Tagged: BJ Upton
It’s Been Awhile, but the Trade Deadline is Here!
Kids take alot of time. Totally worth it…
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So what will the Rays do as the trade deadline looms?
It seems that the Tampa Bay franchise is best when it avoids the big deal at the deadline. The deals that make this team what is has been for the last four years or so are the deals that go unnoticed by the MLB public at large. The Rays will likely end up picking up a guy off the waiver list and stand pat with what they have.
But, just in case…
WHO IS LIKELY GOING?
BJ Upton has already called the trade rumors about him “comical.” It’s true. A trade rumor about BJ is like all of the foreclosed houses in the area–omnipresent and depressing.
He’s a big talent, of course. But he hasn’t utilized that talent at all, which makes him expendable. Plus, he’s apt to make about $7 million in arbitration next year.
That REALLY makes him expendable.
The best rumor I’ve heard is that he would go to the Nationals (they are doing things right in DC, aren’t they?) for their SS Ian Desmond and a catcher. I’m a big fan of Desmond–of his speed, his power, and his youth. Not many teams have strength at the SS position, so brining him to St. Pete would be great.
Let’s not forget that the Rays have Desmond Jennings, who is hitting .500 right now, primed to take BJ’s place.
Oooooo, things do not look good for the underachieving Upton.
LIKELIHOOD: Medium
James Shields has had a TON of rumors about him. The Reds seem to be the frontrunners in the “Big Game” sweepstakes. However, I do not see the Rays, a team who is so shrewd when it comes to storing pitching, moving him. His price next season will be $7 million, just like BJ, but that money for a solid #2 pitcher is much smarter to use than on a center fielder.
LIKELIHOOD: Miniscule
JP Howell has made a nice comeback from Tommy John surgery a few years ago, but he is not all the way back. Nevertheless, there are suitors for the left-handed reliever. They say that the Royals might want him back, but who wouldn’t want a strong lefty with a wicked curve in their bullpen?
LIKELIHOOD: Could Happen
Kyle Farnsworth has had a renaissance this season, becoming the closer the Rays thought they had lost when Rafael Soriano left town for the New York Yankees last season. He would fetch a pretty penny on the market. With the Rays falling out of the race, they can afford to experiment in the closer department. Since Farnsie would ask for much more money next season, the Rays likely would not be able to afford him. So…
LIKELIHOOD: Gone
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The bottom line is that the Rays listen to deals on all of its players. Jeremy Hellickson has been mentioned in trades, but there is no way he’s going anywhere. That doesn’t mean the Rays won’t listen.
Tomorrow will be a big day. 4 pm Eastern Time is the drop dead time, and it will be fun to guess about who is going where. Unfortunately, for Rays fans, anyway, no matter what deals are done they will not lead to October.
But next season, who knows…
Exalted
The Rays did it.
I’m just feeling great right now.
Seeing the boys spray the champagne and beer. Watching Don Zimmer get doused with champagne by BJ Upton. Seeing Matt Garza with his diving mask on.
These are memories.
You start off the season hoping your team will be good enough to be one of the final 8 teams after 162 games.
When it happens, it is tough to put into words.
The Rays aren’t supposed to be here. It’s supposed to be the Yankees and Red Sox. The Rays are supposed to be small market also-rans.
And here they are clinching a playoff berth.
And here they are watching the Minnesota Twins struggle against the Kansas City Royals, hoping to get that much closer to the best record in the AL and home field advantage throughout the AL side of the playoffs.
It’s tough to explain.
Joe Maddon said it best when he said that 2008 was pandemonium and 2010 is more controlled.
I agree to an extent.
I’m happy. I’m ecstatic.
But I’m not just happy to be here.
I want to see the boys do something. I want to see them win the Series. 2008 was a time when we were happy to be there and kept getting more and more surprised with each playoff win.
But it seems that in 2010 there is a job to do.
I’m happy.
I’m blown away.
I have chills.
And I’m looking forward to what comes next.
Great job, Rays.
Thanks for giving your fans a hell of a year.
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This might sound dumb, but I wanted to say THANKS to those who have continued to stop by the blog. I have stopped by your blogs too, but have not really had the time to leave comments as I usually do.
I have had alot going on these days–who doesn’t, right?–and I have let my blogging duties lapse. I miss it, and I hope that when things settle down for me I’ll be able to get more involved with talking baseball with all of you great folks.
Thanks for being a great ‘sphere…
BJ Continues to Sit with “Injury”….Yeah, Right….
The Tampa Bay Rays have been trying something new in center field lately.
What’s new?
Their current center fielder is a guy with alot of talent and a bat that can potentially put a ball into the outfield seats on any pitch.
Oh, and THIS guy is grown up enough to understand what it means to be a REAL baseball player.
He hustles.
His name is Ben Zobrist.
Zobrist has been starting in center field for the Rays all week and has yet to be accused of failing to hustle after a ball in the gap, unlike his predecessor.
Yep, BJ Upton has not been in center field since Tuesday night, when he came on late in a game against the Boston Red Sox, and has not started in center since Sunday, when he made the decision that trying to track down a ball hit into the gap did not quite fit with the type of baseball player he felt he was.
And when the budding leader of the Rays, Mr. Evan Longoria, chose to mention this oversight to the “always-potentially-never-really” talented Upton, this happened.
Thanks for dailyskew.com for the pic
It was great to see the more mature Longoria turn and walk away from the histrionics of the childish Upton, almost as if to say, “I don’t have time for this baby crap. Grow up and play the damn game.”
Well done, Longo.
If you haven’t seen it yet, you can stop here.
Manager Joe Maddon said that he had “frank” discussions with Upton several times between Sunday and Tuesday and that the talks went well.
Funny, I think he said that in 2008 when he had to bench Upton THREE TIMES because the center fielder decided then, too, that hustling was beneath him.
What kind of makes BJ’s current escapade so atrocious is that not only did he jump into the face of one of his “friends” on the team (yeah, right–I don’t know that reacting as if you want to rip the face off a guy indicates that any friendship really existed there) when he was rightfully called out for being a chump, but he also threw a kid who has just been called up, Matt Joyce, under the bus, saying that the left fielder should have gotten to it first.
Nice.
When Upton was not in the starting lineup on Tuesday against the Red Sox, a game the Rays HAD to have, a game against the team the Rays are currently battling for the wild card playoff spot, a game that everybody in Boston and in the Tampa Bay area were eager to watch, Maddon said that it was only because Upton did not match up well with Lackey and NOT because of punishment.
Yeah, right.
I think that every Rays fan was able to read between the lines at the message that Maddon was sending to the youngster:
Insult your team and your fans, and you’ll sit.
Forget the lame excuse for why Upton sat, he sat nevertheless, as he should have.
Then Upton sat again on Wednesday and again on Thursday. Upton and Maddon claim it is because the loafer has a leg injury of some sort.
**Is it any coincidence that the Rays have won both of those games? I don’t think so.
**Is it any coincidence that Upton taking a seat for those two games came immediately following his temper tantrum? I don’t think so.
**Is it a coincidence that his “benching” has come against two very good teams that the Rays must fire on all cylinders to beat? I don’t think so.
It is obvious that Maddon is sending a message.
The only real question out there is, will Upton hear it?
I don’t know about that, but I know that there are many things that BJ needs to start doing.
It’s time to realize that the label “potential” has a shelf life, BJ.
It’s time to start playing for the fans and your team, BJ.
In other words, it’s time to grow up, BJ.
Speedy Post: Nice Win Gets Rays Closer to First
The Rays ended the month of June with a really nice win against a team they HAVE to beat if they want to be in the running for a playoff spot, the Boston Red Sox.
Their 9-4 thumping of the Sawx Wednesday night was pretty darn impressive, as the run output from Boston was augmented with some meaningless runs late in the game.
Matt Garza did just what the Rays needed him to do: shut down the opposition. He gave up only 6 hits in his 7 innings and looked in command throughout. He ran out of gas in the 8th inning, but it didn’t really matter at that point because the Rays had a commanding lead.
I had thought that the Rays would be able to beat down Daisuke Matsusaka, but it didn’t really go that way. He was far from impressive, but he was also far from dominated by the Rays offense. It was the Sox ‘pen that fall apart, namely Manny Delcarmen.
And, let’s face it, you can’t win if your bullpen stinks on any given night. Luckily, the Rays’ hitters were able to take advantage of Delcarmen’s lack of control.
What really helped to force the Sox pitchers hands was what has helped the Rays to beat Boston 5 out of 9 games thus far this season:
Stolen Bases!!!
The Rays were able to run on Sox catcher Jason Varitek fairly easily, stealing on 2 of 3 base attempts. That might not sound like alot, but when NONE of the stolen bases were taken by guys with last names of Upton, Crawford, or Bartlett, then you are talking about some really good base running. (Sean Rodriguez and Ben Zobrist were the thieves in the game)
If you are a Rays fan, you are not only happy with the result of the game but also with the fact that Tampa Bay sits just 1 game behind the Sox for second place in the AL East and only 2 games behind the Yanks for the division lead.
Unfortunately, if they aren’t careful during this tough 4-game series in Minnesota, they might give up all the ground they gained last night.
It will be up to Jeff Nieman and the Rays hitters to start July off the same way they finished June: with a win.
Speedy Post: Rays/Red Sox Game 2
So…last night stunk.
How else do you describe an 8-5 loss?
And it wasn’t that close.
The Rays find themselves 2 games behind the Red Sox for second place and 3 games out of first. Nobody said that the AL East was going to be easy, but the Rays as of late have made everything look more difficult than it needs to be.
The Rays send righty Matt Garza to the mound tonight with the hopes of earning a split in the truncated 2-game series. He has done well and done poorly in two starts against the Red Sox, but there is something tonight that Garza has going for him.
Nobody on the Red Sox team who might start tonight has faced the spitfire righty, emphasis on the SPIT.
In fact, only 6 guys on the Red Sox roster have any at bats against Garza and only Adrian Beltre is hitting over .261 against him.
In other words, Garza is due for a good start in a big game against a tough team tonight. As long as the youngster can keep his emotions in check, of course. That certainly seems to have been a challenge for the Rays as of late.
The Red Sox will send Daisuke Matsusaka to the mound. The Rays have had moderate success against the guy with the exaggerated windup, though Ben Zobrist (no hits), Jason Bartlett (.143), and BJ Upton (.077) have had significant struggles.
I would expect to see John Jaso behind the plate (he’s a lefty and has yet to see Matsusaka), Reid Brignac at SS (he has yet to face Matsusaka), and either Kelly Shoppach (.400) or Willy Aybar at DH (.333) tonight.
Will BJ start? Who knows? He didn’t start yesterday, but he did end up getting into the game late. Manager Joe Maddon said it was not a punishment, but, well, we can all read between the lines.
No matter who starts, the Rays will have to be patient. Matsusaka thrives when opposing batters jump on his early pitches. If the Rays hold back and wait for their pitch, work the count, draw some walks, I think we will see them even the series and get to within one game of second place yet again.
But if the Rays’ hitters are overly aggressive and Garza struggles with his emotions, we can expect another ugly game, for sure.
Rays and Red Sox Get Ready to Throwdown
VS 
You surely want to get excited about the series that starts tonight between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Boston Red Sox.
You want to get hyped and break out the good snacks before settling down on the couch for a series between rivals.
You want to go through the ritual of getting mentally prepared for yet another series of insanity between to top-notch teams in the AL East.
You want to, but…
Let’s face it, the Red Sox are a long long long way from contending for the division. Heck, they have to crawl out of 4th place before they can contend for anything.
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Sweeps Is Sweeps
You cannot forget the hard-to-watch destruction that was the 4-game series sweep the Rays handed to the Red Sox last month. On the one hand, you do not want to put too much emphasis on baseball in April, but you can’t discount it too much, either.
I mean, the Rays outscored the Rouge Sox in that series by a 24-9 score and dominated pretty much every facet of the game. They outhit the Sox, outpitched the Sox, and outstole the Sox.
Sadly, while that series was simply legendary, you can’t transfer those good times to this series.
Damn.
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Pitching In
The Sox are going to throw 2 of their best in this series (all due respect to Josh Beckett, he simply has not been himself lately).
Clay Buchholz (who is pitching RIGHT NOW!) and Jon Lester are having solid seasons. Their ERA’s are in the low-3’s and they are a combined 9-5 this year. They typically have good success against the Rays, which could bode ill for the good guys.
They Rays will throw Wade Davis (who deserves SERIOUS Rookie of the Year consideration) in Game 1, which is not an issue because he has pitched in many pressure-filled games this season. He will be followed by the stellar James Shields and Cy Young-esque Matt Garza.
The Sox pitching in this series might be good, but the Rays’ should be better.
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The Secret? Stealing
In their series in April, the Rays stole the Red Sox blind. They took base after base with little resistance.
Carl Crawford, Jason Bartlett, and BJ Upton could not be stopped. And that could be acceptable, if you are a Sox fan, if those were the only guys who were swiping bases. However, the Rays rubbed it in by having Evan Longoria, Ben Zobrist, and Carlos Pena take bases as well.
The way the Rays will win this series, and the Sox will lose it, is if the Rays’ stealing success continues. But if the Sox keep the Rays off of the bases and prevent them from turning singles into doubles we could see another sweep, but this time from the bad guys.
Yikes!
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Closing Thoughts
Funny, when I started this post I thought of this series as yet another ho-hum series in 2010 a la the Royals or Mariners.
But when you look at the pitching matchups, the battles between base runner, catcher, and pitcher, and the drama that is Rays/Red Sox, I find myself starting to get more and more amped up.
Game 1 might not be looking so good thus far, but jeez I am starting to feel those competitive juices flow.
The Sox may be 8 1/2 back right now, but I would love to see the Rays bury these guys by the end of the series.
Ok, I’m officially pumped.
Main Event
(yes, I know it’s Friday)
I remember getting super excited when I was a kid and the WWF (it wasn’t the WWE back then) had its “Saturday Night, Main Event” that came on after Saturday Night Live.
Mean Gene Oakerland would come on and get everybody excited while Vince Macmahon and Jesse Ventura would do the play-by-play. Hulk would come out and rip off that muscle shirt and Jimmy Superfly Snuka and Ricky The Dragon Steamboat would do their thing.
It was great.
I can feel that excitement coming on right now as we are getting ready for this weekend’s Main Event.
VS 
Yes.
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Last Year
The Rays and Sox split last year’s series, 9-9.
However, the Rays dominated those Sox early on, going 9-5 in the first 5 months of the season.
Late in September, though, Boston got its revenge, taking the lats 4 games of the series to help knock the Rays out of playoff contention. I remember being pretty bummed out after that final Sox series, knowing my guys would not be making a repeat trip to October.
Certainly it is early in the season, and certainly last year was last year. But I am sure that Joe Maddon and company would like to put together a little streak here at Fenway to send a message that the Rays are for real again in 2010.
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The Pitchers
Game 1
Wade Davis vs. Josh Beckett
Davis did an ok job against the Yankees last weekend. Not great. Not terrible. He gave up 4 runs in his 6 innings of work and came away with the loss. Of course, he was dueling with a guy who gave up only 1 hit all game long in CC Sabathia. Beckett is always tough on the Rays, but he can be touched up, especially at Fenway.
Game 2
James Shields vs. Clay Buchholz
Shields has a decent 3.97 ERA right now, but no wins to show for it. As the team’s ace, he needs to dominate a little more. Buchholz is one of the Sox’s young hurlers they are hoping will get them through the next few years–he has the stuff to dominate.
Game 3
Matt Garza vs. John Lester
Garza has been amazing this year. The Red Sox will have their hands full as long as he can control his emotions. Lester is one of the other youngsters who has the stuff to win a Cy Young.
Game 4
Jeff Nieman vs. TBA
Nieman showed well in his last start against the Orioles after being hit by a line drive in his first start. He didn’t get the win, but his 3.24 ERA so far in the season seems just a precursor of things to come.
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Three Keys to a Series Win
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Emotions must be kept in check. This is a big divisional series. Guys like Shields and Garza need to keep their emotions under control or the Fenway fans will eat them alive.
Burrell has to hit. He seemed as if he might start coming out of his season-long funk near the end of the Baltimore series, but the fact is that the Rays have to have their veteran DH do SOMETHING this series.
BJ post- postseason success? He had an amazing run in the 2008 postseason at Fenway. Is it too much to ask for us to see it again. If he and Burrell can start playing pepper with the monstrous green monolith out there in left field, a 3-1 series win is not out of the question.
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I don’t think that the Rays are totally ready for a series such as this.
Sorry.
They played the Yankees at home, so they had the fans behind them. In the other two series they have played this year they have faced off against the Baltimore Orioles.
Ahem.
The Rays will have to have alot of things go their way if they are to split or win this series. If they don’t, it might be a rough weekend.
Either way, I am looking forward to seeing this Main Event get started!
So, Red Sox…
Whatcha Gonna Do!!!
Utter Domination
Rays 9, Yankees 3
And it wasn’t that close.
David Price, the Rays’ phenom 24-year-old lefty, led the team against the invaders from NYC and gave them more than they could handle.
The offense didn’t want to be outdone, so they put their best bat forward and put up 8 earned against the Yanks’ big offseason acquisition, Javier Vazquez.
In the end, there was not much to complain about.
If you are a Rays fan, of course.
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Price Was Scary Good
Price went out and simply gave the Rays his longest–and one of his more solid–performances of his young career.
7 2/3 IP 3 ER 7 H 3 BB 7 K
Through 6 innings, however, Price threw only 66 pitches. Aside from a double in the 2nd that brought home 2 runs by Alex Rodriguez, there was nothing scary.
When he reached the 8th inning, Price admitted he began to press a bit, which led to a bases-loaded jam and another run given up. But Lance Cormier came into the game and ended the frame with a strikeout.
It was an almost-effortless performance from a guy who is the Rays’ NUMBER 4 PITCHER!
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Big Inning: The 4th
The Rays almost batted around in the bottom of the 4th against Vazquez.
A few doubles, a few singles, a stolen base from BJ Upton, and a huge blast from Carlos Pena gave the Rays all the runs they would need for the rest of the game (5).
While the home run was fun, I was more excited about the double that just eluded left-fielder Marcus Thames’ glove from the bat of Jason Bartlett. It was one of those moments that you were hoping would happen (him missing the catch) and it led to two big runs. Whew!
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Sleeping Bats Awakened–Look Out!
Pena had been hitting terribly this season. And he had been suffering from a power outage, with no balls of his bat threatening to leave the yard. It was nice to see him take one out against a tough pitcher like Vazquez.
The other area the Rays are getting no production from is DH. I am going to lay off the Burrell Bashing–for now–and simply say that Willy Aybar’s big 2-run home run in the 6th was a respite from worrying about what to do with the DH position. After striking out horribly earlier in the game, it was great seeing him rip one down the line and out.
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Today’s Game
The Rays are going to have a tough one against the Yanks and CC Sabathia. Even though CC got knocked around pretty good by the Red Sox on Opening Day part 1, everybody knows he is a tough hombre.
The Rays are sending out youngster Wade Davis, who will make just his 7th start of his young career. He had to work hard to beat out Andy Sonnanstine for the 5th starter job, so it will be interesting to see how he fares against a tough Yankee club.
I’m excited. Can you tell?
Upton Signs a HUGE contract…but Not the One You Think…
Apparently, an Upton is about to sign a big ol’ 6-year $50 million contract.
The contract will be given to the Upton who plays for a team that began playing major league baseball back in 1998.
This Upton plays the outfield and has great potential.
Alas, this Upton plays in the hot desert instead of the hot beach sands.
This Upton is of the Justin variety, not the BJ.
Congrats to the Arizona Diamondbacks on signing one of the more talented young hitters in the game in Justin Upton. It sounds like they are about to ink him to a long-term deal so that they don’t have to worry about this yearly arbitration nonsense.
Anybody in the Rays and/or BJ camp listenting?
While he is the self-proclaimed “better” baseball brother of the two (at least according to what he said to MLB Network while being interviewed with BJ by his side), you have to imagine that the brother in St. Pete is fuming a little bit.
He’s been playing longer, has had some big moments, and yet will make a “paltry” $3 million compared to his Arizona D-back brother’s nearly $7 million.
Now that is a pretty big difference in money makin’.
The younger Upton hit .300 with 30 doubles, 7 triples, 26 homers and 86 RBIs last season.
Would be nice to get that out of the older Upton, wouldn’t it Rays fans?
Let’s hope that BJ and the Rays can put together a fair contract that will give the older brother a chance to relax in a Rays uniform and produce the way we know he can.
Maybe this will motivate BJ to sign a long-term deal with the Rays. The rumor through alot of last season was that Andrew Friedman had made several overtures to BJ in the hopes of getting a long-term deal done.
Right now would seem the perfect time to do it considering the potential loss of Carl Crawford at some point this year and, maybe, a little sibling rivalry stirring things up.
I mean, don’t underestimate how competitive brothers can be.
Keep in mind that BJ was only a millionaire for two weeks longer than his little brother. Eeesh.
I might be an Upton basher from time to time, but I understand his talent.
And I’m also scared to death about losing CC and then losing BJ right after.
So…
C’mon BJ, let’s get a similar deal done.
Just like your “little” brother…
Co-Post 2: Judging the Rays’ Callups
We are now through the first week of Septemeber! The season is quickly approaching its final end.
It feels like a good time to get away from what the Rays might be doing on the field these days (especially since it could be better) and take a look at the guys who have been recently added to the expanded Rays roster.
Ginny at The Watercooler and Bob at More Cowbell are doing another co-post.
This time the duo will be analyzing the September callups of the Rays and deciding whether each player’s promotion to the big club should be designated a
GOOD CALL or a BAD CALL.
Remember, just because a guy is moved to the MLB roster does not always spell good things for the team. Or does it?
Let the debate begin!
After reading Bob’s analysis, click here to See what Ginny thinks!
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Reid Brignac
.282 AVE 24 2B 8 HR 44 RBI 5 SB
This is the third time Brignac has been moved from Durham to St. Pete. Over the course of the season it seems that the guy has logged more air miles than a pelican! He has had so much promise, yet has yet to break Spring Training with the club and become a regular starter. All that aside, Joe Maddon has said that having Brignac is a good thing because when starter Jason Bartlett needs a day off he can avoid putting Ben Zobrist in a position he has rarely played this year and simply plug in Brignac. I like that idea. It allows Zorilla to concentrate on 2B or RF and keep his bat steady.
GOOD CALL
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Wade Davis
10-9 3.40 ERA 1.25 WHIP 158 IP 140 K
I get chills when I think about what this guy can do on the mound.
This 24-year-old righty has been seen as the next big thing in the Rays system. How amazing is it that the Rays can continually put out the “next big thing” for their fans year after year? (see: Evan Longoria, Jeff Nieman, David Price, Wade Davis) He will make his first start Sunday for the Rays against the Detroit Tigers, and I think that the entire Republic will have its eyes glued on the screen (or in person, hopefully) to see just what the kid can do.
Having him on the roster now gets him a few major league starts before Spring Training next year. He just might have a shot at cracking the rotation next year, especially with the move of Scott Kazmir out west.
GOOD CALL
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Shawn Riggins
.200 AVE 2 2B 1 HR 5 RBI (11 Games)
The call on this move is kind of tricky. I think that the addition of Gregg Zaun was a godsend for a club whose catcher play was inconsistent offensively at best. Seeing Zaun from the left side and Dioner Navarro from the right side has really helped the offense click a little more from the backstop position and the results have been pretty solid (who can forget Zaun’s grand slam!?). Adding Riggs might be a mistake, though. He will not log much playing time with the big club because of the reasons mentioned above and whatever playing time he does get will take away–and disrupt–the smooth flow that has been established by the Zaun/Navi platoon. It can’t hurt having Riggs on the bench, but if he gets some playing time I think the results will be less than desirable.
BAD CALL
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Andy Sonnanstine
Last start: 4 IP 8 H 3 R 4 BB
Sonny is kind of a strange situation in that he was brought up September 1st because of the departure of one Scott Kazmir. His first start did not go much better than the previous 15 before it. This is a great chance for Sonny to earn a spot in next year’s rotation, but he did not impress in his first game back. He’ll be moved back one day to allow Davis to start at the Trop on Sunday and to get Sonny into the double header against the Yankees Monday. I am losing some faith in Sonnanstine’s ability to get batters out, and he may be ticketed for a long relief spot if he’s not careful.
NECESSARY CALL!
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Fernando Perez
.278 AVE 3 2B 0 HR 2 RBI 8 SB (13 games)
(This is Davey Lopes…but the ‘stache is the same–I can’t find a good pic of Perez’s stache!)
If the mustache doesn’t get you excited, then you must be dead!
This is one of my favorite players. The “Columbia Kid” was impressive in his stint with the Rays last season, culminating with a 2008 playoffs to remember. He is exciting on the basepaths and plays above average defense in center or right field. His bad is adequate, but he is also young (26) and will get better. His switch hitting ability is another plus.
He comes along at the right time, for BJ Upton’s ankle injury will sideline him for a few days. I think that this is a perfect chance for Perez to show the front office that he and BJ are the same age, possess the same skill set (minus the power for Fernando), but totally different salary situations. Hmmmmm….
GOOD CALL
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The September callups for the Rays used to mean that the year was over. That it was time to figure out what to do next year.
I don’t think that is the case just yet, though things don’t look so great.
The guys above are all guys who could/should break Spring Training on the Rays major league roster. They should all be contributers to next year’s team as well.
This opportunity, though, comes with alot riding on it. Not only do they get to audition for the team for next season, but they can help get the team to the playoffs if they do well.
I’m hoping for some great baseball from these guys over the next few weeks!
KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR OUR NEXT CO-POST, COMING SOON!
Go Rays!
More Cowbell--A Rays Blog 