Tampa Bay rays Rookie Phenom Longoria to DL with broken wrist

Maybe the Tampa Bay Rays voodoo dolls clutched by fans of the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are working after all.  First OF Carl Crawford landed on the DL, and now all-but-certain AL rookie of the year Evan Longoria has joined him.  While Crawford’s hand injury may end his season and require surgery, Longoria’s prognosis is more optimistic; he’s got a fractured wrist that should keep him out of the lineup for a few weeks.

Crawford, a 4 time AL stolen base leader, had been in excellent form prior to landing on the DL.  He’s hitting .273 with 57 RBIs and 25 steals, but during a recent 11 game hitting streak he hit a scorching .349 with five triples.  Longoria, who joined the team in mid April from AAA Durham is even more difficult to replace—in addition to being one of the best fielding 3rd basemen in the AL he’s hit .278 with 28 homeruns and 71 RBIs.

The Rays have fought through injuries on other occasions this year, with numerous role players stepping up to pick up the slack for the missing stars.  Veteran Carlos Pena gave the offense a boost in Seattle over the weekend with Longoria on the shelf, and the team recently acquired Chad Bradford from Baltimore to bolster their bullpen.

Tampa Bay will resume play on Tuesday 4 games ahead of Boston, who’s started to play well of late winning 7 of 10.  The Yankees, meanwhile, are headed in the other direction and have sunk 9 games below the Rays.  Tampa will see both teams frequently during September—they’ll play both the Red Sox and Yankees six times a piece.