Tampa Bay Devil Rays Baseball Team

The last great player to come through Dodgertown might never play for the Dodgers. David Price, emerging as a star before October eyes, started his professional career there this spring, with six starts for the Vero Beach Devil Rays. Most players rent a home in the community, Price said, but he lived on the Dodgertown campus. "I loved it," he said. "Probably the best place I stayed all year. " The Dodgers move their spring training base to Arizona next year, but they moved their Class-A team from Vero Beach, Fla., to San Bernardino two years ago, with the Rays fielding a team at Dodgertown.

In a World Series dominated by late-night starts and rain delays, talk inevitably turns to why a game could not be played during the day. Commissioner Bud Selig calls himself a traditionalist. He would love to play one World Series game during the afternoon, he says, but television says no. Fox Sports President Ed Goren makes no apologies. "We pay the money for the rights to televise baseball," Goren said. "Nobody is giving us a rebate to change that scenario."

Tampa Bay Rays officials met with security agents at Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park on Sunday, after some player families and club employees reported uncomfortable experiences in the stands at Saturday's World Series game, Rays General Manager Andrew Friedman said. "Throwing mustard packs at my granddaughter is not very cool," Rays Manager Joe Maddon said. As far as old-fashioned heckling goes, Maddon said, bring it on.

It's Game 5 of the Stanley Cup finals, with the home team one victory from the championship. The freezing coils break down, the ice turns to slush and players skate through puddles. We know what Bud Selig would say if he were running the NHL: Game on! This has been a World Series marked by bad calls, not just by the umpires but by the lords of the sport. After forcing fans to endure hours in the rain Saturday night to wait for a game that did not end until Sunday morning, Selig and Co.

It's Game 5 of the Stanley Cup finals, with the home team one victory from the championship. The freezing coils break down, the ice turns to slush and players skate through puddles. We know what Bud Selig would say if he were running the NHL: Game on! This has been a World Series marked by bad calls, not just by the umpires but by the lords of the sport. After forcing fans to endure hours in the rain Saturday night to wait for a game that did not end until Sunday morning, Selig and Co.

It was a dark and stormy night. Really. It was no time for a baseball game, let alone the most important game here in 13 years. It was time for baseball to honor its paying customers, not force them to spend hours under shelter from pouring rains and fierce winds, then to stick around until 1:47 a.m. to see who would win. But stick around they did, and celebrate they did.

After 33 years in the Dodger organization, Bill Russell is moving to an organization in only its second year of existence, being hired as a minor league manager for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Thursday. Russell, 51, was fired on June 21 last year, his third year as manager of the Dodgers. And although he played more games as a Los Angeles Dodger than anybody, 2,181 from 1969-86, Russell isn't looking back.

A contract clause stipulates that Jose Canseco will be bronzed wearing a Tampa Bay Devil Ray cap if elected to the Hall of Fame. Better to put these things in writing, considering that Canseco has worn the cap of four different organizations in the last four years and six in all. Canseco, of course, has taken a colorful and circuitous route to the outskirts of Cooperstown, as represented by his 409 home runs.

Josh Paul, who will live in Angel infamy for being the catcher who rolled the ball back to the mound while the eventual winning run reached base for the Chicago White Sox in Game 2 of the American League championship series, was traded to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Monday for minor league infielder Travis Schlichting. Paul, a seldom-used third-string catcher who batted .224 with four home runs and 17 runs batted in for the Angels in 2004 and 2005, was designated for assignment Dec.

Jason Johnson was sweating at the start. He was reveling when it was over. Johnson earned his first victory Thursday as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays beat Texas, 12-5, to become the winningest expansion team in April. "I was very nervous when the game started, sweaty palms and everything," Johnson said. "But I settled down after I got out of the first inning. The team did a great job of helping me out."

Cole Hamels in Game 7? The Philadelphia Phillies could catch the biggest break of all in Monday's suspended game. With rain threatening to push the completion of Game 5 of the World Series back to Wednesday, the Phillies' ace said he would volunteer to pitch a possible Game 7 on Friday. "With the pitch count I had, I'll tell them I'm more than happy to step in," Hamels said. Hamels threw 75 pitches over six innings Monday, after throwing more than 100 pitches in each of his previous 10 starts.

He might never pass this way again. This might be his one shining moment, without the shining part. Maybe the Tampa Bay Rays are a budding dynasty, and they'll be back in the World Series. But maybe not, and that could leave a cruel asterisk on what should be the brilliant career of Evan Longoria. This is a horribly awkward time for adversity to introduce itself to Longoria, but this is indeed that time. This is the first real slump of his major league career, with all of America as witnesses.

Tampa Bay Rays officials met with security agents at Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park on Sunday, after some player families and club employees reported uncomfortable experiences in the stands at Saturday's World Series game, Rays General Manager Andrew Friedman said. "Throwing mustard packs at my granddaughter is not very cool," Rays Manager Joe Maddon said. As far as old-fashioned heckling goes, Maddon said, bring it on.

It was a dark and stormy night. Really. It was no time for a baseball game, let alone the most important game here in 13 years. It was time for baseball to honor its paying customers, not force them to spend hours under shelter from pouring rains and fierce winds, then to stick around until 1:47 a.m. to see who would win. But stick around they did, and celebrate they did.

The last great player to come through Dodgertown might never play for the Dodgers. David Price, emerging as a star before October eyes, started his professional career there this spring, with six starts for the Vero Beach Devil Rays. Most players rent a home in the community, Price said, but he lived on the Dodgertown campus. "I loved it," he said. "Probably the best place I stayed all year. " The Dodgers move their spring training base to Arizona next year, but they moved their Class-A team from Vero Beach, Fla., to San Bernardino two years ago, with the Rays fielding a team at Dodgertown.

He was in college last year, in the minor leagues last month, in the recesses of the bullpen last week. And yet, there he was Monday, introducing Barack Obama at a rally in Tampa, Fla. For once, David Price said he was nervous. "Public speaking is my enemy," Price said. "I'd rather come in with a 3-and-0 count, with the bases loaded, in a tie game, on the road." He inherited a situation almost as dire Sunday.

Brad Radke felt right at home. The Minnesota right-hander, pitching in front of friends and family, struck out a career-high 11 Tuesday night to beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 8-2. Radke (2-1), who grew up in Tampa, gave up nine hits and walked none. The Devil Rays scored in the third on Fred McGriff's two-run double that shortstop Denny Hocking nearly caught in shallow left, but Tampa Bay managed to get only three baserunners into scoring position the rest of the way.

There will be a Caribbean flavor at Tropicana Field this year, with one bleacher area featuring sand, umbrellas and tropical cuisine. For the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, however, their inaugural season doesn't figure to be a day at the beach.

One could argue it'd be worse in Kansas City, more hopeless in Miami, even gloomier in Detroit. But managing the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, it's right there with them, at best. You want their highlight, eight years in? They finished in fourth place two years ago. So, a few months on the job, Joe Maddon gathers all his reason and says, "You know what? I like that we're in the American League East. I'm glad we are." Honestly, so does everyone else in the American League East. Maddon smiles.

Josh Paul, who will live in Angel infamy for being the catcher who rolled the ball back to the mound while the eventual winning run reached base for the Chicago White Sox in Game 2 of the American League championship series, was traded to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Monday for minor league infielder Travis Schlichting. Paul, a seldom-used third-string catcher who batted .224 with four home runs and 17 runs batted in for the Angels in 2004 and 2005, was designated for assignment Dec.