Rays find success deep against Blue Jays

April 29, 2017 general

Saturday, 2 a.m. The Tampa Bay Rays clobbered their way back to .500 Friday night. The Rays continued the woes of the Toronto Blue Jays, winning a 704 contest in the first of a three-game series. The Rays trailed 3-1 going into the eighth inning, then uncorked four home runs to salvage the win. Evan […]

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Bucs think they’ve caught a falling star in Howard

April 28, 2017 general

Friday, 4 a.m. When the night began, he was considered beyond their team’s dreams. He was the Christmas gift your family cannot afford. The vacation you cannot purchase. The car you cannot even consider. And he fell. Still, it is a long way from the top 10 to 19. And for a while, O.J. Howard […]

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Ask the expert: Jerry Angelo

April 27, 2017 general

Jerry Angelo is a former personnel director for the Bucs and former general manager of the Bears. Each week, Angelo answers your questions regarding the NFL. Send your questions to GarySheltonsports@gmail.com with “ask the expert” in the subject line. The most interesting questions will be selected. Thursday, 4 a.m. The NFL Draft is Thursday. If […]

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If the Bucs can, they should grab FSU’s Cook

April 27, 2017 general

You grab him, because he’s there. You grab him, because he’s a home-run hitter in the fielder’s choice part of the draft. You grab him, because he will touch the ball more times a game than anyone else available. You grab him, because you can. The Tampa Bay Bucs should go into tonight’s draft with […]

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Colome again fails to go more than one inning in defeat

April 27, 2017 Tampa Bay Rays

Wednesday, 2 a.m. Remember the stellar bullpen performance of Tuesday night? Wednesday night? Not so much. The Rays let a game slip through their fingers Wednesday night, losing 5-4 in 11 innings. The Rays took a 4-3 lead in the top of the 11th but could not hold it. For now, perhaps the Rays should […]

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Cash pieces together shutout out the bullpen

April 26, 2017 general

Wednesday, 3 a.m. Kevin Cash, amateur weatherman, thought it was going to rain. Turns out, that was the only part of the forecast he got wrong Tuesday night. Cash quilted together five Rays’ relievers, who combined for a two-hit shutout in a 2-0 win over the Baltimore Orioles. It was only the second Rays’ road […]

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Bucs haven’t done well late in the first (except Brooks)

April 25, 2017 general

Wednesday, 4 a.m. Take a dartboard. Make it rotate endlessly like a wheel. Now drive it by the back of a pickup truck driving down a cobblestone road in the dark. And you’re blindfolded and spun around six times. Now try to hit the bull’s-eye. Pretty much, this is the task of the Tampa Bay […]

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Grading Licht’s draft picks, one at a time

April 25, 2017 general

Tuesday, 4 a.m. Once again, he is waiting. Once again, he is watching. Jason Licht is biding his time. He’s looking at the NFL draft list, and there are a lot of teams in front of his. That’s okay. If the Bucs are going to turn things around, their draft position will only get worse. […]

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Rays lose another game on the road; Archer struggles

April 25, 2017 general

Tuesday, 3 a.m. Yep. This is what the road feels like, okay. Team charter. Room Service. Mints on the pillows. And losing baseball. The Tampa Bay Rays continue to falter away from Tropicana Field, this time losing a rain-soaked 6-3 game against  the Baltimore Orioles. The loss lowered Tampa Bay’s road record to 1-7 on […]

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Rays blow lead to lose first home series of year

April 24, 2017 general

Monday, 4 a.m. These days, closers seem to built for one inning at a time. Ask for more, and you could be asking for trouble. Consider the Rays’ 6-4 loss to the Houston Astros in 10 innings Sunday. Alex Colome was four-for-four in save opportunities coming into the game. This time, the Rays held a […]

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