Star pitcher falls to Rays, but Banda lost to injury

June 5, 2018 general

Tuesday, 4 a.m. The Tampa Bay Rays looked to add more arms to their minor leagues in the league draft Monday night. Good. They’ll need them. In what may have been a steal, the Rays picked Matthew Liberatore, a left-handed pitcher out of Arizona. They later drafted Shane McClanahan, a hard-throwing lefty from USF, and […]

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Bucs’ state-of-the-Union: Defensive tackles

June 5, 2018 general

Tuesday, 3 a.m. Think of the job as punch to the mouth. Two punches, if you’re fast. He is the defender closest to the ball, and as such, he has the potential to wreck a play. If he is strong enough, if he is fast enough, he can ruin a play before it gets started […]

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Snell is swell, but Rays falter late against Seattle

June 4, 2018 general

Monday, 4 a.m. As feeble as their bats were, and as lousy as they were at protecting a lead, you can argue that the Rays got what they deserved Sunday afternoon. Not Blake Snell. He deserved better. Snell, the Rays 25-year-old left-hander, pitched one of the Rays’ finest games of the season on Sunday and […]

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Bucs’ state of the union: Defensive ends

June 4, 2018 general

Monday, 3 a.m. In the beginning, there was Lee Roy Selmon. And after that, there were a lot of guys named Ned. Say this for the defensive ends of the Bucs. They started at the top. Selmon was a force, totalling 78.5 sacks in his nine seasons. The hard things to believe about Selmon?  One: […]

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Random thoughts: Belichick getting by without fun

June 3, 2018 general

Sunday, 4 a.m. Despite recent criticism that he doesn’t surround himself with jesters and acrobats to liven up practice, Patriots’ coach Bill Belichick says football is more about winning than having fun. To that end, the Patriots will continue to compete in the Conference USA division of the NFL, where six wins are guaranteed. What […]

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Once again, Archer fails to stop Rays’ slide

June 3, 2018 general

Sunday, 3 a.m. Do the Tampa Bay Rays expect too little of pitcher Chris Archer? Or do the rest of us expect too much? Archer, a former all-star, stubbed his toe once again Saturday night in Seattle. He dropped a 3-1 game to the Mariners, the team’s third straight defeat. The Rays fell below .500 […]

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Ask Gary: Are Rays leading other teams to cheapness?

June 2, 2018 general

Each week, the readers take over GarySheltonsports.com and play Ask Gary. They send in a question, or a couple, on Thursday night or Friday morning and we all talk about the world of sports. Think of it as a radio show where you don’t have to be on hold. Join us and ask a question, […]

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Smith’s wobbly play leads to Rays’ defeat

June 2, 2018 general

Saturday, 3 a.m. In the on-again, off-again season of Mallex Smith, count Friday night among the more forgettable performances of his young career. Smith tried twice to dive for fly balls in the fourth inning of a 4-3, 13-inning loss to Seattle. Both times he missed, and the batters ended ups with a triple and […]

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Home runs help A’s snap Rays’ winning streak

June 1, 2018 general

Friday, 4 a.m. For a day, the Tampa Bay Rays were no longer one of the surprise teams of the American League. For a day, the “Bullpen Day” blue print no longer worked. For a day, the Oakland A’s defended their home turf. After three straight wins over the A’s, and five overall, the Rays […]

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Bucs trying to get used to new helmet rule

June 1, 2018 general

Friday, 3 a.m. At the moment, it isn’t really like the Bucs are at practice. It’s more like they’re practicing to practice. Oh, they can catch and they can chase, but there are no pads, and no one will ever remember the score. But their are officials, and there are the wobbly first steps of […]

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