Rays Avoid Arbitration With Garza

Yikes. I thought the Angels were having a poor offseason. The Rays continued their "it's not really a fire sale" fire sale by dealing pitcher Matt Garza to the Cubs before he could hit arbitration for the second time. Rays fans, both of them, already had to deal with losing Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena and Rafael Soriano to free agency. Luckily for the Rays, it sounds like Jose Canseco is ready for his prodigious return to the baseball world and that just sounds like fun for the whole family.

What it means for the Rays
Uh, believe it or not, it doesn't mean that much. Garza is a fine pitcher but I don't think they miss a beat plugging Jeremy Hellickson into the rotation full time. The only fallout to the Rays rotation from this trade might be the removal of Jake Shields from the trading block. The Rays get Chris Archer, Brandon Guyer, Robinson Chirinos, Hak-Ju Lee and Sam Fuld from the Cubs to bolster their farm system.

Archer was the Cubs third best prospect according to Baseball Prospectus (or Kevin Goldstein if you're keeping score at home) but has some command issues to deal with before becoming a star. Lee was the fifth best prospect but his future short stop endeavors were blocked by Sterlin Castro similar to his new blockage at short by Reid Brignac. Guyer and Chirinos were 11 and 12 respectively but BP expects me to pay for any insight into them. Jerks, trying to make money and whatnot.

What it means for the Cubs
Garza jumps into the mix as the number two starter for the Cubs with Ryan Dempster and Carlos Zambrano. And one of those guys is going to have to the ace. My guess is that the Cubs rehash how much money they'll have to eat to move Zambrano and his psychiatry bills. It doesn't seem like a big hit to their minor league system that was already devoid of any big impact guys.

Matt Garza Is Pretty Cool

This past Monday, Matt Garza threw the season's 5th no hitter against the Tigers. He faced the minimum by doubling off his only walk of the game. It would have been an even more impressive feat if it had come against a team with more than two major league hitters in the lineup. Still, it was the Tampa Bay Rays first no hitter and Garza was quick to thank his teammates...

“Becoming the first Rays player ever to pitch a no-hitter has been a great experience. I really couldn’t have done it without the support from my team. To thank them for their nine innings of hard work, I decided to give them a personalized embroidered bag and bottle of Crown Royal Black. That way, we can all celebrate together when enjoying the new whisky,” said Garza.

I like Matt Garza a whole lot more now.



You have to appreciate the pitcher's taste in adult beverage. The bag is a pretty sweet touch. More importantly, how cool are the Rays. Now I just imagine them hanging out in the lockeroom after games sipping whiskey and smoking cigars while sexually harassing female employees. Or I'm thinking of Mad Men. Either way, still cool.

The celebratory booze might just be a stocking stuffer too since Garza is reportedly finalizing a "separate surprise." If I were a Ray, I'd be hoping for a pygmy giraffe from the DirecTV commercial.

Shot Of The Night

Shot Of The Night is Off Base Percentage's toast to a player who had an exceptionally good or bad night. There's always a reason to drink.

Shot of the night is late to work again because someone was up too late playing vodka-pong. New Orleans is not a good place to hang out if you already like the drink a little. The shot of the night is obviously a No Hitter: 1 oz Jagermeister® herbal liqueur, 2-3 oz Stolichnaya® vodka, 1 can Amp Overdrive and it's obviously in honor of Matt Garza.

Garza tossed the 5th effing no-hitter of the season last night. Are hitters even trying anymore? By the end of the year, no-hitters will be all worn out just like your mom. Garza faced the minimum even though he walked one to barely miss the prefect game. Max Scherzer had his own no-hitter broken up in the 6th by a Matt Joyce grand slam.

Honorable Mention: Matt Wieters
Last year's mega-prospect showed some promising signs of life after freshly coming off the disabled list. The switch hitting catcher went 2-2 with 2 home runs and 2 walks. I, of course, left him on my DL spot on my fantasy team.