David Price

What’s that smell?

Ahhhh, yes. Spring Training is in the air.  Christmas comes early for baseball fans across the country.

15 teams call Florida home for Spring Training.

Charlotte County Sports Park doesn’t have the flashy name of other ballparks, such as "Legends Field."  The Park is simple.  It houses 7,000 seats and sold out everyone of those seats in 2009 Spring Training.

Entering the holiday weekend, the Rays came in as one of the hottest teams in baseball. When it was over, the Texas Rangers were in first place and the Rays fell further behind in both the AL East Divisional race and the AL wildcard chase.

Texas swept Tampa Bay by silencing the red hot bats of the Rays, and taking advantage of uncharacteristic defensive lapses in their three game sweep.

Despite sitting in 4th place in the American League East with a 37-35 record, the Tampa Bay Rays' season is not over just yet.

They have scored the most runs in the AL, and have an expected Win-Loss record of 42-30. Their expected W-L (based on runs scored and runs against) would put them in second place in their division, with the second best record in the AL.

This team is still stacked, and still improving. They are about as close as you can be to a complete offensive club. They hit, they run, and they hit for power.

With two months of the 2009 MLB Season into the record books, we are coming back to reality as we expected it to be this season.

The great starts of the Florida Marlins and the Toronto Blue Jays caught the eye of the public earlier in the year, questioning if they can stay on top of their respective divisions.

The Marlins went cold for weeks after their hot start, while the Blue Jays suffered a losing streak that has brought them into third place in the AL East.

Speaking of the great East, how about them Rays?

David Price is back. The young lefty was called up when Scott Kazmir went to the 15-day DL due to a bad right quad.

It has been a long, winding road for Price. Just two years ago he was the Major League's No. 1 overall pick. The Rays decided to take a chance on the southpaw, as his maturity branded him for early success.

Price ascended quickly through the minors, drawing raving reports from many scouts. In 2008, he joined a young Rays pitching staff that included the likes of Matt Garza, James Shields, and Scott Kazmir.

Prior to the season it was a foregone conclusion that David Price, unanimously considered one of the top two prospects in baseball, would be up and contributing to the Tampa Bay Rays by June.

The team was just going to send him down to the minor for a little more seasoning, despite already showcasing him on the grandest of stages. What they have, however, is a pitcher struggling at Triple-A making it nearly impossible for the team to recall him right now. 

His 2009 line is as follows:

Cole Hamels most likely won't be on the mound when Opening Night comes around next Sunday for the Philadelphia Phillies.

His trip from sunny Clearwater to Philadelphia last week to see doctors about his elbow tightness means he won't debut until the team's fourth game against Colorado.

David Price won't open the 2009 season with the Tampa Bay Rays.

He will be in the minors, where the Rays will closely monitor his early-season workload hopefully he will be fresh for the dog days of summer.

If you live in Tampa Bay and you are headed to a Rays game in April, David Price won't be there.

On Wednesday, in a move that really shocked me, David Price and four others were optioned to Triple-A Durham.

While the move didn't shock Price and others, I still wasn't expecting it, not after what he accomplished in the playoffs last year to help the Rays win the AL Championship.

Price said he "absolutely" believes Rays intended to send him down no matter how he pitched this spring and he wasn't surprised to be cut.