Last month the Rays fell into a slump going (11-14), after going (18-6) in April and (17-12) in May. The Rays ending the month of June fell to 3rd in the AL East and had no signs of getting back on their feet.
Now, the month is July and the Rays have started strong going (4-1) so far, losing one against the Twins and winning a hell of a game last night against the Red Sox and have regained 2nd place in the east.
The Rays scored first in the game  with Carl Crawford doubling to right field and bringing in Ben Zobrist [...]

I just assumed when All Star rosters were announced that we had 4 locks for the team.  Carl Crawford, Evan Longoria, David Price and Rafael Soriano.  The first 3 made it, Sori, not so much.
I know every year a few players get snubbed, and its more a result of the fact every team has to have one representative.  The White Sox and the Royals are to blame for Soriano’s snub job.
Joakim Soria from the Royals actually deserved to make the team, so I don’t want to pound on him too hard, and while I like Matt Thornton from the White [...]

Joaquin Benoit – Benoit has pretty much been lights out for the Rays since being called up.  He is a dominant strikeout pitcher who could easily close for the Rays next year if Soriano walks.  It’s unfortunate we can’t score any runs right now because Benoit and Soriano are as good of an 8th and 9th inning combo as there is in the league.

I
W
L
ERA
G
GS
GF
CG
SHO
SV
IP
H
R
ER
HR
BB
SO
WHIP
SO/9
SO/BB

0
0
1.80
10
0
7
0
0
0
10.0
6
2
2
2
2
16
0.800
14.4
8.00

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 6/30/2010.

David Price – While most of the starting staff has been downright awful this month, Price has continue to be a Cy Young caliber pitcher.  He’s still keeping that K/BB ratio [...]

Hank Blalock was the player who was supposed to take the slack when Pat Burrell was designated for assignment, but with a very poor performance since being brought up from Durham, Blalock has also been designated for assignment. Blalock did not see the field much, hitting .254 with a home run and seven RBIs in 63 at-bats for the Rays.” Hopefully there will be a team that wants me to play for them. … I’m not sure how the designated for assignment or released thing works out, or whatever. I’ll fly back to Tampa and pack my stuff up and [...]

Edwin Jackson, and ex player of the Rays 2008 Championship team and was later traded to the Detroit Tigers for Matt Joyce, threw a no hitter against the Rays in a 1-0 loss. Jackson’s nono was not pretty as he walked eight, hit a batter, and had a  base runner reach on an error. So it’s easy to say this was not a pretty no hitter. Jackson threw 149 pitches in this game, the most thrown since 2005. “We needed to get him sooner,” Maddon said. “It was there for us. We failed to get any hits. Even a sacrifice fly would have worked. We [...]

Carl Crawford has been suffering from left shoulder sorness since throwing the ball home in Wednesday’s game against the Padres and had to leave early in yesterday’s game. Crawford is now listed as day-to-day. But should be back sometime this weekend.
 With Gabe Kapler being on the DL and the Rays currently holding 3 catchers, adding outfield depth is a must. This lead to Doineer Navarro being sent to Durham. I stated a couple weeks ago Navarro would be the catcher outside looking in for playing time and I was right. With Shoppach back on the team and Jaso being consistent on [...]

Carl Crawford earned his third career player of the week  award and is  batting .307 on the season, with 16 doubles, seven home runs, 56 runs scored, 38 runs batted in and 24 stolen bases. He ranks 3rd is stolen bases behind Juan Pierre (27) and Rajai Davis (26). But was caught stealing 3 times out of 4 games this week and only seven times all year.
During the week Crawford  had an .81o slugging percentage, .571 OBP and hit one homerun. He also hit his league leading 6th triple in a 9-8 win against the Marlins.
Crawford has maintained his status as an elite outfielder [...]

This morning St. Petersburg mayor Bill Foster and Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg sat down with each other to determine  the Rays future plans, as for whether or not the Rays will continue play in St. Petersburg.
Following the meeting Sternberg scheduled a press conference and stated he wants to explore all potential options for a new ballpark within the Tampa Bay region.”When I assumed control of the Rays almost five years ago, it was commonly assumed that winning would change everything at Tropicana Field,” Sternberg said. “Everyone believed that with a winning team on the field, fans would fill the stands. [...]

After the loss yesterday to Atlanta, the Rays found themselves in a position they havent been in all year… TIED for the leagues best record. Although this isnt necessarily the worst position they’re in, its definitely not a good one.
The Yankees and Red Sox have closed in on the Rays, with the Boston(40-28) only two games back and New York(41-25) dead even with Tampa(41-25). The Rays have been on a decline the past month and its due to inconsistency of hitting and pitching. The Sox are playing very good baseball this past month and with the Yankees being the Yankees, they [...]

The Rays lost a game I believe could have ended differently, if it weren’t for another horrible call by the home plate umpire. The Rays were losing 0-3 by the sixth inning and was in the midst of their usual big inning to come back when Hank Blalock came in as a pinch hitter and hit a single to start off the inning.  John Jaso was the next to follow with a double in the gap to put two runners in scoring position, putting Carl Crawford at the plate. Now, here comes the bs call that altered the momentum of the Rays inning.
 Tommy [...]