DRays Bay: Q&A with Keith Law, ESPN Senior Writer and Master Chef

The Rays finally get smart? Not The Claw…The Klaw.

JL: Is it me or do you think that it’s pure cockiness that Boston basically did absolutely nothing in their offseason? David Aardsma is basically one of the few pick-ups that they made and he’s nothing to be proud of.

KL: Did they need to make any changes? They’re locked in at many positions anyway, and they’ve got help arriving right away in the outfield (Ellsbury) and the rotation (Buchholz), with a shortstop (Lowrie) and power reliever (Masterson) coming soon. I wouldn’t have done much either.

JL: It was revealed last week in a radio interview with Andrew Friedman that the Rays were planning to pick and sign Tim Lincecum 2 years ago and it wasn’t until the last minute that they learned Colorado was leaning towards Greg Reynolds over Longoria. Had we picked Lincecum with that #3 pick, do you think that we’d be in any better of a position now? Had we made the same transactions of this offseason, would the quartet of “Kazmir-Shields-Lincecum-Garza” be one of the best in baseball?

KL: I think the Rays’ choice will be more than justified in the end. Lincecum had trouble going through the order twice last year, and I think his numbers would be dimmed a bit by a move from a huge park in the NL West to a neutral park in the AL East. And it’s not as if the Rays don’t have an absurd quantity of young pitching marching through their system.