Predicting the 2013 AL East

by Aaron Giddens

So, here we are, just about a week or so before Spring Training games begin. It's time for us to go over my predictions on how the AL East will do for 2013. Let's jump right in.

Boston Red Sox: The BoSox had a decent off season with losses and gains. The most obvious and right up front change is that they fired manager Bobby Valentine after one season, and really, who could blame them as they went 69-73, good bad enough for the AL East cellar in 2012 and their first losing season since 1997. The Sox searched for a while before negotiating a deal with the Blue Jays that sent John Farrell back to Boston, where he was a pitching coach in 2011, to manage the Sox and sent Mike Aviles to Toronto. (The Sox will also receive a player to be named later in the deal.) The Sox also lost players after 2012, including Daisuke Matsuzaka, Cody Ross, among others (Full free agents list can be found here.) In gains the Sox got Mike Napoli, Shane Victorino, Koji Uehara and Stephen Drew who rounds out the notable signings. The Sox also retained "Big Papi" David Ortiz. So what does all this mean for the Sox in 2013? I don't think it means much, they still lost a lot in the blockbuster trade towards the end of the 2012 season that sent players like Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett and Adrian Gonzales to LA. I see the Sox being in or towards the cellar again in 2013, consider them in rebulding mode. 2013 Prediction: 5th place, 75-87.

Tomorrow is Fan Fest!

by Aaron Giddens

So tomorrow is Fan Fest. I hope everyone is going, I hope to be there myself. So, last year our guest correspondent @MandaGator posted an article of how to survive Fan Fest. I'm going to repost this. Obviously as this was written last year, it's not gonna be exactly right, but it has a lot of great tips. Get lots of pictures tomorrow and be sure to share this with us by email (email them to crrayshead90@braysballtalk.com) and our Facebook page!


Surviving Fan Fest [BRaysball Talk]

Sun Sports/FS Florida announces Spring Training broadcast schedule

by Aaron Giddens

So with pitchers and catchers reporting Tuesday, Sun Sports has announces their spring training broadcast schedule for 2013. They will televise 4 games this year, all in March. Three will be on Sun Sports and one will be on Fox Sports Florida. All four will take place at Charlotte Sports Park in Port Charlotte, FL. There will also be no evening Spring Training games broadcast this year, as all four start at 1pm. See the table below for the schedule. It's getting closer, Rays fans!

Opponent	Date	Time	Channel
Boston Red Sox	March 10, 2013	1:00pm ET	Sun Sports
Philadelphia Phillies	March 15, 2013	1:00pm ET	Sun Sports
Minnesota Twins	March 23, 2013	1:00pm ET	FOX Sports Florida
Toronto Blue Jays	March 27, 2013	1:00pm ET	Sun Sports

Local Rays fan finalist for MLB Fan Cave

by Aaron Giddens

One of our partners in Rodney's Archery Club, Stephanie Katz, is a finalist for the 2013 MLB Fan Cave. And she needs your help to reach it. She needs your vote on MLBFanCave.com to reach NYC.

The MLB Fan Cave, for those that don't know, is a location located at 4th St & Broadway in New York, New York where (as of last season) 9 "cave dwellers" live there and attempt to watch every single game of the season. Throughout the year, various players and artists and bands stop by the Fan Cave. The bands and artists even put on concerts.

Miss Katz, also known as @SkittyKatz on Twitter, become known to Rays fans everywhere when she distributed a picture of Luke Scott's face photoshopped on to Wolverine last season. The team even hung it in the dugout at one point. She's a member of the Rays Twitter Family and tweets live during Rays games. She owns a lot of Rays apparel and memorabilia.

Other than baseball, she enjoys Call of Duty and has an Xbox.

Can we help a Rays fan make it to the Fan Cave? Vote often!