Oct 29
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Won’t you stop by and say hello to our sponsors?
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Archive for October, 2010
Oct 29
[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Price As Top Pitcher, Crawford As A Red Sox And Burrell As The Machine
David Price, Wade Davis 7 Comments »
David Price was named the American League’s “Outstanding Pitcher” as voted on by Major League Players. Price beat out Felix Hernandez and CC Sabathia.
Wade Davis was one of the three finalists for “Outstanding Rookie.” That award went to Austin Jackson of Detroit.
Josh Hamilton was named the “Outstanding Player,” outpacing Jose Bautista and Miguel Cabrera.
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- DO NOT CLICK THIS LINK. It is terribly disturbing. You will never be able to unsee what you will see. It is Pat Burrell as you have never seen him before. And we will just say now that we warned you. So don’t blame us. [The Fightins]
- Peter Gammons on the Red Sox interest in Carl Crawford: Read the rest of this entry »
Oct 28
The hometown paper of Drew Vettleson, spoke with this year’s supplemental first-round draft pick (#42 overall) for the Rays. Vettleson, an outfielder, gave some insight into how the Rays handle their top draft picks.
[Vettleson and Josh Sale] hung out with the Gulf Coast Rookie League team, and returned home for a few days before heading back to Tampa’s spring training base at Port Charlotte, Fla., for the Instructional League. That’s where they were introduced to the Tampa Way…“With the Rays organization, they take everything slow…they slowly eased [guys] into it so as not try to overwhelm guys real quick…They see something they don’t like, they stop you right away…And you don’t make that mistake again. That pushes you to do the right thing.”
And Vettleson, who was used as a right fielder during instructional league, was not interested in getting caught up in life away from home. The story talks about how Vettleson was up at 6am everyday and didn’t go out like some guys did nearly every night.
This piece even offers Read the rest of this entry »
Oct 28
[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss Crawford As A Tiger, Money For A New Park And Sonny’s Induction
Andy Sonnanstine, Carl Crawford, New Stadium 3 Comments »
Somebody else speculated on this last week and now Ken Rosenthal confirms that the Detroit Tigers have “big interest” in Carl Crawford.
We have said this before, but Crawford in a Tigers uniform makes almost too much sense. With that huge outfield, Crawford’s defense is worth far more than it would be in either Fenway or Replica Yankee Stadium. And offensively, Crawford could hit 30 triples a year.
The Tigers are not afraid to give out a big contract either. They famously offered Juan Gonzalez a $140 million deal that he rejected. And Miguel Cabrera is in the middle of a $152.3 million contract.
But would CC pick the Tigers over the Angels or Yankees? Nobody knows the answer to that. Probably not even Crawford himself.
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Pinellas County may have Read the rest of this entry »
Oct 27
More Painful World Series Participant: Burrell Or Hamilton?
Josh Hamilton, Pat Burrell 24 Comments »
Game 1 of the 2010 World Series is tonight, and each team has a slugger that used to be a key member of the Rays organization…
Josh Hamilton: Seeing the Rays’ former #1 pick thrive with the Rangers is kinda like breaking up with that one crazy chick in college and then having her grow up to be Katy Perry.
Pat Burrell: Seeing Burrell thrive for the Giants (while being paid by the Rays) is more like getting a divorce and then seeing your ex-wife use the alimony for liposuction and a boob-job.
So, which one is more painful for you to watch in this World Series? Let’s hear it in the comments.
Oct 27
While looking for something else, we came across this old picture of Matt Garza from his days in Minnesota. Does that look like the face of somebody that would one day throw a no-hitter? We are horrified. He has come a long way from Jonas Brother to the Duke Blue Devil.
Oct 27
In my latest piece for Business Insider, I wonder if fans would be more willing to commit tax dollars to new stadiums if they were given ownership of the team in return. This is particularly relevant to the Rays as they seek a new stadium in the Bay Area during a tough economic period.
In Forbes’ most recent valuations of Major League teams, they listed the Rays’ value at $316 million. Would the citizens of Tampa or St. Pete be more willing to finance a new $500 million stadium if the Rays gave the city (or cities) 20% of the team (~$60 million)?
In addition to the potential for increasing the value of the team and the city’s investment, there would also be the added reassurance that the team could not up and move with the city as a minority owner.
Would this work? Maybe not. But we do know that if the Rays want a new stadium in Tampa or St. Pete, they are going to have to be creative with the financing, or it will never happen.
If Teams Want Fans To Pay For Stadiums, They Should Give Fans Some Ownership [Business Insider]
Oct 27
[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss The End Of Burt Reynolds
Burt Reynolds, Pat Burrell 8 Comments »
The Rays have released Burt Reynolds. Sad, sad, sad. No really, they did. Reynolds was an outfield prospect that only reached single-A in three seasons. In 164 career games, he hit .248 with 10 home runs and 33 stolen bases.
Damn. We had all sorts of Cannonball Run references just waiting for Reynolds to hit the big time.
THE JUNKYARD DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- OK, we get it. Pat Burrell is doing better with the Giants. [Baseball Analytics]
- The Yankees could be in a quandary if they can’t sign Cliff Lee or Carl Crawford. [New York Post]
- Rayhawk Review offers a tax proposal for a new Rays stadium. [Rayhawk Review]
- And don’t forget about your Morning Cup of Joe. [JoeBucsFan]
Oct 26
Every year, we ask for 12 gifts from the Rays prior to the season. Let’s look back at this year’s wishes and see which “gifts” we actually received…
TWELVE shutouts — As it happens, the Rays finished the season with exactly 12 shutouts. And surprising to us, half of those occurred before the All-Star break and the other occurred after…GIFT RECEIVED
ELEVEN postseason wins — For the second time in three years, the Rays won the AL East and went to the playoffs. And like 2008, the Rays came up short in their quest for 11 postseason wins…NO GIFT
TEN wins versus each divisional rival — The Rays went 11-7 against both the Orioles and Red Sox and 10-8 versus the Blue Jays and the Yankees…GIFT RECEIVED
NINE No-Hit Innings — July 26, 2010, may not have been the most important game in franchise history, but it might have been the most exciting. Thank you Matt Garza…GIFT RECEIVED
EIGHT positions with a .350 wOBA — The Rays finished Read the rest of this entry »
Oct 25
Last week we looked at the 2011 25-man roster, now let’s gander at the 2011 40-man roster and payroll projection. Notes on the projection can be found after the table…
Notes on the 40-man projection…
- A legend for the table can be found below after the jump.
- This projection is based on Read the rest of this entry »
