Well that's great... and that sucks!

Just when the Rays were winning 3 of 4 in Seattle to post a franchise-record 71 wins (with 45 games remaining I might add!), the nicks and bumps were starting to add up.

Evan Longoria has missed the last three games in Seattle after being hit on the back of his right wrist on Thursday.

Jason Bartlett has been limited to playing DH over the last week due to a bruised index finger.

Although he's been okay and able to play, catcher Shawn Riggans was nearly impaled by a fastball just after Longoria was hit.

The worst news, however, was that Carl Crawford has a tendon injury in one of his fingers which landed him on the 15-day DL today. It could be 6 to 8 weeks before he returns, and the injury may have ended his season.

From the St. Pete Times website TampaBay.com:
The Rays are officially calling Crawford's injury "right middle finger tendon subluxation'' and head athletic trainer Ron Porterfield said to was too early to predict how much beyond the 15-day DL period Crawford will be out until he sees team hand specialist Dr. Doug Carlan today in St. Petersburg. "I wouldn't even put a timeframe on it right now until our doctor sees him,'' Porterfield said.

The good news for Tampa Bay today was that Rocco Baldelli (yes, THAT Rocco Baldelli) played in his first major league game in over a year. Baldelli missed the last 124 games of 2007 and the first 116 of 2008, but today he went 1 for 4 with a single and an RBI in his return to the lineup. He also made a diving catch in right field before leaving in the sixth inning.

So pitching and defense - which have carried the Rays all year - will have to continue to do the job as they wait for Longoria to return and hope that Crawford can make it back.

The good news is that Carlos Pena's bat seems to be heating up (.324 with 4 HR and 11 RBI in his last 10 games) as well as Aki Iwamura (.356 in his last 10).

Even better was Edwin Jackson's start today where he went 7 innings giving up 7 hits and only one run on a solo homer. That followed Friday night's outing by James Shields where he seemed to break out of his road woes - going 6 2/3 innings and giving up only 3 earned runs to lower his season ERA to 3.65.

The Rays also picked up Chad Bradford from Baltimore earlier this week - releasing Al Reyes to make room on the roster. Bradford brings a 2.34 ERA in 42 1/3 innings of work this year and his submarine style gives the bullpen a different look for the opposing lineup.

Finally there is 22-year old David Price the Rays' top pick in the 2007 draft out of Vanderbilt. Price has rolled through the minor leagues with an 11-0 record and 1.87 ERA at classes A and AA. The hard-throwing lefty has allowed only 70 hits in 91 2/3 innings and has struck out 92 while walking only 23.

Word on the street is that Price will be called up in late August. Anyone who saw him play in spring training knows that Price has the best stuff of any pitcher in the Rays' system - including Scott Kazmir and Matt Garza.

Price could be the final piece to the puzzle that puts the Rays into the post-season for the first time - if there's a healthy position player remaining on the roster by October!