Fernando Perez News

Catcher Dioner Navarro and outfielder Fernando Perez have had minor surgery, and each is expected to be back to full strength by Spring Training, the Rays announced.

Rays catcher Dioner Navarro had left elbow surgery in late October to stabilize an ulnar nerve but is expected to be ready for spring training, the team said Monday.

The Rays moved quickly to re-sign OF Gabe Kapler because they could. The Rays liked how he hit , how he played defense, how he ran, how he prepared, how he hustled, how he set a good example for the young players.

A quick smorgasbord here on two thoughts I have in my mind but are undeserving of their own full-fledged post.

Gabe Kapler decided he didn't need to test the free agent market because he likes where he is.

Drivers Cat Manzi and Jason Bartlett were injured Saturday in an accident during a race at Freehold Raceway.

Tampa Bay won a seesaw homerfest in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series with a 9-8 win in 11 innings over Boston to even the best-of-seven series.

ST. PETERSBURG - Welcome back, Joba. After a season filled with inconsistency and frustration as a member of the rotation, Joba Chamberlain pitched a perfect seventh inning against the Rays Sunday, looking like the phenom that made eyes - and catcher's mitts - pop in 2007.

Make no mistake, the Joba Chamberlain debate is certain to begin again after what we witnessed on Sunday.

Joba Chamberlain just seemed different, something neither his manager nor Chamberlain himself disputed.

St. Petersburg, FL -- - B.J. Upton became the first Ray to hit for the cycle, and he scored three times and drove in a career-best six runs to lead Tampa Bay in a 13-4 rout of the Yankees in the opener of a three-game set from Tropicana Field.

Update 5:45 p.m. Manager Joe Maddon said they put Fernando Perez at DH to get him some at-bats, with the rest of the lineup mostly the same.

September 28, 2009, 7:05 AM / American League Tampa Bay 7, Texas 6: Fernando Perez drove home the go-ahead run with a squeeze bunt in the ninth inning for the Rays.

There were a lot of reasons to believe the Rays wouldn't be able to fight their way back Sunday afternoon.

Tampa Bay 7, Texas 6: Fernando Perez drove home the go-ahead run with a squeeze bunt in the ninth inning for the Rays, who overcame a six-run deficit to spoil the Rangers' home finale and hurt their already faint playoff hopes.

The Rangers led 6-0 when Brandon McCarthy threw his last pitch with two outs in the eighth, after an error by third baseman Chris Davis extended the inning.

UPDATE, 6:11: Manager Joe Maddon said he is just giving Crawford a day off to keep him off the turf, with plans to play him through the weekend in Texas and then evaluate how often's he'll play during the final seven games at home.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Mariners pushed ahead for a 4-0 lead through six innings and then watched their cushion fade in two sloppy pitching innings, ultimately leading to a 5-4 loss to Tampa Bay Wednesday at Tropicana Field.

We've taken note of baseball poems before this -but what we've newly noticed this year are not the poets who love baseball, but the baseball players who love poetry.

There's a piece in this month's Poetry magazine written by Tampa Bay Ray Fernando Perez.