Offtopic/fun » days.STRONG SECOND HALFRHP Jake

ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Eli Cain scored 21 points, Billy Garrett added 15 and DePaul defeated Lamar 80-61 on Tuesday night.The Blue Demons (5-2) went 12 of 15 from the line in the second half, shot 55 percent from the field (17 of 31) and werent challenge after a 13-2 run for a 55-35 lead with 10:07 to play. R.J. Curington, who had 11 points off the bench, finished the surge with a 3-point play and a layup.Cain and Garrett scored 10 points apiece in the first half when the Blue Demons made 12 of 16 free throws to open a 34-25 lead.TreDarius McCallum had 10 rebounds to go with eight points as DePaul outrebounded Lamar 45-30. The Blue Demons also had a 44-18 advantage on points in the paint. Cain went 10 of 13 from the line, career bests for attempts and makes.Reserves Dorian Chatman and Zjori Bosha had 21 and 10 points, respectively, for the Cardinals (4-4), who shot 30 percent (18 of 60). Gus Johnson Jersey . 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PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Rays insist they arent as bad as their worst finish in nearly a decade might suggest.You have to go all the way back to 2007, when the franchise was still known as the dreadful Devil Rays, for an inferior record to this years 68-94 mark that matched the second-worst in the majors and kept Tampa Bay in the basement of a division that sent three teams to the playoffs.Were not far off, manager Kevin Cash said. We all believe that.As strange as that might sound, considering the Rays finished 25 games behind AL East champion Boston and werent much closer (21 games) to division co-runner-ups Toronto and Baltimore, its not far-fetched if you accept the argument the season essentially was undermined by a stretch in which Tampa Bay dropped 22 of 25 games leading into the All-Star break.Injuries were a factor, most notably losing center fielder Kevin Kiermaier for nearly two months. But so was inconsistent starting pitching, which was expected to be a strength, and an overworked bullpen.One year after being a first-time All-Star, No. 1 starter Chris Archer lost 19 games. All-Star closer Alex Colome was outstanding, converting 37 of 39 save chances, but far too many games were out of reach by the late innings because the rest of the bullpen struggled to maintain leads or keep the score close.Evan Longoria had one of his best seasons offensively, batting .273 with a career-best 36 homers and 98 RBI. Two key offseason additions, Brad Miller and Corey Dickerson, added some much-needed power to the middle of a lineup that hit 216 homers (sixth in the majors) yet only ranked 25th in runs scored.In the middle of the season it got pretty dark. Weve sat around and talked about it -- the talent in this room is unquestionable. You look around and were just as good as any team across the majors, outfielder Steven Souza Jr. said.Were probably missing a couple parts that hopefully next year we can fill in, he added, but theres no reason that we cant compete for the AL East next year.FOR THE RECORDThe 2007 Devil Rays won 66 games. The franchise became the Rays the following year, which began a stretchh when Tampa Bay made the playoffs four times in six seasons.ddddddddddddThis is the third consecutive season the team has failed to reach the postseason.LONGOS RESURGENCELongoria appeared in at least 160 games for the fourth consecutive season, posting career highs for hits (173) and extra-base hits (81), in addition to home runs. He attributed some of the success to some adjustments he began making last offseason.I wasnt afraid to make changes that in the past I may have shied away from, whether it be stance or approach or things I had been working on in the cage, the third baseman said. For a long time I was a believer in just sticking with a routine and (hoping) that would get me back on track. Eventually it did at some point. It just took a lot longer than it did this year.MILLER TIMEThe Rays felt Miller would add some power to the lineup, but no one projected hed hit 30 homers and drive in 81 runs. He began the season as the everyday shortstop, but finished as the first baseman, where hell likely remain next year.COBBS RETURNRHP Alex Cobb returned in September from Tommy John surgery that sidelined him for all of 2015 and went 1-2 with an 8.59 ERA in five starts. The good news is he didnt have any setbacks health-wise.Were very thrilled with where hes at, Cash said. The most exciting thing is Alex is going to have a normal offseason, and come into spring training totally healthy, so we can pencil him in every five days.STRONG SECOND HALFRHP Jake Odorizzi rebounded from a rough stretch heading into the All-Star break to finish 10-6 with a 3.69 ERA in 33 starts. Hes another reason the Rays are confident their starting pitching should be better in 2017.We view him as much more than just your average starting pitcher. Hes young. Hes still learning what hes capable of doing, Cash said. I know the win-loss record. It is what it is. But for the innings that he goes out and provides, he keeps us in a ton of ballgames. More often than not, were going to find a way to win ballgames for him. ' ' '