Victor Minicozzi

I spend way too many hours at my desk doing my various jobs.  A saving grace for me is my subscription to MLB.TV.  I get to watch six games at one time if I want much to my wifes dismay.  My excuse is that I’m monitoring my Baseball fantasy leagues but it really is just my love of baseball.  This isn’t a commercial for MLB.TV (if you have interest feel free to email me for info). 

I started watching the Rays games closely about six weeks ago.  This team reminds me of the 1995 Yankees team that was the catalyst to their great run of 4 championship teams from 1996 to 2000.  They have rising stars in Evan Longoria and BJ Upton.  Dioner Navarro has been solid and productive behind the plate.  Eric Hinske has proved to be a great utility guy playing games at 4 different positions while contributing 13 homers and 44 RBI.  Carl Crawford has kicked it into gear after a slow start.

Before the Yankees started buying up all the DH’s around the league again, there success was due to timely hitting, good defense, and of course pitching.  This Rays team has had great pitching and defense in the first half of the year.   A rotation of Kazmir, Shields, Sonnanstine, Garza, and Jackson has been nothing short of spectacular.  The team ERA is 3.65.  Troy Percival was great in the first two months of the season though his performance in June tailed off due to hamstring problems.  However, the closer by committee has been solid with JP Howell and Dan Wheeler handling the duties for the most part.  Last nights game against the Redsox showcased the emergence of Grant Balfour.  He blew them away in the 9th to pick up his second save and may be their closer for the forseeable future.  He’s pitched 16.2 innings and has struck out 25 batters.  He as an ERA of 1.08 and his WHIP is 0.78.  They also have last years number 1 overall pick, David Price destroying the minor league hitters and waiting in the wings to join the staff.

Are the Rays for real?  Can they sustain what they have after the break?  I think so.  The Redsox and Yankees are both flawed teams and aren’t the invincible forces they have been in the past.  The key will be remaining healthy as their weakness is their depth.  I look for them to make a couple deadline deals for some veteran complimentary players to help down the stretch.  Even with the best record in baseball, none of the Rays are having career type years so you don’t expect a large dropoff.  This has the look of one of the special years that don’t come around often and which the city of Tampa has never experienced before. 

Only time will tell of the Rays will continue stinging the competition.  I’m looking forward to the ride.

Jon Jordan

While most baseball people will tell you that two fights in less than a week is far too much for any team, there is something positive to be said about the recent scraps involving the Tampa Bay Rays. The ferocity of the recent brawl with Coco Crisp and the Boston Red Sox has brought an already tight team even closer together. Some of the antics of some of the participants could surely be questioned, mind you, but the underlying message - that this team won’t back down from anyone - has been sent. And, yes, even the tussle between teammates Matt Garza and Dioner Navarro will prove to be a plus for a young club trying to inch its way up the ladder of respectability.

Good teams know they’re good. Good teams are confident. Good teams don’t take sh*t from anyone. Good teams can be downright nasty, even to each other.

The Red Sox had a couple of teammates at each other’s throats recently in Manny Ramirez and Kevin Youkilis. They’ve had a bit of success in recent years.

And how about the Chicago White Sox? Their skip, Ozzie Guillen, the undisputed heavyweight champion of powderkeg managers, recently lit them up in a postgame interview, holding nothing back (as if he ever does.) They’ve responded and are now rolling.

What I’m saying, folks, is that Garza v. Navarro is the latest good sign in a season full of them for the Rays. Win or lose, all year long it’s been clear that this team leaves it all on the field and is willing to do absolutely anything for a teammate - absolutely anything to win.

Think a team like, say, the New York Mets could use a Guillen-esque tirade from their skipper, the beleaguered Willie Randolph? Think a pier 6 brawl with the rival Phillies or Braves wouldn’t liven them up? Think an Oliver Perez/Brian Schneider on-mound fracas might awaken that hibernating clubhouse?

Don’t expect it, though, Mets fans … that team is soft as a marshmallow.

I bring the Mets up because, right now, they are the antithesis of the Tampa Bay Rays. No energy, no grit, no spark whatsoever. And a-floundering they continue … content multi-millionaire prima donnas that they are …

I’m ecstatic to have the opposite over at The Trop …

Call me crazy, but the way this Rays team has looked through and through up to this point in the season, is looking more and more like what I consider to be the model for a wildly successful and entertaining baseball team.

Parts of me still can’t believe I just said that.

The rest of me is thrilled that I did.

jjordan79@tampabay.rr.com

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Jon Jordan

In a rehab start for the class-A St. Lucie Mets, Pedro Martinez had to be pleased with his outing against the Vero Beach Devil Rays - 6 innings pitched, 4 hits, 2 runs and six strikeouts. But he did take the loss … and that was largely because the opposing pitcher, Rays’ 2007 1st overall pick David Price, was that much better. Price went 6 innings as well, blanking the Mets and allowing just 2 hits while striking out 9 in just his second pro start. He earned significant postgame praise from the veteran Martinez, who was awestruck at Price’s performance.

“He’s amazing, that kid. He’s amazing. That kid is very mature for his time and very talented. Oh my God. God bless him and keep him healthy.”

Comparing Price to himself at that stage of his career:

“He’s a big lefty with superb talent. At that age, I don’t think I was like that. He seems far superior.”

Differences in physical stature and hand preference, of course, duly noted …

On Price’s approach to the St. Lucie hitters:

“That kid did a hell of a job of throwing first-pitch strikes and pounding the strike zone and jamming hitters. I was watching that. He did it like a big leaguer. He had such a command. Right there, I’m challenging you. I’m going to do what I gotta do without any fear. That’s the kind of talent you love to see.”

Price was flattered, and rightfully so, when told of Martinez’s kind words:

“That’s definitely a big compliment coming from Pedro Martinez. That definitely does mean a lot to me. Hopefully I could face him in the big leagues one day.”

Martinez, surely in the twilight of his career (though he has recently said he would like to pitch at least this season and next) can only hope to return to the Mets next week and help them get back on track after a tumultous start to the year. Price, on the other hand, is just getting started, while his parent club rolls along atop the Major League standings.

In a season full of positives thus far for the Rays, Price’s immediate progress in his first two professional starts is just gravy. With no pressing need to rush him along, the 6′4″ lefty has the luxury of moving slowly through the minor leagues, adding invaluable confidence along the way.

While Pedro sees the light at the end of his big league tunnel, David Price is just beginning his journey.

If his first two starts are any indication, that Price v. Pedro matchup he wished for (schedule-maker permitting, of course) might not be all that far-fetched.

jjordan79@tampabay.rr.com

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