From the Better Late than Never Department...

First off, let me apologize to the cite and its readers for having been unreliable the past couple weeks. Things have been hectic here in the big city, but I expect them to settle down sometime in the fairly near future.

The Rays are coming into the All Star break 6.5 games off the lead in the division and 3.5 behind the Yankees in the Wild Card standings. Halfway through the year, the Rays look like they're toward the top end of a crowded field of pretty good teams.

The Week that Was

After getting swept out of Arlington, the Rays took their frustration out on the Blue Jays, sweeping them out of Tampa before welcoming...

The Effing A's. I am upset pretty much every single time the Rays drop a game the ought to have won, so I had kind of a rough weekend. After taking Friday's opener, behind another excellent performance from Niemann, the Rays dropped the next two games and the series. To the A's. The 37-49 A's, who sit twelve games back in the AL West. Yep.

SATURDAY: RAYS 2; Oakland 7

SUNDAY: RAYS 3, Oakland 7

The first three batters in the Rays lineup (Upton, Crawford, Longoria on Saturday; Upton, Aybar, Longoria on Sunday) went a combined 2-24 on the weekend, which probably has a great deal to do with the Rays only mustering a total of five runs. Combine the meager offensive effort with late inning bullpen implosions, and you've got two consecutive games of positively devilish Rays baseball.

The Futures Game saw the World beat the U.S. 7-5. Desmond Jennings was 0-3 with two K's, but he did contribute three stolen bases and a run. Kyeong Kang, of Bowling Green, was 0-1 with a pinch-hit pop-up. Is this the first time the Rays have sent fewer prospects to the Futures Game than big leaguers to the All Star Game?

The Week that Will Be

Looking forward to seeing Peña compete in the Homerun Derby today. I'd say I'm worried about him blowing up his swing, but let's face it. The guy swings for the fences with every cut anyway, so he might as well get some national recognition for it.

I've got more to say here, but for now I'll have to leave it and go to work.

GO RAYS!