“The Rays did what a lot of teams were thinking of doing,” said an AL GM. “It’s really a no-risk signing considering the money. If he can get back to what he was and he can put his past behind — and I know that’s a lot of ifs — this guy has great stuff.”

The Rays are certainly taking a risk- especially by their standards, 3.25 million dollars isn’t nothing- but the upside is a pitcher worth far more than the money he’s making and a major contributor to one of the best pitching staffs in baseball. No one knows for sure how Hernandez will do next season, but the early inclinations are that the Rays calculated gamble on Hernandez could pay big dividends.

David Laurlia of Fangraphs interviewed 121 different people around baseball in 2012, and as 2012 comes to a close, Laurlia listed what he thought were the best quotes he received in 2012. Quite a few of them involved the Rays.

“I went through my numbers and found that my third baseman had made five plays for me. Over five months, that’s one play per month. And I was getting crushed in the six hole. I was thinking to myself, ‘What is the point of having a third baseman out there?’”- Burke Badenhop, April 2012

Yeah, sorry about that, Burke. Especially on the Rays in 2012, the defense was iffy at shortstop until Ben Zobrist moved there in the latter part of the season, and Badenhop picked the wrong year to be a groundball-heavy pitcher on the Rays. Even more unfortunate, is that the Rays have significantly improved their infield defense for next season, but now Badenhop is on the Brewers.

“We are typically more aggressive than anybody else. We had a player here, Fernando Perez, who said, ‘We err on the side of aggressiveness.’ We harp on that in spring training and all year long. Don’t be afraid to mistakes. We value mistakes, as long as we learn from them. And we’re going to make mistakes.” – Dave Martinez, June 2012

That’s Dave Martinez talking about one of the basic tenets of the Rays’ team philosophy. It’s always frustrating when the Rays make outs on the basepaths- that time when Carl Crawford was thrown out by the Yankees’ Greg Golson trying to go 2nd to 3rd on a flyball to end the game immediately comes to mind- but at the same time, the Rays aggressiveness in terms of stolen bases and taking extra bases helps them squeeze everything they can out of an offense that has never been elite and without those additional runs they would be in trouble.

“That was how I hit when I was 12 and it was how I hit when I was in high school. For the most part, hitting is a reactionary thing where guys are going to do what comes natural to them. It’s hard to truly make guys change the way they swing the bat.” – Rocco Baldelli, June 2012

That’s something that’s hard for fans to grasp- you can’t do the same thing for your entire life and suddenly change it. If a hitter has a flawed approach at the plate, it’s very difficult to correct it, and on the opposite edge of the spectrum, it’s very difficult to pitch when your velocity wanes and you can’t approach hitters the same way. There’s a lot that you can coach, but so much of the game simply comes naturally.

“You want to hit the bottom side of the ball and you want to create backspin. You want to have a short swing to the ball. I don’t really know if hitting home runs is mechanical or not. I just think it’s just that you have the ability to hit home runs better than some people.” – Wil Myers, September 2012

Speaking about more of the same, Wil Myers is one special player. Whatever hitters need to hit home runs, he has it.

“It’s crazy. We play against the Rays — geez, a million times — and B.J. Upton comes up, and I’ve taken hits away from him up the middle and in the hole. He’s taken hits away from me, too, in that gap and in that gap. Now it’s kind of like a game between us.” – Dustin Pedroia, November 2012

Pretty ironic to finish this with a quote from a Red Sox player, but at the same time one of the biggest adjustments for Rays fans next season will be moving on from B.J. Upton. We know that he could never deliver on the talent we know he has in him, but everything about him from his speed to his power to his playfulness and the entire way he conducted himself on the field, and most importantly, his ability to put the team on his back when it mattered most played a critical role in all the success the Rays have experienced the last five years and we can wish B.J. only the best in Atlanta as the Rays try to continue what he helped start in Tampa Bay.

Badenhop performed well for the Rays out of the bullpen, coming in and generating needed ground balls to help get out of late inning trouble. A former starter for the Florida Marlins, he transitioned to the bullpen full time in 2010. Acquired in a trade for Jake Jefferies almost a year ago, he produced his best season in the majors this past year, producing a 3-2 record with a 3.03 ERA. In 62.1 innings, spanning 66 games, he struck out 42 batters while walking only 12 batters. Badenhop’s true value, however, comes from his ability to generate ground balls. In 2012, he produced a ground ball in just under 53% of his opponents plate appearances.

Mondesi, although he was not considered one of the Brewers top thirty prospects, is a bit intriguing. For the Brewers rookie league team, he produced a .231/.282/.374 batting line, with 5 home runs and 32 RBI. Mondesi also had 12 doubles, 6 triples, and 8 stolen bases. However, he has displayed a tendency to strike out in bunches, striking out 87 times in 273 at bats. He also did not walk a lot, with only 14 walks for the season. Like his father, Mondesi also has a nice arm, with 11 outfield assists last year.

In fact, Mondesi Jr, although still a raw talent, could develop into a solid major league piece. While some scouting reports compare him favorably to his father, Mondesi Jr does have a long way to go before one could consider him as that type of a player. However, his power/speed blend, and his plus arm in the outfield, do make him an interesting prospect.

Even though Badenhop was solid for the Rays in 2012, his loss likely will not keep the Rays from contending in 2013. To get a player with the potential that Mondesi Jr has for a middle reliever is the type of move that can potentially help the Rays develop an impact bat. While this move may not pay dividends in the near future, it could turn out great down the road.

The Rays could not duplicate their hot start to Friday’s win, as they left two men on base in the 1^st inning. Texas did stay hot in the 1^st, as Josh Hamilton singled home Ian Kinsler and Elvis Andrus with no outs in the inning. Hamilton reached 3^rd after a stolen base and wild pitch, but was stranded there.

Tampa got on the board in the top of the 2^nd, as Matt Joyce homered to right field to make it a one run game; the Rays would not get another hit until the 6^th inning. Joyce walked in the 4^th inning, and Jennings walked and stole second in the 5^th inning, but the bats were quiet during the middle innings. Niemann settled down nicely after the 1^st inning as well, issuing a walk in each the 3^rd and 4^th innings, and getting a 1-2-3 inning in the 5^th.

Niemann was unable to escape the 6^th inning in his start tonight – he has yet to all season – but it was not his fault this time. He entered the 6^th with having thrown 91 pitches and gave up back to back singles to Hamilton and Adrian Beltre. He then made a nice stab at a hopper up the middle by Michael Young to start a 1-6-3 double play. With Hamilton at third with two outs, Nelson Cruz hit a ground ball to short stop Elliot Johnson‘s right. Johnson was almost playing in the outfield grass, giving him no margin for error. He couldn’t field the grounder cleanly and Cruz reached first safely on the error, bringing home Hamilton. Niemann’s night was over, as Jake McGee came in to end the inning. He ended up going 5.2 innings, giving up five hits, two earned runs, three walks, and striking out four. I wrote yesterday how Niemann has been erratic in his career, with both good and bad stretches; he has started the 2012 season mediocrely consistent.

The Rays were down two runs going into the top of the 7^th, but went down in order. What chance of coming back in the game was squashed as Burke Badenhop entered the game. Badenhop had a 4.00 ERA entering the day, better than most Rays’ relievers, but he could not keep the game in reach. He got the first batter to strike out, but then gave up a double and a single. On a pitch to Andrus, catcher Jose Molina tried to imitate his younger brother Yadier and threw down to 3^rd to try and pick off Mitch Moreland. The throw was low and got away from Longoria, as Moreland scored on the error. With two out and a runner on 2^nd, Joe Maddon decided to intentionally walk Josh Hamilton. This lineup is so deadly because anyone can make you pay, and Adrian Beltre did just that as he deposited a line drive into the right field seats.

The Rays did get one run back in the 8^th after a Desmond Jennings single, stolen base, and a Longoria double; however, it was not nearly enough as the Rangers held onto the 7-2 lead to win the game.

Josh Hamilton and Adrian Beltre combined for four hits, three runs scored, and five RBI. Longoria had another nice night at the plate, getting two hits and an RBI, and Joyce continued to hit the ball well, hitting his 5^th home run of the season. Badenhop’s one bad inning is another reminder of the struggles that the bullpen has had this season. David Price looks to win the series for the Rays tomorrow night at 8:00 against lefty Derek Holland.