Rays Index

From The Professor’s Desk…

The Professor — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:36:36 +0000

My latest effort to write about the Bucs over at Joe Bucs Fan. Be gentle, I’m sensitive. [Joe Bucs Fan]

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss The 40-Man Roster, Naimoli’s Bitterness And The End Of The Carlos Hernandez Era

The Professor — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:32:43 +0000

If you missed it yesterday, the Rays added Desmond Jennings, Jeremy Hellickson and Alex Torres to the 40-man roster. The move left the team with exactly 40 players on the 40-man roster.

The biggest surprise was the absence of Aneury Rodriguez, the pitcher the Rays received from the Rockies for Jason Hammel. While Torres is more valuable than Rodriguez, we are surprised that the Rays are willing to risk losing Rodriguez in the Rule 5 Draft, when they have a seemingly expendable player on the 40-man roster like Elliot Johnson.

Rodriguez struggled in the first-half of the season and finished with a 4.50 ERA (4.69 FIP) in 142 innings with 111 strikeouts and 59 walks at double-A Montgomery. But he was much stronger in the second-half as he seemed to find a rhythm, regularly pitching into the 7th inning and allowing 2 runs or fewer.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

Marc Topkin has read the new book by Vince Naimoli we discussed a few months ago, and breaks down a few of the more controversial sections. As we write this we can’t recall the name of the book, but we are pretty sure it should be titled, “I am bitter as hell and about 10 people will know it!” [St. Pete Times]
We dropped this on Twitter a couple of days ago, but in case you are one of the silly people not following us on Twitter, a few more big names from the Rays minor league system have been granted free agency, including Winston Abreu, Calvin Medlock (came over in the Jorge Cantu trade), Carlos Hernandez, Jon Weber and Jason Perry.
The City of St. Pete has responded to ABC’s recommendation for a new baseball stadium for the Rays. Lines are starting to be drawn in the sand, and as we have said previously, this is going to get ugly before it gets better. [St. Pete Times]
Bob Nightengale of USA Today said yesterday that the Rays have become the “clear-cut favorite” to land Milton Bradley. It is unclear if he is basing that on inside information or if he is just speculating based on the news reports that are already out there. [Twitter]
The Rays Party takes a look at Grant Balfour’s fastball. [The Rays Party]

Hellickson, Jennings, Torres Added To 40-Man Roster

The Professor — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:15:45 +0000

The Rays announced today that they have added their top prospects Jeremy Hellickson and Desmond Jennings as well as Alex Torres to the 40-man roster. The move protects all three players from the upcoming Rule 5 Draft. The Rays now have 40 players on the 40-man roster. The Rays received Torres in August as part of the deal that sent Scott Kazmir to the Angels.

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Dirtbaguettes, Niemann’s Award Voting And Tampa’s Inferiority Complex

The Professor — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:45:02 +0000

While researching something else, we came across this photo of Evan Longoria and 9 of his groupies. Does anybody else think that one of the groupies looks like a certain all-time home run king (or maybe Cliff Floyd)?

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

Jeff Niemann finished fourth in the AL Rookie of the Year voting. *golf clap* [Rays Report]
Yes folks. We don’t think Carl Crawford is “pissed beyond belief” at the Rays for picking up his option. And the reason is apparently because Tampa (sic) is only “third best” and everybody (not just Rays fans) has an “inferiority complex against New York.” Keep in mind, this is the third post that site has written defending their original story claiming CC is “livid” and wants out of St. Pete. [NY Baseball Digest]
(Scroll down to 12:46pm on this link) Scoop Jackson, the same guy that thinks BJ Upton is a great role model for inner-city kids because he is lazy, made a bunch of “jokes” about how different teams are incorporating technology into the game experience. On the Rays: “In an effort to appeal to the local elderly community, the Tampa Bay Rays will provide free on-site technical support for their fans. This support will consist largely of demonstrating what a computer really is to those confused souls who keep screaming at the toaster to “log on.”"…Get it? It’s because all Rays fans are 95 years old. Boy that joke never gets old. Ha! [ESPN]
The Ghost of Midnight Graham thinks Kerry Wood and the Rays are a perfect match. [The Ghost of Midnight Graham]

2010 Tampa Bay Rays Trade Value Index

The Professor — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:00:06 +0000

We recently updated our 40-man and 25-man roster projections for the 2010 season. With free agency now in full swing, the Hot Stove is upon us. Therefore it is time to update the Tampa Bay Rays “Trade Value Index” in which we rank the value of top 43 players in the Rays organization.

The TVI ranks every player on the 40-man roster and the top prospects in the organization. Our goal is to determine which players in the organization are the most valuable to the team. The rankings consider a number factors in addition to talent and good looks, such as potential, age, contract and depth of position in organization.

Notes on how the rankings are compiled and a few specific players can be found after the table…

Notes on the Rays TVI top 50…

The TVI uses very rough mathematical formula that gives differential weights to the various factors. This gives the list a starting point which is then tweaked based on the discussions of several committee members that may or may not have been under the influence of alcohol. Keep in mind that in many instances there is only a very slight difference in value from one position to the next in which we could easily make a strong argument for swapping two players in the rankings. That being said, we are fairly confident that most players are within a couple of spots of where they should be…Or not.
The top 10 players are all under team control for at least the next 3 years.
Evan Longoria and David Price were the clear 1-2. After that James Shields and Matt Garza were clearly above the next group.
The two players that were the subject of the most debate were Jeremy Hellickson and Tim Beckham. The debate centered around how much either could command if traded.
At the other end of the rankings, Ramon Ramirez was recently claimed off waivers, so likely has little or no value. Gabe Kapler might just be a 5th outfielder on the Rays suggesting he is not very valuable. Meanwhile, many teams might want Pat Burrell, but his contract would scare most teams away.
Feel free to tell us where we screwed up in the comments.

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Longo’s Fake 2K10 Cover, Minor Leaguers Granted Free Agency And Beating Troy Percival

The Professor — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:06:30 +0000

One website is reporting that Evan Longoria may be on the cover of “MLB2K10.” Supposedly, the images at right were included in a survey asking people which cover they preferred. (thanks Joel).

There is one small problem. The top image is stolen from Dirtbag’s ESPN the Magazine cover which you can see here.

Now maybe Longoria will be on the cover, but we doubt these are the images that will be used.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

A couple of bigger names from the minor league system have been granted free agency including Winston Abreu. [Rays Prospects]
John Romano addresses the idea of trading Pat Burrell for Milton Bradley with one of those moving picture things. [The Point After]
The Rays Party looks at BJ Upton’s struggles against lefties. [The Rays Party]
NY Baseball Digest responded to our post from Saturday in which we questioned the accuracy of one of their reports. The response was both laughable and sad (the best part is about how the readers didn’t “properly decimate the information”). Dock of the Rays couldn’t let that slide without a response of their own. [Dock of the Rays]
An author recounts the time he beat Troy Percival in racquetball. What the author doesn’t realize is that he could probably beat Percival at baseball also. [The Sports Info Business]

Report That Crawford Upset At Rays Is Full Of Holes

The Professor — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:59:35 +0000

NY Baseball Digest is reporting Carl Crawford is upset the Rays picked up his 2010 option and that Crawford believes the Rays backed out of an agreement to renegotiate his deal.

We spoke with someone with knowledge of the situation on Friday who told us that Crawford is “livid” over management’s decision to pick up his 2010 club option for $10 million rather than renegotiate a contract extension, which was agreed upon by the two sides when Crawford first signed his contract. “He wants out of Tampa bad,” is what we were told. “He had a handshake agreement with management that they would renegotiate the contract instead of picking up the option and they went ahead and did it anyway. He’s pissed beyond belief.”

Of course, the biggest problem with this report is Crawford signed his current deal prior to the 2005 season. Stuart Sternberg did not take control of the team until after the 2005 season and Andrew Friedman was not with the Rays when the extension was signed. So even if there was a “handshake agreement” between Crawford and the previous front office, there is no reason to think that would still be honored now.

Also, this report does not jive with Crawford’s recent comments that he is open to a long-term deal, but is willing to play the 2010 season without an extension.

“I hope we can get something done, but if not I’ll just go into next season, do what I have to do and try to help the team win and go from there.”

That sure doesn’t sound like a guy that would be “pissed beyond belief,” about his option being picked up.

Report: Crawford Wants Out Of Tampa [NY Baseball Digest]

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Evil Lessers, The Duke To The Cubs And Godzilla

The Professor — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:50:10 +0000

A situation that Raysheads should watch closely in the next couple of weeks is the negotiations between Johnny Damon and the Yankees. The Yankees want Damon back on a one-year deal. This is important because the 2011 class of free agent outfielders is much more enticing than this year’s. And next year’s free agent class could be led by Carl Crawford.

Don’t think the Yankees wouldn’t love to have CC as the “Next Great Yankees Outfielder.”

If we have the choice between trading Crawford now, to a team like the Giants, or watching CC roam LF for the Yankees 19 times a season against the Rays over the next 7 seasons, we are calling Brian Sabean.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

We love this quote from an “industry official” about the Mets’ reluctance to go after Pat Burrell due to his poor glove: The official rolled his eyes and said, “Just lift him late in the game.” Because apparently bad defense only gives up runs late in games. [Newsday]
Dock of the Rays is hoping the Rays and the Cubs can narrow the gap on a Milton Bradley for Pat Burrell deal and wonders if the Cubs will eat more of Bradley’s contract if the Rays throw in Andy Sonnanstine. [Dock of the Rays]
Might the Rays look into Hideki Matsui as DH if they can trade Pat Burrell? [NPB Tracker]
Making the case for Matt Joyce to be the everyday right fielder. [Scribbling the Majors]

One Year Ago On Rays Index

The Professor — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:00:27 +0000

One year ago on Rays Index we wrote about Joe Maddon being named AL Manager of the Year, falling one vote shy of unanimous.

Joe Maddon Wins AL Manager Of The Year Award [Rays Index]

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Hernandez To The O’s, Richard Not To AAA And More Burrell To The Cubs

The Professor — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:25:35 +0000

Just a few quick links on Sammy Sosa’s birthday. He is 41. His face is not.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

We did a Q&A about the Rays off-season for Simon on Sports. [Simon on Sports]
Michel Hernandez has signed a minor league deal with the Orioles. With 4 catchers on the 40-man roster and the chance the Rays will add another veteran, there was little or no hope of Hernandez seeing any big league time with the Rays in 2010. [Baltimore Sun]
Chris Richard has declined his triple-A assignment and has chosen to become a free agent.
The Rays and Cubs continue to discuss trading Pat Burrell for Milton Bradley, but nothing sounds hopeful as both sides are still far apart on the most important issue, money. [MLB Trade Rumors]
John Romano addresses Carl Crawford’s future with the Rays and says a long-term extension “will probably never happen.” [St. Pete Times]