Rays win as bullpen finally delivers against Boston

July 31, 2019 general

Wednesday, 4 a.m. It’s hard to overcome the Boston Red Sox. It’s hard to overcome David Price. It’s hard to overcome the Rays’ bullpen. It’s hard to overcome a rare wobbly start by Charlie Morton. But in Tuesday night’s 6-5 victory over the Sox at Fenway Park, did the Rays have to overcome a quick […]

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Can the Bucs be coordinated enough to win?

July 31, 2019 general

Wednesday, 3 a.m. Over the years, there have been great Bucs’ coaches who weren’t the head coaches. Monte Kiffin, for one. Joe Gibbs, for another. Wayne Fontes and Greg Olson and Abe Gibron and Floyd Peters and Rod Marinelli and Dirk Koetter (a very good assistant coach). Then there have been those who got lost […]

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Vasilevskiy will remain in the Bolts’ goal for a while

July 30, 2019 general

Tuesday, 4 a.m. He is the goaltender for today, and he is the goaltender for the tomorrow. He is the goaltender for the day after, and for a lot of days thereafter. He is your goalie. And he is your son’s goalie. They will grow old together. His future is longer than his past. Ahead […]

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Can Bucs’ secondary be markedly better this year?

July 30, 2019 general

Tuesday, 3 a.m. So Drew Brees was talking to Eli Manning. Whee, he said. And Matt Ryan was chatting with Jared Goff. He’s excited, he surmised. Then there was Cam Newton, who was talking to Andrew Luck. Yippee, he summed up. There was Jimmy Garappolo and Marcus Mariota, Nick Foles and Matthew Stafford, Deshaun Watson […]

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Arians not satisfied with the Bucs’ practice

July 29, 2019 general

Monday, 4 a.m. At the risk of sounding like a grumpy old man, Bruce Arians would like his Tampa Bay Bucs to be better. Sunday’s spotty practice left Arians grumbling about his team, a failure at 5-11 last season. The good news? The end of July is a perfect time for a rebuilding team to […]

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This time, the Rays rally from seven runs down

July 29, 2019 general

Monday, 3 a.m. One day, they give a game away. The next, they steal one in broad daylight. Maybe you can figure out the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays won a game Sunday almost exactly the way they had lost one the day before. They won 10-9 over Toronto (after losing 10-9 the day before). […]

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Rays blow a seven-run lead in collapse against Blue Jays

July 28, 2019 general

Saturday, 4 a.m. If there was ever a defeat to suggest this team is going nowhere fast (except lower in the standings), this was the one. The Tampa Bay Rays suffered a punch to the gut Saturday afternoon, blowing a seven-run lead and falling in 12 innings to the Toronto Blue Jays, 10-9. The Rays, […]

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Barrett hopes to help the Bucs from outside linebacker

July 28, 2019 general

Sunday, 3 a.m. For Shaquil Barrett, the path to the quarterback has never been an easy one. He has made it to the Tampa Bay Bucs the hard way. Barrett, an outside linebacker who was a free agent signing from Denver, didn’t arrive in the NFL with trumpets blaring. He was a free agent off […]

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Yarbrough wins again as Rays beat Toronto

July 27, 2019 general

Sunday, 4 a.m. Travis d’Arnaud keeps hitting. Ryan Yarbrough keeps winning. It doesn’t mean the Rays’ recent slump is over, but for now, it’s a good start. The Rays beat Toronto, 3-1, on Friday night to open their three-game series. It was the team’s first game since news that starting pitcher Blake Snell would miss […]

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Bucs’ Barber hopes to be better than ‘pretty good’

July 27, 2019 general

Saturday, 3 a.m. Here’s the problem. Peyton Barber, by most accounts, is a pretty good NFL back. But the Bucs need a better one. Perhaps that is the reason that Barber has received mediocre reviews as the Bucs’ primary back entering 2019. Simply put, Barber doesn’t dazzle. He’ll get three yards if a three-yard hole […]

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