Archive for January 5th, 2009

Jan 05

[PAT THE BAT] Pat Burrell Agrees To Two-Year Deal With Rays

Pat Burrell Cork Gaines 40 Comments »

[Update 6:15pm] Marc Lancaster has some of Burrell’s thoughts from his conference call. Marc Topkin has a couple of quotes from Andrew Friedman. The most telling is that the Rays will have still look to make improvements but that “this signing is a major commitment of our resources and it will dramatically hinder our flexibility going forward.”

[Update 4:09pm] To say the always entertaining The Fightins are unhappy with the Burrell signing, would be an understatement. Burrell had turned down a 2-year, $22 million deal during the regular season to stay with the Phils. And the picture at The Fightins explains why Burrell was known among his teammates as “The Bait”.

[Update 2:56pm] Buster Olney is reporting that the Rays and Burrell have agreed to a contract that is now only pending a physical. Olney agrees that it is two years and $16 million.

[2:19pm] Ken Rosenthal is reporting (via MLB Trade Rumors) that the Rays are close to reaching a deal with Pat Burrell on a two-year, $16 million deal.

The Rays, filling their need for a power hitter, are close to signing free-agent Pat Burrell to a two-year, $16 million contract, according to major-league sources…Burrell, 32, will serve as the team’s designated hitter. The Rays, nearing their payroll limit, could use some combination of Ben Zobrist, Gabe Gross and Fernando Perez in right field.

It is no surprise that the Rays may land Burrell. But it is a surprise if they get him on a two-year deal. We thought all along that it would be either a one-year deal with possibly an option year.

Outstanding signing by the Rays all the way around. Rays DHs posted an OPS of .760 in 2008, good for only 8th in the AL. Burrell hit .250-33-86 last season for the Phillies. He has been a very consistent hitter, with an OPS+ between 122 and 128 each of the last four seasons. He also boasts a career .950 OPS against left-handed pitchers.

Without any further moves, the Rays’ 2009 payroll will be $63-64 million depending on how much each of the arbitration-elgible players make.

Sources: Rays, Burrell agree to contract [ESPN]
Sources: Rays, Burrell near two-year, $16M deal [Fox Sports]
Rays Close To Signing Burrell [MLB Trade Rumors]

Jan 05

[2009 TAMPA BAY RAYS] The 12 Days Of Raysmas: Day 12 (Twelve Games With The Same Batting Order)

12 Days of Raysmas Cork Gaines 16 Comments »

If you have been hanging around these parts for a while, you know that the model for this site is to tell you what the Rays have done, what they are doing and try to project what they will do based on what we have learned. Unlike most team blogs, we do not very often tell you what the Tampa Bay Rays should do. However, for the next 12 days we will step away from the standard, and we present to you 12 “presents” the Tampa Bay Rays should give to their fans.

On the twelfth day of Raysmas, the Tampa Bay Rays gave to us, TWELVE games with the same batting order…

In 2008, the following was the most commonly used batting order by Joe Maddon:

  1. Aki Iwamura
  2. Carl Crawford
  3. BJ Upton
  4. Carlos Pena
  5. Evan Longoria
  6. Cliff Floyd
  7. Dioner Navarro
  8. Eric Hinske
  9. Jason Bartlett

Pretty standard right? The above batting order was used nine (9!) times.

While Maddon prefers a flexible lineup and tries to utilize his bench as much as possible, he has repeatedly said that he would prefer to run the same lineup out everyday. Unfortunately that was not possible in 2008 and may have led to the inconsistency of the offense.

Several things will have to happen in 2009 to see more consistency in the batting order…

A HEALTHY ROSTER: It is well-known that most of the everyday players missed significant time in 2008 with various injuries. But it may not be clear exactly how much of a toll those injuries had on the everyday lineup.

In fact, the 10 players in the above batting order were only in the lineup on the same day 16 times all season. Full seasons from Evan Longoria, Carl Crawford, BJ Upton and Carlos Pena will go a long ways towards a consistent lineup.

CONSISTENCY IN RIGHT FIELD: In 2008, nine different players played right field. Gabe Gross, who logged the most playing time in right field (75 games) will likely be back in 2009. Unless the Rays bring in a most-days right fielder or Matt Joyce can prove he is ready to be an everyday hitter, Gross will likely platoon with…somebody.

Even a regular platoon would add stability to right field, but right now we have little idea who would be Gross’ mirror. Willy Aybar, Ben Zobrist, Justin Ruggiano and Fernando Perez are all options. But in 2008 the Rays right fielders were only 10th amongst AL right fielders in OPS (.809). None of those four players seem likely to help the Rays become even league average.

CONSISTENCY AT DH: Trivia: After Floyd’s 72 games as a DH, which player appeared the most times at DH?

*Jeopardy theme*

Jonny Gomes. 24 games.

Nine right fielders is a lot in one season, but it paled in comparison to the 11 hitters used at DH. While there has been lots of talk of bringing in an impact bat to DH, the move still has not happened. If it does, that will go a long ways towards bringing consistency to the lineup.

On the twelfth day of Raysmas, all Rays fans want is TWELVE games with the same batting order and…
ELEVEN postseason wins [Day 11]
TEN saves for Grant Balfour [Day 10]
NINE no-hit innings [Day 9]
EIGHT starts for Jeff Niemann [Day 8]
SEVEN-year extension for BJ Upton [Day 7]
SIX months with at least 15 wins [Day 6]
FIVE-year extension for Matt Garza [Day 5]
FOUR pitchers with 15 wins [Day 4]
THREE Gold Glove awards [Day 3]
TWO months in triple-A for David Price [Day 2]
ONE impact bat with a bow on top [Day 1]

Jan 05

[THE HANGOVER] Rays Pitching Prospect Arrested

BJ Upton, Carl Crawford, Dan Wheeler, Evan Longoria, George Bush, Jino Gonzalez, Joe Maddon, Ken Griffey Jr, Michel Hernandez, Pat Burrell, Willy Aybar Cork Gaines No Comments »

How good is it to be Evan Longoria these days? Las Vegas Weekly reminds us…

Tampa Bay Devil Rays third baseman Evan Longoria took Hugh Hefner’s VIP table at the Playboy Club with his eight friends for two hours atop the Palms and enjoyed several games of blackjack in between his dance floor duties with fans.

Of course, by “fans” they mean random Vegas hotties. And by “dance floor duties” they mean being a lucky son of a biscuit.

Dirtbag. He puts his pants on just like us, one leg at a time. Of course, after he puts his pants on, he gets to sit at Hugh Hefner’s VIP table and dance with “fans”.

For those suffering from baseball withdrawal as we are, following the links we present video of Willy Aybar hitting a home run for Licey in the Dominican Winter League.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • Rays pitching prospect Jino Gonzalez was arrested at Tampa International Airport after an unloaded gun was discovered in his carry-on bag. Gonzalez made 37 appearances (11 starts) for double-A Montgomery in 2008, posting a 5.44 ERA with 68 strike outs and 57 walks in 87.2 innings. The left-hander was originally drafted in the 46th round of the 2002 draft. [Fox Sports]
  • The Rays resigned Michel Hernandez to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training. The spring invite is simply due to the need for extra catchers in camp with so many pitchers needing work each day. During the season, Hernandez is likely to serve as the Rays’ “break glass only in case of emergency” catcher down at Durham. [The Heater]
  • The Providence Journal caught up with Rhode Island native Dan Wheeler and spoke to him about his unusual rise to the big leagues. [Providence Journal]
  • As usual Her Rays doesn’t disappoint with the imagery. This time it is her “New Years Rays-o-lutions” and an attempt to stay pure and stop reading so much smut. [Her Rays]
  • Last night was Joe Maddon’s private dinner at the White House with President George Bush. [St. Pete Times]
  • If you are interested, here is a news video clip featuring Joe Maddon’s recent effort to help raise money for his former high school. At this rate, we have a feeling Papa Joe is going to still be wearing that Rays Santa cap in the dugout next season. [YouTube]
  • The King of Lists is back and this time he has outdone himself. David Chalk is now counting down the top 177 Devil Rays of all-time, starting with Kevin Witt…Witt was like the backup quarterback. For a while he was the most popular guy in the organization, but proved to be a four-A player. Since then he went to Japan was never heard from again. We assume he joined the Yakuza. [Bugs and Cranks]
  • Just speculation on his part, but Buster Olney sees Pat Burrell landing with the Rays. [MLB Trade Rumors]
  • No surprise that the Rays are involved, but Jon Heyman is reporting that four other teams have expressed interest in Ken Griffey Jr. While Griffey may prefer to play close to his Orlando home, he is clearly just one name on the Rays’ Plan B list for DH. [SI.com]
  • The Examiner previews Carl Crawford. [Examiner]
  • Peter Gammons has an interesting write up on baseball teams going young. [ESPN]
  • ESPN includes BJ Upton on their list of players to watch in 2009. [ESPN]