Tampa Bay Rays News and Links: #10YearChallenge

In case you’ve zoned out on social media over the past week or so, there’s been a #10YearChallenge going around the interwebs in which people post photos of themselves from today and, well, ten years ago. It swept so wide that it even got a few thinkpieces written. Gotta love those...

So, in honor of this social media craze, let’s take it to a Rays-centric theme for a couple fun examples:

The team, as a whole: The Rays were fresh off their best season in franchise history, the still-magical pennant-winning, 97-win, 31-game improvement, will-never-be-forgotten season from heaven. Ten Years Later, are Rays fans maybe sniffing a similar season in the not too distant future?

B.J. Upton: From B.J. to Melvin and back, Upton could still potentially play a few more MLB games, but he’s not quite where many imagined he’d be in 2008.

Rocco Baldelli: From lovable but oft-injured could have been, to neophyte manager of the Minnesota Twins.

Ben Zobrist: Still doing Ben Zobrist-y things and convincing some DRB writers he’d make for a good reunion in 2019.

On the flip side of things...

Charlie Morton: He had just completed his rookie season in Atlanta, with an average velocity of 90.7 on his fastball and a 6.15 ERA. This is the Brie Larson of baseball #10YearChallenges.

Blake Snell: Was busy building a high school pitching career that would lead to the Rays taking him in the first round two years later.

And finally...

Wander Franco: Was seven years old and likely still could hit a baseball better than I can today.

Rays News

• Rays Radio ep stuffed to the gills with content for ya!

• Here’s Neil’s (brief) take on the Spring Training roster.
• Ken Rosenthal is a smart man, so it’s no surprise that he has the Rays back when it comes to the (very stupid) heat the Rays were taking for the recent changes to the 15-day DL. (Behind a paywall and towards the end of the article.)
• In the words of Eleanor Roosevelt (via Talledega Nights): “America is all about speed, hot nasty bad-ass speed.”

• Uhhhhh, I love you, Cespedes Family BBQ, but there’s nothing funny about Mr. Grit himself, Joey Wendle:

• Rays Colored Glasses came to the conclusion we knew they were coming to: Longoria still wears the crown when it comes to the best Rays in history.
• Call to the Pen with the pitch (pun intended) for Colin Poche to make the Opening Day roster.

Around the League

• The Astros made a sneaky nice move to pick up Wade Miley for just $4.5 million. Miley isn’t going to match his 2018 (2.57 ERA in 16 starts), but he could make for a nice Opener should Houston go that route, especially come playoffs.
• This is Phillies specific, but two things: Meghan Montemurro is one of the better writers around, and it seems like a system that the Rays would have in place, too.
• Eno wrote. Read it. (It’s about the changing free agency market.)
• We miss you, Chris. One of the best dudes in the league:

• This is a wild story...