SB Nation User Blog: tampabaysportsfanatic

Could Calvin be the Closer?

tampabaysportsfanatic — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 23:15:32 -0000

The Rays made a nice trade during the season when they sent Cantu to the Reds for Sheckelford and Medlock. I think they needed to get what they could for Cantu and they did. I was intrigued by Medlock's numbers and he looked like he could be a decent bullpen guy. Since the Trade he has only gotten better. The guy had a much lower ERA in Durham than he did in Louisville, and it was pretty much the same amount of innings. Also, Calvin has torn up the Arizona Fall league with an ERA of 1.62 and a 9.5 K/BB ratio. The guy looks like he is for real. Anyone think the Rays may have found their closer fo the future?

Cesar Izturis

tampabaysportsfanatic — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 19:16:15 -0000

From Roto:
Pirates declined shortstop Cesar Izturis' $5.45 million club option for 2008.
It was an easy call. Izturis, who finished up a three-year deal he originally signed as a Dodger, gets a $300,000 buyout. He could serve as a stopgap starter at shortstop in Tampa Bay or St. Louis. It's also possible that he'll become a utilityman on a contender.

I would be interested in what he would want to come here and play SS. He is pretty good defensively and not terrible offensively. He may come cheaper than some others and would not cost us a player in a trade.

More Hardware For Pena

tampabaysportsfanatic — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 22:03:20 -0000

Carlos Pena was awarded the Silver Slugger today. This is the first time in Rays history (even going back to those Devil Rays days haha) that a player has gotten a silver slugger award.

His stats on the year were:

46 HR (4th in the MLB)
121 RBI (6th in MLB)
.411 OBP (9th in MLB)
.627 Slugging (second MLB)
103 BB (7th in MLB)

The silver slugger award is given to the best offensive player at their position. Pena was by far the best first baseman in the AL. Maybe even the MLB

Congrats to Pena

Silverman and Rays on radio today

tampabaysportsfanatic — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 19:54:47 -0000

The Rays kept their train going today when they stopped by 620 to discuss the new jerseys and new logo. Rocco Baldelli, Matt Silverman, Joe Maddon were just some of the guests. A couple of things I found interesting were:

Rocco says he feels fine and that his hamstrings are fine and he is ready to come and play hard in ST. (Maybe they can get something for him)

Silverman said that they are going to take care of their guys first and than move on to FA. He mentioned that Pena had earned a payday last year and he would get it. (Great to say, but thats up to Boras as well)

Regarding Kazmir they said that he will get his payday through arbitration this year, and they would like to sign him to a long deal, but it would have to be at the right price.

Didn't know if anyone heard this on the radio.

Rays Looking at Veteran for Bullpen

tampabaysportsfanatic — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 17:12:56 -0000

The Rays have expressed interest in obtaining one of the following veteran bullpen guys for next season: Eric Gagne, Todd Jones, Frankie Cordero, and Troy Percival.

Cordero would be great for the Rays to get. That would be a big name closer they could bring in to solidify the closer role and move Reyes up to the setup role he dominated as in St. Louis. The others could help the bullpen, but aren't on the upside of their careers. Gagne is interesting because he was having a good year until he went to Boston, but I am not sure what happened to him.

DY Snubbed

tampabaysportsfanatic — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 18:38:21 -0000

Dustin Pedroia was named the American ROY over Delmon Young.

Pedroia 139 G 8 HR 86 R 50 RBI 7 SB
Young 162 G 13 HR 65 R 93 RBI 10 SB

Young played everyday, through his minor injuries and seemed to be getting better as the season went on. Young also made outstanding plays in the field that prevented a lot of runs. Pedroia plays for the Red Sox and they made it to the playoffs so he gets the award.

While I don't doubt that Pedroia was worthy of the nomination and I knew it was between the two of them, I believe this has more to do with who the two play for and not their performance on the field. It seems that Rays are snubbed because they play on the Rays and not the Sox or Yanks.

New Name the Rays Could Look at For Pitching Coach?

tampabaysportsfanatic — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 19:36:25 -0000

The Orioles just fired Leo Mazzone.

Obviously they won't do it, but hey I can dream can't I? I would love X to do it, but Leo has also proven to be a great pitching coach, except for in BAL, though he wasn't given much to work with. It will be interesting to see if it was ATL pitchers that made Leo or the other way around, b/c you know he will get a shot somewhere.

Nice While It Lasted...

tampabaysportsfanatic — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 18:37:59 -0000

The Rays announced that there will be no more free parking.

They have also cut the price of outfield tickets by a dollar and have increased the price of the upper deck tickets by a dollar. There is also going to be a $2 service charge for tickets bought 5 hours or less before the first pitch, so go get your tcikets early.

If the Tigers don't want him, we need to get him

tampabaysportsfanatic — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 20:59:57 -0000

The rumors out of Detroit are that the Tigers do not plan on picking up Ivan Rodriquez's 9 million dollar option for next season. If the Tigers do allow "Pudge" to go, the Rays need to make him one of their top priorities of the off season.

While he is not the same player he was a couple of years ago, Pudge is still one of the best catchers in the league. He has already worked magic with two young staffs with the Marlins and Tigers. Possibly the most important person on the baseball field is the catcher. He sets the defense, works with the pitchers, and keeps guys from stealing and getting into scoring position. Scott Kazmir has asked for veteran help, and this would be the perfect move.

Pudge one of the leagues youngest staffs when he was with both the Tigers and the Marlins, but they had their best years with him behind the plate. Both teams were terrible the year before Pudge go there, but made runs immediately after getting him on the team. While it was not all Pudge that did this for him, he was a huge part of why those teams made the runs they did. Ask any pitcher that Pudge has caught for and that guy will tell you exactly what Pudge does for a team and a pitching staff everyday.

Pudge is not only great with the pitchers about their pitches, but also has a cannon for an arm and may be the best defensive catcher in the league still. No one wants to run on him and he does not allow many pass balls. Pitchers feel comfortable with him behind the plate and go out to the mound focused on pitching and not worrying about anything else. He is getting older and is not in his prime, but he is still one of the best and a great upgrade for the Rays. His offense has declined recently, but he is still a much better hitter than Dioner Navarro.

The Rays young staff would listen to Pudge not only out on the field, but also in the clubhouse and during pitching sessions. It is like having another coach out on the field and on the team everyday he is with the team. The Rays know they need to address the pitching and get a veteran on the team. Acquiring Pudge would help both of those things out. They would still need to get another arm in the pen and maybe a starter, but Pudge himself will lower the team ERA a point. The Rays won't have to pay him 9 million, but may need to shell out a decent amount to get him here. He is worth it and not only will it help the team, but it will show fans they are serious about winning.

Evers Let Go

tampabaysportsfanatic — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 18:47:00 -0000

Evers let go
The Rays announced Tuesday they planned to bring back coaches Tom Foley, Steve Henderson, George Hendrick and Bobby Ramos.

The contract of bench coach Bill Evers - the longtime, popular and successful minor-league manager - was not renewed.

There was no decision yet on the status of pitching coach Jim Hickey, who was arrested on DUI and other charges late Sunday after returning from the season finale in Toronto.
[editor's note, by R.J. Anderson] Thanks to TSF for posting the diary, just throwing a few names out there as possible replacements: Dave Martinez (unlikely), Charlie Montoyo, Xavier Hernandez, and Phil Garner.