Who the hell did they get back? Can't believe the story never mentions it...

If you read the other article the Scott Kazmir the little ace Santa Claus forgot you find out the name of one of them , a 21 year old lefty named Alexander Torres.

It's a roll of the dice to be sure, but it probably ensures that the Rays are more than a one-year wonder and that the AL East may be a three-team race for at least through 2012.

It's a roll of the dice to be sure, but it probably ensures that the Rays are more than a one-year wonder and that the AL East may be a three-team race for at least through 2012.

Starting pitching is the one area where the Rays had some flexibility, with Davis and Hellickson close to being ready. They've also got some inexpensive options in the infield (Brignac) and outfield (Jennings, maybe Perez) which may let them package some potentially attractive and about-to-become expensive players like Iwamura and Upton in deals in the offseason.

-- MWE

EDIT: And I don't think they are actually giving up *that* much of the present, either. Davis might be able to step in for Kazmir now.

As I mentioned in another Kazmir thread, I'm generally much more concerned about competitive imbalance generally and in the AL East specifically (And I truly believe that parity exists across the 4 major pro leagues for all teams save the Blue Jays, Rays, and Orioles). Still, I'm half convinced here that they saw his value tank, his performance get spotty, and his price increases looming and got out while the getting was still half good.

MWE is right. If any team can pitch aside Hammel and Kazmir in playoff runs, it's the Rays, who's SP depth is enviable, possibly even for a fan of the Blue Jays, who've covered 17,432 lost innings this year or there abouts.

If that player to be named is a Wood level guy, then wow, too. That actually would work as a baseball trade even it if were financially driven. Wood, Iwamura, and Brignac behind Zobrist, Longoria, and Bartlett? Why don't I just switch to that team? I'm seeing Macdonald the starting 3B? Inglett with >0 ABs this year? What are we talking about again?

Fangraphs had some nice things to say about Torres last week.

Reports are that Jordan Walden is the PTBNL.

I really think it's a great deal for both sides save for the fact that it hurts the Rays "brand" if they can't get back to the playoffs this year. It's one thing not to make it back, it's another to have to dump pieces and not make it back. That's not a reflection on the deal itself as much as my thought as to how the deal will be perceived in Tampa/St. Pete.

EDIT- Scratch the Walden bit, that info may be suspect. I thought yesterday it wold be Reggie Willits- that's still my guess.

And I truly believe that parity exists across the 4 major pro leagues for all teams save the Blue Jays, Rays, and Orioles

Spoken like a true Blue Jays fan.

I thought yesterday it wold be Reggie Willits- that's still my guess.

Isn't Willits a rich man's Charles Gipson?

why would anyone want wilitis?

Isn't Willits a rich man's Charles Gipson?

Pretty close if I recall Gipson correctly. Lots more walks for Willits though- he can be a real pain to pitch to. Particularly considering he can't really hit a baseball more than about 200 feet.

Considering the way he plays, it wouldn't surprise me if Maddon and Scoiscia didn't end dueling to the death over who gets to have him as their fifth outfielder.

I really think it's a great deal for both sides save for the fact that it hurts the Rays "brand" if they can't get back to the playoffs this year. It's one thing not to make it back, it's another to have to dump pieces and not make it back. That's not a reflection on the deal itself as much as my thought as to how the deal will be perceived in Tampa/St. Pete.

Of course the fans have no one to blame but themselves. Coming off a pennant winning season, they are still 10th in attendance.

Until the market shows it will support the team, it's hard to fault the ownership for worrying about payroll. The $63M payroll this year is respectable, and they can probably go to $70-75M, but not much more until attendance/ratings increase.

Of course the fans have no one to blame but themselves. Coming off a pennant winning season, they are still 10th in attendance.

I would disagree just a bit. The team has been terrible forever. One good, even very good year, can't change the nature of the brand that fast. That takes a track-record of sound decisions and consistent play. It may be that this is a good decision for the Rays, one that helps them long-term. However, in the short-term, it looks bad- unless they can rally back and make the playoffs.

And I truly believe that parity exists across the 4 major pro leagues for all teams save the Blue Jays, Rays, and Orioles

If that lack of parity is not preventing the team from going to the World Series, then parity is more or less without significance.

Of course the fans have no one to blame but themselves. Coming off a pennant winning season, they are still 10th in attendance.

In a year where average attendance across the league is down by 2100 per game, the Rays are up almost 2600 per game.

Reggie Willits is a useful 5th of, pinch runner, defensive replacement type. A Wood/Walden is too much to give up considering the Angels are paying all the money here.

I predict Walden will be tried in the bullpen in a year or 2, and becomes a dominant triple digit closer.

Reggie Willits is a useful 5th of, pinch runner, defensive replacement type.

Kind of like Fernando Perez, without the Ivy League education?

If that lack of parity is not preventing the team from going to the World Series, then parity is more or less without significance.

Either that, or the World Series appearance is all the more remarkable. I know how I'd vote.

In a year where average attendance across the league is down by 2100 per game, the Rays are up almost 2600 per game.

Rays attendance as a % of league average:

2007: 54.9%
2008: 73.5%
2009: 83.6%

That is going in the right direction

If that lack of parity is not preventing the team from going to the World Series, then parity is more or less without significance

It has been a two team division for quite some time now the AL east has had 24 teams in the playoffs since '94 (year chosen because of wild card) and all but 3 of them have been NY or BOS. Since 2000, TB was the only non-NY/BOS out of 14 playoff appearances for the AL east.

I saw somewhere (a Rays blog, FWIW) that Sean Rodriguez is the PTBNL. Tho Halo's Heaven is speculating it'll be C Bobby Wilson. Impartiality is awesome!

& the other guy TBA got back is Matt Sweeney, a 3B prospect whose defensive stats make him look like a DH in training (tho I think he just came back from ankle surgery).

The PTBNL is Sean Rodriguez. Rays win.

I'd rather have given up Willits and I do like Rodriguez, but the difference between his sea-level numbers and his Salt Lake numbers worry me a bit.

Either way, though this could be a really nice pick-up for the Rays, I'm still happy the Angels made the move.