Price To The Minors: What Are The Rays Thinking?

If the Rays hadn't just won the American League pennant like 19 minutes ago, today we'd be saying the whole lot of them, from manager Joe Maddon to baseball ops chief Andrew Friedman, are out of their minds.

That's because the man who got the save in winning that pennant, towering lefty David Price, has been dispatched to Triple-A Durham. The electricity is already building for Jason Hammel's first start of the season.

Price to the minors was in the bag before spring training. He could have struck out four guys in an inning, thrown the first no-hit game in Rays spring history and re-painted the clubhouse and he still would have wound up in the bushes.

Never mind that he was good enough to win that showdown with J.D. Drew and the Red Sox in Game 7 of the ALCS. Never mind that fastball.

"With David, obviously, development is key," Friedman said the day before camp began. "With David, I think he's made 20 professional starts. We're focused on building an organization, not just the '09 Rays. We have to keep one eye on the present and one eye on the future."

Like we said: in the bag.

Price's 1.08 ERA in 8-plus innings this spring mattered not. The Rays want him fresh come October, when they expect to make a postseason run. Ever get the idea that these guys outthink themselves sometimes?

Yes, there were practical reasons to send Price down. For one thing, despite his amazing finish last season, he has only made 19 professional starts.

Second, the Rays were out of options for two of Price's competitors for the fifth spot in the Rays' starting rotation, Hammel and Jeff Niemann.

And now my practical reason to keep him:

Price is better than the other guys.

What's the point of Jason Hammel options if Hammel can't get it done?

Shouldn't it be about that sometimes - the other guy being better?

Even in a spring when he hasn't been overpowering, Price has that glow, and he'll still have it when he gets back to the majors, which might be Friedman's point.

Well, Price should be up here sooner rather than later - a lot sooner. June seems too long a wait.

Last season, the Rays got 14 wins out of fifth starter Edwin Jackson. They might just need that again.

In my mind, I like the odds of Price doing that better than anyone else.

It's hard to argue these days with the Rays' way. They pushed the right buttons on the way to the top, and that included invariably bringing the young talent along at the right pace.

Still, it's a little unsettling to know that Evan Longoria might never have gotten that shot to be American League Rookie of the Year if it hadn't been for an injury to Willy Aybar just after the season began.

Up came Longo, and the rest was 105 wins.

On David Price's next trip to the majors, he'll be here to stay.

I think he'll be the Rays' best or next best starter by the time it's all over.

He can't miss. Get him back up here, fast.

On to Hammel-Mania!

Or is it Niemann-Mania?

This season just got slightly less exciting.