Crawford non-update

Nothing yet from the Rays on the status of LF Carl Crawford, who was to be examined today in St. Petersburg by hand specialist Dr. Doug Carlan.

There should be an update by early evening, as well as news on how he Rays will replace him however long he's out, which could be the rest of the season.

If the Rays make a trade, it's going to have to be for a player who has cleared waivers. Among the possibilities - and this is an inexact science - of players who could be available: Andruw Jones, Randy Winn, Jose Guillen, Dave Roberts, Juan Pierre, Mark Kotsay and Emil Brown. Gary Sheffield could also be in that pool.

Comments

[Took a step back]

I agree Kevin, it's the pitching that will carry this team and it's almost like the guys above have forgot they already have all season long.

If he's indeed done for the year then we need to replace CC's defense and half of his speed. And then we need to hope and pray Longo comes out okay on the other side.

If these two things go our way, we'll be fine. Haven't you guys seen the Yankmees? Now that's reason to be worried.

Personally, I'd take losing CC for the rest of the year over either Kaz, Game or Garza. Pitching wins championships.

If these two things pan out,

[Kevin]

How many wins will it take to get the Wild Card spot? 95 max? More like 92? The Rays need to go 22 and 23 to get in. They have 22 games against teams over 500. Let's say they win 11. That leaves 11 more out of the 23 against sub 500 teams. Just chill out. If Kaz can get close to where he should be and the pen stays strong, no problem.

[Chris]

What about Raul Ibanez? The Mariners made him available and he's clearly the best choice to play LF if Crawford is done for the season.

[Toby the Dog]

Mark Kotsay might be a good fit,however he has had some issues with his Back and could be a Injury risk.

[JeffC]

The Rays need to give Ruggiano more playing time. He's hit .290, though in limited at bats, and is not a defensive liability.

Quite frankly, I don't think there's any reasonable explanation for why he's not been given more playing time already.

Not sure what Dunn's making, but if the timing had been right, that would have been a nice grab.

My vote's for Ruggiano.

[chux2]

Zach,
Are you out of your mind? Gary has caused trouble everywhere. He likes Leyland better than any manager, but is still complaining. Plus, his bat speed is down, and he is a defensive liability. I would love to see JP here. Would we have to assume all his contract? JP is younger and has a lot of good years left. We got rid of DY and ED, we don't need any more problem children.

[dick]

would agree that Sheffield might like to play here and make it his "swan song" as he is getting long in the tooth. I think, being from the area, he would literally force himself to bring back his skills and play his butt off. Pierre for speed and defense but how about a name not mentioned--Milton Bradley--he is not happy in Texas and will be a free agent. He will be expensive and has baggage but his ability, both offensivelt and defensively, is tremendous AND Texas needs pitching..

[Zach]

The Rays need a right-handed bat, and it wouldn't be a bad idea to get a veteran guy with a little playoff run experience. That, combined with the fact that he's from St. Petersburg, makes Gary Sheffield the best choice in this situation. Remember how effective Sheffield was with the Marlins???

[Mike]

Two words for you all: Gabe Gross. Give him free reign of right field and see if his bat can be more consistent. Bring up ruggiano and platoon him with Eric hinske in Left. Rocco can spot replace Gross. Don't waist prospects on overpaid and under-productive old guys. We've got here this far with the guys we have. Their is no-one out there to replace CC. The guys we have are going to have to step it up( like they did sunday.) GO RAYS!

[Keith Olsen]

Also Pierre puts us almost 100 SB's through three players... Crawford Upton and Himself... Spread that out through the offense you get speed and the ability to play small ball at any point to steal bases and get in runs.

[keith olsen]

Pierre would be the best fit for us!!! I would think Pierre would be better for us for the fact that he would shore up our defense with a lot of speed once crawford returned. cc bj and jp left center and right field. would give us a true leadoff hitter and allow for us to move aki down in the order where he should be or put him in the two slot crawford in the three once he returns and move upton to the bottom to give him a little fire to hit better and give us speed all throughout our lineup use rocco as dh vs lefties and hinske as dh vs righties. perfect fit everyone else is ok and last I checked he has won a ring against the yankees with the marlins who were young just like the rays are now??? hmmm a little insight on what it is going to be like..great fit!!!

[jason]

What about Barry Bonds? He would be such a perfect fit, that it almost is direct evidence of collusion if the Rays DONT'T sign him.

[Common Sense]

Ruggiano is fine, but why didn't they call him up a few weeks ago to replace Gomes? Seems like there might be something the front office doesn't like about him.

I believe Kenny Lofton is still a free agent. You won't have to give up any prospects for him and he won't cost much money. His experience will be valuable. Lofton would become your leadoff batter followed by Aki in the 2 hole. That's a nice one-two punch at the top of the order.

[DIZ]

Bring back Randy Winn!!! Do you remember when he hit the inside the park GRAND SLAM against the Yankees? I think it was in September 2000, if I remember. Next to last day of the season.

[Ray F]

I like Ruggiano too. May as well promote from within. Adam Dunn was quickly nabbed by the D-Backs. Woulda looked nice patrolling LF for the rest of the season, but, Ruggiano should get a shot.

All those players mentioned seem more like the garbage truck backing up, except for Randy Winn. I don't know if we should trade prospects for him though.

[Commen Sense]

Why not sign Kenny Lofton. Won't be expensive and has plenty of playoff experience.

[Rug]

Justin Ruggiano is younger, cheaper and better than any of those options.

[My Scoresheet]

Sheffield - If they are looking for aging sluggers who use steroids, why not sign the best of them (Bonds) for league minimum?
Guillen and Brown - More trouble than they are worth. Guillen has been with 8 teams in 8 years for a reason. Brown is most famous for shooting a reporter in the eye with a BB gun, and promising to give hush money to a girl who accused him of sexual assault, and later being sued for breach of contract when he failed to pay up.
Andruw Jones - Great track record, but has been absolutely horrible for 2 years running, and is owed a lot of money next year. Might work, but it's a long-shot.
Pierre and Roberts - Both are good defenders and baserunners, but it's impossible to steal first base.
Winn - Probably the best of the group overall. Can play multiple outfield positions, and play them well. Has decent power, good speed, and consistently gets on base. Could be good fit. He is also signed at a reasonable rate for next year.
Kotsay - A poor man's Randy Winn. Not horrible as a stopgap.

[Gene]

Thanks Marc. I was just checking to see if there was any news. Hopefully this will be a "rest it for two weeks" thing, which should help his legs as well! Given that we just got Rocco back, if we have to pick up someone else, would be nice for old time sake to pick up Randy Winn. He's probably the best fit on your list for our locker room

[Jim]

Shannon Stewart was also released today, though I wouldn't recommend him. The problem with most of these guys is that they're owed a ton of money. It would be nice to get Randy Winn back, but he's making $8.8 million/year. How much of that would we have to pay?