Really? B.J. a Disappointment?

by R.J. Anderson on Jul 12, 2008 11:23 PM EDT

Top three disappointments

1. OF B.J. Upton: Tremendous talent shows at times — but not enough of the time. And he has fewer homers (six) than Gabe Gross.

Okay, now there are a ton of ways you can go with "disappointments" on this team of the player variety, and the other two listed are Rocco Baldelli and Jonny Gomes, but Upton is the choice, really? How about Jason Bartlett's lack of offense despite being a glove angel, or Carlos Pena -- although he's been really good since late May -- or hey, there's that one guy who plays left field that is woefully under performing to his own career averages, how about him?

But the pick is B.J. Upton and the reasoning is his great talent that hasn't shown "enough of the time" and hitting fewer homeruns than Gabe Gross. Okay, okay. Here's the problem with that...he's third on the team in EqA behind only Evan Longoria and Eric Hinske, and he's 51st overall behind a guy named Rick Ankiel and ahead of some guys named Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera. Let's go through the rest of the problems; his OPS+ is 116, which means he's above average, and while his power outage is something to be mildly concerned about why is there no credit given to his improved walk rate (up from 12.1 to 15.8%) and strikeout rate (down from 32.5 to 24.2)?

How about defensively, this is Upton's first real year in center and maybe he's costing the team some runs, right? Well his Runs Above Average is at 6, solid, and he's third overall for plays made out of zone behind Carlos Beltran and Carlos Gomez. Oh and he has 15 win shares, the same amount as that Longoria guy who the paper named team MVP.

So wait, he's a disappointment for improving nearly every aspect of his game minus power?

0 recs | Comment 12 comments

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I think BJ is hurt

He should sit out for a little while and let Perez play!

The line it is drawn/The curse it is cast/The slow one now/Will later be fast/ As the present now/Will later be past/The order is/Rapidly fadin'./And the first one now/Will later be last/For the times they are a-changin'..- Bob Dylan

by thebaddancingraysfan on Jul 12, 2008 11:25 PM EDT 0 recs

All day, everyday

Top Josh Paul Pornos- Big Navi Stroking, 2pitchers1cup, BJ to the Balls, Riggans Your Thingans

BELIEVE in 08!

by SRQman on Jul 12, 2008 11:27 PM EDT 0 recs

How can you pick B.J. over C.C. as a disappointment?

That’s just wrong.

by R.J. Anderson on Jul 12, 2008 11:32 PM EDT 0 recs

Because..Seriously, what the hell?

by P Brady on Jul 12, 2008 11:33 PM EDT up 0 recs

CC is a

VETERAN

Top Josh Paul Pornos- Big Navi Stroking, 2pitchers1cup, BJ to the Balls, Riggans Your Thingans

BELIEVE in 08!

by SRQman on Jul 12, 2008 11:34 PM EDT up 0 recs

I was thinking the other day about how our farm system may be overrated...

The positional players are weak. The only 2 that were ranked in the top 100 were Brignac and Jennings. Brignac hasnt been too impressive in AAA this season and Jennings cant stay healthy.
The stength is pitching. But the only big prospects doing well this season are Price and Hellickson. Davis has been decent, but his star has diminished a bit, and McGee is out until next year with TJ. Niemann is ok, but not the star we had all hoped for a few years back.

by td32 on Jul 12, 2008 11:48 PM EDT 0 recs

It's top heavy.

At least we can add Beckham to the top 100.

by R.J. Anderson on Jul 12, 2008 11:50 PM EDT up 0 recs

niemann mostly bothers me

because if he is only doing this well in AAA with a pitching coach that seems to be working miracles with guys like dohmann and balfour, then this seems that it may be his cieling.

Blake
USF--Class of '09

by usfraysfan on Jul 12, 2008 11:51 PM EDT up 0 recs

I follow the Milb as well

With Price, Hellickson, Davis, Mcgee (with TJ), Niemann, Barnese, Houser, Darcy, and Cobb the Rays have by far the best as far as top talent and best depth in starting pitching of any team in the league. With guys like Salas, Reid, Thayer, drawing a blank on the other guy in Vero, but there are some pretty good arms in the pen as well.

by Dbullsfan on Jul 13, 2008 12:26 AM EDT 0 recs

I love the Rays pitchers, but...

I think the A’s might have the best pitching now. Gio Gonzalez, Trevor Cahill, Brett Anderson, James Simmons, Fautino De Los Santos(TJ recently), Sean Gallagher, Henry Rodriguez, Craig Italiano, Vincent Mazzaro, and ofcourse Michael Inoa soon. I’m sure there’s some lower level guys I’m missing too. Now none of those guys is on the level of David Price, and only Inoa seems to have that ceiling, but he’s only 16 and hasn’t pitched in the pros yet, but wow. Whatever gap there is between the two is made to seem larger because one organization’s pitchers are almost all having up years, while the other has some high level early season dissapointments in McGee and Davis. This up and down years happen to young players in the minors, so things will probably even out a bit. Hopefully the Rays can sign Lobstein to help.

"I hate the people that love me, and they hate me!"

by Brett Keith on Jul 13, 2008 1:14 PM EDT up 0 recs

The A's have a pretty good case.

I would definitely consider them a legit contender for the pitching crown.

by R.J. Anderson on Jul 13, 2008 1:57 PM EDT up 0 recs

Look at it this way, if Upton is a disappointment.. things are pretty good.

No, actually it’s still absurd. Crawford has been the epitome of disappointment so far this season.

Longlorious.
Free Kila Kaaihue!

by RATW on Jul 13, 2008 12:34 AM EDT 0 recs

Gotta keep the stars happy I guess.

by R.J. Anderson on Jul 13, 2008 1:51 AM EDT up 0 recs

I say hang in there with Upton & Crawford!

Yes, Crawford as underacheived a bit this season, but he is still in his mid 20’s & I think his best seasons are yet to come. Ask yourself this, given the Rays payroll & the organization’s economic structure, can we really do any better than Upton & Crawford? Both have been through there ups & downs, but they are both still very talented players & if the Rays can resign both of them, I would. I think they are both only going to get better. Moreover, you can’t coach speed. These 2 guys are tablesetters in the line up & when they get on base, they are terrors to opposing defenses. Also, these 2 guys probably save atleast a run or two a game from the opposing team with their defense because of their speed & range in the outfield. I am a huge Rays fan & I hope they try & hold onto these 2 guys atleast a couple more seasons. Give these guys a chance to grow as players & get better. I think Upton & Crawford can still be big for the Rays down the stretch in the second half of the season. What the Rays really need to do is go try to get a solid right fielder like Griffey Jr(for the remainder of this season atleast) or Xavier Nady. The Rays as a team just need a few days off. The all star break could not have come at a better time.

by drrub on Jul 13, 2008 11:25 AM EDT 0 recs