Rays sign Man-Ram and Damon

[Stier]

:jawdropper

[Triple B]

At least it shouldn't be a boring season, now ...

[GaUSFBull]

How are these "old" guys going to mesh with the current young Tampa Bay leaders in the clubhouse (Longoria, Upton, Zobrist et al)?  That's my biggest concern, although not as concerned about Damon as I am Manny.  Manny brings a carnival atmosphere wherever he goes ... hope it's not going to be one big distraction.

Hope the Rays owners know what they are doing. 

[Triple B]

All I keep thinking about when reading about this "The Hit Show" ... 

[Jamie]

Hope the Rays owners know what they are doing. 

At this point, why would anyone even question that?

[Matt]

i think manny was a very smart move. 

only 2 mil (a lot of the rays but peanuts for a guy with the appeal of manny)

but more importantly, manny is only as good as he decides he wants to be.  now that he is back in the AL and wont have to embarrass himself in the field he can focus on what he does best which is produce runs.  i think he will LOVE the fact that he gets to play against the AL east again.

as for Damon,

i am not too exicted about watching him attempt to throw out any runners and he will be a huge drop off defensively in LF compared to CC (as would just about anyone in baseball)  but he is finally something the rays have not had in a while...a legit LEAD OFF HITTER who knows how to work a count, take walks, move guys over, etc.  and he wont strike out a bunch which has been a problem for the rays in recent years.

i think both manny and damon have bounced around enough in the last few years that the clubhouse wont be an issue.  its pretty clear that this is still longo's team.

[Guest nybullsfan]

It's a business decision - will they sell tickets? If so, they're worth it.

[SRQ]

I just hope Maddon got to talk to manny B4 he was signed and get  a sense of where his head is

[Joe]

Total ticket scheme. No one really wanted Manny, the guy is a shell of what he was 2+ years ago and the whole masking controversy didn't help.

Damon is from Orlando, so...

They're both 1 year contracts to allow younger talent more time in the lower levels.

[RickUSF]

Manny will DH.. i never understood why people freak out about getting older DH players.. you can DH until you are like 45 yrs old.  THey aren't being asked to play the field, they just go up there and hit when they have to.  Burrell didn't work out, but making the move from the NL to the AL and being a DH is different than getting an older AL DH hitter.