J.P. Howell News

If you were to go through all the players on the Opening Day roster for the 2006 Devil Rays, it's incredible how few of them survived on the team for long.

Two more players with Major League experience, pitcher Josh Rupe and outfielder Buck Coats, agreed to 2010 Minor League contracts with the Royals on Wednesday.

November 24, 2009 3:11 PM In conjunction with national feature currently up on ESPNRISE.com , we are proud to present the CalHiSports.com All-State All-Decade Team for baseball.

I did an appearance on the Fantasy Insiders show last night that involved a lot of Rays talk.

The free-agent season officially begins at midnight ET on Friday, and the Rays will be looking to add quality pieces to improve an already solid club.

A common sight for Chavez as he watches another home run clear the fence. But why the increase in homers? Without the Rays scouting department handing over their report on Jesse Chavez , there is only so much we can tell from the numbers.

Throughout the offseson we'll be bringing you interviews with some of today's best and brightest baseball writers.

Nobody can explain Andy Sonnanstine's 2009 season, including the Rays right-hander. "I've thought about it quite a bit and I can't really put my finger on it," Sonnanstine said.

I've heard and read a few comments saying the Rays really need to invest in a closer - oxymoron - because J.P. Howell just isn't cut out of the job.

What will it take to compete against the massive payroll we are constantly up against year after year? -- Rick W., Gulfport, Fla.

Can you please tell me why we bother shopping for a closer when we have J.P. Howell? I thought Howell did a fantastic job this year with the closer role and should be our full-time closer.

I do think Mo's age will catch up with him one day, whether it be in the form of injury or inefective-itis, but I don't think that will be 2010.

Those Tampa Bay Rays fans hoping the team signs a legitimate, big league closer this offseason, well ... it's not going to happen.

Ben Zobrist easily beat Carl Crawford to team MVP. ST. PETERSBURG - The Tampa Bay chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of American handed out the annual awards for the Rays.

When manager Joe Maddon was asked for playoff predictions, he had two teams from his past standing in the end.

They were better offensively than the team that reached the World Series in 2008 and, in some areas, better on the mound, too.

The Rays today wrap up The Season After, a moderate success that is viewed as a grand disappointment given where they were - and where they were going - last year.

Having reached what for most was the pinnacle of their athletic careers a season ago, the disappointment of finishing a distant third and well out of the playoff race in 2009 was profound for the Rays.

Yankees: Catcher Jorge Posada was scratched from the starting lineup against the Red Sox because of muscle spasms near his neck.

That's a bit of an oversimplification, of course, as Friedman and his staff do plenty of wheeling and dealing from April through September.