Trouble in the Bay

Theres a bit of an issue brewing in Tampa Bay. You guessed it, it is surrounding Elijah Dukes. Dukes recent slump has some people wondering if Dukes will be sent to AAA. Well, first things fist, he isn't going anywhere until Baldelli comes off the DL and proves he is out of the slump he's been in almost the whole season. If that happens, the question becomes, is it worth keeping Dukes in the DH role even if his bat is below the Mendoza Line? Well, there may be more to it: Yahoo! reports that even if they want to send Dukes to AAA, they may not because, the Durham Bulls (the Devil Rays AAA affiliate) has told the Devil Rays they don't want him back.

Its hard to sell low but I imagine that Dukes will be playing for a different team before the end of the 2008 season. A team is going to be willing to take on the off the field problems, just maybe not the Devil Rays -- or the Durham Bulls for that matter.