TPR 11 - Coming Soon

We don't touch much on the major-league action here, but Rays fans are no doubt familiar with the blogs that do. Contributors from three of them, DRaysBay, The Process Report, and Dock Of The Rays along with a few others from around the internet have joined forces to create TPR 11.

It's not fair to think of it as a season preview, though with an AL East preview and player profiles of all those on the 40-man roster, it's certainly got that base covered. The chapters written cover the organization past, present, and future, on the field and off, from Manny Ramirez and David Price to Andrew Friedman and ESPN, which a little bit of everything in between.

The writing is consistently strong throughout, and the entire work has a crisp, clean look and feel (unlike a certain guide done in Open Office). You can read reviews by FreeZo at DRaysBay and Jason Hanselman at Dock Of The Rays, and over at The Process Report you'll find free excerpts so you can sample the range of writing up to its release next week.

Minor Moves: Cabral

LHP Cesar Cabral has been claimed off waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays.

Cabral appeared in three games for the Rays this spring, he pitched 3.2 innings and had a 4.91 ERA with 4 strikeouts and 2 walks. He was the Rays pick in the Rule 5 Draft from the Red Sox.

Minor Moves: Gonzalez, Ortiz

Matt Edy with Baseball America reports the following transactions made by the Rays during the week of March 1 to March 8.

• Signed RHP Edgar Gonzalez
• Released RHP Ramon Ortiz

Gonzalez was originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2000. He spent his career at various levels in the Diamondbacks, Athletics and Dodger organization. He spent seven years at the major league level and his last assignment was Triple-A Albuquerque in 2010.

Also former RHP Tyree Hayes has been signed by the Cincinnati Reds organization.

Eight Players Sent to Minor League Camp in First Round of Cuts

The Tampa Bay Rays have announced the first roster cuts of the spring. Eight players were sent to minor league camp including:

• Brian Baker
• Jonah Bayliss
• Matt Bush
• Dane De La Rosa
• Brandon Guyer
• Ricky Orta
• Albert Suarez
• Alex Torres

2011 Stone Crabs Individual Tickets on Sale Monday, March 14

Press Release provided by Stone Crabs Marketing Manager Regina Van Henkelum.

The 2011 Individual tickets for the Charlotte Stone Crabs 2011 season will go on sale to the general public starting at 8:00 a.m. on Monday, March 14, at the Charlotte Sports Park box office or by calling 941-206-HITS(4487)

While purchasing the tickets the fans will be able to listen to and participate in the live remote broadcast by Kix Country 92.9. The Stone Crabs are also offering extra incentives for fans that arrive at the event early with Metro PCS and Stone Crabs giveaways. There will also be an opportunity for the fans to take pictures and get autographs from the team’s mascot Stoney.

Tickets for all 2011 home games range anywhere from just $6-11 and are currently available for all home games. Reserved seats for Opening Night (April 7) are limited and tickets for that game sold out in record time last year.

The team will host their Opening Day on Thursday, April 7, against the Bradenton Marauders at Charlotte Sports Park with Cal Ripken Jr. scheduled to make an appearance. The only way to guarantee a seat for the game is to purchase a Season Seat package. Call 941-206-HITS (4487) or visit StoneCrabsBaseball.com for more information.

Minor Moves: Three Assigned To VSL Rays

Per the milb Venezuelan Summer League transactions page, three players have been assigned to the VSL Rays roster: catcher Gianfranco Aldazoro and pitchers Brohiglyn Rivero and Johan Marval.

Aldazoro, who will turn 17 in April, is a 6'1" 205 lb. righthanded hitter from La Victoria, Venezuela. He batted .213/.288/.298 in 47 ABs for the Rays team in the Liga Paralela last fall/winter.

Rivero is a 6'3" 185 lb. righthander from Puerto Cabello, Venezuela. He turns 18 in May. Rivero started one game in the Liga Paralela, only lasting 1.0 IP and allowing 1 earned run on a hit and 3 walks with a strikeout.

Marval, who won't be 18 until November, is another righthander out of Valencia, Venezuela. He is listed at 6'1" 195 lbs. Marval also pitched in the Liga Paralela, putting up a 6.41 ERA in 10 relief appearances. Over 19.2 innings he allowed 29 hits (including 5 homeruns) and 12 walks while striking out 15 batters.

[Update]: Make that four, as pitcher Kevin Cazorla has also been added to the VSL Rays roster. A 6'2" 190 lb. righthander from La Victoria, Venezuela, Cazorla will turn 18 next October. In the Liga Paralela he had an 8.59 ERA in 5 relief appearances. Over a total of 7.1 IP he allowed 12 hits, 9 walks, and struck out 3.

Tampa Bay Rays Earn Extra Inning Win Against Toronto Blue Jays

The Game: The Tampa Bay Rays rallied in the late innings to secure a 3-2 extra innings victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday afternoon at Charlotte Sports Park. The Blue Jays took the lead early and it wasn't until the inning before the Rays could tie the game. They pushed across a run in the bottom of the tenth to earn the walk-off win and extend the winning streak to two games.

The Blue Jays took the lead in the first inning with a solo home run by Rajai Davis to lead off the game. Then in the second inning, David Cooper scored on a ground ball by Adeiny Hechavarria to put the Jays ahead 2-0.

The Rays cut the lead in half with a solo home run by Dan Johnson in the seventh inning.

The Rays then tied the game in the bottom of the ninth inning. Nevin Ashley led off the inning with a line drive single to right field. He would later score on an RBI triple by Robinson Chirinos to tie the game 2-2.

The tied did not last long as the Rays pushed the winning run across the plate in the tenth inning. Chris Carter doubled to left to lead of the inning. Justin Ruggiano then delivered a two out single that scored Carter to win the game 3-2.

James Shields started the game and allowed both runs in 3 1/3 innings. From that point on, the bullpen finished the game without allowing another run and only two hits. RJ Swindle, Kyle Farnsworth, Joel Peralta, Cesar Cabral and Brandon Gomes all pitched no-hit innings while Adam Russell was the only reliever to allow a hit. Gomes picked up the victory.

RP Top Prospect Watch:
Tim Beckham: 0 for 2.
Robinson Chirinos:2 for 2 and knocked home the tying run with an RBI triple.
Desmond Jennings: 0 for 3.

A Look Ahead: The Rays (3-7-1) will split squad on Wednesday. Half of the squad will remain in Port Charlotte to rematch the Blue Jays (4-6). Jeff Niemann is scheduled to start for the Rays with Cory Wade, Dane De La Rosa, Jake McGee, Cesar Ramos and Chris Archer also scheduled to pitch.

The other squad will travel to St. Pete for a game at the old spring training home of the Rays, Progress Energy Park where they will play the Netherlands National team. Chris Bootcheck will start for the Rays with Jonah Bayliss, Richard De Los Santos, Dirk Hayhurst and Brian Baker scheduled to pitch.

The RaysProspects 2011 Prospect Guide

Well, here it is. You can download it (for free, of course!) here, here, or here. If any of those download links don't work, please let me know in the comments.

In the 155 pages, here's some of what you'll find:
*Write-ups of roughly 200 Rays minor-leaguers, including full pages on the top 15 hitters & pitchers

*Affiliate previews for the four full-season teams

*Predictions for the 2011 season

*An in-depth look at the best tools in the organization

*A special feature on just how good Matt Moore has been

I'd really appreciate it if you stopped by the comments section to let me know what you think of it. What you liked, what you didn't like, what we could do better next time (oh yeah, I'm already thinking about next time), pretty much anything. I love to hear from the readers.

We'll bump this to the top of the page every so often for now, and pretty soon we'll have a permanent link on the sidebar.

Organizational Roster

After Doug’s post on Sunday and the feedback looking for spring training camp rosters, I went searching. I could not find anything and when the question was asked, the answer was there is no formal minor league camp roster for publication. I was directed to the media guide for a list of players in the system.

So I took the information in the guide and put together an organization roster. The roster below includes all levels within the organization from Foreign Rookie League through the Majors. The players listed below are current with the latest printing of the media guide.

I then put the players that are currently in Major League Camp in capital letters. These players were still in major league camp as of 3/5.

While it is not a true account that every one has reported and still with the organization, but it is the best account we have. Hopefully it will answer some of those questions about the free agents that re-signed with the organization.

Pitchers (147)
Wilmer Almonte, Yomelbin Almonte, Jose Alonzo. Freddy Alvarez, Chris Andujar, CHRIS ARCHER, Oscar Armenta, Junior Astacio, BRIAN BAKER, Nick Barnese, JONAH BAYLISS, Andrew Bellatti, Omar Bencomo, JR Betts-Robinson, CHRIS BOOTCHECK, MATT BUSH, CESAR CABRAL, Luis Cabrera, Orlando Cabrera, Joselito Cano, Miguel Canturiano, Kevin Cazorla, Carlos Cedeno, Henry Centeno, ALEX COBB, Alex Colome, Roque Colon, Joe Cruz, JUAN CRUZ, WADE DAVIS, ROB DELANEY, Giesel De La Cruz, DANE DE LA ROSA, Jairo De La Rosa, Frank De Los Santos, RICHARD DE LOS SANTOS, Robert Dickmann, Aaron Dott, Hugo Duarte, Shane Dyer, Ely Echarry, MIKE EKSTROM, Sergio Espinosa, KYLE FARNSWORTH, Jose Fermin, Mario Fernandez, Ryan Fleckenstein, Marquis Fleming, Feliz Fuentes, Justin Garcia, Nate Garcia, Matt Gilson, BRANDON GOMES, Roberto Gomez, Jose Gonzalez, Joyned Gonzalez, Joan Guerrero, Jesse Hahn, Jeremy Hall, Stephan Havlicek, DIRK HAYHURST, JEREMY HELLICKSON, Brandon Henderson, Wilmer Hernandez, Hunter Hill, Steve Hiscock, JP HOWELL, Austin Hubbard, Jhefferson Hurtado, Kevin James, Mickey Jannis, Michael Jarman, George Jenson, Marcus Jensen, Daniel Johnson, Merrill Kelly, Ian Kendall, Will Kline, Alex Koronis, Braulio Lara, Andrew Leary, Adam Liberatore, Kyle Lobstein, Reinaldo Lopez, Parker Markel, Johan Marval, Victor Mateo, Deivis Mavarez, Jason McEachern, JAKE MCGEE, Luis Mercedes, Shane Minks, Jose Molina, Matt Moore, David Newmann, JEFF NIEMANN, Carlos Orasma, RICKY ORTA, Jacob Partridge, Jimmy Paterson, JOEL PERALTA, Paul Phillips, DAVID PRICE, Zach Quate, Eduar Quinonez, CESAR RAMOS, Chris Rearick, Ryan Reid, CJ Riefenhauser, Brohiglyn Rivero, Felipe Rivero, Jorge Rodriguez, Wilking Rodriguez, Enny Romero, Gregory Rosal, ADAM RUSSELL, Luis Ruiz, Wilmer Sabala, Danmar Salazar, Yerwin Sanchez, Josh Satow, Neil Schenk, Ronald Serrano, JAMES SHIELDS, Trevor Shull, Scott Shuman, Pedro Silvestre, ANDY SONNANSTINE, Dauris Soriano, Matt Spann, Matt Stabelfeld, ALBERT SUAREZ, Bruedlin Suero, Jake Sullivan, RJ SWINDLE, Matt Swilley, Jake Thompson, ALEX TORRES, Jose Torres, Phillips Valdez, Christian Vasquez, Francis Vizaino, CORY WADE, Luis Wilches, Justin Woodall, Kirby Yates, Luis Yendis

Catchers (27)
Mayobanex Acosta , CRAIG ALBERNAZ, Gianfranco Aldazoro , Jesus Araiza, NEVIN ASHLEY, Luke Bailey, ROBINSON CHIRINOS, Jake DePew, Wilmer Dominguez, Tomas Francisco, Jhonatan Gomez, Kyle Holloway, Jhancarlos Infante, JOHN JASO, Jake Jefferies, JOSE LOBATON, Omar Narvaez, Justin O’Conner, Gerardo Olivares, Hector Rodriguez, Francisco Rosario, Alejando Segovia, KELLY SHOPPACH, Mark Thomas, Alejando Torres, STEPHEN VOGT, David Wendt

Infielders (64)
Ron Acosta , Ismael Aguero , LESLIE ANDERSON, TIM BECKHAM, Jose Bellorin, Tanner Biagini, Tyler Bortnick, Ryan Brett, REID BRIGNAC, RUSS CANZLER, Julio Cedeno, Cody Cipriano, Leopoldo Correa, Bennett Davis, Raynil De Castro, Derek Dietrich, Douglas Duran, Federico Eder, Erick Epifano, Robu Estrada, Cole Figeroa, Travis Flores, JJ FURMANIAK, Darryl George, Felix Gonzalez, Hector Guevara, Matt Hall, Seth Henry, DAN JOHNSON, ELLIOT JOHNSON, CASEY KOTCHMAN, Scott Lawson, Hak-Ju Lee, EVAN LONGORIA, FELIPE LOPEZ, Diogenes Luis, Omar Luna, Jeff Malm, DANIEL MAYORA, Julio Medina, Lucas Montero, Julian Morillo, RAY OLMEDO, Shawn O’Malley, Emmanuel Paulino, Cesar Perez, Robby Price, Juniel Querecuto, Leonardo Reginatto, Keiverson Reyes, Junior Rodriguez, SEAN RODRIGUEZ, Adderly Rosa, Anthony Scelfo, Nick Schwaner, Greg Sexon, Michael Sheridan, Alexander Simon, Kyle Spraker, Matt Sweeney, Juan Tapia, Steven Tinoco, Henry Wrigley, Phil Wunderlich

Outfielders (49)
Franklin Alcala, Islmel Antunez, Yoel Araujo, Dustin Biell, Brian Bryles, Joel Caminero, CHRIS CARTER, Gabe Cohen, JOHNNY DAMON, Alex Diaz, Deshun Dixon, Edward Dorville, Bryan Fogle, Reid Fronk, SAM FULD, Todd Glaesmann, Cesar Guillen, BRANDON GUYER, Nahum Hernandez, JOE INGLETT, DESMOND JENNINGS, MATT JOYCE, Kyeong Kang, Kevin Kiermaier, Kyle Lusson, Craige Lyerly, Darwin, Maldonado, Luis Marte, John Matulia, Ty Morrison, Chris Murrill, Jiminon Natera, Brett Nommensen, Jose Paez, Franklin Paz, Jonathan Quinonez, MANNY RAMIREZ, Wester Ramos, Cody Rogers, Waldo Rosario, JUSTIN RUGGUANO, Josh Sale, Emeel Salem, BJ UPTON, Erick Vasquez, Isaias Velasquez, Drew Vettleson, Chris Winder, BEN ZOBRIST

Tampa Bay Rays Snap Losing Streak with Win Over Pittsburgh Pirates

The Game: The Tampa Bay Rays snapped their losing trend by beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-2 on Monday afternoon at McKechnie Field. Desmond Jennings helped secure the win by driving in the go ahead run in the top of the eighth inning.

The Rays took the lead first by scoring in the second inning. With Matt Joyce on first, BJ Upton doubled to center field, scoring Joyce and giving the Rays a 1-0 lead.

The Pirates battled back to tie the game in the bottom of the fourth inning. A two run home run by Matt Diaz sailed over the right field wall and gave the Pirates a 2-1 lead.

But the Rays bounced back an inning later by posting another run on the scoreboard. BJ Upton and Dan Johnson led off the inning with back to back walks. Upton stole third and then later scored on an RBI single by Tim Beckham to tie the game 2-2.

The game remained tied until the top of the seventh inning. Joe Lobaton drew a walk with one out to put a runner on the bases. Casey Kotchman then singled to right, moving Lobaton to third. With runners on the corners, Jennings knocked home the go ahead run with a sac fly to score Lobaton. Felipe Lopez then drew a walk followed by a single by Sam Fuld to load the bases for the Rays. Justin Rugginao drew a bases loaded walk to score Kotchman and give the Rays an insurance run.

That was all they needed as they kept the Pirates off the board in the final two innings and secure the 4-2 win and break the losing streak.

David Price made the start and pitched 4 innings, allowing 2 runs on 3 hits with 2 strikeouts and a walk in the no decision. Rob Delaney picked up his second win of the spring by pitching a scoreless frame. Alex Cobb and Matt Bush each pitched a no-hit inning with Cobb earning a hold and Bush the save.

RP Top Prospect Watch:
Alex Cobb: earned the hold with 1 no-hit inning with 2 strikeouts.
Desmond Jennings: drove in the go ahead run in his only plate appearance.
Tim Beckham: 1 for 3 with an RBI.

A Look Ahead: The Rays (2-7-1) return home to Charlotte Sports Park on Tuesday for the first of back to back home games against the Toronto Blue Jays (4-5). James Shields will start for the Rays against Brandon Morrow for the Blue Jays. Kyle Farnsworth, Juan Cruz, Joel Peralta, Adam Russell and Cesar Cabral are also scheduled to pitch.

Game Pictures from 3/5: Rays vs Twins

Click on the photo below to view the photo gallery from Saturday's Rays spring training game against the Twins.

Tampa Bay Rays Victim of Bottom of the Ninth Rally by Philadelphia Phillies

The Game: The Tampa Bay Rays battled back from three runs down but a late game surge by the Philadelphia Philles led to the Rays losing their seventh game of the spring. The Rays could not hold on in the last two innings of the game and lost 5-4 on Sunday afternoon at Brighthouse Networks Field in Clearwater.

The Phillies took the lead in the bottom of the second inning. Ryan Howard went deep off Wade Davis to lead off the inning and give the Phillies a 1-0 lead.

The Phillies extended their lead in the third inning. They lead off the inning once again with a home run, this time it was Brian Schneider taking the offering from Cesar Ramos over the right field wall. The second run came later in the inning when Raul Ibanez and Ryan Howard delivered back to back singles. Placido Polanco then singled home Ibanez to increase the lead to 3-0.

The Rays battled back to tie the game with a three run fifth inning. Casey Kotchman led off the inning with a double to center. Kotchman then moved to third on a single by Joe Inglett. Ray Olmedo then laid down a bunt, scoring Kotchman but losing Inglett at second on the force. Desmond Jennings then drew a walk. A double by Sean Rodriguez would score Olmedo and Jennings to give tie the game 3-3.

The Rays took the lead in the top of the seventh inning. Inglett singled to center. Inglett then stole second and later scored on an RBI single by Chris Carter to give the Rays a 4-3 lead.

The Phillies bounced back to tie the game in the eighth inning. Matt Rizzotti delivered a solo home run off Cory Wade to tie the game 4-4.

The home team Phillies used the bottom of the ninth inning to take down the Rays. Roass Gload singled to right to lead off the inning. Delwyn Young then laid down a sac bunt to advance the runner, but a throwing error by JJ Furmaniak led to Young reach base and Gload moving to second. Pete Orr then laid down a sac bunt, moving both runners into scoring position. Joel Naughton singled home the winning run with a single to right, scoring Gload and handing the Rays a 5-4 loss.

Brian Baker was charged with the loss. Wade Davis started the game, pitched 2 inning and allowed 1 run on 2 hits with 2 strikeouts. Juan Cruz, Jake McGee, Jonah Bayliss and Brandon Gomes each provided a no-hit inning of relief. Cesar Ramos surrendered 2 runs on 4 hits and Cory Wade allowed 1 run on 1 hit.

RP Top Prospect Watch:
Tim Beckham: 1 for 1 with a single.
Robinson Chirinos: 0 for 3 with 3 K's.
Desmond Jennings: 0 for 2 with a walk and a run scored.
Jake McGee: pitched a no-hit inning, striking out 2 of the 3 hitters he faced.

A Look Ahead: The Rays (1-7-1) travel to McKechnie Field to play the Pittsburgh Pirates (5-5) on Monday. David Price will start for the Rays facing Ross Ohlendorf for the Pirates. Mike Ekstrom, Rob Delaney, Matt Bush and Alex Cobb are also expected to pitch.

Tampa Bay Rays Fall to Minnesota Twins

The Game: The Tampa Bay Rays spring training struggles continue as they fell to the Minnesota Twins 6-1 on Saturday afternoon at Charlotte Sports Park. Andy Sonnanstine gave up four runs early and the offense was unable to recover, leading to their sixth loss in seven days.

The Twins wasted no time reaching the scoreboard, posting two runs in the first inning. Ben Revere drew a walk to lead of the game. Revere stole second and then later scored an RBI single by Jason Kubel. Kubel would then score on a double by Danny Valencia to give the Twins a 2-0 lead.

The Twins added two more runs in the second inning. Trevor Plouffe singled to get things started. He then stole second bad. Drew Butera followed with a fly ball to left that Johnny Damon lost in the sun, the ball fell to the ground and allowed Plouffe to score. Ben Revere then singled home Butera to increase the lead to 4-0.

The Twins added yet another run in the third inning. Chris Parmelee homered to left to give the Twins a 5-0 lead.

Minnesota posted another run to the scoreboard in the top of the sixth inning. Back to back singles to Butera and Rene Tosoni followed by a walk to Brian Dozier loaded the bases for the Twins. Matt Brown drew a bases loaded walk to score Butera and increase the lead to 6-0.

The Rays picked up their first hit of the ballgame and only run of the game in the bottom of the sixth inning. Sean Rodriguez doubled past the diving left fielder Brian Dinkleman to record the Rays first hit of the game to lead off the inning. Rodriguez moved to third on a fly out by Desmond Kennings. John Jaso picked up the RBI and gave the Rays their only run of the game.

Andy Sonnanstine was charged with the loss. Kyle Farnsworth, Joel Peralta, Chris Bootcheck, Chris Archer and Richard De Los Santos each provided a shut-out inning.

RP Top Prospect Watch:
Chris Archer: pitch a shut-out inning with 1 hit, a strikeout and a walk.
Robinson Chirinos: 0 for 1.
Brandon Guyer: 0 for 1.
Desmond Jennings: 1 for 3.

A Look Ahead: The Rays travel to Clearwater to face the Phillies on Sunday. Wade Davis will start for the Rays against Cliff Lee for the Phillies. Cesar Ramos, Jake McGee and Jonah Bayliss are also scheduled to pitch.

Weekend Open Thread: With Extra Crab

I was hoping we could have posted the minor league spring training roster by now, since pitchers and catchers already reported yesterday. It's fun every year to look over the roster and try to spot which guys aren't listed, sort of a game to see who can find the most missing players. But no such luck so far.

Maybe I'm just crabby from no baseball and the long winter, but I'm getting a little tired of the Rays keeping everything a national secret. If Jim hadn't reverse-engineered the minor league spring training game schedule (over two weeks ago!) we still wouldn't have it. Not exactly helpful for family and friends of the players (and fans too) who want to schedule trips to see minor league spring training.

Okay, so I am a little crabby. But still, I'm not asking for an exclusive or anything, post it on MiLB or give it to DRaysBay or RaysIndex or Stacy Long... or anybody. Just get the information out there for the folks who care about it, the fans of the teams. Enough of my whining.

I'm looking forward to reading Kevin's RaysProspects 2011 Prospect Guide, which is scheduled to be available for free download on Monday. The Guide is by far the biggest project ever undertaken at RP, and all of the credit goes to Kevin.

I did start a new site for non-Rays-related baseball posts called Triple Play Depth. Everything about the Rays will still be posted here, but I wanted somewhere to write about baseball topics that really didn't fit at RP. I'm just getting started, but let me know what you think of it so far. And as always, have a great weekend!

Tampa Bay Rays Can't Hold Off Late Inning Rally, Fall to Minnesota Twins

The Game: The Tampa Bay Rays dropped a close game to the Minnesota Twins 5-4 on Friday afternoon at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers. The Rays battled from three runs down to take the lead in the seventh inning but a late inning surge by the Twins led to the Rays losing their fifth game of the spring.

The Twins scored the first run of the game in the third inning. Tsuyoshi Nishioka reached on a force out to get things going. Nishioka stole second and then scored on an RBI single by Jason Kubel to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.

The Twins increased their lead in the fifth inning. Denard Span and Nishioka delivered back to back singles. Both runners were driven home on an RBI double by Kubel to increase the lead to 3-0.

The Rays battled back to tie the game in the top of the sixth inning. They led off the inning with four consecutive singles to get things going. Reid Brignac, BJ Upton, John Jaso and Evan Longoria all recorded hits with Jaso and Longoria getting an RBI each. Jaso would later score on a ground ball by Casey Kotchman to tie the game 3-3.

The Rays took the lead the next inning. Russ Canzler hit a sac fly to center that scored Robinson Chirinos to give the Rays a 4-3 lead.

But they did not hold the lead long as the Twins rallied in the eighth inning. Matt Brown singled to center followed by a walk to Steve Holm. Brown would then score on a single by Ben Revere to tie the game. Chase Lambin drove home the game winning run with a sac fly to score Tolbert and hand the Rays a 5-4 loss.

Alex Cobb was charged with a blown save and the loss for the Rays. Alex Torres pitched 2 shut-out innings allowing just 1 hits and a walk while striking out 2 in the start. Matt Bush pitched a no-hit inning while Rob Delaney and Brian Baker each added a shut-out inning on the mound.

RP Top Prospect Watch:
Robinson Chirinos: 0 for 1 with a walk and a run scored.
Alex Cobb: 2 runs on 2 hits with 2 strikeouts and a walk in an inning pitched.
Alex Torres: 2 shut-out innings allowing 1 hit with 2 strikeouts and a walk.

A Look Ahead: The Rays (1-5-1) host the Twins (4-2) for a rematch on Saturday at Charlotte Sports Park. Andy Sonnanstine will start for the Rays facing Nick Blackburn for the Twins. Adam Russell, Chris Bootcheck and Chris Archer are also scheduled to pitch for the Rays.

Looking Back: 2007 Opening Day Rosters

I was looking through some old notes last night and came across the opening day rosters from 2007 for the Rays full-season teams.

As the Rays minor league pitchers and catchers report to spring training today, let's take a look back at where the organization stood just over four years ago.

Tampa Bay Devil Rays

Pitchers: Shawn Camp, Casey Fossum, Gary Glover, Edwin Jackson, Scott Kazmir, Ruddy Lugo, Al Reyes, Jae Kuk Ryu, Juan Salas, Jae Seo, James Shields, Brian Stokes, Jon Switzer (DL)

Catchers: Dioner Navarro, Josh Paul

Infielders: Brendan Harris, Akinori Iwamura, Carlos Pena, B.J. Upton, Ty Wigginton, Ben Zobrist

Outfielders: Rocco Baldelli, Carl Crawford, Elijah Dukes, Jonny Gomes, Greg Norton (DL), Delmon Young

Durham Bulls

Pitchers: Steve Andrade, Tim Corcoran, Scott Dohmann, Jason Hammel, J.P. Howell, Seth McClung, Jeff Niemann, Chad Orvella, Tony Peguero, Jeff Ridgway, Andrew Sonnanstine, Mitch Talbot

Catchers: Raul Casanova, Shawn Riggans

Infielders: Wes Bankston, Jorge Cantu, Joel Guzman, Elliot Johnson, Matthew Maniscalco, Jorge Velandia

Outfielders: Dustin Mohr, Jeremy Owens, Chris Richard, Justin Ruggiano

Montgomery Biscuits

Pitchers: Nick DeBarr, Richard De Los Santos, Derek Feldkamp, Jeremy Flanagan, Brian Henderson, James Houser, Chris Mason, Evan Meek, Mike Prochaska, Chris Seddon, Dale Thayer, Brett Wayne

Catchers: Josh Arhart, John Jaso

Infielders: Josh Asanovich, Reid Brignac, Brooks Badeaux, Evan Longoria, Gabriel Martinez, Chris Nowak

Outfielders: Patrick Breen, Shaun Cumberland, Fernando Perez, Jason Pridie

Vero Beach Devil Rays

Pitchers: Jonathan Beltre, Drew Bigda, Wade Davis, Eddie De La Cruz, Greg Dupas, Jino Gonzalez, Jeff Kamrath, Kevin Lynn, Jacob McGee, Paul Moviel, Aaron Walker, Matt Walker, Michael Wlodarczyk

Catchers: Alex Jamieson, Christian Lopez, Sergio Pedroza

Infielders: Patrick Cottrell, Matthew Devins, Rhyne Hughes, Jason St. Clair, Hunter Vick, Neil Walton

Outfielders: Erold Andrus, Garrett Groce, J.T. Hall

Columbus Catfish

Pitchers: Brian Baker, Joshua Butler, Matt Falk, Woods Fines, Neal Frontz, Jeremy Hellickson (DL), Chris Kelly, Ryan Morse, Wilton Noel, Ryan Owen, Ryan Reid, Heath Rollins, Wade Townsend

Catchers: Craig Albernaz, Nevin Ashley, Matt Spring

Infielders: Joey Callender, Jairo De La Rosa, Seth Dhaenens (DL), Matthew Fields, Brett Grandstrand, Brandon Rousseve (DL), Cesar Suarez

Outfielders: Desmond Jennings, Maiko Loyola, John Matulia, Ryan Royster, Quinn Stewart

Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees Battle to a 1-1 Tie

The Game: The Tampa Bay Rays put an end to their losing skid by playing to a 1-1 tie against the New York Yankess on Thursday afternoon at Charlotte Sports Park. Great pitching combined with a 21 mile per hour wind blowing in from centerfield led to six and a half scoreless innings before the first run crossed the plate.

They Rays broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the seventh inning. Casey Kotchman doubled to left with two outs to put a runner in scoring position. Then back to back walks by Sean Rodriguez and Robinson Chirinos loaded the bases for the Rays. Tim Beckham drew a bases loaded walk to push Kotchman across the plate and give them a 1-0 lead.

The Yankees battled back to tie the game in the top of the eighth inning. Gustavo Molina and Kevin Russo both singled to put two runners on the bases. Molino then scored on a ground ball off the bat of Brad Suttle what was misplayed by shortstop Ray Olmedo to score the tying run.

The game remained tied through the tenth inning when the game was declared a tie.

James Shields started for the Rays and allowed just 1 hit and 1 walk in 3 scoreless innings on the mound. RJ Swindle and Cory Wade each pitched 2 no-hit innings while Juan Cruz pitched 1 no-hit inning. Jake McGee was charged with a blown save as the lone run came while he was on the mound.

RP Top Prospect Watch:
Tim Beckham: 1 for 2 with a double, walk and an RBI.
Robinson Chirinos: 0 for 1 with a walk.
Brandon Guyer: 0 for 1.
Desmond Jennings: 0 for 3.

A Look Ahead: The Rays (1-4-1) travel to Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers to play two games against the Twins (3-2) on Friday. The "A" game features Alex Torres starting for the Rays against Kevin Slowey for the Twins. The "B" game will showcase Jeff Niemann versus Francisco Liriano. Also available to pitch for the Rays are Mike Ekstrom, Dane De La Rosa, Rob Delaney, Dirk Hayhurst and Cesar Cabral.

Tampa Bay Rays Unable to Stop Rally by Toronto Blue Jays, Lose Fourth Straight

The Game: The Tampa Bay Rays rallied back from a three run deficit to take the lead, but could not contain a late game rally by the Toronto Blue Jays. The Rays gave up two runs in the ninth to lose the game 5-4, dropping their fourth game in a row. Dan Johnson made his case for the starting first base slot by going 2 for 3 with a double, triple, 2 RBI's and 2 runs scored.

The Blue Jays jumped out to a lead in the bottom of the second inning. Juan Rivera doubled to left with one out to put a runner in scoring position. Edwin Encarnacion followed with a two run homer to clear the bases. The next batter, JP Arencibia, drew a walk. He then advanced to second on an errant pick-off throw by David Price. Price issued another walk to Anthony Gose and ball four was wild, allowing Arencibia to advance to third. A ground ball by Mike McCoy scored Arencibia to give the Blue Jays a 3-0 lead.

The Rays got a run back in the top of the fourth. Johnson tripled to right with two outs to put a runner on base. Felipe Lopez drove home the run with an RBI single to short, pulling the Rays to within two runs of the lead.

The Rays then posted a three run inning in the top of the sixth to take the lead. Reid Brignac singled to left to lead off the inning. Ben Zobrist followed with a ground-rule double to but two runners in scoring position. Then Johnson knocked home two runs with a double to right, scoring Brignac and Zobrist. Johnson would later score on a single by Joe Inglett to give the Rays a 4-3 lead.

The Rays held onto the lead until the home half of the ninth inning. Darin Mastroianni led off the inning with a single to center. Mastroianni then stole second and Ryan Budde drew a walk to put another runner on the bases. Jacob Marisnick moved the runners closer to home with a sac bunt, advancing all runners one base. Then it was a single to left by Jonathan Diaz to score both Mastroianni and Budde to give the Rays the 5-4 loss.

Richard De Los Santos was charged with the loss and a blown save. David Price made the start and allowed 3 runs on 2 hits with a strikeout and 2 walks in 2 innings pitched. Wade Davis made his spring debut, pitching a no-hit inning. Jonah Bayliss and Brandon Gomes also pitched no-hit innings while Adam Russell and Chris Bootcheck pitched shut-out innings.

RP Top Prospect Watch:
Tim Beckham: 0 for 1.
Brandon Guyer: 0 for 1.
Desmond Jennings: 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

A Look Ahead: The Rays (1-4) return home to Charlotte Sports Park to host the division rival New York Yankees (2-3). James Shields (0-0, 9.00) will start for the Rays against Freddy Garcia (0-0, 0.00) for the Yankees.

Game Pictures from 3/1: Rays at Orioles

Here are pictures from Tuesday's game against the Orioles. Click on the photo below to view the gallery.

Tampa Bay Rays Give Up Five Homers, Lose to Baltimore Orioles

The Game: The Tampa Bay Rays lost to the Baltimore Orioles 12-6 on Tuesday afternoon at Ed Smith Stadium. The Rays gave up five runs off four home runs in the first inning and never recovered, leading them to their third consecutive loss of the spring.

The Orioles rocked Rays starter Andy Sonnanstine for four home runs in the first inning. A two run homer by Nick Markakis and solo shots by Luke Scott, Vladimir Guerrero and Adam Jones gave the Orioles a 5-0 lead.

The Orioles added two more long balls in the bottom of the second to increase their lead. A solo shot by Jake Fox and then Markakis's second home run of the game gave them a 6-0 lead.

The Rays struck for their first run in the top of the fourth inning. Sean Rodriguez singled to center. S-Rod would then steal second and later score on an RBI double by Evan Longoria to drop the deficit to five, 6-1.

But the hard charging Orioles offense struck for four more runs in the bottom of the fourth. Matt Wieters knocked in a run with an RBI double and then later scored on an RBI since by Jake Fox. Fox would later scored on an RBI single by Markakis. The final run of the inning would come on a sac fly by Guerrero to increase the lead to 10-1.

The Rays delivered some long balls of their own in the fifth and sixth innings. It started with a solo home run by Kelly Shoppach in the fifth inning. Then Manny Ramirez and BJ Upton hit back to back jacks in the sixth to pull within six runs, 10-4.

The Rays added two more runs in the top of the seventh inning. Brandon Guyer drew a walk to lead off the inning. Desmond Jennings followed with a single to left. Then Justin Ruggiano drove home a run with an RBI double to right, scoring Guyer. Jennings later scored on a sac fly by Chris Carter to pull within four runs of the lead, 10-6.

But the Orioles matched runs in the bottom of the seventh, scoring two runs on a double by Brandon Snyder to increase the lead. The Rays could not generate anymore offense as they fell 12-6.

The Rays pitching staff was a tale of two stories. The good was really good; Cesar Cabral pitched 1 1/3 no-hit innings striking out 2 of the 4 hitters he faced, Chris Archer pitched a no-hit inning with striking out the side and RJ Swindle struck out 2 for the 3 hitters he faced in a no-hit inning. But when it was bad, it was really bad; Andy Sonnanstine was rocked for 6 runs on 6 hits with 5 of them being homers as he was charged with the loss, Ron Delaney allowed 4 runs on 5 hits and Matt Bush gave up 2 runs on 2 hits with 2 walks.

RP Top Prospect Watch:
Chris Archer: pitched a no-hit inning, striking out all three hitters he faced.
Tim Beckham: 0 for 2.
Brandon Guyer: 0 for 2 with a walk and a run scored.
Desmond Jennings: 1 for 2 with a run scored.

A Look Ahead: The Rays (1-3) travel to Florida Auto Exchange Stadium in Dunedin to face the Toronto Blue Jays (0-4) on Wednesday. David Price (0-0, 0.00) will be making the start for the Rays against Brandon Morrow (0-0, 0.00) for the Blue Jays. Wade Davis, Brian Baker, Chris Bootcheck and Richard De Los Santos are also available to pitch.