2013 was an incredible year for Rays baseball. The Rays acquired rookie of the year Wil Myers, fought their way into the playoffs by winning three win-and-in games to claim the Wild Card, and even introduced those excellent light-burst batting practice caps. For this morning's tank, I would like to highlight DRaysBay's 2013 season.
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Here are the most popular articles written in the last year:
1. Wil Myers and Super Two - Mar. 18th
Michael provided the first of many introductions to Wil Myers and the Super 2 situation on March 18th, in what would become the most read and most referenced post of the year on DRaysBay. It's still a useful primer for those interested.
2. Gauging Interest in David Price, Part 6: Los Angeles (NL), St. Louis, and Houston - Nov. 7th
This labor of love featured trade proposals from site managers around SB Nation for the Dodgers, Cardinals, and Astros in what was one of my favorite posts of the year. In spite of all the rumors at the time, both the LAD and STL site reps were uninterested in trading for David Price at the levels discussed on the hot stove, but the Astros were thrilled to indulge us.
3. Historical Examination: Trades Involving Starting Pitchers - Nov. 21st
Michael dropped some incredible research to steer the conversation from the above article on gauging interest in David Price, to building reasonable expectations based on the last three year's worth of starting pitcher trades. This article is still one of the most worthwhile reads of the year, do check it out if you haven't yet.
Honorable mention goes to our coverage of the playoffs, Hak Ju Lee's devastating knee injury, Josh Sale's suspension, and anything involving a home run hit by Wil Myers -- particularly this article, graciously linked to by Jonah Keri on Grantland.
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There are also a few articles I happen to know you all missed out on that were some quality stuff! Just for fun, here are DRaysBay's least popular posts of 2013:
3. Pitcher preview: Derek Holland - Sept. 18th
2. Rays vs. Yankees GDT 3: Bleep - June 22nd (day game)
1. St. Petersburg City Council votes on the "Exploration Fee" today - Feb. 7th
Each had their reason's. Ian's pitcher preview was lost in the shuffle of a busy September day, and that June 22nd game day thread was for a day game (on a miserably hot day, I might add), but the least popular item was written by yours truly, in a short post I hoped would amp everyone up for the council's decision.
You might remember, the Council turned down the motion that would allow the Rays to pay a fee to look elsewhere for a stadium location by one vote. Newly sworn in Mayor Rick Kriseman believes this is still the best course of action.
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And now, the moment y'all have been waiting for: the winner for most comments on DRaysBay in 2013.
The award goes to (drumroll) RGlass44! He was the only commenter above four thousand last year. Thanks, RGlass -- your check is in the mail.
DRaysBay's Top-5 Commenters of 2013 | |
rglass44 | 4351 |
SRQman | 3981 |
Hatfield | 3002 |
Andy Hellicksonstine | 2542 |
R.J. Anderson | 2183 |
Honorable mention goes to ramedy (2174 comments), lizzieray (2139) and Ryan Gilliss (2058), as well as various members of the mast head that surpassed three thousand comments (Michael and myself).
LINKS
- The Rays claimed Pedro Figueroa, a left handed minor league relief pitcher, off release waivers from the Athletics yesterday afternoon. The 40-man roster is now full, not including the contract of James Loney.
- Patrick Leonard started a scuffle in Australia:
Crikey! Didn't realize this Australian brawl began with a hard collision from Rays prospect Patrick Leonard. http://t.co/yq5ijzMHJU
— Dave Haller (@HallerDave) January 3, 2014
- Fangraphs: Jeff Sullivan discusses the importance of depth in the starting rotation -- something the Rays pride themselves on | Dave Cameron seeks out comps for Masahiro Tanaka
- Kevin Whitaker discusses the Expansion Era and Hall of Fame voting for Baseball Prospectus
- Cal Ripkin Jr's scouting report out of high school was, interestingly, as a mediocre pitcher.
- Craig Calcaterra asks, "Is football dying?"
- Finally, and maybe most importantly, the Phillies are finalizing a new television contract with Comcast, rumored to be in the range of "billions" -- as in Dodger TV money. The deal would begin in 2016, possibly giving Ruben Amaro, Jr. enough piles of of money to be Scrooge McDuck.