It’s official. The Rays have traded infielder Akinori Iwamura to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for right-handed, relief pitcher, Jesse Chavez.

Chavez, 26, finished the 2009 season with an ERA of 4.01 while recording 47 K’s and 22 BB’s.
                                          
Chavez should have a legitimate chance at procuring a roster spot for the 2010 season.
By making the trade before the official end of the season the Rays saved around 1/2 million dollars.
In …

I’m a late comer to this party because, to be honest, I wasn’t sure what to think about the re-signing of Kapler.
A day has passed and I’m still not in love with the move, but I guess there’s a reason why they don’t run all of their roster decisions past me (although sometimes I wish they would).
Here’s the details of the Rays/Kapler press release:
The Tampa Bay Rays have re-signed right-handed-hitting outfielder …

My duties as a member of the BBA include casting votes for all the major annual awards, and no award in all of sports is more major than the coveted title of MVP.
The BBA voting is set-up essentially like the “real” voting:

Votes are made for the top 10 candidates in a weighted vote (ie. first place votes get 10 pts, second place 9 pts, and so on).
MVP is awarded for …

Today the Rays announced in a press release that the organization’s sixth hitting coach will be former Cleveland hitting coach Derek Shelton.

Shelton becomes the youngest hitting coach in Rays’ history at the tender age of 39, and is a former major league catcher (NYY).
Here are a few quotes from the press release:
“Derek has proven himself to be one of the better minds in baseball when it comes to hitting,” Rays …

Carl Crawford has been the face of the Tampa Bay Rays for 8 seasons.
Carl Crawford was the cheese that stood alone for a long, long time.
Now, Carl Crawford may be in his last series as a Tampa Bay Ray.
Although the sudden and unexpected Kazmir trade was a definite indication that the Rays are trying to find ways to keep their key guys (namely, Crawford and possibly Aki, and I’m sure …

**UPDATE (Sept 24)**
The entries keep rolling in, so get in while you still can- and tell your friends… its free.
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Rays the Stakes in conjunction with our good friends over at Sports Memorabilia are proud to announce some good news:
We are having a giveaway contest:
Win this Jason Bartlett Autographed Card (with C.O.A.)

THE CONTEST:
Send an email to raysthestakes@gmail.com telling us who you think will win this season’s AL MVP award.
Everyone who correctly …