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In 2007, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays were in their second season under skipper Joe Maddon. They actually finished with a better record in ‘07 than they did in ‘06 but only marginally, going from 61 victories to 66. They had a slugging first baseman in Carlos Pena who ripped 46 homers and drove in 121 runs while batting .282. They also had an up-and-coming outfielder in B.J Upton who hit 300 while ripping 24 homers and driving in 82 runs. The Devil Rays had two pitchers who managed to get into double digits in victories in James Shields who went 12-8 with a 3.85 ERA and left Scott Kazmir who racked up a 13-9 mark with a 3.48 earned run average. They also had a closer in Alberto Reyes who saved 26 games. Otherwise, it was pretty grim. They scored 782 runs but surrendered 944. The team ERA was a horrendous 5.53. Their attendance of 1,387,603 was the worst in the American League. Back-to-back years like ‘06 and ‘07 could have been enough to cost some managers their jobs, but the Rays had a plan and they also had some blue chip prospects on the way. In 2006, they drafted a highly regarded third baseman in Evan Longoria third overall,. In 2007 they grabbed hard throwing lefty David Price number one. Those were their best two picks since B.J Upton in 2002. In 2008 Tampa Bay got rid of the Devil and became simply known as the Tampa Bay Rays. The turnaround season was remarkable. They went from 66 victories to 97. They shaved their team ERA from 5.53 to 3.82. The Rays actually scored eight fewer runs in ‘08 than they did in ‘07, but they cut their runs against by 273 to 671. All five of their starters, James Shields, Edwin Jackson, Andy Sonnanstine, Matt Garza and Scott Kazmir -- all betweenn 24 and 26 years of age -- won in double digits with Shields and Jackson leading the way with 14 apiece. Four of the five pitched at least 183 innings. Shields had a staff high 215 and four of the five starters made at least 30 starts. They also added veteran closer Troy Percival who saved 28 games. He also had a great support staff in J.P Howell. Dan Wheeler and Grant Balfour who chipped in with 17 victories. Though Penas numbers dropped off a bit to a ,247 average with 31 homers and 102 runs batted in, Longoria emerged as a force with 27 homers and 85 RBIs while batting .272. Former Blue Jays rookie of the year Eric Hinskie chipped in with 20 homers and 60 runs batted in off the bench. The key though was pitching depth. That 2008 staff had eight pitchers who established themselves as manager league starters including Shields, Garza, Jason Hammel, Jackson, Kazmir, Sonnanstine, Jeff Niemann and Price who pitched in relief late that season. The 2008 Rays went all the way to the World Series where they lost to the Philadelphia Phillies in five. Over the last six seasons they have racked up a record of (550-423) and been to the post-season four times. The only thing that hasnt improved greatly is their attendance. The incredible season of 2008 boosted the turnstyle count by nearly half a million from the year before to 1,811,986. But by last season the numbers had diminished again to 1,510,300 -- the worst in the American League. The Rays has still never come close to matching the attendance figures of their inaugural season of 1998, when they drew 2,506,293. Its sad really, but at least it is living proof that a well managed, small market club can compete and in fact thrive in the American League East. The Blue Jays have the star power in Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion, some possible blue chippers in Brett Lawrie and Colby Rasmus, a decent bullpen and a couple of solid veteran pitchers in R,A Dickey and Mark Buehrle. They just havent been able to stay healthy enough or keep grinding out pitching prospects the way the Rays have. Its still too early to predict how the A.L East is going to unfold in 2014, but in some circles, the Rays are already being called to win the division with the Blue Jays to finish last behind Baltimore. The Blue Jays are still waiting for some kind of solid return on the Roy Halladay trade. Back on December 16th of 2009, they shipped "Doc" to the Phillies for Kyle Drabek, Travis DArnaud and outfielder Michael Taylor. They wound up flipping Taylor to Oakland for Brett Wallace and then sent Wallace to Houston for Anthony Gose. The Astros designated Wallace for assignment this week when they signed veteran right hander Jerome Williams. Wallace never really developed as a hitter and didnt play well enough defensively at first or third. The Jays are still waiting for Drabek and Gose to arrive as major leaguers and DArnaud was used as part of the package to get R.A Dickey from the Mets. I bring all this up because Halladays illustrious career is now over. The Phillies are going to honour him on their alumni weekend this summer during a series against the Mets. On Aug. 8 the Phils will hold a special ceremony for Roy and will give the fans a special Halladay bobblehead. That same weekend on Aug. 9, the Phillies will induct Charlie Manuel to their wall of fame. Niles Paul Jersey . -- Those impatient for the Stanley Cup to return to Canada will have just one team to root for in the NHL playoffs -- the Montreal Canadiens. Morgan Moses Jersey . The question all fans want to know heading into this light heavyweight affair is will Rua display his true potential. Working with UFC welterweight fighter Demian Maias team in Sao Paulo Brazil and having training partners such as fellow UFC stand outs Fabio Maldonado and Daniel Sarafian, the 32-year old feels very well prepared for Friday nights encounter. www.theredskinsprostore.com/Authentic_St...ee_Redskins_Jersey/. The move is retroactive to Aug. 1. Hosmer was originally hit on the hand in the first inning of a July 20 loss to Boston. He has played most of the time since, but missed a few contests due to the injury, then departed Thursdays win over the Twins and had tests that revealed the fracture. Sammy Baugh Jersey . Ashton scored a hat trick -- giving him 13 goals in 16 AHL games this season -- to power the Toronto Marlies to a 5-2 victory over the visiting Lake Erie Monsters in AHL action on Sunday. Will Compton Jersey .Mihajlovic was sent off minutes from the end of Thursdays 2-0 win over Brescia and has been punished for using a disrespectful expression toward the fourth official and throwing the contents of a bottle of water at him, thus assuming an intimidating attitude.ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Orlando Magics rebuilding process will continue without Glen Davis. General manager Rob Hennigan announced Friday that the team has bought out the 28-year-old forwards contract, which will make him a free agent once he clears waivers. The roster now stands at 12 players. Terms werent released but Davis, who was averaging 12.1 points and 6.3 rebounds in 45 games this season, is making just over $6 million this season and is due to make about $6.6 million next season. "As we continue to chart what we believe is the best course of action for our organization, maximizing the development of our young players remains of critical importance," Hennigan said in statement. "This agreement allows us an opportunity to do just that." Davis name was mentioned as a possible movable asset for the Magic for Thursdays trade deadline, but the team ended the day without making any moves. The buyout ends his three-season run with the Magic which began in lockout-shortened 2011-12 season after he was dealt from the Boston Celtics in a sign-and-trade. With Davis gone, it will likely mean more playing time at power forward for Tobias Harris, as well as for second-year forwards Andrew Nicholson and Kyle OQuinn. Both Nicholson and OQuinn had seen their minutes diminished after Davis returned from injury. Davis had also played centre at times in relief of Nik Vucevic, but those duties will likely now shift to OQuinn. Magic coach Jacque Vaughn acknowledged that the departure of a starter would require adjustments in the rotation, but cautioned that the lineup they played with against New York could change in coming games. "Well see where we go from here. Who starts tonight, Im not saying it will be our lineup for the rest of the year. But Tobias will start and well go from there," Vaaughn said.dddddddddddd. With Harris in the lineup, swingman Arron Afflalo said it was also possible it could mean he will see more time at small forward, with Jameer Nelson and Victor Oladipo starting at the guard spots. "I suppose you might see a little diet of me, Vic and Jameer," Afflalo said. "So theres probably a chance I will be at the three some. But I don t know how well finish, or start for that matter." Known by the nickname "Big Baby," Davis was averaging career highs in points and rebounds last season before a left shoulder injury and broken foot limited him to just 34 games. He returned from those injuries after missing the first 11 games this season and started 43 of the 45 games he appeared in. But it was clear from the start of the season that it was unlikely that Davis fit into the Magics long-range rebuilding efforts. While Davis had some high points in Magic uniform, his time with the team also featured a handful of negative moments. He had a disagreement with former coach Stan Van Gundy during a practice back in 2012 that concluded with him damaging a locker room wall. The team also fined him earlier this season when he was caught on tape doing minor damage to a hotel lobby following a disagreement with a clerk. Those incidents aside, Nelson said he has happy memories of Davis tenure. "My time here with Glen has been great," Nelson said. "Hes a great teammate and despite what other people think of him, I think hes a great guy and I just wish him the best of luck. "Im not sure what it means for our team in terms of roles, or anything like that. But he did bring a toughness and was definitely a big part of our defence in terms of being a defensive presence and being there for guys. Somebody has to step up and fill that role." 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