The Tampa Bay Rays don’t have the deep pockets of the New York Yankees or the Boston Red Sox. But when faced with a $10 million option on Carl Crawford, the Rays exercised the option to keep the speedy outfielder.
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 …read more

Last season, Cliff Lee was busy winning the American League Cy Young Award. Suddenly, Lee will now help the Philadelphia Phillies try to win a second consecutive World Series title.
After striking out in their bid to land Roy Halladay from the Toronto Blue Jays, the Phillies called the Cleveland Indians about their ace. The two teams soon agreed to a deal that sent Lee to Philadelphia in return for four minor league prospects.
Lee’s Cy Young award numbers were obviously impressive. He had a 22-3 record to go along with a 2.54 ERA. This season, Lee has continued to pitch well. …read more

Brad Lidge, the closer for the Philadelphia Phillies, is set to return this week. He’s currently on the disabled list due to an injury to his right knee.
Prior to his return, Lidge will make one final minor league appearance. Reports have him being activated on either Wednesday or Friday.
Last season, Lidge was amazing. He had 48 save opportunities and converted on all 48. This season, Lidge hasn’t been nearly as dominant.
In 28 games, the 6-foot-5 reliever has a 7.27 ERA and has allowed 33 hits and 14 walks in 26 innings of work. He’s also allowed seven homers and has …read more

With the score tied 2-2 in the sixth inning, rains forced the suspension of Game 5 of the 2008 World Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Tampa Bay Rays. Going into the game, the Phillies held a 3-1 lead in the best of seven series. With a win, the Phillies could have won the 2008 baseball championship.
Due to the suspension, Game 5 will continue on Tuesday — which was originally a day off. The game will continue right where it was with the score tied at two apiece.
If the Rays win Game 5 on Tuesday, Game 6 will be …read more

I’m an admitted bandwagon baseball fan. I love the sport of baseball but I don’t love any specific team. The last team I loved was the Montreal Expos — and we all saw what happened to the Expos. However, each year I latch on to a few teams and watch those teams a little bit more. Who are my favorite baseball teams in 2008?
Los Angeles Dodgers
The combination of Joe Torre and Manny Ramirez trying to climb the mountain all the way to the World Series is a good story. Those two long-time rivals are now …read more

Matt DiFilippo at Seamheads.com re-examines some statements (h/t Baseball Think Factory) made by the writers of Baseball Prospectus over the years that ended up a little wide of the mark. Here are a few of my favorites:
On Hanley Ramirez, before his monster rookie campaign (.292/.353/.480 at age 22) with the Florida Marlins:
There’s no indication that he is ready for the major leagues, but the Marlins are apparently going to let him try.
On Jimmy Rollins, in 2004 (three years before he won the NL MVP):
In any event, his power and speed both appear to be dissipating, and without those he won’t …read more

We’ve got our staff predictions up at Hardball Times. I go into greater detail about Padres-specific items over at Ducksnorts.
At THT, I’ve gone with the popular pick except for AL West (I chose Mariners over Angels), AL Wild Card (Indians over Yankees), and NL Cy Young (Jake Peavy over Johan Santana — there’s my Padres bias kicking in because, hey, someone’s got to have a Padres bias).
I also have the Diamondbacks beating the Tigers in the World Series. We’ll see what happens…
How about you? Any predictions you’d care to share?