Lets Review the Trades the Rays have made....

[Singabull]

Did a good job getting the rays to this point but leaning on baldelli to get us over the top is ridiculous.

They're not leaning on Baldelli.  The tried to make trades, but in their opinion, the cost was too high.

Exactly, they're actually leaning on guys like Crawford, Upton, Aki, Pena, and Floyd to hit closer to their career numbers.  If they do that, or even a few get hot, bringing in a dynamic player like Baldelli opens tons of doors for the Rays.  Platooning Baldelli versus Gomes, or Gross gives you more 5 point talent in LF or as a multi-skilled DH then using Gomes and Gross.  I like the moxie of those two, and they've done some great things but people would have to be foolish to not realize that a healthy Baldelli replacing the role of Gross/Gomes wouldn't be enormous for this ball club.  He's a guy that can hit for power/average/steal/and shift...he's twice the outfielder of those two...yeah put Baldelli behind Hinski, and Floyd, and rotate his usage, every other day he's LF or DH, and ever sixth he rests.  This team easily can get better within it's outfit.  Calling up Baldelli, Price, and maybe Wade Davis.  That's big time, big time.  And one is a top flight major leaguer.

We're a better ball club if that can happen!  Better than if we added Dunn or Bay, or Nagy because any of the three would have forced a major demotion of probably Gomes and Gross, and could have severely disrupted the rotation- BTW a healthy Baldelli is better than Bay and Nagy combine, and can do everything Dunn can except not quite the power.  Now you bring up a guy everyone on the team is rooting for, and if one guy has to platoon back and forth between the minors like a Gomes...well no one will bi**ch about it- at least not openly during the season.

That's a lot of IF's.  If this happens.... If that happens....

But the problem is, this is not a slump.  Not driving in runs has been a major problem for almost a month.  It would be ok if it lasted a couple of weeks but this is not getting any better.  It's the same thing every game.  Get a bunch of guys on base and leave them there.  Good teams don't leave this many guys on base.  The rays are a decent right now because of their pitching.  They were a great team the first half because they were more balanced.  I keep telling myself, well this game they'll get the offense back and then they fizzle again.  The biggest example was in kansas city when they struggled against the royals pitching staff, a rotation with an era in the 5's.  This is not the same team and september will be the tougest month with all those road games.  Pitching will keep them in it this month but boston and new york will catch up.

Everyone leaves runners on base... heck, the best team in baseball, the anaheim angels, went a month to start the season where they couldn't score for crap...

good teams DO leave runners on base for stretches... they have to fight through it.

The rays are in 1st despite the last month of trouble... that is a great sign.

Buth look at all the times the rays have a guy on third and less than 2 out and they get nothing.  They don't have to pound the ball every time, but learn to sacrifice, they aren't even doing that.  They can steal bases and get in scoring position then they strike out or pop out almost every time.

[Apis Bull]

This just in...after 107 games the Rays are in 1st place!!

[Matt]

Singabull.....

give it a rest.  the reason why you think that the rays do that so much more than any other team is because you watch them closer than you watch any other team.  when another team leaves a runner on 3rd with no outs and doesnt score....you do not notice it.  it only seems like the rays do this so much because you notice every single time it happens.

look at the game on Wednesday afternoon.  In back to back innings the Blue Jays had a runner on 3rd with no outs and did not score a run.  Heck, 1 inning they had runners and 2nd and 3rd with no outs and didnt score a run. 

These things happen!!  but the fact is...the Rays are 63-44 while playing in the best division in baseball and they have scored 474 runs while only allowing 433 runs.  That is all that matters...you gotta score more then the team you are playing.  Its not fantasy league, you don't win the World Series cause you scored the most runs throughout the season.  You win the World Series because you score more then your opponet does while you are playing them and do it more times then they do.

Baseball is LONG LONG season and clearly you do not have the patience to wait it out.  maybe you should shift your focus to Football only.

[Velcro]

some people get it... other person does not  ;D

[Singabull]

Singabull.....

give it a rest.  the reason why you think that the rays do that so much more than any other team is because you watch them closer than you watch any other team.  when another team leaves a runner on 3rd with no outs and doesnt score....you do not notice it.  it only seems like the rays do this so much because you notice every single time it happens.

look at the game on Wednesday afternoon.  In back to back innings the Blue Jays had a runner on 3rd with no outs and did not score a run.  Heck, 1 inning they had runners and 2nd and 3rd with no outs and didnt score a run. 

These things happen!!  but the fact is...the Rays are 63-44 while playing in the best division in baseball and they have scored 474 runs while only allowing 433 runs.  That is all that matters...you gotta score more then the team you are playing.  Its not fantasy league, you don't win the World Series cause you scored the most runs throughout the season.  You win the World Series because you score more then your opponet does while you are playing them and do it more times then they do.

Baseball is LONG LONG season and clearly you do not have the patience to wait it out.  maybe you should shift your focus to Football only.

But that's the blue jays, they suck.

Plus, the rays are hitting like .160 with RISP the past month - that is terrible any way you look at it.  I understand your bias but you can't ignore this inept offense.  Good teams find ways to get the runners across the plate.

[Bullpride08]

Did a good job getting the rays to this point but leaning on baldelli to get us over the top is ridiculous.

They're not leaning on Baldelli.  The tried to make trades, but in their opinion, the cost was too high.

Exactly, they're actually leaning on guys like Crawford, Upton, Aki, Pena, and Floyd to hit closer to their career numbers.  If they do that, or even a few get hot, bringing in a dynamic player like Baldelli opens tons of doors for the Rays.  Platooning Baldelli versus Gomes, or Gross gives you more 5 point talent in LF or as a multi-skilled DH then using Gomes and Gross.  I like the moxie of those two, and they've done some great things but people would have to be foolish to not realize that a healthy Baldelli replacing the role of Gross/Gomes wouldn't be enormous for this ball club.  He's a guy that can hit for power/average/steal/and shift...he's twice the outfielder of those two...yeah put Baldelli behind Hinski, and Floyd, and rotate his usage, every other day he's LF or DH, and ever sixth he rests.  This team easily can get better within it's outfit.  Calling up Baldelli, Price, and maybe Wade Davis.  That's big time, big time.  And one is a top flight major leaguer.

We're a better ball club if that can happen!  Better than if we added Dunn or Bay, or Nagy because any of the three would have forced a major demotion of probably Gomes and Gross, and could have severely disrupted the rotation- BTW a healthy Baldelli is better than Bay and Nagy combine, and can do everything Dunn can except not quite the power.  Now you bring up a guy everyone on the team is rooting for, and if one guy has to platoon back and forth between the minors like a Gomes...well no one will bi**ch about it- at least not openly during the season.

That's a lot of IF's.  If this happens.... If that happens....

But the problem is, this is not a slump.  Not driving in runs has been a major problem for almost a month.  It would be ok if it lasted a couple of weeks but this is not getting any better.  It's the same thing every game.  Get a bunch of guys on base and leave them there.  Good teams don't leave this many guys on base.  The rays are a decent right now because of their pitching.  They were a great team the first half because they were more balanced.  I keep telling myself, well this game they'll get the offense back and then they fizzle again.  The biggest example was in kansas city when they struggled against the royals pitching staff, a rotation with an era in the 5's.  This is not the same team and september will be the tougest month with all those road games.  Pitching will keep them in it this month but boston and new york will catch up.

That's not true, and you didn't read everything I had typed.  First it's not an "IF" that some guys will get out of their slump.  Take Pena, he's heating up, hit another homer tonight, and is now at 20, and has hit 5 since the all-star break.  So that is a testiment that some of these guys had issues that caused a bit of the drought you're so famous for bringing up.  Take Crawford, Carl is a career .300 hitter, and right now he's hovering around .270.  If you've followed the Rays then you know Crawford is a very streaky hitter and seems to heat up toward the end of the season.  He will get to .300, mark my words, it's a fluke he's at .270, and him heating up will not be a fluke.  You get Carl hitting .300 ball, and Aki hovering around his big league average of .290 and this team is tough, tough to beat.

I don't deny that it's going to be a battle until the end, but remember this isn't 1985, they're divisional playoffs now and the Rays have a 4.5 game lead on a wildcard game too (in fact they have a 4.5 game lead to be the top wild card team, and a 7.5 game lead to be the second team).  The point is don't make this into exclusively a yankee, and bosox race because it isn't.  It will be tough, but at the end of a season it's teams with pitching that usually survive the dog days of september.  If this team can call up Baldelli and he can be effective platooning, and you bring up Salas, and Thayer...all three are big league ready talents that can help bolster batting and the bullpen, and maybe Price who by the way is now 9-0 with a 1.90 ERA in A and AA.   This team could be lethal.

If You feel inclined to IF it away then how about IFFING the Yankees who added Pudge Rodriguez (who's now batting .287 with 5 homers, whoopty doo), and Bady who's average seems to be dropping by the minute and is already hampered with an injury that made him miss tonight...or how about IFFING that Bay is going to be able to come close equalling ManRam's .301 average 21 homers and 25 2B....

They've both added a bunch of IF's, and I'll take our If's right now any day of the week since our guys have proven through the test of time they're capable of hitting.  Especially since we've got solid bench instruction to help guys out of slumps.

[Singabull]

Did a good job getting the rays to this point but leaning on baldelli to get us over the top is ridiculous.

They're not leaning on Baldelli.  The tried to make trades, but in their opinion, the cost was too high.

Exactly, they're actually leaning on guys like Crawford, Upton, Aki, Pena, and Floyd to hit closer to their career numbers.  If they do that, or even a few get hot, bringing in a dynamic player like Baldelli opens tons of doors for the Rays.  Platooning Baldelli versus Gomes, or Gross gives you more 5 point talent in LF or as a multi-skilled DH then using Gomes and Gross.  I like the moxie of those two, and they've done some great things but people would have to be foolish to not realize that a healthy Baldelli replacing the role of Gross/Gomes wouldn't be enormous for this ball club.  He's a guy that can hit for power/average/steal/and shift...he's twice the outfielder of those two...yeah put Baldelli behind Hinski, and Floyd, and rotate his usage, every other day he's LF or DH, and ever sixth he rests.  This team easily can get better within it's outfit.  Calling up Baldelli, Price, and maybe Wade Davis.  That's big time, big time.  And one is a top flight major leaguer.

We're a better ball club if that can happen!  Better than if we added Dunn or Bay, or Nagy because any of the three would have forced a major demotion of probably Gomes and Gross, and could have severely disrupted the rotation- BTW a healthy Baldelli is better than Bay and Nagy combine, and can do everything Dunn can except not quite the power.  Now you bring up a guy everyone on the team is rooting for, and if one guy has to platoon back and forth between the minors like a Gomes...well no one will bi**ch about it- at least not openly during the season.

That's a lot of IF's.  If this happens.... If that happens....

But the problem is, this is not a slump.  Not driving in runs has been a major problem for almost a month.  It would be ok if it lasted a couple of weeks but this is not getting any better.  It's the same thing every game.  Get a bunch of guys on base and leave them there.  Good teams don't leave this many guys on base.  The rays are a decent right now because of their pitching.  They were a great team the first half because they were more balanced.  I keep telling myself, well this game they'll get the offense back and then they fizzle again.  The biggest example was in kansas city when they struggled against the royals pitching staff, a rotation with an era in the 5's.  This is not the same team and september will be the tougest month with all those road games.  Pitching will keep them in it this month but boston and new york will catch up.

That's not true, and you didn't read everything I had typed.  First it's not an "IF" that some guys will get out of their slump.  Take Pena, he's heating up, hit another homer tonight, and is now at 20, and has hit 5 since the all-star break.  So that is a testiment that some of these guys had issues that caused a bit of the drought you're so famous for bringing up.  Take Crawford, Carl is a career .300 hitter, and right now he's hovering around .270.  If you've followed the Rays then you know Crawford is a very streaky hitter and seems to heat up toward the end of the season.  He will get to .300, mark my words, it's a fluke he's at .270, and him heating up will not be a fluke.  You get Carl hitting .300 ball, and Aki hovering around his big league average of .290 and this team is tough, tough to beat.

I don't deny that it's going to be a battle until the end, but remember this isn't 1985, they're divisional playoffs now and the Rays have a 4.5 game lead on a wildcard game too (in fact they have a 4.5 game lead to be the top wild card team, and a 7.5 game lead to be the second team).  The point is don't make this into exclusively a yankee, and bosox race because it isn't.  It will be tough, but at the end of a season it's teams with pitching that usually survive the dog days of september.  If this team can call up Baldelli and he can be effective platooning, and you bring up Salas, and Thayer...all three are big league ready talents that can help bolster batting and the bullpen, and maybe Price who by the way is now 9-0 with a 1.90 ERA in A and AA.   This team could be lethal.

If You feel inclined to IF it away then how about IFFING the Yankees who added Pudge Rodriguez (who's now batting .287 with 5 homers, whoopty doo), and Bady who's average seems to be dropping by the minute and is already hampered with an injury that made him miss tonight...or how about IFFING that Bay is going to be able to come close equalling ManRam's .301 average 21 homers and 25 2B....

They've both added a bunch of IF's, and I'll take our If's right now any day of the week since our guys have proven through the test of time they're capable of hitting.  Especially since we've got solid bench instruction to help guys out of slumps.

Believe what you want but this weakness of not driving in runs has been here for longer than a "slump."

[Triple B]

Good teams find ways to get the runners across the plate.

Good teams find ways to win... PERIOD

[BullMedic]

Did a good job getting the rays to this point but leaning on baldelli to get us over the top is ridiculous.

They aren't going to be relying on him to put them over the top! They have said multiple times that he will not be an every night guy. It will be nice to have another strong bat. To make up for Gomes.......

[___ Eats It]

Congratulations, Singabull.  You are now the Smazza of the Tampa Bay Sports board.