But, according to ESPN the Magazine baseball writer Jorge Arangure, Jr., at least a couple of big league scouts who recently watched Anderson work out came away unimpressed.  In his ESPN Insider blog, Arangure quotes one baseball executive as saying:

“He was mediocre at best. Very average tools.”

And, in more detail, there’s this from a scout:

“Leslie showed a below average arm while throwing from centerfield and first base. He ran badly from home to first base. During batting practice he hit several line drives, but showed no power. Defensively, he’ll need to play either first base or left field and hit with a very high average and lots of home runs, and right now I don’t project that he could. I’d have to think he needs to have another showcase since he didn’t hit against live pitching, but instead just had batting practice.”

Of course, none of this matters.  Yet.  He will arrive in Port Charlotte any day now and should begin to display what kind of talent he brings.  While his agent believes Anderson could make the majors out of camp, I’d have to say a better bet is to see him start his career in Durham.

 

Last season, Willy Aybar proved that he’s, at best, a corner infielder and designated hitter.  He couldn’t play second base to save his life. 

To me, Willy Aybar equals Hank Blalock.  Of course, Aybar is a switch hitter while Blalock bats from the left side.  But, to be fiscally savvy, shouldn’t the Rays put their toe in the water and see if Aybar has any value on the trade market?

This season, Aybar will make $1.35 million while Blalock will earn $950K with another $325K in incentives.  If the decision is that Hank stays, you would have to assume that he’ll hit the incentives.  Regardless, it’s a savings.  Beyond that, Willy has a club option for $2.2 million for next year.  Do you really think the Rays have that salary on their radar screen going into 2011?  I don’t think so. 

Statistically, Hank Blalock projects more power.  Willy Aybar is probably the better everyday hitter.  But, in the end, I still say they are the same player.  If, today, it’s all about winning in 2010, an argument can be made that you’d rather have Hank Blalock on your roster than Willy Aybar. 

Stuart Sternberg’s proclomation that salary will decline in 2011 makes me think that every second of every day will be spent thinking on the future.  Willy Aybar is probably not part of the future.   If the Rays can get something of value for him today, I’m thinking the Rays will pursue it.

Price told the St. Petersburg Times’ Marc Topkin:

“I don’t really remember what happened to be honest. It could have been a lot worse.”

***

And then there’s Desmond Jennings.  For the second time this spring, Jennings will lose time to injury.  A week ago, he sat out with a sore elbow from being hit by a pitch.  And yesterday, he sprained his wrist sliding into second base against the Pittsburgh Pirates.  He is in a splint and is expected to miss about a week of camp.

Coming into spring, most felt he was a longshot to make the opening day roster.  This should pretty much cement that.

“We try to get our own seeds, throw them in the dirt, watch them rise up and become something good. I like that.”

Followed up by this to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times:

“I should have been an agronomy major at some point.”

In context, he’s referring to the Rays’ home-grown talent that exists in their farm system.  Centered around the belief that ownership will significantly cut payroll after this season, the youth like Desmond Jennings and Jeremy Hellickson should play a big part in keeping this team competitive.

I hope this deal is cheap.  I’m just not sure how much Hank Blalock adds to the Rays.  Sure, he’s nice insurance if Pena or Longoria goes down.  But, is he appreciably different than Dan Johnson? 

***

Matt Lutovsky wrote a piece in The Sporting News with this as the first sentence.

We’ve introduced you to Sean Rodriguez before, but that was when he was a 2B prospect with the Angels. Now, he’s an OF prospect with the Rays.

It’s great to watch the national spin on what’s happening here in Tampa Bay.  I’m not sure Sean Rodriguez really fits into the outfield mix.  But, I’m sure Joe Maddon’s looking at his versatility.  And, I’m confident that if he fits in on a consistent basis, it will be at second base.

***

This from the Globe’s Nick Cafardo:

Privately, some Rays personnel hope he (BJ Upton) becomes like his little brother, Justin Upton, who signed a $51.25 million, six-year deal with Arizona last week.

What does that mean?  Privately?  Some?  Wouldn’t everyone in the organization want BJ to have a season like little brother Justin had last year and be willing to talk openly about it?  Yes, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that everyone associated with the Rays are hoping BJ hits .300 with 26 home runs, 86 RBI and 20 SB. 

Cafardo does a thing called “Updates on nine” every week.  This was #9.  It’s almost like he got through eight and didn’t know what else to write.

My only question is, which division would have the Phillies, Marlins, Blue Jays and Orioles? I still think this would be great for the Rays as we would not have to deal with the Yankees anymore. The question is, would it be good for the Rays ticket sales. The Rays sell a lot of tickets to Yankees fans when they are in town, so it is likely the Rays would lose some ticket sales.

His piece also contains this quote:

From a National League scout: “I know Wade Davis and David Price have tremendous talent, but learning to pitch in the American League East is different from any other division. Let’s see what those Baltimore and Toronto young pitchers do. We’ll see Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes make a jump soon. Clay Buchholz may be the best of them all.”

I have to disagree. The Rays have the best young talent in the rotation of all the teams in the AL East except maybe the O’s. I think it has already showed that Davis and Price can make the adjustment just like Shields, Garza, and Niemann did. I would have to take Davis or Price any day over Buchholz and we will see what this scout has to say at the end of the season.

Offensively, the Rays managed only five hits.  In the battle for second base, Sean Rodriguez hit a solo home run while Reid Brignac drove in the other Rays run on a single.

Adding insult to the opener, ex-Rays minor league first baseman Rhyne Hughes hit a pair of two-run home runs.  The Rays traded Hughes to Baltimore last season in exchange for catcher Gregg Zaun.

Says Rocco:

“I’m going to have fun with it. I think I’m going to have fun being out on the field again and having the Rays jersey on and going out and trying to do anything I can to help the young players in the organization.”  I don’t think I’d want to do it in any other organization than this. I feel like this is my home.”  

Nick Cafardo has a long preview of the 2010 Rays in the Boston Globe.  If he spent much time in the Rays camp, he didn’t come up with too much new stuff.  Of course, it mentions the pending free agency of Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena. 

He mentions that the Rays have Desmond Jennings waiting in the wings for an outfield spot, but settles for Ben Zobrist as Pena’s possible replacement.  Personally, I don’t see taking a versatile fielder like Zobrist and planting him at first.  Perhaps that’s just me. 

***

On a side note, the Globe’s Christopher L. Gasper takes a light-hearted look at the phenomenon of the UZR (Ultimate Zone Rating).     In talking with  a few Red Sox players, he discovered this:

“I don’t even know what it is.  Hopefully, my UZR is sick.” — Kevin Youkilis

“Whatever it is. I know I had a pretty good one. It’s got to be pretty good.”  — Mike Cameron

“I still don’t really know what it is.” – Jacoby Ellsbury

***

USA Today’s Fred Goodall talks about the upcoming season of DH Pat Burrell.   There are a lot of reasons that can explain the poor season Burrell had last year.  Injuries, new experiences in the American League and at DH are a few of them.  But, by most accounts, Pat the Bat has arrived in camp optimistic of a turnaround.

“You can’t spend a whole lot of time thinking about the past…You want to put it behind you, but you also want to be able to build from it.  I’ve had bad seasons before, and it is extra motivation for you to come in and give it that much more focus and determination to turn things around.”

Some players have bad weeks.  They go into slumps.  I’m not sure it’s comforting for Burrell to admit this wasn’t his first “bad season”.  Not when you’re being paid $16 million over two seasons to have something better than bad.

This is a great motto for the season because this is the year. The Rays need the playoffs and World Series now. The front office have spent the money on this season, so the players need to perform to make it happen, or in other words, WIN.

Where can I get my t-shirt?