Tampa Bay Rays

In baseball, holding the top pick in the draft has proven to be more of a curse than a blessing.

When Josh Hamilton and his heavy bat test the market this offseason, there will be one team willing and able to surprise baseball fans in signing Major League Baseball’s most coveted free agent.

Well, Joe Maddon has struck again.

Maddon is definitely known for some, well, different lineup decisions—catcher John Jaso leading off in previous seasons is a good example.

Tuesday night's contest featured an even more absurd move, as Maddon penciled in Carlos Pena's name in the No. 1 spot in the order.

Needless to say, I was confused.

Why would Maddon put his best run-producer in the leadoff spot of the order?

Well, this is interesting. Check out Monday night's Tampa Bay Rays' lineup:

#Rays v Jays: Pena 1B, Upton cf, Joyce lf, Zobrist rf, Scott dh, S-Rod 3b, Sutton 2b, Gimenez c, Johnson ss - Moore p

It’s been a rough week for the Tampa Bay Rays, and it’s only Tuesday.

Earlier today we learned that Evan Longoria could miss six to eight weeks after injuring his hamstring during an awkward slide on Monday night. 

Tim Beckham of the Tampa Bay Rays has been suspended 50 games for his second violation for a drug of abuse under the Minor League drug program (via MLB.com).

The former No. 1 pick in the 2008 draft, Beckham was hitting just .204 in 13 games for Durham, the Rays' Triple-A affiliate.

Around lunchtime on Tuesday, a report surfaced that Tampa Bay third baseman Longoria would miss six to eight weeks with a partial hamstring tear, a seemingly crippling blow to the Rays' chances of making the American League playoffs this year.

With Evan Longoria expected to miss anywhere from six to eight weeks with a hamstring injury, the Tampa Bay Rays are left without their most consistent offensive performer.

Longoria's April put him in the running as an early AL MVP candidate, but any chances of that happening now seem slim to none.

Sam Fuld came as a much-needed spark following a dismal start by the defending AL East champion Tampa Bay Rays. The relatively unknown outfielder came to the Rays as part of the trade for Matt Garza.

David Price is going to have to win 20 games if the Tampa Bay Rays have any aspirations to repeat as AL East Champions.

In Friday night’s 8-5 loss to the Los Angeles Angels, he got put to the test and fell short...very short. It brought his record to 3-3.