yankees76, williamnyy, others…

Gosh, you guys are cherry pickers. In the last three days, there have been “positive” entries to this blog on Pettitte, Alberto Gonzalez, Hank, A-Rod and Damon…just by a quick count/scan.

This is why I can’t take you nitpickers seriously. You guys bitch about “negative” entries, etc., and, yet, you never notice or comment on the ones that people like you would classify as “positive.”

It’s you guys that always “focus” on the negative things – not me.

The negativity here is hilarious.

Baileywalk…I have no crystal ball, but assuming there isn’t a major realignment and the Yankees and Rays (whether they remain in Tampa or not) continue to the share the same division, at some point they will finish higher in the standings. While that may not be a “fact”, I think it is pretty reasonable to conclude that the Rays will have a better team than the Yankees at one point in my lifetime, which I hope lasts at least another 50 years.

Having said that, I am not sure why anyone would focus on this statement.

the D-Rays will, in fact, at some point in their history pass the Yankees
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How is this a fact? While you’re gazing into that crystal ball of yours, maybe you can tell us if the Rays will even still be in Tampa in the next few years.

It sucks finishing behind any team, but I wouldn’t personally feel any extra “mental blow” because it was the Rays. They’ve got a very good young team and oodles of pitching on the way, so much so that they’ll still develop some studs even with a normal attrition rate.

The Rays have a loaded system and yes, that is in part due to having high picks year after year, but they still have to do their homework and take the right guys. What’s the Pirates’ excuse?

The Rays are going to be that team in the second half this year, “the team no one wants to play” so to speak. Next year they can be very good, and in 2010 they could be a juggernaut once their young arms get a season under their belt. If they get some cash from that rumored new stadium, they could have one hell of a run.

Put the Rays in the NL Central over the past couple of years, and they’d have been knocking on the playoff door every season. The Yankees don’t match up too well against them because our outfield arms have been weak. They turned singles into doubles against Matsui, Bernie and Damon all the time. I’d like to see the Yankees play the strongest defense they can field against these “running” teams. Torre wouldn’t do it. Joe G. will.

A lot depends on not only how well the talent pans out, but the ability of Andrew Friedman (Rays GM) to address the needs of the Rays.

I hope he does a lot better with his talent than Horace Stoneham did with his; http://tinyurl.com/2fwozw

ok, i’ll bite. the Rays have always had talent, but how well has that worked out for them so far?

the problem with the rays has always been pitching. have they upgraded the rotation? a little, with some prospects to come. and the bullpen is a little better, too, but they are counting on a strategy of bringing in veterans to put a band-aid over a gash, a plan that you have bashed Cashman on for being a fundamentally flawed idea.

maybe in a vaccuum, you could say taking the Yankees team this year and Rays team this year, and then keeping the rosters identical in two years, you’d have a legit argument.

but the Yankees have as much talent in the upper levels of the system, especially the pitching, that the rays do, and they have the positional prospects in the pipeline.

oh yeah, and they have the money to spend to plug holes if need be, which the rays have not demonstrated the will to do yet.

i’m of the belief that the rays can be a .500 ballclub this year, and have always been a thorn in the yankees side, because they play an aggressive style of baseball like the angels do… but before we label them a playoff contender in 2009 and beyond, lets see them hit the .500 mark first.

There is nothing wrong with this post, and the gist is valid (the D-Rays will, in fact, at some point in their history pass the Yankees). Having said that, I agree with yankees76 about this site pretty much becoming the “worst case scenario” blog. While I enjoy objective analysis, looking at every event through the prism of how can this most be bad news for the Yankees gets a bit tiring. I also don’t envision checking back in as much once the season gets underway and content is abundant in other places.

The Rays are definitely a scary team……right now. We know they can hit with the best of them, even though they are free swingers for the most part. Their pitching is catching up. And catching up very fast. McGee, Price, Kazmir, newly acquired Garza, James Shields and etc have a chance to become something special. The question is whether their ownership will spend some money on veteran leadership.

With all of that said, the Yanks will be fine. They’ll continue to the changing of the guard, sorta speak. The expensive position players will obvious get a little older and long in the tooth, but there will be a lot younger too, if some of these prospects pan out. I’m not too worried.