Who do you think could be next year's Rays?

by NeifiChicken on Oct 29, 2008 10:18 AM PDT

Obviously this question is a bit weird to ask right before the off-season, considering teams will look very different in a few months, but I just want to see people's thoughts on the subject. Essentially, which team in the majors has the biggest chance of "shocking the world" next season by contending.

I don't really count teams like AZ, DET, or CLE considering two of those three were in the playoffs last year and were all expected to contend this year.

There probably will not be a team next year as successful as the Rays were this year, but which team do you think has the best chance to surprise people with winning play?

My pick: The Cincinnati Reds

Why no one expects anything: the team hasn't made the playoffs since 1995. They haven't had a winning record since 2000. They also traded away their biggest star last year (Adam Dunn). They also play in a division that featured FOUR winning teams last year, and they finished 74-88 last season

Why I think they could surprise next year:

-They have two tremendous young offensive players in Joey Votto and Jay Bruce. Votto was good last year, but I think both will tkae major steps forward this year and put up big numbers.

-Around those two hitters, they have Edwin Encarnacion, Brandon Phillips, and Chris Dickerson. Dickerson probably isn't too notable, despite his brief 2008 success, but the other two could take steps forward offensively (especially Encarnacion who is still just 25 I belive)

-Their rotation could be very good. Volquez was an all-star, Aaron Harang had a horrible year and should bounce back, Arroyo should also bounce back a bit, Cueto has treemendous upside, and their 5th starter with be a battle between Homer Bailey and Maloney. It's certainly nto a sure thing, but there is definitely a lot of upside in that rotation, especially from Cueto.

-Their bulpen was already quite good in 2008, it can be improved a bit, but it was strong

-Their team defense was quite poor, and should be easy to upgrade. Moving Encarnacion to LF and bringing in a strong defense 3B could be a huge upgrade. OF defense should certainly improved without Dunn and Griffey patrolling things. The defense will almost be improved by default.

-Drew Stubbs could join the team at some point, which would certainly help the defense tremendously

-The offensive production they got out of SS and C was so bad, it won't be hard for them to get better (Bengie Molina anyone?)

-They have freed money because they are such a young team with very little cash committed to veterans (Cordero, Arroyo, and Harang are essentially it I believe). With that freed up money and decent prospects, they can look to be aggressive in the trade market or even in the FA market.

That is my "surprise team" for 2009, who would you guys say?

This FanPost is reader-generated, and it does not necessarily reflect the views of McCovey Chronicles. If the author uses filler to achieve the minimum word requirement, a moderator may edit the FanPost for his or her own amusement.

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Yeah, I wouldn’t have been surprised if the Reds took the next step this year. I think they’ll definitely be somewhat improved in 09. I don’t know if they’ll win the Central though.

Matt Cain: He'll save children, but not the Dodger children.
PABLO SANDOVAL AM STEAL DEATH, DESTROYER OF WORLDS.

by jponry on Oct 29, 2008 10:31 AM PDT 0 recs

yeah I don't see playoffs for them either

The Cubs are just too good, but even if they can go 86-76 or so that would be enough to be in the race for the wild card enough for them to get some big buzz.

Do you Wazzel?

by NeifiChicken on Oct 29, 2008 10:42 AM PDT up 0 recs

We said that last year though

when the Rays had to beat out the Sox and Yanks….

proud father of the newly acquired Brandon Crawford..

by Azmanz on Oct 29, 2008 3:40 PM PDT up 0 recs

The Oakland A’s

Brad Hennessey: the next Kevin Correia
Kevin Correia: the next Brad Hennessey

by stealth snail on Oct 29, 2008 10:39 AM PDT 0 recs

Reds are poised for a breakthru

don’t forget they added Micah Owings in that Dunn deal. He could be a solid #4 starter for them that helps solidify their rotation. He’ll also probably hit a few bombs in that yard.

As for Harang, he’s coming off his worst season, though he battled injuries. If he healthy and regains his form, he could be a real stud again. that’s a significant if, though.

Re the bullpen: Affeldt is a free agent and is apparently looking for a long term deal. Not sure the Reds will deal with him.

SS and C are big question marks for them. I know they’re paying Gonzalez to play SS, but he blows. Keppinger is a decent utility guy, but not sure he can hold up over an entire season, though I do like him as a player.

But no question, they’ll score some runs, but I think Dusty will ruin those young arms and it is hard to believe that contending could happen for them while he’s at the helm.

Bonds stands alone.

Proud adopted parent of future big league slugger Thomas Neal

by nostocksjustbonds on Oct 29, 2008 10:51 AM PDT 0 recs

re: Owings

good point, I think what that will allow Cinci to do is possibly trade someone like Maloney for a helpful player (say Adrian Beltre?) and then Owings and Bailey can battle it out for the 5th spot.

I suppose Arroyo could be shopped as well instead, although I think it’d be wise to hang onto him for one more year

Do you Wazzel?

by NeifiChicken on Oct 29, 2008 11:06 AM PDT up 0 recs

This is what they'll do,

because the Owings acquisition opened this up for them. Getting him allowed them to trade Maloney or even Bailey in a package to get Beltre, a far stronger package than what the Giants could offer for him. Adding Beltre at 3rd and moving Encarnacion to the outfield with that pitching staff makes them players in that division. I’m still not sold on Chicago for 2009, but they’ll probably be right up there.

NO, we're not trading Matt Cain! What's that you say? We are? Armageddon is upon us!

by Buck Henry on Oct 29, 2008 11:16 AM PDT up 0 recs

Owings

Will hit 15 homeruns in cincy

by lincysgiants on Oct 29, 2008 12:27 PM PDT up 0 recs

They probably won’t be a playoff team, but I think the Kansas City Royals are going to be much better. They finished the season strong, they’ve got a decent 1-2 starter combo in Greinke and Meche, Soria is a lights-out closer, and there are some promising young hitters in DeJesus, Gordon and Aviles.

Plus they’ll probably get some decent players back when Sabean trades for Mark Teahen.

No, my Crazy Crab bobblehead is not for sale.

by Kitspool on Oct 29, 2008 10:51 AM PDT 0 recs

this is my pick as well

i put money on the diamondbacks to make the world series in 07 (damn incredibly hot rockies) and the rays to make it this year (yay $380!) and i’m putting my $5 long-shot bet on the royals for next year. if greinke has his break-out year, which he will eventually, and the rest of the guys mentioned above take a rays-sized step forward this team could surprise.

Dodgers fans eat their young.

by redhornet78 on Oct 29, 2008 11:00 AM PDT up 0 recs

Well, I love DDJ

But, unfortunately, the Royals don’t seem to. He’s a good defensive CF, and is a pretty damn good offensive player for CF.

The Royals though have a strange fetish for Joey Gathright, and prefer him at CF instead of DDJ. Who is basically their version of Eugenio Velez. He’s fast. Very fast. That’s it. Moving DDJ to a corner, as they have done, reduces his effectiveness.

Also, DDJ is 29 next year. Aviles 28. They aren’t old, but they aren’t exactly young either. They are pretty much what they are, and are unlikely to improve much anymore.

Furthermore, the Royals are a pretty bad offensive team. Giants / A’s bad.

ZIPS: Milledge: 466 HR, 485 2B, 2282 hits, 278-379-524

by rfloh on Oct 29, 2008 11:43 AM PDT up 0 recs

Also

a) I don’t think Aviles is an impact player. Not much of a track record, and I see no reason to think he’ll ever top what he did in 2008. In fact, I have my doubts on whether he will ever replicate his 08 numbers again

b) Greinke sort of already broke out this year. He was fantastic this season. He will probably get better, yes, as he is still very young, but I don’t know to what degree he would really get much better in terms of productivity. Possibly 1 win’s worth of production better and just replicate that success over the next 5-6 seasons??? He was just so good in 08 already that it would be hard for anyone to do much better, there just aren’t that many levels above where Greinke was already at

Do you Wazzel?

by NeifiChicken on Oct 29, 2008 11:55 AM PDT up 0 recs

Yeah, Greinke has already arrived. But they’ve got a bunch of other players who were supposed to be somewhat better than they are: Butler, Gordon, Teahen, Buck, Guillen, Hochevar, Davies — there’s a lot of room for sudden growth there. Also, I think Kaaihue is for real.

by Evan on Oct 29, 2008 12:24 PM PDT up 0 recs

Well, not to get all nitpicky,

Greinke actually broke through last season. And while he’s been very good this last 1 1/2 seasons, he can still break through into the elite top tier, Santana / Halladay / Sabathia / Lincecum range. He does have the stuff to do so; even though he came up through the minors as a finesse type of pitcher, he’s no longer that.

Aviles isn’t going to replicate his 2008 numbers. That’s pretty damn certain. There’s nothing in his track record that indicates he’s this good. If he does, he instantly becomes their best player, and only less valuable as a SS than Hanley and Reyes. I do believe that he can be an average SS.

ZIPS: Milledge: 466 HR, 485 2B, 2282 hits, 278-379-524

by rfloh on Oct 29, 2008 12:38 PM PDT up 0 recs

Royals Kool-aid is delicious. I’ll have a glass.

The Denker bus is now bound for San Diego. Those who were passengers on it are now angrily stranded at a gas station in Modesto, CA. Not much about baseball here .

by oldjacket on Oct 29, 2008 12:40 PM PDT up 0 recs

I also think KC is poised to improve in 2009.

"While conservatives tell you 'leave things alone and no one will lose,' and liberals tell you 'interfere a lot and no one will lose,' baseball says 'someone will lose.' Not only says it - but insists upon it! ... Democracy is lovely, but baseball's more mature." BVCE supports SF Dugout and Manny Burriss.

by BaronVonCurrentEvents on Oct 29, 2008 11:17 PM PDT up 0 recs

Counterpoint

Dusty Baker.

by chilibean_3 on Oct 29, 2008 11:01 AM PDT 0 recs

Yeah

No Dusty Baker led team could ever make it to the world series!

Catcher are base running. Hitters are offense.

by thehavenot on Oct 29, 2008 1:07 PM PDT up 0 recs

Sometimes a great team can overcome a terrible manager.

by chilibean_3 on Oct 30, 2008 4:36 PM PDT up 0 recs

Texas Rangers.

Best offense in the game with the worst pitching rotation. If they spend on the FA market to bring in a quality arm and have a couple of starters break their way, I think they could get into the playoffs.

#1 JUDY STEFFES FAN
My favorite pie is (name of pie flavor)
Bay City Ball

by xanthan on Oct 29, 2008 11:03 AM PDT 0 recs

+1

When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realized God doesn’t work that way, so I stole one and prayed for forgiveness. - Emo Philips

Neglectful father of David Quinowski

by marcello on Oct 29, 2008 11:48 AM PDT up 0 recs

definitely possible

Although they’ll need $ to re-sign Bradley and I am sure they are looking to extend Hamilton’s contract.

Their best shot in my opinion will be to see what kind of pitchers they can net for Saltalamacchia and Laird as they shop those guys around. Then maybe make a splash in FA like AJ Burnett.

Still, I do think it is going to be a difficult task for them to bring pitching considering how little they have to build on in that rotation. They had one guy perform at an average or better rate and that was Sidney Ponson….yes, Sidney Ponson (and he only did it for 55 innings)

I guess they can only get better though, and as scary a thought as it is, so will their offense

Do you Wazzel?

by NeifiChicken on Oct 29, 2008 12:12 PM PDT up 0 recs

Losing Bradley would hurt but without looking at their specific numbers, I think they could have a top 3 offense again next year. Nelson Cruz could probably come pretty close to replacing Bradley. I’m a big Cruz fan.

As for their rotation, if they could get 100 ERA+ seasons from Padilla and Millwood (not a huge stretch) and sign an impact arm like Sabatha, Sheets, or Burnett the top of their rotation looks better.

#1 JUDY STEFFES FAN
My favorite pie is (name of pie flavor)
Bay City Ball

by xanthan on Oct 29, 2008 12:25 PM PDT up 0 recs

Cain for Josh Hamilton

I support Roger Kieschnick in his quest to becoming the best Kieschnick ever to play professional baseball.

by Takimoto on Oct 29, 2008 11:36 PM PDT up 0 recs

I hear he can play CF.

When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realized God doesn’t work that way, so I stole one and prayed for forgiveness. - Emo Philips

Neglectful father of David Quinowski

by marcello on Oct 30, 2008 10:13 AM PDT up 0 recs

Their great offense, and awful pitching

is partly because they have shown a willingness to compromise on D; to give up defense in exchange for offense.

ZIPS: Milledge: 466 HR, 485 2B, 2282 hits, 278-379-524

by rfloh on Oct 29, 2008 12:40 PM PDT up 0 recs

Yeah, great point. They will also need to upgrade the defense some.

#1 JUDY STEFFES FAN
My favorite pie is (name of pie flavor)
Bay City Ball

by xanthan on Oct 29, 2008 12:42 PM PDT up 0 recs

giants, obv

FIRE BRIAN SABEAN

by zenbitz on Oct 29, 2008 11:09 AM PDT 0 recs

CONTENDERS!

Sergio Romo will gladly hand you a bench to sit on / GIANTSPACE™ / Adopted brother of the AnVil

by SoFa King Mike on Oct 29, 2008 11:16 AM PDT up 0 recs

WEAK DIVISION!

Bonds stands alone.

Proud adopted parent of future big league slugger Thomas Neal

by nostocksjustbonds on Oct 29, 2008 11:58 AM PDT up 0 recs

MOVED IN FENCES!

Sergio Romo will gladly hand you a bench to sit on / GIANTSPACE™ / Adopted brother of the AnVil

by SoFa King Mike on Oct 29, 2008 12:23 PM PDT up 0 recs

3RD STARTER AT BEST!

The Basil Fawlty Moderating Strategy:
"We could run a nice blog here if we didn't have all these members getting in the way."

by WalrusMan on Oct 29, 2008 1:01 PM PDT up 0 recs

SPEED AND DEFENSE

I see the future, and it is Pablo

by CB30 on Oct 29, 2008 1:42 PM PDT up 0 recs

GRITTYGAMEYGOODNESS!

Brian Sabean figures that if he buys enough bottles, one of them is bound to have lightning in it.

by jasomack on Oct 29, 2008 4:20 PM PDT up 0 recs

WITH A CHEWY CENTER!

by Lars The Wanderer on Oct 29, 2008 4:20 PM PDT up 0 recs

FLUFFY NOUGAT!

by rightcenterfielder on Oct 29, 2008 4:53 PM PDT up 0 recs

SWIRLING CHOCOLATE

The Basil Fawlty Moderating Strategy:
"We could run a nice blog here if we didn't have all these members getting in the way."

by WalrusMan on Oct 29, 2008 8:20 PM PDT up 0 recs

ON A SESAME SEED BUN!

"Just another ahahahaha... laugher."

by capnk on Oct 29, 2008 10:40 PM PDT up 0 recs

LOUD NOISES!

I support Roger Kieschnick in his quest to becoming the best Kieschnick ever to play professional baseball.

by Takimoto on Oct 29, 2008 11:34 PM PDT up 0 recs

Blue Jays

Tough division to do it in, but that rotation could be the best in the AL next year.

Don't think, it could only hurt the ballclub.

by ResDog on Oct 29, 2008 11:22 AM PDT 0 recs

I like them, but...

concerns are obviously replacing or keeping AJ Burnett and I think Shawn Marcum is out for most of next year due to surgery (correct?)

Do you Wazzel?

by NeifiChicken on Oct 29, 2008 11:24 AM PDT up 0 recs

Yikes

And McGowan might not be ready at the start of the season. Ummm…

~~Blue Jays~~ Reds +1

Don't think, it could only hurt the ballclub.

by ResDog on Oct 29, 2008 11:59 AM PDT up 0 recs

I like this, too. They had an amazing defense and rotation this year but their offense was awful. Upgrades to their offense should go a long ways.

#1 JUDY STEFFES FAN
My favorite pie is (name of pie flavor)
Bay City Ball

by xanthan on Oct 29, 2008 12:44 PM PDT up 0 recs

I was thinking it could improve with Snider & Lind getting a lot of ABs + maybe a bounceback year for Vernon Wells.

Don't think, it could only hurt the ballclub.

by ResDog on Oct 29, 2008 2:09 PM PDT up 0 recs

Well

Last year it was the Rockies, this year the Rays, so naturally I guess it has to be the Royals, Rangers or Reds …

I’m going to go with the Royals. They have a few players that I like Gordon (despite last year’s numbers), Teahen, DeJesus and Aviles. Soria is lights out at the end of games, if they could get a big time starter (CC or possibly Peavy) they could see a pretty big improvement.

Do I think it’ll happen? No, but it wouldn’t totally surprise me.

Giants! Giants! HELP US GOD!

by j14 on Oct 29, 2008 11:48 AM PDT 0 recs

Sergio Romo will gladly hand you a bench to sit on / GIANTSPACE™ / Adopted brother of the AnVil

by SoFa King Mike on Oct 29, 2008 12:23 PM PDT up 0 recs

I guess the Pirates would work too

Giants! Giants! HELP US GOD!

by j14 on Oct 29, 2008 5:10 PM PDT up 0 recs

I picked the Reds to be this year's Rays this year

And the Rays to be this years Rays next year.

If only Vegas would let me change my picks around :(

Can't get enough of the Oakland A's or Golden State Warriors? Visit Oaktown Awesomer's and Golden Stat Hoops

by iamawesomer on Oct 29, 2008 12:19 PM PDT 0 recs

I wish the Expos were still around so I could pick them.

by satyricrash on Oct 29, 2008 12:42 PM PDT 0 recs

They are still around, we call them the “Nationals” now.

#1 JUDY STEFFES FAN
My favorite pie is (name of pie flavor)
Bay City Ball

by xanthan on Oct 29, 2008 12:43 PM PDT up 0 recs

UGH. Totally not the same.

oh, and QUEBEC MORE PRO-AMERICA THAN D.C.

by satyricrash on Oct 29, 2008 1:42 PM PDT up 0 recs

They’re in Washington now

I think they are in a AAAA league now

Sergio Romo will gladly hand you a bench to sit on / GIANTSPACE™ / Adopted brother of the AnVil

by SoFa King Mike on Oct 29, 2008 12:43 PM PDT up 0 recs

Now now Mike, xanthan just now posted that now.

The Basil Fawlty Moderating Strategy:
"We could run a nice blog here if we didn't have all these members getting in the way."

by WalrusMan on Oct 29, 2008 1:02 PM PDT up 0 recs

#1 JUDY STEFFES FAN
My favorite pie is (name of pie flavor)
Bay City Ball

by xanthan on Oct 29, 2008 1:07 PM PDT up 0 recs

That image..

Must be from one of the older albums by now.

The Basil Fawlty Moderating Strategy:
"We could run a nice blog here if we didn't have all these members getting in the way."

by WalrusMan on Oct 29, 2008 1:19 PM PDT up 0 recs

Well now. What number are they on now?

Sergio Romo will gladly hand you a bench to sit on / GIANTSPACE™ / Adopted brother of the AnVil

by SoFa King Mike on Oct 29, 2008 1:21 PM PDT up 0 recs

Now? They are up to 71 in the UK now. They also have all those spin off CDs now!

by chilibean_3 on Oct 29, 2008 2:02 PM PDT up 0 recs

That’s a lot of bongs.

There amass been plenty of articles written this spring about the stud shortstop Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum , as well as the fluid young outfielders and thirteen basemen Kevin Frandsen.
comics | art | Nattowear | McFAQ I & II

by Natto on Oct 29, 2008 2:02 PM PDT up 0 recs

In a bit of reverse psychology....

The Kansas City Devil Royals

Am I mad, in a coma, or back in time? Whatever's happened, it's like I've landed on a different planet. Now, maybe if I can work out the reason, I can get home.

by Lyle on Oct 29, 2008 4:19 PM PDT 0 recs