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The trade saves the Rays from having to pay a $650,000 on Iwamura’s contract if they didn’t pick up his option.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have been plugging holes after trades for years, but filling the Freddy Sanchez void proved difficult.
On Tuesday, the team agreed to acquire second baseman Akinori Iwamura from the Tampa Bay Rays for reliever Jesse Chavez.
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Iwamura was batting over .300 early last season for the Rays before sustaining partial tears of the anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus in his left knee. He returned in September and batted .290 for the season in 69 games. He was Tampa’s everyday second baseman when the Rays went to the World Series in 2008 and batted .274 with six homers, 48 RBIs and a .349 on-base percentage.
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Chavez led Pittsburgh and all major league rookies with 73 appearances in 2009, going 1-4 with a 4.01 ERA in 67 1/3 innings. He was taken in the 42nd round in 2002 by Texas, and made his major league debut with the Pirates with 15 appearances in 2008.
The Rays think they have 2nd base plugged with Ben Zobrist. Maybe they do, but the team got shockingly little compensation for Iwamura. A run of the mill reliever was the best Tampa could do?
The Rays are in the midst of their worst losing streak since 2007. From AP-
Dustin Pedroia’s opposite-field power surprised almost everyone, including Boston manager Terry Francona.
The 5-foot-9 Pedroia hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer to right field in the eighth inning and the Red Sox beat Tampa Bay 3-1 on Sunday in the opener of a day-night doubleheader, sending the Rays to their 10th straight loss.
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Victor Martinez added an RBI single for Boston and blocked the plate on a tag play that prevented Tampa Bay from taking the lead.
I saw the video of Martinez blocking home play on the play in question. He did a great job, but baseball umpires have really let some rules lapse. A baserunner is supposed to not be obstructed from getting to the next base but the rule is read so that if the fielder is attempting to field the ball, the obstruction is legal. That loophole is huge and catchers take advantage of it.
The Red Sox, who lead the AL wild-card race, won for the 10th time in 14 games.
Tampa Bay is on its longest losing streak since dropping 11 straight in 2007.
Tampa won’t be going to the playoffs this year. One of the reasons for their slump-
Tampa Bay DH Pat Burrell is in a 1-for-18 slump.
Memo to Tampa Bay Rays Manager Joe Madden. Joe, a DH’s only job is to help his team with his hitting. If he stops hitting, get him the hell out of the lineup and put someone else in! Oh you don’t have much of a bench because you feel the need to have 8 relief pitchers. That sounds at least as dumb as using a DH who can’t hit.(Burrell has a .386 Slugging Pct for 2009, which is awful for a DH)
Is there anyone outside of Florida who thinks the Rays will still make the playoffs this year? From AP-
Tampa Bay slugger Carlos Pena broke two fingers when he was hit by a CC Sabathia pitch in the opener of Monday’s day-night doubleheader against the Yankees.
Pena was hurt on an 0-1 offering in the first inning of a 4-1 loss, with the ball hitting his left hand and then his bat.
“I knew when the ball hit me it was going to be bad,” he said. “You don’t take a 95 mph fastball on the finger and live to tell about it — or the finger live to tell about it.”
Pena broke the middle and index fingers. He will return to Florida on Tuesday and meet with the Rays medical staff before a determination is made whether he needs surgery.
Pena leads the AL with 39 homers and finished with 100 RBIs.
Those are some awfully big shoes to fill. So who took Pena’s roster spot?
Tampa Bay put Pena on the 60-day disabled list and purchased the contract of first baseman Chris Richard from Triple-A Durham. Richard was in Durham, N.C., and immediately headed to New York.
He arrived just before the night game began and pinch hit in the eighth inning of the Rays’ 11-1 loss. He walked in his first big league appearance since April 30, 2003, for Colorado against Cincinnati.
A guy who hasn’t played ML baseball in over 6 years. Wait till next year should be the rallying cry for Tampa.
Update- I noted the thinness of the Rays bench a month ago. It has come back to haunt manager Joe Madden
I thought teams with Pennant hopes made deals to acquire more pitching, not trade it away. From AP-
The Los Angeles Angels, looking to bolster their rotation for the last five weeks of the season and in October, acquired left-hander Scott Kazmir of the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday.
“This is a surprise. I had heard rumors before, but it’s hard to believe that it is now official,” Kazmir said after Tampa Bay’s 6-2 loss to Detroit. “It’s a disappointment because of all the relationships I’ve built in the organization and the city, but you can’t control the business side of the game.”
The Angels and Rays had extensive conversations before the trade deadline about Kazmir, who is 8-7 with a 5.92 ERA.
Tampa Bay receives two minor leaguers — left-hander Alex Torres and infielder Matt Sweeney — and a player to be named later in the deal.
“We’re very excited about the player that we can’t name yet, but also about the other two,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “The lefty has a great arm, and Sweeney is one of the best hitters in the minors.”
Kazmir leaves Tampa as the franchise all-time leader in wins, strikeouts, and several other pitching categories. Tampa has a record of 69-58 and are still in the playoff hunt for a wild card spot. So why trade Kazmir.
John Romano of the St. Petersburg Times fills us in-
The Rays just got better in 2010. And 2011, for that matter.
And all it may have cost them was a chance for the playoffs in 2009.
That’s pretty much what this Scott Kazmir trade means. By getting out from under Kazmir’s overpriced contract, the Rays will have a better chance to keep the core of their team together in the next couple of seasons, and that, absolutely, is a good thing.
But there’s no way to spin this trade to make you believe the Rays have a better shot at defending their American League pennant today. Not by taking their No. 3 starter out of the rotation. And not by sending him to the team the Rays would most likely face in the first round of the playoffs if they somehow beat the odds and win the AL wild card.
For now, this trade stinks. There’s no other way to paint it. You could say the Rays have Andy Sonnanstine and Wade Davis in Triple A, and so the rotation is not without options. But if those guys were better than Kazmir, they would have already been with the team.
Whatever carpe diem means, this is the opposite.
Other than for financial reasons, the trade makes no sense. I bet there are a lot of irate baseball fans in Tampa right now.
There must be a ‘I need another ancient relief pitcher’ virus going around the offices of MLB teams at this moment. From the St. Petersburg Times-
The Rays had interest in adding veteran Russ Springer to their bullpen anyway. After going through two extra-inning games in four days, they believed it was even more important to make a move.
The 40-year-old right-hander was claimed on waivers from Oakland, with the Rays assuming the nearly $1 million remaining on his $3.3 million contract.
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Springer was 0-4 with a 4.10 ERA in 48 games with Oakland but had a 1.61 ERA over 25 games since early June.
The addition of Springer required Tampa to make another personnel move.
The Rays’ decision to designate IF Joe Dillon for assignment to make room for Springer wasn’t cut-and-dried. Ultimately, the Rays decided to go with eight relievers and three bench players in large part because they had played two extra-inning games this week.
Though Dillon rarely got off the bench, Maddon said he didn’t like having to cut him loose. In addition to being a fan of Dillon’s approach to the game, Maddon will have to be especially creative with the way he uses his bench.
That’s an understatement. Only three bench players severely limits a manager’s options. One of those backups has to be a catcher, the most likely player to get injured in any given game. Managers are a cautious lot, and will be cautious in using their only backup catcher. That limits a team’s strategy moves with only three bench players even more.
Springer, like the recently traded David Weathers, has been all over the major leagues for fifteen plus years. He is a decent reliever, but for the reasons I already stated, I don’t understand why Tampa needed this guy.
He did it against the Tampa Bay Rays this afternoon. Buehrle struck out six and DeWayne Wise make an acrobatic catch of a struck ball in the 9th inning that was Tampa’s best chance at keeping history from being made.
Buehrle is only the 16th MLB pitcher to throw a perfect game. The last one was done in 2004 by Randy Johnson. Buehrle previously no-hit the Texas Rangers in 2007. This was also the second time the Rays have gone hitless. Derek Lowe threw a no-hitter against them in 2002.
The Nationals keep finding ways to lose. From AP-
Even though he’s batting less than .200, the Tampa Bay Rays continue to show faith in Gabe Kapler.
That loyalty paid Friday night.
One pitch after an error prolonged his at-bat, the slumping Kapler hit a pinch-hit home run that snapped an eighth-inning tie and gave the AL champions a 4-3 victory over the Washington Nationals.
Stuck in a 3-for-31 slide that dropped his batting average to .173, Kapler went deep against Ron Villone (3-2) after first baseman Nick Johnson dropped a pop foul that would have been the third out.
“I was screaming at the ball and I think it heard me and skipped off Nick’s glove,” Kapler said. “I guess I really wanted that opportunity.”
Kapler primarily plays against left-handed pitchers and said he’s extremely appreciative that manager Joe Maddon continues to pencil him into the lineup and bring him off the bench against lefties.
“One of the things I’m most impressed with this season is the fact I’ve struggled fairly significantly, and every time there’s a lefty out there, I get the chance to start,” Kapler said. “It tells me he believes I can get the job done.”
Villone was on his way to an easy one-two-three eighth when Johnson settled under Kapler’s pop foul. He made a slight adjustment at the last moment, but couldn’t hold onto the ball.
“I just missed it. Plain and simple,” Johnson said. “Saw it the whole way, just didn’t catch it.”
With the win the Rays are now .500 barely. Unless Tampa gets it into gear soon, they won’t defend as American League champions.
This news is a definite blow to the team’s chances to repeat as American League champions.
Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Akinori Iwamura will miss the rest of the season with a torn ligament in his left knee.
Iwamura was injured trying to turn a double play in the eighth inning Sunday against the Florida Marlins and was carted off the field.
He will have surgery after the swelling goes down, according to Rays executive vice president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman.
The infielder is in his third season with the Rays after playing in Japan’s Central League. In 44 games, Iwamura was hitting .310 (48-for-155) with no home runs, 16 RBIs and eight stolen bases in nine attempts.
Iwamura is a good offensive second baseman.(Good OB percentage, plus good ability to hit doubles and triples) As a defensive player, he did a good job transitioning to 2nd base from 3rd base. 2nd base is the toughest position other than catcher to play on a baseball team. It is also the one that sees the most injuries. Iwamura is 30 years old, and this injury could have serious career consequences for him.
Tampa will have a tough time replacing Iwamura.
One of the hazards that comes with the Designated hitter rule. From AP-
An error on the Tampa Bay Rays’ official lineup card forced starting pitcher Andy Sonnanstine to bat in Sunday’s game against Cleveland.
The Rays listed Ben Zobrist and Evan Longoria as the third baseman on the card given to the umpires before the start of the game. Longoria was supposed to be the designated hitter.
After the top of the first, in which Zobrist played third, the game was delayed 13 minutes as the umpires discussed the matter among themselves and individually with Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon and Cleveland manager Eric Wedge.
The umpires pulled the Indians off the field midway through the delay.
The Rays lost their DH position due to the error, meaning Sonnanstine replaced Longoria in the third spot of the lineup. Longoria was available to come off the bench.
Once in high school, our coach deliberately tried to re-use a player who had left the game. The other team wasn’t fooled, after one pitch the batter was declared out and the game was over. We were only one run down and the tying run was in scoring position.
The Tampa Bay Ray tied a modern MLB record. From AP-
Carl Crawford tied a modern major league record with six stolen bases to help Tampa Bay beat Boston 5-3 on Sunday for its first series win in nearly a month.
Crawford was 4-for-4 with an RBI and became the fourth player to swipe six bases in a game, joining Eddie Collins, Otis Nixon, and Eric Young.
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The speedy Crawford’s second infield single of the day drove in an insurance run in the eighth, then stole second for the fifth time, bringing the crowd of 32,332 to its feet. The last player to steal six bases in a game was Young for Colorado on June 30, 1996.
Rays fans are probably hoping Crawford’s record game provides a spark to the team. The defending American League champs are 11-15 for the year so far.
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