SB Nation User Blog: raysfaninminnesota

What is Brignac's worth?

raysfaninminnesota — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:57:48 -0000

What is Brignac's worth?

There is a reason he has the nickname the Cajun God of Baseball. He filled in well when Bartlett went down earlier in the year. His defense is one of the best in AAA. But he used to be known for his massive offensive potential. Back with the Rays affiliate Southwest Michigan he led the team with 15 HRs and 29 doubles. In 2006, at 20 years old, he combined to hit .321 with 24 home runs and 99 RBIs at Class A Advanced Visalia and Double-A Montgomery. But as he advanced to AAA, the offense didn't seem to come with him. But now, over his last 10 games, over half of his hits have been for extra bases, including 4 home runs.

The question was tossed around earlier this season about Brignac's worth. Someone mentioned a possible Brignac for Jeff Clement trade a month or so ago. At this point, you'd have to think his value has risen. He has more XB hits than Matt Laporta, the main piece in last year's CC trade. Better numbers than Alcides Escobar, except for steals. There doesn't seem like there's another comparable SS in upper minors. If he continues this tear, his value should be sky high this offseason.

Time for a new mancrush

raysfaninminnesota — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 20:15:01 -0000

Not sure what it would take to get him (a healthy Kaz, perhaps Niemann), but Mike Napoli would look awesome behind the plate in a Rays uni. Currently on pace for a 24 HR, .288/.376/.497 in less than 500 AB, Napoli is having a great season offensively. If he can call a decent game and even be average defensively, he'd be a huge upgrade, even if Navy was near 2008 levels. The only catch is he's in arbitration. What would you be willing to give up to get him?

Fact: So far, Burrell has been a bust

raysfaninminnesota — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 04:00:44 -0000

This is not intended to be a Burrell bashfest. In fact, signing Burrell was the right decision and will prove to be the right choice in time. But the truth is, so far Burrell has been a bust. And it isn't like this criticism isn't warranted. It isn't the first week of the season or first month of the season, but we are about 10 games away from reaching the midway point. All Burrell has to show for it is a 18 RBIs and 1 home run. Injuries happen and that sure seems why we haven't seen the Pat the Bat that has averaged over 30 HRs in each of his last four seasons. But to say he sucks or criticize this or that is unwarranted unbased and unneeded. All you need to point to is the bottom line. And 5 extra base hits are not going to cut it. Hopefully PtB is healthy enough to put all this behind him and start anew. Now that Upton's coming out of his early season struggles, we can hope PtB does the same.

Now that the Rays are coming home for interleague, Pat can finally get some consistent playing time at DH for the first time since he's been back and off the DL. Hopefully a healthy PtB can make the type of impact in our lineup that everyone envisioned when the Rays signed him. It wouldn't hurt if he hit a few longballs against his former team this week either.

Maddon's Starting Rotation Inconsistency

raysfaninminnesota — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 03:58:24 -0000

Maddon's Starting Rotation Inconsistency

In today's start, Maddon yanked Niemann in the 5th for a pinch-hitter in a key situation. It worked out well and was probably the best decision. But when I look at Niemann's overall line, he only gave up 2 runs in 4 innings, in other words, he was doing a good job of damage control despite not having his best stuff. I'm trying to figure out why he doesn't give the same treatment to Sonnanstine. As much as I love Maddon, he's giving Sonnanstine the benefit of the doubt way too much, and probably not enough to Niemann. At this point you can roll the dice and anticipate better odds with Niemann than Sonny, who's among the league leaders in homeruns given up. In this case, Maddon needs to start looking at Sonny as the Sonny of this year and not from last year.

Now Catching for the Tampa Bay Rays...

raysfaninminnesota — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 18:39:30 -0000

Noting the changing in the baseball market and teams reluctance to part with prospects (i.e. team-controlled cheap seasons) for veterans, I was curious to see if there were any Rays deals that made sense. And one came to mind that I thought would be fun discussing.

Looking at the Rays across the board, there are two areas that seem to have the potential for surplus: outfield and starting pitching. Fernando Perez (injured), Desmond Jennings (AA), and Matt Joyce (AAA) round out the top outfield prospects in the near future. On the mound, Wade Davis (AAA), and Hellickson (AA) along with a lot of promising arms in the lower minors (see Moore, Barnese, etc). When looking at areas the Rays are in need of long-term help, one position sticks out like a sore thumb: catching. With no disrespect to Navarro, Rays fans are left wondering which Navarro is more true to the norm--last year's or this year's? And which end of the spectrum is he more likely to fall on.

But good catching prospects? Get in line. There are very few dominant young catchers. Victor Martinez (who also gets time at 1B) and Joe Mauer stick out right now. Brian McCann, Russell Martin, and Geovonny Soto(although he's slumping) are apart of the younger wave, with Matt Wieters appearing ready to join the ranks. Salty in Texas and Jeff Clement are two that appear on the fence who could go either way, although Salty is starting to make a name for himself at the Ballpark in Arlington. There is another name that is worthy of being mentioned: San Francisco's Buster Posey.

Posey is dominating in the minors and most expect him to be big-league ready next year. Since he's yet to make a major league debut, he is under complete team control for many years. Of all the catchers, he makes the most sense for the Rays to target. The question is, what is the price?

If the Rays truly wanted to get Posey, I think the asking price would be extremely high...like a Upton or Wade Davis, high. Now, before there is a no way in hell, what are you thinking, not even worth considering response, consider these options: How many more seasons will the Rays retain Upton? Do you think he'd be willing to sign an extension even for his arb seasons? He appears to have his eyes set on a major money deal as soon as it's possible. Do the Rays have enough starting pitching to warrant trading Davis? Is the potential trade of Davis for Posey the best way to deal from strength to get an impact player at an area of need?

If there was any way for the Rays to get Matt Cain along in the deal, I think it would be one heck of a trade, but probably unrealistic. It may already be unrealistic to pry Posey from the Giants hands, but it's worth a shot to try.

Knowing where the Rays stand, their minor league depth, their on-field needs, what would you be willing to pay?

Price vs. Sabathia and MLB.TV? Saved by 5 minutes

raysfaninminnesota — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 04:03:04 -0000

MLB.TV watchers do not have to worry. If I'm reading this correctly, the hyped and delayed Sabathia vs. Price match-up does not fall under the FOX Saturday afternoon baseball exclusion. From the Tampa Bay Rays website is the following:

"Regular Season Weekend U.S. National Live Blackout: Due to Major League Baseball exclusivities, live games occurring each Saturday with a scheduled start time after 1:10 PM ET or before 7:05 PM ET and each Sunday with a scheduled start time after 5:00 PM ET, will be blacked out in the United States (including the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands). Live Audio of such games is available as part of any MLB.TV subscription or as part of the MLB.com Gameday Audio Package. Each game will be available 90 minutes after the conclusion of the game as an archived game (archived games are blackout free). "

The Rays game is set to start at 1:05 ET. Therefore, those 5 minutes allow us to see what should be a very exciting matchup.

Is Niemann Emerging?

raysfaninminnesota — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 05:26:20 -0000

I know others can and probably will do a better in-depth analysis of Niemann's starts, but outside of a bad first inning back in April, the rest of his numbers speak for themselves. Outside of that Apr 11 start, Niemann sports a 2.38 ERA, has given up more than 3 runs in a start only once, and what's better, is his control has continued to improve. Before his 9 inning gem, in his rain-shortened start, he flashed the same type of control (had 4K through 3IP as well). I think Monday's start in New York can go a long way as a litmus test for Niemann. It'll be only the 2nd time any team has faced him a twice this season (Baltimore being the other--Niemann got the win in the 2nd start as well).

Other Notes:

Congrats to the Rays for making it through a turn in their rotation where all 5 pitchers lasted 5 or more innings, all quality starts. This was only the SECOND time this year that all five starters made it through five innings, and the FIRST time all five earned quality starts. Coincidentally, the Rays are 4-1 in their last 5. Hopefully the starting rotation can keep this streak going.

Zobrist an All-Star? It was mentioned on a recent Rays broadcast, about the prospect of Maddon making BenZo one of his reserves, honoring the Utility role Zobrist has played so well. It sure helps that Zobrist is putting up numbers to make this an interesting thought. A .303 average, 10 HR, 32 RBI in only 132 at bats. His walks have him t-19th (only 3 bb away from top 10) despite 30+ at-bats less than the players above him. Only Kevin Youkillis has a higher OPS than BenZo in the AL. Right now only 7 players in the AL have a .300 avg, 10+ HR, and 30+ RBI (Miguel Cabrera, Adam Jones, Justin Morneau, Aaron Hill, Evan Longoria, Torii Hunter). That puts Zobrist in pretty impressive category. And of those, only 1 player has more walks and oh yeah, all have at least a 70 At-Bat (or roughly 33% more at bats) than BenZo. If he can continue this pace, it sounds like an All-Star season to me.

More Reasons Why 2 weeks or months cannot define a trade:

While E-Jax is stealing all the headlines, Rays fans cannot forget the trades that got them to that point. A trade with the Dodgers sending Lance Carter and Danys Baez netted them Edwin Jackson, who in turn became Matt Joyce. All in all, if Baez led to the Rays getting a couple of seasons of a SP who in turn becomes 6 seasons in RF, one of Friedman's first deals still looks like a winner. Oh, and remember Aubrey Huff departing to Houston in exchange for utility player and pitching prospect? That one looks better by the day.

Is Wade Davis ready?

raysfaninminnesota — Fri, 29 May 2009 04:37:59 -0000

when taking a look at Davis' recent starts, I'm sure some will try to make the case that he's turned the corner. Last two starts, over 13 IP, no ER. He's even cut down on his walks. So many are asking the question: Is he ready for the Show?

The more important question is, are we asking for the right reasons? Are we asking because, developmentally he has nothing left to prove in AAA? Are we asking because he has refined his pitches and strike zone to the point that no more seasoning is required? Or are we asking because the Rays rotation is in shambles? Are we asking because we can't get through one turn of the rotation where all 5 starters at least last 5 IP, the minimum required to be eligible to be the winning pitcher on record? Are we asking because we never thought we'd miss Edwin Jackson so much, the same pitcher columnists would strip the "win" from his name until he actually won a few games?

When taking a look at Davis' AAA numbers, nothing sticks out. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. For a guy who just surpassed 100 IP in AAA for his career, sporting an ERA of well under 3 and has not yet reached the age of 24? There's a lot to like. There's good reason to daydream with him and Price as part of the next tier of pitchers to go alongside Shields and Garza (and since we're wishful thinking, Kazmir).

But on the other side, his strikeouts are down. He averaged slightly over 1k/inning in last year's stint in AAA. This year those strikeouts are down by nearly 50% and he's walked 2 or more batters in every start but one. Even though he hasn't dominated, no one has dominated him. He has not been shelled in any of his starts, giving up no more than 3 runs in a single outing. All of this shows that he is holding his own in AAA but not confidently or completely showing his development is ready for the next step, unless you think this is his peak (which I don't think many do at all).

overall, Davis could use a little more seasoning, but if he continues to perform the way he has in his last two starts, it is only a matter of weeks before he ends up in the Rays rotation. Hopefully it just isn't done out of necessity.

Ode to Percy

raysfaninminnesota — Sat, 23 May 2009 04:22:48 -0000

For the first time in 14 months, I feel lost. I feel like Batman has lost Robin. Sonny losing Cher. Jock without itch. When in doubt, you were always there. I could count on you waddling your fat ass up to the mound, looking like a slightly taller Danny Devito as the Penguin. No matter what was going on, I could always count on you to fuck something up and give me a place to direct my frustration. But now what do I do? Sure, there have been others who have tried to live up to your shoes. Navarro tried matching your girth, but he doesn't have your waddle. Wheeler has tried to imitate you, and dammit he has sure tried hard, but it's just not the same.
Who can truly color my vocabulary like you? Who's going to make me refill my high blood pressure medicine? No one will ever be able to replace that rumble in my stomach. No one can ever match that pain in my ass. No one could make me induce vomit like you. No one can ever make me think so fondly of Roberto Hernandez. Alas, the next time I yell at my tv and say "thanks for fucking this one up", it just won't have quite the same ring to it as it used to. But whenever I glance down at a breakfast menu and see grits, I'll always think of you. But every time I hear "closer-by-committee", I'll shed a tear for you. Look out, Isringhausen. You have some mighty big shoes and waistline to fill.

a call for patience

raysfaninminnesota — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 20:28:38 -0000

One of the products of watching a banner being raised to the rafters courtesy of some help at MacDill (I was hoping some Yankee schmuck had the cahones to try coming out on the field during the banner raising) is high expectations right out of the shoot. This has led to some very early and illogical rants. We are not even two weeks into this season (just finished our second turn in the rotation) and people are calling for heads. Our bullpen sucks. We can't hit worth crap. We kept the wrong pitcher.

But, has anyone looked at the record of the Red Sux? Yankees? No one is jumping out of the gate. If you ask any perennial contending team, their goal by the end of April, it'd be to escape with a .500 record and no major injuries. Anything else is gravy. That doesn't mean there are not concerns after the first 10 games. The offense so far only connects when there's a pitcher out there essentialy throwing batting practice. Hitting good pitching? That hasn't happened yet. The depth of the lineup has promise. Once Upton and CC start clicking, Longoria and Pena have already shown they can drive them in. Bartlett and Aki look to make an interesting duo at the bottom of the order. Once Burrell starts going deep, this lineup has another dynamic.

If Howell or Balfour or anyone still looks clueless after the first month, then there's probably cause for concern (but Balfour definitely looked great in his last outing). The only major question at this point is Percival. If he doesn't show anything in the next week to 10 days (if that), the Rays may finally be forced with cutting him loose and calling up Isringhausen.

As long as the Rays keep pace with the Sux and Yankees, they are doing just fine. If players are still slumping after the first month, then there are legitimate red flags. But so far, just relax. There are a 162 of these battles to get through. If you're already calling for blood, you better call your doctor to up your blood pressure meds.