SB Nation - Paul Byrd

Free Agent Starting Pitching: BCB Weighs In

roguejim — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 14:51:33 -0000

More photos » by Pat Sullivan - AP

I am Carl Pavano --- no one gave up more earned runs last year in all of baseball last year than I. But I command you to look only at my peripherals! Look at them! Yesss...stare longingly at my sweet sweet peripherals. Love them! (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)

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It just occurred to me that the Winter Meetings are coming up fast, and we haven't told Doug Melvin which two free agent pitchers we wanted. (Frankly, that's probably how the Hardy/Gomez trade went down: we didn't specifically tell DM for whom Hardy should be traded, and he went rogue and made the trade himself.) Assuming we can't (and shouldn't!) get into a bidding war on the services of John Lackey, which two of the free agent pitchers listed below should we try to sign, and why? Be sure to consider salary when choosing.

(Note 1: I'm not including the likes of Mulder and Halama, as you can't sign them and assume they'll win a spot.)

(Note 2: I haven't seen much written about Kelvim Escobar, who hasn't had an ERA north of 4 since 2003. The Red Sox are asking about him, the Brewers should too.)

(Note 3: Shawn Hill is cheap, a sinkerballer, often injured, and one of the few ex-Expos out there not yet 30. A perfect flier for the Brewers.)

Here's the list:

Aroldis Chapman, LHP who throws 100 MPH, albeit erratically
Randy Wolf
Rich Harden
Erik Bedard
John Smoltz
Andy Pettitte
Joel Pineiro
Jarrod Washburn
Ben Sheets
Brad Penny
Justin Duchscherer
Pedro Martinez. Vote for Pedro!
Doug Davis
Jason Marquis
Jon Garland
Vicente Padilla
Carl Pavano
Braden Looper
Randy Johnson
Mike Hampton
Hisanori Takahashi
Paul Byrd
Ugh...I'll opt for choosing only one free agent and trading Gamel for the other

Dissecting the Red Sox Roster: Pitching

Ben Buchanan — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:01:09 -0000

More photos » by Elise Amendola - AP

Make no mistake, Jon Lester is the current and future ace of this Red Sox staff. Sorry, Beckett, but it's time to pass the torch. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

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I was originally going to post this the day we lost-I had written it as something of a therapeutic exercise-before I realized that this might be a "the body is still warm" situation. I thought that fit with the title. Anyways, we've all had time to cool off, time to grieve, and I think it's about time we move on. The stove is warming up, so let's get right to work, starting with a player-by-player review of the current and free-agent bound Red Sox. Who's going, who's staying, and who has trade value.

Daniel Bard: As a young, cost controlled player, Bard provides an immense positive for the Red Sox in the pen. Groomed as a closer throughout his career, Bard may not be ready yet, but he certainly gives the Sox flexibility in the event that Papelbon does become a sought-after commodity, both in the decision to act on a potential trade, and in the pieces they may get back, since they would not necessarily need a closer in return.

Josh Beckett: In the final year of his contract, Beckett actually has a lot to prove. Beckett has largely been living off his 2007 reputation with the Sox. While he was by no means bad this year, his 4.03 ERA in 2008 is not what we expect of an ace-type pitcher, nor is his 3.86 this year. Looking further into the stats, he's giving up quite a few more walks and homers, and striking out fewer of late too. This has lead to a steadily rising FIP from 3.08 in 2007 to 3.24 in 2008 and 3.63 in 2009. His tRA has also risen dramatically from 3.09 in '07 to 4.57 in '09. Ultimately, the Sox cannot approach Beckett's free agency with the idea that he's a necessary commodity. 2 years ago this idea might seem ridiculous, but as is Beckett may be a very replaceable pitcher for the money he will want.

Clay Buchholz: With his salary in check and his potential finally starting to show, Buchholz should be a valuable part of the Red Sox for years to come, whether as a future ace that many project him as, or as a solid #3 man. The real question with Buchholz is what his trade value is. There haven't been many trades mentioned throughout this last year that haven't involved the young hurler, but it seems that the Sox and potential trade partners just cannot agree on his worth. While his much-improved showing during this regular season may have raised his stock, it's still questionable whether the rest of the league sees him as being worth as much as the Sox feel he is. I doubt the Sox deal him unless he gets value near that of a potential ace.

Paul Byrd: The Byrd man is gone, possibly for good. After getting no interest from anyone until the Sox were forced to sign him due to injuries and poor results from FA signings, Byrd may even choose to go out on his own terms and retire. Either way, there are better options for the Sox in the offseason.

Manny Delcarmen: Around the trade deadline, the Sox had a great chance to get value for Delcarmen. Now they'd be lucky to get any trade offers. Even with a good start to the season, teams would need to see prolonged success to believe in him. Given the talent he's got, it would be smart for the Sox to keep him on as a low-leverage bullpen man if the rest of the pen gives them the option, and then trade him the second a team shows significant interest. He's still under team control for a number of years though, so it's not a big risk (yes, I know, low-risk high-reward is a crap buzzword right now).

Jon Lester: Not much to say here. He's our ace, he's young, he's under team control for many years. He's one of the most definite of the Red Sox' pieces.

Daisuke Matsuzaka: Much has been made of Daisuke's difficulties with the management and coaching staff of the Red Sox. And certainly the Sox can't be happy with him after he all-but-sacrificed his season with the team to pitch in the WBC. He is young, he isn't too expensive (well, not now after the posting fee) and he does have plenty of ability, but there are many questions as far as Daisuke's future is concerned. If Daisuke recommits himself to the team this offseason, then perhaps the Sox will recommit themselves to the idea of the Wunderkind Daisuke. But if the Sox can get good value on him, despite their weak bargaining position, they may jump at it, even if it does mean hurting their position in the Japanese prospect market.

Hideki Okajima: Okajima will be entering his first year of arbitration-not free agency-and as such is likely not going anywhere anytime soon. However, Sox fans do have to question how good Oki is going to be from here-on-out. 2009 was a down year for Oki, as his ERA rose to 3.39, though his peripherals were largely unchanged. He lost a few strikeouts, and gave up 2 more homers (though, when you're giving up 6 on a year, that's not a small deal), but his HR/FB% was up similarly, and his BABIP was up too, suggesting it might be some luck. The fear has to be that the league has figured out Oki and his bizarre delivery. In this case, only time will tell. If Okajima can return to form, it'd be a significant boost to the Red Sox' pen.

Jonathan Papelbon: After blowing up to end the season on a horrible note, plenty of Sox fans were calling for Paps' head. The post-loss fervor seems to have died down, but the idea is still out there. Papelbon has not been as good as he was in 2007, though he has by no means been bad, average, or even just above average. Let's make no mistake, he's one of the games best. However, the Sox are going to lose him one way or another in a couple of years, and Daniel Bard certainly has the stuff to replace him soon, if not now. Ultimately, it seems likely the Sox very quietly inform the league that his name is out there, and then if someone decides to overpay for a relief pitcher due to the "closer" title, give it a long, hard look.

Ramon Ramirez: Another cost-controlled pen arm, Ramirez started the season hot but struggled as the year went on. While his 2.84 ERA is still very low, his high walk rate and middling strikeout rate lead to a high FIP and ERA. If Ramirez can return to early-season form next year, he'll be a valuable part of the pen. If he returns to being a guy they can't trust in late innings, though, the organization will have to choose when to cut and run.

Takashi Saito: Saito is an interesting case. The team holds a $2.5 million option on him, and while his tiny ERA would seem to make this an easy decision, there are many things that suggest otherwise. The first is that his peripherals are universally worse. His K/9 are down, his BB/9 up, his HR/9 up. His FIP and tRA have risen tons compared to his career averages, and he seems to have lost his ability to induce ground balls. The team has also shied away from using him in pressure situations, and if he's only gonna pitch blowouts and 6^th innings than he's likely not worth the money it would take to keep him-especially if his numbers regress towards what his process suggests they should.

Note: South Coast Ghost correctly points out that the option is actually worth quite a bit more, as Saito fulfilled all his incentives for remaining on the active roster, as well as two for innings pitched. This brings the option value up to $6 million with $1.5 million in incentives remaining to be had. If it was a tough call for Sox management before, it's even harder now.

Billy Wagner: To the Red Sox, Wagner represents draft picks. Beautiful, beautiful draft picks. A type-A free agent, Wagner will net the Sox the top draft pick of any team that signs him, and a supplementary pick after the end of the 1^st round-assuming he doesn't retire. While earlier, it was questionable whether the 38-year-old Tommy-John patient would garner enough interest for a team to sacrifice a pick, 26 strikeouts in 16 innings should turn a few heads, not to mention a 1.72 ERA. The Sox have already agreed to pass on Wagner's $8 million team option, and it seems unlikely he will accept arbitration if the Sox offer it, since his reason for demanding they pass on his option was his desire to close. In essence, the Sox have a chance to recycle Carter and Lora for first-round talent. Now that's a deal.

Tim Wakefield: As per usual, Wakefield outperformed his 4 million dollar option, and as usual it would be foolish of the Sox not to pick up his contract if he's willing to come back. But given his status as a perpetual injury risk, the Sox had also better be sure they have a back up ready. If he chooses to call it a career, then it will be the end of a long and fruitful career that set the bar for loyalty.

Game 155: ... And the Red Sox get swept

Randy Booth — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 04:23:28 -0000

More photos » by Henny Ray Abrams - AP

Dustin Pedroia is mad. So what's he going to do? He's going to bat .938 in the postseason with at least 17 home runs...

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Final - 9.27.2009	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Boston Red Sox	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	8	0
New York Yankees	0	0	1	0	0	2	0	1	X	4	10	1
WP: Andy Pettitte (14 - 7) SV: Mariano Rivera (44) LP: Paul Byrd (1 - 3)

Complete Coverage >

Red Sox vs Yankees recap
Red Sox vs Yankees boxscore

And that's how you kill momentum!

The Red Sox made a bad situation worse by getting swept Sunday, losing 4-2 to the Yankees.

Bright spots? Paul Byrd wasn't horrible. He gave up three runs in 5.2 innings -- so almost a quality start. I'll take it from him. As far as the offense is concerned, Sox batters really couldn't do anything against Andy Pettitte, but Jason Bay and J.D. Drew did have two hits on the day. Ramon Ramirez wasn't too shabby, either -- an inning of relief and he gave up just a hit. Not bad.

The bads? Well, we don't have time to go into that. We'll just sum it up by saying: they lost.

Now a three-game set with the Blue Jays at home to hopefully cure the blues. Let's hope it's enough to end this season on a nice six-game winning streak. Josh Beckett will be on the hill to right wrongs for Boston.

(Oh, and the Yankees clinched the East. Ehh. Whatever. It's hip to win the Wild Card nowadays...)

Bloody Sox Laundry, 9/25 - Debate Time

bs.uf15bosox9bears23 — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 09:00:39 -0000

More photos » by Charlie Riedel - AP

Why do people refuse to acknowledge that we weren't watching the same Papi we've seen in the past, and now, earlier this season?

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We need some good discussion today. Topics to choose from include:

Will Jed Lowrie Ever Get His Job at Shortstop Back? - NESN.com

Answer the question. Or, if you'd prefer...

Jason Bay, Not Matt Holliday, Is the Red Sox' Answer for 2010 - NESN.com

Any thoughts here? Perhaps this will affect your decision:

The story behind how Jason Bay started stealing bases - Full Count

Oddly, when I went to check the EqBRR's of each of the choices, Bay (0.86577) beat Holliday (-0.90399). I would have expected the opposite, but I guess this is one of those cases where the guy without speed learns better techniques.

And, for the less confrontational, here's a less controversial topic...

Guess the postseason roster - Extra Bases

Fire away - after you check to see how the current rotation schedule sets up:

Rotation change - Extra Bases

Friday Sept. 25: Jon Lester

Saturday Sept. 26: Daisuke Matsuzaka

Sunday Sept. 27: Paul Byrd

Monday Sept. 28: Josh Beckett

Tuesday Sept. 29: Clay Buchholz

Wednesday Sept. 30: Tim Wakefield

Thursday Oct. 1: Jon Lester

Friday Oct. 2: Daisuke Matsuzaka

Saturday Oct. 3: Josh Beckett

Sunday Oct. 4: Clay Buchholz

After the jump: Schill shares his wisdom, Dice-K shows off, Beck feels confident, the Instructional League rosters are revealed, I try to rewrite Papi's stats, we reminisce about the past decade, and thank the injury bug for staying away this year, for the most part.

Schilling: ‘There Are No Fakes and Frauds In October’ - Full Count

Just the ones who manage to have a great series because of random variance, and then are regarded as clutch for years to come.

Matsuzaka’s Feats of Strength - Full Count

Beckett: ‘I definitely think I threw the ball better today than I have in a while’ - Full Count

Fall Instructional League Rosters - SoxProspects.com

USG shared this yesterday, but it's good to make sure everyone's up to date.

The DH Rules - Fire Brand of the American League

Maybe Papi's OPS is so low because of the HORRIBLE first two months of this season? I would hesitate to even say that was Papi batting during that time, but some imposter instead. Seriously people, stop looking at the stats without making an effort to analyze them correctly - consider whether the change in performance was random, an a actual change in skill, or the result of an injury. The eye condition thing? Sounds like the last of those 3 to me.

Red Sox represented in All-Decade honors - Fire Brand of the American League

Not sure if Evan was trying to link to the Sporting News page that actually had all this info, or if was just an auto-mention. Fun to think back on the past several years - anyone want to share a favorite moment (aside from the obvious)?

Injuries Among the Contenders - Fire Brand of the American League

Even with the injuries to Jed, Youk, Wake, Green, and Lowell, we really haven't been hit as hard as we could have.

BtB Power Rankings Updated

And, finally, for those of you who happen to have one of a certain series of devices:

FanGraphs iPhone App - FanGraphs Baseball
NICE. Too bad I lack the hardware.

Let the debates begin! If you'd rather just comment or share links, don't feel pressured. It's just what all the cool kids are doing, that's all.

Game 150: Greinke, Royals make easy work of Red Sox

Randy Booth — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 04:03:40 -0000

More photos » by Charlie Riedel - AP

2 months ago: Fans hold up signs praising Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Zack Greinke after the Royals beat the Boston Red Sox 5-1 in a baseball game Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2009, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

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Final - 9.22.2009	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Boston Red Sox	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	2	0
Kansas City Royals	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	X	5	9	1
WP: Zack Greinke (15 - 8) SV: Joakim Soria (28) LP: Paul Byrd (1 - 2)

Complete Coverage >

Red Sox vs Royals recap
Red Sox vs Royals boxscore

Well, we knew we were facing Zack Greinke and that'd it be tough to pull out the win. But...

But nothing, actually. The Sox just pretty much got spanked, 5-1, in a loss on Tuesday night.

The Royals scored 5 runs in the first inning off Paul Byrd to get things going on the right foot (for them). Greinke just dealt from there, allowing just two hits in 6 innings of work.

The Sox's offense was non-existant. Although the team walked six times, it really didn't matter as they only produced two hits (Victor Martinez and Dustin Pedroia, thank you). V-Mart had the only RBI, but bringing Jacoby Ellsbury in on a ground out. It was V-Mart's 101 RBI of the season.

Byrd actually worked 6.2 innings, but those 5 runs were a killer in the first. He threw just 101 pitches -- not too shabby (but, once again, damn that first inning).

Two more with the Royals. Here's to hoping the Sox can manage a split.

Bloody Sox Laundry - 9/14/09

bs.uf15bosox9bears23 — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 09:00:36 -0000

More photos » by Winslow Townson - AP

Purty.

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That was a lot of baseball. Some quick notes:

No truth to report of Halladay offer - Extra Bases
Bloggy has the original report in the FanShots, for those of you intertested. Gotta love the great mind of Theo, who replies to an important email with a single word.

@AmalieBenjamin

Paul Byrd gets the start on Wednesday against the Angels. #redsox

So it'll be Dice-K, Byrd, Beckett. Odd combo.

John Henry's Blog - NESN.com
This isn't going to end up overly-censored at all.

Links in the comments, discuss the non-baseball-crammed day.

The Clutch Mart is Open! Victor Leads the Sox to a Win

Ben Buchanan — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 04:43:30 -0000

More photos » by Steven Senne - AP

3 months ago: Boston Red Sox's Victor Martinez, right, watches the flight of his three-run double as Baltimore Orioles catcher Matt Wieters, left, looks on in the seventh inning of a baseball game at Boston's Fenway Park, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009. Martinez hit the double off Orioles pitcher Danys Baez. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

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Pinch hitting with 1 out and the bases loaded, all Victor Martinez needed to put the Sox on top was a sacrifice fly. Instead, he took the first pitch he saw —a fastball begging to be hit —and smacked it to the foot of the monster for a bases clearing double.

Martinez' double capped another strong offensive night for the Red Sox, who managed 15 hits and 5 walks in the 7-5 win. In the first inning, Jason Bay put the Sox on top 2-0 with a 2-out base hit. Then, in the 4th, the Red Sox scored perhaps their most unusual run of the season. Mike Lowell reached first on an error after a low throw from 3rd baseman Melvin Mora bounced out of Ty Wigginton's glove, and then stole 2nd base as Varitek took a pitch in the dirt on a hit-and-run attempt. Varitek, 0-for-his-last-14, then doubled him in. The Sox would add another odd run in the 6th, then down 1, as Dustin Pedroia scored Joey Gathright (pinch running for Jason Varitek) from 3rd after bouncing a pitch off of pitcher Matt Albers. Every Sox starter recorded a hit except Alex Gonzalez.

Paul Byrd managed to keep the Sox in the game, dancing around 6 hits, 3 walks, and a ton of hard-hit balls to limit the Orioles to 2 runs over 5 innings. Manny Delcarmen pitched disastrously, loading the bases on 2 hits and his own fielding error before issuing a 4-pitch, bases-loaded walk to Brian Roberts. He recorded only 1 out. Ramon Ramirez allowed another of Delcarmen's runners to score on a single by Felix Pie before averting further harm by sitting down the next 2 batters on strikes. Billy Wagner had yet another 2 strike out inning in the 7th. Daniel Bard would strike out two, but allow the tying run to come to the plate by giving up a single and a walk before Jonathan Papelbon ended the 8th with a 1-pitch out. Paps would again induce some Drama, allowing a run to score in the 9th and again having the tying run come to the plate, but recorded the save on a Ty Wigginton pop-out.

The Sox stay 2 games up in the wild card race on the Texas Rangers, who blew out the Indians 10-0. Tampa Bay is coming to Boston for the two teams' final series of the season, while the Rangers host division rival Seattle.

Bloody Sox Laundry - 9/6/09

bs.uf15bosox9bears23 — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 09:00:32 -0000

Mhm - the real Sox also get sponsored by Office Max, it appears.

Links:

Red Sox complete Wagner trade - Projo Sox Blog

I don't know anything about this kid - USG?

Thinking hard about Bard - The Boston Globe

Billy Wagner goes all story-time on us. And it cost us some random 1B in the Gulf Coast League! Wasteful.

One more rehab start in works for Dice-K - redsox.com

Hopefully with better breaking stuff. Either Byrd gets dropped to the pen or perhaps Wake has to clock out early this year...

Wakefield pitching in pain - Boston Herald

Wake may be the most loyal player in the MLB today. The perpetual team option for cheap, willing to fill whatever role he's needed in, plays through pain, understands when the team doesn't want to risk a postseason on a knuckleball, etc.

Francona Facing Tough Decisions for Red Sox in September - NESN.com

Inside access right here - just a reminder about the difficulties of managing in the playoff race.

It's a big place out on the Web, so there has to be some cool stuff out there - drop links in the comments, or discuss anything that comes up.

Justin Verlander is an Iron Horse

R.J. Anderson — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 16:12:53 -0000

More photos » by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

Detroit's championship hopes ride on this man's back and right arm.

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Baseball fans (and analysts) love veteran players. Leaders, as some would say. The adoration extends especially strong to the pitching rotation. If a young staff lacks one or two gray beards then expect those young guns to crumble under the pressure of the major leagues. Most people would prefer ol' dependable if given the choice between scratched vinyl like Jarrod Washburn, Jeff Suppan, and Paul Byrd or three digital format arms consisting of ... say, the entire Oakland Athletics rotation.

For my purposes, I want to focus on the American League; the superior league and, by extension, the one which offers a tougher assignment for pitchers. Rather than compare ages and performance on a staff level, I simply wanted to know whether the young pitchers were holding their own. Any way I slice it, inherent selection bias resides. The youngsters like Rick Porcello, Brett Anderson, and Trevor Cahill are stellar young talents reaching the majors before most young pitchers. Meanwhile, do you think Tim Wakefield, John Smoltz, and Andy Pettitte stick around if not for some savvy?

The youngest pitching staffs - this is bullpen and rotation as far as I can tell - are as follows; Oakland, Detroit, Minnesota, Seattle, and Texas. The oldest: Boston, Chicago, New York, Kansas City, and Los Angeles. We know that a few of these teams are fielding the rotations they are out of their competitive environment.

Oakland had some hopes of competing in what appeared as a wide open division.

Detroit is making the playoffs.

Minnesota has endured some injuries.

Seattle shared faint hopes with Oakland and could have been lower if not for the budget eaters.

Texas again had some hopes and they still do.

Boston has its share of young guns.

Chicago traded most of theirs for Jake Peavy.

New York seems unlikely to ever field an extremely young rotation.

Kansas City is indefensible here, but at least they went the cheap old rotation filler route instead of Carlos Silva.

Los Angeles surprises me; I figured they would've run out of starters by now.

While this path differs from my original intent, I find Detroit's staff as one that catches my eye more than others. I'm fully capable of admitting this has more to do with Justin Verlander than anything else. Amongst the young teams, he's the best pitcher (maybe second best if you want to argue Felix Hernandez) and amongst old teams he is the best. I suppose what I'm saying is: he's good, no matter the age.

He's a fun pitcher to watch too. I had the pleasure of doing so Friday night. He throws his hard fastball early and often. The pitch is averaging nearly 96 miles per hour this season and he tosses it 70% of the time. His intent on the mound is to retire hitters by overpowering them. He does this well. When Detroit made their improbable run to the World Series, Verlander became highly publicized as the wunderkind. He's earned any and all hype that should come his way when the Tigers make October this season.

Looking into Verlander's stats led me to this tidbit.

Detroit leads the league in games in which their starter throws 120 or more pitches with nine. The second place team has five. Seven(!) of these games have been thrown by Verlander. For some perspective on this, the second and third place finishers (Matt Garza and CC Sabathia) have three apiece. Verlander has more than them combined. Only eight starters in the American League have multiple 120+ games. Verlander has seven by himself.

I have no idea whether this endangers his future performance or health -- although any starting pitcher having a season with a sub-2.9 FIP is likely to have a markedly worse season the next year - but I noticed something else while looking over his gamelogs. He is a 26-year-old and has the most starting experience on the staff and the most time spent on Detroit this year.

And here I thought veteran starters being the key was simply cliche.

Game Story: This is Byrdland.

Allen Chace — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 06:38:21 -0000

More photos » by Winslow Townson - AP

Woonsocket's own... (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

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Well if that isn't a relief.

In his first start in the bigs since late last season, Paul Byrd threw six shutout innings and needed only 83 pitches to do so. It was quite encouraging considering the issues Junichi Tazawa had last time out and Tim Wakefield's continuing back problems. If two nights ago was the real Clay Buchholz then we should be in pretty good shape.

The rest of the staff pitched 3 scoreless innings following Byrd to finish the shutout. Manny Delcarmen, Billy Wagner (3 Ks!), and Takashi Saito (2 Ks!) combined on some excellent work.

Did those names look like some of the least important members of the bullpen? Good. Cause they kind of are. And how was it that we were able to use them instead of say, Daniel Bard or Hideki Okajima? A well-balance offensive attack, that's how.

Everyone but ['Empty] reached base. Kevin Youkilis went 2 for 3 with 3 RBIs, Rocco Baldelli hit a HR and Alex Gonzalez was 2 for 3.

On Roy Halladay day, it was quite encouraging to put up such a good effort on offense to go along with Byrd's big day. We can only hope the momentum can be carried with us to Tampa.