Some old friends in the news. Matt Diaz is now a Brave after being rescued from Kansas City. After mention of the Red Sox being interested in Travo, he surprised some folks by accepting the arbitration offer with the Rays. It looks as if Perez and Alex Gonzalez are out of the Rays picture after rejecting the Rays offers. Though, they could still work out a deal. I personally like what Toby Hall brings to the table. I am not sure why there is sour feel about him. Is it because its taken him this long to develop or what, but I bet he will draw plenty of interest at some point this season. The Rays need to decide if they are for him or not, as now its time to either lock him up to a Huff Like deal, or look to move him for something in the course of the season. Its believed to be a footwork problem that has contributed to Upton's error total. That is why Jimy Williams will be his personal shadow in the upcoming months working on his game extensively. If the reliever from japan is anything like Osutka who was traded today, that will be one nice addition.
To me, this offseason has been a disapointment in the fact the Rays had some poker chips to work with and they have nothing to show for it. I am not sure if Friedman is scared to pull the trigger or what. I know there is more time, but for a franchise that is trying to improve its image, I am sure the fans would embrace 10 million in salary increase rather than using it on Joe Scoreboard. People were not showing up because of the product on the field in the past.