David Price....

[Bullpride08]

Just don't put him in the bullpen when the move is finally made. 

But that's what all pennant chasers do when they call up young aces.  I am sure the ultimate goal or hope is we get this pennant locked up quickly and they can squeeze in 1-2 starts at the end of September for David, but that aside they're going to use him out of the pen.  No way you bench a starter in lieu of him- not with this staff. 

The bigger question is if we make the post season which starter do you put to the bullpen.  For the LC, most teams go with a 3 man rotation with a 4th alternate if one gets hurt, or if it looks like the series is going 6-7 games.  So who do you demote during the playoffs?  At this point I almost wonder if it is not Shields( ;D).  Kidding of course, but the past 30 days he's been the weakest pitcher by a long shot (which is saying more about how well the other guys are doing versus Shields playing that poorly).  I dare say today the two best pitchers, at least for the month of August if not since the all-star break, are Garza, an Ajax.

I'd be all for him getting some spot starts at the end of the season but im not a huge fan of taking young kids and putting them in the pen for extended periods of time.  Let starters be starters relievers be relievers, well atleast when they're young.  I just think price has the ability to be VERY special and im not one for taking any risks with those kind of talents.     

Totally agree, and my bet is Maddon and Ray's management does too.  I think the bullpen work we'll see out of Price will be middle relief, 6-8 innings, and spot duty.  It is critical though because if Price proves his worth, and shows ability it could make a starter up right now a very despensible as trade bait in the off-season.  At this point if Price is the real deal, can you imagine what this team could get for Ajax right now?  Matt Halliday maybe? 

[TB Bulls]

Bullpride, where have you been all season?  I don't recall seeing any posts from you about the Rays until very recently.  We could have used you around here. 

I agree with Apis.  Price will be used out of the pen for the rest of this season and be in the rotation next year.  

bullpride is formerly s_bien if im not mistaken. 

Yeah, I guess I should have realized that. 

[BULLfreak]

Garza has been the best of the bunch that I have seen.

well said and Kaz has been our worst THIS SEASON. Jackson and Sonny has found their grove so you have to place Price in the Pen

[Triple B]

Garza has been the best of the bunch that I have seen.

well said and Kaz has been our worst THIS SEASON. Jackson and Sonny has found their grove so you have to place Price in the Pen

Not sure you can definitively put Sonny and Jackson ahead of Kaz. Kaz has a lower era ... and as far as how far into a game each goes that everyone seems so concerned with, Kaz averages 5.6 innings while the other 2 average 6 ..... With everything else, I think I still may use Kaz as the #3.

[Bullpride08]

Garza has been the best of the bunch that I have seen.

well said and Kaz has been our worst THIS SEASON. Jackson and Sonny has found their grove so you have to place Price in the Pen

Not sure you can definitively put Sonny and Jackson ahead of Kaz. Kaz has a lower era ... and as far as how far into a game each goes that everyone seems so concerned with, Kaz averages 5.6 innings while the other 2 average 6 ..... With everything else, I think I still may use Kaz as the #3.

Oh my anyone would be crazy to suggest Sonny or Ajax would go into a playoff rotation before Kaz.  Kazmir has always been solid this year, he's never been really rocked like Sonny or Ajax have at times.  He hasn't gone real deep, primarily due to pitch count and not because he was getting rocked.  A perfect example of that was on Friday, we were up 10-0, he gave up 1 hit (one of only 4 he surrendered that night) in the 6th, and got the next man out.  He could have easily gone another inning or two, BUT WHY?  Why burn him out when we didn't have to...keep it fresh, keep him ready for his next outing and the playoffs.

BTW, Kaz's last two outings have been real good.  He is also the recognized ace so as usual with most teams, when the ace hits the mound usually the players hit better and are more confident.  This is evidenced by the fact we're 9-1 in his last 10 starts even though he's only gotten like 3 victories in those outings.  His last two games there has also been more velocity on his fast ball, on Friday he often hit 93 MPH, and occasionally 94...that's huge with a guy that has so many pitches, and movement on his pitches like Kaz.

Some may not like him because they want an ole battle ax out there that goes 8 innings regularly, but Kaz gives us more and more consistently on the mound then Sonny or Ajax.  Just look at his strike out ratio, his strike to ball ratio, and his ERA.  That tells the story of consistency.

[Bullpride08]

BTW, for all those that rip on Kaz for his early exits that's as much a product of Maddon and the Ray's being so disciplined about pitch counts.  They've been real protective of their starting aces taking every single one out when we get large early leads, or their pitch counts get out of wack, or really get above 100.  Hate Kaz, rip on Maddon, but in the end of the day our biggest comp in the AL East has been struggling to keep aces healthy.  The Red Sox have put two starters on the DL already, and demoted one, the Yankees have put 3 on the DL.  The Sox still have Burkett on the DL, and Yanks have Joba.  Both will return but you wonder how much they've got left in this season. 

Feel good, because we've been so disciplined about managing pitch count and innings that no guy has overdone it.  We're now looking at 5 aces, all who have stayed healthy, and all who seem to be getting stronger in the stretch run with well rested arms and good velocity on their balls.  That's what is paying huge dividends this late in the season.  Everyone is bumped and bruised, but our starters are still looking fresh and solid like the start of the season.  That has a lot to do with the Ray's cautious nature on how they handle those guys and their pitch counts.  Brilliant thus far, and I was a guy that early this year and all of last who thought Maddon was to quick to yank guys out!  Maybe they were when we were out of the pennant race last year but this year it's going to prove to be invaluable heading to the post season.