BJ upton benched again for not hustling

[mulheap]

BJ will be fine on another team.  Keep in mind he's up for contract after the 2011 season, and he's due for arbitration after next season.  Given his time in service with the Rays, they would be crazy to not trade him this off-season.  Why take the risk you get another year of .270 BA, with 10 HR, 3-5 triples, 28 doubles, and 40 steals at the #3 spot, what a waste of space. 

The fact is the Rays worked BJ pretty hard back in the day from a contractual standpoint waiting forever to call him up.  So now BJ is making $400k/annually while Crawford, Baldelli, Floyd, and Longoria are all making millions.  BJ has refused signing a fatter contract that would obligate him to the Rays well past the 2011 season.  Sure as I am sitting here he will pound the Rays after next season in arbitration for screwing him when he was a minor leaguer keeping him down forever, and then trying to keep him a Ray with a longer deal.

So if you're the Rays why keep him after this season?  You risk him coasting through another season and putting up numbers that are reminiscent of a 7-9 hitter, or lead-off hitter, and then watching him pound them in arbitration in the off-season BUT not sign a longer term contract.  Trade him now, get some value, move his malcontent ass on it's way and the team will be fine especially if you can get some solid skill players in return.

seconded, trade the bum.  don't let him pull a Manny here.

Though, I don't believe it was just the Rays trying to save money as to why they didn't call BJ up.  I'm sure that was some factor, but if I remember correctly, BJ was a primadonna in the minors also.  He was an error machine at short and he refused to move to any other position on the field.  The Rays even called him up, I think when he was 19, way before he was ready to be in the majors, just to try and get people in the stands.  It was BJ's own doing why he was in the minors forever, and it's his own doing why he's not getting paid millions like crawford and longoria.

[Matt]

you cant look at his numbers and expect them to stay that way.  he will improve as his plate discipline gets better and his knowledge of the strikezone. 

his ability in CF is unmatched by most players (arm and speed)

also, it is unfair to compare his stats to other #3 hole hitters because he is NOT a number 3 hitter.  the rays just dont have one in this lineup so he got plugged in there.

i agree that he needs to get his attitude straight but like i said, if he can do that....i think he will be a great player for the rays.

how many runs has he saved with his glove or arm in the OF.  i am willing to say about 20 runs.

[Triple B]

you cant look at his numbers and expect them to stay that way.  he will improve as his plate discipline gets better and his knowledge of the strikezone. 

his ability in CF is unmatched by most players (arm and speed)

also, it is unfair to compare his stats to other #3 hole hitters because he is NOT a number 3 hitter.  the rays just dont have one in this lineup so he got plugged in there.

i agree that he needs to get his attitude straight but like i said, if he can do that....i think he will be a great player for the rays.

how many runs has he saved with his glove or arm in the OF.  i am willing to say about 20 runs.

After reading his comments the day after, he appears to be saying the right things, pretty much taking responsibility for his actions. Maybe he's like a teenager and the first 3 or 4 dozen times it doesn't sink in but will eventually ...... Hopefully he matures and we can keep him.

[smazza]

http://tampabay.rays.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080816&content_id=3317356&vkey=news_tb&fext=.jsp&c_id=tb

bj said he thought there were 2 outs

BJ= BS

this is worse

[Matt]

Upton with a big game so far tonight.  2-3 with double HR.  2 runs scored and 3 RBIs.

i think he needs to be the fulltime lead off guy and let Aki hit 2nd.

[Bullpride08]

Upton with a big game so far tonight.  2-3 with double HR.  2 runs scored and 3 RBIs.

i think he needs to be the fulltime lead off guy and let Aki hit 2nd.

That's great, but now you're still sitting with three 1-2 hitters when Crawford comes back in the off-season.  That point alone explains why BJ will definitely be traded.  Crawford and Aki have long-term deals with bigger money contracts and we never have issues.  The best thing for the Rays is BJ plays well to close out the season and then you use that value to get some solid trade value ala Delmon Young for Garza and Bartlett.  BJ is a good batter with lots of ability at the plate, but he's just not going to be a huge value for the Rays until he starts hitting like last year and earns his keep as a 3-6 hitter. 

It's all good, in the end if the Rays ship him off like they did Young then the value will be high and it will only help the Rays maintain staying power, if they decide he's worth the risk to keep him he still brings lots of value to the team too.  A win, win for the Rays.

[Bruce Blingstein]

Lets not sound so small town.  Its all about the money.  You are mad at BJ because he doesnt want to sign some small ("fatter" than 400K) million dollar contract just to play for the TAMPA BAY RAYS until 2011.  If you were in his shoes you wouldnt either.  Evan Longoria will fire his agent when he realizes he should be getting paid 5 mil a year more than he is and he is being outpaid by players half his talent.  You dont get s teals like that ever.

And BJ isnt dogging it like some of you are implying, he cant find his rhythm yet and you know what he does on the base paths and fielld. He is young and will find his bat.  You'll see whne he kills it the next few years for another team.  Then you can continue to badmouth a kid trying to maximize his value at his talent, just like you all would. 

[Matt]

aki really isnt a leadoff hitter.  he doesnt run well and doesnt draw too many walks. 

BJ has a much better OBP.  bein why do you insist on saying we cant keep all 3.  and they dont have to hit 1-2-3. 

BJ can lead off, CC hit 2nd, and Aki can hit 7th.

point is...im not ready to just give up on this kid because he is a MAJOR talent. 

[Singabull]

aki really isnt a leadoff hitter.  he doesnt run well and doesnt draw too many walks. 

BJ has a much better OBP.  bein why do you insist on saying we cant keep all 3.  and they dont have to hit 1-2-3. 

BJ can lead off, CC hit 2nd, and Aki can hit 7th.

point is...im not ready to just give up on this kid because he is a MAJOR talent. 

So is delmon young and elijah dukes but we got rid of them because of their attitude too.

[Who'sYourData?]

I think BJ is in a whole different category than the other two.  But forget his offense, his defense is hard to replace.  I know, I know, people are going to whine that he dogs it and throws to the wrong base, yada yada.  Watch Juan Pierre play CF for a few games, and you'll be contributing to the keep Upton in the Bay relief fund.  He's young, and there are maybe three or four CFs in the game that can cover as much ground as he does.  He saves the pitching staff a bunch of runs.