If the most popular player on a football team is the backup quarterback, then the baseball equivalent is the big-time minor league prospect. For the Rays, that is Desmond Jennings. Below is one of Jennings’ 8 home runs he hit for Montgomery last year.
Feel free to lock the doors, dim the lights and play some mood music.
Remember when Dioner Navarro showed up at camp last spring in the best shape of his life? Navi’s OPS then proceeded to drop from .757 in 2008 to .583 in 2009.
Coincidence? Navi apparently doesn’t think so.
While this recent photo doesn’t give us the clearest view, it does seem apparent that Navi took out his frustrations on several local Dunkin Donuts and will be carrying a few extra love handles into the 2010 season (thanks @macgivens77).
For comparison, here is a picture of Navi from spring training last year.
Nobody will ever accuse Navi of being anorexic, but the gut appears considerably smaller a year ago. He was listed at 205 pounds last season. If that number was accurate, he must be more like 230-235 this season. And that is a lot of weight on a 5-9 frame.
Dioner Navarro and Kelly Shoppach put their pants on the same way, one leg at a time. But after they have their pants on, Navarro goes back to the buffet table for seconds.
*Only Willy Taveras posted a worse OPS (.559, min. 400 PA) in 2009.
Matt Sweeney
Earlier this week Keith Law ranked the Rays as the third best organization in baseball. Now Law has released his list of the Top 100 prospects. Six Rays are in the top 100, including 4 in the top 30.
6. Desmond Jennings
15. Wade Davis
17. Jeremy Hellickson
29. Tim Beckham
68. Matt Sweeney
81. Matt Moore
Law also included his list of the top 10 prospects in the Rays farm system…
1. Desmond Jennings, CF
2. Wade Davis, RHP
3. Jeremy Hellickson, RHP
4. Tim Beckham, SS
5. Matt Sweeney, 3B
6. Matt Moore, LHP
7. Nick Barnese, RHP
8. Alex Torres, LHP
9. Alexander Colome, RHP
10. Reid Brignac, SS
Law is more bullish on Beckham than Baseball America is (BA has Beckham 6th), but has soured on Brignac who is still 5th in BA’s rankings.
In a separate piece, Law talk about three Rays prospects that could crack the top 100 next year…
I mentioned Nick Barnese here last year, along with new top 100 addition Matt Moore, and Barnese will make the list with a full, healthy season. The Rays could also see one of two Latin American right-handers, Alexander Colome or Wilking Rodriguez, make the list. Colome’s further along now, with a mid-90s fastball and curve with tight rotation but limited feel for his changeup and below-average command.
A “full, healthy season” from Barnese might be asking a lot. He logged only 74.2 innings last season, and the Rays will likely limit Barnese to 100-120 innings in 2010.
In an interesting twist to the Johnny Damon situation, Jon Heyman of SI.com says Damon turned down a $6 million offer from the Yankees.
In a last-ditch effort late last week after Damon himself called the team, Cashman, one of baseball’s best dealmakers, tried floating a contract of $6 million with $3 million deferred at no interest (with the promise it would be cleared with team boss Hal Steinbrenner, who was about to return from his honeymoon). But Damon wasn’t moved enough to respond.
So, if Damon couldn’t even respond to the Yankees on a $6 million deal, a team that was obviously his first choice, there is no way the Rays would be able to sign Damon at $4-5 million. The previous consensus was that the Yankees top offer was $2 million.
Then again, maybe Damon would be willing to give the Rays an “Ooooh-I-can-go-Caveman-again discount.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
Recently, we have heard the Rays linked to Jim Thome and Johnny Damon. The common denominator in these rumors is Pat Burrell. Thome (who has since signed with the Twins) and Damon are DH-types at this point in their careers, and the Rays are only adding a DH if they are able to unload Burrell and his $9 million salary for the 2010 season.
So while we continue to hear about the Rays “interest” in these players, maybe the more telling message is that Andrew Friedman is still actively trying to trade Burrell.
During the winter meetings we heard endless chatter about a possible deal in sending Burrell to Chicago for Milton Bradley. The Rays appeared to be firm on their price and the trade never materialized.
Since then, whispers of teams interested in Burrell died down. But quiet is the way the Rays like to operate. And just because we don’t hear the rumors doesn’t mean the Rays aren’t still shopping.
One thing we can be certain of, is that the Rays are not going to just cut Burrell to make room for another veteran DH. The Rays are not a team that is just going to swallow $9 million as a sunk cost. While Damon may be worth $4-5 million, he is not likely to be worth $4-5 million more than Burrell. Releasing Burrell means the Rays would be paying $13-14 million for Damon’s production this season (Burrell’s $9m and Damon’s $4-5m).
The Rays may be interested in players like Damon and Thome, but that means little until Burrell is traded, something the Rays are clearly trying to do.
There is a lot of debate about the importance of a hitting coach. Often, their biggest challenge is to get hitters out of funks and back to where they are confident swinging a bat. And Shelton’s most important student this off-season is BJ Upton.
And how are things working between Shelton and Upton in their first few weeks together? Marvelously (via WTSP.com).
“He’s been unbelievable, and he’s here to help,” says B.J. Upton. “I think that’s something that he emphasized to me the first week we were together, and it’s kind of been rolling ever since.”
With all of his shoulder injuries, BJ (neé Melvin) lost some of his bat speed in 2009, and with that he appeared to lose some of his confidence, especially when it came to attacking fastballs. If Upton can stay healthy in 2010 and recover his bat speed, it then becomes a matter of rediscovering the confidence to be a good big league hitter.
And based on the quote above, Shelton has Bossman’s confidence moving in the right direction.
Now if he can just get Dioner Navarro to have a little less confidence attacking the buffet table.
Keith Law has released his annual organizational rankings, and while it is no surprise the Rangers are on top, as they were for the second straight year in Baseball America’s rankings, it is a surprise that the Rays fell to third…
The Rays have graduated a fair amount of talent in recent years but continue to come up with arms, while using their stumble last year to flip Scott Kazmir and add three solid prospects to their system. They could easily graduate three more above-average or better prospects this year if openings arise at the big league level.
One thing Klaw fails to mention is that despite the wealth of talent the Rays have, there is a bit of a void in the middle, with top prospects in triple-A and the low minors, but few blue-chippers in between.
So which team jumped ahead of the Rays into second place? The Boston Red Sox. That’s right, a $125 million payroll and the second best farm system in baseball.
This is the part where we start running around in circles yelling “Amok! Amok Amok!”
The latest name to be tied to the Rays is Johnny Damon. And with the Yankees signing former Devil Ray Randy Winn, Damon is looking for a new home. Joel Sherman reports that the Rays have shown interest in Damon for some time…
The Tampa Bay Rays have been in regular contact with Scott Boras about adding Damon to be their primary DH, The Post has learned.
Sherman adds that the Rays may be interested even if they can’t trade Pat Burrell.
That seems fuzzy at best. Damon is a liability in the outfield, and with an arm about as strong and accurate as my 5-month old daughter’s, he certainly can’t play right field. As much as Joe Maddon covets positional flexibility on his four-man bench, the Rays can’t afford to give two roster spots to DH-types. Then again, part of the Damon-package includes his wife, Michelle (above). Maybe she can play the field.
More likely, Scott Boras is feeding additional teams to the media (Reds, Tigers also mentioned) to beef up an offer from the A’s now that the Yankees are no longer in the bidding.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com brings us Rocco Baldelli’s own words on his love for the game of baseball (thanks Travis). Let’s face it, Rocco will always be our first Devil Ray we ever truly loved. And even if he goes on to play for the Yankees, nothing will ever take away those fond memories. If you read one thing today, read this piece.
