TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

If They Deal, Rays Must Get Proper Value

ADVERTISEMENT

By JOE HENDERSON

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 30, 2008

Watching the Rays get the bats knocked out of their collective hands the past few weeks has become a near-nightly exercise. Aggravating, isn't it?

Where are the hits that always seemed to come at just the right moment during the first three-plus months of this season? Ground balls that used to shoot into left field or up the middle are now being turned into rally-killing double plays. Balls that used to land a couple of rows deep in the outfield seats are dying now on the warning track.

The baseball purist in me argues that stuff like this happens, that the game has a way of evening out over six months. The Rays are neither as good as they were when Gabe Gross was nailing a walk-off homer against Matt Thornton of the White Sox, nor are they as bad as they have looked lately.

Patience, grasshopper.

The infuriated observer in me, though, stomps a boot on the grasshopper and screams, "Friedman! Do something!" And do it before the trading deadline at 4 p.m. Thursday.

What the Rays need to actually do, of course, is somewhere in the middle.

Let us explore that, along with a few myths:

Myth No. 1

They have to win now while they can. That implies the Rays have gulped some magic pills for this run and the effect will wear off after this season, forcing them back to a prone position in the AL East while the Red Sox and Yankees re-assume total control.

That's a false assumption.

You win with pitching (someone told me that once) and the Rays' top three starters are competitive with anyone. David Price probably will be in that group next year (if not later this season). Pitching will give the Rays a chance to be competitive for the foreseeable future, and the young everyday pieces they have - like Evan Longoria - are players you can bet on.

So you don't make a silly trade for a rental player or a marginally decent one (like Randy Winn). If you can acquire help like that at a reasonable cost, that's different.

That leads us to ...

Myth No. 2

One player can make the difference. Remember how the Braves celebrated when they got Mark Teixeira from Texas last year about this time? Probably the same way the Angels are celebrating now that they have him after Tuesday's trade. He was going to tilt the division title Atlanta's way last year, but the Braves missed the postseason anyway. The three biggest names the Rays could acquire right now are B.J. Upton, Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena.

If those three hit like they can over the last two months, the Rays will be in the playoffs. If they hit like they have lately, no trade the Rays could possibly make before Thursday will make any difference

A guy like Jason Bay, Pittsburgh's big-bat outfielder, would fit nicely into the middle of the Rays' lineup and they would control him through at least the end of next season. But if they want to start the conversation with Price, wish them well and move on.

Myth No. 3

No one remembers the prospects, anyway. Detroit found that out the hard way when the Tigers once traded a minor-league prospect for proven major-leaguer Doyle Alexander. Yes, he helped the Tigers make the playoffs that year. But John Smoltz helped Atlanta become a dominant team for more than a decade and he is headed to the Hall of Fame.

A little closer to home, the Mets thought Victor Zambrano was just the guy to put them over the top, so they gave Scott Kazmir to the Rays in exchange. Mulligan, anyone?

Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman has shown he will be bold, but not foolish. They're in this position because he traded the runner-up for Rookie of the Year, Delmon Young, to get Jason Bartlett and Matt Garza.

We know they need a right-handed power bat. We know they could use another lefty arm in the bullpen. We know the Yankees just loaded up with last week's big trade.

The Rays got this far by being smart, though - knowing when to strike, when to be bold and when to walk away. Whatever they get now has to be worth the cost.

And if they wind up doing nothing and just go with what they already have, well, they could do worse.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT