pulled off their best performance in over a week, when the game was played at the same time as a Bucs home game in which the Bucs looked as good as they have since the 2003 season opener against the F’eagles*.

*We are of course dismissing every game since then against the Falcons and Michael Vick.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• On Saturday, the Rays hitters broke the AL record for strikeouts in a season. BJ Upton became the first member of the 20-20 club in franchise history. [USA Today]
• Apparently beating Tim Wakefield is a “sign of progress”. We believe being dominated by a knuckleballer is #4,376 on the list of reasons why the Rays are yet to experience success as a team. It comes in just ahead of “too many rainouts at the Trop” and just behind “Joe Maddon’s shoe size”. Believe us, we understand that finding an angle on a game with one week remaining in the last week of yet another 90+ loss season is a trying task at best. But Papa Joe…come back to us. please. [TBO]
• Carl Crawford did not play this weekend and with only one week remaining, he may not return this season. [tampabay.com]

“I’m not so sure right now he’s going to be able to do this,” Maddon said. “We’re hopeful for the first game back (Tuesday), but it just doesn’t seem like it’s going anywhere we need it to go for him to participate right now. We’ll look at it again after the day off but I’m not anticipating he wil be able to play.”

• Joe Maddon makes a case for Delmon Young to be rookie of the year. [TBO]

“You put the whole picture together to tie this whole thing into a nice little bundle, and I think it equals Rookie of the Year,” Maddon said. “Everybody just wants to talk about offense – talk about his defense and his stolen bases this year. He’s playing a complete game for us right now.”

• Joe Maddon probably should have saved his “Delmon Young for tookie of the year” speech for the Yankees series as it likely fell on deaf ears with the Boston Media. The voting members of the Boston are likely to already have their vote cast for Dustin Pedroia. [courant.com]
• Marc Topkin interviews Joe Maddon. We love, love, love the last question “ Since the Rays won’t be in it this year, who do you think is going to win the World Series?”. ON the surface it seems a little ridiculous that Topkin would need to preface that question by informing the manager that his team has already been eliminated from playoff contention. But in Topkin’s defense. He is interviewing Papa Joe Maddon, the eternal optimist. [tampabay.com]
• Stacy Long offers his thoughts on the pitchers and hitters that should be named as the top minor leaugers for 2007. Not much to argue with. [Stacy Long’s Riverwalk Talk]
• The team decided to shut down James Shields for the remainder of the 2007 season, but will not do the same with Scott Kazmir, who will make his next scheduled start, stating that the lefty has looked fresher than Shields recently. [Devil Rays]
• We didn’t write it, but we were thinking it. This was one campaign that we are sure seemed much better on the drawing board. [The Serious Tip]
• Al Reyes hopes to have his option ($2 million) picked up for 2008. It should not even be a question. Reyes mentions that he would prefer to close but would be willing to be used as a setup man if that is what is asked of him. [TBO]
• Wes Bankston, who was designated for assignment last week, was claimed off of waivers by the Kansas City Royals. [The Raw Feed]
  
• Raymond and Wool E. Bull show their hip hop moves…If you are into that sort of thing. [Deadspin]
• With the Devil Rays becoming the Rays in 2008, devilrays.com will need to change their domain name. The obvious choice is rays.com but that will not happen as the owners of that domain name, Rays Boathouse in Seattle, is not selling. [Seattle Times]

The Anti-Pennant Race: 2nd Annual David Price Sweepstakes

Several pages are still linking to our front page…for those looking for images of the new uniforms, CLICK HERE…

Once again the Devil Rays are in the running for the first overall pick and have a very good chance at becoming the first team to ever have the top pick in the amateur draft two years in a row (until recently, the top pick alternated between leagues). Last season we tracked the race for the top pick and with the Devil Rays in the running again this season, we feel compelled now to make this an annual feature.

Last year at this time, the top pick was not a sure thing, but David Price appeared to be the clear favorite. Without an obvious top choice for the 2008 draft, we decided to name this feature after the inaugural namesake. While we plan on running this feature each year in September, we do hope that one of these seasons the Tampa Bay Rays are not among the contenders.

Without further ado, we present the 2nd Annual David Price Sweepstakes and the race for the top pick in the 2008 draft!

TEAM	W	L	GB	L10	STK	E#
Tampa Bay Devil Rays	63	91	—	2-8	L4	—
Baltimore Orioles	65	88	2.5	4-6	L1	7
Pittsburgh Pirates	66	88	3.0	3-7	L7	6
Florida Marlins	66	88	3.0	5-5	L1	6
Kansas City	66	87	3.5	4-6	L1	6
San Francisco Giants	67	87	4.0	2-8	L4	5
Chicago White Sox	67	87	4.0	6-4	W1	5
Houston Astros	68	86	5.0	5-5	W3	4
Washington Nationals	68	86	5.0	3-7	L3	4
Texas Rangers	71	83	8.0	2-8	W1	1
Cincinnati Reds	71	83	8.0	6-4	W2	1
St. Louis Cardinals	71	82	8.5	2-8	L2	1

At this point the Rays have a comfortable 2.5 game lead as
their current 4-game losing streak has dwindled their magic number down to 7 with 8 games remaining. Pittsburgh is making a nice late-season run at the anti-pennant with 7 straight losses, but it may be too little, too late. Three teams can potentially be eliminated tonight with a win or a D-Rays loss.

[THE HANGOVER] You Would Think That The Devil Rays Clubbed A Baby Seal

FOR THOSE LOOKING FOR IMAGES OF THE NEW UNIFORMS, SCROLL DOWN PAST THIS POST, OR CLICK HERE

Devil Rays (off-day)
Just a typical quiet mid-September, 25 games out, off-day for the Devil Rays.

There was speculation as to whether or not the local newspapers would report on the uniform leaks, but by mid-afternoon, the proverbial Cat was out of the Bag, with the logos and uniforms found in many corners of the internets. Somebody had even updated the Rays’ Wikipedia page. At that point the local newspapers had no choice but to report the new uniforms, with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays confirming the leaked sketches as authentic and releasing a statement.

“We are planning an exciting celebration this fall, at which time we will launch the new marks. We will celebrate this occasion with our fans, players and supporters. We are excited to share this event with the Tampa Bay community. It will provide the first opportunity to get a complete sense of our new look and its meaning to our organization.”

Marc Topkin incorrectly refers to the spring training and batting practice uniforms as “alternate home” and “alternate road” uniforms. Yes, that is how they were labeled when the sketches were first leaked. But, all one needs to do is look at the caps in those sketches. The caps have white piping running along the sides which is the MLB trademark for spring training and batting practice caps. At least one team (Seattle) has worn those jerseys during a regular season game this year, but as far as we know, no team has worn those caps.

The Devil Rays own website, to no surprise, has not yet mentioned the new uniforms, even though the website is plastered in the new colors. At several points during the day, moderators pulled posts from the website’s message boards that included links to this website or other websites, or even just the names of websites that included the images of the new logos and uniforms. At this point everybody knows that the emperor is not wearing any clothes, including the emperor, but they still refuse to admit it.

Marc Lancaster decided to give us a lesson in how the internet spreads information. We picture Lancaster typing that with his coffee mug sitting on the CD-tray of his computer.

As for the unis and logos. Most of the reaction has been negative, but that is always the knee-jerk reaction to change. Personally, there is more that we like about the unis than what we dislike

• We are not happy about the name change. Rays or D-Rays is nice nickname for the team, but we liked DEVIL RAYS.
• Most people compare the uniforms to the Royals and/or the Mariners. The color scheme seems to most resemble the Royals, with the starburst reminding many of the Mariners logo. The “T” in the cap seems to be the exact same font as the “T” on the Texas Rangers cap.
• We don’t mind the splash of yellow. We even kinda like it. But they could have left it off the swimming Ray logo on the sleeves. Changing it to blue was fine, but yellow “shadows” were unnecessary.
• Many people are unhappy that the road unis do not have “Tampa Bay” on them. Some have speculated that this signals an impending move. Others see it as a silly attempt to expand the fanbase. If the later is true, it is idiotic. Having “Tampa Bay” on the front of the road jerseys will have ZERO impact on whether somebody roots for the Rays or not. There are tens of thousands of Yankees and Red Sox fans that have never set foot in either New York or Boston.
• We understand that a lot of people don’t like the new unis. Many even strongly hate the new scheme, but we think that people need to reserve final judgement until we see the real things on real players. Right now all we have are sketches. There is a very good chance that many people will change their opinion in November, in either a positive, or negative, manner.

Web site reveals Rays’ new uniforms [Bradenton Herald]
Rays’ new logos, unis leaked [Tampa Tribune]
See ya, Devil; Welcome, sunburst [St. Pete Times]

DEVIL RAYS UNIFORM WEBTOPIA…

• Many think that the “R” in the new logo is blatantly stolen from Ruby Tuesday, the restaurant chain. There is a clear similarity, but we are talking about a LETTER. There are only so many ways to represent the letter in a stylized manner. There is bound to be similarities. [Wikipedia]
• Several have compared the new logo to that of Sam’s Club warehouses. [Mop-Up Duty]
• Maybe the front office is still hoping that Blu-Ray technology will take off. [Wikipedia]
• Keg Krewe thinks that the logo is along the same lines of “Bucco Bruce”. That is to say, less than “manly”. We always liked Bucco Bruce. So what are you sayin? [Keg Krewe]
• TampaBay.com is running a poll to see which incarnation of the Rays’ uniforms you like best. [tampabay.com]
• Sports Wrap also incorrectly refers to the spring training/batting practice unis as “alternate”. [Sports Wrap]
• My Fox Tampa Bay reported about the new uniforms on their website. They included only one set of the uniform sketches and for some reason they chose to run the sketches of the spring training uniforms and did not show the readers the regular season uniforms. [My Fox Tampa Bay]
• Bugs & Cranks calls the new uniforms an “atrocity”. Of course they are not happy about the change in name so it is not surprising that they would disapprove of the new uniforms. [Bugs & Cranks]
• Best Bucs Blog has jumped on the “Stirrups in ’08” bandwagon. C’mon people. Let’s stuff the Rays email inbox! [Best Bucs Blog]
• Rays Index has been linked in a lot of places in the internets, but by far our proudest moment was yesterday when Q105 linked to our website. Q105 was as much a part of my childhood as anything. I know that the station is not what it used to be, but the Q-morning zoo had a huge impact on my formative years and when I saw that link, I decided I would name my first daughter after Scott Shannon* and dedicate “Eat My Shorts” to Toby Hall. [Q105]

*Mrs. Professor will hit me in the face with a remote control when she reads this.

The New Tampa Bay Rays Uniforms

[Update 11.9.07: CLICK HERE for “live” images of the new uniforms on players]

We haven’t really had a chance to digest them yet, and will need to see the live versions to make a true assessment. We just hope that the new Unis are not jinxed by the use of the #5. Click on the images for larger and more clear views.

And in case you missed it. We have started a campaign to convince the team to include stirrups with the new uniforms. HERE is the link.

[Update: I have added some thoughts in the comment section]

HOME UNIFORMS

ROAD UNIFORMS

SPRING TRAINING AND BATTING PRACTICELOGOS

The Hangover: Justin Ruggiano Makes Major League Debut

Angels 2, Devil Rays 1.
Come back in a little bit for a big announcement.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• Justin Ruggiano made his major league debut last night. To make room on the 40-man roster, the Rays designated Wes Bankston for assignment. [tampabay.com]
• Brendan Harris was unavailable again yesterday after pulling a muscle in batting practice on Tuesday. [TBO]
• As far as late-season rookie hazing goes, Aki Iwamura got off easy (Dice-K was made to dress like a Teletubby). On the other hand, Aki’s interpretor looks like he is in pain. [tampabay.com]
• There is a Devil Ray that holds a major league record. Scott Aldred from 1998 currently holds the record and the record is about to go down and its going down hard. [Baseball Prospectus]
• David Chalk is not happy that the Rays are dropping the “Devil”. He feels the team name has not been marketed properly, offering his own “suggestion”. [Bugs & Cranks]
• I organized my first “Rotisserie Baseball League” in 1988 (I had Kirk Gibson on my team). And SimonOnSports reminds us why we stopped playing fantasy baseball 2 years ago. Too many people now believe that Fantasy Baseball is more important than the real thing. You see, Simon apparently got “kicked in the groin” when the Devil Rays decided to shut James Shields down for the season and Simon is pissed off that Joe Maddon did not personally inform Simon of the decision in time for him to make a roster move. Apparently the Rays are idiots for caring more about the longterm health of their young Ace rather than Simon’s fantasy baseball team. [SimonOnSports]
• The folks at Roto Authority, on the other hand, understand that when a young pitcher bests his previous career high in pitches thrown, they are at a very high risk of suffering an injury or a dead arm in the following season. [Roto Authority]

With Jamie Shields shut down for the season (smart move) let’s take a look at his breakout 2007 season…Boiling all of these peripherals in a big stat cauldron gives us a 3.62 ERA to go with that 1.22 WHIP (in 2008). With the right win total that could garner some Cy votes…Speaking of which, with that many innings I think he could pick up 15 or 16 wins in 2008. He’s quietly becoming the AL’s Aaron Harang, even pitching in the East. His changeup is top ten in the game and he’s got two other above average pitches as well.

• John Sickels takes a close look at two of the top left-handed pitching prospects in baseball, Jake McGee and Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers. [Minor League Ball]

STIRRUPS IN ’08

The Campaign To Put The 2008 Tampa Bay Rays In Stirrups

Baseball is a sport built on its history. The great teams in baseball can look back and talk about players like Babe Ruth and Ted Williams and Ty Cobb and Sandy Koufax and Roberto Clemente and Hank Aaron. Fans of those teams can talk about the “Shot Heard ‘Round The World” or The Big Red Machine or the GasHouse Gang or Kirk Gibson off of Eck or Bill Buckner.

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays history consists of exactly 10 losing seasons, A swan song from Wade Boggs, some terrible free agent signings and some of the worst uniforms in the history of baseball.

Thankfully, the Rainbow Warriors are a distant memory and we have been treated to a much classier set of uniforms for the last few years. But the days are numbered for the green and grey, as only 10 games remain in the 2007 season. In 2008 the Tampa Bay Devil Rays will officially change their name to the Tampa Bay Rays and their colors will change to Navy, Yellow and Light Blue.

Paul Lukas of Uniwatch has seen the new unis and calls them “a total snooze — not wonderful, not awful, just booooooring“. Of course that report scares us a little bit as our only complaint about the current set was the green jersey.

One reason to allow Paul Lukas to see the uniforms so far in advance of the public unveiling (Nov. 11), may be to gauge public reaction.

So we will take this opportunity to call for a minor aesthetic change.

ADD STIRRUPS TO THE NEW UNIFORMS!

This is an opportunity for the Tampa Bay Rays to add a bit of class to the uniform. To add a bit of nostalgia to a franchise that has no history of its own.

Few things say “baseball” more than stirrups. And not just plain Navy stirrups. Why not throw some stripes in there. Maybe Navy stirrups with three stripes towards the top in a yellow-white-yellow pattern?

If you would like to see the Devil Rays include stirrups with the new uniforms, please support our campaign by sending the letter below to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Just copy the letter and paste it in the main section of THIS PAGE, with “Stirrups in ’08” in the subject line.

Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Tropicana Field
One Tropicana Drive
St. Petersburg, FL 33705

Re: Stirrups in ’08

To Whom It May Concern:

It has now been confirmed that the Tampa Bay Devil Rays will change their name to the “Tampa Bay Rays” and that the new uniforms will be Navy, Yellow and Light Blue.

I am writing to ask that the team please consider including striped stirrups as part of the new uniforms. Stirrups have long been a part of the baseball uniform and they have fallen out of favor in recent years as longer pants and solid sanitaries have become more popular.

It is my hope that the Devil Rays would consider adding striped stirrups to the new uniforms and at the same time add a nostalgic piece of baseball to a team that lacks a history of its own

Sincerely,

Consistently inconsistent [Uniwatch]

The Hangover: Marc Topkin Apparently Fell Asleep During Warm-Ups

Angels 2, Devil Rays 1.
This is what drives us absolutely nuts about the local coverage of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. We stayed up late last night and caught every pitch of the Rays 89th loss of the season. We went to bed frustrated with the offense, but content that Jason Hammel had pitch well and has shown improvement in his last four starts.

Then we wake up this morning to THIS headline in the St. Pete Times…

“Banged-up Rays waste Hammel’s latest gem”

Now..instead of feeling good about Hammel’s performance we now feel compelled to explain to Marc Topkin and the editors of the Times why Hammel’s performance was far from being a “gem”. Instead of feeling good about his start, we now have to point out the faults.

• It took Jason Hammel 98 pitches to get through 6 innings. Therefore, for the 12th time in 12 starts, Hammel was unable to pitch into the 7th inning.
• 6 innings and 2 runs is not a “gem”. That is an ERA of 3.00. Good. Not great. 9 innings and 2 runs might be a gem, but even then we would need to see 8-10 strikeouts and only 1-2 walks.
• Hammel allowed 7 hits and 2 walks in 6 innings. That is a WHIP of 1.50! That is NOT a gem.
• He struck out 3 batters. a strikeout to walk ratio of 3:2 is NOT a gem. A ratio of 8:1 might be a gem…if he also pitched 8 innings and gave up only 1 run.
• In 3 of his 6 innings, Hammel allowed the leadoff batter to reach base. Two of those runners scored. That is definitely NOT a gem.
• Chone Figgins scored the first run on a wild pitch. That is right. A wild pitch with a runner on third base. Apparently that is “gem”-worthy.
• Hammel had exactly ONE 1-2-3 inning. Hammel allowed base runners in 5 of the 6 innings. That is NOT a gem.
• Did we mention…SIX INNINGS IS NOT A FRIGGIN’ GEM.
• Eight innings. M-INIMUM are needed before we even think about calling a game a gem, and really we would prefer 9. And is it too much to ask that a few of those innings be 1-2-3?
• If a starting pitcher for the Yankees or the Red Sox gave up 2 runs in 6 innings and LOST, would ANYBODY call it a gem? NOT A CHANCE IN HELL. They would wonder why he labored and couldn’t get the ball directly to the set-up man in the 8th inning.
• His “Latest gem”? IS ANYBODY AT THE TIMES AWAKE OVER THERE?!? Hammel is yet to pitch into the 7th inning. In his last start, he allowed 5 hits and only 1 run in 6 innings. He did not walk a batter and struck out 6, against an overrated Seattle Mariners club. That was a very good start. But even that was NOT a gem.

Is this what we have been reduced to as fans of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays? Has the pitching been so bad that when somebody other than Scott Kazmir or James Shields allows 2 runs over 6 innings, we are supposed to be giddy?

We hope that Jason Hammel does not read the St. Pete Times. If he does, he might actually be content with his performance last night, and not see that there is still plenty of room for improvement. We understand that a lot of times, wins and losses are out of the control of the starting pitcher, but when it comes down to it, there is one stat that counts from last night’s start…L. As in Hammel lost. The Devil Rays lost.

If a team is going to only score 1 run, then the pitcher needs to find a way to keep the other team off the board. If he can’t? Let’s just say we are not about to start calling him Tom Seaver. Now there is a guy that threw some gems.

Banged-up Rays waste Hammel’s latest gem [tampabay.com]

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• MLB Trade Rumors did an excellent job of breaking down exactly how ridiculous Scott Boras’ comments on Carlos Pena were. They challenge both the assertion that Pena is the best player to ever wear a Rays’ uniform and the boast that Pena is one of the top 5 players of 2007. They then go on to show that any claim that Pena is a $15 million player in his 4th full season is ludicrous. They even speculate that because Pena is not a free agent until after the 2009 season, the Rays best move may be to go to arbitration for the next two seasons and then trade Pena during the 2009 season. [MLB Trade Rumors]

Boras says the DRays basically got a $15MM season for the cost of $1.2MM and also takes some digs at the franchise. But it’s disingenuous to imply that a fourth-year player should be earning free agent prices. That ain’t the way it works. Albert Pujols earned $7MM in his fourth year, which seems like some kind of record. Jason Bay is earning $3.25MM in his fourth year. Matt Holliday is at $4.4MM. I could make a laundry list of young players who are huge bargains because of baseball’s pay scale. Hanley Ramirez is making $402,000 this year…Pena reaches free agency after the 2009 season, and Marc Topkin says the Rays have already begun discussions on a three or four-year deal. If the Rays are to buy out a year or two of free agency, those might cost $12-15MM each. More likely, the team just goes to arbitration with him twice and trades him in a summer of ’09 blockbuster (assuming he remains a 40 HR threat).

• The Devil Rays are 63-89 with 10 games remaining and are 2 games behind (1 in the win column) the Orioles in the AL East and for the worst record in baseball.
• The Devil Rays have decided to shut down James Shields for the remainder of the season. The move is simply an effort to limit the number of pitches thrown by the emerging ace. JP Howell will fill Shields’ spot in the rotation. [tampabay.com]
• Brendan Harris was injured during batting practice and was scratched from the lineup. [tampabay.com]
• Jim Alexander has a conversation with Joe Maddon about his return to Anaheim to face the franchise he was a part of for 31 years. [Many Opinions, No Waiting…]
• Joe Madden believes that Carl Crawford will be ready to go on Friday, but the team is still likely to call up an extra outfielder from Durham, with Jason Pridie being the most likely candidate. Pridie will need to be added to the 40-man roster this winter anyway or risk being lost in the Rule 5 Draft. [Devil Rays]
• Gerry Hunsicker will appear on the Baseball Digest Daily radio show this Sunday. [Baseball Digest Radio]
• Carlos Pena has 18 home runs in the past month, the most in the majors over that span. [USA Today]

Tampa Bay Devil Rays New Name And Colors Have Been Confirmed

Paul Lukas of the highly recommended Uniwatch reported today that he has seen Tampa Bay Devil Rays new uniforms and has confirmed what many people suspected.

The franchise will drop “Devil” and will be known as the Rays and the new team colors will be Navy, Yellow and Light Blue. While he is unable to show us the uniforms or give any further details, he describes them as a step-down from the current unis.

I have seen the new Devil Rays uniforms. Can’t show them to you, but I can confirm what’s been reported (the team is now just the Rays) and what’s been rumored (the new colors are navy, yellow, and light blue). As for the design, it’s a total snooze — not wonderful, not awful, just booooooring. I already miss the current design, which I think has been badly underrated (esp. the home set).

We are looking forward to the new design , but we have to agree with Mr. Lukas. We have always loved the Rays’ grey jerseys as well as the white uniforms. But we have never been able to stomach the green jerseys.

The new uniforms will be officially unveiled on November 11.

Consistently Inconsistent [Uniwatch]
Rays hoping pen upgrade trickles down [tampabay.com]

The Hangover: Apparently One Good Season Makes Carlos Pena A Derek Jeter

Angels 10, Devil Rays 7.
Just the links today as we try to recover from a weekend in the Live Music Capital of the World.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• The Devil Rays are 63-88 with 11 games remaining and are 2 games behind Baltimore in the AL East and Kansas City for the worst record in baseball (1 game behind in win column).
• An 8-3 finish will give the Rays 71 wins (a franchise record)
• A 10-1 finish and the Rays will avoid 90 losses for the first time.
• Scott Boras is up to his old tricks and this time it might cost the Devil Rays if they wish to sign Carlos Pena to a long-term deal. Boras believes that the Rays need to step-up because of the bargain they received this year, believing that the Rays got “a player who had probably a $15-million season for about $1.2-million” and “the greatest player to ever put on a Devil Ray uniform” (which sounds great on the surface, but really isn’t saying much). Boras has the amazing ability of making each of his clients out to be the greatest player ever. Pena has been great, but it is not like he is hitting 40 home runs from short stop. He is a first baseman. The drop-off from Pena to the #20 first baseman (stats-wise) is not that great. [tampabay.com]
  
• BJ Upton stole home last night, to become just the third Devil Rays player to successfully complete a straight-steal of home. [tampabay.com]
• Joe Maddon was ejected in the seventh inning after Jonny Gomes was called out on a check-swing. It was Papa Joe’s sixth career ejection. [Devil Rays]
• Jorge Velandia has is making the most out of his rare major league opportunity. He reached base 8 times in 12 plate appearances, covering 3 starts and he has played the best defensive shortstop we have seen in a long time, from a player wearing green and grey. [TBO]
• Durham Bulls pitching coach Xavier Hernandez has joined the Devil Rays coaching staff for the final two weeks of the season. [TBO]
• Scott Kazmir was named the AL player of the week. He shares the award with Fausto Carmona of the Cleveland Indians. This is the second time that Kid K has been honored with the award. [Devil Rays]
• Carl Crawford will be out of the lineup until at least Friday, and it is still unclear if he will return this season. This would be a good opportunity for CC and Rocco Baldelli to get to know each other again. [tampabay.com]
• Akinori Iwamura talks about life as a major leaguer with a newborn son. Translation: The wife wakes up the middle of the night. [Celebrity Baby Blog]
• JP Howell was recalled from Durham, but will not be inserted into the rotation as a 6th starter. He will work out of the bullpen, but hopes to get another shot as a major league starter down the line. [Devil Rays]
• Poor Vinny Testaverde. He comes in at #13 on the list of “100 Players You Love To Hate.” Did you know that Vinny is not only still alive, but he was still playing in the NFL, as a backup with the New England Patriots last season? That is the definition of parity in the NFL. The Pats were one knee injury or concussion away from being 7-9 instead of 12-4. [ESPN]