Gimenez looks like he has possibilities.
Beyond that ... think ... "water over the dam" or "water under the bridge".
The Rays' player selection and development brain trust totally screwed-up as regards Posey ... but they've probably made up for it in terms of some of their other selections ... maybe especially as regards pitchers. (?)
Well ... Molina is batting about 55 points higher right now than Shoppach did last season. (?)
BUT ... I believe Shoppach is on a one-year, $1.2 million deal with the Red sox ... whereas Molina is, I believe, at $1.5 million with the Rays ... plus a $300k club option at the same price for 2013. (?) So ... Molina does cost more than Shoppach!
Maybe his best place is as a bullpen catcher or coach. (?)
So far ... although there's only a very small sample ... seems like Gimenez might be OK defensively and at the plate and, maybe with more ML-level playing time, he gets better. (?) (Of course, that says nothing about his game-calling knowledge and ability!)
Time will tell.
Under the old regime they also passed on a guy named Pujols because, according to the scout (no longer with the Rays) "he hasn't got a ballplayer body, looks clumsy and won't hit ML pitching for power or average." So after to tryouts they said "no thanks!"...............
Every team has made blunders like that over the years, it's not just a Rays thing! What would the Mets have been and Oakland not have been had the Mets taken Reggie Jackson as the #1 pick in '66 instead of Steve Chilicutt (who?)
Yeah ... but Florida baseball fans had been hearing about Posey's exploits at FSU for two or three years ... and were undoubtedly much more in tune with (and much more informed about) his exploits and potential than Rays' baseball executives and player selection people who are actually from out of state.
In this particular case, not drafting Posey was a bigger than typical "blunder" by the Rays.
But, as I've said ... toemaytoe ... or ... toemottoe. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
I never said "colossal blunder"!
What I did say was that not selecting Posey was a "bigger than typical blunder" ... "bigger" because his immediate success was phenomenal ... because he clearly had a "bigger" immediate impact than any other player in that draft ... and because of his FSU exploits ... he very likely would have had a "bigger" effect in terms of putting fannies in the seats than will Tim Beckham.
I also never said that not drafting Posey put the Rays' success or failure "on the line".
BUT ... I did say ... "Beauty" ... in this case, the potential of an MLB draftee ... "is in the mind of the beholder".
And, from my point of view, which is pretty obvious from the context of my post, MY opinion on the matter was primarily related to the "fans' perspective". For a college player (much like Pat Burrell during his years at UMiami) ... Posey, while at FSU, had developed a pretty good fan base throughout Florida among die-hard baseball fans ... and ... with his nearly superhuman record as a player at FSU ... and the number of national awards which he won (repeatedly) ... the Rays' selection of him would have been a "natural" ... and probably should have been a no-brainer.
Therefore ... as far as the Rays' involvement goes herein ... I find it a little bigger than the typical blunder ... typical blunders often made by the player selection and development people of all MLB teams.
Personally, I believe that folks don't use the word "gargantuan" enough.
As in... "that was a gargantuan mac' n' cheese".
My bad...you said "typical blunder", not "colossal blunder". Regardless, you are in effect saying that the RFO made a "normal mistake" and I am saying that it was neither typical(normal) nor was it a mistake(blunder). Fans don't have the requisite savvy or information available with which to make judgements....opinions yes, judgements, no. A "blunder" is 2 +2 = 5 and selecting Beckham is 2 +(you don't know) = (you don't know).
In my remarks, "jobs on the line" was referring to the fact that fans have nothing at stake and can make any call they like "after the fact", but the execs responsible for making the calls "in the moment" are, in fact, held accountable for the long-term success and/or failure of those calls.
Your theory about Posey's ability to "put people in the seats" has some merit because of the FSU connection, but we both know there are many other, important considerations to be made in the selection process. One of which is attempting to forecast the outcome and that outcome is yet to be known. In the short term Posey would have been a "no brainer" as you say, but the RFO seems to have "made their bones" on building through their system, so any determination regarding the Beckham selection must wait a couple years before it can be accurately evaluated.
Who knows what tomorrow brings ... but ... right now ... Posey was clearly the better choice ... simply because he's been helping his ML team win for two years already ... with a .294, 22 HRs, 88 RBIs and 172 hits last season ... while Beckham has been and is still playing minor league ball (and the Rays are still woeful at catcher).
In the end, as always, it's all about ROI ... and paying off sooner is generally better than paying off later. So ... the "blunder" here is simply not taking the guy who might have put more people in the seats sooner ... who might have substantively helped the ML team win sooner ... and the guy who might have specifically filled a now four or five years' old need of the Rays some two years ago.
As I've said ... much of talent selection is subjective ... and plenty of MLB draftees never actually make the majors leagues at all.
For me, and without any doubt whatsoever, I would have selected Posey before Beckham.