Carlos Pena

Evan Longoria is no longer considered a rising star.

Many now consider Longoria to be a baseball superstar and the face of the Tampa Bay Rays. In just under three seasons as a Major League third baseman, Longoria has a career .282 avg. with 78 home runs and 282 RBI, not to mention a Gold Glove.

The Tampa Bay Rays are having an identity crisis.

During baseball's first six weeks, no team was hotter. Now during the last six weeks, very few teams have been colder.

As it stands, the Rays have fallen from first to third in the AL East. But thanks to their hot start, only three games separate them from the top.

Still, what happens if this free fall doesn't stop in the next two weeks?

Could the Rays become sellers instead of buyers by the time the July 31st trading deadline rolls around?

Rays general manager Andrew Friedman could be shrewd enough to try to pull it off.

Oh dear Lord, please say it isn't true.

According to the Florida Marlins' official website, the first 15,000 fans that come to Saturday's game versus the Tampa Bay Rays will be the proud owners of miniature Marlins vuvuzelas!

The team is calling them "air horns," but don't be fooled; they're vuvuzelas.

Every year there seems to be someone who comes back from certain retirement to once again establish themselves as a force in the baseball world.

This year is no different, and there are a number of players making surprise comebacks this season. Vernon Wells and Barry Zito come to mind immediately.

So I have decided to run down what I feel are the top ten comeback seasons of the past ten years.

Just to clarify, there is a difference between a breakout season and a comeback season.

What I’m Reading

• The Rays might be built for 2010, but what about beyond that? Carlos Pena and Carl Crawford might be skipping town after the season is over.

Once again, Carlos Pena professes his love for the Rays and his desire to stay there long term. I never expected to see anyone express a strong desire to stay with the Rays long term, but wow have times changed:

So says owner Stuart Sternberg: The team will do everything they can to keep free-agents-to-be Carl Crawford and also Carlos Pena for as long as they can. On Crawford specifically he said: "He's been a face of this organization, he's been a great Ray, he was a great Devil Ray, he's an extraordinary player and teammate, for the community and a face of this team. We're going to do everything we can to make sure he stays here longer.''