Less than 3 weeks before pitchers and catchers report and the baseball world is getting anxious.  There is talk all over the TV and various message boards about our beloved Rays!  Everyone is comparing various 2009 rosters with our 2008 Rays to see who the surprise may be this year.  This is a huge leap in the right direction for our perennial bottom dwelling Rays and I love it!  What a turn around 1 season can provide.  It almost makes the previous 10 years seem not so painful. 

BUT the one thing I am tired of hearing is the insinuation that the Rays won only because they stunk for so long and had the first pick for so many years, that these first rounders were bound to pan out eventually.  Clearly anyone who knows anything about the Rays knows this is FALSE!

I am here today to set the record straight.  Here are the regular 25 from last year.

Acquired via Trade:

Kazmir (Mets), Garza and Bartlett (Twins), Gross and Balfour (Mil), Jackson and Navarro (LAD), Wheeler and Zobrist (Hou), Bradford (Balt), Howell (KC)

Acquired via FA signing:

Pena, Aybar, Iwamura, Hinske, Floyd, Riggans, Percival, Miller

Acquired via Rays Draft:

Longoria (R1), Crawford (R2), Upton (R1), Sonnanstine (R13), Shields (R16), Hammel (R10) 

OK now you see it!  3 original Rays draft picks in R1 and 2 – only 3 of them.  Now we did have some other guys who contributed during injuries so let’s look at them:

Acquired via Trade:

Talbot (Hou)

Acquired via FA signing:

Hernandez and Salas

Acquired via Rays draft:

Price and Niemann (R1), Perez (R7), Gomes (R18), Jaso (R12)

Acquired via waiver pick up:

Johnson (Oak), Haynes (LAA)

Ok so there it is, all of it.  Out of our 5 players we actually drafted high:  Longo started the year in AAA then missed about 6 weeks due to broken wrist; CC missed about 8 weeks due to hand surgery, Upton played hurt all season long, Niemann made a few starts during Kaz’s recovery from elbow issues then back to AAA, Price did not make his appearance until Sept.

Look gang – the Rays won just because they are that good!  Not because they have 25 first round players on their roster!  I believe the only other first rounder on that roster was Jackson and he was drafted by the Dodgers as an OF.

So baseball journalists, analysts, writers and whomever else I’ve forgotten – READ THIS AND LEARN IT!  The Rays are just that good – get over it!

See you in Port Charlotte!

Spring training is right around the corner Ray fans!   YAY!!!  I cannot wait.  Although the new MLB Network has relieved some of my withdrawal it’ll be nice to see live action again.  With that being said, let’s look at the major moves the RFO has made and grade them:

1.  Joe Nelson.  Nelson has been around a while but has played in limited duties at the major league level.  His first significant ML experience was 2006 with the KC Royals.  He made a big splash in the BP for the Florida Marlins last year.  He has a lifetime WHIP of 1.36.  He racked up 60 Ks to 22 BB last year finishing the year with an ERA of 2.00.  Anytime you can bolster a BP – especially one with little needs like the Rays – it is an excellent signing.  My only concern is that Nelson has not pitched in the majors in back to back years since he first emerged in 2001.  I still consider this a solid signing and will give the Rays a solid B+.

2. Matt Joyce.   It appears that the Rays got the better end of this trade with Detroit.  We get a solid young (24) player to mold in the “Ray Way.” Joyce has played only 92 ML games but has a decent BA (.252) and has shown some pop (12 HR in 242 at bats).  If you extrapolate that number out to a 600 AB season he has the potential to crack about 28 dingers.  On the downside he only has 92 games of major league experience.  He also has a 2/1 K to BB ratio – if he were a pitcher that would be good thing but….he’s not a pitcher.  Clearly Joyce has some things to learn yet so he may begin the year in Durham.  What we lost in the trade as a pitcher (Edwin Jackson) who may have had the best year he may ever had.  Yes, he won 14 games but Jackson gets in his own way when it comes to growth and improvement.  There was no room in the starting rotation with the emergence of David Price and his focus issues made it clear the BP would not be his place and no options remained.  So, we got a solid young player with a lot of promise and options.  This is an excellent trade and I’m giving the RFO an A.

3.  Pat Burrell.  Burrell is a veteran leader with great clubhouse presence.  He will fill the void left by the departure of guys like Hinske and Floyd.  He is a slugging RH hitter that has been sorely absent from the Ray lineup. He has racked up and average of 28 HR and 92 RBIs in his 9 seasons.  Add those power numbers to the middle of the Ray lineup with Longoria, Pena and a healthy Upton and you have the power line up we were missing to take us to over that final hurdle last season, a World Series victory.  On the downside Burrell does K a lot, an average of 141 K’s per season.  He also carries a low BA at career .257.  A change of scenery and a new role may spark Burrell to increase his productivity.  I’m giving the RFO a B.

The Rays made these 3 very significant moves to fill specific needs.  Each of these players possess the ability to become the final spoke in the wheel that is the Tampa Bay Rays.  The RFO have made decisions that, at this point, appear to be ideal for our current situation.  We all know the reality though, only time will tell.

See you in Port Charlotte!