The issue for TB is the boat loads of money he's required to be paid over the next couple years ($33.5M). This trade came out on paper yesterday and the Angels ending up being the location where Kazmir landed, but the combination of he and Pat Burrell struggling made this inevitable. Let me explain.Last post season, Pat Burrell signed a two year $16M deal in January as the Rays looked to bolster their offence in hopes to defend their AL Pennant. Questions abound hit the blogo-sphere as to why a small market young up and coming team would dump 16 large on 32 year old .250 something hitting DH? They have gone relatively unanswered as Burrell has been terrible and the Rays are stuck batting him somewhere in the later half of their order on a night by night basis. To be honest, the only Pat Burrell high light I can recall all season is the trip to Philly he made to pick up his World Series Ring. With the recession hitting the MLBPA members a little hard in the off season, there were deals to be had from an ownership stand point as the Angels found as the Free Agency season neared its end (and here we thought there were only four seasons in the year - two in Canada).
Pat Burrell is hitting .241 with 12 Home Runs, 38 runs and 50 RBI's in a line up that has Carlos Pena, Evan Longoria, BJ Upton, Carl Crawford, Ben Zobrist and Jason Bartlett in it. He has only played 92 games and will finish the season with about 400 at bats and maybe 100 hits (or $80K a hit). For a franchise that HAS to spend its money wisely, signing Burrell was the equivalent of contracting syphilis on your trip to Thailand. You want to swing lose and run in the Fast lane Andrew Friedman, better carry some penicillin and advil to take away the pain. While I definitely do not question your approach, I do question your execution. You have to wonder, was there a better option out there?Enter Bobby Abreu - $5M price tag, AL East and oodles of Playoff Experience (albeit without the recent World Series glitter, and inflationary price tag). Abreu is hitting .302 with a .397 OBP. He's taught patience and approach to the entire Angels line up (look top to bottom, the on base percentage and total walks is up one through nine. He's stolen 27 bases knocked in 85 RBI's while scoring 80, and has actually taken his turn in the field. Does Pat even own a glove? Abreu has embraced the Latin players on the Angels and has the entire team sitting a top the AL West despite a shaky rotation and the pre-season tragedy. Judging by the numbers, I have to make a conservative estimate that Abreu's impact on the Angels is worth about 5-6 games more than Burrell's impact on the Rays. Check the standings, do the math and ask yourself this.
Where would Scott Kazmir be playing if the Rays would have spent their money wisely. As fate would have it, he'd be toeing the rubber with Bobby Abreu knocking in runs and playing some pretty solid D (well as long he's not running towards the wall) as they chased a post season spot. Sadly for those sitting on St. Pete's beach sipping Land Shark beer and chomping down Key Lime Pie at Frenchy's its just taking place 2500 miles from the Trop. If you are in St. Pete's Beach, trust me on the beer, the location and the dessert...add in a Buffalo Grouper Sandwich and tell them Todd sent you.Follow me on twitter at www.twitter.com/todd11ny
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