Going through that at the time, maybe toward the All-Star break or at this time next year, it probably will be a pretty tough time,” he said. “It’s something I’m going to have to put it aside and let everything pan out for itself. Because I really have nothing to do with it. It’s not my decision. I don’t get to pick if I’m traded or where I’m traded to, stuff like that. It’s out of my hands. So I’m going to try and continue to play this game the same way I have. Go out there and have fun, keep a smile on my face and try to be a good teammate.”

If you think he’s going to stay, you take solace in this.

“I have never closed my eyes and envisioned myself in another uniform,” Price said. “I’ve never put much thought to that, I really haven’t. It’s something I haven’t done.

What’s going to happen? It’s not really not something we can be sure of. We heard reason for optimism a couple of weeks ago, but other well-known writers have made it sound like a Price trade is only a matter of time. The best thing to do is probably to just appreciate what the Rays have here and Price as long as it lasts and understand that the Rays are going to do anything they have to do to keep their in contention moving forward whether that happens with or without Price. Even as we try to avoid the whole matter, though, we have to ask the question: what do you think will happen between the Rays and Price?

Moving from the uncertain future to a figure who has figured prominently in baseball’s past, Don Zimmer, who will spend his 65th season in baseball in 2012. Zimmer told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times that he’s going to be limited this coming spring training and will make only a couple appearances a week as opposed to appearing every game as issues with his dialysis treatment has made it harder for him to relocate to Port Charlotte for the spring and he will instead commute there from his Seminole, FL home a few times a week. Zimmer has to be disappointed that he won’t figure as heavily in the Rays’ spring efforts this season, but he told Topkin that he has no complaints.

“(I’m) as ready as I can get. Everything’s all right. I can’t complain. Nobody wants to hear it anyhow.”

It always a joy to see Zimmer at Charlotte Sports Park every spring and his unbelievable knowledge of the game has been an invaluable resource to every player in the spring clubhouse since the moment he arrived. Best of luck to Zimmer keeping up on what will be a more limited spring training schedule but still an incredible experience for everyone involved.

Finally, Tampa native and ex-Yankees and Rays first baseman Tino Martinez talked at Derek Jeter‘s Turn Two Foundation event about the challenge of being a first-year hitting coach with the Miami Marlins next season.

“The whole idea coming in beforehand, he was going to go young, get rid of everybody and go young and totally rebuild, and wanted us to help rebuild the team,” Martinez said.  “And I thought, for me, as a first-year coach, it was a great situation to come into, to work with young players.”

Sean Rodriguez made an incredible play back in May that we did an entire breakdown of here at RCG, and Rodriguez was awarded ESPN Baseball Tonight’s #5 Web Gem of the 2012 MLB season. Here’s the play.

Congrats to Sean and hopefully he has more great plays ahead of him next season.

And finally, in a mailbag for the Rays’ official website, Bill Chastain talked about how Henry Wrigley and Leslie Anderson fit into the Rays’ major league situation at first base.

How come Leslie Anderson and Henry Wrigley are not given consideration for next year’s team given the need at first base? They both had a good season at Triple-A Durham last year.
– David L., St. Petersburg

I began to wonder that myself as the season progressed and both did so well at Triple-A. I have not seen Anderson play much, but I did see Wrigley play some during Spring Training, and I liked what I saw. When the September callups arrived to the Rays, I asked about Wrigley, and every player I talked to told me he seemed to hit the ball hard a lot. That being said, there is a huge difference between playing at the Triple-A level and the Major Leagues. The Rays have not addressed why they did not bring up either player.

As Chastain talks about, their inexperience is certainly a factor, and but the real reason Wrigley and Anderson don’t figure prominent in the Rays’ first base picture is the major flaws in their games that will make it tough for them to last as starting first basemen in the big leagues: for both of them, a lack of patience that puts their abilities to hit and hit for power in the major leagues in question. Both of them will continue to work to address those issues, but the Rays did not feel they were ready yet to contribute to the big league team in 2012.

Price, Joyce & Rodney among #Rays stopping by Longoria’s locker to wish him well. Looks like rehab trip is imminent. #MLB

— JB Long (@JB_Long) July 25, 2012

Longoria flew to Durham on Wednesday to get back into game action for the first time since he suffered a setback on June 18th. Longoria will hopefully get into games over the next couple of days, and if all goes well, Longoria will be back with the Rays within a week or a week in a half. The Rays can’t wait.

As first reported by Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times, Hideki Matsui has been designated for assignment for the Rays. The move was made to accomodate the newest Ray, Ryan Roberts, on the roster. Matsui’s stint with the Rays was a complete disaster. Matsui was once a superstar player in Japan and then in the US, and he was the picture of consistency and professionalism. It’s sad to see his career end like this. Roberts, meanwhile, slammed a 2-run homer in his Rays debut.

And one other note is that the Rays are bringing back the Don Zimmer Zim Bear promotion for their September 3rd game versus the Yankees. It’s always nice to honor Zimmer, but does anyone actually think these are cute?

Even in bear form, you can see in Zim the discerning eye of a baseball lifer.