Tampa Bay Sports Blog

   Time to wrap up the Rays season. What a season we had here, never saw this coming. I thought, the same as everyone else, the Rays would improve but not to this extent. Let’s wrap it up…

• The defense: The most dramatically improved thing on this team was the defense. The arrival of Jason Bartlett and Evan Longoria made this into the best left side defense in baseball. I was skeptical of Bartlett in the beginning (no need to bring my stupidity there again) as he had some unexplained throwing errors early but recovered to have a great season (should’ve got the gold glove over Young in my opinion). Longo was great defensively from day one and that’s that. Aki transitioned nicely over to second and Pena (won gold glove) was phenomenal. Having Pena at the corner saved Barty and Longo at least 5 errors a piece. Navarro’s improvement behind the plate was far and away the most amazing difference I saw. He was such a different player all around this year that I want to compare images from last season to see if this is the same guy. Unreal! Crawford and Upton were very good and have the speed to make up for other mistakes they might make. Right field was our problem child but Gabe Gross, Eric Hinske, Nathan Haynes (remember him?), Jonny Gomes (worst of all), Rocco and Fernando Perez did good enough to stay out of the conversation. Riggans did fine as a backup and Ben Zobrist was also good enough in learning new positions that he warranted to complaints. Willy Aybar was a godsend. He started the year at third and gave up his spot to Evan after getting injured. When he returned he helped fill the voids left by Pena and Longoria while they were injured (separately of course).
• The starting pitching: The pitchers improvement was made by maturation and the defense if you ask me. James Shields continued his development into an innings eating machine who we can count on every fifth day to give us a quality start. Kazmir started great after his injury and reverted back to the 5 inning 100 pitch nightmare we’ve gotten too used to. I still think he was pitching through injuries as his slider was gone and we saw hitters make better contact off of him than ever before. Matt Garza was better than advertised and he should improve as he gets his emotions under control. Sonny ate innings as we expected and showed the mental toughness of an ace. Edwin Jackson pitched better than anyone expected. I would like to see more strikeouts from a power arm like his, but it’s hard to complain about 14 wins. We also saw the arrival of David Price. Not much to say there except, hello king David! Now either Sonny or EJax has to give way to Price, one of those nice problems we’ve heard about but rarely seen here. We also saw Jeff Niemann, Mitch Talbot and Jason Hammel make starts. Hammel should be a starter, just not here. Niemann and Talbot could be swingmen or trade bait. We also were lucky here in that there were no major injuries and we basically saw the same five guys all year. That’s a great accomplishment for that reason and for the fact that all five guys performed well enough to stay in the rotation.
• The bullpen: The second most surprising turnaround to me. JP Howell went from prospect on the bubble to a dominating short inning reliever who has become invaluable to this team. I gotta admit, I didn’t see that one coming. Howell not only dominated lefty’s but he shut down righty’s as well. Dan Wheeler rebounded from his bad showing after getting him back from Houston last season and was very good at the setup and closer roles. Grant Balfour was unhittable after his early season demotion and Trevor Miller did enough to get by. Troy Percival was very good until his age and weight caught up with him and his career should be over now. Jason Hammel played the villain role as the mop up/long relief guy and was doing decent until the meltdown against the Yanks. Chad Braford was a nice late season acquisition who performed well in his first round with the team. We saw Juan Salas, Mitch Talbot, Scott Dohman and Kurt Birkins make appearances and we said goodbye to Gary Glover and Al Reyes (yay!). Again this historical improvement I attribute to maturing and the defense.
• The offense: The offense was average for the most part all year and did enough to win. Longoria should be rookie of the year, Pena performed as expected and Aki continued his transition into the leadoff role. We saw down seasons from Upton (until the playoffs) and Crawford, mostly due to injuries. We saw marked improvement from Navarro who finished with the highest batting average at .295 (not .300 though, sorry Cork) and Jason Bartlett. Both of these guys shut me up with authority and became two guys I really like having now. Aybar was awesome off the bench filling in when needed. Gross had some big hits that we didn’t count on out of him. Zobrist and Hinske were good for some bombs at the right times. Floyd was decent at the DH role. Gomes played his way back to the minors (hopefully out of town) and Riggans did what a backup catcher should do. This is the area of the team you could say disappointed and needs to be improved on in the off-season.

   Overall it was the best season we’ve had and looks to be the start of something very special here. These guys are young for the most part and are still learning. Much of the way Her Rays thinks now, maybe there’s something to the fact that this was my first year blogging, it was the first winning season in Rays history. I only hope that I can improve as much as these guys did. It was a season that was great for me as I said it was my first year doing this site, it was the first year my son really got into baseball and it has given us all a sense of excitement that we’ve never had here before. I’ve heard people telling me that they can’t wait for next year already, that’s never been said to me before! Thanks to everyone out there who supported me, especially Rays Index.  Great season guys!

Technorati Tags: Akinori Iwamura, Al Reyes, Andy Sonnanstine, Ben Zobrist, BJ Upton, Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, Chad Bradford, Cliff Floyd, Dan Wheeler, David Price, Eric Hinske, Evan Longoria, Fernando Perez, Gabe Gross, Gary Glover, Grant Balfour, J.P. Howell, James Shields, Jason Bartlett, Jason Hammel, Jeff Niemann, Jonny Gomes, Juan Salas, Kurt Birkins, Matt Garza, Mitch Talbot, Nathan Haynes, Rocco Baldelli, Scott Dohman, Scott Kazmir, Shawn Riggans, Tampa Bay Rays, Trevor Miller, Troy Percival, Willy Aybar

   The Rays have chosen the buyouts on Cliff Floyd and Trevor Miller for ‘09 and are now heading into the off-season with some holes to fill. I would expect Floyd to retire and Miller to latch on somewhere else as lefty relievers are always needed by someone. In the meantime, the rumors are starting to swirl about who’s going where and what not so I’ll do my best to keep up with them. That said, you’re better served checking MLB Trade Rumors and Tim Dierkes for the up to date rumor mill. The Rays are being linked to Pat Burrell already and it should be a fun off-season as the team is now a place players want to be. I’m putting together a season wrap up now for the Rays and look for a piece later in the week where I’ll put my thoughts on potential Rays targets for the winter meetings.

Technorati Tags: Cliff Floyd, Pat Burrell, Tampa Bay Rays, Trevor Miller

There are numerous reasons to think the Rays will or won’t make the playoffs. We know them all down here. I have watched and been a fan of this team since it’s inception and I, along with everyone else here, have been waiting for that breakout year like the Bucs or the Lightning had. The Rays compare more to the Bucs for me as I believe this is the first of many years of relevance. The Lightning had a more of a flash and dash type of thing and have struggled to remain a power since their Stanley Cup victory. The Bucs have been up and down since their Super Bowl run yet were “almost” there many times before. It’s hard to predict what the Rays will be. Here are some reasons to think they won’t make the playoffs.

• The Pink Sox will make a run as they’ve been there before and have the firepower to overcome mediocre pitching.
• The Rays have yet to really slump yet this year. Aside from the losing streak going into the all-star break, they haven’t stumbled over themselves too much.
• Injuries have started to hit at the wrong time. Crawford, Longoria and Percival are down and the only one of those three I would really count on contributing down the stretch would be Longo.
• They have the toughest schedule in baseball in September with a horrific 9 game road trip going to Toronto, Boston and New York. They follow that up with Boston and Minnesota at home. Pretty scary!

Now for some reasons to think they will make the big show.

• They seem to win games that make no sense. They win with timely hits, quality pitching and great defense. Not that that doesn’t make sense but there are no guys putting up superstar like numbers and it’s a different guy every night getting it done. We’ve had clutch hits from reserve players like Aybar, Gross and Riggans. How can you count on that?
• They are winning without Longoria, Crawford and Percival. In this same note they’re winning while not getting the production they thought they would from guys like Upton, Crawford and Pena. Pena and Upton have been better lately along with Floyd and Hinske and you could argue that they all might get hot down the stretch. It also appears that Kazmir may be shaking off his recent struggles so that helps.
• They have a large enough lead at this point that they should at least get a wild card.

Let’s throw all that crap aside now and point out the number one reason that we should know that the Rays will make it to the playoffs. Skip Bayless has jumped off the bandwagon. That’s right, with this genius finally jumping off the Rays train we can all rest comfortably. This is the guy who picks against everything sane and goes with the most outrageous predictions he can find. I find Bayless entertaining and I’m sure part of his agenda is meant to be over the top, but if he picks against you then you are destined for great things. I will now prematurely congratulate the Rays on their playoff birth based on this alone!

Technorati Tags: BJ Upton, Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, Cliff Floyd, Eric Hinske, Evan Longoria, Gabe Gross, Scott Kazmir, Shawn Riggans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Tampa Bay Rays, Troy Percival, Willy Aybar

   I have to take a minute and get on B.J. Upton since no one else seems to want to. I’m completely sick of hearing the excuses being made for Upton by people saying he’s an “effortless athlete”. Let’s clear this up now. He is a very smooth athlete who CAN do things other can’t in a effortless manner. The problem is he is more of an athlete with no effort. I’m sick of watching him dog it down to first, make bonehead decisions and loaf after balls in the gap. More so though, I’m sick of no one doing anything about it. Grow a pair Maddon! The coddling of this whiny ass in CF has gotten out of control. We’re already in a situation where the Rays have no real candidate to play center and yank this jerk out of the lineup when he does this crap, but no one seems to want to let him know about it. Why did we sign Cliff Floyd again? Oh that’s right, as a “mentor” to our young players like Upton and Crawford. Do something Cliff! It’s so aggravating because B.J. IS so talented. This is what made me lose it in last night’s game. In the first inning Upton hit a ball up the middle to second and the second baseman Mark Grudzielanek couldn’t make the out at second and threw to first to get B.J. If Upton had ran hard down the line, like you’re taught to do, he would have easily beaten this out. This really got to me a couple innings later  when Grudzielanek made a throwing error to second and B.J. made a very heads up play and went to third. He showed on this play how freakin fast he is when he RUNS! There are only a handful of guys in the league that could’ve made it to third on that play, and Upton is one of them. I know that athletes are Prima Donna’s now and it’s hard to get in their face about this stuff but at least try. It’s a shitty thing to see a talented guy like Upton let his whiny punk ass attitude get in the way of his progress. This is why I would like to see a guy like Ruggiano or Fernando Perez on the big league club so there is someone you can put out there when you need to check this guy. This needs to stop. Grow some balls Rays and discipline this guy when he needs it!

Scott Brannelly

Technorati Tags: BJ Upton, Carl Crawford, Cliff Floyd, Fernando Perez, Joe Maddon, Justin Ruggiano, Mark Grudzielanek, Tampa Bay Rays

   The series in Boston is pretty much going the way I thought it would. I’m not silly enough to think the Rays can go to Boston and sneak out with another series win. I figured they would drop the first two and grab the third behind James Shields. This isn’t being brought up because of the two losses, I’ve been meaning to bring this up for a while now. The Rays bats are not very good right now. Aki has picked it up over the last month, TFC and Bartlett are doing better. The problem is the middle of the order. Upton is still taking too many strikes and isn’t hitting for any power. Watching him at this point he looks to be a better leadoff hitter than number three hitter. Pena has struggled and is now hurt. Longoria hasn’t burst on the scene like we all anticipated. Looking at the lineup from top to bottom there is absolutely no one that would scare any pitcher out there. The Rays need to make a move to get a legit middle of the order hitter. To take it a step further in my little fantasy here, I want an elite type hitter. I saw a ridiculous rumor a week or two ago that had the Rays trading David Price among others to the Cards for Albert Pujols. I would do that in a heartbeat. I’m all about developing from within, maintaining a strong farm system and all that but why chase potential when a front line hitter like that may be available. I’m sure that rumor was bogus so don’t take it as me saying the Rays should get Pujols, I’m just saying it’s time to start looking at things a little different. If guys like Matt Holliday, Albert Pujols or Magglio Ordonez become available at a steep price I personally would rather see the Rays go for a more “win now” approach. Now understand, I’m not saying they should try to be the Yankees, they should try to be the Red Sox. Look at it like this, the Sox are a great team because the have Ramirez/Ortiz in the middle. They won without Beckett, Lowell, etc… (although Varitek aint hurtin’ them either). I think Longoria will eventually develop into a great middle order guy, Upton should hopefully find his power stroke again but what else is coming in the way of hitters, Ryan Royster? The Rays lack power throughout the organization and should move some of this pitching depth to get a feared hitter. The Rays originally had a plan to win more toward the ‘09 or ‘10 seasons but things have changed fellas. There should be more of a rush now because pitching is so volatile. Will Shields and Kaz be healthy next year? This seems to be the year that you want to start planning on. With Kazmir and Shields pitching well, Garza improving, a solid bullpen and David Price storming towards the bigs it’s time to start hunting. Here’s my logic. If you trade some guys like Wade Davis, Jake McGee, Jeff Niemann and Fernando Perez it would definitely hurt your minor league system, but you would get a big time bat or two back and that makes you Major League club better right now and for the next year or two after. During that time you can replenish your farm system through the draft and what not. You also still have guys like Mitch Talbot, Jeremy Hellickson, Desmond Jennings, Heath Rollins and Chris Mason down there. You have depth and it’s time to use it! We can’t continue to put this much pressure on the pitching staff and defense. This is why I was for Bonds over Floyd. Say what you want about Bonds, he is feared as a hitter every day he walks and that makes everyone better. Floyd is no Bonds and will probably not stay healthy for half of the teams games this year. Make a move for the sake of winning now please!

Scott Brannelly

Technorati Tags: Akinori Iwamura, Barry Bonds, BJ Upton, Carlos Pena, Chris Mason, Cliff Floyd, David Price, Desmond Jennings, Evan Longoria, Fernando Perez, Heath Rollins, Jake McGee, James Shields, Jason Bartlett, Jeff Niemann, Jeremy Hellickson, Matt Garza, Mitch Talbot, Ryan Royster, Scott Kazmir, Tampa Bay Rays, TFC, Wade Davis

   Cliff Floyd has now made his mark. Floyd hit a shot to center that barely got over the wall for a walkoff 2-1 win. He’ll probably have to go on the DL now after running the bases and getting beat down by everyone when he got home. Some notes from the game.

•    James Shields got away with some average stuff tonight. He left ALOT of changeups up in the zone tonight and thankfully the “other” Sox were not killing him.
•    Aki has 41 hits in May now. That’s got to be a club record or something. The thing that makes me laugh watching him though is that they all seem to go to the same damn spot. How does he do it?!
•   Pena needs to hit the bench for a couple days. It has gotten embarrassingly painful to watch him swing and miss all night long. I feel terrible when I watch him and he needs to be sat for a couple days just to get his head straight (it’s true, sorry Mom). In his last 10 games Carlos is hitting .242 with 12 K’s in 33 AB’s. The stats aren’t showing how ugly it’s been to see though. Those aren’t great numbers and it’s been much worse to watch than it sounds. Watching Jose Contreras float 70 MPH curveballs over the plate while Carlos swung and missed by a foot was hurting my eyes! I love Pena and I think he just needs to flatten his swing out a little. I am now begging Maddon to give him a couple days off even though we’ll miss his glove.

   That’s all I’ve got from tonights game. I’m curious about tomorrows though. The Rays are saying they’ve sold out the game tomorrow and I’m wondering if it’s because of the concert or because they’re not on TV. Anyone got an opinion?

Scott Brannelly

Sources: Yahoo, Marc Lancaster

Technorati Tags: Akinori Iwamura, Carlos Pena, Cliff Floyd, James Shields, Tampa Bay Rays

   If the Rays keep this up the ownership group may look at a new ballpark in Orlando instead. Just kidding (hopefully). Shields pitched well, Longoria homered, Navarro made a nice return and Eric Hinske had a good time bashing his former team. I’m of course speaking literally here as Hinske darn near hit for the cycle against his former team. A nice game all around for the Rays and they have won four straight in Orlando now dating back to the last years sweep of the Rangers. The fun part of this win today was that earlier today DRaysBay interviewed Drunk Jays Fans and they seemed pretty happy not to have Eric Hinske anymore. How bout now? I’m not going to make too much of that because we can relate with Aubrey Huff. Huff kills us every time it seems but I don’t want him back, so believe me I can relate.

   In other Rays news today the Rays picked up another lefthanded outfielder from the Milwaukee Brewers in Gabe Gross for minor league pitcher Josh Butler. You can read about the trade in a brief mention over at MLBTR. I’m puzzled as to why the Rays need another LH outfielder. What exactly are they trying to do here? We now have Dan Johnson, Eric Hinske, Nathan Haynes and eventually Cliff Floyd. Hmmmmm…… Hinske has definitely earned more playing time and Jonny Gomes is hitting his way into an everyday spot soooooo…… OK, sorry. I’ve got to assume that Haynes is on the way out and don’t forget Justin Ruggiano is still on the roster, for now. I’ve never seen Gabe Gross play so I’m not knocking him, maybe he’s good. This is just strange though. I’m not a fan of Nathan Haynes but I think he’s done a good enough job to keep a roster spot and when Pena can play first again I’ve got to assume that Hinske will be the DH with Gomes receiving most of the playing time in right. This is why I like Haynes on the roster as with Hinske or Gomes in right we need someone to be a late inning defensive replacement. I guess this will all sort itself out and we need to see what Gross can do but this is still very questionable right now. I’ll leave it alone and see how it goes.

Technorati Tags: Carlos Pena, Cliff Floyd, Dan Johnson, Dioner Navarro, Eric Hinske, Evan Longoria, Gabe Gross, James Shields, Jonny Gomes, Justin Ruggiano, Nathan Haynes, Tampa Bay Rays

   Well this is a puzzling one. The Heater is reporting the Rays have snagged Oakland A’s 1B/DH Dan Johnson off of waivers. This move by itself makes me think something is going on with either Cliff Floyd or Carlos Pena we don’t know yet. It still doesn’t make a lot of sense. Johnson is a lefthanded 1B/DH with some power became the odd man out in Oakland with Daric Barton, Mike Sweeney and Jack Cust. The Rays need to open up a roster spot for him and my guess is Cliff Floyd needs knee surgery and is going to be transferred to the 60-day DL. This is where the Rays lose me. I don’t get adding a guy like this as you already have a better version in Hinske and I would rather see someone like Joel Guzman get a little more playing time to see how he develops. More on the move later when info becomes available.

Technorati Tags: Carlos Pena, Cliff Floyd, Dan Johnson, Eric Hinske, Joel Guzman, Tampa Bay Rays

   The Rays have experienced a multitude of injuries so far yet the newest could hurt badly. In last nights game Carlos Pena left with what is being called ‘hamstring tightness’ and this scares all Rays fans. Pena is off to a good start power-wise and is a great defensive first baseman. If he goes down for an extended period of time this could be trouble. Pena is struggling as far as his average goes but that’s a little deceptive as his presence is what matters. He is not the type of guy who is going to hit .300 but he will punish pitchers when they make mistakes. From what I’ve seen this year with Upton starting slow, but picking up lately, and no consistent protection established behind him yet Pena has not been getting much to hit and that is why his average is down. If he’s lost Eric Hinske can fill in and you won’t see a huge difference offensively but the defense will be sorely missed. Last night we saw a play where Evan Longoria had to rush a throw to first that went into the dirt and Hinske couldn’t dig it out. This is a play that’s becoming Pena’s trademark. He seems to dig most everything out of the dirt and with Longoria having already tossed a couple like this and Bartlett consistently having difficulty throwing to first this would translate into a huge problem for the team and the pitching staff. Hope it’s only tightness that a couple days off can mend. Keep your fingers crossed on this. In another quick note, The Heater is reporting there is a “major announcement” scheduled for 1pm today. With all the injuries we’ve seen so far with Kaz, Reyes, Garza, Floyd, Aybar, etc.. nothing would be shocking. No one seems to have any inclination what the announcement is so I guess we just have to wait and see.

Technorati Tags: Al Reyes, BJ Upton, Carlos Pena, Cliff Floyd, Dioner Navarro, Eric Hinske, Evan Longoria, James Shields, Jason Bartlett, Matt Garza, Scott Kazmir, Tampa Bay Rays, Willy Aybar

   Well it happened again. B.J. Upton tried to steal third base with nobody out and two men on with Eric Hinske at the plate. Oh wait it gets worse. The next thing that happened sent me running home from the game screaming and cussing. As Upton walked into the dugout after being stupid again no one said anything to him. What?! No one has anything to say?! Great managing Maddon. Great mentoring Floyd. Nice all the way around. The worst part of this whole post is I have been officially announced as the dumbest fan in baseball. That’s right, I must rip myself. After my tantrum sent me home, I walk in my house, turn the game on and Crawford hits a two run homer. Oh wait, it gets better. Next B.J. Upton atones for his mistake by blasting a two run homerun. Wait there’s more. Next, my new man crush, Evan Longoria hits his first as a Ray. So the bottom line here as the game goes on is that I need to control my temper over things I can’t control and all the talent in the world can’t fix stupid! Upton may have hit a homerun to help the comeback but nothing can forgive this type of stupidity. The coaching staff should be fined and beaten along with Upton. There is no excuse for any of the stupidity described in this post, even for myself. So congrats to B.J. Upton and Scott Brannelly, the two dumbest men in St. Pete tonight.

Technorati Tags: BJ Upton, Carl Crawford, Cliff Floyd, Eric Hinske, Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays

   I’m starting the call for Barry, join me please! Even though the Rays won today with Jeff Neimann looking good and Upton showing some pop again, we need help. I’m personally a fan of Barry Bonds and I’m not ashamed to admit it. His reputation as a jerk stems from his lack of tolerance for the media and his so called ‘me first’ attitude. I’ve got some questions for you Barry bashers out there. First, do you really care if your star players get along with the media? It’s not necessary for players to get along with the media, see Delmon Young or even better Warren Sapp, so who care’s if he’s an “a-hole”. Second, do you even know how he is as a teammate? I hear people talking about his compound that he had in the San Francisco clubhouse and that he fought with Jeff Kent and so on but that means nothing on the field. No one that plays with Jeff Kent gets along with him so leave that alone. His compound is irrelevant because it’s not hurting anyone. I’ve watched Bonds play since I was a kid and over the last ten years have paid close attention to how he is in the dugout with his teammates. You know what I’ve seen? Bonds working with pitchers, hitters, veterans and rookies. The bottom line to this guy is he loves baseball, he can hit and will help you on the field and in the seats. People come to boo him, people come to cheer him and some people just come to watch one of the greatest hitters to ever play the game. If you’ve got a problem with the steroid allegations then you better check your own ethic’s and I bet you fall short of the expectations you’re putting on him. Bonds did it. I don’t care. The fact is most of these guys are on it and he’s being singled out because his friend won’t, that’s right won’t, roll on him. That at least shows me that Bonds take care of the people that matter to him. He’s got a guy in Greg Anderson that has gone to jail for him twice and will continue to do so. How many friends do you have that would do that for you? Let go your high and mighty judgements of a guy who you probably don’t want to have over for dinner and bring him in to hit. Do those of you watching the Rays think Gomes or Cliff Floyd haven’t juiced up? If you do and you cheer them and boo Bonds you should beat yourself with a stick. The bottom line here is that Bonds can help not just on the field right now, not just in the stands right now but in the future also. He can help Carl Crawford, B.J. Upton, Evan Longoria and the rest of this team hit better now and in the future. Go get Bonds Rays!!!!!

Technorati Tags: Barry Bonds, BJ Upton, Carl Crawford, Cliff Floyd, Evan Longoria, Jonny Gomes, Tampa Bay Rays

   On Friday and Saturday the Rays looked like the team everyone was hoping to see. Andy Sonnanstine pitched well Friday and the new bullpen didn’t have to do much as the Rays exploded for seven runs in the eigth inning to put down the vaunted Yankees at home. Dioner Navarro was hurt, in the goofiest way possible, but backup Shawn Riggans stepped in and showed a glimpse of the talent that we’d like to see from a starting catcher. Carlos Pena and Cliff Floyd delivered homeruns in the rout. On Saturday the Rays jumped on an HGH-less Andy Pettitte and never looked back. Jonny Gomes thought he hit a homerun early and looked pretty stupid getting tagged out as he rounded the bases but redeemed himself later by actually hitting one. It was a strange baseball day all around but the big thing was how bad Pettitte looked. I guess Brian MacNamee, oh I mean Andy Pettitte’s dad, didn’t have any tough juice for him. Too bad. Anyway those were the good Rays.

Technorati Tags: Andy Sonnanstine, Carlos Pena, Cliff Floyd, Dioner Navarro, Jonny Gomes, Shawn Riggans, Tampa Bay Rays

   The Rays officially sent top prospect Evan Longoria down to AAA Durham today according to Marc Topkin. As I’ve been harping on this issue alot recently this move really disappoints me. I understand what the Rays are trying to do but it still doesn’t make sense. In doing this they officially tell Longoria, and every other young prospect, we don’t care what you’ve done we’re going to try to save money. They also have rid themselves of any good will keeping Longoria on the roster now would have gotten them when it comes time to negotiate a new deal. In a way it also hurts the good will created this off-season in the signing of James Shields and Carlos Pena long term as well as the signing of Cliff Floyd and Troy Percival. This is not a situation where know one knows who the best player for the position is, we all do. This now leaves us with Willy Aybar, Joel Guzman and Eric Hinske (presumably) to fill the third base role. That is not ideal for any team. I’m not saying these guys are bad players, I’m saying they probably won’t be great and Longoria probably would be great. Bad move here as it creates a hole that shouldn’t exist. I still love the Rays, hate the move.

Technorati Tags: Cliff Floyd, Eric Hinske, Evan Longoria, James Shields, Joel Guzman, Tampa Bay Rays, Willy Aybar