SB Nation User Blog: ZBW

Dan Wheeler and Jon Brett

ZBW — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 14:24:08 -0000

A buddy of mine, who shall remain anonymous (Jon Brett), claims that Dan Wheeler is the worst pitcher in baseball, and takes it even further by saying he would take Troy Percival (circa 2008/2009) over Dan Wheeler any day. In his words, "I'd rather have a one-armed minor leaguer come into the game than have to watch Dan Wheeler pitch." Recently he cited Wheeler's performance in which he gave up a couple of HRs. He claims he has a heart attack everytime Wheeler comes in. I have gone above and beyond trying to make my friend understand that he's completely mistaken (rertarded is probably a better word), but he remains steadfast in his disdain for Wheeler. I can't stand it.

So, I am left with only one option--let the DRaysBay community prove Wheeler's worth and disprove Jon Brett's radical theories. Here are some facts I've thrown his way, please use as thought starters:

8th in AL in WHIP (0.95)
T-11th in AL in Holds (12)
Fewest walks of any pitcher in MLB with at least 40 innings of work (7)

Poll

Who would you rather have pitch in a crucial situation?

Dan Wheeler (circa 2009)

62 votes

Troy Percival (circa 2009)

3 votes

65 votes | Poll has closed

Elias Rankings

ZBW — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 03:53:04 -0000

From MLBTradeRumors.com:

At the end of each season, The Elias Sports Bureau ranks all MLB players numerically based on a bunch of stats. Every player is categorized in one of five position groups and by league. The rankings cover a two-year time period. They are used to determine whether free agents are Type A, Type B, or neither. If you'd like a reminder on how draft pick compensation works, read up here.

Eddie Bajek of Detroit Tigers Thoughts reverse-engineered the Elias Rankings last year. Eddie's incredible work was made possible in large part due to information provided by ESPN's Keith Law. Eddie is now providing the rankings exclusively to MLB Trade Rumors. Today's snapshot covers the beginning of the 2008 season through July 29th, 2009. The rankings will obviously change over the next few months.

Keep in mind that if players change leagues, they are ranked in their new league. A few quick hits: Jack Wilson falls short of Type B status in the AL, and Cliff Lee remains a Type A in the NL (though his 2010 option is a lock).

Full rankings:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/17870577/Rankings-073009

Longoria Out of All-Star Game

ZBW — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:39:38 -0000

http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/breaking-news/story/1141091.html

The Associated Press

ST. LOUIS -- Tampa Bay third baseman Evan Longoria is out of the American League starting lineup for the All-Star game because of an infected right ring finger.

He is being replaced by Texas third baseman Michael Young.

Chone Figgins of the Anaheim Angels is taking Longoria's place on the AL roster.

Oh well. There's always the next 10 years or so...

Joe Maddon, Troy Worstofall, and Sunk Cost

ZBW — Fri, 22 May 2009 16:44:09 -0000

"This fellow last year had 26 saves for us," Maddon said. "We went to the World Series last year and a lot of it was on his back. I can understand being not pleased, but with regard to the history of this organization, this guy played a big part in us getting there for the first time, and I hope the fans would remember that, too."

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/may/22/sp-joker-comes-up-aces-again-with-rays-in-a-pinch/

Definition of sunk cost:

"Sunk costs are unrecoverable past expenditures. These should not normally be taken into account when determining whether to continue a project or abandon it, because they cannot be recovered either way. It is a common instinct to count them, however."

Ok, great. So Percival had 26 saves for us... LAST YEAR . He's getting paid a big dollar. SO WHAT!? Decisions this year should not be made because of something that was accomplished last year, especially when considering a 39 year-old pitcher like Troy Worstofall, er, Percival, and he should not be given the closer's role simply because he has a closer's salary and a closer's past.

Losing now is not acceptable because we won a bunch of games last season. Blowing a bunch of saves and being just flat out terrible this year is not cool because you were good last year. It's water under the bridge and we're trying to sail to a World Series championship. And personally, I don't want Percival captaining that ship (I'll take him as a deck hand though).

The Enigmatic Edwin Jackson

ZBW — Fri, 22 May 2009 15:42:59 -0000

The Rays should have kept Edwin Jackson as their closer?

The Whiff Index (courtesy of Buster Olney, ESPN)

The most swinging strikes in Thursday's games:

http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=4198422&name=olney_buster

Thursday's leaders
Pitcher	Swinging strikes
Edwin Jackson	19
Matt Garza	18
Max Scherzer	16
Carl Pavano	15
Ramon Ramirez	14
Adam Wainwright	14
Zack Greinke	13
Andrew Miller	13
James Parr	13
Ian Snell	12
Tim Lincecum	12

If I was GM...

ZBW — Fri, 15 May 2009 01:53:15 -0000

(disclaimer: Friedman, if you are reading this, please don't take it personally. I think you are the best GM in the game and we're lucky to have you. I'm just a passionate fan and I'm FRUSTRATED, as I'm sure you are too.)

I just got done watching that horseshit game and need to vent. Here are a few things I would try to do to turn this season around before it's too late:

1. Invest in a team's supply of HGH. Ok, I'm only kidding, but seriously -- the Rays need to get healthy. We need Riggans, Burrell, CC, even role players like Fernando Perez to be 100% healthy in order for this team to win 90 games. Are our pitchers even all healthy? Doesn't seem like it given the significant velocity drop...

2. Find a solution at closer. Percival looks like my half-drunk fat uncle trying to re-live his high school pitching glory days, only he's piching in the bigs. There are many ways to solve this problem, including bringing up Dale Thayer or Jason Isringhausen. Personally, I would rather look to find some help from outside of the organization and solidify a solution for the future as well -- it's going to be a need next off-season anyway. However, no one is really "out of it" at this point, so trading right now is close to impossible. With that said, I'd like to see us at least give Isringhausen a couple opportunities to prove himself -- he can't do any worse than Percival is going to do -- and if that doesn't work why not try Thayer? (ANYONE BUT PERCIVAL PLEASE FOR GODS SAKE)

3. Get Maddon to take B.J. out of the leadoff spot, at least until he starts hitting and we start winning. Put Aki first because he's used to doing it, Bartlett second because he's the most perfect #2 hitter of all time right now, 3. CC (stay hot), 4. Longo (stay hot), 5. Pena (keep hitting bombs) 6. Burrell (his hair always looks like he's in a shampoo commercial) 7. Upton (get hot, earn your way back up in the lineup) 8. Gabe of the day/Joyce (Joyce please) 9. Navarro/Riggans (more Riggans please). There you go, Joe. I still love you though.

4. Bring up David Price. It's time. Pull the effing trigger. Not only would he be any improvement over Niemann or Sonny, but he would add a little excitement and possibly spark the entire team. He would give the fans a little something positive to talk about too, which might not be such a bad thing for attendance!

5. Look at myself in the mirror and say, "Wait, my name is Andrew Friedman. I make fucking solid trades." Then go trade Kazmir and junk (bring Wade Davis up -- he's READY) and for our closer of the future plus a couple other studs. Kazmir still has great value, but it's fading. Fading fast.1. Garza 2. Shields 3. Price 4. Sonny 5. Davis -- Niemann to the 'pen.

Now I know I'm going to catch a lot of flack for #5, but let's be honest -- someone is going to have to be traded sometime, and out of the players with value and larger contracts wouldn't you prefer that person be Kazmir and not CC or Garza or Shields or Upton or Bartlett?

This really is just a rant. I don't know if it makes sense, and it probably doesn't, but it sure does make me feel a helluva lot better knowing that if I was GM Percival would be GONE.

Go Rays.

p.s. Longoria is the fucking MAN.

Suggestions?

ZBW — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 14:07:08 -0000

So I have a project for a statistics class that is completely open ended. The only requirement is that it involve multiple linear regression. I am definitely going to do something relating to baseball and/or the Rays, but I wanted to get some suggestions from the DRaysBay crowd because I plan on posting my analysis after I'm done.

I know there is a lot of statistical analysis around here, but what is something that you would be interested in seeing that hasn't been done yet (or, at least, hasn't been done for the Rays)? Suggest away...

Bucs Will Definitely Draft One of These Guys

ZBW — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 14:00:12 -0000

Who do you want it to be? Who do you think it will be?

TIER III: Top-20 worthy

Player	Position	School	HT	WT	40	Grade
Aaron Maybin	DE	Penn State	6-3¾	249	4.89	94
Mark Sanchez	QB	USC	6-2⅛	227	5.00	94
Malcolm Jenkins	CB	Ohio State	6-0⅛	204	4.59	94
Andre Smith	OT	Alabama	6-4	332	--	94
Tyson Jackson	DE	LSU	6-4⅛	296	5.00	93
Knowshon Moreno	RB	Georgia	5-10⅝	217	4.62	93
Percy Harvin	WR	Florida	5-11⅛	192	4.41	93

TIER IV: Mid-to-late first round

Player	Position	School	HT	WT	40	Grade
Rey Maualuga	ILB	USC	6-1¾	249	4.91	92
Michael Oher	OT	Mississippi	6-4½	309	5.35	92
Clay Matthews	OLB	USC	6-3⅛	240	4.67	92
Everette Brown	DE	Florida State	6-1½	256	4.73	92
Chris Wells	RB	Ohio State	6-1	235	4.59	92
Brandon Pettigrew	TE	Oklahoma State	6-5⅜	263	4.86	91
Robert Ayers	DE	Tennessee	6-3⅛	272	4.90	91
Brian Cushing	OLB	USC	6-2⅞	243	4.74	91
Vontae Davis	CB	Illinois	5-11⅛	203	4.49	91
Peria Jerry	DT	Mississippi	6-1¾	299	5.00	91
Darrius Heyward-Bey	WR	Maryland	6-0⅝	210	4.30	91
Josh Freeman	QB	Kansas State	6-5¾	248	4.97	91

Charts courtesy of Todd McShay with ESPN.com

Personally, I want the Bucs to draft Percy Harvin. I think he's actually a top 5-10 talent and has a chance to be a Reggie Bush type but even better. In one very-unfamiliar-to-the-Bucs-offense word: EXPLOSIVE.

With that said, there has been growing speculation that the Bucs will take Josh Freeman or Matt Sanchez, so if I had to guess who they will draft, I'd say one of those two guys.

I'd rather see the Bucs go for the best player available (who in my opinion would be Harvin if all of these guys were available at the Bucs pick) this year, and take their chances with in-house QBs this year. If it proves to be wrong, at the very least the Bucs will be in a good position to get one of next year's QB prospects (i.e. Bradford, McCoy, Tebow or even Snead or Clausen if they choose to leave early after big years).

Thoughts?

Brooks expected to re-sign with Bucs

ZBW — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 17:09:14 -0000

According to my source inside the organization, there is growing internal speculation (and expectation) that Derrick Brooks will re-sign with the Bucs for a 1-year deal at the veteran league minimum and retire after this year. Again, this is not confirmed, but the likelihood of this happening seems to be growing.

I think it would be a great move on many fronts, namely restoring some fan confidence and approval. Brooks is a Bucs legend (if not THE Bucs legend), and it'd be shame to see him retire in another uniform. Also, it would give the new "young" Bucs some much-needed locker room leadership consistency.

Until this is a done deal, all we can do is continue to hope that we see #55 in red and pewter one more time. Bring Back Brooks!

Tampa Bay Buccaneers acquire TE Kellen Winslow for undisclosed Draft Picks

ZBW — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 16:23:02 -0000

...UPDATE...

ESPN.com has confirmed the trade has been completed. Rotoworld is reporting the picks may be a 2009 2nd Round Pick and a 2010 5th Round Pick. The Bucs are currently working to renegotiate Winslow's contract.

"The Cleveland Browns thank Kellen for his contributions to this organization over the past five years," Kokinis said in a statement. "We appreciate his passion for the game and wish him success in Tampa Bay. The draft picks we have obtained through this deal will give us greater flexibility as we look to infuse more talent and create competition and depth on this football team." - Cleveland Browns G.M. George Kokinis per ESPN.com

According to a source of mine inside the organization, the Bucs have acquired Kellen Winslow Jr. from the Cleveland Browns. No word on what we gave up or terms of any deal. Just wanted to get the word out to Buc 'Em first.

If this turns out to be just rumor, I apologize, but my "source" has always been reliable and he was the one to tell me Raheem Morris got the head coaching gig--days before it was announced.

Winslow would add a dynamic receiving threat to the Bucs offense, something they have been lacking at the TE spot, despite Stevens' relative success and high athleticism. With Bryant, Winslow, and my predicted first-round pick Percy Harvin, the Bucs would really have some explosiveness on offense. For the first time ever??

Added by The Bull Gator.

The Bucs have indeed made a trade with the Cleveland Browns to acquire tight end Kellen Winslow. We don't know what draft picks the Bucs gave up just yet, but Tampa Bay is holding a press conference at 1:15 PM Eastern, so we should know more soon.

Winslow is under contract through 2010. He is scheduled to make $4.5 million in 2009 and $4.75 million in 2010. Look for the Bucs to take a shot at renegotiating a long term deal.

RUMOR ALERT:

There are RUMORS the deal was for a 2nd and a 5th round pick. We will update this as soon as we can confirm.

Cleveland Browns Fans sound off on the Kellen Winslow trade:

PRO: You will not find another player on the roster who wants to win as much as this kid. He is an absolute physical mismatch for anyone the opponent puts on him, and he goes non-stop every play. Lots of emotion, and loves the fans. Get a QB worth half a lick, and pencil K2 in for 80-100 catches, 1000+ yards, and 4-6 TDs easy. Willing and able to play through pain and excel. - Cleveland Browns Fan B-Bo

CON: The attitude is still there from time to time. He’s not the knucklehead who called himself a soldier while at the U, but he will still speak his mind—good or bad. Not a good blocker at all. The wheels are a problem—realistically, don’t expect more than 2-3 quality seasons from the guy. He’s got heart, but the legs just won’t get him much more than that. - Cleveland Browns Fan B-Bo

As a diehard Browns fan, K2 has been a favorite since he got to Cleveland, accident and all. I hate to see him go, but I have no doubt you’ll enjoy watching him play. - Cleveland Browns Fan B-Bo

More fan reaction:

He will play his ass off. He is a great receiver and is a stud in the red zone. He has the best hands that I have probably ever seen on a TE. He was the emotional leader of the offense. If he can stay healthy, the Bucs got a steal. - Bernie19Kosar from Dawgs by Nature our Cleveland Browns Blog.

Thanks for the info fellas!!!

Get to know Kellen Winslow aka K2 via the video below:

20 Piece Nuggets and EIGHT Bar-B-Que sauces? Say what!? Techno Music, I thought more of you K2!!!! Can't wait to see this guy suit up! Go Bucs!

Poll

Do you agree with the Kellen Winslow trade?

Yes, he brings an attitude we've been missing

79 votes

No, his attitude could divide the locker room

12 votes

I'm withholding judgment until i see the picks we gave up

30 votes

Free Agency started right? Sign somebody!

17 votes

138 votes | Poll has closed