Thursday, 31. July 2008
The Jason Bay deal turns out to be false. No Bay, Gomes still here, shit! My day just went from bad to worse, I’m going to punch some walls.
Thursday, 31. July 2008
Pat yourself on the back Andrew Friedman, you stole a good hitter today. Friedman didn’t blink and nabbed the best right handed hitter available for two over rated prospects. I love this deal. I’m not sure how good an outfielder Bay is but his bat is what we wanted. This should mean two things for the Rays. They now have someone to throw out there every day who opposing pitchers have to respect. And it should mean the end of the line for Jonny Gomes! Two birds with one stone cliche inserted here. I would assume Bay takes over batting 3rd or 4th in some sort of Bay/Pena/Longoria sandwich. I don’t think I’ve been as excited about a trade since the raping of the Mets for Scott Kazmir. Awesome job Andy!
Scott
Source: MLB Trade Rumors
Wednesday, 30. July 2008
The Rays won today if you hadn’t heard. EJax pitched decent, Pena homered and all that good stuff. The game wasn’t televised so I couldn’t watch, but it appeared that Percival wasn’t a complete nightmare today either. A good day all around. Onto the trade deadline stuff. The Rays are currently linked to Jason Bay and are said to have the best offer on the table. What worries me about this story is that the Rays appear set in their offer and not willing to budge. I understand this with Wade Davis, David Price and Jeremy Hellickson, but I don’t understand the unwillingness to move Reid Brignac. I know he’s a “top prospect” and I understand that there is basically no depth with middle infielders in the minors. What I don’t get is the unwillingness to mortgage a little bit of the future to go for it now. Bay isn’t the ideal guy to put in RF, but he’s the exact type of bat that we need there. It’s all conflicting reports but the boys at Rays Index are saying that he’s basically untouchable and I trust what they say. On to the Brian Fuentes stuff, I don’t see it happening so that’s over. Will Ohman is still a possibility but there’s not a lot of info there. It’s crazy but fun with all this stuff. There is more and more talk now that Rocco will be back soon and I’m conflicted on this (I think we all are). There is no way you can count on Rocco, but I think we all want him back. Also, looking at the minor league games over the last week, my boy Justin Ruggiano is getting more playing time in CF. That tells me (maybe I’m just hoping) that he is being prepped for another call up. The other thing I’m excited about is the fact that all of these possible moves make it tough to see a way that Jonny Gomes is on the roster after the deadline. That would make me very happy! To wrap up my completely senseless rambling now, if the Rays do get away with getting Bay for a deal centered around Niemann, that would be a ridiculously one sided deal to me. I stated at the start of the season that I thought Niemann was a bust waiting to happen and there’s been nothing that’s gone on to make me change my mind. Oh yeah, one more thing. My scout buddy (who’s proving to be completely useless right now) also told me that most of the teams the Rays are talking to want Ruggiano put in the deal somewhere. This should tell the Rays that they have someone worth giving the shot I’ve been begging for. Good times at the trade deadline. Sorry for the inane blather here but my head’s been spinning all day.
Scott Brannelly
Links: MLB Trade Rumors, Rays Index
Sunday, 27. July 2008
There are a ton of rumors swirling around the Rays as the deadline approaches this Thursday and they’ve got everyone guessing as to what they’re gonna do. I know my stomach dropped Friday when I saw the Yankees had obtained Xavier Nady and Demaso Marte from the Pirates. I really wanted Nady and thought the Rays could’ve gotten him using some sort of package involvingguys like Edwiin Jackson, Jason Hammel, Jeff Niemann or Andy Sonnanstine. The Pirates need pitching and the Rays have some to spare, so what happened? It’s anybone’s guess. This is hard for me to swallow for two reasons. It really helps the Yanks, who are coming fast, and it blocked the Rays from the deal. They killed us twice so to speak. This all leaves me wondering what the Rays plan to do. They’re being linked to guys like Brian Fuentes, Ron Mahay, Clint Barmes (god no), Jason Bay (no way that’s going to happen), Matt Murton, Mark Texiera and Matt Holliday (just for fun on the last two). I’m getting more frustrated with this because they don’t seem to be actively trying to move a Jackson, Hammel or Sonnanstine the way they should be. When David Price is ready to come up, one of these guys needs to be gone and they’re not looking to create an opening. This makes me think that we won’t see Price this year until September at the earliest. Their lack of moves also makes me believe that they’re are counting on Rocco to make an impact and that’s just crazy. I love Roc but we all know he’s one step away from a hospital bed at all times. I’m really curious about this whole thing. If they do get a Brian Fuentes, who’s gone? I would like to see Trevor Miller take a walk as he’s been disappointing. Any move they make for a bat must involve Gomes’ removal from the roster (finally!). If they don’t want to mortgage the future for today then they need to start using some of that future to see if it fits. Gomes has to go and Ruggiano should be given a shot to replace him if no trade is made. There is no trade market for Gomes so a DFA should be made asap. I would love to have seen the Rays capitalize on Jackson’s improvement this year and move him to make room for Price. I would like to see Sonnanstine stay because we do need an innings eater and Jackson isn’t it. I will be following these rumors closely this week and I’ll begin to list what I see as it’s close enough to watch now. I really do hope a move is made, even if it’s not a trade but a move to bring someone up and try to improve this team.
Scott Brannelly
Monday, 21. July 2008
With the Rays offense struggling to push across runs, and the major need being a right handed bat to help out against lefties, this has to be Jonny Gomes last shot at production this year. I can understand why fans and even his teammates like him but his personality is not enough to keep him on the club. The Rays have been eyeballing guys like Xavier Nady, Jason Bay, Matt Murton and even Matt Holliday (not really). With the A’s throwing lefties at the Rays for the next three games Gomes has an opportunity to prove he can be that guy. At the start of the season we knew he would have limited playing time, we knew he was a defensive liability and with all that considered we counted on him to hit homeruns, especially against lefties. Mr. Gomes has disappointed in almost every way so far (he has done well stealing and running the bases) and it is time to show and prove. He says he’s a guy that needs regular playing time to get his swing right, what player doesn’t? All the excuses are gone now and he must start hitting. The Rays are winning more than we anticipated and a true RF/RH hitter could help put this team over the top. The trade market is iffy as the asking price for Bay and Holliday is too high, Nady might be damaged goods and Murton is still unproven. It also works against the Rays by having too much depth in the minors as every team has ridiculous asking prices when they speak to the Rays. It’s time for Gomes get it done or go ahead and join the WWE!
Scott Brannelly