(My Sportsbook) - As the month of August quickly approaches, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays will once again find themselves in last place in the American League East.

Far worse is the fact that the Devil Rays own the major league's worst record at 38-63. This situation is nothing new for the D'Rays, who have been one of the worst teams in the majors since their induction in 1998. Tampa Bay has nothing to cheer about at this point in the year, having lost six straight and 10 of their last 14 games overall.

The Devil Rays are currently 23 1/2 games out of first. At this point in the season, Tampa Bay's only role in the pennant race will be that of spoiler for teams pushing towards a playoff birth. Tampa Bay is coming off a horrific week in which they dropped six straight games at home to the New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles. Tampa Bay was dominated by the Orioles earlier this week, as they were outscored 19-11 during the three game set.

Tuesday night's opener may have been the most disappointing loss of the series, as the D'Rays were shutout 3-0. Starter Scott Kazmir pitched well in the loss, holding the Orioles to three runs on seven hits through 6 2/3 innings. However, Tampa Bay was anemic at the plate, registering just two hits on the night.

After a 6-1 loss on Wednesday night the Devil Rays failed to avoid the sweep in Thursday's finale, losing 10-7. Starter Edwin Jackson was awful again, allowing six runs on seven hits through 3 1/3 innings. The D'Rays bullpen pitched well for the most part, until Al Reyes entered the game and gave up four runs in the eighth inning. Tampa Bay finally got things going at the plate, registering 10 hits in the loss. Carlos Pena led the way with his 24th homer of the season.

Following the game manager Joe Maddon spoke about Jackson's performance.

"Today was a winnable game for us," Maddon said. "And when Edwin began today, he was throwing the ball really well, stuff wise. And his composure was good. Then they hit the ball, he wasn't getting the ball where he wanted to, he wasn't using his breaking ball as much as I would have like to (have) seen. Physically, stuff-wise, he was really good, he just got beat up a little bit."

D'RAYS WELCOME NEW FACES

It is not unusual for a team in the Devil Rays position to begin to look forward to next season and beyond. With Tampa Bay all but eliminated from playoff contention, it is expected that their roster will undergo some significant changes over the next two months. The D'Rays will experiment with their minor league players in hopes of finding a player who can help them next season. The first player to be given an opportunity to prove himself will be reliever Jaun Salas. However, Salas is not a rookie trying to make a name for himself, as he was a member of the bullpen in 2006.

Salas is returning to the pen after serving a 50-game suspension for testing positive for a performance enhancing drug on May 7th. Since that time Salas has been forced to work out on his own and enlist in Major League Baseball's drug prevention program. The right-hander was granted reinstatement on July 3rd and has spent the past few weeks in Triple-A Durham. During his stay in Durham, Salas proved that he was ready for another shot, posting a 1-0 record with a 2.08 ERA in seven appearances. Salas made his presence felt early in the season, compiling a 1-1 record with a 3.95 ERA in 15 appearances.

Salas has maintained his innocence and is still not sure of what he ingested that caused him to test positive. Whatever the case, the D'Rays are happy to have the 28-year-old reliever back in the bullpen. Maddon was counting on Salas to contribute this season, but was had to sit back and watch his bullpen fall by the wayside. Maddon commented on the affect that Salas' absence has had on the Devil Rays as a whole.

"He came off a great Minor League year last year," Maddon said of Salas. "And this season, we were counting on him a lot and it went away. So there's no telling what he would have done between then and now. But he was in our plans for this year, absolutely."

Salas has made two appearances since his return, pitching 2 1/3 scoreless innings during the Baltimore series.

HAMMEL EARNS SECOND START

Right-handed reliever Jason Hammel will make his second start of the season against the Boston Red Sox on Friday night. Hammel earned the start after a successful outing against the Yankees last Saturday in which he allowed just two runs on three hits through four strong innings. The D'Rays were forced to remove Hammel after the fourth inning because of a high pitch count, but were impressed with his performance. The Devil Rays will continue to monitor Hammel's pitch count until they feel his arm is strong enough to extend his innings pitched.

Prior to last Saturday's start, Hammel had made 10 appearances out of the bullpen this season. However, the right-hander is excited about the opportunity to become a starting pitcher.

"I've been waiting all year for this" Hammel said. "You've got to take the opportunity when you get it."

This is not Hammel's first stint as a starter for the Devil Rays. In 2006 he went 0-6 with a 7.77 ERA in nine starts. He also began the year as a starter for Triple-A Durham before being called up to help out in the bullpen.

Maddon and the rest of the D'Rays organization will keep an eye on Hammel's progress over the next two months and revaluate his long-term role with the club.

INJURY NEWS

Outfielder B.J. Upton was forced to leave Thursday afternoon's game against the Orioles due to an unspecified injury. Upton came up limp after a routine fly ball in the seventh inning. This is not the first injury of the year for Upton, who was cleared to play on July 13th after spending a month on the DL with a leg injury.

Right-hander Jay Witasick was placed on the 15-day DL on Monday after leaving last Saturday's loss to the Yankees with a swollen right elbow. Witasick only pitched one inning, but was immediately taken to the locker room for an examination. X-rays confirmed that Witasick has strained his right elbow. There is still no word as to when the reliever will be able to return.

WHO'S HOT

Delmon Young has come on strong, going 13-for-39 at the plate over his last 10 games. During that time he has five-multi hit performances and three RBI. On the season Young is batting .293 with nine home runs and 53 RBI.

WHO'S NOT

Catcher Dioner Navarro is slumping at the plate, going just 6-for-32 at plate over his last 10 gamers. Navarro went hitless during the Baltimore series, bringing his average to .178 on the season.

ON DECK

The Devil Rays will welcome the Boston Red Sox to town for a three-game set from Tropicana Field. Friday night's opener will feature Hammel (1-0, 5.82) and Tim Wakefield (11-9, 4.74). Saturday night's contest will be a showdown between James Shields (8-6, 4.44) and Jon Lester (1-0, 3.00), before Kazmir (7-7, 4.02) and Daisuke Matsuzaka (12-7, 3.79) take the mound for Sunday's finale.