Longoria to the DL

uh oh...espn reporting longoria to the DL, fractured wrist.

crawford being out is unfortunate.
losing longo for a long stretch would be a complete disaster.

it's sucks that the logical option here won't be considered

Sooo, I don't think the loss of Crawford hurt, but Longoria? That one may hurt.

Longoria to the DL - fractured wrist

3 week stint they say

Still, this sucks donkey d**k

TB has a big enough lead to at least be a wild card.

This is right month for this to happen...

Yea I'm not really concerned. Team should be fine.

Wrist injuries have a tendency to linger.

Boston fans would tend to agree...

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/reds...n_a_good_light/

Went from an OPS of 800+ pre-wrist to sub-600 post

It's going to be difficult, but somehow I'm going to find a way through the day.

Going to be a cut and paste lineup the next few weeks.

When Rocco plays:

Aki
Upton
Pena
Rocco
Hinske?
Floyd
Navarro
Aybar
Bartlett/Zobrist

When not:

Aki
Upton
Pena
Hinske
Navarro
Floyd
Ruggiano
Aybar
Bartlett/Zobrist

Going to be weird combos with Hinske sucking against lefties, Baldelli a question mark and god knows what vendetta against Ruggs.

I suspect no lineup will look the same for the next two weeks.

stick a fork in Crawford

I love how they jam a Yankees mention in there. Yanks are busy trying to hold off the Os.

That lineup would look a heck of a lot better with Bonds in the middle of it...just saying.

I think that goes without saying, but it isn't happenin'.

It's a media reflex at this point

I'm anxious to see how the team responds to these injuries. It'll show a lot about their character, whichever way it goes.

It's going to be tough, especially with Texas this weekend, but there are worse options than having to turn to Aybar at third.

Still, Texas, Angels and WSox in a row with no Longo is a bad draw.

Is Longoria's DL stint retroactive to last Friday? If so, that may bring him back for the weekend series against the White Sox right?

It is retro to the 8th. However, he won't be back in 15 days. He'll likely come back after that Chicago series if not a week later.

Nice job this year. I knew this was a 80+ win team, but I expected this squad to compete for the playoffs in 2010. Never would have imagined they would be looking down on everyone at this point.
Win the division and enjoy it, fellas.

So Rays fans - this Crawford thing, give me some insight.

I took him in the first round in my keeper league this year (he had to be thrown back in by the team that had him before) and he will cost a first next year as well if I keep him. If I drop him now and someone picks him up (which they obviously will) he would become a 15th round pick. I know dropping him is stupid this season, but my question is, is he worth a 1 next year? I know it's too early to tell, but here's my thinking.

Our playoffs start in 3 weeks. Our rosters are locked for the playoffs, meaning no waivers. So he is useless to me heading into the playoffs. The only reason to hang on to him would be to make sure no one else gets him cheap - or I could drop him at the last waiver draft before rosters are locked and he stays a free agent until next year.

What's the word out there? Will be he fine next year as best we can tell right now? Should I just buck up and lose the roster spot and hang on to him? He wasn't having a good year to begin with obviously, but still...

CC has had some leg issues all season. I have to believe that has something to do with his poor performance. He is the only player in history to improve his batting average his first 5 years in the league...is reportedly still learning how to hit (didn't play much baseball in his teens)...is surrounded by talent for the first time to help him see better pitches..but took a step back this year for some reason.

I would think he would be under-rated going into '09...but a 1st round pick sounds too high.

The problem with CC is that he takes no pitches and has a horrid OBP. He's basically the antithesis of what the Rays' front-office wants in a player.

Wouldn't shock me at all if he's moved this off-season. I could see a team with an idiot in the front-office (Dodgers, hello) giving up a good young player for Carl.

Percival hurt. I'd like to think it would be Price getting the call, but I imagine it'll be Salas instead. And he's worthy, too.

Salas will get the call. He's earned it. Price will probably get 2 more starts and then get the call although I'd love to have him for that Angels series next week.

Nice to be able to go to somebody like Juan Salas when your closer gets hurt.


GB depth. That bullpen is LOADED.


Hammel's ERA creeping towards under 3, J.

Hammel still sucks. His ### was saved today by some great defense.

Salas has 42.2 IP, 52 K's, 10 BB, only 2 HRs allowed.

He's better than before when he was on the juice.

Percival on the bench is the best place he can be right now.

Garza with a much need complete game tonight. Puts the Rays at 27 games over .500

6-2 so far...

Garza was sick. And the vet hitters are stepping up big time. Friedman/Hunsicker may have created something special here.

Insane.

I never thought anything would top the 2002 Bucs for me, but this is doing it.

The New York Yankees are ten and a half games behind the Tampa Bay Rays.

How about 7-3 and winning all 3 series...

It would be great to have some breathing room for the Sept schedule...with Longoria back and Price on the staff.

What'd you guys think of Salas?

Looks like Tuesday's game is a washout because of Fay.

If the Rays can win tonight and Wednesday, they'll have the best record in the AL, again. For all the talk of the Angels being the most dominant team in baseball, the Rays are only 1.5 games off their pace despite all of the injuries. The following players have been/are on the DL at least once this year:

-Kazmir
-Percival (3x)
-Longoria
-Crawford
-Pena
-Aybar
-Bartlett
-Garza

Man, Floyd has been beating the piss out of the ball lately.

And as I type this, Vlad gifts the Rays a run with the most little-league of errors.

That shot by Floyd was one of the hardest hit balls I've ever see. A 400 ft line drive that would not have hit the roof if it were only 20 feet high. That probably put a dent in that seat it hit.

Serious question. Is BJ Upton just too stupid to know what the word 'hustle' means? I would hate to think he's just dogging it on purpose.

You could tell last night he thought he'd hit that ball out so he went into a Manny trot. He never even put 75% effort into that play at any point and just assumed he had a stand-up double despite the throw being right in front of him. He had to see that ball coming toward 2nd base at a good clip. He got caught watching his work, like Hanley did on Saturday vs the Cubs, but the ump got the call right on Upton.

He has a spotlight on him and he needs to be doing it better than everyone else. When 36 yr old Floyd can bust ### on an infield grounder earlier in the game, which Teixeira could not convert, then a 23 year old phenom should be able to do the same thing.

Mental issues aside...I am LOVING BJ's new-found aggressiveness at the plate. He looks like a different hitter than he was a month ago.

We need him...

I'm starting to think he's pretty stupid.

Anyways, if you would have told me in the beginning of the year this team would finish with 76 wins, I'd be thrilled. They have that and it's mid-August.

Wow, actually got through a Buster Olney chat.

Chris (St. Petersburg, FL): Buster -- Rays look great. Can they actually win this whole thing?

Buster Olney: (1:46 PM ET ) Chris: Yes, without question. As I mentioned on TV last week, I'd rather have the problems that the Rays have (Longoria, Crawford, Percival out) than the problems that the Red Sox and Yankees have (major rotation issues).


/

When is Price going to get the call-up?

I just picked him up for the playoffs

Before the end of the month. I would have thought this week...but no real word yet.

They don't have to call him up before 9/1 to be playoff eligible because of an injury exception - call it the K-Rod rule. They have Orvella on the 60 day DL and can sub in Price.

BTW, change this thread title back to the best record in the American League because we just leapfrogged the Angels. 6-2 against the Angels this year

Nice job taking 2 of 3 from the Halos.

If you can keep the Yankees out of the playoffs in their last season in their old yard, I will be eternally grateful.

some ####### baseball last night.

Ruggiano looked like a little leaguer in the 9th
Maddon having Hinske run on the front end of a double steal and then letting Navarro hit away with 0 out and one on in the 9th against K-Rod were poor decisions.

Huge win tonight. We had not hit Danks at all this year so far. Rocco HRs for the first time in 16 months, Sweet Jesus Zobrist drills it deep, Aybar hits well, Edwin Jackson becomes the 4th Rays pitcher to win at least 10 games this year. If Kazmir can win tomorrow, all 5 starters will have 10 wins.