Jason Isringhausen of the Tampa Bay Rays won’t throw another pitch in the 2009 baseball season. He’s been diagnosed with a torn ligament in his pitching elbow and will require season-ending Tommy John surgery. He’ll likely be out for about one year.

Jason Isringhausen - Tampa Bay Rays (Image: Zuma Press)

Although he’s 36 years old and won’t be able to play again until next season, there are no talks of Isringhausen hanging up his glove. This season, he had a 2.25 ERA in nine appearances.

Isringhausen’s career began in 1995 with the New York Mets. In his three year and a half years with the New York Mets, the right-hander was used mostly as a starter. He wasn’t moved to the bullpen until his days with the Oakland A’s. He then moved on to the St. Louis Cardinals after two and a half seasons in Oakland. While with the Cardinals, he spent most of his eight seasons in st. Louis as the team’s closer.

This was his first season with the Rays. His current contract paid him $750,000 this season.

Last year, the Tampa Bays Rays made an improbable run to the 2008 World Series. This year, the Rays are dealing with five different injuries to key players.

Akinori Iwamura, Second Baseman
This weekend, Akinori Iwamura was when trying to turn a double-play. Tests showed that he tore an ACL and the native of Japan will be forced to miss the rest of the season.

Troy Percival, Closer
Due to tendinitis, Troy Percival could very well have thrown his final pitch in the major leagues. While he hasn’t made an announcement, many sources close to the team think that he could be at the end of the line.

Scott Kazmir, Starting Pitcher
Scott Kazmir is currently on the 15-day DL with a right quadriceps strain. While he’s scheduled to be available to come off the DL soon, the team seems to think that Kazmir will need a while longer to get his arm right.

Pat Burrell, Designated Hitter
Dealing with a stiff neck, Pat Burrell will likely be out at least another week. If his neck doesn’t start to loosen, he may have to get further tests to see if there are more reasons for his pain.

Jason Bartlett, Shortstop
After getting off to an amazing start this season, Jason Bartlett is the latest casualty for the Rays. The shortstop who is hitting .373 with seven homers and 30 RBIs sprained his ankle and was placed on the disabled list.

Sunday’s game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cleveland Indians will go down as a memorable affair. Prior to the game, the Rays submitted an erroneous lineup card that listed two third basemen and no designated hitter. As a result, Tampa Bay didn’t get to use a designated hitter and instead had to bat starting pitcher Andy Sonnanstine third in the lineup.

Andy Sonnanstine won with his arm and his bat (Image: Newscom)

Sonnanstine proved that giving him a bat wasn’t all bad as he had an RBI double in the fourth inning. On the mound, Sonnanstine got the win by giving up five earned runs in 5.2 innings. Neither team scored after the fifth inning and the Rays were able to beat the Indians by a final count of 7-5.

The hitting star for Tampa Bay, outside of Sonnanstine, was Jason Bartlett. The shortstop went 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI to raise his batting average on the season up to .370.

Cleveland got a pair of homers from Ben Francisco as he finished 2-for-3 with a walk, two runs and four RBIs. The loss dropped the Indians to 14-25, while the win propped the Rays up to 19-20.

Matt Garza of the Tampa Bay Rays flirted with a perfect game on Thursday evening in a showdown with the division rival Boston Red Sox. Garza’s perfect game was broken up in the top of the seventh inning when Jacoby Ellsbury got an infield single in the top of the seventh inning.

Garza finished the night was 7.2 innings pitched while giving up only one hit and one walk. He struck out ten batters on his way to lowering his season’s ERA to 3.82 and picking up his second win. Grant Balfour finished off the game and the Rays easily beat the Red Sox by a final count of 13-0.

At the plate, the hitting hero for the Rays was Evan Longaria. The second-year star went 3-for-5 with three runs and four RBIs. His big hit was a homer in the sixth inning. Backup catcher Michel Hernandez was 4-for-5 with a run and three RBIs.

On the mound for the Red Sox, Josh Beckett struggled mightily. He gave up seven earned runs in 4.2 innings. He allowed ten hits and three walks. After looking impressive in his first start of the season, Beckett has looked worse and worse as the season has progressed. He now sports a 7.22 ERA after five starts.

Matt Garza, Tampa Bay Rays (Image: Newscom)

1. New York Yankees
Heading into the offseason, the New York Yankees had a lot of question marks. But after their signing spree, the Yankees have addressed virtually all of their weaknesses. Signing Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett would help any team become the odds on favorite.

2. Philadelphia Phillies
The defending World Series champions should be very good once again in 2009. They are bringing back largely the same team that was able to get the job done in 2008. With added confidence and experience, the Phillies are the team to beat in the National League.

3. Tampa Bay Rays
The Rays, like the Phillies, should see a jump in their confidence and experience. On top of that, the Rays have a ton of young players who are getting better and better. Although the Yankees will be tough to beat, the Rays might have the best chance of doing just that.

4. New York Mets
The biggest weakness for the Mets down the stretch last year was their pitiful bullpen. But after signing Francisco Rodriguez and trading for JJ Putz, the Mets suddenly have arguably the best bullpen in all of baseball. They’ll be tough to beat in 2009 — especially in games they get up early.

5. Boston Red Sox
With all the signing flurries, the Red Sox have been forgotten a little bit. But truth be told, they still have an extremely talented roster. As long as David Ortiz can have another fine season, there’s no reason why the Red Sox can’t compete once again.

-The Cleveland Indians signed Kerry Wood to a two-year contract. Wood will become the closer for the Indians. The contract is believed to be worth more than $20 million.

-The Kansas City Royals have signed Kyle Farnsworth to a two-year contract. Farnsworth, who split 2008 with the Detroit Tigers and the New York Yankees, joins a Royals bullpen which has been given a makeover this winter.

-The Detroit Tigers have traded Matt Joyce to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for Edwin Jackson. Joyce will have a chance to start for the Rays in the outfield, while Jackson will likely be given a spot in the starting rotation for the Tigers.

-The Cincinnati Reds have signed Arthur Rhodes to a two-year contract.

-The Colorado Rockies have signed relief pitcher Alan Embree to a one-year deal.

Philadelphia hadn’t seen a champion since the 1983 Philadelphia 76ers. The wait can now end as the Philadelphia Phillies captured the 2008 World Series by beating the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 5 on Wednesday night.

This wacky Game 5 had actually started on Monday night. But after bad weather suspended the game until Tuesday and then suspended it again until Wednesday, the two teams were finally able to get back on the field.

With the score tied at 2-2 as the game started, the Phillies struck first in the 6th. Geoff Jenkins doubled and then scored on a Jayson Werth single. Tampa Bay struck right back when Rocco Baldelli hit a solo shot to tie the game a three apiece.

The go ahead run was scored in the 7th inning by the Phillies. Pat Burrell hit a double off the wall and then scored on a Pedro Feliz hit to make the score 4-3. No team would score another run as Brad Lidge saved the game and win the World Series for the Phillies. Lidge, it should be noted, ended the season 48-for-48 in save opportunities.

Cole Hamels was named the MVP of the 2008 World Series as the city of Philadelphia finally felt the championship glory once again.

Phillies fans weren’t bashful in their celebration of the 2008 World Series championship.

Photo: Newscom

The Phillies did it!

What does it feel like to be a World Series champion? Ask the Philadelphia Phillies, who on Wednesday took home the 2008 World Series title. These Phillies are now the champions of baseball for the year of 2008 and no one can take that away from them.

Ryan Howard has now established himself in history.

You can see Phillies World Series celebration videos here:

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Ryan Howard showed in Game 4 why he is such a feared hitter.

The Philadelphia Phillies, after their 10-2 win, are now one win away from winning the 2008 World Series and being declared the 2008 baseball champions. Leading in the series 2-1 coming into Game 4, the Phillies dominated in Game 4 to take a 3-1 lead in the best out of seven series.

The big star on Sunday night was none other than Ryan Howard, the slugging first baseman for the Phillies. Howard hit two home runs and finished the game 3-4 with walk and five RBIs.

Howard wasn’t the only hitting star for the Phillies on this night. Right fielder Jayson Werth had a home run of his own. Starting pitcher Joe Blanton was not only dominant on the mound, he also helped his own cause by hitting a home run in the fifth inning. On the mound, Blanton went six innings and gave up two runs while striking out seven batters.

The Rays could never get things going. Their only two runs of the game were courtesy of solo homers by Carl Crawford and Eric Hinske. Starting pitcher Andy Sonnanstine struggled, but he wasn’t alone. All four pitchers who pitched for Tampa Bay gave up at least one run.

The Phillies will go for the 2008 World Series championship on Monday. The Rays, on the other hand, will try to win the game and send the series back to Tampa Bay. The pitchers in Game 5 will be Scott Kazmir for the Rays and Cole Hamels for the Phillies. Game 5 of the World Series starts at 8PM eastern and will be shown on Fox.

Photo: Newscom

Philadelphia Phillies take the lead in the 2008 World Series.

The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Tampa Bay Rays on an infield hit in the bottom on the ninth inning to win Game 3 of the 2008 World Series. With the win, the Phillies lead the Rays two games to one in the best of seven series.

With the bases loaded and no outs in the bottom of the ninth, Carlos Ruiz hit a slow roller to third base and the throw home was not in time. The run made it 5-4 and gave the Phillies the win.

Earlier in the game, Ruiz hit a home run in the second inning off of Matt Garza. Chase Utley and Ryan Howard also hit homers for the Phillies. 45-year-old starting pitcher Jaime Moyer went 6.1 innings in which he gave up three earned runs and struck out five.

For the Rays, BJ Upton was again the star. Upton went 2-4 with a run and an American League World Series record three stolen bases. Carl Crawford also went 2-4 for Tampa Bay and scored two runs. Garza, the starter for the Rays, struck out seven batters but gave up four earned runs in six innings.

Game 4 will be on Monday night in Philadelphia. If the Phillies can win, they will be one win away from being the champions of baseball in 2008. If the Rays win, they will tie the series at 2-2 and have two of the final three games at home. The game will start at 8PM eastern and will be shown on television on Fox.

Photo: Newscom