Archive for the 'Victor Zambrano' Category

Jun 20

Looking Back At Zambrano-For-Kazmir

Scott Kazmir, Victor Zambrano Cork Gaines No Comments »

Jack Dickey of Deadspin.com took a look back at the famous deal that brought Scott Kazmir to the Rays for Victor Zambrano. Dickey argues that while the results of the deal were certainly lopsided in favor of the Rays, the thinking behind the trade for the Mets was not as idiotic as most people believe.

“The Mets knew that Zambrano was actually better than he looked, and that he had a high ceiling. He struck out hitters at a nice clip—seven per nine—and simply walked and hit too many. He was young enough (28), with good stuff. A worthwhile gamble…Regrettably, Zambrano just didn’t pitch very well as a Met. He got hurt. You can blame the Mets doctors and the snake-oil salesmen in Tampa…When they dealt him, the Mets knew Kazmir well, and had every reason to believe they knew Zambrano well. They had “overvalued” and “undervalued” exactly right…”

This thinking makes sense on the surface, but it is also flawed. And it also explains perfectly the one shortcoming of the Tampa Bay Rays that they will never be able to overcome. That is, Read the rest of this entry »

Jul 26

Revisiting The Kazmir-Zambrano Trade Now Is Silly And Pointless

Victor Zambrano Cork Gaines 14 Comments »

Much has been made of Scott Kazmir’s struggles this season as his career continues to fall faster than BJ Upton’s trade value. So we guess it was only a matter of time until somebody tried to argue that the trade that brought Kazmir to the Rays wasn’t that bad. Enter Jeff Pearlman of SI.com…

While Duquette was certainly foolish to take on Zambrano, his worries about Kazmir have, by and large, proven true. At the time of the deal, Kazmir boosters were comparing the youngster to another Ron Guidry…Truth is, when the Mets brass watched Kazmir throw, they often saw another Bud Smith, a slight St. Louis left-hander who, as a rookie phenom in 2001, went 6-3 while tossing a no-hitter. Smith was briefly the talk of baseball, but after pitching terribly early in 2002, he was traded to Philadelphia and never heard from again. He was small, he was left-handed — and he broke down.

Yes, Scott Kazmir has had a nice career. But nice is often misleading. Now in his seventh full season, Kazmir has never posted an ERA lower than 3.48, has never won more than 13 games and has only thrown one complete game — in 2006…Now, with his velocity down, his once-potent slider nonexistent and his ERA a major league-worst 6.92, Kazmir has been placed on the disabled list by an organization perplexed and befuddled by a should-be ace…”Looking at video, I can’t even tell if that’s me out there,” Kazmir recently told ESPN. “It’s getting a little out of control”…In other words, the man has broken down. He will likely never be Ron Guidry or, for that matter, the Scott Kazmir of four years ago.

We guess Pearlman’s point is that the trade wasn’t that bad because Kazmir isn’t as good as Ron Guidry.

There are a couple of problems with that line of thought. First is that Kazmir actually compares quite favorably with Guidry…

Of course, Kazmir never went 25-3 with a 1.74 ERA. But if Kaz had pitched for the Yankees in 2006-2007 instead of the Devil Rays, he probably would have won 20 at least once.

And second, who cares if Kazmir Read the rest of this entry »

Aug 03

Jim Duquette’s Revisionist History Of The Scott Kazmir Deal?

Scott Kazmir, Victor Zambrano Cork Gaines 4 Comments »

Recently, former Mets GM Jim Duquette was asked about one of the most famous trade deadline deals in baseball history. That would be the one that sent Scott Kazmir and a minor leaguer to the Rays for Victor Zambrano and a minor leaguer.

Specifically, Duquette was asked why he made the deal. MetsBlog provides the quote and their take…

“I’m still answering questions about the Kazmir trade.  It was six years ago… Kazmir, here’s a guy that what we talked about in the evaluation he turned out exactly like we thought; his stuff, his makeup, his desire, all the things that Kazmir turned out to be we had right… What we didn’t have right was the guy we got back, Victor Zambrano.  In that, when you’re sitting in the GM chair, and you’re going, ‘What were we looking at, what were our scouts looking at.’  It ended up, he was broken.”

MetsBlog feels that Duquette is referencing Kazmir’s recent struggles and that this is exactly what the Mets thought would happen. When we first read the quote, we thought Duquette was saying that they knew Kazmir would be good, but were still willing to make the deal and the only reason it didn’t work in their favor was because they were mislead by the Rays.

Quite frankly we are not sure it matters. Kazmir has made 139 starts for the Rays, winning 52 with a 3.87 ERA. Zambrano made 35 starts for the Mets, won 10 with a 4.42 ERA. We don’t care if Scott Kazmir’s arm falls off in the middle of the night and he never throws another pitch…The Mets got hosed and most Mets fans blame Duquette.

Quote: Jim Duquette on Scott Kazmir [MetsBlog]

Sep 24

[HAPPY HOUR] Crawford Admits First Round Is ‘Iffy’

Carl Crawford, Fernando Perez, Heath Rollins, Jason Bartlett, Jeremy Hellickson, Matt Silverman, Mitch Talbot, Stuart Sternberg, Terry Francona, Victor Zambrano Cork Gaines 3 Comments »

[UPDATE: 11:32] The Red Sox beat the Indians, but the Rays overcame a first inning that saw the O’s score 5 runs before an out, to get the win. With the victory, the Rays magic number to win the division is now 1. The Angels are currently losing in the 5th inning, 4-2. An Angels loss and the Rays be 1 game behind for the best record in the AL. The Rays won the season-series with the Angels 6-3.

As we get closer to the playoffs, the links are going to start coming fast and furious…On certain days we will provide a late afternoon “Happy Hour” to try and keep the pace…

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • Marc Lancaster has a quote from Terry Francona that suggests the Red Sox will concede the division. [Rays Report]
  • Carl Crawford is now ceding that he probably will not be ready for the first round of the playoffs…If there was any doubt, this should solidify Fernando Perez’ spot on the roster for the ALDS. [Rays Report]
  • Curious as to who will throw out the first pitch in the Rays home playoff games? Well, it won’t be any former members of the organization according to Matt Silverman. “MLB asked us who it’d be. We realized nobody in the history of the franchise had done anything to be worthy of the honor.”…Ouch. The truth hurts. [Washington Post]
  • Deadspin suggests Victor Zambrano. [Deadspin]
  • Outs Per Swing has an exhaustive list of candidates. [Outs Per Swing]
  • Bugs and Cranks offers 5 suggestions…We like the idea of Mr. T. [Bugs and Cranks]
  • Jason Bartlett should hire Brittany Ghiroli as his publicist. Ghiroli breaks down exactly how valuable Bartlett has been to the Rays and she does it much better than we did. [MLB]
  • MLB Trade Rumors breaks down all of playoff teams/contenders to see which teams have benefited the most from their own first-round picks. The Rays come in 4th behind the Mets, Brewers and Phillies. [MLB Trade Rumors]
  • Tampa Bay Rays Prospects has compiled a nice list of the organization’s top strikeout-to-walk ratios from this past season. The top two players are from the Venezuelan and Dominican Summer Leagues which is even below rookie league, so don’t put too much weight in those numbers. The truly impressive numbers are from Jeremy Hellickson (8.1 at high-A and AA), Heath Rollins (4.2 at high-A and AA) and Mitch Talbot (4.0 at AAA). [Tampa Bay Rays Prospects]
  • Joe Bucs Fan is not happy with Stu Sternberg for leaving the tarps on the upper deck for the first two rounds of the playoffs…For the record, MLB has final say in the World Series. If the Rays make it that far, MLB has already told the Rays to have the tarp removed. [Joe Bucs Fan]
Sep 10

[DOWN ON THE FARM] Bulls Rally, But Blow Lead In 9th; Lose Game 1

Craig Albernaz, Gabriel Martinez, Jeff Niemann, Michel Hernandez, Mitch Talbot, Rashad Eldridge, Victor Zambrano, Wade Davis Cork Gaines No Comments »

Scranton/WB 8, Durham 7 (Scranton leads 1-0). Scott Dohmann blew a 1-run lead in the bottom of the 9th, allowing the winning run on a 2-out single…David Price worked 6 innings, but left trailing 4-2. He gave up 3 runs in the first inning, with the big blow being a 2-run home run. Price cruised through the middle innings before giving up one more run in the 6th. He was pulled after 6, striking out 9 and walking just 1…Elliot Johnson drove in 2 with a double in the 3rd…The Bulls rallied to take the lead with 5 in the 7th. Rashad Eldridge who was added just prior to the game, drove home 2 in the inning with a double.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

  • In case you missed it late last night, David Price was named USA Today’s Minor League Player of the Year…And with his season complete, if Price is going to be called up, it could happen as early as tonight. [Rays Index]
  • If you missed it yesterday, Michel Hernandez and Dan Johnson were promoted to the Rays. Rashad Eldridge and Craig Albernaz were promoted from Montgomery to fill the roster spots. [Rays Index]
  • Gaby Martinez will also join the Bulls but will not be activated unless needed. [Biscuits' Batter]
  • Whomever wrote the press release for the above moves may have been a tad upset at the Rays. According to Stacy Long, the release original seemed to take a slight shot at the Rays for taking key members of the Bulls just prior to the Championship series. The press release was subsequently changed and now includes less vitriolic language. [Biscuits' Batter]

The Original Release: Hours before the first pitch of Game One of the Governors’ Cup Playoffs, the Tampa Bay Rays have taken three of Durham’s key position players.

  • The Bulls have set their rotation for the Governor’s Cup Finals. Mitch Talbot will go in game 2 and will be followed by Jeff Niemann and Wade Davis. Of an interesting note is the Yankees game 5 starter…Victor Zambrano. Great googly moogly. [Durham Bulls]
May 11

[SCOTT KAZMIR] Scott Kazmir’s March To 300 Back On Track

Greg Maddux, Roger Clemens, Scott Kazmir, Victor Zambrano admin No Comments »

Last night, Scott Kazmir, shutout the Angels for 6 innings, and earned his 36th career win. Still only 24, Kazmir has already made 99 career starts and is now the Tampa Bay Rays all-time winningest pitcher, having surpassed Victor Zambrano, for whom he was traded from the Mets Organization.

The Professor laid out the reasons that Kid K will be the next 300-game winner in the original post.

To add a couple of thoughts…

  • Keep in mind that even though the Rays have an incredibly young rotation, Kazmir is the youngest of the group.
  • Also, it amazes me that so many people think we have seen the end of 300-game winners considering there are only three pitchers with 350 wins since 1920 and two of those pitchers (Greg Maddux and Roger Clemens) were active just last year.
Aug 24

The Hangover: Rocco Baldelli Is Allergic To Baseball

Casey Fossum, Scott Kazmir, Victor Zambrano Cork Gaines 2 Comments »


Oakland 12, Devil Rays 2.
Boy, that escalated quickly… I mean, that really got out of hand fast. At least nobody was killed by a trident.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

  • The Rays offense has been anemic of late hitting just .198 and averaging 2.4 runs per game over the last 13. They are 4-9 in that stretch. [TBO]
  • After two games as the Vero Beach DH, Rocco Baldelli was scheduled to play three innings in center field last night. Color us surprised, but Baldelli was held out of the lineup with “sore legs”. [tampabay.com]
  • Was Scott Kazmir for Victor Zambrano the worst trade in recent memory? Here is your chance to vote. [Armchair GM]
  • Casey Fossum and the Fossum Flop have signed a minor league deal with the San Diego Padres and they will report to AAA Portland. [The Oregonian]