Comments on: Springtime Storylines: Did the Rays lose too many guys?

By: florida727

florida727 — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 20:35:43 +0000

Going to The Masters next week. Just hope the Rays are still in the pennant race when I get back.

By: qb211

qb211 — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 17:11:22 +0000

Old Gaytor sounds like a Dennis Miller wannabe clone. Seriously guy…..it’s his act, get a life of your own. Jack off

By: Old Gator

Old Gator — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 02:36:51 +0000

Ah, but there is a difference. Shea had sunshine and fresh air and you could sit in it and be outside with summertime. Sure, you had the occasional Black Sunday moment when it looked like one of those 727s or Eastern Shuttle Super Connies was going to plough into the scoreboard but other than that, you could still have a fun day at the park. I sure did.

On the other hand, instead of graceful Constellations and three-holers cutting majestically through a blue sky, you’ve got that predator drone with glandular problems that sounds like an old Remington battery powered razor – you know, the ones that yanked each bit of stubble out of your face instead of slicing it off – bungling around in the rafters, and the sunniest, sultriest tropical afternoon still feels like you’ve locked yourself in the broom closet what with that Chernobyl sarcophagus of a tilted scab of a roof repelling the sunshine like it thought it was doing your latent melanoma a big favor.

Look, don’t get me wrong – in several of the last few years the Razed have been a comfort to me, as a heartnsoul Floridian, when my Feesh have gone pectorals up like the late midseason had brought in a Pfiesteria infestation into Biscayne Bay with its usual depressing regularity. But that concrete Cahokia of a stadium, man, that’d be an eyesore on a cyclops.

By: spudchukar

spudchukar — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 22:24:23 +0000

On August 1st they were 5 games out. In my book anytime you are 5 back with two months to go, you are in the hunt.

By: florida76

florida76 — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 22:05:51 +0000

Actually, the Rays did not contend for division title in 2009, they only finished several games over .500 that year. In fact, they finished 11 games out of the wildcard spot that year, it was quite a fall from the miracle year of 2008.

By: indaburg

indaburg — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 19:57:32 +0000

Really, Gator? You don’t like the Trop? I couldn’t tell since you never miss a chance to write something negative about it. We get it. It’s a dump. Got the memo. Normally I like your esoteric posts but seriously, leave the Trop alone. I feel the same way about it as I did as a kid in Shea. Yeah, it’s dump, but it is our dump, so back off already.

By: indaburg

indaburg — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 19:50:31 +0000

Losing Crawford was not a catastrophe. Losing the dominant bullpen is. The Rays were awful offensively with Crawford in the lineup. We’ll miss his arm in left field but we’ll miss the arms warming up in the right field bullpen way more.

By: spudchukar

spudchukar — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 17:02:09 +0000

Just visited the surreal shrine of the Muses. Something odd about it located in “Wrinkle City”.

By: Old Gator

Old Gator — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 16:06:18 +0000

I have a feeling that when the dust settles in October, the Razed will be looking up at the Feather Lice. Eventually, the heat, the humidity, the occasional cholera outbreak and, most of all, the strain of having to look at the Tropicana Wart every morning on the way in from the parking lot will take its toll. This bullpen looks to me a lot like the Feesh boolpen last spring. And the spectacle of runners going from first to third on bloop singles while Johnny Damon windmills his throwing arm to get up the velocity to propel the ball to the cutoff man – who will be about ten or twelve feet away – should be de rigeur in the sea of plastic grass. This will be a good summer to plan on leaving day games in the sixth inning and strolling over to the Salvador Dali Museum for some real entertainment.

By: spudchukar

spudchukar — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 15:59:07 +0000

should read: “may solidify THE pen.

By: spudchukar

spudchukar — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 15:58:07 +0000

The Rays know what they are doing. Hellickson will replace Garza without a hiccup. Only Pena’s defense will be missed. Both Brignac and Rodriguez are emerging stars and upgrades defensively. Look for Zobrist to rebound, somewhere between 2009 and 2010 levels and Longoria should also improve. A healthy Shoppach platoons nicely with Jaso either of which would be starting for the Yanks or Sox. The upgrade at DH and 1B will offset Crawford’s bat. They will miss his speed. The bullpen is the only real question mark. If the Spring is any indication they may well have rectified the fall off. I am no Farnsworth supporter but Peralta et al may solidify pen. The Rays will, as has been the case past three years, be fighting for the top spot.

By: florida76

florida76 — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 15:48:00 +0000

3rd place without a doubt, the Rays main competition will be the O’s and Jays. You simply don’t replace one of the game’s elite players with two washed up players, and Manny will lose interest once the Rays quickly fall from contention.

Smaller market teams usually have about a three year window, and last year was it for Tampa. This season will also see a big decline in attendance, which will force another cut in payroll moving forward. Without a new stadium soon, the Rays have no hope, and the club can wiggle out of that Tropicana lease by the end of this decade.

By: BC

BC — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 12:59:37 +0000

A question to start off. David Price isn’t dominant???!?! You’re kidding, right?
I think you’re spot-on otherwise. Their starting pitching will survive, they have some young depth to draw on. Losing Crawford is big, and losing Pena (yeah, I know he hit like .198, but he’s a power bat who’s always a HR threat, and he’s a heck of a fielder) hurts as well. And their bullpen stands to be a disaster. I’m thinking right around .500 for these guys, maybe 82-80 or something like that.

By: Rosenthals Speling Instrukter

Rosenthals Speling Instrukter — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 12:55:26 +0000

Rumors say Joba can take the 7-2 lead and turn it into extra innings. Not the same but he is working on it, give it time.

By: proudlycanadian

proudlycanadian — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 12:46:11 +0000

Hellickson has been held back by injuries this spring; however, I was very impressed by his last start. I think that he has the potential to become an ace.

By: yankeesfanlen

yankeesfanlen — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 12:45:10 +0000

Nothing like having ol’ Kyle hang on to a 7-2 lead and turn it into a 10-7 loss.

By: Mark

Mark — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 12:40:52 +0000

The bullpen was going to regress no matter what. Benoit isn’t a 2.00 ERA guy. Both him and Soriano stayed pretty healthy the entire season. The odds of that happening again isn’t likely. It’ll be worse, but mostly because every guy had a career year last year.

The Rays had one of the worst DH’s in the league (713 OPS), so if Manny is productive that’s huge for them. Crawford’s a loss, but coming off a career year he was gonna be a little less productive anyways.

I still think they’re one of the 4 best teams in the AL. Getting a full season out of Matt Joyce (910 OPS vs RHP) and Brignac should help them make up for most of their losses. There’s just so much upside on this team.