Rays, Longoria heating up

Times writers Tom Jones and Joe Smith discuss the Rays' series win over the Blue Jays, Evan Longoria's All-Star experience and the arrival of the Oakland A's in our weekly 'Rays Report' audio slideshow.

(Pictured: Evan Longoria. Times photo --  Dirk Shadd. Click to enlarge.)

Comments

[T]

What happened to all those "Nay-sayers" who blogged in here and agreed with the Rays to send Longo down? I was in the minority when I chimed in and said "Keep him on the team-let him start". I think he alone is one reason the Rays are in 1st (at least for now). Aybar has been a bust for all intents and purposes.

[Ray F]

Great slideshow...

On the next one, since you guys are so close to the action and are obviously more privy to info that may not get released otherwise, how about getting the players take on if and who the team is looking to deal.

Obviously, there's a lot of media speculation from outside sources who aren't as close to the orginization as the Times' reporters are. I would like to know if any of the players think either themselves or someone else may be dealt prior to the deadline and if they feel the team needs to make a statement by getting a high-end rental player to prove they mean business.

I remember, when the decision to send Longoria to triple-a was announced, a lot of the players said that the move gave them the impression that the team wasn't 100% commited to winning and by putting Aybar at 3rd to open the season sent a subliminal message that Longoria was not the best 3rd baseman in the orginization at the time. Obviously, when Aybar went down in the 2nd week, all of that skepticism was quickly brushed aside.