Amidst the Tampa Bay Rays' slow start, Carlos Pena is mashing the ball. Yesterday, Pena clubbed home runs off of Trevor Cahill and Dan Giese of the Oakland A's to help Scott Kazmir earn his third win. The first baseman has eight home runs and 21 RBI in his first 67 at-bats. The Rays have to be excited to see the big lefty continuing to improve. He is quickly establishing himself as one of the most potent lefties in the AL East given the decline of David Ortiz. If the Rays are going to right themselves, they are going to need Pena to continue being productive.
Evan Longoria is also tearing the cover off of the ball to the tune of five early home runs and 16 RBI. Akinori Iwamura, Ben Zobrist and Jason Bartlett are getting on base very well. But B.J. Upton, Gabe Kapler, Dioner Navarro and Pat Burrell are all underperforming. Upton and Navarro have been absolutely atrocious, and they are both very important to the team. What made this team so strong last season was the everyone-can-be-the-hero mentality that they took to the ballpark every day. The Rays offense needs to get in sync so that all the pressure isn't on their big two power guys.
But the bigger problem with this team has been pitching. Scott Kazmir and James Shields have been playing almost up to their skill level. Shields is 2-2 with a 3.67 ERA and a stellar 1.11 WHIP. Kazmir is 3-1 with 3.97 ERA and a decent 1.32 WHIP. But Matt Garza, the unsung hero of that rotation last year, is off to a slow start at 1-1 with a 4.58. His WHIP is actually better than Kazmir's at 1.27, so it is somewhat safe to assume that his numbers will improve and that there is not a larger problem except for luck. But his 10 walks in 19.2 innings are simply too much.
The back end of their rotation is another story. Andy Sonnanstine is having a lot of trouble pitching effectively this year. He is 0-2 with a 5.74 ERA and a ridiculous 1.53 WHIP. It may be that his stuff is not effective enough to survive another tour through the league. When they got rid of Edwin Jackson this offseason, they decided to stick with Sonnanstine's control over Jackson's ace-type stuff and unpredictability. But Sonnanstine is averaging around four walks per nine innings right now, which is way too much for someone with his stuff.
Jeff Niemann has had similar problems. He has compiled a line of 1-2, 5.40 ERA, 1.50 WHIP. He is walking just under 4.5 men per nine, and giving up nearly two home runs per game. You have to wonder how long David Price is going to stay in the minors if Sonnanstine and Niemann don't hit their stride, because it is very hard to win games like the two of them are pitching right now.
The bullpen is probably the biggest concern, as it was last year. J.P. Howell is off to a solid start with a 2.45 ERA and 1.09 WHIP. So is Brian Shouse, who has a 1.59 ERA and 1.06 WHIP. After that it gets ugly. Newcomer Joe Nelson has been the next best thing with a 3.52, but his 1.43 WHIP is too high. Lance Cormier's numbers are 4.09 and an unacceptable 1.82. Troy Percival hasn't pitched much, but he has a 4.91 ERA and a 2.18 WHIP. Grant Balfour has walked six men in 5.1 innings, his ERA is 8.44 and his WHIP is 2.06. Dan Wheeler has given up three home runs in 5.2. His ERA is an unsightly 11.12 to go along with his 1.59 WHIP.
If some of these guys don't straighten themselves out [If I'm the manager, I'm looking at Wheeler and Balfour, and it's not a warm gaze] the Rays are going to have a tough time holding leads this season. Joe Maddon needs to hold a clinic on strike-throwing or something, because pitchers that walk a lot of batters don't win much in the major leagues. Unless they have A.J. Burnett-type stuff and can overcompensate. And of course unless their managers have pacemakers.
Showing posts with label Tampa Bay Rays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tampa Bay Rays. Show all posts
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Around the AL East 4/8/09
All five AL East teams were active for the first time today. Here is a look around the league at the results.
New York Yankees (0-1) at Baltimore Orioles (1-0)
Final: Orioles 7, Yankees 5
BALTIMORE:
Looking Sharp
Nick Markakis, OF. He is very hot starting off the year. He followed up a solid performance on opening day with a 3-for-3 to improve his batting average to .714 through two games. He hit his first home run of the season off Chien-Ming Wang and knocked in three to increase his season total to five RBIs. He will play the entire season at age 25, and still has a couple of years before he hits the typical peak seasons. He is going to be very, very scary for a long time. This year, expect him to take a step forward after a slight step back last year.
Adam Jones, OF. Jones didn't manage to draw any walks today after a surprisingly patient effort yesterday, but he did go 1-for-3 with a double and a sacrifice fly. He also knocked in his third run and scored for the fourth time so far. At age 23, it's hard to say what he is going to do this season, but the kid is a 5-tool talent. If Felix Pie is able to channel some of his skill, the Orioles will have one of the best outfields in baseball for the better part of a decade. Thank Erik Bedard for his one dominant season if you're an O's fan. Seattle gave up a lot for what Bedard has produced so far.
Koji Uehara, SP. I didn't know what to expect from Uehara this season. It's always hard to project out players from Japan, but Uehara pitched solidly today. He went five innings, allowing five hits, one walk and a run on the way to his first Major League victory. I see one scary thing in his line though: Uehara got three outs on ground balls, none on strikeouts and 12 on fly balls. According to NPB Tracker, the Japanese baseball blog of record for Americans seeking scouting, the biggest thorn in Uehara's side has been the home run ball throughout his career. If his fly ball rate stays close to what it was tonight, the bandbox that is Camden Yards could exacerbate these problems and give him major headaches as hitters adjust to him.
Also of note: Danys Baez, RP. Baez pitched two perfect innings, striking out one, in relief. Baez threw only 20 pitches over the two frames, 14 of them for strikes. He has always had good stuff, but has yet to really put it together and dominate. This is a good sign for Baltimore.
Off the Mark
Dennis Sarfate, RP. After helping shut down the Yankees' comeback attempt on Opening day, Sarfate imploded in the ninth with the Birds up 7-2. He allowed two runs on a Derek Jeter home run and another on Mark Teixeira's first hit with the Bombers, an RBI double that finished the team's scoring with two outs.
NEW YORK:
Looking Sharp
Derek Jeter, SS. Jeter followed up a three-hit Opening Day effort with another strong performance. Jeter went 2-for-4 with a home run, a walk, a stolen base and two RBIs. The Yankees have to be happy to see Jeter off to such a strong start after his struggles last year. Seeing him get on base and swipe bases bodes well for the lineup now that Jeter is the leadoff hitter. The Yanks are clearly trying to avoid station-to-station play.
Robinson Cano, 2B. A day after drawing what could be his only walk of the season, Cano went 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a steal. If he can use his speed to swipe some bags, this team will really move with Alex Rodriguez, Jeter, Johnny Damon and Brett Gardner all in possession of some serious wheels. Joe Girardi seems to be sending the runners more, too, as Johnny Damon also picked up a steal today. This goes a long, long way in helping the Yankees rely less on the home run now that steroids aren't an option...
Edwar Ramirez, Jonathan Albaladejo, Jose Veras, RPs. These three stepped in and were very strong in relieving Chien-Ming Wang after only 3.2 innings. They combined for 4.1 hitless innings, but allowed three walks. Ramirez went 1.1 innings, walking two and striking out one. His control was poor, throwing only 12 of his 26 pitches for strikes, but he managed to get people out. He has one of the better changeups in the game. Albaladejo pitched two, walking one on only 21 pitches. He has allowed three baserunners over 3.1 scoreless innings so far. He can make a good Yankees bullpen even better. Veras pitched a perfect eighth, striking out one batter while throwing eight of 11 pitches for strikes. I have a strong feeling that Veras will replace Brian Bruney in the eighth inning role at some point this season.
Also of Note: Jorge Posada, C. Posada went 1-for-4 with a double and a run scored today, continuing to show extra base power in his surgically repaired shoulder. More importantly, he threw out Brian Roberts stealing for the second consecutive game. The Yankees win at least five more games this season with a healthy Posada.
Off the Mark
Chien-Ming Wang, SP. I didn't think it was possible, but Wang managed to outstink C.C. Sabathia's start today. He lasted only 3.2 innings, but allowed nine hits [including five for extra bases], seven runs and three walks while striking out nobody. He got six groundouts and only three flyouts, which is good, but you expect better results from a guy with such a dominant sinker. The extra base hits are very perplexing, and have to make you wonder how he is feeling on the mound coming off of his injury last season. I expect the Yankees pitchers will be very happy to leave Camden Yards this weekend. It hasn't treated them well so far.
Tampa Bay Rays (0-1) at Boston Red Sox (1-0)
Final: Rays 7, Red Sox 2
TAMPA BAY:
Looking Sharp
Evan Longoria, 3B. Longoria went 2-for-5 with a solo home run off of Takashi Saito and a double off Jon Lester. Seeing the kid mash against a quality lefty like Lester has to make Rays' fans feel confident that there won't be a sophomore slump. He is a very important piece of the offense because he is the righty complement to their two best hitters, lefties Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena. Pat Burrell eases the load against lefties somewhat, but there is no question that despite Burrell's formidable pop, this kid is their premier right-handed hitter.
Carl Crawford, OF. Check that whole bit about the Rays needing Longoria to hit the tough lefties. Crawford went 3-for-5 with an RBI today, picking up two hits off Lester and one off of fellow lefty Javier Lopez. His awesome speed was a factor, allowing him to pick up two infield hits. He is just such a complete hitter. Even if you manage to overpower him, there is no guarantee you are going to get him out.
Scott Kazmir, SP. Kazmir outdueled one of the better pitchers in baseball today in Lester. His final line: six innings, five hits, one earned run, three walks, four strikeouts. You would like to see Kazmir walk less batters, but he threw 68 of his 111 pitches for strikes. That isn't too bad, and the Red Sox are a tough offensive team. The Rays will take six innings of one run ball against them any day. When David Price finally joins this rotation of Matt Garza, Kazmir and Shields, the sky is the limit.
Also of Note: Carlos Pena, 1B. Speaking of Crawford's job hitting Lester, Pena's first hit of the season was a two-out, two run blast off of the lefty that sealed his fate in the fifth inning. If the big bopper is healthy all year, this team is even better than last season at another position. Where is the ceiling? Jason Bartlett, SS. The light-hitting shortstop added to the Rays' display today with three hits of his own in five at-bats. He scored once, and knocked a man in. If he hits too, this team is flawless [except the bullpen?].
Off the Mark
Pat Burrell, DH. Burrell went 0-for-3 for the Rays with a walk today. He is 0-for-7 so far on the year and is yet to drive in a run or score one for his new team. I will chalk up his struggles to switching leagues and facing Lester and Josh Beckett as a greeting card. He also doesn't need to hit for a high average. The team got him for his power, so as long as he hits his 30 home runs and knocks in somewhere near 100 runs, the Rays will not complain.
Dioner Navarro, C. Navarro went 0-for-4, and while he isn't the Rays' most important hitter, I do see some warning signs here. Navarro's numbers average jumped from .227 in 388 at-bats in 2007 to .295 in 427 in 2008. The big difference seemed to be a decrease in strikeouts for the 25-year-old catcher. Up until last season, Navarro averaged a strikeout every 5.98 official appearances. Last year, that number dropped to every 8.71 trips to the plate, but his patience apparently got slightly worse. He went from walking every 10.04 at-bats in his prior career to every 12.56 times up. That does not strike me as the kind of numbers a typical .295 hitter puts up, so I would expect a decline here. The three strikeouts in eight at-bats may just be the beginning to a frustrating season for a player with a flawed approach at the plate.
BOSTON:
Looking Sharp
Kevin Youkilis, 1B. Youkilis is one of the toughest competitors in the game, and he's a pretty darn good hitter, too. Today he went 3-for-4. As context, the Red Sox only had eight hits as a team. He picked up one of the team's two RBIs, but that shouldn't surprise anyone. This guy is a machine. On the flipside, he made a costly error today in the field, but I am pretty sure that will not become a trend.
Ramon Ramirez, RP. I think that Ramirez is an underrated commodity with a high upside. He is certainly a nice arm to add to an already-good bullpen. Considering how little the piece (Coco Crisp) the Red Sox had to give up to get him fit with the team, a solid season from Ramirez could be a real coup. He looked sharp today, pitching a perfect inning and striking out a batter while putting 10 of 13 pitches in the zone.
Off the Mark
Jon Lester, RP. The line speaks for itself: five innings, five earned runs, eight hits, two walks and five strikeouts. He got beat up a little today, but he will be fine. The five strikeouts show how tough his stuff is, even when he isn't at his best. He threw 60 of his 94 pitches for strikes, and had only allowed one run when he blew up for four in the fifth. This looks to me like a case of a guy running out of gas early out of spring training.
Mike Lowell, Jed Lowrie, Jason Varitek, 3B, SS, C. The bottom third of the Red Sox order went 0-for-10 today with two strikeouts and six left on base. The three are hitting a combined 3-for-22 over the first two games. Add in Jacoby Ellsbury's 1-for-9 and that is a 4-for-31 start for the seven through one hitters. That is too many automatic outs, and the Sox need at least two of these guys to be productive this year to contend in a tough division.
Toronto Blue Jays (2-0) at Detroit Tigers (0-2)
Final: Tigers 5, Blue Jays 1
TORONTO:
Looking Sharp
Marco Scutaro, SS. Scutaro went 2-for-4 today with a double and the Jays' only run scored. He has always been a pretty strong hitter for a middle infield guy. And with the Aaron Hill/Alex Rios/Vernon Wells/Adam Lind crowd forming in line behind him, a decent season would provide a lot of run scoring opportunities. He could be a sparkplug for that offense.
Off the Mark
Jesse Litsch, SP. Litsch got burned by the longball today, simply put. He gave up two home runs to Miguel Cabrera and one to Brandon Inge over six innings. He allowed five earned runs, walking one and allowing seven hits. He did manage to strike out five batters along the way, and 64 of his 106 pitches were strikes, which is a good sign.
New York Yankees (0-1) at Baltimore Orioles (1-0)
Final: Orioles 7, Yankees 5
BALTIMORE:
Looking Sharp
Nick Markakis, OF. He is very hot starting off the year. He followed up a solid performance on opening day with a 3-for-3 to improve his batting average to .714 through two games. He hit his first home run of the season off Chien-Ming Wang and knocked in three to increase his season total to five RBIs. He will play the entire season at age 25, and still has a couple of years before he hits the typical peak seasons. He is going to be very, very scary for a long time. This year, expect him to take a step forward after a slight step back last year.
Adam Jones, OF. Jones didn't manage to draw any walks today after a surprisingly patient effort yesterday, but he did go 1-for-3 with a double and a sacrifice fly. He also knocked in his third run and scored for the fourth time so far. At age 23, it's hard to say what he is going to do this season, but the kid is a 5-tool talent. If Felix Pie is able to channel some of his skill, the Orioles will have one of the best outfields in baseball for the better part of a decade. Thank Erik Bedard for his one dominant season if you're an O's fan. Seattle gave up a lot for what Bedard has produced so far.
Koji Uehara, SP. I didn't know what to expect from Uehara this season. It's always hard to project out players from Japan, but Uehara pitched solidly today. He went five innings, allowing five hits, one walk and a run on the way to his first Major League victory. I see one scary thing in his line though: Uehara got three outs on ground balls, none on strikeouts and 12 on fly balls. According to NPB Tracker, the Japanese baseball blog of record for Americans seeking scouting, the biggest thorn in Uehara's side has been the home run ball throughout his career. If his fly ball rate stays close to what it was tonight, the bandbox that is Camden Yards could exacerbate these problems and give him major headaches as hitters adjust to him.
Also of note: Danys Baez, RP. Baez pitched two perfect innings, striking out one, in relief. Baez threw only 20 pitches over the two frames, 14 of them for strikes. He has always had good stuff, but has yet to really put it together and dominate. This is a good sign for Baltimore.
Off the Mark
Dennis Sarfate, RP. After helping shut down the Yankees' comeback attempt on Opening day, Sarfate imploded in the ninth with the Birds up 7-2. He allowed two runs on a Derek Jeter home run and another on Mark Teixeira's first hit with the Bombers, an RBI double that finished the team's scoring with two outs.
NEW YORK:
Looking Sharp
Derek Jeter, SS. Jeter followed up a three-hit Opening Day effort with another strong performance. Jeter went 2-for-4 with a home run, a walk, a stolen base and two RBIs. The Yankees have to be happy to see Jeter off to such a strong start after his struggles last year. Seeing him get on base and swipe bases bodes well for the lineup now that Jeter is the leadoff hitter. The Yanks are clearly trying to avoid station-to-station play.
Robinson Cano, 2B. A day after drawing what could be his only walk of the season, Cano went 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a steal. If he can use his speed to swipe some bags, this team will really move with Alex Rodriguez, Jeter, Johnny Damon and Brett Gardner all in possession of some serious wheels. Joe Girardi seems to be sending the runners more, too, as Johnny Damon also picked up a steal today. This goes a long, long way in helping the Yankees rely less on the home run now that steroids aren't an option...
Edwar Ramirez, Jonathan Albaladejo, Jose Veras, RPs. These three stepped in and were very strong in relieving Chien-Ming Wang after only 3.2 innings. They combined for 4.1 hitless innings, but allowed three walks. Ramirez went 1.1 innings, walking two and striking out one. His control was poor, throwing only 12 of his 26 pitches for strikes, but he managed to get people out. He has one of the better changeups in the game. Albaladejo pitched two, walking one on only 21 pitches. He has allowed three baserunners over 3.1 scoreless innings so far. He can make a good Yankees bullpen even better. Veras pitched a perfect eighth, striking out one batter while throwing eight of 11 pitches for strikes. I have a strong feeling that Veras will replace Brian Bruney in the eighth inning role at some point this season.
Also of Note: Jorge Posada, C. Posada went 1-for-4 with a double and a run scored today, continuing to show extra base power in his surgically repaired shoulder. More importantly, he threw out Brian Roberts stealing for the second consecutive game. The Yankees win at least five more games this season with a healthy Posada.
Off the Mark
Chien-Ming Wang, SP. I didn't think it was possible, but Wang managed to outstink C.C. Sabathia's start today. He lasted only 3.2 innings, but allowed nine hits [including five for extra bases], seven runs and three walks while striking out nobody. He got six groundouts and only three flyouts, which is good, but you expect better results from a guy with such a dominant sinker. The extra base hits are very perplexing, and have to make you wonder how he is feeling on the mound coming off of his injury last season. I expect the Yankees pitchers will be very happy to leave Camden Yards this weekend. It hasn't treated them well so far.
Tampa Bay Rays (0-1) at Boston Red Sox (1-0)
Final: Rays 7, Red Sox 2
TAMPA BAY:
Looking Sharp
Evan Longoria, 3B. Longoria went 2-for-5 with a solo home run off of Takashi Saito and a double off Jon Lester. Seeing the kid mash against a quality lefty like Lester has to make Rays' fans feel confident that there won't be a sophomore slump. He is a very important piece of the offense because he is the righty complement to their two best hitters, lefties Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena. Pat Burrell eases the load against lefties somewhat, but there is no question that despite Burrell's formidable pop, this kid is their premier right-handed hitter.
Carl Crawford, OF. Check that whole bit about the Rays needing Longoria to hit the tough lefties. Crawford went 3-for-5 with an RBI today, picking up two hits off Lester and one off of fellow lefty Javier Lopez. His awesome speed was a factor, allowing him to pick up two infield hits. He is just such a complete hitter. Even if you manage to overpower him, there is no guarantee you are going to get him out.
Scott Kazmir, SP. Kazmir outdueled one of the better pitchers in baseball today in Lester. His final line: six innings, five hits, one earned run, three walks, four strikeouts. You would like to see Kazmir walk less batters, but he threw 68 of his 111 pitches for strikes. That isn't too bad, and the Red Sox are a tough offensive team. The Rays will take six innings of one run ball against them any day. When David Price finally joins this rotation of Matt Garza, Kazmir and Shields, the sky is the limit.
Also of Note: Carlos Pena, 1B. Speaking of Crawford's job hitting Lester, Pena's first hit of the season was a two-out, two run blast off of the lefty that sealed his fate in the fifth inning. If the big bopper is healthy all year, this team is even better than last season at another position. Where is the ceiling? Jason Bartlett, SS. The light-hitting shortstop added to the Rays' display today with three hits of his own in five at-bats. He scored once, and knocked a man in. If he hits too, this team is flawless [except the bullpen?].
Off the Mark
Pat Burrell, DH. Burrell went 0-for-3 for the Rays with a walk today. He is 0-for-7 so far on the year and is yet to drive in a run or score one for his new team. I will chalk up his struggles to switching leagues and facing Lester and Josh Beckett as a greeting card. He also doesn't need to hit for a high average. The team got him for his power, so as long as he hits his 30 home runs and knocks in somewhere near 100 runs, the Rays will not complain.
Dioner Navarro, C. Navarro went 0-for-4, and while he isn't the Rays' most important hitter, I do see some warning signs here. Navarro's numbers average jumped from .227 in 388 at-bats in 2007 to .295 in 427 in 2008. The big difference seemed to be a decrease in strikeouts for the 25-year-old catcher. Up until last season, Navarro averaged a strikeout every 5.98 official appearances. Last year, that number dropped to every 8.71 trips to the plate, but his patience apparently got slightly worse. He went from walking every 10.04 at-bats in his prior career to every 12.56 times up. That does not strike me as the kind of numbers a typical .295 hitter puts up, so I would expect a decline here. The three strikeouts in eight at-bats may just be the beginning to a frustrating season for a player with a flawed approach at the plate.
BOSTON:
Looking Sharp
Kevin Youkilis, 1B. Youkilis is one of the toughest competitors in the game, and he's a pretty darn good hitter, too. Today he went 3-for-4. As context, the Red Sox only had eight hits as a team. He picked up one of the team's two RBIs, but that shouldn't surprise anyone. This guy is a machine. On the flipside, he made a costly error today in the field, but I am pretty sure that will not become a trend.
Ramon Ramirez, RP. I think that Ramirez is an underrated commodity with a high upside. He is certainly a nice arm to add to an already-good bullpen. Considering how little the piece (Coco Crisp) the Red Sox had to give up to get him fit with the team, a solid season from Ramirez could be a real coup. He looked sharp today, pitching a perfect inning and striking out a batter while putting 10 of 13 pitches in the zone.
Off the Mark
Jon Lester, RP. The line speaks for itself: five innings, five earned runs, eight hits, two walks and five strikeouts. He got beat up a little today, but he will be fine. The five strikeouts show how tough his stuff is, even when he isn't at his best. He threw 60 of his 94 pitches for strikes, and had only allowed one run when he blew up for four in the fifth. This looks to me like a case of a guy running out of gas early out of spring training.
Mike Lowell, Jed Lowrie, Jason Varitek, 3B, SS, C. The bottom third of the Red Sox order went 0-for-10 today with two strikeouts and six left on base. The three are hitting a combined 3-for-22 over the first two games. Add in Jacoby Ellsbury's 1-for-9 and that is a 4-for-31 start for the seven through one hitters. That is too many automatic outs, and the Sox need at least two of these guys to be productive this year to contend in a tough division.
Toronto Blue Jays (2-0) at Detroit Tigers (0-2)
Final: Tigers 5, Blue Jays 1
TORONTO:
Looking Sharp
Marco Scutaro, SS. Scutaro went 2-for-4 today with a double and the Jays' only run scored. He has always been a pretty strong hitter for a middle infield guy. And with the Aaron Hill/Alex Rios/Vernon Wells/Adam Lind crowd forming in line behind him, a decent season would provide a lot of run scoring opportunities. He could be a sparkplug for that offense.
Off the Mark
Jesse Litsch, SP. Litsch got burned by the longball today, simply put. He gave up two home runs to Miguel Cabrera and one to Brandon Inge over six innings. He allowed five earned runs, walking one and allowing seven hits. He did manage to strike out five batters along the way, and 64 of his 106 pitches were strikes, which is a good sign.
Win First, Spend Later
Thought I'd slide into Greg's territory a little bit with an economy-related note found on phillies.com.
The Phillies' payroll increased 25 percent this season to a franchise-record $132.3 million after winning their first World Series title in 28 years.
This is curious because 14 of the 30 Major League teams' payrolls decreased in the midst of the economic recession. However, this article places the credit for the Phillies ability to spend directly on the fans. Luckily for them, the Philadelphia-area hasn't been hit as hard by the recession as some parts of the country, and season ticket sales spiked nearly 19 percent for the World Champs. Add in increased sponsorship interest and merchandise sales, and the Phillies clearly had some money to play with in the offseason.They didn't just sit on it, either. They signed several of their free-agents-to-be to long-term contracts and brought in free agent outfielder Raul Ibanez (3-years, $31.5 million for the 36-year old).
With some other big-time players forced to take lesser deals this year (ie: new Washington National Adam Dunn), it begs the question if bigger is always better. The article notes that the Phillies will need some of their promising minor leaguers to start producing at the big league level soon to keep their payroll from going out of control. Without a salary cap in baseball, the economics of the sport will never truly make sense, but you wonder if other clubs are saying, "If we had only won the World Series, we might've been able to afford to overpay an aging outfielder." (For the record, according to USA Today's salary database, World Series runner-up Tampa Bay's payroll spiked nearly $20 million this year with its median salary jumping more than $800,00.)
Baseball seems to still be going relatively strong. (Monday's Orioles' Opening Day that I attended set a record for Opening Day attendance at Camden Yards.) But there's no doubt players who are free agents to be this offseason will be pushing harder than ever to have the career year that will land them a big contract when there might be fewer big contracts to go around. The Yankees, whose payroll actually went down $8 million this year despite committing more than $400 million to free agents, made their free agent spending binge to coincide with the opening of their new ballpark, so next year's free agents won't be able to fall back on them, either.
But in this economic era of uncertainty, the message right now to Major League teams is clear: Winning cures all woes.
The Phillies' payroll increased 25 percent this season to a franchise-record $132.3 million after winning their first World Series title in 28 years.
This is curious because 14 of the 30 Major League teams' payrolls decreased in the midst of the economic recession. However, this article places the credit for the Phillies ability to spend directly on the fans. Luckily for them, the Philadelphia-area hasn't been hit as hard by the recession as some parts of the country, and season ticket sales spiked nearly 19 percent for the World Champs. Add in increased sponsorship interest and merchandise sales, and the Phillies clearly had some money to play with in the offseason.They didn't just sit on it, either. They signed several of their free-agents-to-be to long-term contracts and brought in free agent outfielder Raul Ibanez (3-years, $31.5 million for the 36-year old).
With some other big-time players forced to take lesser deals this year (ie: new Washington National Adam Dunn), it begs the question if bigger is always better. The article notes that the Phillies will need some of their promising minor leaguers to start producing at the big league level soon to keep their payroll from going out of control. Without a salary cap in baseball, the economics of the sport will never truly make sense, but you wonder if other clubs are saying, "If we had only won the World Series, we might've been able to afford to overpay an aging outfielder." (For the record, according to USA Today's salary database, World Series runner-up Tampa Bay's payroll spiked nearly $20 million this year with its median salary jumping more than $800,00.)
Baseball seems to still be going relatively strong. (Monday's Orioles' Opening Day that I attended set a record for Opening Day attendance at Camden Yards.) But there's no doubt players who are free agents to be this offseason will be pushing harder than ever to have the career year that will land them a big contract when there might be fewer big contracts to go around. The Yankees, whose payroll actually went down $8 million this year despite committing more than $400 million to free agents, made their free agent spending binge to coincide with the opening of their new ballpark, so next year's free agents won't be able to fall back on them, either.
But in this economic era of uncertainty, the message right now to Major League teams is clear: Winning cures all woes.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Price is not Right for Rays
According to ESPN's Jayson Stark, the Tampa Bay Rays are likely going to give David Price some more time to cook down at AAA Durham at the start of the season.
If the Phil Hughes experiment has taught me anything, it is that calling up a young pitching phenom before his command is completely settled can do nothing but bruise his confidence. As much as Price has dominated along every step of the way [including spring training and the 2008 Postseason,] the Rays feel that he still needs to learn to be more efficient. And apparently he is making strides with his changeup that could turn it into another excellent pitch to add to his sick repertoire with some more time.
There is also wisdom with trying not to increase his innings from 129 1/3 straight to the 200 threshold. The bottom line is that this guy is as close to a sure thing as you get with pitching prospects. One of the only things that could get in his way is injury, and the Rays are right to move with trepidation.
Their pitching staff returns the big three: Scott Kazmir, James Shields and Matt Garza. Andy Sonnanstine will be back as well. And the talented Jason Hammel or Jeff Niemann will get a shot at the fifth spot until Price reaches for the baseball. It's a good situation to be in, if you're Tampa.
Andrew Friedman continues to prove himself an outside-the-box General Manager. He knows what he is doing, and seems to operate entirely unemotionally. Kudos to the kid for having the stones to send down the presumptive pre-season AL Rookie of the Year Award. It may frustrate some folks who saw him blow J.D. Drew away last season in the playoffs, but in the long run, I am not sure that this can do anything but help Price
If the Phil Hughes experiment has taught me anything, it is that calling up a young pitching phenom before his command is completely settled can do nothing but bruise his confidence. As much as Price has dominated along every step of the way [including spring training and the 2008 Postseason,] the Rays feel that he still needs to learn to be more efficient. And apparently he is making strides with his changeup that could turn it into another excellent pitch to add to his sick repertoire with some more time.
There is also wisdom with trying not to increase his innings from 129 1/3 straight to the 200 threshold. The bottom line is that this guy is as close to a sure thing as you get with pitching prospects. One of the only things that could get in his way is injury, and the Rays are right to move with trepidation.
Their pitching staff returns the big three: Scott Kazmir, James Shields and Matt Garza. Andy Sonnanstine will be back as well. And the talented Jason Hammel or Jeff Niemann will get a shot at the fifth spot until Price reaches for the baseball. It's a good situation to be in, if you're Tampa.
Andrew Friedman continues to prove himself an outside-the-box General Manager. He knows what he is doing, and seems to operate entirely unemotionally. Kudos to the kid for having the stones to send down the presumptive pre-season AL Rookie of the Year Award. It may frustrate some folks who saw him blow J.D. Drew away last season in the playoffs, but in the long run, I am not sure that this can do anything but help Price
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