RealGM

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4429766

The Los Angeles Angels, looking to bolster their rotation for the last five weeks of the season and in October, acquired left-hander Scott Kazmir of the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday.

"This is a surprise. I had heard rumors before, but it's hard to believe that it is now official," Kazmir said after Tampa Bay's 6-2 loss to Detroit. "It's a disappointment because of all the relationships I've built in the organization and the city, but you can't control the business side of the game."

The Angels and Rays had extensive conversations before the trade deadline about Kazmir, who is 8-7 with a 5.92 ERA.

Tampa Bay receives two minor leaguers -- left-hander Alex Torres and infielder Matt Sweeney -- and a player to be named later in the deal.

Kazmir has lost a considerable amount of velocity and doesn't project as the ace the Rays would be paying him to be over the next few years. That said, this deal should still give the Angels the depth they've sought all year, and they're more positioned to take on a contract like Kazmir's than Tampa Bay. If Kazmir can get back his velocity this could be a great deal for the Angles - time will tell.

10 K's in his last outing. I cummed.

I will miss Matt Sweeney though. Dude can flat out rake. I think the PTBNL might be Jordan Walden.

The Money:

09:$6M, 10:$8M, 11:$12M, 12:$13.5M club option ($2.5M buyout)

Also a bounce for being traded.

Kazmir has lost a considerable amount of velocity and doesn't project as the ace the Rays would be paying him to be over the next few years. That said, this deal should still give the Angels the depth they've sought all year, and they're more positioned to take on a contract like Kazmir's than Tampa Bay. If Kazmir can get back his velocity this could be a great deal for the Angles - time will tell.

Huh? His velocity was down the first couple of months of the season, but his last few starts it's been the same as it's been the previous couple seasons.

bigboy1234 wrote:

Kazmir has lost a considerable amount of velocity and doesn't project as the ace the Rays would be paying him to be over the next few years. That said, this deal should still give the Angels the depth they've sought all year, and they're more positioned to take on a contract like Kazmir's than Tampa Bay. If Kazmir can get back his velocity this could be a great deal for the Angles - time will tell.

Huh? His velocity was down the first couple of months of the season, but his last few starts it's been the same as it's been the previous couple seasons.

I wouldn't say it was the same as the previous couple of seasons but it has improved from the start of the season.

His average velo:

August: 91.7
2008: 91.7
2007: 92.0
2006: 91.9

I'm not really seeing how his velocity is different, other than obviously the very small decrease from 2007 to 2008.

Kazmir at times struggled to reach 90 earlier in the year.

He has pitched fairly well his last 5-6 starts, and had his best outing of the year this week where he was dominant for the first time in a long time. In his last start Kazmir was hitting 94 regularly.

His problem for quite a while has been command of everything. Throws a ton of pitches and has not been able to punch out hitters. His last couple of starts somehow found a change up (a pitch he never had much success with).

He hasn't completed an 8 inning start in 2 years and rarely sees the 7th.

He usually relied on fastball/slider.....but couldn't locate his slider the past 2 years.

He could be a bargain if the recent Kazmir becomes the norm.

Sorry to see him go at this time, but the Rays have plenty of arms to replace him with down the road.

The 2008 tampa bay rays, are one of the greatest turnaround stories in baseball history. but a season after the breakthrough, the Rays failed to draw more fans , It's evident now the tampa bay area cant support a major league franchise....

needless to say i dont like the trade for the rays, the angels on the other hand they addressed one of their biggest needs another left-handed pitcher

I believe the Rays are ahead of last years pace, and have a chance to draw just over 2 million.

The Rays were averaging over 24k up until a week or so ago.

Attendance will only increase in September.

For those that do not know, there is a logistical problem for people to get to the Trop on weeknight games (major body of water and traffic....not an excuse, just the truth).

To say that the area will not support baseball is erroneous.

As for the Kazmir trade, it's strictly about money. This move is typical of any small market revenue team.

IMO, unfortunate......but reality.

When are they moving from the Trop to the new sailboat stadium?

They aren't.

The sailboat stadium deal was sunk.

craig01 wrote:They aren't.

The sailboat stadium deal was sunk.

That sucks. Plans looked beautiful.

It may resurface down the road, but with the economy so bad it'll be a long time.