To Those Of You Who Want Upton And Burrell Traded....

To those of you who want BJ Upton and/or Pat Burrell traded, stop dreaming. I read it in blog comments every day. I hear it on sports talk radio almost every day.

Of course the two players have been sub-par this year, and the 2009 Rays would have been better without them, but you have to look at contracts, control, and potential. The main reason that the Rays wouldn't be able to move Upton or Burrell is the fact that they also have to have a trade partner willing to take on the contracts and give fair value.

I will get Pat Burrell out of the way because this will be easier. Burrell will be owed $9 million next season. He has struggled mightily and has failed to come close to expectations. What team that you know of would take that contract off the Rays' hands? Anybody? Beuler? Exactly, nobody will take the contract. The Rays can't afford to release Burrell and pay him all that money to suit up for another team. All that can really happen is that Burrell bats 5th or 6th every night and hopefully next year he meets or beats expectations.

Now let's look at BJ Upton. He is arbitration eligible so he will garner some sort of a raise, but not a huge raise because he is coming off a down season. He is under team control for 3 more seasons, so there is no real need to move him for fear of not being able to lock him up long-term.
Upton may not have been valuable at the plate this season, but he sure has been solid in the field. His speed and cannon have saved multiple runs throughout the season.
Now, I don't know if injuries were a real of fabricated excuse for Upton's mediocre season at the plate, but we know what Upton can do when he is on his game. He has so much potential. After this down season, the Rays would not get anywhere close to fair value for Upton's potential. Trading Upton would basically be a player dump and would say the Rays have completely given up on Upton. It is way too early in his career to give up on BJ Upton, and the Rays front office is much smarter than that.

So, for those of you who want to see Upton and Burrell traded, stop wasting your time and wishes. Stop calling into talk shows and stop writing comments on blogs about it. It's not going to happen. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why.

One Team, Under Porn-Stache

The porn-stache. Simply incredible.

What is with the porn-stache? I don't really get it. There is no real way to describe it, you just know it when you see it. No one laughs at you if you have a porn-stache. Everyone just says "that's an awesome mustache." Dale Thayer was the first to show up with the porn-stache this year. Later on in the season, we saw BJ Upton with one, and now Fernando Perez. The porn-stache rocks. I'm not sure why random players are showing up with the porn-stache this season, but I think there should be more. The ray-hawk was 2008, the porn-stache needs to take over the clubhouse. It will be a lot more bonding than a "Ring of Fire" or urban cowboy road trip. Come on Rays. Now is your chance to come together as a team, and maybe get on a 2008-esque hot streak. The porn-stache could be the Rays' key to either finding a pulse, or at least really enjoying the last month of the season. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why.

Aggressive Mistakes vs. Mental Mistakes

I saw a major and borderline unforgivable mistake made by the Rays last night in the game against the White Sox. With one out in the 8th inning, Jason Bartlett was standing on 2nd base while B.J. Upton was on 1st. Bartlett broke for third base and was thrown out. The Rays continued the inning with a runner or 1st and 2 outs. Although Bartlett was thrown out, he did not make the mistake.

I will never ever criticize somebody for being aggressive while playing within their means. For any of you who question Jason Bartlett’s attempt to steal third, shame on you. If he made it, you would have said how great of a job he did. I like his aggression and his desire to give his team the best possible chance to win. Bartlett is an accomplished and proven base-stealer, and he should be trying to get the extra base. He knows if he can get to third with one out, it’s a huge advantage. I will not judge Bartlett based on the result that he was thrown out. Good job Jason, I hope you try it again.
The problem I had on that play is with B.J. Upton. With a runner on 2nd base and a lefty at the plate, Upton was not held tight to the base. He needs to be aware that there is a potential base stealer on 2nd base. His focus as the pitch leaves the pitcher’s hand should be on Bartlett. If he sees Bartlett break for third, Upton HAS TO break for second. He has the speed that he should beat a throw to second, and he should have a big enough lead that it won’t be an issue. There is no excuse whatsoever for Upton to not get into 2nd base. It was a mental mistake, a moment of lost thought, and an opportunity wasted.
Just like all of you, I was very frustrated when I saw Carl Crawford hit a single into deep left field. However, I didn’t once say “Bartlett would have tied the game if he didn’t attempt to steal third.” I did say “Upton would have tied the game if he didn’t make a mental mistake.” Mental mistakes are brutal and may have cost the Rays a win. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure this out.