LINK LOTTERY: Could 2014 be the Rays' largest payroll ever?

Last week, Cork Gaines of Rays Index posted that the 2014 Rays payroll is now projected to be the largest in Rays history. If true, I gotta wonder, I thought I read somewhere they were gonna cut back the payroll in 2014, not grow it? And if they do grow it, where is the money coming from? TV? [Rays Index]

Here's other items from around the net...

Evan Longoria engaged

Single no more. Evan Longoria is officially engaged to long time girlfriend and mother of his child, former playmate of the month Jaime Edmondson. Jaime Edmondson announced the news via Twitter.

James Loney returning to the Rays on a 3-year deal

At the beginning of the month, I wrote that the Rays need to resign James Loney, no matter the cost. Well the Rats have done just that as they have resigned Loney to a 3-year deal worth $21 million, according to Ken Rosenthal.

Marc Topkin reports the deal will likely not be officially announced as final until next week after Loney's physical.

I'm happy the Rays have done this. Keep that Gold Glove caliber infield in tact for a few more years.

MLB moves a step closer to banning home plate collisions

Varitek and Posada colliding at home plate in 2005.
Courtesy: Ray Stubblebine/Reuters

Today the MLB Rules Committee approved a ban on home plate collisions. A play that's brought us many heart stopping, memorable moments in baseball lore. The rule now gets submitted to the MLBPA for final approval. If approved the rule will be in place for 2014. The players are expected to approve the rule. However, the article also notes that the "MLB would be able to unilaterally implement it in 2015." Seemingly making the change inevitable.

RAYS HISTORY: One year ago, the Shields/Myers trade

One year ago today, the baseball world was rocked when the Rays and Royals agreed to a trade that sent James Shields, Wade Davis and a player to be named later (which ended up being Elliot Johnson) to the Royals for Wil Myers, Jake Odorizzi, Mike Montgomery and Patrick Leonard.

In what ended up being a rare trade that was a winner for both teams. The Rays recieved one of baseball's top prospects who when called up in June went on to hit .293 with 13 HRs and 53 RBIs in 88 games. Myers, as we know, was ultimately named the 2013 AL Rookie of the Year.

The trade also worked for KC as Shields went on to be their ace, pitching to a 13-9 record and a 3.15 ERA in 228.2 IP.

Sheilds, Davis to KC; Myers to TB [BRaysball Talk]

LINK LOTTERY: David Price trade talks continue

David Price in other Uniforms
Courtesy: @TBTimes_Rays

Happy Monday, Rays fans. It's also the first day of the Winter Meetings. Stick with us here at BRaysball Talk for your Winter Meetings coverage.

Yesterday in the Tampa Bay Times, they discussed possible future homes for David Price and they even had pictures made up of him in other uniforms. You can see that picture to the right. (Click to enlarge.)

VIDEO: The Happy Heckler sorta appears on MLB Network

Tonight on MLB Network's show "Intentional Talk", as they do every episode, they did the segment called "Kevin's Highlights" (named for host Kevin Millar.) Tonight they talked about the best fan and player interactions and to my surprise, they featured The Happy Heckler.

LINK LOTTERY: Recapping the craziness of Tuesday

Well that happened. Seemed like it was gonna be a nice quiet day and things just exploded around 12:30pm ET and it ended with the Rays having acquired catcher Ryan Hanigan from the Reds and relief pitcher and former closing stud Heath Bell from the D-Backs. It should be noted that the Rays originally drafted Bell in 1997 in the amateur draft. He went unsigned and was eventually signed by the Mets in 1998. Now he's coming to pitch for the team that originally drafted him and is looking for the Rays to work their magic on him and revive his career like they did for Rafael Soriano, Kyle Farnsworth, and Fernando Rodney.

Rays acquire Ryan Hanigan and Heath Bell in 3-team trade [UPDATED]

Ryan Hanigan (top) and Heath Bell (bottom)
Courtesy: J. Meric/Getty Images via BleacherReport.com (top)
USATODAY.com (bottom)

[UPDATE, 3:45pm ET]: Marc Topkin reports that Bell's $9 million 2014 salary will be payed by Marlins, D-Backs and Rays. Rays will pay approximately $5 million of it.

[UPDATE, 2:58pm ET]: Ken Rosenthal reports the full details of the trade. Rays get Hanigan, Bell and money; Reds get David Holmberg; D-Backs get Justin Choate and player to be named later.

[UPDATE, 2:48pm ET]: Ken Rosenthal reports the deal involves the Rays also acquiring Heath Bell as well. The deal required approval by the commissioner's office.

Rays announce improvements to the Trop for 2014

A rendering of the project, known as "Rays 360",
viewed from the RF concourse.
Courtesy: RaysBaseball.com

Late this morning the Rays announced changes to Tropicana Field for 2014. The project, being billed as "Rays 360", will allow fans to walk 360 degrees around the lower bowl of Tropicana Field. To do this, the batter's eye restaurant in center field will be removed and replaced with an open patio "with open views of the playing field and new food and beverage areas easily accessible to all ballpark patrons" says a press release released by the Rays.

"These renovations reflect our constant commitment to providing a first class gameday experience at Tropicana Field," said Rays Principal Owner Stuart Sternberg. "A visit to the ballpark will be even more enjoyable because of these new features and attractions."

Sam Fuld and Wesley Wright non-tendered; Jose Molina deal final

Last night was the tender contract deadline, and the Rays non-tendered OF Sam Fuld and RP Wesley Wright and are both now free agents. According to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, Friedman said of the non-tenders that a return for both is possible.

Specifically about the Fuld non-tender, Friedman said, "We didn't make this move thinking that there would necessarily be finality to it." About Wright, Friedman said that "[this] move isn't about his talent as much as it's about our current bullpen setup."

Rays likely turning attention to first base

James Loney, Rays' 1B in 2013
Courtesy: Keith Allison/Flickr

Saturday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times wrote that with the Rays having likely re-signed Jose Molina along with having two bullpen pieces in Mark Lowe and Juan Carlos Oviedo in place that the Rays will likely turn their attention to first base. Topkin also notes potential candidates The Rays could trade for "the Mets' Ike Davis and Lucas Duda, Texas' Mitch Moreland, Miami's Logan Morrison, [and] the Angels' Mark Trumbo". Free agent candidates noted are "Justin Morneau, incumbent James Loney, Corey Hart, maybe Kevin Youkilis or Mark Reynolds." Topkin also mentions that "[in] theory, the Rays would prefer a left-handed hitter, given their everyday lineup already has four right-handers".

2014 Spring Training schedule announced

Last week, Marc Topkin announced the expected schedule. Today, the Rays officially announced their spring training schedule for 2014.

Games begin February 28 with the Spring Training finale on March 28. Here's the full schedule.

David Price causes another stir on Twitter

I didn't even want to really cover this but since it's becoming so big on Twitter, I thought I'd throw in my two cents.

If you remember back to last month after King David's horrible performance in game 1 of the ALDS, he went on a rant on Twitter, for which he was criticized heavily for and later apologized for. I for one didn't care so much about what he was saying on Twitter as so much as what happens on the field.

And the 2013 Moment of the Year is...

For the past month and a half we have gone through the process to choose a Moment of the Year for the Rays 2013 season. Tonight, we have a winner. You, the fans, have chosen. And your 2013 Moment of the Year is...

PHOTOS: What would the Rays look like in the NFL?

I want to start out by saying this is just for fun. This is not real, nor is it any where close to becoming real. But sometimes it just fun to say "What if?" I believe this is one of those times.

An internet forum I frequent a lot is the Chris Creamer's Sports Logos Community. I use the forum quite frequently to build the look of this site. Also on said forum, they make a lot of "just for fun" concepts. Over the years I've seen many redesigns of the Rays uniform, but this might be the most interesting. This afternoon I was looking at one of the threads, this one titled "MLB-NFL Crossover". A user there by the username of "jbslinky77" transposed all 30 MLB teams uniforms and colors on to an NFL uniform.

Keith Olbermann names Myers "worst person" for his hair

I don't even know why I'm talking about this. Wednesday night on ESPN2, Keith Olbermann did his "Worst Persons" segment from his days on MSNBC, except instead of being political it was all sports related. In it, he named Wil Myers the "worst person in the sports world" for his hair in his interview after being named the Players Choice AL Rookie of the Year Monday night on MLB Network.

Here's the clip.

Recapping the 2013 AL East and my preseason predictions

In February I predicted how I thought the AL East would pan out in 2013. Well, the season is now over, it's time to revisit my predictions and see how I did.

This is my 2013 AL East recap and prediction revisit. Now the order I will look at my predictions in is from last to first in how it really happened.

CSNNE's Michael Holley: "No, [Maddon] is not a great manager."

by Aaron Giddens

Thursday night on Comcast SportsNet Northeast's show "Uno Sports Tonight", host Michael Felger along with co-host Michael Holley and Boston Herald's Red Sox beat writer Michael Silverman were discussing the last two games of the 2013 ALDS between the Red Sox and the Rays, specifically whether Farrell was a big concern after he supposedly "blew" game 3 when this happened.

BRaysball Talk and Rays Baseball Talk team up

by Aaron Giddens

I am please to announce that BRaysball Talk and Rays Baseball Talk have teamed up to bring you a new Community Forums initiative.

For the past two years, BRaysball Talk has had Forums available for Rays fans but they have never been active. WE hope by bringing in Rays Baseball Talk that we can help each other out and form the best Rays based forums on the internet.

The new partnership is effective immediately.

You can access the forums at http://forums.braysballtalk.com/.

Welcome to the BRaysball Talk family, Rays Baseball Talk!

PETA sends open letter to Rays after Lobaton HR

by Aaron Giddens

So for the second time this year and third time ever, a home run landed in the Rays Touch Tank. This time it was Lobaton's walk-off homerun that forced game 4 of this years ALDS, which you can see here.

In response to that homerun, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), one of the largest animal rights groups in the world, is again furious and calls for the touch tank to be shut down and removed and the rays returned to the ocean.

In an letter emailed to BRaysball Talk, Delcianna Winders, Esq., Director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement at PETA, called the touch tank a "little animal prison and potential death trap". I will now share with you the full email, unedited and unformated. Exactly how BRaysball Talk received it.

2013 Moment of the Year announcement

by Aaron Giddens

With the 2013 season now over for our Rays (prematurely, sadly), we can now discuss how our BRaysball Talk's Annual Moment of the Year vote will work this year. For the past two years I have selected videos and you have voted on them, well this year it's gonna be completely up to you - the fans.

So here's this year's process:

Despite loss, plenty to be optimistic about

by Aaron Giddens

The Rays loss one tonight and it hurts, but not as much as you would think. Let's take a look.

First off, the magic number is still at 2 with now 2 to go. Meaning if the Rays win out, they will still get home field advantage in Wednesday's Wild card game.

If the Rays win tomorrow the worst that can happen is the Rangers and Rays have a play-in game on Monday.

If a three-way tie happens, the Rays will have 2 shots to make it to the postseason per the scenarios announced by MLB today.

Also if the Rangers lose tonight the Magic number to clinch a playoff spot falls to 1.

The Rays are still in the drivers seat with 2 to play. There is no need to panic, but the Rays can really afford another loss. Should be a great weekend.

VIDEO: Rays complete crucial sweep of O's thanks to Loney's walk-off HR

by Aaron Giddens

Rays completed a crucial 4-game sweep of the O's thanks to James Loney's walk-off pinch-hit HR in the 9th inning. Here's the video:



I just love how Loney hands his helmet off to Tom Foley before reaching home. Rays are now off to the Bronx to face the Yankees for 3 then finish up in Toronto for 3. The Rays magic number is 5. Any combination of Rays wins or Rangers losses that adds up to five will give the Rays a postseason berth.

A look at the 2014 Tampa Bay Rays schedule

by Aaron Giddens

Today, the preliminary 2014 schedule was released. It's preliminary schedule, so things could change, but let's take a look at what we have for now.

Here are some of the things I noticed:

VIDEO: PETA calls for Rays Touch Tank to be shut down

by Aaron Giddens

Late last month, the Rays Touch Tank was hit with a home run ball from Miggy Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers. Now PETA says that the incident was too close a call and that the tank needs to have the lug pulled and the rays returned to the wild.

Here's the full story from WTVT (FOX 13):

VIDEO: MLB takes a moment to honor the victims of Boston bombing

by Aaron Giddens

Rays players tweet about events in Boston

by Aaron Giddens

Most of us have heard what's happened in Boston. The Rays got out of Boston safely, and took to Twitter to express their opinions on what happened, here are the tweets we could find.

Hope everyone is okay at the marathon. Scary.

— Sam Fuld(@SamFuld5) April 15, 2013

Longo misspeaks, Shields responds

by Aaron Giddens

Longoria made some interesting comments the other day and now they've reached one of the two subjects of said comments. Before we go any further, let's get what Longo said what here in front of us. You can read the full comments at TampaBay.com.

GAME REVIEW: Longo and Zorilla put on a show, but Rays come up short

3:10pm ET Tropicana Field		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
	Orioles	2	0	0	0	0	0	5	0	0		7	13	1
	Rays	0	0	0	1	0	2	0	1	0		4	6	0
W: Hammel (1-0)		L: McGee (0-1)									S: Johnson (1)
TOG: 2:57		Click here for expanded Box Score.									Att.: 34,078

Year 3 starts today

by Aaron Giddens

Today is the start of the BRaysball Talk's third season covering our beloved Rays. We've been through so much so far; from Game 162 to Felix Hernandez's Perfect-o last year. This year we have our eyes set on one thing: the Commissioner's Trophy. The trophy needs a Tampa Bay tan.

To accomplish this we hope for a healthy lineup all year, although we're already off to a rough start with that with Luke Scott on the 15-day DL.

Today is Game 1 of 162+. BRaysball Talk will be here with you all season. Providing opinion and analysis from the fan perspective. We will have periodic articles from our friends and partners in Rodney's Archery Club all year long. We have a surprise in store for RAC coming soon so stay tuned for that. Today we will be providing our first Game Review since August 3, 2012.

And finally, as always, we are about your opinion. If you have an opinion on something, write it and email it to us!

Welcome to Opening Day with BRaysball Talk and the Rays. PLAY BALL!

Maddon announces Rays Opening Day lineup via twitter

by Aaron Giddens

Joe Maddon took to Twitter early this afternoon and announced tomorrow's Opening Day lineup.

Opening day almost a national holidayHere's how we'll go: Jennings8, Fuld9, Zobrst4, Longo5, Joyce7, Escobar6, Loney3, Molina2, Johnsondh

— Joe Maddon (@RaysJoeMaddon) April 1, 2013

What do you think? Comment below and let us know.

MLB Network's Mitch Williams picks the Rays

by Aaron Giddens

Last November in a segment where the MLB Network analysts made early prediction, Mitch Williams made a prediction that the Blue Jays were the "best team on paper" and that the Rays would finish last "as of November 20th" he continually said and he was blasted on Twitter by Rays fans for it. Well now today, a mere 20 hours before the AL East season begins, Mitch Williams made his official prediction for who's gonna win the AL East. And he picked the Rays.

But does that clear him? That's for you to decide.

Time to shut Rodney down in the WBC

by Aaron Giddens

I know that seems a little harsh, especially with him representing his country. But it's necessary. The Rays are counting on Rodney this season to lock down that closer role in a similar manner to 2012. As Cork Gaines points out, he's already at 8.1 IP this spring. He pitched 7.1 IP all of last spring. He's already above that.

What makes this more concerning is that he's in the care of Yankees bench coach Tony Pena. I'm not one usually for conspiracies. But this one is just too obvious to ignore. The Yankees would benefit so much from an overworked Rodney.

No more. It's just time for the Rays, the people who actually pay him a paycheck, to step in, put their foot down and say "enough is enough" and shut him down. I don't know if it's possible, but maybe even end his time in San Francisco early and get him back to Port Charlotte. Essentially, enough is enough, shut him down.

Some updates on the site

by Aaron Giddens

Hey there, Rays fans. I just wanted to go through and tell you what's happening with the site. It's been inactive, for nearly a month. I hate to see that but as an opinion blog, I can only write something when I have an opinion. And While I've been watching the WBC and Spring Training closely, I've not seen anything I really have an opinion on that I can't fit under 140 characters. So I've been posting them on our Twitter and Facebook (which, if you aren't following us on their already, you really should. Check the links in the side bar to find them.)

With baseball regular season a mere 18 days away, the pace on the site should pick up as more important things start happening. Game reviews and much more are coming your way. I would like to post something now, but there's nothing real interesting happening that hasn't already been said by me on Twitter and Facebook or by Cork Gaines on Rays Index. You can only yell about the stadium situation so much.

Anyway, that's the update. We're getting ready for the 2013 regular season and the site's posting traffic should pick up. And as always, don't be afraid to write your own opinion and send it to us in an email. Details for that are in the side bar as well. Until then, talk to y'all soon! GO RAYS!

Predicting the 2013 AL East

by Aaron Giddens

So, here we are, just about a week or so before Spring Training games begin. It's time for us to go over my predictions on how the AL East will do for 2013. Let's jump right in.

Boston Red Sox: The BoSox had a decent off season with losses and gains. The most obvious and right up front change is that they fired manager Bobby Valentine after one season, and really, who could blame them as they went 69-73, good bad enough for the AL East cellar in 2012 and their first losing season since 1997. The Sox searched for a while before negotiating a deal with the Blue Jays that sent John Farrell back to Boston, where he was a pitching coach in 2011, to manage the Sox and sent Mike Aviles to Toronto. (The Sox will also receive a player to be named later in the deal.) The Sox also lost players after 2012, including Daisuke Matsuzaka, Cody Ross, among others (Full free agents list can be found here.) In gains the Sox got Mike Napoli, Shane Victorino, Koji Uehara and Stephen Drew who rounds out the notable signings. The Sox also retained "Big Papi" David Ortiz. So what does all this mean for the Sox in 2013? I don't think it means much, they still lost a lot in the blockbuster trade towards the end of the 2012 season that sent players like Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett and Adrian Gonzales to LA. I see the Sox being in or towards the cellar again in 2013, consider them in rebulding mode. 2013 Prediction: 5th place, 75-87.

Tomorrow is Fan Fest!

by Aaron Giddens

So tomorrow is Fan Fest. I hope everyone is going, I hope to be there myself. So, last year our guest correspondent @MandaGator posted an article of how to survive Fan Fest. I'm going to repost this. Obviously as this was written last year, it's not gonna be exactly right, but it has a lot of great tips. Get lots of pictures tomorrow and be sure to share this with us by email (email them to crrayshead90@braysballtalk.com) and our Facebook page!


Surviving Fan Fest [BRaysball Talk]

Sun Sports/FS Florida announces Spring Training broadcast schedule

by Aaron Giddens

So with pitchers and catchers reporting Tuesday, Sun Sports has announces their spring training broadcast schedule for 2013. They will televise 4 games this year, all in March. Three will be on Sun Sports and one will be on Fox Sports Florida. All four will take place at Charlotte Sports Park in Port Charlotte, FL. There will also be no evening Spring Training games broadcast this year, as all four start at 1pm. See the table below for the schedule. It's getting closer, Rays fans!

Opponent	Date	Time	Channel
Boston Red Sox	March 10, 2013	1:00pm ET	Sun Sports
Philadelphia Phillies	March 15, 2013	1:00pm ET	Sun Sports
Minnesota Twins	March 23, 2013	1:00pm ET	FOX Sports Florida
Toronto Blue Jays	March 27, 2013	1:00pm ET	Sun Sports

Local Rays fan finalist for MLB Fan Cave

by Aaron Giddens

One of our partners in Rodney's Archery Club, Stephanie Katz, is a finalist for the 2013 MLB Fan Cave. And she needs your help to reach it. She needs your vote on MLBFanCave.com to reach NYC.

The MLB Fan Cave, for those that don't know, is a location located at 4th St & Broadway in New York, New York where (as of last season) 9 "cave dwellers" live there and attempt to watch every single game of the season. Throughout the year, various players and artists and bands stop by the Fan Cave. The bands and artists even put on concerts.

Miss Katz, also known as @SkittyKatz on Twitter, become known to Rays fans everywhere when she distributed a picture of Luke Scott's face photoshopped on to Wolverine last season. The team even hung it in the dugout at one point. She's a member of the Rays Twitter Family and tweets live during Rays games. She owns a lot of Rays apparel and memorabilia.

Other than baseball, she enjoys Call of Duty and has an Xbox.

Can we help a Rays fan make it to the Fan Cave? Vote often!

Reap the rewards with no effort? Really, Tampa Bay?

by Aaron Giddens

The "'No.' Guy" meme

So I was reading this article by Joe Henderson of TBO.com this afternoon, and mid-way through it I dismissed the article and went down to the comment section. I read the typical "Don't make the tax payers pay one cent for a new stadium" comments.

This aggravates the h-e-double-hockey-sticks out of me. You really want to reap all the rewards that comes with having a Major League Baseball team in your area without putting any effort/money in to help that team succeed? Really?

Economist: Rays need new Stadium in Downtown Tampa

by Aaron Giddens

Rendering of the proposed Carillon ballpark
Category: TBO.com

So, we're about to enter the 2013 season. After this year there will be 13 years left on the contract agreement between the Rays and St. Pete. But as is well accepted as fact, the likely hood of that full contract panning out is becoming smaller by the day as this stalemate continues.

What I've wondered for a while now is what does an expert economist think about this situation? Luckily that's what Stephen Nohlgren of the Tampa Bay Times provided just today in an interview with "Smith College professor Andrew Zimbalist, one of America's pre-eminent sports economists."

PHOTO: Price accepts Cy Young Award

by Aaron Giddens

David Price was in NYC this past weekend to accept his Cy Young award. Marc Topkin provides us a picture of Price with his award. He received the picture from the Price family.


Congrats once again to Price.

Winner of the 2013 RAC T-Shirt vote is....

by Aaron Giddens

It was a quick couple days to vote but the result is resounding. You have chosen this design as the T-Shirt design:


Ordering is still happening, click here to go to the ordering information. Thanks for voting.

BRaysball Talk and Rodney's Archery Club team up

by Aaron Giddens

I am pleased to announce that BRaysball Talk has become the official blog partner of Rodney's Archery Club. As such, our blog services and message boards (or forums, if you prefer) are at the club's disposal. We look forward to this partnership and the positives we bring to each other.

Be sure to join our forums and talk with us by clicking this link. And also be sure to like and follow BRaysball Talk on Facebook and Twitter respectively and you can also follow Rodney's Archery Club on Twitter at this link.

Welcome to the BRaysball Talk family, RAC!

Extend David Price, no matter the cost

by @MandaGator

David Price
Courtesy: Keith Allison/Flickr

The Rays very budget conscious philosophy is one that frustrates fans while simultaneously inspiring respect. They respect a buck & want to use them wisely, just like you & me. For a while now we Rays fans have been wondering if our front office would ever see someone they value enough to make a real investment in. Open an IRA? Set up a trust for the kids?? Would they give us our first lifetime Ray or would we continue to see our players mature & sold off along with a little piece of our hearts?? Our doubts were laid to rest in late 2012 with the $136.6 million, 10 year investment in Evan Longoria. Now we know they WILL do it.

Pick the 2013 Rodney's Archery Club t-shirt

by Aaron Giddens

Hey, Rays fans, Rodney's Archery Club need your help picking the design for their 2013 shirt. Click here to go vote. There are also ordering details available on the same page.

Ex-Rays OF BJ Upton appears on Hot Stove

by Aaron Giddens

BJ Upton
Courtesy: US PRESSWIRE via Bleacher Report

BJ Upton called in this morning to MLB Network's morning talk show Hot Stove. They talked about various things from Changing uniforms to who's the biggest trash talker between him and his brother Justin (BJ says he is.)

The first interesting point came early in the interview when this was said. (A minor note, most the quotes in this article are paraphrased.)

Greg Amsinger: "BJ Upton, Atlanta Brave. How does that sound?"

BJ Upton: "Very good. ... The Rays played an important part in my career and I enjoyed my time there but sometime you have to move on. Braves were geographically closer to me growing up and I watched them a lot. I still call Tampa [the city] home."

At one point of the interview, Greg Amsinger asked BJ what he's gonna miss most about Tampa Bay. Here's what was said.

The Rays NEED Morse

by Aaron Giddens

Mike Morse
Courtesy: Reuters via ibtimes.com

Let that sink in. yes, in my opinion, the Rays need Morse. Why? Simply put I believe to be "that one big bat" the Rays are always after. The problem is what to give up for him and what would he play since he's reportedly staunchly opposed to being an everyday DH.

I say put him at first. Yes, the Rays signed James Loney this offseason, however I never really liked the signing. You're replacing a guy with power and a gold glove in Pena with a guy who while he has a good glove, has no power. Granted, he's a great "get on base" guy. But we need power to back up Longo (and Joyce when he's in a good run) and Loney is not that guy. It's the area that Andrew has thus far neglected this offseason.

So in all honesty I believe get Morse with the loss of a minor league starter, put him at first and make Loney the back up first baseman to Morse. I believe Loney is better used as PH anyway. That guy when you need someone to get on base in the 9th inning, he's there.

Morse is just too good to let go. I guarantee you, it will haunt us if Morse slips through the cracks.