[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss The Possibility Of A Mid-Season Firesale
Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, Dan Wheeler, Rafael Soriano, Scott Kazmir, Stuart Sternberg, Wade Davis February 17th. 2010, 9:19am
The idea of the Rays cutting payroll and not being able to re-sign Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena generated a lot of buzz on the interwebs yesterday.
We just wanted to take a moment to clarify our stance…
We have no problem with the Rays bringing the 2011 payroll south of $60 million. The rotation will still be intact and there are enough in-house options to field a lineup that should still score a lot of runs. We think the 2011 Rays will miss both CC and Pena, but letting both go is the right move.
No, our problem is with the timing. Why take this stance now? Why leave this sour taste in the mouths of the fanbase a full 8 months before any of this matters? Why now, when there is so much to be excited about for the 2010 season?
Is Stuart Sternberg bracing us for a situation where Pena, Crawford, Rafael Soriano and Dan Wheeler are traded during the season even if the Rays are still in the race? Otherwise, why now?
Keep in mind what Stu said last year when Scott Kazmir was traded: “This is who we are.”
We don’t have a problem with trimming payroll in 2011. We will have a problem with trading key players if the Rays are still in the pennant race.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Junk Roxx writes about giving Carl Crawford his new sleeve tattoo. Sadly, no pictures. [The Junkyard]
- Rob Neyer says the Rays 2011 payroll cut will be “perfectly healthy.” [ESPN]
- Add Mets fans to those that are already salivating at thought of Carl Crawford in their team’s uniform in 2011. [Mets Blog]
- Roger Mooney takes on some of the Rays key questions entering spring training. [Tampa Tribune]
- John Romano offers Bud Selig a deal that would net the Rays a new stadium, a deal that would never happen. [St. Pete Times]
- Matt Snyder of Fanhouse weighs in on the Rays eventual move to Tampa. Yeah, we said it. It is not an if, just a when. [Fanhouse]
- Wade Davis says he is treating spring training like he has to win a job in the rotation. [St. Pete Times]
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By the way, seeing the pic of Evan in the new “sky blue” jersey has caused me to rethink my initial “yuck” impression of the color. Evan looks great it in!
And I agree about the timing issue on Stu’s announcement and had posted that below – at least give us the illusion that we can keep this team together if we support it!
I had the opposite reaction: liked it when it was floating, not so sure now. To be fair though, I don’t think the complete uniform will include navy blue gym knickers.
Yeah, the knickers are not flattering.
What the hell is a knicker?
I agree with you Professor about the timing. The Rays front office needs to remember that baseball isn’t all about stats and dollars. You can’t discount the emotion or clubhouse psychology. It has to be figured in before you make a trade or deal someone.
Owners comments concerning salaries/payroll is not for the fans (support)..but for players who are getting payed big $…..but not performing…..their time is about up…and NOW everyone knows!
Kazmir was a perfect example…..$12mil for 9-10 wins…Why?
I hate that we are going to lose these two all stars! But i guess its a business. It’s definitely hard for me to get ready for this year when there will be so much drama in the offseason(hopefully CC and pena leave after the season,which they will and aren’t traded like Kazmir during a playoff hunt!)
I have to say that, as much as I like the RFO’s approach to putting together a baseball team, they need to learn something about timing. Stu gets props for being a very open honor, but sometimes he just needs to STFU. Don’t lie to us, like you did last year about not cutting payroll if we’re in the race, and don’t rain on our parade with a cold, hard truth while pitchers and catchers are reporting. Please, talk in trusted cliches about everybody being tied for first, about this being our year. And if you can’t do that…then just shut up.
[...] in February, we learned that Carl Crawford had picked up a new full-sleeve tattoo from a well-known tattoo artist named Junk Roxx. Six months and 118 games later, and we still have [...]