I’d like to know what your thoughts have been on him so far this year. He was great last year, but hasn’t shown that same dominance this season so far. I’m ashamed to admit it, but I’m a little disappointed so far. I hope I’m wrong about him, but perhaps he was a little overrated or at the very least, not as ready as we were told for the Majors.
In case you hadn’t noticed, the Rays have used about 1,427 different second baseman in camp this year to fill in for Akinori Iwamura while he represents Japan in the World Baseball Classic. Is this just a function of the Rays wanting to find out who is best suited to fill in for Aki in an emergency, or are the Rays’ motives more sinister? Could the Rays be looking to deal Aki to a team in need of an infielder, exploring their own internal options for replacing him?
Generally speaking, Aki is affordable for this year – the last non-option year of his contract – so it wouldn’t surprise me if he would be attractive to a team like the Cardinals who need a second baseman while the Skip Schumaker experiment fails. The Yankees could use a fill-in third baseman, but I can’t imagine the Rays dealing him that way. The Astros’ infield needs some love, too. There’s no shortage of teams – I think – that would want a middle infielder, especially since the Rays have Willy Aybar, Adam Kennedy, Ben Zobrist, and Reid Brignac all chillin’ in Port Charlotte right now.
What do you think?
Rumors abound that Wade Davis has thrust himself into contention for a spot in the Rays’ starting rotation this year thanks to his whopping 5 innings of work in the Grapefruit League.
Ignoring the fact that – technically – anyone in camp has a CHANCE of making the roster (for instance, if 5 other shortstops end up dying in a plane crash, Tim Beckham might start the year at short), do you really think there’s anything to this, or is it merely an attempt to give a young guy some confidence?
I go for the latter, myself. I can’t imagine that David Price, Jeff Niemann, and Jason Hammel will all pitch poorly enough (or get hurt) to make it so that Davis makes the roster. Right now, that’s his only chance. Still, I think its safe to say that he WILL see some innings for the big club at some point this year.
Sorry for the lateness today everyone – I’ve been swamped like mad at work today.
I don’t mean to revist a topic that is 4 months old, but I seem to hear Edwin Jackson’s name come up quite a bit on MLB on XM and on MLB Network when talking about the Tigers’ off-season. Universally, the baseball pundits seem to think the Tigers got a “steal” in picking up a guy who won 14 games last season and only having to give up Matt Joyce.
Aside from a few good baseball card numbers, when did Edwin Jackson become this great pitcher who changes a pitching staff? When did he become exponentially more valuable than a guy that could reasonably project to something like an .850 OPS everyday at the big league level? When did he become the kind of guy you can build your staff around? Because that’s how these guys are talking.
Supposed “experts” can’t understand how the Rays would trade away a guy that had 14 wins last season. It’s like pitcher wins are the be-all end-all of baseball statistics. Is this a practice that’s ever going to change, or have I just gotten too bright at my old age? The Rays did get a pretty good deal in that trade, right?
I’m not sure how I feel about you guys letting me get away with not putting up Lunch Break topics for like 2 weeks. What the heck, man? :)
Anyways, I’ve got one that’s a little bit more fun for you, today. I play a computer game called Out of the Park Baseball, and a few years ago I was a member of an Online league called Baseball Maelstrom. This league was unique in that it had your normal GM moves and everything, but every team also had one historical player that it could not trade or release, essentially signed to a lifetime contract with the club. So, the Yankees would always have Babe Ruth and the Cardinals would always have Stan Musial.
This league didn’t include the Rays or the Diamondbacks, but if it were to re-open its doors, which player do you think you’d want as “forever a Ray” based on his time with the team? Carl Crawford? Scott Kazmir? Maybe James Shields based on the past couple of seasons? What if the game let you consider a player’s entire body of work before coming to the Rays? Does Jose Canseco make the cut? What about Wade Boggs?
If you can only include the body of work with the Rays, then I’d probably go with James Shields. Of course, you could argue that we already know that Evan Longoria or David Price are going to be studs, so you could go that route, too. I’m curious to see which way you’d go if you were starting a team in Baseball Maelstrom.
Everyone’s favorite super-agent is at it again, blaming the Rays and Pat Burrell for blocking the market for corner outfielders this off-season. Murray Chass has the full story:
“Bradley got a good contract; Ibanez got a good contract,” Boras said. “The contract that blocked the market for corner outfielders was Burrell.”
Greg Genske, Burrell’s agent, “took a bad deal,” Boras said. “The corner outfield market stopped. You’re talking about a frozen market.”
Ibanez signed with Philadelphia for 3 years and $31.5 million, Bradley with the Chicago Cubs for 3 years and $30 million. They are both represented by Sam and Seth Levinson. Burrell agreed to a 2-year, $16 million contract with Tampa Bay.
Genske, who also represents Dunn, did not return telephone calls seeking comment. Neither did Peter Greenberg, who is Abreu’s agent. Anderson doesn’t have a listed agent.
I think my favorite part is the “Ibanez got a good contract” line. Yes, that was a very good contract – FOR IBANEZ. The Phillies screwed up big-time commiting nearly double the money for Raul Ibanez than the Rays had to commit for Pat Burrell. Does a lot of his have to do with Pat the Bat wearing out his welcome in Philly and, perhaps, that he really wanted to play in Florida? Sure. But that Ibanez contract – especially with how the market has shaken down – is an AWFUL one for the Phillies. They undoubtedly overpaid for “character” and “leadership” in that case.
Meanwhile, Burrell is to blame for taking a nice contract with a good team that gives him a chance to play in baseball’s premier devision for the next 2 years with a chance to reach the World Series again. Plus, he’ll be young enough when the contract is up that, if he puts up solid numbers, will be able to cash in again on a nice deal. For shame, Pat! For shame! You’ve made it tough on the Bobby Abreu’s, Ken Griffey’s, and Garret Anderson’s of the world! HOW DARE YOU!?!
What do you think? Is it fair to blame Pat Burrell, his agent, and the Rays for the glut of outfielders on the market? Or should the agents of said players be blamed for either declining arbitration (and failing to be proactive to the market) or refusing to lower their demands?
The lunch break is a little bit late today – sorry guys!
Word around the Internets is that Dioner Navarro and Willy Aybar are still in negotiations related to long-term deals with the club. I want to focus exclusively on Navarro for a moment. How many catchers can you honestly say that you’d rather have than our short little wide load behind the plate?
Save for Giovanny Soto and Russell Martin, are there really that many other catchers you want to try and build around right now? Navarro has got age on his side, and for all intents and purposes, his defense was much improved in ‘08. Matt Wieters may one day be a bigger star than Navarro, but how many other catchers would you honestly rather have under control – when both this year AND 5 years from now are considered – than Navarro?
Let’s hear what you have to think.
Holy Moses! Have you looked at the list of free agents that’s still available? Unlike last year, when Marc Topkin made himself look like an idiot by calling one of the worst collections of talent a “pretty good” team, there actually is a pretty good collection of talent available right now, especially if it’s the year 1999.
Pudge Rodriguez, Nomar Garciaparra, Orlando Hudson, Orlando Cabrera, Ty Wigginton, Manny Ramirez, Jim Edmonds, Adam Dunn, Bobby Abreu, Ben Sheets, Mark Mulder, Pedro Martinez, and Jason Isringhausen – among many others – are still out there for the taking, yet there don’t seem to be many buyers. I’m not saying you’ll ride the above collection of talent to the playoffs, but it’s not exactly a list of scrubs, either.
In the case of Manny Ramirez, it’s a bit of a head-scratcher, since the dude is still one of the elite mashers in the game. I know he comes with more baggage than Paris Hilton taking a three-day weekend, but he’s still an elite-level player in a market that doesn’t have that many of them available. It’s likely that once he finds a home (which, by the way, I believe will be back in Los Angeles), the rest of the chips will follow, with Adam Dunn (Washington?) and Bobby Abreu (Mets, despite what they are saying?) landing jobs shortly thereafter.
I guess the bigger question is why are these guys sitting around on the open market for so long? I figure it’s a combination of a few factors:
You can also argue that each of the available players is, in some way, shape, or form, considered “damaged goods.” Of the players already mentioned, Manny’s got his interpersonal (re: problems with management) to deal with. Bobby Abreu has been labeled a defensive wreck (though he’s not quite as bad as the New York media would like you to believe). Adam Dunn strikes out about 3 times per game (give or take 2 times), and isn’t exactly Joe DiMaggio with the glove. Each one of them has an issue that a team could use to talk itself out of picking up the phone.
So, let’s talk about it. Why are these players sitting out there still? Will most of them get signed? Where do you think they’ll end up?
ESPN.com is reporting that Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig took home $18 million last year, up 22% from the previous year. The article goes on to state that, in the MLB, Bud’s salary is surpassed only by four Yankees: Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Roger Clemens, and Jason Giambi.
[Update:] Apparently Roger Clemens just missed the mark, only having earned $17,442,637.
A penny for your thoughts? (Bud could probably spare a few!)
Hey, remember these? I give you some kind of question or comment or something to ponder, and you respond back with your opinions on whatever said thing was. Then we spend the rest of the afternoon ignoring our work and replying back and forth with our opinions. It’s really a tried-and-true system that will stand the test of time.
Today’s topic of discussion is that overstocked cupboard known as the Rays’ bullpen. Don’t get me wrong, an overflowing bullpen is a tremendous problem to have (and much preferable to flipping a coin between Brian Stokes and Shawn Camp). Still, there will eventually be some hard decisions to make unless massive injuries and/or a couple of trades happen.
By my count, the following players are either under contract with the Rays or will be on their way to Spring Training trying to win jobs in the bullpen:
Please, if I’m forgetting anyone, let me know.
I’ve bolded the 7 that I feel would be in the Rays’ bullpen if the season started right now. Jeff Niemann is probably the hard-luck loser of that bunch, though giving David Price a few more starts in AAA could net him a job anyways. Jason Hammel is, if I remember correctly, out of options, so the Rays might try to find a way to sneak him onto the roster (a Troy Percival injury, perhaps?) for the short-term until they can find a suitor for him. Derek Rodriguez, despite being a Rule 5 pick, is more likely to be back in Chicago or the product of a return-and-trade so that he can be sent to Durham. I just don’t see him starting the year on the Rays’ roster.
That money spent on Lance Cormier doesn’t really look all that necessary now, does it?
