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Sunday, March 23, 2008

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.

Repoz Posted: March 23, 2008 at 01:18 AM | 5 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
Tags: prospect reports, rays, scouting

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1. pkb33 Posted: March 23, 2008 at 01:43 AM (#2717813)

The Red Sox and Yankees questions this "JL" asks do not suggest he, umm, understands much about baseball. Is he a Rays homer or just a complete moron?

2. Howie Menckel Posted: March 23, 2008 at 01:44 AM (#2717817)

I'd have said "not the Craw - the CRAW!"

3. Rich Rifkin I Posted: March 23, 2008 at 04:12 AM (#2717865)

"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."

This may surprise anyone who is not paying attention, but consider the ballpark factors in San Francisco each of the last 5 years:

2003 - 099
2004 - 101
2005 - 101
2006 - 100
2007 - 100

Yes, ATT is a big park in centerfield and a hard one for left-handed batters (not named Barry Bonds) to hit home runs in. But it is a neutral park, not a pitchers park. It's basically the same as Tampa for the average pitcher:

2003 - 096
2004 - 097
2005 - 100
2006 - 100
2007 - 099

Of course, Keith Law may be considering other factors, such as the DH and general superiority of AL hitters, in assuming Lincecum would do better in San Francisco.

4. HGM Posted: March 23, 2008 at 06:31 AM (#2717896)

While, overall, it's a fairly neutral park, it is death on home runs.

5. ECBucs Posted: March 24, 2008 at 03:10 PM (#2718395)

Always good to have a Get Smart reference.

Anyone buy the official dvds?

I think taking Longoria over Lincecum was a good move for Rays.

Should have kept name Devil Rays though.

Regular Rays have become a lot more dangerous since name change.

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Sunday, March 23, 2008

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

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