Tampa Bay Rays news and links: Austin/Dallas, Texas

Yesterday, while Austin Pruitt battled Dallas Keuchel in Texas, Neil Solondz asked the big question. Was this the first time two pitchers bearing the name of a cities faced each other in the state where those cities were located.

Diane Firstman, of Value Over Replacement Grit, had the answer: “No.”

But last night was probably the most satisfying example, and certainly the most populous one. Dennis, Massachusetts looks like a lovely beach town, but its Wikipedia page specifies how many post offices there are.

Oh, and here’s a side note. Definitely not prompted by anything in particular. Evan Longoria is a fantastic baseball player, he seems like a good guy, and I’m really happy the Rays were able to sign him to that long-term deal.

And one more note, apropos of nothing. I think there’s room in baseball for many different styles of leadership. As in pretty much every other setting, diversity is a strength.

Links

• Austin Pruitt was justifiably stoked about his performance in front of a hometown crowd. And he gives a good interview.

• Ryne Stanek went down to Durham and then came back up throwing a splitter. Bill Chastain wrote about the change. Good article, lots of good quotes in there.
• After the trading deadline, Baseball America ranks the Rays system sixth in the league.
• Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times wrote about Drew Smyly’s status with the Mariners (h/t MLB Trade Rumors). Short version: had surgery, rehabbing, likely to be non-tendered, manager would like him to be re-signed to help the rotation down the road.
• Shawn Brody at Beyond the Box Score wrote about the Orioles’ acquisition of Tim Beckham. Good article, great headline.
• And Jen Marc Ramos writes at The Hardball Times that Baseball Needs to Do More About Sexual Violence.