Archive for January, 2010

Jan 27

Longoria And Friedman Among Most Valuable Assets In Baseball

Andrew Friedman, Evan Longoria 1 Comment »

hangoverWe have long championed the cause that Evan Longoria is the most valuable player in baseball. Maybe he doesn’t have the highest WAR and he is yet to win an MVP. But based on his age, talent level, position, marketability and most importantly, a reasonable contract that won’t expire until 2016, Dirtbag may be the most valuable commodity in baseball.

Joshua Fisher of The Hardball Times agrees, sorta (thanks Dustin).

Longoria’s a different animal. His agent, Paul Cohen, ought to have a very, very short client list after negotiating that disaster of a contract for Longoria. The Rays control him through 2016, when he will still cost a maximum of $14,050,000. And that’s if he makes the All-Star team and fulfills incentives related to MVP voting. Of all the people listed so far, Longoria might represent the most valuable asset

Fisher agrees that Longoria may be the most valuable player, but says he is not the most valuable asset. That honor goes to one of two people, one of whom gave Longoria that contract, Andrew Friedman (the other is Theo Epstein).

So who could possibly be more valuable going forward than a locked-up 24-year-old third baseman worth 5.3 and 7.2 wins in his first two major league seasons? Well, it might just be the guy who will pay Longoria less through 2016 than he was worth in just 2008 and 2009. That’s Andrew Friedman, executive vice president (and general manager) of the Tampa Rays. Longoria’s contract, as you know, is far from the only coup of Friedman’s career. The Rays are bursting at the seams with young, cheap talent. While it’s difficult to pin down exactly what Friedman makes for his remarkable efforts, he’s no doubt going to make less for his performance than Longoria himself. Friedman might be the most valuable asset in baseball.

It is an interesting question. If the Rays could only keep Longoria or Friedman, but not both, which would you choose? We would probably choose World B. Friedman.

As for how much Friedman makes…Based on all those polos he wears, it can’t be much.

Jan 27

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Hudson, ABC And Bellatti

Andrew Bellatti, Orlando Hudson 2 Comments »

hangoverJust a few links to to help the coffee go down…

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • Buster Olney reports that the Rays have shown interest in Orlando Hudson to play second base. [Twitter]
  • Marc Topkin writes that Orlando Hudson is a long-shot for the Rays based on his asking price (a lot) and the Rays committment to in-house options at second base. [The Heater]
  • John Romano writes that the ABC Coalition said everything the Rays would want without the Rays having to be the bad guys. [St. Pete Times]
  • The agent for Andrew Bellatti, the prospect that was involved in a fatal car accident, spoke with the media. [Rays Report]
  • Buster Olney reports that MLB is considering a slotting system for the amateur draft in which bonuses for draft picks would be predetermined. [ESPN]
Jan 26

Mark McGwire’s Next Move: Invoke Gabe Kapler

Gabe Kapler, Mark McGwire 6 Comments »

Ken Rosenthal has a new piece on how Mark McGwire “needs a do-over.”

His apology was not enough. His tearful interview with Bob Costas on MLB Network was not enough.

We couldn’t agree more. In fact, if McGwire really wants people to believe that steroids did not help him hit home runs, he need only look at the roster of the Tampa Bay Rays and one muscular member of The Tribe.

GABE KAPLER
GABE KAPLER

18 and 80. Those are Gabe Kapler’s career-high in home runs (1999) and the number of home runs he has hit in his 11-year career. And those are the only numbers McGwire needs to know if he wants to convince people that he would have been just as good without steroids.

Now, we aren’t saying Kapler used ‘roids (we’ll let you look at the picture and draw your own conclusion). But if we were Mark McGwire, we would just carry this picture of Kapler with us everywhere we go. And next time somebody asks if he really believes steroids don’t help somebody hit home runs, he should pull out this picture and just say: “18 and 80, bitches!”

Jan 26

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss A Long-Term Deal For Melvin, ABC’s Final Report And AFL Videos

BJ Upton, Nevin Ashley, Shawn O'Malley 1 Comment »

hangoverHappy birthday to one of the great baseball characters, Bob Uecker…After the Webtopia, a couple of videos of Rays prospects from the Arizona Fall League.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • BJ Upton says he is open to a long-term deal, as are the Rays. [St. Pete Times]
  • The ABC Coalition released their final report on the recommendation of a new location for a new Rays stadium. There were no surprises. [10 Connect]
  • Dock of the Rays weighs in on the recent reports on a possible relocation of the Rays and why moving to Orlando makes little sense. [Dock of the Rays]



Jan 25

Evan Longoria And The MLB2K10 Trailer Part 2

Evan Longoria, MLB 2K10 2 Comments »

We apologize to you if we don’t seem real eager to jump into a forced awkward intimate situation that people like to call promoting a product. We don’t like the feeling. You’re sitting there, you’re wondering should we do it, what will our readers think, do we have food on our face, are we eating, are we writing too much, are they paying attention enough, are we interested, we’re not really interested, should we play like we’re interested but we’re not that interested but we think the readers might be interested, but do we want to be interested, but now the readers are not interested? So all of the sudden we’re getting, we’re starting to get interested… And when are we supposed to post it? Do we have to wait for the evening, cause then it’s awkward, it’s like well goodnight. Do you do like that embedded video without any commentary? Where you like, you just post it and go back to watching Jon Stewart and your ass sticks out cause you’re trying not to get too close or do you just go right in and post it during The Hangover or don’t post it at all? It’s very difficult trying to read the situation. And all the while you’re just really wondering are we gonna get hopped up enough to make some crazy decisions? Perhaps play a little game called “MLB 2K10″. Just for a second, just to see how it feels. Or, ouch, ouch, the wife is making us watch “Celebrity Rehab” again.

Jan 25

Reason #341 That The Tampa Bay Rays Failed To Repeat In 2009

Things that should have never happened 3 Comments »

It is not easy being a Rays fan and taking the constant pounding and jabbing from fans of other teams. But before watching the video below, we had never been more embarassed to be a Rays fan.

Nothing says street cred like a rap video that includes the lyrics, “we puttin’  on a show like Hannah Montana.” And is the guy on the right trying to look like Humpty Hump, or was he born that way?

Yes, Tampa Bay Rays, these are your fans.

Jan 25

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Moving The Rays, An Extension For Garza And Kazmir’s New Body

Jake McGee, Jason Bartlett, Matt Garza, Scott Kazmir 9 Comments »

hangoverWell, it is slow time for baseball news, and of course that means, more and more columns on whether Florida can support big league baseball and whether the Rays might move.

First up is Peter Gammons…

Florida has Ramirez, Johnson, Maybin, Longoria, Crawford, Price, Zobrist, Upton and two of the best front offices. Still, there are times when one thinks that maybe they should move a couple of Interleague games to Yeehaw Junction, because if Major League Baseball can’t succeed in Florida with these players, these organizations and a real stadium with a retractable roof in Miami, then maybe Florida should stick to Spring Training and Kevin O’Sullivan’s Gators and let the big leagues move to where the snowbirds came from, in the first place.

Gammons also wonders if the Rays could move to New Jersey or Connecticut.

Marc Topkin adds a local Orlando news report that local investors are beginning the process of attracting a big league team to Orlando, a process that will include a privately funded stadium and almost certainly will target the Rays.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • Marc Topkin reports that Matt Garza and the Rays briefly discussed a multi-year deal before settling on a one-year contract, and agreed to explore the possibility again in the future. Also, Bartlett seems open to a multi-year deal, but Topkin says the Rays are not at this point. [St. Pete Times]
  • Nick Cafardo writes that Carl Crawford could be traded before the deadline if “the Rays’ financial picture gets any gloomier.” [Boston Globe]
  • Bill Chastain writes about Jake McGee’s struggles during his return from Tommy John surgery. [MLB]
  • Scott Kazmir has spent the off-season working with the same trainer that works with Carl Crawford and will throw a more traditional slider this season. [ESPN]
http://tampabay.rays.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100122&content_id=7957596&vkey=news_tb&fext=.jsp&c_id=tb
Jan 23

Rays Draft Pick Involved In Accident That Kills Other Driver (Video)

Andrew Bellatti 4 Comments »

The Rays 12th round pick from the 2009 draft, Andrew Bellatti, was seriously injured in a head-on collision yesterday. Bellatti was doing 80, in what appears to be a residential area in Spring Valley, California. The accident killed the other driver, and seriously injured Bellatti’s girlfriend and the son of the other driver (hat tip to RaysProspects.com).

Rubber Slab has another write-up on the incident, including additional information on Bellatti.

Bellatti made 11 appearances, including 3 starts, for the Gulf Coast League Rays after being drafed. He posted a 3.49 ERA and struck out 27 in 28.1 innings.

Jan 23

7″ Evan Longoria Not Quite As Cute As 74″ Evan Longoria

Evan Longoria, Scott Kazmir 5 Comments »
Cick on image for larger version
Cick image for larger version

We are not much for collecting sports memorabilia, but we have always been a fan of the McFarlane line of sports figurines (although they certainly don’t have the charm of the “Starting Lineup” action figures).

Previously, we mentioned that Evan Longoria would be included in the latest set of McFarlane baseball figurines, and now, thanks to Toy News International, we have the visual proof.

Our initial reaction is, meh. Maybe it is just us, but the figurine seems to look more like Gabe Kapler (minus the 24-pack abs). For comparison, see the image of Longoria below (he’s the one on the right).

hangover

Dirtbag is just the second member of the Devil Rays/Rays to be part of the McFarlane collection, joining Scott Kazmir.

Jan 22

Evan Longoria And The MLB2K10 Trailer

Evan Longoria, MLB 2K10 5 Comments »

One thing Raysheads will always be able to count on is that contract or no, we will not bow down to any sponsor. Maybe we’re wrong on this one, but for us, the beast doesn’t include selling out. It’s like people only do these things because they can get paid. And that’s just really sad.

We can’t talk about it anymore. This is boring. We need to break out the Xbox 360 and play something. What should we play? If only Evan “Dirtbag” Longoria were here to help us out…

Guess we have to wait until March 2nd.

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