As many have known, and this goes all the way back to my days on the raysbaseball.com boards (before it got taken over by ownership and became Heater Part II), I am often perceived as negative and a troll, and I can see how it easily is misconstrued as such. I am here right now, however, to say that none of this is true and that from now on, I'm going to work on trying to bring a more positive attitude and charisma to the boards, because I am an intelligent individual with a Master's Degree who can bring a lot to the table, analytically and personally.

I'm passionate, often to a fault, and that passion can be mistaken for negativity, but no more. I'm going to post with a more level head and bring an actual positive roll to the table, starting right now. Trust me, you don't go from making thousands of posts, many preseason GTDs on the old Rays boards back when they were no good, if you aren't a true fan.

Thank you for your time.

8 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 12 K's tonight for Durham against Gwinnett. Three straight double digit strikeout performances now.

Overall, his numbers at AAA are as follows: 50.1 IP, 28 H, 15 BB, 61 K, 2.86 ERA.

107.1 IP, 69 H, 29 BB, 123 K overall between AA and AAA this year. He might not have ace upside, but this guy is a really good pitching prospect. Thoroughly impressed with his performance thus far in Durham, I thought he'd have some struggles in AAA.

http://www.nba.com/2009/news/features/david_aldridge/07/10/magic.bass/

"The Orlando Magic are trying to keep up in the arms race in the competitive Eastern Conference, agreeing to terms on Friday with free agent forward Brandon Bass on a four-year deal believed to be worth $18 million.<!-- START 'inlineAds : default' FILE: /.element/ssi/story/1.0/news/.branding/default/inlineAds.html -->

The 23-year-old Bass was one of the most coveted big men in this year's free agency class, having been a valuable role player off the bench for the Mavericks the past two seasons. He played in 81 games for Dallas last year, averaging 8.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in 19 minutes a night. The Mavericks tried to keep him, but Dallas' commitment to Magic free agent center Marcin Gortat to an offer sheet made money scarce. New Orleans, Bass's first team, and Cleveland also were working to sign him.

With Hedo Turkoglu gone to Toronto, there may be an opportunity for a starting job at power forward in Orlando for Bass, with the Magic moving Rashard Lewis back to his normal small forward position. But even if he doesn't start, Bass will provide toughness and size for an Orlando team that now has to contend with Shaquille O'Neal and re-signed forward Anderson Varejao in Cleveland and the return of Kevin Garnett and newly signed Rasheed Wallace in Boston.

The Cavaliers made a last-minute push on Bass, according to a source, but didn't have a way to get him the money he'll get in Orlando. Cleveland has come to terms with free agent guard Anthony Parker and will probably use its mid-level exception on him, leaving only the biannual and veteran minimums for other players.

Bass's contract has an out clause after three seasons."

5-6 with a 3B and 3 RBIs. Hitting .372 for Montgomery now.

Just stay healthy, please.

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http://blogs.tampabay.com/rays/2009/02/rays-new-tv-ana.html#comments

The Rays new TV analyst will be Kevin Kennedy, the former Rangers and Red Sox manager and co-host of FOX network’s now-discontinued studio pre-game show, the Times has learned.

Kennedy, 54, will work most, but not all, of the Rays games, sharing with former pitcher Brian Anderson as partner to Dewayne Staats and replacement for Joe Magrane.

Kennedy also hosts an XM radio show and has been doing pre- and post-game TV for the Dodgers.

An announcement is likely next week.

Ewwwww...

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/P/David-Price-1.shtml

This has always been one of my favorite sites for historical baseball statistics (along with baseball-reference), and their new upgrades are better than ever. Enhanced layout, scouting reports, easier to navigate, and so on and so forth. Check it out if you're a fan of seeing previous greats' minor league numbers or if you enjoy browsing through your favorite players' performances from low-A to the majors.

Bitch and moan about how bad the ratings will suck, I will go berserk. Unless you're an executive at FOX or work for the corporation, you should not give a crap about such a trivial thing, unless you're bitter and are mad that your team isn't in in. If you're a true baseball fan and can't appreciate this matchup then, well, I feel sorry for you.

Additionally, the ALCS ratings were through the roof, so I bet people will be surprised to find out the WS ratings aren't as low as originally expected.

I just wanted to put that out there, because I know some moron will comment on it. Carry on.

After tonight's game (8 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7K), Price sits at 5-0 in AA with a 2.20 ERA and 38/12 K:BB ratio in 45 IP. Although he's still not overwhelming in the strikeouts, he's been very effective despite it and is sporting a very good GB/FB ratio (1.48 to be exact). His one bugabu lately has been the HR ball, as the only two hits he gave up tonight were HRs to a powerful Huntsville lineup, and he's now given up six in his last three outings after going 60.2 IP without allowing one all year. Mainly, it seems like the few mistakes he makes get hit hard, and even more interesting is that four of the six HRs he's given up have been to left handed hitters.

That said, all indications are he's probably ready for AAA if they want to try and push him, or they could keep him in Montgomery until they think he's ready to make the jump to Tampa. I think there'll be some news one way or another after tonight's outing.

Sure, he would of never had a chance at it had Bedard not got hurt, but regardless, a hell of an accomplishment for a 23 year old. He finished the season with a 13-9 record, 3.48 ERA, 239 K's (206.2 IP), 89 BB, and a 1.38 WHIP. Walks are still a problem at times, but he clearly has a special arm.

Meanwhile, Victor Zambrano gave up 8 ERs in 0.2 IP in his last outing for Baltimore.

That is all.

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Just heard on the Montgomery post game show.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Yeah, he's a stud.

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hitting .320/.439/.594 (1.033 OPS) in AA so far. He leads the league in RBIs and is tied for the league lead in HRs. Also has a very respectable 24/27 BB/K rate thus far.

He still hasn't proven it at the major league level yet, but this kid looks a hell of a lot better, potentially, than the Joe Rando comparisons that were being thrown around at draft time. Is he a top 5 prospect entering next season?

Is really turning into a quality ML pitcher. His fastball isn't overpowering (88-93 MPH), but it isn't soft, either, and his changeup is really, really good. Today, though, he was showing off a potentially plus curveball, which could make him all the better.

8 IP, 2 H, 2 ERs, 12 Ks today. He's had trouble with the HR ball thus far this season, but he has shown ground ball tendencies in the past and batters are only hitting .208 against him. And, he always has a strong K rate. Unfortunately, the Rays bullpen blew it once again.

Good lord, what's gotten into the kid? Clearly, he's a natural talent and has a lot of god given ability, but he never showed this with the Rays (save his debut with Princeton) and looked flat out average with Hudson Valley last season.

What's funny is, this could go down as one of the bigger gaffe's in recent memory and, honestly, you can't really blame the Rays for letting him go. He never showed any indication that he'd do what he's down thus far.

It's early, BUT... Gordon's line: .111/.200/.194 (0/14 B/KK)

Young: .347/.353/.592 (1/7 B/KK)

Certainly, Gordon will come around eventually, but right now, Young is making the comparison look silly. Everyone praised Gordon's discipline and ripped Young's, yet it's Gordon who looks overmatched at the plate. Just sayin'.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/features/263445.html

I'm not as big on Dice-K as others are, but he'll still be a fine pitcher (he just wouldn't be #1 on my list). Surprised Brignac wasn't a little higher (BA seemed to hint that he would make the top 15) and was pleasantly surprised with McGee being #37 (I thought he'd make top 50, but not top 40).

anyone else having problems accessing the site, or is it just me? I haven't been logged on since Wednesday night and it keeps bringing up this error.

I was just wondering if Jim or someone was doing maintenance on it or what. I hadn't received any notice that they would be working on it, but I'm not sure what the deal is. Any feedback would be appreciated, thanks ;)

Reports and speculation are that Gomes is going on the DL and Young has been called up for the White Sox series.

Regardless of the fact that he may be an a-hole, and maybe he's not ready (plate discipline still shaky), it will be exciting to see what this kid can do. Talent wise, he has few peers. Needless to say, the Sox pitchers will test him right off the back.

two more HRs tonight giving him 4 on the season to go with a .457 average. Although it's a league he should be hitting, I don't think anyone envisioned him getting off to this good a start.

I liked Longoria more than most, so I'm glad to see him get his career off to a great start. He's a good, hard working kid.

Went six innings tonight, striking out ten, walking three and giving up no ERs. He now has a 2.16 ERA for the season with a 108/40 K/BB ratio in 83.1 IP. Reportedly, throws in the low-90s and has touched 95. He's only 19 years old, a lefty, and I was looking over his stats tonight... how good a prospect is this guy? He's out pitching Wade Davis, who was more highly thought of coming into the season.

Shutout Seattle today 1-0, winning a pitchers duel with the ageless Jamie Moyer. What a great young pitcher this kid is. The statline is even more astounding when you consider he's pitching for a team that is 14-21. If he keeps this up, he is an absolute lock for the All-Star game. The Mets regret continue to regret this trade every time Kaz pitches gem after gem.

Entered tonight's game against Peoria 2-0 with a 0.44 ERA and 29 K's in 20 innings. Tonight, he's gone 7 innings and struckout 11. A lot of people predicted a breakout season this year after a fantastic season in Hudson Valley.

This kid is slowly becoming one of the top pitching prospects in baseball, and no one even knows it.

Reid Brignac is a player highly similar to Brandon Wood. Both had quick starts to their careers, tailed off during their first full season as pros, and then came back with vengeance their second season.

Yesterday, Brignac went 3-5 with 3 HRs and 8 RBIs. For the season so far, he has a line of .435/.519/.920 and looks like he is going to explode in a huge way. Also similar to Wood is that both are shortstops that many 'experts' project might have to be moved and both Wood and Brignac played in the California league when they put up huge numbers.

So, while Brignac probably won't hit 50 HRs, it does seem like he's going to put up some gaudy stats this season. What's your opinion on Brignac and what do you expect?

With all the attention going towards young studs Felix Hernandez and Zach Duke (rightfull so), Scott Kazmir, who made his MLB debut last season at the ripe age of 20, is having himself a pretty damn good season as well.

With tonight's win against the Rangers, Kazmir improved to 7-8, while dropping his ERA to 3.94. Yes, the walks are a problem that need to be corrected (he leads in American League in walks), but he's 4th in the AL in strikeouts, in the top 10 in BAA, and has given up only 11 HRs all season.

No one has ever disputed his stuff, as it is rivaled by few, but once he gets the control down, and he will, this kid will be an all-star for years to come.

I doubt any of you caught the Bulls game tonight, but if you did, you saw one of the single greatest plays I have ever seen a shortstop make. Plays like this are why Upton needs to stay at short, his god given athletic ability is wasted any where else.

http://www.dbulls.com/video_clips/hi_res/08-12-05_hi-res.wmv

Through his first 11 games at AAA so far, Delmon has at least one hit in every game, and is slugging over .550. Every thing looks fine until you see that he hasn't walked yet in 49 ABs, while striking out 11 times. While at Montgomery, Young walked a respectable 25 times, but has yet to draw one in nearly 50 ABs at AAA.

 Is this a legitimate concern, or since he is
such a good hitter anyways, that it doesn't matter all that much and that it is something that will develop with more experience?