Tampa Bay Rays

Sam Fuld came as a much-needed spark following a dismal start by the defending AL East champion Tampa Bay Rays. The relatively unknown outfielder came to the Rays as part of the trade for Matt Garza.

David Price is going to have to win 20 games if the Tampa Bay Rays have any aspirations to repeat as AL East Champions.

In Friday night’s 8-5 loss to the Los Angeles Angels, he got put to the test and fell short...very short. It brought his record to 3-3.

The Tampa Bay Rays may unveil another one of their stud pitching prospects on Sunday.

Thursday's doubleheader against the Twins has shortened the Rays rotation, and long reliever/spot starter Andy Sonnanstine has been battling illness, leaving the team with no choice but to consider some options in the minor leagues.

The Tampa Bay Rays' starting rotation has remained strong despite the turnover of a lot of key members of the team. The Rays' rotation is still among the best in baseball and will keep them competitive for years to come.

It's the morning of April 11th, and all is not right in the AL East. The Rays and the Red Sox were set to do battle that evening at Fenway Park, and two supposed contenders had already lost a combined 15 games. The 2-7 Red Sox had just won two of three from the Yankees. The Rays dropped two of three to the White Sox and sat in last place at 1-8.

Tampa Bay Rays 3B Evan Longoria is expected to return from an oblique injury sometime during the Rays' next home stand (April 29-May 5).

This inevitably means that somebody on the current 25-man roster is going to be without a spot. So who should be the man to go? You could make strong cases for Casey Kotchman, Dan Johnson, and Elliot Johnson.

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Sam Fuld is off to an unbelievable start. He’s hitting .366 with 11 runs, a home run, eight RBI, and nine stolen bases. The question is whether you should continue to ride his hot bat (and legs) or try to sell high on him?

My money is on holding. He has a stranglehold on the Rays’ leadoff spot. He’s hitting .369 out of that slot, including .360 leading off. While he hasn’t walked a lot (four times), he’s only struck out six times in 71 at-bats.

The sky was falling in the offseason in St. Petersburg.

Carl Crawford? Gone. Carlos Pena? Adios. Rafael Soriano? See Ya. Jason Bartlett? Bye. Matt Garza? Later. Joaquin Benoit? Hit the road.

"Holy fire sale, Batman! Who does that leave us with?"

It did not look good.

Sam Fuld? A washed up Johnny Damon? A roided up Manny? Eek.

And it started out looking pretty awful. Not only were the Rays 0-6, but they would've given anything for a two-run scoring outburst. Not a two-run inning, a two-run GAME!

Last week I told you about the #LegendofSamFuld hashtag that Tampa Bay Rays fans have been using on Twitter to glorify the extraordinary play of LF Sam Fuld in MLB Twitter Trends: The Legend of Sam Fuld, Tampa Bay's New Hero.

Former Rays LF Carl Crawford's abysmal start to 2011 culminated with a chorus of boos from the Fenway faithful Friday night in Boston. This was followed by Terry Francona removing him from the lineup Saturday to help him recapture his focus.

It's gotten pretty bad for Crawford, who seems to be having difficulty adjusting to life in Beantown.