Here's a look at some items out of the AL East..
- The Rays believe that J.P. Howell is worth their investment after an up-and-down 2011 campaign, writes Roger Mooney of The Tampa Tribune. The Rays avoided arbitration with Howell this winter, agreeing to a $1.35MM deal for 2012.
- Looking back on it, Rays pitcher Joel Peralta has no regrets about lying about his age to land a contract from a major league team, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. In 1996, the Dominican pitcher told scouts that he was 16-years-old rather than 20.
- Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger spoke with Jim Hendry who is now with the Yankees as a special assignment scout. The former Cubs General Manager says that he hasn't put much thought into whether he'd want to serve as a GM again and doesn't plan to leave the Yanks job after one year.
- Hiroki Kuroda will have to make adjustments with the Yankees but the pitcher already showed an ability to adapt by finding success in MLB, Carig writes.
- Orioles manager Buck Showalter said this week that he’s used the Rays recent success as proof that Baltimore can compete in the AL East with a limited payroll, writes Eduardo A. Encina of The Baltimore Sun.
Joel Peralta, that sends a good message to all the 20-year old Dominican players, “lie about your age, I did it & it did wonders for me”
I agree, but I’m guessing my moral compass may not be as true if my choices were living in squalor or lying about my age to make $995K/yr playing a game.
Edit: Oops, $925K. That changes things…
i understand that part but i never understood this, if you have the potential 1 year to be an MLB player, did you change your whole style around between the time you were actually 16 & the time you were saying you were 16 (you were 20)?
It’s about celing actually. A player can be seen as amazing for a 16 year old, but more regular or simple for a 20 year old. Developemental ceiling in baseball is a big deal. It’s a lot like growth: if you are 5’5” and 10 years old, you are tall, if you are 16 and you are 5’5” you are short.
I know, I thought about it more in depth after I thought about it, it’s like my friend, my friend is 5’5 & when he was 15 he threw 85 & no one could hit it but since he had surgery on his growth plate & didn’t gain another inch he is now 21 & still throws 85 & everyone can catch up to him
Yeah, this. Couldn’t have said it any better.
Maybe if someone charges him with fraud and he is looking at jail time his opinion would change.
the Rays have shown every team that it is possible to win on a small payroll. Whether those teams make the correct decisions and are able to stay ahead of the rest of baseball in signing the right people is another story.
The al east is a tough division especially when toronto is still winning 1/2 their games. The rays have managed to get some very good pitching.
“Orioles manager Buck Showalter said this week that he’s used the Rays
recent success as proof that Baltimore can compete in the AL East with a
limited payroll”
That was easy mode, bump it to expert and do it with terribad farm system Buck.
Add on poor ownership to that also (No offense O’s fans)
That would be like playing Dark Souls blindfolded with the stipulation that if you die, your bollocks get shoved into a blender.
JP Howell better have a much improved season or he needs to be kicked to the curb. Can’t afford to have him blowing game after game again.
I just wish he could emulate his 08-09 years, that would just be icing on the cake.
I have been a Rays fan since I first started watching Baseball, and I can tell you, it’s not so much that they draft the right players it is that they teach the players the right way to play. We have such a great group of coaches from A-AAA and we continue developing great players because of that. It is rare that we get a player that doesn’t meet or exceed expectations. I love the Orioles for the things they are able to do at the end of years (and no, 2011 wasn’t the only year they played well the last month or so), but they have not proven that they can GROOM the talent they get. The Rays can. Our problem is we don’t groom our offensive players that well, we make them defensive minded and that is why our offense struggles. Just my opinion, but the facts don’t lie. I think that they also have great scouts, and that along with a great grooming process = success. Which is what our Rays have had recently and I hope that continues. Years from now we will be seeing other teams win with this exact strategy, as in my opinion (like the A’s on Moneyball) the Rays have set the foundation for winning with a low payroll, and that is something I hope many teams decide to learn.
Also a Rays fan. What makes this organization so great is that if Friedman see’s All-Star or MVP-like status, he signs them very long term for minimal money. (Longoria, Moore, Davis, etc). Then by the time their deals are complete, we have someone already geared up to take their place, it’s just amazing. Pure baseball. Love it.
Also a Rays fan. What makes this organization so great is that if Friedman see’s All-Star or MVP-like status, he signs them very long term for minimal money. (Longoria, Moore, Davis, etc). Then by the time their deals are complete, we have someone already geared up to take their place, it’s just amazing. Pure baseball. Love it.