If Joyce and Jennings can step it up it will be a lot easier for the Rays to lose Crawford at the end of 10 or at the ASB if they're out of it. I love Jennings by the way, I traded away a $35 Sheet on a 2 year contract back in 08 for him. So to finally get him to the show after an awesome 09 would be fun.
kab21 wrote:Would it be ironic that there is a thread that is talking about X being overlooked and Matt Joyce's name isn't being mentioned?
Jennings is a great prospect (one of my favorites) and better than Joyce but to not even mention Joyce is a bit of a slight imo.
In all honesty I was going to mention Joyce as a DH option if Pat the Bat falls on his face and solid 4th OF option as well... I guess he was an oversite as I never quite got to him in a rather wordy opening post
Joe Maddon wrote:Matt Joyce is a guy we haven't even talked about. Matt Joyce we feel has tremendous potential as a hitter and a defender in right field. Great power, great swing, and he played pretty well last year in Triple-A, also. I don't have a specific answer for that yet. These are just discussions that we're undergoing right now. But we've kind of worked that little thing between right field and second base, and I think he did a great job with that. And Gabe Kapler, I'm still a big Gabe Kapler fan. You look at his OPS over the last couple of years versus left-handed pitching, it's among the best in all of baseball, and also the presence that he provides on the team. He's a fine young man. So we have some nice things going on.
Maddon's comment suggest a RF platoon, with Joyce getting a look at DH, supporting exactly what the last two posts say.
Rocinante2: you know Rocinante2: its easy to dismiss the orioles as a bad team ofanrex: go on Rocinante2: i'm done Rocinante2: lmao
Ah geez, reading that article the whole way through, I just realized that Sean Rodriguez and Reid Brignac are on the cusp of becoming MLB worthy players. Maddon says that Brignac will get a look for an infield position, though it will be tough to wrest the hold on SS that Bartlett currently has, with his career year in '09. And with Rodriguez itching to play OF (and only OF according to Maddon), it's going to be crowded out there in RF. Kapler's .960-ish OPS against lefties, Joyce's power potential against righties, and Rodriguez/Jennings aiming for a breakout is a perfect recipe for an outfield Charlie Foxtrot.
Rocinante2: you know Rocinante2: its easy to dismiss the orioles as a bad team ofanrex: go on Rocinante2: i'm done Rocinante2: lmao
i know my opinion is biased because i am a yankee fan, but i firmly believe it will be the rays and yanks goin to the playoffs and the sox will be sitting at home in october. only way i see the sox legitimately making a run at a title is if they go get a big name power bat like holliday or a gonzo. their lineup has plenty of speed with ells and pedroia but they dont have the power to hang with the yanks or rays. ortiz is clearly in decline, they lost their best power bat in jason bay, lars anderson isnt developing as nicely as they hoped, vmart is their best power bat now but he's had his issues the past couple yrs. their pitching is what is going to have to carry them, obviously, and they can do it because they have a great 5 man rotation, but the bullpen was very shaky last yr, and even tho paps had elite stats, sox fans kno he didnt look like his shutdown self last yr.
now look at the rays. they have plenty of power in longoria, pena, shoppach, zobrist. they have elite speed at the top with upton and crawford (who both can hit double digit homers)...and thats not even factoring in desmond jennings who can develop into the best hitter besides longo in that lineup. they also have an incredibly deep starting rotation, with a very solid bullpen. they dont have 1 shutdown closer, but a tandem between howell and soriano will be close to the equivilent. not too mention they have the deepest minors system out of the AL east contenders by far and will have the tools necessary to make a midseason trade like cliff lee and CC were the past 2 yrs. the rays future definately looks bright.
i wont go into detail y the yanks will return to the playoffs. i know nothing is guarenteed, but the defending champs get a healthy a-rod and add granderson and javy vasquez, and also have jesus montero as a wild card that could potentially see some playing time late in the yr, even tho its a stretch.
i predict the yanks will take the AL east, and the rays will be very close with the wild card. sox will have a winning record, but the AL east is the most competitive division, so good teams are still left out. however, we were saying the same thing bout the yanks last yr at this time, so who knows at this point.
With an improved Seattle team, and a young and hungry Rays team not to mention very competitive teams in the AL Central in Minnesota and Chicago, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Sox miss the post-season this year. Hell, if Texas can put together a season where their hitting and pitching both perform well, they could also be very dangerous.
Yes, they have a lot of pitching depth and the bullpen is one of the best in the game, but they won't be able to stand there and go toe to toe with the Yankees for the AL East. The Rays always give them trouble and they have to be better against the AL West. Right now, I see the Yankees as the clear favorite with the Sox mixed into the wild card pool though I would not call them the favorite.
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by kab21 » Sat Jan 02, 2010 12:41 am 
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