Some Questions about the Tampa Bay Rays (wildcard, Orioles, Phillies)

[filihok]

What Now for the Rays? | FanGraphs Baseball

Clearly, the Rays have assembled a vast array of talent on their roster, but in the age of free agency, it’s difficult to hold such units together for an extended period of time. This inevitability will strike the Rays this winter, as they will lose many key players to free agency. This list includes:

Carl Crawford (6.9 WAR)
Carlos Pena (1.0 WAR, 6.8 WAR in 2008 + 2009)
Rafael Soriano (1.7 WAR, +5.0 WPA)
Randy Choate (0.5 WAR as LOOGY)
Grant Balfour (1.2 WAR)


The Rays do have some assets ready to take the places of those who will exit, as their minor league system is in great shape. Desmond Jennings, who saw some action in the latter half of the season as well as the playoffs, is the heir apparent to Carl Crawford and shows that same kind of athleticism in the outfield. Jeremy Hellickson‘s debut showed that he should be more than ready for a spot in the Major League rotation. The Rays have three other five-star prospects, according to Baseball Prospectus’s Kevin Goldstein and six others above a three-star ranking, showcasing the depth of the Rays’ system.

[TB Fla]

Originally Posted by 1coolcustomer

I don't think it would even help to move them to Tampa. Within an hours drive of the Trop there is a plethora of other things to do, the beach, Busch Gadens, Adventure Island, Hard Rock, etc. I'm not saying that other cities don't have a lot of other stuff to do but even if they do they have a larger population to fall back on.

They way overestimated the attendence when they first got the Rays. I was living about 12 blocks from the Trop when they first started in 98. The City put new parking signs on my street that stated Devil Rays fans game parking takes priority over resident parking. What a joke I never saw anyone park more than a block or 2 from the dome and most of the time the main lot had plenty of spaces.

One mark of a good baseball stadium location is adjacent activities. Adjacent as in no more than 5 mins, not an hours drive. Activities such as restaurants, bars, clubs. There is nothing around the Trop but warehouses, and art galleries. Tampa is a better sports town than St Pete, and has a bigger population of natives who would go to games. It would be wise for the Rays to move to Tampa. If that happens and the Rays perform like they have this year, and attendance is still a problem, then they would be better off finding another market. Although I doubt any other market would be better. They would just have to deal with Philly fans bragging about how much better they are than them.

[Mr Yuk]

Well, it looks like the Rays missed their window...losing Crawford and Pena will hurt them. They'll still be decent next year, but they might find themselves battling the Blue Jays for 3rd place rather than the Yankees for the division.

[BucFan]

Originally Posted by go phillies

Well, it looks like the Rays missed their window...losing Crawford and Pena will hurt them. They'll still be decent next year, but they might find themselves battling the Blue Jays for 3rd place rather than the Yankees for the division.

Pena and his .195 battling average?

[filihok]

Originally Posted by BucFan

Pena and his .195 battling average?

Pena didn't have a good year but was still a better than average hitter despite the low batting average thanks to his ability to hit for power and draw walks

[TB Fla]

Originally Posted by filihok

Pena didn't have a good year but was still a better than average hitter despite the low batting average thanks to his ability to hit for power and draw walks

The Rays ability to draw walks became their downfall in the Playoffs. Rangers Pitching consistently pounded the corners of the strike zone, and the Rays kept getting caught looking. I was hoping the stadium would erupt into shouting "SWING THE BAT, SWING THE BAT."

[filihok]

Originally Posted by TB Fla

The Rays ability to draw walks became their downfall in the Playoffs. Rangers Pitching consistently pounded the corners of the strike zone, and the Rays kept getting caught looking. I was hoping the stadium would erupt into shouting "SWING THE BAT, SWING THE BAT."

http://www.city-data.com/forum/16247168-post1.html

#1 Playoff Rotation: Texas Rangers: Expected to give up .21 runs less per start than the other rotations. Three of 4 starters at or below average.

[TB Fla]

Originally Posted by filihok

http://www.city-data.com/forum/16247168-post1.html

That has a lot to do with not giving up walks. Especially Cliff Lee.

[filihok]

Originally Posted by Fred314X

I like Tampa Bay, specifically because the so-called "experts" never figure on them to do anything. They justify my belief that what you really need to win is a team that plays like a team--it's not necessary to sign a locker-room full of All-Stars and celebrities. Just go out there and play baseball!

BBTF's Transaction Oracle Discussion :: 2011 ZiPS Projections - Tampa Bay Rays

All is not lost, however - the team has enough pitching and defense and Evan Longoria to keep from being a bad team, but if the Rays follow through with their intention to cut >$10 million in payroll from 2010, they are probably the 3rd-best team in the AL East. It's a very ugly free agent market and the chances of someone that can contribute doing a Bobby Abreu and falling through the cracks this winter are fairly slim. Right now, I can't see Tampa Bay being better than an 85-90 win team, short of some surprises.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/16091999-post3.html

[BucFan]

Put a fork in us, we're through. Gotta give the Rays credit for the 2011 season to keep up w/ the Bostox and NYY up until July - with a payroll 25% of what they pay their teams. Half the players on TB should be in the minors, to tell the truth.