The Process of Weeding Out AL East Contenders...

I took a rip off the bong and laid my head back. The coffee was simmering on the stove and Strawberry ran around frantically trying to locate her phone.
"Where's my phone god damnit?!" she roared.
I looked into the vortex of my screen to see Manny Machado had been dealt to The Los Angeles Dodgers for quite the little package of prospects. Smart of The Orioles who are in desperate need of a prayer (and more impacting prospects).
Makes one wonder what does the Blue Jays do in this situation? The team has been out of contention since their glory hole of 2015-2016 when Encarnacion, Bautista and Donaldson were absolute monsters. If they were smart -which they have not been for sometime now- they will trade off anything that remotely has value thus putting on the table of J.A. Happ and any position player on the field. I cannot role into the details of certain players contracts but let's dissect here...

"Have you seen it you lazy peasant?!" she roars.

Might as well trade off Russel Martin. Solid catcher with a decent bat, who wouldn't give up something for this guy? Marcus Stroman anyone? Yes please. Hell, too bad the Rays wouldn't swap Eovaldi for Stroman straight up because when Stroman's on, he's absolutely filthy. Love that shimmy. Trade off Solarte, Travis and Smoak for anything you can get. Kevin Pillar on the 10-day-DL? No prob sucka! He'll get activated and dealt to you for a handful of low A prospects. Hell, why not? Need a veteran OFer? Sure! Take Curtis Granderson off the books! Oh, you want a bucket of softballs for Tulo? Sure! Take it! They should leave him at Niagra Falls to figure out his baseball career. You need a new bench coach? How about ole' Jon Gibbons! He'll givem' hell! Need a DH or pinch hitter? We have Kendrys Morales here waiting on you! Need a dude to only pinch run? What about Devon Travis? Need a dude to blow your leads in the 8th or 9th? What about Tyler Clippard? I think it's time to switch the glasses bubba. Need some Smoak on the water? Hit us up here in Canada! Want the baggage of Roberto Osuna? Hit us up on messenger and leave a message after the beep. You know wassup... Need an old dude who cannot stay on the field to save his life and be overpaid for it? How about Josh Donaldson! He'll appear in the next three games for you then never to be seen again. Perpetual rehab right here. Almost as bad as my uncle addicted to meth out in his trailer park in Seffner.

"Hey, you big piece of shit! Get off your phone!" she yells some more.
I take a drag off the cigarette and rip the bong again (in no particular order).

Let's take a look at the disastrous Orioles camp. A brother won't even front when saying, I didn't see them being this bad. You probably couldn't trade a Chris Davis for a back up bullpen coach at the streak he's at. Davis has 292 plate appearances this year and is crushing a whopping .158. Talk about a hole in one. Some former Rays (I say this bitterly) are on their roster too. Alex Cobb is forever one of my favorites (cannot forget that 2013 Wild Card game in Cleveland he pitched unreal) but damn homeboy has been nothing but sub-awful since gowning the bright orange. Cobb has 17 games started with 92.2 IP and is posting a 6.41 ERA with the O's. Sorry bubba...homie aint going anywhere anytime soon. Protect ya neck on the streets of Baltimore.
2008 First Round Pick Tim Beckham is crushing a .206 with 165 ABs with The O's this year. Could they move him too? Probably not but The Rays did and the only word to describe it for me is jubilant. The only pieces worth a damn left in The Orioles camp would be Zach Britton, Jace Peterson, Adam Jones and Danny Valencia. This team needs to rid of nearly everything to stock up on a very depleted farm system. Perhaps The Rays could trade Tropicana Field for Camden Yards and sprinkle in a couple of parking spot spaces to lure the interest of The O's front office.

"Is it in the car?!" she shouts.
"I'm not sure babe,"
Naturally, we were hungover from the night prior.

Thus brings us to The Rays and the two other monsters in the division. In order for the Rays to actually make a run, a couple of things have to go right for them (asides from winning) and that is banking on a couple of other teams of falling off. Let's be real, The Yankees aren't falling off thus leaves us with two AL West teams ahead of us. The A's and Mariners. One has to suspect the front office is in a predicament. Do you trade off your assets now and essentially put a fork in the season (kinda like what they did in Spring Training with the fury of trades) with looking far ahead or do you add and gamble on the idea that one of those two teams is going to fall off? After seeing the talent of The Mariners, I would assume The A's would fall off quicker than The Mariners but with the injury history of James Paxton, it makes you wonder...Mike Leake to the rescue!

"I found it! It was in the bathroom!" she yells with victory.

If I were in the front office, I wouldn't gamble on those two teams falling off (though not impossible). Currently, the Rays sit 8.5 behind The A's for the second Wild Card spot, I just don't know if they really have the fire power to really make a run this year. Don't get me wrong, it's sick they are playing good ball, I just think they should focus on their young new core to getting more play time, getting acclimated at the big league level, have a couple more call ups (Justin Williams, Ian Gibaut and Kean Wong) and having them nourish their relationship with Kevin Cash and Co. Thus, trade Eovaldi when his value is highest, Ramos is in purgatory with the injury, Hech would be a nice piece for a contending team in need of a shortstop (not The Dodgers now obviously), Sergio Romo might get them something and Archer won't get you the haul you seek. The division is lopsided no doubt and I hate to admit this...

I took another rip off the bong.

...but The Yankees and Red Sox are just unstoppable this year. I knew this going out of the gates of Spring Training, no one else would stop these monsters this year, which is okay, The Rays should have their foot on the present and build towards the future with this new core they've set in place because they will make noise if not this year but in the coming. The reason I emphasize this is because the depth of pitching isn't there to compete (not yet anyhow) with what The Yankees and Red Sox currently have. Granted, The Rays have been setback with a couple of huge TJ losses (Honeywell, Banda, DeLeon).

"Let's go for a drive babe,"
"Where do you want to go?" she asked
"The beach,"
Off we roared into abysmal tropical AM summer day here in Tampa Bay.

Getting Philosophical From The First Half and A Quarter Pound of Chicken...

I tried digging my fork into the chicken which presented futile as the chicken was still relatively frozen.

"Hey babe, I think this needs a little more cooking,"

Strawberry seemed preoccupied in her mind about something.

"Never mind, I'll take care of it,"

"What's that baby?" she cried.

Yet so was I.

"Nothing darling,"

I put the chicken back onto the grill and closed the top. I slithered my way out back to be greeted by the chickens that run around Ybor and lit a cigarette. The summer sky looked amazing and I sat down in the chair, slumped back and became introverted.

If there's one thing I've learned from the Rays since The Post-Maddon Era, it would be never to fully invest into them the second half. Let's take a peek...in 2015 at The All-Star Break they were one game over .500 then fell off the second half. They held first place for quite sometime until falling off the second half. A lot of this can be pointed to Archer's success that first half that year. Let's not even touch 2016. What a nightmare of a season. Dating back to 2017 at the All-Star Break they were a handful of games over .500 after taking 3-4 from The Boston Red Sox prior to the break...then fell off the second half. The offense dried up, that bullpen surely went to waste and they disbanded the whole group after that season. Fast forwarding to the present...

It's been a pretty insane first half. Who would have thought coming off that awful start after an amazing Opening Day comeback win, all of the trades of Denard Span and Alex Colome, call ups of Willy Adames and Jake Bauers that this team would finish the first half with a winning record? Seems ludicrous right? 

I looked to the sky and exhale...

I was a little hurt when they traded Denard Span because it seemed the guy really enjoyed playing here for the short stint and was a really nice lead off hitter but let's be real, he was never part of the future rolling forward. The call up of Jake Bauers was inevitable as Brad Miller's play time was diminishing and his lack of defense just continued to hurt. Wilson Ramos has been nothing short but sheer greatness. The Buffalo is having another career year and it will interesting to see how his career plays out with The Rays. Losing him to the DL is a bummer but this could keep him here longer and perhaps the Rays actually make a run? One cannot imagine the front office to be active the deadline as The Red Sox and Yankees are run away trains. Seems better they just run out there with what he have, have the kids get more play time, nurture their skills and trade off Eovaldi and Hech to clubs in dire need of a premier shortstop and solid 2/3 starter. Perhaps Eovaldi was tilting his pitches in Minnesota to stay a Ray? The bullpen use has been downright insane. The fact this team out-matches other teams on the regular and tends to piss them off only seems to solidify the fact the Rays have an interesting strategy with what little resources they have makes it interesting. It could be said that baseball is 90% pitching/defense but when you lack the resources to compete against bigger clubs, why not use an edge? Look at the shift baby...

Chris Archer has had a horrid half and one not really worth mentioning. As much as I love the dude, is this the decline of Archer? His third wipe out pitch has never come to fruition and with all of these arms in the system, the ability to only give you 4.0 IP, it makes you wonder what his future holds? It's funny, I see him very similar to how Odorizzi's 2017 season was last year. What a bummer The Rays lost Anthony Banda to TJ because he really is fun to watch! Diego Castillo has been absolutely incredible to watch! in eighteen games the guy owns a 2.57 ERA. Jose Alvarado has been struggling a bit and his inability to command the zone has been frustrating at moments. Really love what we're seeing from Ryan Yarbrough, Wilmer Font, Yonny Chirinos, Ryne Stanek, Hunter Wood, and Sergio Romo. Adam Kolarek scares me. Johnny Venters has been really fun to watch too. Feel good brotha. Is it me or is Matt Duffy slightly better at 3B than Evan Longoria? Nice to see him out there everyday and making solid plays. D-Rob has been a Gold Glover caliber player along with finding his stroke. It's nice to see this team manufacturing runs as opposed to hitting one home run after another. Cron loves striking out but damn homeboy has some pop. Carlos Gomez is entertaining. Joey Wendle has been a sleeper on this team. Amazing when a part time dude gets full time play what happens with them. LoFo anyone? Kiermaier seems to be taking a different AB approach and Mallex owns my heart (cannot say anything less of him). Blake Snell has finally solidified himself as the staff ace. There is no question in this. He was snubbed at first for not being an All-Star but that changed. What's different this year about Blake is his ability to use all four of his pitches and command that fastball better. He reminds me slightly of Matty Moore. His effective wildness makes it interesting. Some of the swing and miss he gets on his pitches, it makes you wonder what the batters see out of his hand?

I was wrong about Kevin Cash too, the guy really is a solid manager. He earned my heart yesterday when yelling at Escobar for that pitch in. This second half will probably consist of more call ups and demotions. Could we see Kean Wong, Ian Gibaut, Colin Poche and Justin Williams sooner rather than later? The fact Willy Adames was sent down makes a lot of sense. The kid is a shortstop and with Hech here, he will get very little play time. Might as well let him get more reps in Durham and keep working at shortstop there. The future looks brighter and brighter...

"The fucking chicken is burning!" she yells.

"Er,"

I opened the top and found a charred chicken (a quarter pound of it to be precise). 

"Let's go to Church's Chicken,"

So we did.

Wilson Ramos and A New Stadium...

There's nothing better than a good ole' fashion wake and bake. I find myself on the porch every morning hitting the bong to get the brain functioning at high altitudes and ascending into the day with the right frame of mind in tact.
"I'm going to go get us some coffee darling,"
"Okay, have fun!" Strawberry says.
I took a stroll down into 7th and take note of all of The Rays flags and stuff cluttered on bars, breweries and buildings. Is this for real? Word is on the street they are revealing everything today as to how it will look and how everything is going to be financed. I am curious to see how this pans out considering that The City of Tampa doesn't really have any money to throw at another stadium and no one wants another Raymond James Stadium nightmare that screws the taxpayers. I could care less either way, as long as I cut out my little niche in life, perhaps that is enough is it not?
This dude from the Philippines ran Bind Tiger Cafe on 7th and what's nice about going in there are the odd haircuts, the trendy clothes and the stark vibe of emptiness. The staff is always friendly and I like to think I flirt with the barista in a childish way without her even knowing because when you're eighteen, you're retarded.

I sat down and read about last night's walk off in thanks to a Kevin Kiermaier triple that led to a D-Rob walk off single up the middle. Is it me or do the Detroit Tigers not play very good in the dome anymore? No matter the case, there's a slot in the roster that I cannot help but to definitively gaze over and that is the spot of Wilson Ramos. Sure, The Rays have some depth in the catcher position but after awhile, you really do need to sprinkle your team with some veteran leadership. Just from seeing Rene Pinto in High A and knowing Nick Ciuffo is crushing down in Durham, it still makes you wonder why wouldn't they keep him?
Simple. Money.  Ramos is signed for 2 yrs/12.5M$ and the Rays could give him a qualifying offer but nothing worth that he knows he's worth. Homeboy is looking for a multiyear deal and trying to get paid. Dude is thirty and only getting older. Might as well get paid now in order to cruise into retirement from baseball one day. What does this do for the Rays? Well...you could go a couple of routes. Trade the guy and get some more highly touted pitching prospects from a team that has them. If they do trade him, they should target The Brewers, The Dodgers, The Braves or even The Boston Red Sox. Let's be real, if you're in the front office, you know that we are not going to the Post Season (this year) so might at well maximize when value is ultra omega high. Some have debated this but I still think you'll get some top tier prospects if you trade Ramos to the right team. The Nats are in a win now mode, have traded a lot of their system already thus do not have the prospects you really want. So let's be real, The Rays have already loaded the system with a plethora of middle infielders so they should target some more OFers and pitchers because you can never have enough pitching.
Option B would be dig up everything in your pockets and sign homeboy to a long term deal. Why let him walk? He's valuable in every sense and if you're trying to make a run in the next coming years, Wilson Ramos is the dude you want with this young pitching staff and team. Jesus Sucre provides nice back up depth but Wilson is your everyday guy. Let's be real. Wilson can hit, dude can call a game and is good enough with the glove to make dreams come true. Wilson is slashing .291/.341/.471 and is an All-Star (again).

I felt good about all of the thoughts that just came to mind, downed the rest of my coffee and headed home. The sun was out, a new stadium was possibly in the mix and a handful of Rays were about to get dealt. Life is good.

Believe in Jesus (Sanchez that is) and Monday's in Port Charlotte...

Strawberry was giving me road dome when I finally realized that we were getting off exit 179 to God's waiting room. She lifted her head while wiping off her mouth.
"Are we at the exit?" she asked.
What a gal.
"Yes baby,"
You enter into Port Charlotte not during the spring and something is peculiar about it, perhaps it's the lifelessness to it. We passed one massive home after another on the road. There were nice cars in front of it and not a sign of life around. One has to feel philosophical into thinking what is it people actually do here asides from the beach and fishing? Is there anything else that goes on here?
"They probably just sit on their asses and watch Netflix all day," Strawberry explained while stuffing her breasts back into her bra.
I found it a curious thing to that MLB builds these facilities in the middle of nowhere Florida. Mystical names like Dunedin, Clearwater, Port Charlotte, Kissimmee, Jupiter and Fort Myers. Do they promote programs to ease your boredom with baseball and being economically disadvantaged simultaneously? The world is a mother fucker I tell ya...

No matter...I wanted to check out The Stone Crabs (again) while at home and naturally liked Strawberry on road trips because well, my chick deserves the best.
2016 draft pick Kenny Rosenberg got the ball today for the Crabs and mowed through their lineup. He went 5.0 IP 2H, 2 BB and 6 K. Not bad for your 23rd birthday eh bubba? Josh Lowe and Jesus Sanchez got to start today, which was a real treat. Christian Arroyo was also there on a rehab assignment and got the start at 2B. I watched the dude strikeout at a very uncomfortable AB. Two really nice fastballs inside he watched float by and was put way with a breaking pitch down. No matter the case, homeboy looked really uncomfortable and needs some adjusting into coming back. Makes you realize how hard it is to hit right. RF Jesus Sanchez is a monster. He's taller than he looks in videos and photos. He came into tonight's game hitting .300. He wasn't very productive this evening but like his lanky way of playing RF and seems to have an aura to him. It's queer to say, but the kid is going to be special in the future. CF Josh Lowe had a hit and two walks for the evening and flashed some leather out in CF. It was dope. Kid has a really nice swing from the leftside and will be useful in the future. Lucius Fox had himself a night with a triple and some good defensive plays until he dove into his wrist while stopping a ground ball. He left with after that. Bummer. Kid has speed, glove and a bat. Is this Ozzie Albies part two in the making? Very similar players. C Rene Pinto once again displayed a very solid game calling program. Loves to throw behind runners leaning a bit and is not afraid to get dirty and play hard. Had two hits as well for the evening. Jermaine Palacios continues to make hard contact and drove in a run with a sac fly deep to left center. That Odorizzi trade looks better and better.

The Stone Crabs held on and all of the people waiting to die, the lost souls of The Gulf and the women with massive rocks on their fingers left back to their respective abodes.
"Can we get milk shakes?" Strawberry asked.
"Anything for my gal,"
She got chocolate and I got, well, a strawberry.

Sunday Afternoon with The Stone Crabs in Clearwater and Doggy Day...

"It's doggy day at The Threshers Ballpark in Clearwater," Strawberry announced.

I've never understood this concept.

"Let's bring our little rascal!" she laughed.

I gave her kids then she wants a dog. 

"Get ready, because we're going," she demanded.

WOOF.

It just so happens the Threshers were playing the High A team for the Rays so this immediately drew my attention and stirred the ambition up to go. We gathered up the dog, left the kids at my parents house and made sure we had enough water for the dog. We arrived at Spectrum Field to a sea of canines and what struck me curiously were the amount of single women with dogs. If I were a single man, I think I'd go out and buy me a dog and haunt every dog park within a five mile radius of my crib but Strawberry was my girl.

There were a couple of players I had been watching (more or less). The only player from the Threshers I even remotely heard of was Mickey Moniak and that's because we saw him back in Spring when The Rays took on the Phillies. I was really hoping Jesus Sanchez would be in the starting lineup but nowhere to be found. Perhaps homeboy had the day off. First round pick/2-way player phenom Brendan McKaye had found himself on the DL so I'd peep some other players I've heard of and am now seeing what's up with them. 2014 Draftee Blake Bivens got the ball for the Stone Crabs and got hit around quite a bit. Homeboy went 4.2 IP, gave up 8 H, 3 ER and struck out 3. Labored hard through those innings. Sorry bubba. Take a seat. 

Lucius Fox is an interesting piece that I've been watching since my homie from Atlanta mentioned in the Matt Moore trade that this dude we got is really good (along with Matt Duffy). Lucius is an interesting case. He jumped out at me during the 2017 Future's Game in Miami. He went 1-4 Sunday and had some really quality ABs then would have an atrocious AB where he swung at every pitch down in the zone. Kinda reminded me of what Joey Wendle gets stuck swinging at. No matter, Fox has some quick hands and could see him potentially manning 2B as opposed to 3B or SS. The problem with him at SS is his size but this could also change as he fills out. I like the idea of him being developed more in AA. It will be interesting to see how his year plays out. If his plate discipline matures (as it will) he will be a very exciting player.

Another dude who stood out to me was Jermaine Palacios (he came over from the Jake Odorizzi trade). A brotha won't even lie when saying, I knew nothing about this cat until peeping him today. I was really impressed. He's batting .229/.272/.331. Okay, it doesn't necessarily jump out at you with amazement but I liked what he did patrolling 3B. Made some really tough plays on funky bounces and hard hit balls. He makes hard contact when putting the ball into play, he just hits it right to the OFers. Despite this though, his last ten games, his bat has been scorching. Do you smell a promotion?

Tristan Gray is another interesting player I saw on the IF (came over from Dickerson trade). He was manning 2B and seems to fit that role extremely well. He has the build of a 2B and is a nice slap hitter. He went 0-4 but saw the potential of a really effective bat. 

Rene Pinto was catching. I won't even front, I had never heard of this dude until today. Homeboy really knew how to call a game and had his pitchers really following his lead despite the pitchers throwing some meatballs. Schryver and side armer Charpie came in and gave up more runs. Despite this, Pinto knew how to manage his field and yes, MY GOD YES, homeboy can actually hit! Peep his line: .260/.282/.375. Not bad at all! A quality defensive catcher who can hit? Sounds like Wilson Ramos has a brother! Dude is from Venezuela after all. 

I felt good about the future of things from the high A level for The Rays and our dog seemed to enjoy the ballpark and free food the volunteers were giving out. There were a lot of fine ass women running around and confused looking men. There's something to be said about Cracker Jacks at a baseball game. Is this culture? 

"Are you having fun baby?" Strawberry asked.

"All for you darling..."