If I were Andrew Friedman...
by UnderRAYted on Jul 29, 2009 4:39 PM EDT
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The Rays starting rotation is packed with above-average young pitchers. The depth is there, but the ace is not. We are without a pitcher we can rely heavily on every 5 days. Therefore, I see no reason for sitting back and not aggressively pursuing Roy Halladay. Wade Davis? (Sigh) Okay...Scott Kazmir? Fine. Reid Brignac? Take him. We don't need to have a stacked Triple-A team.
If you think there is an overflow major-league ready starting pitchers the Rays have now, wait until after this season. The Rays essentially have 3 spots already filled for next season (Garza, Shields, and Niemann), as long as they continue their productive seasons.If Price is deemed untouchable then he would be out 4th starter. That leaves one spot for Scott Kazmir (one of the best arms in MLB), Sonnanstine(2008 Wins leader), and a long list of upcoming prospects, most notably Wade Davis. Davis must be given a chance in the majors next year. He has spent numerous seasons with Durham and should have an immediate impact in the majors, similar to Niemann. Mitch Talbot was considered a major league-ready pitcher prior to this season but has taken a step back this season. Jake Mcgee was a top 10 pitching prospect in the Minors before sustaining a season-ending injury a year ago. If he can avoid future injuries, he can make a big splash also. The most highly-touted pitcher in the Rays system is Jeremy Hellickson. He could even be ready for the Majors as he was recently promoted to Triple-A. In his first start for Durham, he outpitched another top prospect Jake Arietta, allowing 2 runs in 6 innings with 6 strikeouts.
Shortstop is the second most loaded position in our system. People forget that Jason Bartlett is still young and getting better by the season. There is no need for Brignac in the majors. Bartlett just needs to hold his own weight in the majors until Tim Beckham arrives in about 4 years. Brignac is a good defensive shortstop, but some have considered moving him to second base. This wouldve seemed like a decent proposal before Ben Zobrist turned into Zorilla. Zobrist could become a full time RF, or come back down to earth.
With roughly 8 major league ready pitchers, trading for Roy Halladay, or even Victor Martinez, would decrease the logjam that is certain to occur in the offseason while also improving our championship hopes.The Rays were oh so close to a deal for Jason Bay last year but couldn't come to terms. The last thing I want to hear this year is how the Rays missed out on another opportunity. I felt sick to my stomach when Bay went to the BoSox. With the Yankees and Red Sox tied to every big name player, I would hate to have that same feeling this year.
Therefore, If I were Andrew Friedman I would pull the trigger on a trade this season, knowing that the Rays have a chance to win NOW and may not in a couple of years because attendance numbers are down and payroll is sure to be cut.
Agree? Disagree?
This post was written by a member of the DRaysBay community and does not necessarily express the views or opinions of DRaysBay staff.
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don’t use wins as a good statistical category, and Bartlett is 29- (30 by Next year) – how exactly is he young?
Come ON Pat the Bust, Navi can not have more homers than you
by 4QB on Jul 29, 2009 4:46 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Not to take a total crap on your post, but here's me taking a total crap on your post.
Therefore, I see no reason for sitting back and not aggressively pursuing Roy Halladay. Wade Davis? (Sigh) Okay…Scott Kazmir? Fine. Reid Brignac? Take him. We don’t need to have a stacked Triple-A team.
If The Jays do Davis/Kazmir/Briggy, AFried would have done it already and we would be making fun of the Jays.
The Rays essentially have 3 spots already filled for next season (Garza, Shields, and Niemann), as long as they continue their productive seasons.If Price is deemed untouchable then he would be out 4th starter. That leaves one spot for Scott Kazmir (one of the best arms in MLB), Sonnanstine(2008 Wins leader),
Oh man, Niemman is probably statistically the luckiest pitcher on our staff, he’s due for a ton of regression on his Home Run Rate. Calling Zombie-Kazmir a good arm is laughable. Please, Please don’t use wins as an evaluative stat.
Davis must be given a chance in the majors next year. He has spent numerous seasons with Durham and should have an immediate impact in the majors, similar to Niemann. Mitch Talbot was considered a major league-ready pitcher prior to this season but has taken a step back this season.
Davis has been in AAA for 1 whole year now. We do not know if he will have an immediate impact, thats HEAVY wishful thinking. Talbot has been hurt.
Jake Mcgee was a top 10 pitching prospect in the Minors before sustaining a season-ending injury a year ago. If he can avoid future injuries, he can make a big splash also
He’ll be in AA maybe next year. i doubt he touches Durham this year, or maybe until midway next year.
The most highly-touted pitcher in the Rays system is Jeremy Hellickson. He could even be ready for the Majors as he was recently promoted to Triple-A. In his first start for Durham, he outpitched another top prospect Jake Arietta, allowing 2 runs in 6 innings with 6 strikeouts.
He’s going to be in Durham for at least a full year. We NEVER rush pitchers unless you’re an uberprospect like Price.
Shortstop is the second most loaded position in our system. People forget that Jason Bartlett is still young and getting better by the season. There is no need for Brignac in the majors. Bartlett just needs to hold his own weight in the majors until Tim Beckham arrives in about 4 years
Bartlett is 29, and his Defense has been getting worse, and he’s consistently suffered ankle/leg injuries. He’s the future!
With roughly 8 major league ready pitchers, trading for Roy Halladay, or even Victor Martinez, would decrease the logjam that is certain to occur in the offseason while also improving our championship hopes.
Realistically, its about 6 pitchers, and Kazmir isn’t exactly amazing. I’d be comfortable giving up Davis, but trading for the sake of decreasing a “Logjam” may be the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.
The Rays were oh so close to a deal for Jason Bay last year but couldn’t come to terms. The last thing I want to hear this year is how the Rays missed out on another opportunity. I felt sick to my stomach when Bay went to the BoSox. With the Yankees and Red Sox tied to every big name player, I would hate to have that same feeling this year.
Yeah, it sucked ass when Bay lead the Sox to their second straight title last year.
Therefore, If I were Andrew Friedman I would pull the trigger on a trade this season, knowing that the Rays have a chance to win NOW and may not in a couple of years because attendance numbers are down and payroll is sure to be cut.
Attendance is up; Your point is invalid.
Brad Ziegler had a scoreless inning streak. Brad Ziegler had not met BJ Upton.
doing my best to walk away from the train wreck
but it’s so hard to look away
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"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
P Brady
Jack Wilson is older than and less productive than Bartlett but the Mariners say that he is their “future” shortstop.
Attendance isn’t literally down, but the expectations were that we would be around the major league average. We couldn’t even get 30,000 per game when the Phillies were in town. The only way the Rays will ever be able to draw in big crowds is if they play the red sox, yankees, or have a concert.
Jack Wilson is the Mariners future shortstop.
As in, tomorrow and next year.
by R.J. Anderson on Jul 29, 2009 5:19 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Jack Wilson has 1.5 years on his contract left.
Brad Ziegler had a scoreless inning streak. Brad Ziegler had not met BJ Upton.
Beats me.
"This was an opportunity for us to acquire a veteran shortstop, a former All-Star player, with leadership qualities and above average defensive skills,’’ Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik said in a press release. "As we move forward over the next few years it is nice to know that we have solidified the shortstop position,
by R.J. Anderson on Jul 29, 2009 5:28 PM EDT up reply actions
They drafted Nick Franklin and have a few minor league SS of note.
I find it hard to believe Wilson would be there past next season.
by R.J. Anderson on Jul 29, 2009 5:29 PM EDT up reply actions
P Brady...
You took everything I wrote out of context.
...If you would like to respond and tell me where it was out of context, go right ahead
Brad Ziegler had a scoreless inning streak. Brad Ziegler had not met BJ Upton.
I never said Jeremy Hellickson would be rushed to the majors. Is it possible he could be in the Majors by next year??? Most likely not, which is what I implied. But with any club, injuries happen and so do firesales. A year from now, the Rays may regress and turn into their former self(D-Rays). They could turn into this year’s Pirates since we are a small-market team as well. Also, never be surprised by an early call-up. Mat Latos was called up from the Padres from AA, and he was their top pitching prospect. They didn’t have any top prospects in AAA, and neither do the Rays in AAA after Davis and now Hellickson.
Padres have an '05 DRays-esque rotation. It's not fair to compare the way they'll handle prospects with us, who doesn't have to call up guys who aren't ready.
I really, really, really doubt we regress into padres or Pirates territory. Like, is that even possible?
Brad Ziegler had a scoreless inning streak. Brad Ziegler had not met BJ Upton.
Unless Longoria, Upton's Defense, Garza/Shields, and a few back end guys blow their arms out, I cannot see it.
Brad Ziegler had a scoreless inning streak. Brad Ziegler had not met BJ Upton.
Unless Longoria, Upton's Defense, Garza/Shields all Fall off*
Brad Ziegler had a scoreless inning streak. Brad Ziegler had not met BJ Upton.
As for Wins, I was pointing out an accomplishment by Sonnanstine. The team went to the world series, it has to be worth something. At worst, it shows that he has succeeded in the majors to some degree.
Whoa. Whoa. Whoa.
Calm down RJ, 99% of the time I don’t care about Wins and Losses. I care about ERA, WHIP, groundball/ flyball ratio, etc. Unfortunately for Andy, his numbers in those categories are anything but efficient.
To piss you off some more though….Sonny is 3-0 at Durham
Um, I am being calm.
Read the links I provided please. ERA and WHIP are equally useless.
by R.J. Anderson on Jul 29, 2009 5:41 PM EDT up reply actions
Yes I read it.
ERA and WHIP useless? USELESS!!!!!????
I found this site and at first it seemed like it had some half-intelligent Rays fans, but I guess I was wrong.
Their are much better sabermetric stats to use that correlate much better to run prevention
Brad Ziegler had a scoreless inning streak. Brad Ziegler had not met BJ Upton.
Sabermetric stats indicate that a pitcher may being doing better/worse than what their era reflects. But ERA is the most important. CC Sabathia has good sabermetric stats. Look what it did for him last night.
But then, eventually their ERA reflects their peripheral stats.
People smarter than you and I have done research and searched for the best ways to evaluate pitchers. ERA and WHIP are not those ways.
Brad Ziegler had a scoreless inning streak. Brad Ziegler had not met BJ Upton.
Wow. You two remind me of Billy Beane. Statistics can only get you so far. Stick to ERA and WHIP. There is no need to get into sabermetric stats. Save those for your fantasy teams. I bet Aaron Harang had good sabermetric stats 2 seasons and prior to that. And now he doesn’t because he’s doing bad. Those stats are used to point out why he is doing bad, and how he will fare in the future. No one predicted he would do terrible last year, and he did. Then people predicted he would turn it around this year, because of good sabermetric stats. Guess what? He didn’t.
by UnderRAYted on Jul 29, 2009 6:05 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
he is doing pretty well
actually.
and here, in the above statement, you assume that all sabermetric stats are predictive, which is incorrect. wOBA is a results-based stat just like BA or OBP, but uses a more effective way of grading each event in terms of how good or bad it is for a batter
As for rating a player’s at-bat…
How many pitches the batter sees, whether or not he is able to make contact, whether or not he makes good contact with the ball. These stats would be useful when creating a lineup, right? You want to know which hitters have had betters ab’s against the opposing pitcher. Therefore, that would make this a predictive stat.
THE ONLY REASON THESE STATS ARE IN EXISTENCE IS TO BE PREDICTIVE.
I didn't know "whether or not he makes good contact with the ball"
and also, stats exist to better quantiy and analyze past performances as well.
User "UnderRAYted" has officially stomped the yard.
by R.J. Anderson on Jul 29, 2009 6:12 PM EDT up reply actions
I apologize for always being right.
by UnderRAYted on Jul 29, 2009 6:16 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
It's funny because you might be the stupidest poster we've had in forever.
by R.J. Anderson on Jul 29, 2009 6:18 PM EDT up reply actions
Everything I write makes sense. Your unpredictable posts are outrageous. Who in their right mind says that ERA and WHIP are useless?
Why don’t you use your sabrmetric stats and tell me how the game will play out tonight??? Tell me who will do well and who won’t. GAMES ARE UNPREDICTABLE.
"Who in their right mind says that ERA and WHIP are useless?"
People smarter than you.
by R.J. Anderson on Jul 29, 2009 6:29 PM EDT up reply actions
Have you ever played baseball?
It’s not played on a calculator with your numbers. Maybe you should come out of mom’s basement and realize that HUMANS play the game.
by R.J. Anderson on Jul 29, 2009 5:53 PM EDT up reply actions
Could you please educate us on topics such as
- Catcher ERA and its importance
- The inverted W in pitcher mechanics
- The important of hustle
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