Rays drop Dukes from roster

The Devil Rays finally had enough of Elijah Dukes, at least for now.

The troubled outfielder was optioned to the minor leagues and placed on the temporary inactive list.

“It’s the right move for right now,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “The tack we are taking will make everyone better.”

Maddon, who held a meeting with the players though said it wasn’t specifically about Dukes, said Friday’s move will “be viewed as a positive ... By everyone.”

Executive Vice President Andrew Friedman said there is no time limits with regards to the temporary inactive list, and said it is possible that Dukes could return to the major league team.

"I would not rule that out," Friedman said.

Dukes, a 22-year-old rookie from Tampa, has been the subject of controversy and scrutiny for weeks, since the May 23 St. Petersburg Times report of allegations by his estranged wife that he threatened to kill her and their kids.

Dukes created another controversy Tuesday by calling a Tampa radio station to defend himself and his family and make further accusations against his estranged wife, NiShea Gilbert.

Rays officials were not pleased, acknowledged they were frustrated over the distractions he had caused and seemed poised to accelerate plans to cut ties.

The Rays called up outfielder Dustan Mohr from Durham to replace Dukes on the roster.

In other news, the Rays moved outfielder Rocco Baldelli from the 15-day disabled list to the 60-day DL as a result of his recurring hamstring problems.

Marc Topkin, Times staff writer

Comments

[Jason]

What are you guys going to write about now? Good riddance! Now trade Baldelli and his hamstrings!

[Terri]

I think this is a wise decision by the Rays. Finally. Let's focus now on winning some games! Dukes is a bad dude and only served to be a distraction. Let some other team take him and deal with it!

[Matt]

Hopefully we can move on, and play baseball again!

[JC]

Its about time!!!!

[Eric]

Guess the times are happy about this.

WHo is going to be the next person you try and ruin?

What happens? Does he go down to the minors or does he sign with another team?

If he is a free agent he will sign with another team. He will end up a allstart with Hamilton.

Hamilton, Seay, Duke what a bunch of Moroons running the devil rays.

[Morris]

now that's stupid, Eric...

Dukes ruined himself by not bringing his act under control. Don't shoot the messenger. Last time I notice, the News was supposed to, ya' know, report the news? The fact the Rays had a scumbag outfielder was in fact news...

[Joe]

Wow this is bad who can I get my weed from now haha

[bob]

Good riddance! Big Mouth.....terrible human being......below 200 hitter. Why not earlier?

[bob]

Get your weed from his mama......shes still in town!

[Bill]

Last I looked Josh Hamilton is far from an AllStar. The Rays have little choice in this, it needs to be done.
And what is a moroon?

[Richard]

You have to wonder what took so long. A stain on this organization. But better late than never.

[Eric]

It's not news. It's a family matter that should have been handled privately.
I don't know anything about this guy, We all don't, There is always 2 sides to a story.But just seeing how the Times always reports news in a way to get their personal point across is unprofessional. It's becoming the norm among news agencies to report in a slant for their personal views. They did the same with with the Stanton thing. It's sad.

[Taylor Hicks]

Eric, you're an idiot. All the Times has done is show what this moron has been doing. This guy is distracting to the team and the fans and needs to be sent packing. He has a god-given gift that can lift him out of his situation, but he has squandered it. And why? He's mad his daddy knocked up his mama and left? So what does he do? Does the same thing to four other women. He lost in the game of life and the Rays are better off without him.

[Mike Creyton]

I can see it now. All of these people that have been calling for Dukes' head and screaming for the Rays to release him.....they will be the same people screaming in 5 years when he is a perennial All Star because the Rays gave him away. See Josh Hamilton for the most recent example. Lets recap, Dukes is getting divorced. His wife calls the paper and makes their messy divorce public. Dukes is a permiscuous guy. No laws broken, no arrests, nothing. Just personal issues. And he gets cut. Those who live in glass houses....

[DJ]

Eric, you blame the Times, but you don't blame his wife? She's the one who ran to the papers and radio stations with all this. Why did his wife run to the papers and radio if it's a "family matter that should have been handled privately"? Answer that.

[Sam]

Bless you Mike Creyton...Exactly how I feel. Juan Salas was caught taking steroids and I didn't see any backlash. Dukes get divorced and people call for his head

[DevilJay]

This is bad news for the Rays and the SPTIMES; now the Rays losing will be the headline, and of course not spending $, crummy middle relief, and Roco's injuries will replace E.D. on the front page; and the Times will actually have to get back to covering baseball (losing baseball) and who is going to buy the paper to read about that? I'm sure Dukes will resurface with Yanks (Big George has a soft spot for the local guys who can't steer clear of trouble) or maybe the Raiders as this dude could stick back in the day and he has that Oakland Raider bad character / anger issues thing down already.

[RonHarrington]

I don't think there are 6 women in Tampa that would even sleep with Dustan Mohr, have you seen this JaMoke!! Yikes!No more MLB fun babies for these guys.

[Bill]

Who knows whether Elijah Dukes will become an All Star, however you have to base decisions on what you know, not what you wish. Character matters. This team has given Dukes a pass for too long. He was an embarrasment to the organization.In reality this turnsout to be an opportunity for Dukes to get a fresh start ( for the umpteenth time) somewhere else. Whether he chooses to grow up and move on is his choice. History says he wont.

[Mike]

It appears the final straw for the Devil Rays with the overly fertile Dukes was due to his impregnating Roco and causing him to be out on bedrest for the next 6 to 8 weeks. In other news Dukes will go into the Hall of Shame as a Devil Ray as the "Boggs" clause was negotiated into his contract.

[queechee]

It's "tack," not "tact," as in "...tack we are taking."

[Paul]

Well done, for the team and very probably for Dukes. I think his only hope is to get away from the Tampa Bay environment. I think it's his only chance, a slim one at that, to succeed as a ball player and a human being. If he's wildly successful elsewhere, I'll be very surprised, but not really resentful. I think in his current situation he had practically zero chance of succeeding.

[Jim]

WWWWWWWWaaaaaaayyyyyyy past due!!!

[Jon]

While Dukes has made some poor decisions, the Devil Rays have made even worse decisions. Management does not know how to create a positive atmosphere in the locker room or support their players. Every x-player always says that the worst part of their career was the time spent in Tampa. The D-Rays need to reward and encourage players (i.e. make Crawford a captain or actively campaign for players to make the all-star team) when they behave positively, and I think we'll see less negative things from players, both current and past. Management needs to work harder on making Tampa Bay a place that elite players want to play.

[Kris]

Jon is right! Ever read a Crawford quote in the paper? He is constantly discouraged and depressed.

[JSP]

This is a 22 year old kid who made some bad decisions and has issues with the media. Chances are good that he will mature and get past anger problems and be a productive player. I have a hard time watching a newspaper villify a kid whose problems don't belong on the front paper. Remember being 22?

[Richard]

Got to love the liberals making these comments. Eric blames the paper, Jon blames management, Mike blames the wife, Sam blames the people, everyone but Dukes. I guess threatening the life of his wife and kids is just boys being boys. Just a 22 yr old kid with some issues. Impregnating multiple girls and women. Can't be his fault. Just ask his mother. Love liberals!

Did anyone check to make sure Dukes isn't really Toe Nash using an alias?

[cliff vaughn]

I don't think Dukes will ever make it big with any team, his additude and cockeness will kill him. Look at all the trouble he has been in, it never changes. His mother on welfare and him making big buck's (our money both way's) sure is a disgrace, give him a one way ticket to Lower Slobovia

[Liberal]

Richard, you obtuse reactionary, you should be ashamed to plug your political views in this blog. How dare you---you coward. Post your political rhetoric on a political blog. In the mean time, pray for this man Dukes---he needs it. What would Jesus do?

[Bill]

Ironic all the liberals are blasting the most liberal paper in the state! Dukes is an incorrigible felon with savagely violent tendencies: Hey liberal Mike Creyton: "No laws broken, no arrests,". You wanna open your eyes to reality? Check this out!: HCSO.com Sherrff,s website: last four booking dates in the slammer: 12/8/2003, 12/26/2003, 1/18/2005, 9/13/2005, and let's not forget his January 2007 arrest for weed.

Yes, he will go elsewhere for awhile and excel on the field...until his next arrest or until the beast can contain his rage no longer and destroys others and himself. Yeah....us Rays fans will really lament that lost "value". Dukes is trash. He should have been jettisoned long ago.

[Ron Washington]

Liberal, you hypocrite, go post your religious babble on a relgious forum.

[Jack]

Why don't some of the veterans on the team show some leadership and sit these problems down and talk to them. Being from Boston this bull went on back in the 60-70's but now anybody steps out of line and it is handled in the clubhouse. We NEED LEADERSHIP in this clubhouse. Youth needs direction

[Bill]

Hamilton is batting .263, I wouldn't call that All-Star worthy

[Liberal]

Hey Ron Washington, you peanut brained fool, I guess you never got the point. Too far over your head, I guess. If being a liberal means you care about human beings, I'll wear it like a badge of honor. Go to Iraq and spew your right-wing hate babble there! You and Richard sound like a nice, cute and kind hearted couple---you would both do real well there.

[Moderate]

Ron - I believe Liberal was trying to point out the irony that "conservatives" are generally people of faith and therefore would be thought of as compassionate, nonjudgmental people. The Bible is full of quotes such as; "Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone." "Judge not, lest ye be judged." "Why notice the speck in your neighbor's eye when you have a log in your own." Yet they tend to be judgmental and harsh when people stray from perfection. Meanwhile, "liberals" are viewed as godless decadents with no morals, yet are more tolerant to people being less than perfect. Many of the acts that Dukes has participated in aren't acceptable in a civilized society. These sanctions and ones to follow are appropriate and hopefully Mr. Dukes will learn from his transgressions. But to just throw bombs at someone and judge them with no compassion isn't very "conservative" (christian). So Richard and Bill, go brush up on becoming a better human and leave the name calling to the sinners please.

[Ed Deltona]

Stuart Sternberg says his first inclination was to cut Dukes. He also says that Dukes asked for help straightening out his life. Stu says that since Elijah asked for help he had a change of heart and decided to give Dukes a chance. I think it was the right thing to do. Could Dukes be manipulating Sternberg? Sure. But Stu says, he has to live with himself and his conscience told him not to turn away. I applaud him for following his heart and not succumbing to public pressure. For what its worth, I'm conservative and Christian. I've also been in AA since 1979. I thank God people didn't turn their back on me when I wised up and asked for help.

[Steve]

Dukes is going to be the next Darrel Strawberry