After signing Billy Wagner, the Atlanta Braves no longer needed Soriano at closer. The Rays jumped at the opportunity to trade for Soriano and gave the Braves Jesse Chavez. The Rays then signed Soriano to a deal worth $7.25 million over one season.

In 77 appearances, Soriano had an ERA of 2.97 and 27 saves in 31 opportunities. In 75.2 innings, he gave up 53 hits and struck out 102 batters. For five straight seasons, Soriano has had an ERA at 3.00 or lower.

Despite Soriano’s strong resume, this move comes with risks for the Rays. The native of the Dominican Republic has been somewhat injury prone and doesn’t have much experience as a closer outside of last season. However, if Soriano lives up to expectations and solidifies the Rays bullpen, this move could get Tampa Bay back to postseason baseball.

Rafael Soriano - Tampa Bay Rays (Image: Zuma Press)

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In 2008, Shoppach was impressive at the plate. He hit 21 homers, knocked in 55 runs and scored 67 times in only 352 at-bats. But last season, Shoppach struggled as he played in only 89 games. In those contests, he hit .214 with 12 homers, 40 RBIs and 33 runs.

The 29-year-old catcher is regarded as an average behind the plate and slightly above average when it comes to calling games. With the wood, Shoppach hits for power but also strikes out a lot.

Going into the 2009 campaign, the Rays were very confident in Dioner Navarro at catcher. But he struggled mightily at the plate and there were questions about his dedication and his physical shape. Now the Rays at least have competition for Navarro, who is eligible for arbitration.

Kelly Shoppach was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays (Image: Zuma Press)

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As it turns out, it wasn’t too difficult of a decision for the Rays. Last year, the 28-year-old left fielder had arguably his best season. He finished with a .305 batting average to go along with 15 homers, 68 RBIs, 96 runs and 60 steals. The 60 steals were a new career-high and he also posted a career-high on-base percentage of .364.

Crawford is a fan favorite in Tampa Bay and is arguably the best player in franchise history. He tops the Rays record books in games, hits, triples, RBIs, runs and stolen bases.

The Yankees owe a bit of their World Series title to Crawford since Crawford was the MVP of the All-Star Game. The American League winning the game gave New York home field advantage and that proved important in the series against the Phillies.

Carl Crawford - Tampa Bay Rays (Image: Zuma Press)

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With Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira on base, Rodriguez hit a homer to put the Yankees up 2-0. Later in the same inning, Rodriguez came to bat with the bases loaded and hit a grand slam. One inning. Two homers. Seven RBIs. Not a bad way to end regular season play.

For the 2009 baseball season, Rodriguez finished with 30 homers, 100 RBIs and a batting average of .286. While Rodriguez has had better numbers, those stats are impressive considering he missed the first month of the season due to hip surgery.

After scoring ten runs in the sixth inning, the Yankees went on to beat the Rays by a final count of 10-2. New York finished with a record of 103-59 and will take on the winner of the tiebreaker game between the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins to begin the playoffs.

Alex Rodriguez and the Yankees finished the season in style (Image: Zuma Press)

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On Sunday, the Rays saw their losing streak extend to 11 games when the Boston Red Sox won by a final count of 4-0. The Rays are no only 72-71 and they are already looking forward to next season.

In their latest loss, Jon Lester dominated. The Red Sox starting pitcher threw eight innings in which he only gave up two hits while striking out seven.

James Shields, who started the game for the Rays, isn’t impressed with the losing streak.

Said Shields: “It’s embarrassing. Eleven straight losses. Not fun at all. Whether we’re in the race or not, we’ve got to play better baseball.”

As for the Red Sox, the win pushed them four games ahead of the Texas Rangers in the AL Wild Card race.

Evan Longoria and the Rays aren't happy these days (Image: Zuma Press)

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Prior to the 2009 baseball season, Kazmir signed a three-year deal worth $28.5 million. However, he has underperformed this year for Tampa Bay. In 20 starts, he has an ERA of 5.92 ERA and a record of 8-7.

Despite his poor season, the Angels can use all the help they can get in their starting rotation. Dealing with a variety of problems this year, the Angels have a starting unit that has one of the worst ERAs in baseball. If Kazmir can regain his form of the last few years, the Angels can vastly improve their chances down the stretch of the season.

As it stands, the Angels are 75-51 and have a 4-game lead in the AL West over the Texas Rangers. Given the fact that they have the most potent lineup in baseball this season, fixing their pitching could make the Angels the team to beat in the American League.

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Montalbano pitched for the Boston Red Sox in the minor leagues. On Saturday morning, he lost his near decade long battle with testicular cancer. Kevin Youkilis, his former minor league teammate, and Carlos Pena, his college teammate at Northeastern, both made him proud later in the day.

Pena hit a first inning homer for the Tampa Bay Rays against the Texas Rangers. He followed that up with a two-run homer in the fourth inning. With the game tied in the tenth inning, Pena had the game-winning RBI single. For the game, he was 3-for-4 with three runs and four RBIs.

Youkilis, in a contest that pitted the Red Sox against arch rival New York Yankees, hit a three-run homer in the second inning. In the sixth inning, he hit a two-run homer. He completed his big day with an RBI double in the eighth to finish 3-for-5 with two runs and six RBIs.

“When I pointed to the sky to him when I went to the dugout, that was for him,” said Youkilis about Montalbano. “That’s one of those things. There are some crazy things that have happened in my life where you always feel there’s somebody out there pushing balls out and doing great things for you.”

Said Pena of Montalbano: “I was crushed. He was my right hand in college. He’s been battling cancer for 10 years. He was always smiling. The only thing that comforts me is I know he’s in a better place, but we’re going to miss him greatly.

“I dedicated this game to his memory and his family.”

Youkilis talked about how he hoped his effort helped his former teammate’s family.

Said Youkilis: “It’s a good feeling to know that, for the Montalbano family going through some hard times right now, there’s a lot of guys that are there for them.”

Kevin Youkilis pointing to the sky in memory of Greg Montalbano (Image: Zuma Press)

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Crawford, who was named the MVP of the All-Star game, says his catch was a first.

Said Crawford: “He hit it pretty good off the bat and I didn’t think it was going to carry that far. I don’t think I’ve ever robbed a home run before, so I picked a good time to do it tonight.”

Jonathan Papelbon of the Boston Red Sox was on the mound when Hawpe smashed the would-be home run. Papelbon agreed with Crawford being honored.

“Obviously, it was a game-changing play,” said Papelbon. “He won MVP because of that play and deservedly so.”

On the season, Crawford is hitting .309 with eight homers, 39 RBIs and 58 runs. Most impressively, Crawford is leading all of baseball with his 44 stolen bases.

Even Crawford’s own manager was impressed with the catch.

“I’ve never seen him do that,” said Joe Maddon, who was the coach of the American League All-Star. “The way he got to the position on the ball was great. And the catch, obviously, was fantastic.”

Here is a video of Carl Crawford’s catch in the All-Star game:

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David Price - Tampa Bay Rays (Image: Zuma Press)

In his six innings, Price gave up six hits, one walk and one earned run while striking out seven and evening his record at 3-3. In three of his previous four starts, Price had given up at least five earned runs. For the season, the 23-year-old left-hander has a 4.70 ERA.

The big hit for the Rays came in the fifth inning with Carlos Pena knocked in two runs with a double to put Tampa Bay up 3-1. Adam Lind had an RBI in the seventh but the Jays weren’t able to score any more runs.

The Rays are now 47-39 on the season. While they have one of the best records in the American League, the bad news is that they are behind both the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox in the AL East.

Also in the AL East, the Jays are now 43-44 and nine games back in the division.

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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.

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