Troy Percival News

When you think "closer," you think intimidation. A big, nasty hombre striding purposefully out of the bullpen a ' preferably to a nerve-rattling theme song a ' prepared to shut down the opposition by force of will if nothing else.

An article by Raysbaseball.com beat writer Bill Chastain discusses the mantra of Rays assistant to the pitching coach Brian Anderson of "the fastball is King." He makes some sense out of an old baseball adage "Everything comes off the fastball," said Brian Anderson, former Major Leaguer and currently an assistant pitching coach for the Rays.

Last season, the Rays had the fifth-best bullpen ERA in all of baseball, which was quite a surprise to many.

The expectations are greater, and so is the competition. But the Rays finally are starting to prove last year was far from a fluke.

Not much here until after today's game, saw a couple of articles about trades with the start of July here and the trade deadline 30 days away.

News: Longoria returned to Tampa Bay's lineup after sitting out Thursday with a sore left hamstring.

Manager Joe Maddon remains steadfast in his preference for keeping his bullpen-by-committee, though he said on Sunday that his relievers have a "good idea what inning they're pitching." That includes J.P. Howell, who has successfully pitched the ninth inning the past three nights and appears to be filling the role as the team's closer.

Is your pitching staff looking more and more like the starting rotation for the Lehigh Valley Ironpigs because of injury? You are not alone.

As it turns out, the Cubs appear poised to improve -- in theory. But before the Cubs can get better through addition, they have to both subtract and delete.

When the Rays made the World Series last year, my friend Ian, the only real ESPN caliber Rays fan in Tampa, looked at the TV during Game One, shook his head, and called it an abortion of baseball... by Alton LaBrecque Sports When the Rays made the World Series last year, my friend Ian, the only real ESPN caliber Rays fan in Tampa, looked at the TV ...

When the Yankees were consistently beating Pedro Martinez at a time no other team could, the chant in New York became famous: "Who's your daddy?" The new slogan might be: Who's your employer? Martinez has drawn interest from the Yankees, Angels, Rays and Cubs.

The Rays were unlikely to spend any money on in-season acquisitions anyway. The cost of replacing injured players such as 2B Akinori Iwamura and RHP Troy Percival make it even less likely.

The Rays have checked in on free agent Pedro Martinez, interestingly with an eye on him joining a bullpen that has lost Troy Percival and Jason Isringhausen, and has no set closer.

George Sherrill is secure, and so far he's avoided the shaky control of last year.

Pitching and defense win championships. The other half of the inning, when your guys use the bats, can have real entertainment value.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - This time, the Angels might have been better off if John Lackey had stuck around for only two pitches.

Homeland Security? The San Francisco Giants took a White House tour while in Washington this week.

Without a true closer in his bullpen, Rays manager Joe Maddon faces a daily challenge of trying to match up his relievers with the opposing hitters.

The Rays have finally set their roster to normal depth at 12 pitchers and 13 position players.

For Better, For Worse: Stash or trash your injured players? Stash Brandon Webb, John Smoltz and Rich Harden; they're surefire contributors Cut ties with Carlos Delgazo and Tim Hudson, who are worthless in 2009 Arizona righty Brandon Webb may be ready for a rehab assignment sometime in June and could return after the All-Star break.