2013 Tampa Bay Rays

[Biggs3535]

The new pitchers got tagged a little today, but no biggie.  Spring Training is going well for the Rays so far.

[olafberserker]

http://www2.tbo.com/sports/sports/2013/mar/03/5/escobar-a-big-surprise-for-tampa-bay-rays-ar-648947/

[Biggs3535]

http://www2.tbo.com/sports/sports/2013/mar/03/5/escobar-a-big-surprise-for-tampa-bay-rays-ar-648947/

Good to hear.  I knew the dude was talented, but I was worried about the 'tude problem.  Hopefully he's matured and his play is all folks with be discussing for the next few years.

[Sweep]

Anybody have a scouting report or even your own knowledge/opinion regarding Leslie Anderson's glove?

[Biggs3535]

Anybody have a scouting report or even your own knowledge/opinion regarding Leslie Anderson's glove?

I'll just say there's a reason he really doesn't have a set position.

[Sweep]

Anybody have a scouting report or even your own knowledge/opinion regarding Leslie Anderson's glove?

I'll just say there's a reason he really doesn't have a set position.

Thanks, Biggs.   

[olafberserker]

So glad we didn't take Buster Posey .... /sarcasm


http://www2.tbo.com/news/opinion/2013/mar/04/3/beckham-proves-having-no-1-mlb-pick-is-game-of-cha-ar-649746/

"I'm really seeing a guy who can be a major league middle infielder, shortstop or second baseman," Maddon said. . "'I'm seeing an improved swing. I'm seeing a shorter swing. I'm seeing more of an understanding of what he's doing at the plate. Consistent offense. That's what I told him. Everything else he does, he could pretty much play here right now."

[olafberserker]

“His defense has gotten way better,” Montoyo said. “Usually when somebody gets to 29 or 30, you are what you are and usually don’t get any better. But he’s played very well this year overall – he’s done everything we’ve asked of him.”

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/08/22/2285631/cuban-defector-anderson-chases.html#storylink=cpy

[Biggs3535]

So glad we didn't take Buster Posey .... /sarcasm

Everybody knew Posey was a good player, but his contract demands were crazy.  The Rays, and three other teams, passed on him because of those demands even though he was the best player in college baseball.

[olafberserker]

I get that to a certain extent, but he took care of two major needs and I think there is a good chance we are World Series Champion if he was the pick.  How much money would that have made Stu and they would be planning the ground breaking ceremony for that new stadium he wants so he can make more.

[olafberserker]

Can't find his actual demands currently, but I seem to remember an issue being how long they could keep him down and control him.

[Biggs3535]

Can't find his actual demands currently, but I seem to remember an issue being how long they could keep him down and control him.

Reportedly wanted $12M

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/unfiltered/?p=893

As we close in on midnight, the draft is still, well, pretty much a mess, but there looks to be some direction finally with the Rays at number one overall.  It’s not because they’ve made a decision on who is the best player, and it’s not because they’ve decided to go for ceiling (Tim Beckham) over certainty (Buster Posey).  It’s because of money.  On the final night of the draft, many decisions are made with checkbooks.  Teams looking at multiple players begin to make calls to agents to gauge signability, and those discussions can help steer teams one way or the other.  Late this evening, multiple sources have indicated as to Buster Posey’s draft-eve asking price, and it’s a doozy at $12 million.  Right now, that looks like more than enough to make up the Rays mind, and they’ll likely be taking Tim Beckham unless that number reverses dramatically in the next 12 hours.  The real question is to the reason for the number, as some believe it’s a posturing maneuver to drop Posey to a team with deeper pockets, though many feel that strategy would backfire, and somebody with a early pick will call the bluff.


Longoria and Price didn't make those type of demands out of college, and Rays took them.  Posey did, and they went another direction.  It sucks that Beckham hasn't panned out, but It is what it is.

[Sweep]

I don't know what the $12 million was all about, but I do know both Posey and Beckham signed for nearly an indentical $6million bonus.

[Biggs3535]

I don't know what the $12 million was all about, but I do know both Posey and Beckham signed for nearly an indentical $6million bonus.

Posey and his agent (Boras, I think) were leveraging themselves as the "#1 pick" in their negotiations with SF.  The bonus he signed with SF @ #5 would been drastically different if he actually was the #1 w/Tampa.  Even @ #5, his negotiations with SF went until the last minute. 


http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=15540

The San Francisco Giants beat the deadline and signed top draft pick Buster Posey on Friday night.

The two sides had until midnight ET to reach a deal and worked right up until the deadline to agree to the contract. Terms of the deal were not released. Baseball America reported that Posey received a US$6.2-million bonus, which would be the biggest the Giants have ever given an amateur player. The previous high was the $2.55 million Dominican outfielder Rafael Ramirez got last month.

Posey, the fifth overall pick, got a bigger bonus than No. 1 Tim Beckham, who received $6.15 million from Tampa Bay. Some teams were scared away from picking Posey because of the big contract he wanted in order to leave Florida State.

[Sweep]

Thanks.

Well, if that was the case, and the Rays would have agreed to $7 million, then his demands cost him $1m.  I'm wondering if he just didn't want to play in Tampa.