We’ll start with the positives. David Price has been nominated as a finalist for the Roberto Clemente Award for the MLB player who ”best represents the game of baseball through positive contributions on and off the field, including sportsmanship and community involvement.” Price was nominated thanks to the work of his charity, Project One Four, and his work with the Boys and Girls Clubs and Big Brother Big Sister among other charities both in his hometown of Nashville, Tennessee and in the Tampa Bay area. For more information on Price’s charitable work and to vote for him to win the award, please head here. Price received $7,500 to divide among his charities just for getting nominated, and if he wins, only more good will come of it. Good luck to Price and all the other finalists.

Roger Mooney of Tampa Bay Online talked to Alex Cobb and Joe Maddon about the altercation between Cobb and Molina after Cobb’s start on Friday. They are saying that everything was blown out of proportion simply because emotions flared up at the wrong time and it was caught on TV.

“It’s very common,” Cobb said. “Most of the time it’s where the cameras can’t see or one will pull one aside and say something when one doesn’t like what the other one is doing and they’ll talk about it behind closed doors. But in the heat of the moment in the game last night it just came out where it did in the dugout.”

The tensions in the Rays dugout have really reached a tipping point after a tough stretch. The Rays have to find some way to get themselves back together to finish off the season.

And we close with a negative note. Right-hander Brett Blaise, an nondrafted free agent signee by the Rays this year, has been suspended 50 games after testing positive for an amphetamine. The suspension will begin next season if there is a next season for Blaise as his career was hanging by a thread to begin with and this may be the end for him. Blaise becomes the seventh Rays minor leaguer suspended for drug use this season, most in baseball. Five of them tested positive for amphetamines. This is a really serious issue. 7 of the 96 players suspended for drug use this year have been Rays, and it doesn’t look like a fluke- if the number of suspensions is really divided evenly among all 30 MLB organizations, there is just a 1.5% chance of such an extreme value as we have seen for the Rays this year occurring. Why the Rays? Is it just a cutthroat environment knowing that the Rays aren’t going to be sentimental with you and are going to do whatever they can to keep costs down? Is it the fact that the Rays have a great farm system (although people dispute that now)? There have been and there are going to be people fired over this and hopefully this year is an aberration because this is a really serious problem.

Typically, in our look around the Rays minor league teams, we go from AAA to the Gulf Coast League. However, we start with the Princeton Rays, as they finished a game that began last night.

Princeton Rays 12, Pulaski Mariners 9 (23 innings)

After 23 innings and a combined 7 hours, 48 minutes, the Princeton Rays finally dispatched the Pulaski Mariners 12-9. Andrew Toles and William Argo led off the top of the 23rd with consecutive HBPs,  and scored as Domingo Brazoban committed a throwing error on an Oscar Hernandez ground ball. Hernandez ended up on third on the play, and scored on a Reid Redman single. Redman scored on a sacrifice fly later in the frame. The Mariners threatened in the bottom of the inning, loading the bases with one out. However, they were only able to scratch across one run, as Princeton held off the rally. Christopher Kirsch picked up the victory, pitching the final 1.1 innings of the game, as he gave up 1 earned run on 2 hits and a walk.

Now, on to today’s games:

Durham Bulls 5, Gwinnett Braves 3

Scoreless though six innings, the Bulls offense woke up in the bottom of the seventh, scoring four times in the 5-3 victory. Stephan Vogt hit a two run triple with one out, and later scored on a Leslie Anderson single. Anderson scored on a Chris Gimenez double. The Braves put up three in the top of the eighth, as Ernesto Mejia hit a three run home run. The Bulls tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the inning, securing the victory. Vogt was 3-4 with a triple, a run scored, a walk, and 3 RBIs. Evan Longoria was 0-4 with a walk.

Jacksonville Suns 2, Montgomery Biscuits 0

For the first time since May, the Biscuits were shutout, as they lost to the Jacksonville Suns 2-0. Both runs scored in the bottom of the fourth inning, as Shawn Bowman and Ben Lasater hit consecutive RBI singles with one out. The Biscuits never really threatened to score, as two unsuccessful stolen base attempts nipped potential rallies before they could even start. Graham Taylor picked up the win for Jacksonville, allowing 7 hits and 2 walks in 8 innings, while striking out 5 batters. Hak-Ju Lee had a base hit, extending his streak of getting on base to 46 games.

Jupiter Hammerheads 4, Charlotte Stone Crabs 1

The Hammerheads scored twice in the third and twice more in the seventh, taking a 4-1 victory over the Charlotte Stone Crabs. With two out in the bottom of the third, Christian Yelich hit a two run home run, giving Jacksonville an early 2-0 lead. The Stone Crabs cut the lead in half in the top of the fifth, as Cody Rogers hit a solo home run with two out. The Hammerheads pulled away in the bottom of the seventh, as Marcell Ozuna and Mark Canha each hit RBI singles. Zack Neal picked up the win, allowing 1 earned run on 4 hits and 1 walk through 6 innings, striking out 1 batter.

Great Lakes Loons 8, Bowling Green Hot Rods 6 (11 innings)

Tied 5-5 after the fourth, what promised to be an offensive explosion morphed into a duel of the bullpens. In the end, the Loons came away with the victory in eleven innings, winning 8-6. Jesus Arredono drove in the winning run with a two-out double, and scored on a single by O’Koyea Dickson. Nick Akins hit two home runs for the Loons, both solo shots in the second and fifth. Arredondo and Dickson each had three hits. For the Hot Rods, Drew Vettleson, Cameron Seitzer, Matt Rice, and Juniel Querecuto each had two hits. Austin Hubbard took the loss, giving up 2 earned runs on 3 hits and  walk in his 1 inning of work.

State College Spikes 1, Hudson Valley Renegades 0

The Renegades’ five game winning streak was snapped, as the Spikes shut out Hudson Valley 1-0. The lone run came when Derek Trent lined a one out double, and scored on a throwing error on Jodanelli Carvajal ground ball to first. The Renegades threatened to score in the fourth and sixth innings, but were unable to push a run across. Jeff Ames pitched well, getting a no decision after allowing 3 hits and 2 walks in 5.2 innings, striking out 6 batters.

Pulaski Mariners 7, Princeton Rays 5

The Mariners scored three times in the first, and three more times in the fifth, as they held off a comeback by the Rays to win 7-5. The Mariners loaded the bases with no one out in the first, scoring on a sacrifice fly, an error, and a base hit. In the fifth, Pulaski started the inning with two base hits, before a flyout drove in the fourth run of the game. A wild pitch and a Phillips Castillo double brought in the next two runs. Princeton came back in the top of the sixth, scoring three times, highlighted by a two run single by Darryl George with the bases loaded. Despite scoring single runs in the top of the seventh and eighth, the Rays were unable to complete the comeback. George finished the night 3-4 with 3 RBI in the loss. Jonathan Weaver fell to 0-5, giving up 3 runs (2 earned) on 3 hits and 5 walks in 4 innings, with 2 strikeouts.

GCL Orioles 11, GCL Rays 1

The Rays jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second, as Adderly Rosa drove in Cesar Perez. The lead held up until the top of the fifth inning, when the Orioles exploded, scoring 11 runs in the next four frames to run away with the 11-1 victory. Manuel Hernandez had a three run home run, and Hector Volez and Dan Pelligrino each drove in two runs for the Orioles. Jorge Rodriguez took the loss, giving up 4 runs on 7 hits in 4.2 innings. Brett Blaise was shelled in his .2 innings, giving up 4 runs (3 earned) on 2 hits and 2 walks. Rosa, Bralin Jackson, and Armando Araiza each had two hits in the loss.

Tomorrow, Saturday June 30th, is Turn Back the Clock Night as the Rays and Tigers both wear throwback uniforms and Earth, Wind, and Fire will perform after the game. One problem: the Rays don’t have a throwback uniform! Well, no minor league uniforms this time, instead they’ll wear their 1979 throwback that doesn’t really exist. Well, the Rays did not exist in 1979, but the “throwbacks” do now. If you haven’t seen a picture yet, here’s Joe Maddon wearing the uniform.

In a related note, here’s Rays mascot DJ Kitty rocking out to Earth, Wind, and Fire’s famous hit “Groove.”

In other bizarre news, an out-of-town police chief attending the Rays game on June 16th at the Trop somehow got hit by a bullet while sitting in the Trop. No one has any idea exactly how that happen, but luckily everyone was fine. Next time you’re at the Trop, you never know what you’ll see.

In a more cool than crazy note, the Rays have signed left-handed pitcher Brett Blaise out of NAIA Bellhaven University, and he’s an interesting prospect, especially for a NDFA. There was an interesting article about Blaise in The Dispatch yesterday.

Then a month ago, Blaise sat for three days and watched the 2012 Major League Baseball draft without seeing his name come up on his computer.

At that moment, he seriously contemplated what he’d be doing with his life with his baseball career on life support.

“I’m not going to lie because there was a thought of what kind of job can I start to look for in the real world,” Blaise said. “I figured I’d get a shot in pro ball but you’re never completely sure.”

Two weeks ago all the hard work and perseverance proved to be worth it when he the Tampa Bay Rays organization called saying they had a roster spot available on their Rookie League team.

“They told me over the phone that they were impressed with what they saw live in my starts at Belhaven and were surprised I didn’t get drafted,” Blaise said. “My parents were so excited. My dad has been here already when he travels for work and my mom loves baseball more than I do so she gets to say her son is a pro ballplayer.”

His coaches at Belhaven promised Blaise they would get him looked at by scouts and player personnel executives and are just as excited as the player himself that their phone calls to professional teams didn’t go without benefit.

“We are very happy that Brett has signed a pro contract with the Rays,” said Belhaven Assistant Head Coach and Pitching Coach Clay Smith. “He has worked extremely hard to become a quality pitcher and hopefully the organization will give him a chance to continue to improve. He has the ability to be really good if given the opportunity.”

Less than a week after that phone call which revived the dream, Blaise was on the mound in Port Charlotte, Fla., last Tuesday making his professional debut for the Rookie League team for the Tampa Bay Rays in the Gulf Coast League. After dealing with the appropriate set of nerves, Blaise pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout in the process of getting a hold in a 3-2 victory.

It’s nice for Blaise that he gets to give his baseball career a try, but although he works in relief, he may have some promise. Blaise, 22, is an extremely projectable 6’5″, 195, and Blaise already throws in the 90-92 MPH range with his fastball with a halfway-decent curveball, although he struggles to control his pitches, walking 59 combined to 48 strikeouts at Bellhaven in 2012. Blaise has gotten off to a nice start to his professional career, allowing 1 run on 3 hits in 2 appearances, striking out 4 while walking none.