Your first place (Devil) Rays

"The only thing that keeps this organization from being recognized as one of the finest in baseball is wins and losses at the major-league level." -- former Devil Rays GM Chuck LaMar in 2005.


Tonight, the Baltimore Orioles host the Tampa Bay (formely the Devil) Rays in a base-ball game at venerable Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

It should be noted that this is the latest in the season in recent memory that either team has played in a game that mattered.

Many have joked that the Rays' current six-game winning ride has to be the longest in team history. This statement is usually appropriately followed with some LOLs.

However, let's set the record straight ... the longest winning streak in Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Rays franchise history is 12 games, and that magical march took place in June 2004. It should be noted, that monumental winning streak helped the Devil Rays reach a season-high two games over .500 on July 3 (40-38). This was a historic benchmark in the team's history.

So, this year's incarnation of the Rays is still only half way home to tying the franchise mark. Still, congratulations Rays, enjoy this brief moment of bliss of looking down at the Red Sox and Yankees in the AL East standings.

Today's daily baseball notes: Roger Clemens appears to be in some hot water. ... Coco Crisp remains a strong candidate to get moved in a trade. ... Cubs fans will have a new curse to blame for their team's losses on the ballfield. New Wrigley sensation Kosuke Fukudome is on the cover of this week's Sports Illustrated. SI goes as far as to suggest now might be the time for Cubs fans to start snatching up those World Series tickets. Fukudome won't be the first Japanese baseball import to appear on the cover of SI. Ichiro's made at least one appearance we can think of at the moment. ... Speaking of SI covers, here's Rollie Fingers wearing the classic Milwaukee Brewers threads in 1981. ... The Onion is reporting that the Yankees have buried Bernie Williams under their new stadium for good luck. ... So, Jason Taylor was on Dancing with the Stars doing a little ditty to the theme to Monday Night Football while sporting outfits in the colors of the Miami Dolphins. Which leads us to one question: What if Taylor had been traded during the draft to, say, the Cleveland Browns? ... University of Wisconsin-Whitewater running back Justin Beaver has been invited to try out for the Green Bay Packers at this weekend's minicamp. ... I just found a way to fit David Beckham under the salary cap for my Major League Soccer fantasy team.