27-year old righty swinging outfielder Rocco Baldelli became a free agent after the Rays declined his option for the 2009 season valued at $6 million bucks. Baldelli played in 28 games for the Rays this season and he was 21 for 80 (.263 avg, .819 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 4 homers and 13 RBIs. It will be interesting to see if the Rays attempt to bring Baldelli back or not. It will no doubt be at a very reduced rate if he stays in Tampa because of his physical condition. Baldelli has now played in 447 games (5 seasons) for the Rays and he is 488 for 1,736 (.281 avg, .770 OPS) with 256 runs scored, 73 homers and 284 RBIs. It’s too bad that Baldelli got sick because he was one of the Rays’ building blocks until the 2007 season.

The Rays played the Phillies tough in this series as only one of the games was a blowout. It almost appeared as if the Rays were tired from their battle with the Red Sox in the American League Championship Series. Still, excuses are for losers so let’s not dwell on the bad things that happened in this series. This is just the beginning of something good in Tampa as the Red Sox and Yankees have taken notice that winning the American League East just got tougher. The Rays have almost the whole team coming back in 2009 and I have no doubt that this team is for real.

The Rays almost blew this series before bouncing back in Game Seven and ending the season for the Red Sox. The Rays showed toughness in stepping up when the Red Sox put pressure on them by tying up this series. This was just the tip of the iceberg for the Rays who sent the Red Sox a message about the near future by beating up on John Lester twice in this series.

The Tampa Bay Rays came out swinging against the Red Sox who likely don’t even know what hit them last night. B.J. Upton had another great game for the Rays as he was 2 for 5 with 1 run scored, a homer and 3 RBIs. Evan Longoria also had a solid game as he was 2 for 4 with a run scored, homer and RBI. Rocco Baldelli had the shot that ended all hope for the Red Sox in this game as he popped a 3-run homer in the 8th inning. Carlos Pena also had a good game as he was 2 for 5 with a run scored, homer, RBI and stolen base. Akinori Iwamura was a pest for the Red Sox at the top of the Rays’ lineup in this game as he was 2 for 5 with 2 doubles and a run scored. Matt Garza outpitched John Lester badly in this game and his pitching was a huge key in this big win. He worked the first 6 innings last night allowing 6 hits, 1 earned run, walked 3 batters and whiffed 5 batters. Lefty J.P. Howell followed Garza in this game and he pitched 2 scoreless innings allowing only 1 hit and whiffing 2 batters. Edwin Jackson finished off the game for the Rays working a scoreless ninth inning. The Rays are now up 2-1 in this series.

The Rays beat up on Josh Beckett in this game scoring 8 runs off of him. After that though they were shut out for the next 5.2 innings by the Red Sox’ bullpen. But, they ended this game when they got to Mike Timlin in the 11th inning as B.J. Upton hit a sacrifice fly to score Fernando Perez from 3rd base. Upton had another outstanding game going 1 for 4 with 2 runs scored, a homer, 2 RBIs and a stolen base. Evan Longoria proved once again why he was the best rookie in baseball as he was 3 for 5 with 3 runs scored, 2 doubles, a homer and 3 RBIs. Carlos Pena (2 for 5, 2 runs scored, double, RBI) and Carl Crawford (2 for 5 with 2 RBIs) also had solid games with the bat. Cliff Floyd also had a huge hit blasting a solo homer off of Josh Beckett. Scott Kazmir did not pitch well at all. He worked the first 4.1 innings and he allowed 6 hits, 5 earned runs, walked 3 batters and whiffed 2. Even though Dan Wheeler allowed the tying run to score in the 8th inning he was the glue that gave the Rays a chance to win this game. He worked 3.1 innings allowing only 1 hit and no runs while whiffing 4 and walking 2. David Price worked the last 2/3 of an inning in this game to pick up the win. The Rays even this series 1-1 as it shifts to Boston on Monday.