Remember to visit Rant Sports for not only comprehensive Rays coverage, but also for college football and basketball, NFL, as well as all other sports you can think of!

Be sure to visit RantSports.com to see our excellent relaunch!

Follow me on Twitter @Stelzy and I will shoot out the new link to the Rays site ASAP!!

If the Rays do not come back and win this game over the A’s today – it will be the first time the Rays have been swept in a 4 game series in Oakland.  The Rays have been outscored 26-10 in the 1st 3 games of the series and this Athletics team has the 2nd lowest OPS in the American League.  If this afternoon’s score holds…the Rays will go to 4-10, but more importantly in those 14 games (and don’t forget they are just finishing up the 1st inning as I type this) the Rays have allowed 74 runs in those 13 games plus an inning.  74!  The strength of this team is starting pitching, but unfortunately for them – those starters have no room for error.  During that same stretch – the Rays offense has only produced 41 runs.  It has almost gotten so bad that the starting pitchers body language can be read on the mound…and they know if they allow 1 run (especially the 1st one) the game is over and they will get the loss.

I was at the New York Yankees game back on July 20th when the Yankees won 4-0.  David Price started the game and went 7+ strong innings, but he gave up a leadoff single to start the game to Derek Jeter and then Curtis Granderson followed with a bomb to right…2-0 Yanks.  And you just got the feeling the game was over right there (I in fact turned to my wife and brother and told them – this game’s over) and unfortunately – I wasn’t kidding.  But you just see it in the players body language.

I am still surprised that Johnny Damon, Kyle Farnsworth & Casey Kotchman are still playing for the Rays.  Farnsworth & Damon should be gone for sure within the next 48 hours.  Why didn’t I mention BJ Upton?  Oh, he’s going – there is no doubt in my mind…in fact, everyone I talked to – it’s almost 75/25 that BJ gets traded – it’s not even 50/50 anymore.  I am still betting on the Washington Nationals stepping up and sending SS Ian Desmond and C Wilson Ramos for BJ Upton and if the Nats do that – the Rays have to say yes!

I’m hoping the Rays do not trade James Shields because that gives Tampa the best starting staff in the AL East going into the 2012 season with David Price, Jeremy Hellickson and I would assume Matt Moore.  But the Rays MUST go out and make a big splash via the free agent market (Jose Reyes or Prince Fielder) or via trade this upcoming off season, because if they don’t – this frustrating 2011 season will be Deja Vu in 2012.

Let us know what you think of these moves in the comment section of this post!

Follow me on Twitter @Stelzy!  Also, ‘Like’ RaysCentral.com on Facebook and please send any questions or comments you might have via Twitter or FB – I will respond to all!

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals proposed a deal that would have sent Colby Rasmus for Jeremy Hellickson or Rasmus and a couple prospects for James Shields.  The Rays countered with Jeff Niemann, JP Howell and a prospect for Rasmus.  Considering how insane Cardinals Manager Tony Larussa is – JP Howell is Larussa’s kind of pitcher.  A lefthanded reliever that can’t get anyone out has been Tony’s “secret weapon” for years now in St. Louis.  Howell and Larussa are made for each other…and with Howell not being a young guy – it makes that marriage even more perfect.  But the Cardinals said no and went on to make an even worse trade with the Blue Jays.

If Friedman pulled this deal off…I would have said he was wanted for highway robbery in St. Louis…but now I have went on to say it about the Toronto organization!

Let us know what you think of these moves in the comment section of this post!

Follow me on Twitter @Stelzy!  Also, ‘Like’ RaysCentral.com on Facebook and please send any questions or comments you might have via Twitter or FB – I will respond to all!

Plus, the Rays allowed 31 year old 1B/DH Dan Johnson to play 25 games and get 78 at bats to start the season.  Well, it was understandable, Johnson is a .235 lifetime hitter, has only hit above .236 in a season once (back in 2005) and hit a career high 18 homeruns back in 2007.  Oooooooooh, now I understand why Johnson was able to stay in the lineup all of April…NOT!!!  Well, after Johnson finally got the hook…it definitely makes since for Jennings to come up.  Of course not.

Seriously Rays fans, think about how bad Tampa has not wanted to call Jennings up.  They didn’t call him up when Manny Ramirez was busted again for performance enhancing drugs and was forced to retire.  It would have made since right there to bring Jennings up, but Fuld got hot.  But Sam is not the future and cannot be the dynamic leadoff hitter that Desmond can be.

But hey, better late than never.  Well, not really.  The Rays called the kid up too late.  Why not see if he could have sparked this team’s offense in late May to early June AT THE LATEST!  Now, the Rays are out of both the AL East race, as well as the wildcard.  But at least the Rays gave Dan Johnson a chance to spark this team throughout April.  Johnson was 9 for 78 with a double and a homerun during that stretch and his batting average was a torrid, batting champ like .115.

Want to hear the funny thing…in the 3 games Desmond Jennings has played since being called up, DJ is hitting .545 with 3 stolen bases.  Yes, it’s a very small sample size…but I will say this – in just the 3 games DJ has played – he already has twice as many extra base hits as Dan Johnson on the 2011 season.

Let us know what you think of these moves in the comment section of this post!

Follow me on Twitter @Stelzy!  Also, ‘Like’ RaysCentral.com on Facebook and please send any questions or comments you might have via Twitter or FB – I will respond to all!

“The Royals have interest in Upton with an eye on contending next year.”  it’s not that Sherman wrote it…it’s that the Royals think they can compete next year.  Now that’s hilarious!

Let us know what you think of these moves in the comment section of this post!

Follow me on Twitter @Stelzy!  Also, ‘Like’ RaysCentral.com on Facebook and please send any questions or comments you might have via Twitter or FB – I will respond to all!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/nationals-journal/post/nationals-trade-deadline-ryan-zimmerman-on-bj-upton-updates-on-ian-desmond-jason-marquis-livan-hernandez/2011/07/23/gIQAsSvrVI_blog.html

In Desmond’s season debut, he went 2 for 3 with a double, a triple, a RBI and 2 walks in the Rays 5-4 loss in 10 innings to the Kansas City Royals.  Oh yeah – he also stole a base.  Hmmmm…now that I see that stat line – I think he needs to go back to AAA Durham for 2-3 more years…what do you think Rays fans??  As a Rays fan, all I can think of now is what might have been if this kid was sitting at the top of the lineup all year.  Would Tampa be sitting 9.5 back of the AL East Division lead and 6.5 back of the wildcard leading New York Yankees?

Let us know what you think of these moves in the comment section of this post!

Follow me on Twitter @Stelzy!  Also, ‘Like’ RaysCentral.com on Facebook and please send any questions or comments you might have via Twitter or FB – I will respond to all!

First things First: Cut/trade/designate/option/just do something I don’t care what you call it, but quit pitching J.P. Howell…he has killed and is still killing this team!

Obviously, all of the smoke out there on the internet involves James Shields, BJ Upton, Johnny Damon & Kyle Farnsworth…so why go away from that??  Where’ there’s smoke – there’s fire – and something is going to go down – and I get the feeling it’s BIG!  I really can’t come up with a trade that anyone could care about….what are the Rays really going to get in return for a 37 year old DH that is a liablity in the outfield and his best hit is a backspin blooper that drops in for a hit 25% of the time.

Yesterday, I came up with my own James Shields trade that involved the St. Louis Cardinals…today, I am going to walk through the smoke.  There are reports that the Rays have been hanging around (ok, scouting) the Cincinnati Reds minor league games on a daily basis.  Look, it stinks, this game is a business.  But your job as a GM is to sell when the stock of a certain player is at its highest point – and right now, that is exactly where Shields is at.  Let me give you an example…can you imagine what the Rays could have got in return for BJ Upton after the 2008 playoffs?    What will the Rays get for him now?  Exactly!  Back to Shields – he is not even 1 year removed from a 13-15 season with a 5.18 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP – yeah that’s how bad his numbers were in 2010.  Now Big Game James is an ace in the AL EAST and if he would go to the NL Central and do what he is doing now, because of Adam Wainwright’s Tommy John surgery back in March, becomes the best pitcher in the NL Central and may rival any pitcher in the National League, yes including Roy Halladay.

Here is the Proposal I am making and that the Rays should be making as well:

The Rays send

James Shields

The Reds send

1B Yonder Alonso – the guy has been ready for a year now, but is blocked by some guy named Joey Votto (I guess this Joey guy won the MVP last year)

C  Devin Mesoraco - Dear GM Andrew Friedman – DO NOT SETTLE FOR Yasmani Grandal for a couple reasons.  #1.  Reds GM Walt Jocketty does not care/worry about top prospects, trust me, I grew up a Cardinals fan and during his long tenure with the team…I don’t know if St. Louis brought along 1 prospect to make an impact in the Major Leagues during his time as GM outside of Albert Pujols.  Jim Edmonds, Edgar Renteria, Scott Rolen, Adam Wainwright – all brought from trades.  So Walt will pay to get his guy…and Shields will give the Reds an ace alongside Johnny Cueto.  #2.  Mesoraco will hit for power and I mean BIG TIME power and you hit him 4th behind Longo and Alonso 5th – now you got a little somethin somethin going with Ben Zobrist hitting in the 2 hole and Desmond Jennings hitting at the top of the lineup starting in 2012.

RHP Kyle Lotzkar – Throws low to mid 90′s gas and has a curveball he is comfortable throwing at 2 different speeds.  Injuries are a concern (multiple elbow surgeries), but is worth the gamble.

This deal I honestly believe has a shot to go down.  Tampa’s lineup immediately improves significantly and Matt Moore steps right in to the 6 man rotation that Joe Maddon should implement here within the next couple weeks.  Price, Jeremy Hellickson, Wade Davis, Niemann, Alex Cobb & Matt Moore.  This way you still keep the innings down on all these prized young arms.  Andrew and Joe…I know you are reading this – you guys are daily readers of Rays Central (please tell me readers, you can read the sarcasm between each letter I am typing here), just do this trade…it cannot come back to hurt you…both of these guys, Alonso & Mesoraco will hit and James is sent to the NL which is as good as it can get in this situation.

There are rumors flying that BJ Upton may have been traded after the game….STAY TUNED on that story!  Nothing official…it was just speculation, but BJ was pulled in the 7th inning of the game tonight!  The most smoke had BJ heading to the Philadelphia Phillies for 3 pitching prospects…I will say it again….NOTHING is OFFICIAL!!  Anyone else hearing anything out there…if so…let us know i nthe comment section!

Let us know what you think of these moves in the comment section of this post!

Follow me on Twitter @Stelzy!  Also, ‘Like’ RaysCentral.com on Facebook and please send any questions or comments you might have via Twitter or FB – I will respond to all!

But I have an idea for the Rays to still get an impact bat who is already Major League proven and you can read the details on the deal by clicking on this link.

Basically James Shields heads to the St. Louis Cardinals for 2 players already in the Majors and 2 minor league pitchers.