Tampa Bay Rays Thread

[RYMASTER or Ryan_Yankees]

I can't post in this thing until the thread name is fixed.

Sorry, that's just how I feel.

I like it better this way...Devil Rays is a stupid name.

[Tabata]

I like it better this way...Devil Rays is a stupid name.

How do you do that by the way?

[teknetic]

< s > word < / s >

[CallOfTheCrow]

How do you do that by the way?

Smash your forehead on the keyboard.

[YankeesAce4Life]

Typical. The Yankees pay for their own stadium and get little funding from New York, but the Rays are being handed a new ballpark. I hope they don't get it.

[Tabata]

< s > word < / s >

Thanks.

Smash your forehead on the keyboard.

I tryed that, but nothing happened

[YASS]

Thanks.


I tryed that, but nothing happened

It doesn't work works for me.

If you're using his example literally, that might be the problem. don't leave a space between the '<' and the 's' and the '>'.

[SoCal Pinstriper]

ESPN's Jayson Stark reported the Rays "are believed to have made an offer to free agent Kenny Lofton in the last 48 hours, but apparently got shot down."

http://www.tampabay.com/sports/baseb...icle424808.ece

[RYMASTER or Ryan_Yankees]

http://www.tampabay.com/sports/baseb...icle424808.ece

Kenny Lofton turned down an offer? That's rich.

[YASS]

Kenny Lofton turned down an offer? That's rich.

Maybe they offered him a minor league deal. He's looking for a guaranteed ML contract, and I think he'll probably find a buyer at some point.

[Mr. Mxylsplk]

Maybe they offered him a minor league deal.

Every D-Rays contract is a minor league deal. Ba-dum-bum, I'm here all week.

[YASS]

Every D-Rays contract is a minor league deal. Ba-dum-bum, I'm here all week.

How's the veal?

[Mr. Mxylsplk]

How's the veal?

Melt in your mouth.

[Eldee5]

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?...=.jsp&c_id=mlb

B.J. Upton and Akinori Iwamura each left Thursday's Rays-Indians game with different ailments.
Upton was hit on the left triceps with two outs in the first inning by a pitch from Cleveland starter Paul Byrd. The initial assessment of the injury was a triceps contusion. X-rays on Upton's arm were negative.

Rays manager Joe Maddon said Upton got hit "right above the elbow."

[RYMASTER or Ryan_Yankees]

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?...=.jsp&c_id=mlb

Sorry, but seeing the name Paul Byrd gave me a stroke.

[b-ball-lunachick]

Waiting a decision on whether Longoria will start the season with the big club...I wonder if they'll make him wait until mid April to come up to delay his free agency eligibility by a year...

I think that's a bad tone to set if they do that...they're trying to be all about playing hard every play and getting a swagger to them...hard to say that out of one side out of their mouth and then start the youngster down in AAA...

should be interesting...

[YASS]

Waiting a decision on whether Longoria will start the season with the big club...I wonder if they'll make him wait until mid April to come up to delay his free agency eligibility by a year...

I think that's a bad tone to set if they do that...they're trying to be all about playing hard every play and getting a swagger to them...hard to say that out of one side out of their mouth and then start the youngster down in AAA...

should be interesting...

I have to disagree, BBL. If they can hold on to him at controlled cost for an additional year (a prime year, at that) by sacrificing a little of his big league time in April, they'd be smart to do it.

They'll get a lot more bang out of that additional year than they will out of a few weeks of his rookie season.

[Yankee_Samurai]

I have to disagree, BBL. If they can hold on to him at controlled cost for an additional year (a prime year, at that) by sacrificing a little of his big league time in April, they'd be smart to do it.

They'll get a lot more bang out of that additional year than they will out of a few weeks of his rookie season.

It's not like they are competing for a playoff spot or anything ! This is strictly a business move and I see nothing wrong with it .

[THEBOSS84]

I have to disagree, BBL. If they can hold on to him at controlled cost for an additional year (a prime year, at that) by sacrificing a little of his big league time in April, they'd be smart to do it.

They'll get a lot more bang out of that additional year than they will out of a few weeks of his rookie season.

It can be anywhere from a $5-15 million dollar decision. Even though I own him in two fantasy leagues, it's definitely the right call for a small market team.

[b-ball-lunachick]

I have to disagree, BBL. If they can hold on to him at controlled cost for an additional year (a prime year, at that) by sacrificing a little of his big league time in April, they'd be smart to do it.

They'll get a lot more bang out of that additional year than they will out of a few weeks of his rookie season.

Any other year I'd agree with you YASS..but this year, they are supposed to be a new organization, the team is really starting to build something together with chemistry and to send him down, possibly distract/annoy him, move Iwamura back to 3rd -- it's just disruptive...for a team that wants to really take a step forward this year and make a big splash out of the gate, that's not the way to do it to worry about 2013...

[THEBOSS84]

A poster in a Rob Neyer chat said that the Rays only need to keep Longoria down for 11 days in April in order to delay his FA a year. Neyer couldn't confirm the info though.

[THEBOSS84]

It's official:

The Tampa Tribune reports that Even Longoria has finally been sent back to the minors Monday. He'll start the season at Triple-A Durham despite a fantastic spring in which he hit .282 with three homers and 10 RBI before Monday.

[YASS]

A poster in a Rob Neyer chat said that the Rays only need to keep Longoria down for 11 days in April in order to delay his FA a year. Neyer couldn't confirm the info though.

That's a genuine no-brainer if it's true.

No matter what kind of aggressive image they're trying to portray this year, 11 days just isn't going to make a lick of difference in the long run.

[b-ball-lunachick]

Well if he or they struggle out of the box a lot, I won't be upset.

The kid looks like a player so for him personally, I'm sure he can look forward to a lot of OD's with a big league club.

[THEBOSS84]

We play the Rays the first week of the season. Longoria and Kazmir will be out, which makes me happy.

[In Mo I Trust]

Price is out for six weeks with a strained forearm (rotoworld). Not good news for the Rays.

[Prison Mike]

Ouch- forearm injuries can be a bad omen.

[keg411]

Ouch- forearm injuries can be a bad omen.

Maybe the Rays think they can get a 2-for-1 deal on TJ with Price & Kazmir ,

[b-ball-lunachick]

According to this article, the dates that were published for Longoria to come up without them losing that year were wrong:

Media Incorrectly Predicts Timing of Longoria's Promotion

We just wanted to take a moment to clarify a couple of erroneous reports yesterday in the mainstream media concerning the service time of Evan Longoria. Bill Chastain of MLB.com, Marty York of Canada Metro and John Romano of the St. Pete Times reported that the Tampa Bay Rays would be able to delay Longoria's free agency clock by one year if he remains in the minors until the end of April....

....

The problem with this assessment is that a promotion at the end of April does not delay the arbitration clock which is of more importance for a player that the Rays hope to have around for longer than six years.

Normally a player is eligible for arbitration after 3 years and free agency after 6 years of service time. In baseball's most recent collective bargaining agreement, a year of service time is defined as 172 days. However, of the players that fall shot of this mark, the top 17% with at least 2 years of service time are also granted arbitration eligibility. These players are called "Super 2s". The exact amount of service time varies from year-to-year, but has been as low as 128 days and as high as 140 days although the number is usually 130-135.

If we count backwards from the end of the regular season (Sept. 28), a player that is called up on May 24 and remains on the roster for the remainder of the regular season will accumulate 128 days of service time. A player that is called up on May 12 would accumulate 140 days of service time.

The Rays will eventually want to sign Longoria to a long-term deal and the parameters of that deal will be more immediately affected by when Longoria becomes eligible for arbitration as that will be the first year that he can expect a large increase in annual salary.

So if we assume that Longoria plays well in Durham and the team does indeed consider service time in their plans, we can make an educated guess that Longoria will be promoted to the Rays on or after May 26 (Memorial Day). Promotion on this day would give Longoria 126 service days this year and in all likelihood will delay his arbitration/free agency clock by one year. Last season the Brewers accomplished this with their top prospect Ryan Braun by waiting until May 24 to promote him to the majors.

So the Rays "we're here to win now" probably has them missing out on Longoria until late in May if this blog is to be believed...

http://www.raysindex.com/2008/03/eva...correctly.html

[dabomb2045]

Stupid Rays....I drafted Longoria in two leagues....arggh

[b-ball-lunachick]

I thought this was funny:

B.J. Upton is seething mad this week after the Rays demoted uber-prospect Evan Longoria to the minor leagues.

“I really can’t believe they would do this to us,” Upton said. “Sometimes I wonder which way this team is going. I really do.”

Surprisingly, Upton indicated that his fury with the Rays stemmed not from a desire to make the playoffs, but rather from his intentions to spend all of 2008 making fun of the prospect’s name, which is unusually similar to Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria.

“Look, I am a student of humor,” Upton said. “And this is humor. This is something that I could’ve worked with for six months, and they took it away from me. They better damn well re-imburse me for the Mrs. Tony Parker jersey that I bought, or there’s gonna be a serious problem.”
Upton said his plans for Longoria included bringing the third baseman along slowly – starting with the mocking of the name, and moving on to other, more general, rookie-focused hazing. For the last two months, Upton planned to bring both operations together in a lavish and exciting ceremony in front of the Rays’ kangaroo court, for which Upton is a magistrate.

“Now, all of my timing is off for the year,” Upton said. “The worst part is, I’m not really even ready for the baseball season. I didn’t even swing a bat in February, because I was too busy learning Photoshop. Well, that’s not the worst part – but it’s not good, that’s for sure.”

http://www.serioussportsnewsnetwork....-longoria.html

[YanksFan1992]

Tampa has exercised Carl Crawford's 2009 option.
http://www.rotoworld.com/content/Hea...=MLB&hl=232715

[SoCal Pinstriper]

ST. PETERSBURG — Designated hitter Cliff Floyd was "speechless" — and somewhat surprised — Wednesday after an MRI exam revealed a torn medial meniscus in his right knee, putting the 35-year-old veteran on the 15-day disabled list and out for four to six weeks.

RHP Matt Garza, who was put on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday with radial nerve irritation, could be out anywhere from four to six weeks, Maddon said. Garza had an MRI exam on his right arm that he said showed "everything's fine," but he won't throw for at least five days and will be reevaluated in two weeks. He also said he plans to be cautious in his comeback after seeing how former Twins teammate Francisco Liriano was injured.

http://www.tampabay.com/sports/baseb...icle450354.ece

[hardrain]

OOOPS...I hate when that happens:

per ROTOWORLD:

According to the St. Petersburg Times, Al Reyes was arrested early Friday morning "after falling down, picking a fight and spitting blood at the patrons of a popular Hyde Park night spot."

They had to teaser the guy twice.

[YASS]

OOOPS...I hate when that happens:

per ROTOWORLD:

According to the St. Petersburg Times, Al Reyes was arrested early Friday morning "after falling down, picking a fight and spitting blood at the patrons of a popular Hyde Park night spot."

They had to teaser the guy twice.

I hope this doesn't mean Al won't be available to blow saves against my team.

Irresponsible, Al! Thirteen other teams are depending on you!

[YanksFan1992]

Longoria could be on his way to the majors:

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/Hea...=MLB&hl=233828

[Sixty one]

I wonder how many times Evan Longoria is going to be called Eva by fans and benchjockeys?

[YanksFan1992]

Kazmir's scheduled to be back on May 3rd

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/Hea...=MLB&hl=234170

[Big_E]

Supposedly the Rays are going to make a major announcement at 1pm today.

My guesses:

1) Barry Bonds signs with the team
2) New stadium approved
3) Going back to the name Devil Rays

[Mr. Mxylsplk]

Supposedly the Rays are going to make a major announcement at 1pm today.

My guesses:

1) Barry Bonds signs with the team
2) New stadium approved
3) Going back to the name Devil Rays

It'd be cool if it was 2 - that stadium looks pretty neat. Probably a waste of money, but hey, it's not my money.

[FoulkeLore]

Supposedly the Rays are going to make a major announcement at 1pm today.

My guesses:

1) Barry Bonds signs with the team
2) New stadium approved
3) Going back to the name Devil Rays

I've also read/heard that it's to announce a LTD with Longoria. Fantasy owners are on the edge of their seats though.

[Chacon]

Rotoworld confirms that Longoria was inked

[Cardinal Fan]

http://blogs.tampabay.com/rays/2008/...o-make-ma.html

The Rays have signed 3B Evan Longoria to a long-term deal and will announce it at a 1 p.m. press conference, the Times has learned.
Longoria, 22, is considered among the game's elite prospects. He was called up last weekend, and has played just six major-league games, hitting .300. There is no official word and lots of speculation at this point, including some talk that the deal could run for nine years (with team options) and be worth close to $50-million.

[DaPip1998]

$17M after 6 games. Not bad for the kid.

Unless, of course, he really IS that good and he just lost tons of money.

[Steve Dalkowski]

How is this good for the Devil Rays?

[b-ball-lunachick]

How is this good for the Devil Rays?

I'm wondering that myself...well, for the Rays.

[iodon]

At a possible $44mil for 9 years, this is a gamble for both sides. If he's good, he lost the gamble. If he's not, the Devil Rays lose 17m, which the Yankees lost on Pavano over the last season and a half. They must really trust their scouts to sign him this early, but it's not a bad gamble for the team as far as I'm concerned. They have a chance to lock up (what they think will be) an all-star (growing into his prime) for less than 5mil a year for almost a decade.

[Snatch Catch]

6/17.5?!?!

Are you serious?

The arbitration scales are out of control right now.

Cano just got $30 million for his arb years.

Longoria just gave his away for about half that, and then 3 FA years as OPTIONS!

Wow. Amazingly done by the Rays.

[THEBOSS84]

I would like the Yanks to do this with Joba and Phil. I know pitchers are a different story, but the Yanks can clearly role the dice here, and if they lose big deal - it's only money.

[Snatch Catch]

I would like the Yanks to do this with Joba and Phil. I know pitchers are a different story, but the Yanks can clearly role the dice here, and if they lose big deal - it's only money.

If it's only money, there's no reason for them to do it in the first place.