I have nothing but complete and total respect for Victor Hedman after he announced today that he had been out of the lineup while focusing on his mental health. When an athlete as heralded and celebrated as Hedman speaks about how he needed to step away from the game that has brought him his celebrity status, it might be time to take a longer look at how hockey and sports in general takes a mental toll on those who play the game. We saw Linus Ullmark speak of the struggles he went through earl...
Is this hell? No, this is Tropicana Field. That might be what the Toronto Blue Jays think of The Trop. Since 2021, the Jays have a .655 OPS and a 10-22 record under the tilted roof at One Tropicana Drive, and losers of 10 of the last 12. Even the Blue Jays, biggest podcast, Gate […]
Blue Jays 0 Rays 3 I said in the thread: The thing I like about baseball, is the team can be going bad, the game can be going bad, but there are still just amazing plays to watch. I have been a Jays fan pretty much since the first series. There have been a lot […]
Buccaneers News: Mayfield Enters Contract Year With Something to Prove in Tampa Baker Mayfield had a down year by the standards he had set for himself in Tampa Bay. Now he enters 2026 with a revamped supporting cast, a new play-caller he specifically wanted, and a contract situation that gives him every reason to perform. [...]
The Rays claimed Jesse Scholtens in August 2025 after he was designated for assignment by the White Sox. Despite a fairly significant overhaul of the roster this offseason, Scholtens was able to hang on to a coveted 40-man roster spot, and has performed well in his limited time with the major league club — maintaining […]
Yesterday evening the Ken Babby, Rays CEO, presented the Rays stadium/entertainment district plans at a Tampa City Council workshop. Workshops, you may recall from earlier reporting on the Hillsborough County Commission, are not decision-making sessions; no votes are taken. They are opportunities for elected officials, who thanks to Sunshine Laws can only meet in public, […]
Last of three in Tampa. If they light a match on the way out, I will not shed a tear. I hate afternoon weekday games, it messes up the day. There are some updates: Today’s lineup: Today’s Lineups BLUE JAYS RAYS George Springer – DH Yandy Diaz – DH Kazuma Okamoto – 3B Ryan Vilade […]
Go Rays!
With three podcast coming out in short order there is one article to cover all three. The first is a look back at the Tampa Bay Lightning series.
Mostly it focused on a low event hockey gamble from Jon Cooper. The bet was on Andrei Vasilevskiy besting Jakub Dobeš. In the end the goalies stole one game each, and Dobeš came on put on top.
Looking back on the picks the panel had a pretty good selection.
Jared’s Lane Hutson pick was great, the defender played out of his mind and one...
After just a handful shifts in Vancouver on March 19th, Victor Hedman left the eventual 6-2 Tampa Bay Lightning win. He would not return to the line-up for the rest of the season. On Tuesday, he spoke to the assembled media about his absence,
“Obviously, after the first period in Vancouver was kind of the final straw. It’s a thing that’s been going on for a long time, and try to work through it, and find ways to get around it, but I wasn’t able to do that. So, that’s where the decision ca...
The good times kept rolling for the Yankees on Tuesday night, as they came from behind to beat Jacob deGrom on behalf of since-demoted rookie Elmer Rodríguez. They’ve won 15 of their last 17 games and would almost be running away with the AL East already if the Rays weren’t off to a scalding-hot start […]
Blue Jays 3 Rays 4 The Jays were leading for most of the game, as if that’s any solace. Tyler Rogers has been terrific for us, but a ground ball pitcher can have bad luck on occasion. His eighth went ground out, double (66 mph, not hit hard), Yandy Diaz ground ball single (harder hit, […]
The Rays have taken small ball to new extremes, winning today on 1 double (a bloop that fell into no man’s land) and 10 singles. When your small ball is this small it maybe needs a new name: tiny ball? wee ball? But the key point is that 10 singles and a double added up […]
Go Rays!
Some runs would be nice. Please note the term runs is plural. . There is a little bit of news, Jose Berrios is feeling soreness, which, since he has a stress fracture, isn’t a huge surprise. Shane Bieber is close to being ready to face live batters. It is like he’s at the start of […]
The Tampa Bay Lightning were once again bounced in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and now general manager Julien BriseBois will be a very busy man this offseason. Multiple reports have surfaced that BriseBois tried to make some roster changes ahead of the trade deadline in March, but wasn't able to find a fit. Heading into the summer, look for BriseBois to make a move to add some talent down the middle of the ice for the Lightning. Elliotte Friedman: Re Lightning: I heard...there...
Corey Perry is entering the summer as a pending unrestricted free agent. If the 40-year-old forward hits the free-agent market this summer instead of re-signing with the Tampa Bay Lightning or retiring, he should generate interest. Due to this, let's look at three teams that could look to sign Perry during the offseason. Edmonton Oilers The Oilers missed Perry this season, and it would not be particularly surprising if they tried to bring him back during the summer. If they signed ...
Hello and good morning everyone. It’s Justin, your faithful managing editor of Raw Charge. For the fourth year in a row, we’ve come to this point a little too early in the spring. With the Lightning getting bounced from the first round of the playoffs yet again, we all face an off-season that starts in May instead of June. Which is a bummer. That means I have to come up with a few extra weeks of interesting posts to keep y’all interested and reading.
It was a good season for the website a...
After a monster season that saw him record 22 goals and 70 points in 73 games, Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Darren Raddysh is set to land him a big payday this offseason. Due to this, let's look at three teams that could look to sign Raddysh if the Bolts do not re-sign him. Toronto Maple Leafs The Maple Leafs need another right-shot defenseman, so it would not be surprising if they looked to add Raddysh in free agency. He has already been connected to the Leafs in the past and wo...
Blue Jays 1 Rays 5 That was a very frustrating game. The Jays had ten hits, but just one extra base hit, a double by Yohendrick Piñango. It is hard to have 10 hits and only get one run. You really have to work at it. And, the Rays scored three in the first. Eric […]
Hot off yet another home series sweep, the Rays welcomed the Blue Jays to Tropicana Field for the opener of a three-game series. Nick Martinez starts the series opener, bringing a 1.70 ERA into the game after six starts on the season. Start number seven began with a one-pitch flyout, and ended without a runner […]
So the Jays don’t appear to be using an opener today, it is Eric Lauer right from the first pitch. Let’s have a good start Eric. And there is no Heineman or Springer. Springer is supposed to be available off the bench and he’s supposed to be starting tomorrow. We’ll see I guess. That ball […]
Go Rays!
It was a disappointing finish to the season for the Tampa Bay Lightning, a team many pundits around the sport predicted to come out of the Eastern Conference. Instead, a frustrating 2-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens in Game 7 of the first round (despite outshooting them 29-9) has left many questions facing the Bolts as they head into the offseason. Perhaps one question we didn't see coming, though, comes to us from insider Pierre LeBrun , who asks in The Athletic, if the Hart Trophy con...
There is a whole mess of injury news this afternoon: Today’s lineup is similar to yesterday’s, minus Sosa and Heineman, and Varsho is DH today. He was having some better at bats yesterday. Hopefully that will continue. Today’s Lineups BLUE JAYS RAYS Yohendrick Pinango – LF Chandler Simpson – LF Kazuma Okamoto – 3B Junior […]