The 2006 Tampa Bay Devil Rays Thread | Page 18 | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

The 2006 Tampa Bay Devil Rays Thread

culpepper2chambers said:
......................nice sweep
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hey, we got some good news today! while the Red Sox won the top bid for Daisuke Matsuzaka, the Devil Rays won a bid on another Japanese player! 3rd baseman Akinori Iwamura!

heres his #s last year in japan.

311/389/544 good for a 933 OPS. he had 32 HRs 27 2Bs and 3 3Bs.

he supposibly has a pretty good glove at 3rd base. hes won 3 Gold Gloves over in japan, although i hear thats not something to brag and boast about to much.

my guess is he will be our 2nd baseman next year, with either Cantu traded or moved to 1st.

we went into the off season with the idea of improving the infield defense being a must, Cantu's defense at 2nd has been pretty bad. so i like this move a lot. this should bring a little more people in our stadium to. finally, it seems we are not being cheap. i cant wait to see him next year.

GO RAYS!
 
Nappy Roots said:
hey, we got some good news today! while the Red Sox won the top bid for Daisuke Matsuzaka, the Devil Rays won a bid on another Japanese player! 3rd baseman Akinori Iwamura!

heres his #s last year in japan.

311/389/544 good for a 933 OPS. he had 32 HRs 27 2Bs and 3 3Bs.

he supposibly has a pretty good glove at 3rd base. hes won 3 Gold Gloves over in japan, although i hear thats not something to brag and boast about to much.

my guess is he will be our 2nd baseman next year, with either Cantu traded or moved to 1st.

we went into the off season with the idea of improving the infield defense being a must, Cantu's defense at 2nd has been pretty bad. so i like this move a lot. this should bring a little more people in our stadium to. finally, it seems we are not being cheap. i cant wait to see him next year.

GO RAYS!
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From everything I read he's a very good ball player. Good move by the Rays, they can move Upton to 2nd and Cantu to 1st perhaps.
 
Ray Finkle said:
From everything I read he's a very good ball player. Good move by the Rays, they can move Upton to 2nd and Cantu to 1st perhaps.
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More likely is you move Upton to the OF, play Iwamura at second, Wigginton at third, Zobrist at short, whomever at first, and you move one or two of the many, many outfielders for pitching talent. A deal that makes a lot of sense for both sides is sending Baldelli to Florida for Ricky Nolasco, Mike Jacobs, and Jason Vargas. Jake would immediately slot in to TB's 1B spot, he could play DH some to offset his defense, Nolasco becomes a nice third starter behind Kazmir and Tiffany in the long run, and Vargas, though he had a bad year, is still just going to be 24 and the Rays like him. Meanwhile, the Marlins get their CF affordable and long-term just like they want, and the Rays still have a very nice OF of Crawford, Upton, and Young, with Dukes as the 4th OF and Cantu/Gomes as the DH with the other one traded for pitching as well. It's affordable and sensible decision-making short- and long-term for both sides.
 
RWhitney014 said:
More likely is you move Upton to the OF, play Iwamura at second, Wigginton at third, Zobrist at short, whomever at first, and you move one or two of the many, many outfielders for pitching talent. A deal that makes a lot of sense for both sides is sending Baldelli to Florida for Ricky Nolasco, Mike Jacobs, and Jason Vargas. Jake would immediately slot in to TB's 1B spot, he could play DH some to offset his defense, Nolasco becomes a nice third starter behind Kazmir and Tiffany in the long run, and Vargas, though he had a bad year, is still just going to be 24 and the Rays like him. Meanwhile, the Marlins get their CF affordable and long-term just like they want, and the Rays still have a very nice OF of Crawford, Upton, and Young, with Dukes as the 4th OF and Cantu/Gomes as the DH with the other one traded for pitching as well. It's affordable and sensible decision-making short- and long-term for both sides.
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Upton wont be moved to OF unless we trade one of the OFs though. I think its much more likely to move Gomes to 1B as there has been talk of him moving him there. that would leave Upton at 3B, Zobrist at SS, Iwamura at 2B, Gomes at 1st, Wiggy at DH, and trading Cantu. theyve also been getting Dukes work at 1B, so he could be an option there.

Now im a HUGE Baldelli fan, so i dont want to see him go. but if Elijah Dukes can get under control, he could be the even better then Delmon Young. So i would definitly trade Rocco, stick Crawford in Center. but our OF is to crowded to move Upton there anytime soon. Marlins seem like the perfect match to trade, i was suprised we didnt work anything out last offseason for pitcher for OF...

Also, you Mentioned Kazmir and Tiffany. well, dont be set on Tiffany ever doing anything. He torn his labrum in his shoulder, and that has usually been a deadly injury for pitchers. we have other young pitchers such as Jeff Neiman and James Sheilds who i think will be good.
 
Nappy Roots said:
Upton wont be moved to OF unless we trade one of the OFs though. I think its much more likely to move Gomes to 1B as there has been talk of him moving him there. that would leave Upton at 3B, Zobrist at SS, Iwamura at 2B, Gomes at 1st, Wiggy at DH, and trading Cantu. theyve also been getting Dukes work at 1B, so he could be an option there.

Now im a HUGE Baldelli fan, so i dont want to see him go. but if Elijah Dukes can get under control, he could be the even better then Delmon Young. So i would definitly trade Rocco, stick Crawford in Center. but our OF is to crowded to move Upton there anytime soon. Marlins seem like the perfect match to trade, i was suprised we didnt work anything out last offseason for pitcher for OF...

Also, you Mentioned Kazmir and Tiffany. well, dont be set on Tiffany ever doing anything. He torn his labrum in his shoulder, and that has usually been a deadly injury for pitchers. we have other young pitchers such as Jeff Neiman and James Sheilds who i think will be good.
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We can debate TB's SP situation for a week and not make any ground. It's a mess, plain and simple, because it seems like all the prospects are all a year away every year, and then a McClung will finally make it and bomb.

But I'd bet Upton ends up in the OF unless he has a defensive epiphany. The guy was on pace to make 50 errors at 3B, and it's only going to be worse if he's in the MIF. Wigginton doesn't produce enough offensively to be a DH. He had a year above his standards this year. He's going to return to the .270-17-60-.320 stratus next year, which is great contribution from the 3B in an offense where the OFs are central. Bottom line is, with Crawford, Baldelli, Upton, Young, Dukes, Gomes, and everyone still in the minors, Friedman can and must trade at least one to get pitching, and the one that is most marketable due to position, salary, and skill is Baldelli, a perfect fit for the team with the most to offer pitching-wise, the Marlins. It makes way too much sense.
 
RWhitney014 said:
We can debate TB's SP situation for a week and not make any ground. It's a mess, plain and simple, because it seems like all the prospects are all a year away every year, and then a McClung will finally make it and bomb.

But I'd bet Upton ends up in the OF unless he has a defensive epiphany. The guy was on pace to make 50 errors at 3B, and it's only going to be worse if he's in the MIF. Wigginton doesn't produce enough offensively to be a DH. He had a year above his standards this year. He's going to return to the .270-17-60-.320 stratus next year, which is great contribution from the 3B in an offense where the OFs are central. Bottom line is, with Crawford, Baldelli, Upton, Young, Dukes, Gomes, and everyone still in the minors, Friedman can and must trade at least one to get pitching, and the one that is most marketable due to position, salary, and skill is Baldelli, a perfect fit for the team with the most to offer pitching-wise, the Marlins. It makes way too much sense.
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while i agree, the SP is a mess, and not all the prospects will turn out good, thats why i specifically mentioned only 2. Wiggy obviously is not your prototypical DH by #s standards. but he had a pretty good last year, theres no way we are going to stick him on the bench. and his defense at 3rd and 2nd isnt good. hes a good 1B defensively, which is probably where he will end up. Gomes most likely be the DH, but worked into 1B at some point for the long run. Wiggy isnt your prototypical 1B #s wise either, but our lineup will be plenty explosive to make up for it.

as far as upton, yea, he was on pace for alot of errors. but he also played a total of 3 games at 3B at AAA before moving up. i want to give him a full year at 3B before any decisions are made about it.
 
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