***OFFICIAL 2018 Tampa Bay Rays MLB Season Thread!***

[DreadNaught]

The Rays are now 48-44

Wild card?

[Buc2]

The Rays are now 48-44

Wild card?

That would be cool. I'm sure at least another 5K fans would show up for the series.

[Kress]

That would be cool. I'm sure at least another 5K fans would show up for the series.

We're playing the Yankees?

[Rocker]

That would be cool. I'm sure at least another 5K fans would show up for the series.

We're playing the Yankees?

And the Red Sox in a round robin.

[Nano]

The Rays and Astros have had talks about a possible Wilson Ramos trade. Apparently, the Rays want Tucker or Whitley but will settle on the Astros best SS prospect if need be.

[Swashy]

^ heard about a possible Ramos trade but that shortstop bit is hilarious if true. I swear to God the Rays would just bat 9 shortstops in the order and put them all out on the field

[Kress]

A shortstop? What in the hell?

[Teitan]

Not at all shocked. We only trade for middle infielders.

[Nano]

Blake Snell is now an All-Star. Good for him... and hopefully fewer outings like yesterday lol

Also, we've suspended our promotion with Papa Johns(Which was like 50% off Pizza if the Rays scored 6)

[NavyBuc]

Heard someone on radio the other day yelling at radio host and fans for not giving more attention to Rays. To play devil's advocate to that, why get excited for this team when you know all these pieces are going to be traded in the next couple years? Ramos is already rumored to be going to Houston, possibly. Snell is probably going to get a big payday offer from another team. I'm sure Cron will be in trade talks soon.

As far as the new stadium goes, I love it. But I'm not holding my breath it's going to pass. Stu wants the public pay for most of it, which is not a good sign it's going to pass.

[Nano]

Pretty nice streak by our rookie Bauers. 2 HR/7 RBIs in the past 2 games, and 7 hits in the past 3(With 6 runs scored)

Definitely our best rookie this year, though our only other rookie of note Willy Adams just got demoted to AAA

[Alpha]

The Rays are now 48-44

Wild card?

Apparently, you aren't paying attention.

If you actually looked at the standings (makes me think you don't actually follow sports), you'd see there is roughly a 0% chance of the Devil Ray's making the playoffs.

And that's when they were 4 games over .500.

Even 10 games over, they'd have NO chance.

That said...I thought they'd be one of the worst teams in MLB, this year. IF they finish with 85 wins (they won't), this would HAVE to be considered a GREAT year.

Ramos is done for a while...and even if he wasn't, he'd be traded. That's a big blow to our offense.

They've done well this year. Good to see the young guys come up. Adames is the next. Hechy is about to go. Probably Archer as well.

I WISH I could spend money on this team. I listen to games on the radio. I live FIVE BLOCKS from the stadium...and I won't give Slumlord Stewie, ONE, SINGLE PENNY of my cash. He's the new Jeff Lauria. We're about to get fleeced on a new stadium...and with this guy...we're gonna be the latest Marlins. We're about to get a new TV contract AND stadium...and we'll STILL be one of the lowest payrolls in MLB. MARK MY WORDS.

I wish this team, with this owner, would just leave.


Jeff Vinick...HELP!!!

[Kress]

Jeff Vinick...HELP!!!

He'd have to sell his ownership in the Sox first.

Welcome to Hell, Mr. Snowball. Good luck!

[Nano]

Looks like Chris Archer is receiving "Significant Trade interest". Might be the year that he finally gets traded. He's probably worth a decent hall...we might be able to net a teams 2nd or 3rd best shortstop for him.

[Teitan]

Looks like Chris Archer is receiving "Significant Trade interest". Might be the year that he finally gets traded. He's probably worth a decent hall...we might be able to net a teams 2nd or 3rd best shortstop for him.

Yep. And after 3 years at Durham, we can include him in a trade for a teams number 1 shortstop prospect.

[Nano]

Who the **** is Ji-Man Choi

[Kress]

Choi is Ji Man!

[DreadNaught]

Choi is Ji Man!

I'm hoping for this guy

[Deuce]

So I'm going to the Rays game on 8/4. Just checked and have ticket prices gone up a lot? I guess I haven't been in a number of years but I remember like $8-10 tickets. Now it seems like they are around $25. Are the White Sox one of the big draws that cause prices to go up?

Last I remember, you could pretty much pull up and park right near the stadium for cheap and walk in. Is that still the case?

Any recommendations for eating/drinking right near the stadium? We've planned on hitting up 3 Daughters Brewing.

[Konatown]

So I'm going to the Rays game on 8/4. Just checked and have ticket prices gone up a lot? I guess I haven't been in a number of years but I remember like $8-10 tickets. Now it seems like they are around $25. Are the White Sox one of the big draws that cause prices to go up?

Last I remember, you could pretty much pull up and park right near the stadium for cheap and walk in. Is that still the case?

Any recommendations for eating/drinking right near the stadium? We've planned on hitting up 3 Daughters Brewing.

I’ve gone to a couple games this year, parking now only accepts credit cards, no cash. Here’s some info from the website

“The Rays provide carpoolers access to free parking in team-controlled parking lots.*For all Sunday games, vehicles with four or more passengers may park for free. For all other games, the first 100 cars with four or more people park for free up to an hour before game time, with rates for Rays parking lots ranging from $15 to $30 per vehicle. Fans attending games at Tropicana Field are encouraged to arrive early to enjoy tailgating and baseball activities.”

3 Daughters is a good spot, I’d also recommend Cycle Brewing and Green Bench. We usually end up at Ferg’s for some pregame beers and food (wings are killer). Have fun!

[acmillis]

i was just looking at taking the fam to the Sunday game against the white sox in early August. We used to be able to get cheapo tickets on ebay/stubhub, decent seats for $25-30. Now that nobody buys tickets, secondary markets don't really exist. Rays official site has cheapest tickets at $30 from when I last looked and that is for upper deck seats....yeah...no thanks.

[Rocker]

I took the kid to a game last season when they were running a promo with 7-11 for... 7 bucks a ticket. Found parking four blocks away for 10 bucks. Bleacher seats in left field, but a good view, and can’t beat the price. Can’t comment on any bars or restaurants, but getting across the bay at rush hour on Friday was no fun. Leaving the stadium wasn’t bad though.

[Kress]

getting across the bay at rush hour on Friday was no fun

The HF usually moves along well. It bottles up once you've hit the Pinellas side right at the Roosevelt interchange. From there it stays slow all the way down. Sooooo...

The first exit off of the bridge is 4th Street. Don't take that, because everybody else tries to. Go on to the second, which is Martin Luther King/9th Street. You will hit a couple of lights very early on as you pass under Gandy, etc., but from there on down it's smooth sailing. Go all the way down to 1st Ave North and look to your right. VOILA! Stadium.

I use that route all the time now because I live kinda sorta down that way. Monday, Friday, Rain, Lightning, Yankees in town, whatever. It does not matter. MLK is a steady 45 mph every single time. It's not interstate speed, but it's predictable speed with no back-ups. The interstate most certainly will not be interstate speed, either, and it's generally much, much worse than 45.

[Rocker]

Yeah, well... trust a lawyer. I dare ya. Go on. Do it. Nothing to be scared of.

[Nano]

Rays trade SP Nathan Eovaldi for minor-leaguer Jalen Beeks

[Mountaineer Buc]

Rays trade SP Nathan Eovaldi for minor-leaguer Jalen Beeks

Yeah, but can he play shortstop?

[NYBF]

Rays trade SP Nathan Eovaldi for minor-leaguer Jalen Beeks

Yeah, but can he play shortstop?

After that botched should-have-been double play ball, you might need one.

[Nano]

Rays trade P Matt Andriese for minor-league catcher Michael Perez and right-handed pitcher Brian Shaffer

[Alpha]

Yeah, but can he play shortstop?

After that botched should-have-been double play ball, you might need one.

Yet somehow...we STILL beat the Yanks like they're our bitch.

I love this team. I don't want to...but I do.

I LITERALLY live within walking distance of the Trop and because of our shit-bird owner, I won't dare spend one, red cent there.

[Nano]

Trade rumors for Chris Archer are really ramping up. Looks like the Rays want a top catching prospect if they trade him. Guess it makes sense as the top catcher in our organization(Ronald Hernandez) is still 2-3 years away from the Majors and is only in A ball right now. Kind of hope we get a really good pitching prospect if we trade Archer though to replace him in a couple years. Might not be our priority though as 4 of our top 8 prospects are pitchers