I have never used an obscenity on this blog before, I hope that I have readers and I hope that some of them are young and impressionable and for that reason I keep the text vulgarity free to make it suitable for all ages and audiences. Trust me when I tell you that as I type these sentences, I am most definitely screaming very inappropriate things at my computer screen. I had a pretty good day today. I went to school, went to the doctor, hung out with my father, bought a bunch of packs of cards and went to work. It was an uneventful evening and a beautiful night. I got home with the intention of checking my e-mails and going to bed. I am on the mailing list for three different MLB teams, the Orioles, Pirates and Rays. I have ties to all three teams and like to keep up to date on them whether I check their websites or not. While perusing my e-mails I noticed one from Pirates.com that was titled “
Pirates pick up Iwamura in trade with Rays”. WHAT??? There were no e-mails from the Rays, so I openied it, hoping it was spam or some sort of a joke. It looked pretty official, but I still had to double check and read it from a few different sources before I believed it.
Well, I can’t freaking believe it, but it does seem to be true. The e-mail from the Bucs didn’t say who they gave up; I tried to calm down and thought to myself, well if we got Zach Duke or Ross Ohlendorff that might not be a bad deal. Well, they didn’t get Duke or Ohlendoff.
They got Jesse Freaking Chavez, a 26 year old middle reliever with limited stuff and no proven track record. A guy who in 6 years in the minors had a 21-30 record with a 4.36 ERA, a guy who came from Texas for Kip Wells and did a whole lot of mop-up work for the Bucs this year. He isn’t a bad pitcher, he eats innings and gets the ball over the plate, he doesn’t have spectacular stuff, but on a last place team he had a job as a middle reliever. He did pitch in 73 games last year, mostly short appearances; he worked a total of 67 innings and served up 11 homers. He was 1-4 with a 4.01 ERA; he had 15 holds and 4 blown saves. Like I said, he aint awful, but he’s nothing to write home about.
He is no better than Chad Bradford or Dan Wheeler or Grant Balfour. He isn’t an upgrade, he’s just a body in the pen with little upside or potential to go much further. In other words, he isn’t what the Rays needed and when and if they find what they actually need, I wonder if there will even be room in the bullpen for Chavez. Akinori is one of my favorite players and I hate to see him go, but I understand the reality of the business side of the game, too. On the business side, Aki was one of their most valuable, tradable assets. Had the Rays used him in a package to unload Pat Burrell’s ridiculous salary, I would understand, had they gotten a closer or a legit starting catcher, I would have understood, but to get a right handed specialist middle reliever is a joke.
I’ve been sitting here staring at this screen and cussing off and on for over an hour. I typed a lot of things about Aki, positive stats and reasons he was one of my favorite players. He is a winner and he brings a lot to the table, he didn’t single handedly bring a pennant to Tampa Bay, but he was a huge part of the team that brought that flag here and to lose him a pretty severe loss. His defense mainly, but his offense, his leadership, his work ethic and his winning presence will all be missed. I chose not to bore you all with his stats, or my favorite memories of him in Tampa Bay, or how I think that the Rays front office is ruining this team. I will say that the Pirates suddenly don’t seem so crazy for trading Freddy Sanchez and although I still think they are a horribly run organization, too, I really hope that they intend on building a winning team around Iwamura because he deserves to part of a competitive team because he is a competitor.
I will always and forever bleed Rays blue, but since they hung that banner calling themselves 2008 AL Champs, they have gone downhill instead of up. It all started with the Burrell signing and each move since has been reactionary to that mistake. They went into the off-season with a whole lot of good pieces to the puzzle; they needed to sure up the bullpen, get a legit closer, chose a starting right fielder and perhaps get a starting catcher. What they have done so far was fire their exceptional hitting coach and trade away their Gold Glove caliber second baseman and not address any of their needs. It makes me wonder, did the Pirates not want Crawford? Couldn’t they thrown together a package and shipped Bartlett, Pena and Zobrist to Pittsburgh, too? Maybe throw Wade Davis and Jeff Niemann in on the deal as well…
Since this is a business and all players are products, I imagine that they will sell every product that they can, which will leave the Rays with Pat Burrell and a bunch of third rate prospects. Then, we can change the team's name to the Tampa Bay White Elephants... I promised not to swear on here, but this is freaking bull… This really stinks and I am not happy. I know baseball is a business, but I don’t think this move is good business. I am freaking pissed. It is way past my bedtime; maybe after 12 hours of sleep I can tell you all how I really feel. Best of luck to you #1, hope things click for ya in the ‘Burgh, you will be missed in the Bay! Go Rays-Dismantle the team, not a happy troll out.
and Edwin Jackson-two proven starters. Don't get me started on them showing Adam Kennedy, Jonny Gomes, Erik Hinske and Rocco Baldeli the door either. The Kazmir trade was mainly about dollars, but they shouldn’t have offered him that contract if they couldn’t afford to pay it. If I work at Taco Bell and my boss gives me a 50 cent raise and then fires me because I make too much is along the same lines. The Rays offered him the contract, he signed it, and then they complain that they can’t afford him and ship off a frontline starter without getting big league talent in return. I don’t see the log-jam in the infield so much. Ben Zobrist has been amazing filling in wherever needed and doing a decent job defensively, but he is not a great fielding second baseman long-term, his future is in right field. Reid Brignac is a very talented shortstop, not a second baseman. 
The other two second basemen in the organization just aren’t ready for the big leagues just yet. Aki is part of the anchor of that infield, without him it is just an average infield. I saw the writing on the wall, too. I didn’t want to read it, but I knew that his time was limited, I don’t agree with it, but I knew it was coming and I saw a lot of teams interested. I had actually hoped, deep down, that he would go to Baltimore and revert back to third base and replace Melvin Mora and help Roberts at the top of the order to set the table for Markakis, Scott, Jones and Reimold. I also saw Florida being very interested and willing to give up real pitching in exchange for him. Another possibility seemed to be Los Angeles and there he would at least be playing for a contender. I would be very surprised if he is in Pittsburgh on opening day and I think that Pittsburgh will get more in return for him than the Rays did. If they keep him through the All Star break and he stays healthy, then his stock will rise even more. Either way, it seems a dumb move, unless somehow that Pat Burrell is the player to be named later, then it would be fine with me, but I really doubt that the Pirates would be that dumb. I agree that the Rays have talent within their organization to replace him next year and even save a few pennies, but I don’t want to see the defense drop off. I am interested to see what Aki's final destination is, if he starts the season in the Burgh, I really feel for the guy... I am still way too irked to make a sensible argument and I have much to do today, so I will end this with my latest awesome Aki card. It is the first card I have got of him not in a Rays uniform, the first of many I am sure. 
It came from Master Mike of JD Wild Cardz and it is refractor-fiffic! A 2009 Topps Chrome WBC REFRACTOR! Card #W89, serial numbered 207/500.
Thanks Mike, this is one Aki trade I like! Oh, the super awesome 2007 Bowman Heritage Signs of Greatness Certified Auto of minor league second baseman Elliot Johnson is another new card for me and this seemed like a good time to post it. I like Elliot's upside and at 25 years old I still think he can be a big league player, but I don't think he is a starter for a team that is going to contend, not yet. He's still a personal fav of mine, but I don't wanna trust second base to him just yet... This is another great 'graph from New York Joe of the Cobb and Halladay blog, thanks Joe! Thanks again Mike! Go Rays or whoever… Troll out.
