Rays excise three, including Price, from major-league camp

The Rays optioned three players from the major-league spring roster today: pitcher David Price, outfielder Justin Ruggiano and pitcher Jae Kuk Ryu.

Tampa Bay's spring roster stands at 47.

The Rays sent pitchers Wade Davis, Jake McGee and James Houser, catchers Matt Spring and John Jaso and outfielder Fernando Perez to minor-league camp Monday.

Lugnuts: Biscuits didn't want any

The Lansing Lugnuts say that the Biscuits just avoided the inevitable by losing in the first round of CNBC's minor-league logo tournament.

"I was actually looking forward to taking them on," said Lugnuts broadcaster Brad Tillery, a Montgomery native and former Biscuits employee who tried to claim he wasn't pulling a Joe Namath.

"I think both are equally great," Tillery said.

The Lugnuts will take on the upstart Casper Ghosts in the second round and Tillery is wary.

"Casper is going to be tough to take down," Tillery said before channeling Nuke LaLoosh. "I think the game plan is to give it our best on the field every day and, good Lord willing, we'll win."

Tillery welcomed any Montgomery votes in support of the Lugnuts. "We're not opposed to crossover voting," he said.

Biscuits out in top-seeded disgrace

I hear a chant in the distance, somewhere over the horizon. Yep, in the direction of Casper, Wyo., the home of the Casper Ghosts. Yep, the celebrating has started by mocking the vanquished.

O-ver-ra-ted. [Clap. Clap. Clap-clap-clap.]

The Montgomery Biscuits, a top seed in a CNBC minor-league logo tournament, wiped the smile off Monty's face today, falling in the first round to the 16th-seeded Ghosts.

There will be no recount. There will be no revote. There will be no Texas-style caucus to follow the popular vote. With 3,823 votes cast, the Ghosts drew 52 percent of the vote, which works out to about a 150-vote margin.

May I suggest a new theme song for Monty?

Rings the thing, especially for Spring

Certain Rays will show some new bling Wednesday. The Biscuits are scheduled to hand out their championship rings -- and the Columbus Catfish will, too.

Matt Spring will be a two-time winner. The Biscuits are including him on their list and he was with the Catfish when they won the South Atlantic League title.

Seven others who weren't on the active roster when Montgomery won the Southern League are getting rings, too. Rhyne Hughes and Josh Arhart were on the disabled list, Jon Barratt was on the deactive list, James Houser was suspended, and Dale Thayer, Evan Longoria and Brooks Badeaux were at Triple-A Durham.

Biscuits top seed in logo tournament

The Montgomery Biscuits are a No. 1 seed in a March Madness-style minor-league logo tournament being run by CNBC.com.

The Biscuits are facing the 16th-seeded Casper Ghosts of the Pioneer League in a first-round matchup. Voting lasts through 8 a.m. Central on Tuesday.

Voting, as of 6:35 p.m. Monday, has the Biscuits with 54 percent of the 1,861 votes cast.

"As you know," Biscuits voice Jim Tocco said, "in March Madness, a 16 has never beaten a 1."

An interesting possible matchup looms in the second round. The Montgomery-Casper winner takes on either the Akron Aeros or the, ahem, Lansing Lugnuts. The Biscuits and Lugnuts share the same owners.

"How do the Biscuits end up in the same region as the Lugnuts?" Tocco said. "I'd like to have faced the Lugnuts a little later in the competition."

No, he didn't sound confident. Tocco was confident that the organizational rivalry will be stoked, if both advance.

"I'm sure there will be intra-office arguing on which team should win," Tocco said, "if the two teams should face each other in the second round."