How would you handle BJ

[Matt]

i dont think you guys understand how many runs BJ saves this team with his defense.(i said in another post that i thought about 20 runs this year but after thinking about it even more i want to say double that...40 runs and by doing that he has extended starts from our SPs)  yea he hasnt hustled 100% of the time but that will get fixed.  When he got booed last night by his own fans i think it really hit home with him. 

BJ needs to be a mainstay on this team for years to come.

[Bull Martin]

I'd double his as well as the rest of the teams salaries

[Triple B]

Great column with insights from people a helluvalot closer to the situation than anyone in here ....

In Upton's defense, he's just making it look easy

By John Romano, Times Columnist

In the past few days, he has become famous for not caring.

Yet he sits before you now with eyes growing red, voice dropping low and resolve seemingly fading. And you begin to wonder if perhaps B.J. Upton has been judged too harshly, after all.

Since Aug. 5, the Rays' 23-year-old centerfielder has been humiliated by his manager, booed by Tampa Bay fans and benched twice in three separate instances of lackadaisical play. And, make no mistake, his guilt is clear in all three of these cases, and a few more before that.

The problem today is in the extrapolation. The presumption that loafing his way into a double play last week means he is lazy. The suggestion that his nonchalant out at second base on Monday means he does not care. The growing perception that the Rays have another budding malcontent on their hands.

"Obviously, the booing stings a little bit," Upton said quietly before Tuesday's game. "It leaves a bad taste only because I know that is not me. For people to perceive me that way, it hurts."

He comes across sincere, if a little defensive. Proud, if a little shellshocked. Yet, the thing is, Upton is not the only one saying these things. You hear it from the teammates he supposedly let down. And the manager he obviously ticked off. They are not defending the mistakes, just the person making them.

"B.J. is a tremendous person. A good teammate. He wants to win as badly as anybody else in the clubhouse," Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman said. "The misperception with what's going on right now is that he is none of those things. I believe very strongly that it's just the opposite."

So how did it get to this point? If he is such a good kid — and not a single person at Tropicana Field has suggested otherwise — why is he committing the one sin no fan is likely to tolerate?

There is no simple answer. No single explanation that ties up every loose end. It has to do with Upton's personality, which is more low-key than demonstrative. It involves his remarkable talent. And it may even be an indictment on the way the Rays rushed him through the minor-league system several years ago.

You have to understand that Upton is a unique player. He has the potential to be among the greatest talents in the majors. The game came easily to Upton, and it showed in his graceful, gliding manner.

He could always afford to be more cool than gritty. He was like the brainy kid in class who could ace a test without ever cracking open a book. Upton was able to succeed with less sweat than most, and that reality did not go unnoticed.

"To be honest with you, that's been my M.O. my whole life," Upton said. "A lot of times, when I'm working hard, it just doesn't look like it. I don't know, maybe my body is so long, it looks like I'm doing things" halfway.

"I've heard people say that about me my whole life. And just when you think it's gone, it comes back up again."

Upton was the first high school player taken in the 2002 draft and, at 19, was rushed to the majors by a last-place franchise desperate for star quality.

The problem is he never learned to play the way a major-leaguer should. His skills overshadowed his lack of instincts. That could explain his failure as a shortstop in the minors. It could explain why he has been caught stealing more than any player in the majors. It could explain why he is never in a rush, because it has never been required before.

"He is a wonderful athlete, but he's still attempting to become a good baseball player. And he's attempting that on the brightest stage there is," manager Joe Maddon said. "You could argue there are still a lot of parts of his game that belong in the minor leagues, but he's had to learn here because we had a job opening and he's got so many skills.

"So, yes, on the field he still needs to learn to become a baseball player. He's made mistakes. But as a person, and the family he comes from? Fantastic."

The trick is pushing a player hard enough without losing his trust. Among the team's young stars, Upton is the only one not signed to a multiyear contract, although he will remain under Tampa Bay's control for at least another four years.

So the Rays are trying to balance discipline with support. This is why Maddon was willing to take the extreme step of pulling Upton from the field last week but chose to downplay Monday's blunder on the bases. Instead, the manager went to veterans Cliff Floyd and Carlos Pena and asked them to intervene.

Pena ended up calling Upton on his way home from the park Monday, and they talked late into the night.

"He was hurting. I know that for a fact," Pena said. "He's made some mistakes, but they're not mistakes that he purposefully made. That's why it hurts. Because he's a great kid, and I know he cares."

In the second inning Tuesday night, the day after he was booed in his home park, Upton charged a ball in centerfield and threw an Anaheim player out with a bullet to the plate.

It was a nice play, but the fans at Tropicana Field offered a standing ovation, almost like a peace offering. Upton turned and walked back to his position as if he didn't care.

By now, we should know better.

http://www.tampabay.com/sports/baseball/rays/article777252.ece

[Bruce Blingstein]

Rays fans are the worst in the majors and its not even close.  I mean the media knows it, other fans know it, just about everyone knows it but probably the Rays fans.  I was at the game Monday night and heard them booing BJ.  Half know why they are booing the other half just dont know what going on or how to act at an actual baseball game. 

Guy like this S. Bien will write novels just showing his small town envy on how a great player may not want to negotiate long term with a team that will underpay him and heknows will be in the cellar every year except this cindarella season.  In essence BJ is making a smart business decision unlike Longoria and being criticized for doing what any smart player, businessman, worker would do.  Then you got your guy with his native Florida t- shirt who boos him because his demeanor is calm and cool on the field and the fact they are racist. 

I personally cantwait for BJ to move on and hit 310 with 50 steals and 90 rbis for another AL team, all while making tough plays look routine and throwing out people on a rope from centerfield.  Tampa you dont deserve remarkable talents like Upton, thats why you lose them after their rookie contracts.

I love rooting and watching the Rays but these brand new fans are morons.  Kind of remind me of Bucs fans, wonder why?  8)

[Bullshiznitz]

.... a great player may not want to negotiate long term with a team that will underpay him and heknows will be in the cellar every year except this cindarella season. 

You love rooting for the Rays yet make a comment like this?    This wreaks like something a Stankee fan would say. 

The Rays bring virtually every one back next year, will be adding Price in the rotation, and a more permenant RF replacement (likely from the pitcher disposed from the rotation by Price....EJax?)....yet will go from a 90+ win team back down to the celler? 

[Triple B]

Rays fans are the worst in the majors and its not even close.  I mean the media knows it, other fans know it, just about everyone knows it but probably the Rays fans.  I was at the game Monday night and heard them booing BJ.  Half know why they are booing the other half just dont know what going on or how to act at an actual baseball game. 

Guy like this S. Bien will write novels just showing his small town envy on how a great player may not want to negotiate long term with a team that will underpay him and heknows will be in the cellar every year except this cindarella season.  In essence BJ is making a smart business decision unlike Longoria and being criticized for doing what any smart player, businessman, worker would do.  Then you got your guy with his native Florida t- shirt who boos him because his demeanor is calm and cool on the field and the fact they are racist. 

I personally cantwait for BJ to move on and hit 310 with 50 steals and 90 rbis for another AL team, all while making tough plays look routine and throwing out people on a rope from centerfield.  Tampa you dont deserve remarkable talents like Upton, thats why you lose them after their rookie contracts.

I love rooting and watching the Rays but these brand new fans are morons.   Kind of remind me of Bucs fans, wonder why?    8)

Sorry, Herm, gotta say it ..... Typical ******* New Yorker response.    :

Stick to the NBA ...

[GoUSFbulls99]

BJ is a great player with a really bad habit!  As all of you know, bad habits are hard to break.  With time and the rest of the team keeping on his a$$ about it, he will be just fine.  Most of the time he seems sincere when he talkes about his actions.  Yea, he gets frustrated that it keeps coming into play and may fire off a few stupid comments about it, but as far as getting rid of him, WHY?  He add so much more to this team then he could ever take away form being so called lazy :! 

With Maddon and the rest of the team supporting him, I will support him too!  I am tired of running people out of town that have a personality.  Yes, He makes me mad when he does stupid stuff too, but so do my kids and you don't see me trying to trade them away (had to lighten it up a bit!)

Go Rays

[Bullpride08]

Rays fans are the worst in the majors and its not even close.  I mean the media knows it, other fans know it, just about everyone knows it but probably the Rays fans.  I was at the game Monday night and heard them booing BJ.  Half know why they are booing the other half just dont know what going on or how to act at an actual baseball game. 

Guy like this S. Bien will write novels just showing his small town envy on how a great player may not want to negotiate long term with a team that will underpay him and heknows will be in the cellar every year except this cindarella season.  In essence BJ is making a smart business decision unlike Longoria and being criticized for doing what any smart player, businessman, worker would do.  Then you got your guy with his native Florida t- shirt who boos him because his demeanor is calm and cool on the field and the fact they are racist. 

I personally cantwait for BJ to move on and hit 310 with 50 steals and 90 rbis for another AL team, all while making tough plays look routine and throwing out people on a rope from centerfield.  Tampa you dont deserve remarkable talents like Upton, thats why you lose them after their rookie contracts.

I love rooting and watching the Rays but these brand new fans are morons.   Kind of remind me of Bucs fans, wonder why?    8)

So we're small town and you're enlightened?  We're Rays fans and BJ is not living up to his full potential as a Ray.  The Rays are willing to throw good money at BJ, and the rumors are Crawford like money prior to the breakdown before the season.  This is a BJ issue, but rest assured, and the point all of us 'small town dudes' are making, is if BJ doesn't want to play ball then the Rays will get his value in trade.  Let him move on and be awesome somewhere else if that's how BJ wants to do it.  The Rays have his butt for 3 more years, and he's not up for arbitration for another year.  If he wants to run around and make 5-10x less than his worth for another three years, leaving $10-15M on the table, then that's his choice and risk. 

BTW, show me how Longoria didn't make a smart business decision?  He would have been under contract with the Rays for 5 more years at minor league salaries...he chose to get paid during that period and in fact is really only extended out his option with the Rays for 1 more year....it is a guaranteed $17.5M salary, with buyout clauses and extensions that can escalate to $44M if the Rays excerise his final 3 years. 

The only way it doesn't make a sound financial decision for Longoria is if the guy didn't want to be here after his 5 years were up.  Structurally speaking, Longoria's contract is the largest for a major league player who had never technically played a game in the major leagues to that point, only Dice K was bigger.  In fact it showed some giant balls by the Rays to do that, so to me they made a huge commitment with that contract when the Rays didn't have to do it after optioning him to the minors to start the season. The contract potentially could blow up big time in the Rays face and be a big boneheaded move for them, and Longoria made a great choice because the Rays agreed in this contract to pay Longoria $2-11M a season in his final six years, when they didn't have to do a thing because in all those years he would have been working off his original contract at south of $400k/annually.  Longoria could have sat around for five years making the smallish sums like BJ and hitting bigtime for the Rays.  This is especially important when you consider the average major league career is 5.6 years, and theoretically the Rays have signed Longoria to 9 years, and are already sweating since Evan is spending time on the DL already.

[TB Bulls]

Rays fans are the worst in the majors and its not even close.  I mean the media knows it, other fans know it, just about everyone knows it but probably the Rays fans.  I was at the game Monday night and heard them booing BJ.  Half know why they are booing the other half just dont know what going on or how to act at an actual baseball game. 

Guy like this S. Bien will write novels just showing his small town envy on how a great player may not want to negotiate long term with a team that will underpay him and heknows will be in the cellar every year except this cindarella season.  In essence BJ is making a smart business decision unlike Longoria and being criticized for doing what any smart player, businessman, worker would do.  Then you got your guy with his native Florida t- shirt who boos him because his demeanor is calm and cool on the field and the fact they are racist. 

I personally cantwait for BJ to move on and hit 310 with 50 steals and 90 rbis for another AL team, all while making tough plays look routine and throwing out people on a rope from centerfield.  Tampa you dont deserve remarkable talents like Upton, thats why you lose them after their rookie contracts.

I love rooting and watching the Rays but these brand new fans are morons.   Kind of remind me of Bucs fans, wonder why?    8)

I don't really feel like arguing with you, but man a lot of your posts are starting to sound the same.  That being that this is a small, southern town and we're all a bunch of racist hicks.  You're becoming one of those northerners that always say how much better everything is where they're from.  Seriously, if it's that bad here why did you come?  There's plenty of schools up north.

To answer your question of why it reminds you of Buc fans, it's real simple.  It's because you don't like the Bucs.