Well, the big boys in the front office have about a week left to decide if they are going to exercise their right to keep Aki and pay him his 3.5m or just let him go.
I really think that this decision has more implications than just a thumbs up or thumbs down appearance.

By signing Aki, you show the fans that you are interested in putting the best product on the field, regardless of cost. It shows that you are willing to stay the course and let one of the best double play tandems in baseball continue to gel. It shows that you value the incalculable lift that the veteran leadership and experience that Aki can provide means more than getting a bargain in his place.
It shows that you realize that Zobrist, although a pleasant and capable PLATOON PLAYER, is not the right fit for an everyday second baseman and that the upcoming prospects in AA and AAA are not yet ready for prime time.

If you let him go and try to pass this off as anything more than just saving $3.5m, then I am deeply disappointed in the direction this team is heading.

KEEP AKI!!!!
KEEP AKI!!!!
KEEP AKI!!!!

Totally agree with you. Aki is a very intrigal part of this team and can turn the DP with the best of them.
Unfortunately, the Rays are a small market team that must make decisions from a money standpoint.
You will find a lot of people that do not appreciate Aki's abilities. Many think because he is a singles and doubles hitter that he is not a threat at the plate.
Let's hope the Rays sign him to keep our infield intact.

With all do respect, I think you are completely wrong. Aki is not a huge name, fans will not bawl their eyes out if he leaves. Before and after his injury this year, I think Aki's defense was poor. Also, Zobrist has proven that, yes, he is able to play full time. So, put Joyce at right and Zobrist at second. The Rays cannot afford to pay for players like Aki. Finally, I want to say, that Aki is not a .300 hitter, more like a .260 hitter.

If you look at his numbers he is a .280 hitter, not a .260 hitter. Not a lot of power but hits well with RISP, an area the Rays admittedly need help with. He strikes out 1 in 5 at bats, which for the Rays is low compared to the rest of the squad. Sean Rodriguz, the young guy they got in he trade, strikes out 1 out of 3 at bats, and that is in AAA ball, not up here with the big boys.

Aki is an above average ball player.

Expendable...

I'm a fan of signing Aki and then trading him away, this way we get something in return. We have two options at 2nd if we lose Aki, Zobrist or Rodriguez. We gain more offensive power from both of those guys and wouldn't lose a whole lot, if any, on defense. Maybe we can pick up a catcher or bullpen help from a team desperate for a 2nd basemen, both HUGE needs for the Rays.

The only downsides I can see to signing Aki are the money aspect and the future of the team. There are only so many at bats, even in the long season played. There are only so many innings and so many roster spots. Keeping Aki will probably mean trading away his eventual replacement. I love watching Aki, and I think his defensive skills are superb. He is a solid hitter as well. The big consideration is where he is in his career. He peaked well before he ever reached American baseball. He still plays very good, but is one or maybe two years of Aki worth letting go of our other talented second basemen? Its a very hard call, much like the decision Green Bay had to make a couple years ago. I think if they can find a way to keep the young guys, and Aki meets partway on a reasonable 1-year contract with option for second year, it would be worth keeping him. On the other hand, if keeping Aki means Brignac, Rodriguez, and Zobrist all get displaced and someone has to go to preserve roster spots, I think the best decision is to let Aki go. Either way, he holds tremendous value, so sign him now at the reduced wage he said he'd take. Then, either keep or trade him, depending on how the rest of the roster spots fill out. I'm glad I don't have to make that choice!

No one is irreplacable. Everyone is expendable. I was just correcting the earlier poster who thought he was a .260 hitter.

He is above average for the league. How much that is worth for the Rays is the question. I am hoping the plan is not to put Rodriguez there.

Time will tell.

Rodriguez and Zobrist aren't going anywhere, but Brignac is expendable. The whole reason to sign Aki IMO is to trade him, nothing more and nothing less. I'm comfortable with either Rodriguez or Zobrist taking over at 2nd, Brignac not so much.

I don't see the Rays signing Aki, they are more likely to execute his buyout. Then, they may sign him for a lesser deal. Zobrist can excel as the super utility guy as he did last year, but as a full time second baseman he lacks the range and footwork that Aki possesses.

The Rays must have players that are at least above average in the field and at the plate, at least among their regulars. The best way to illustrate this is with an example. The Rays couldn't have a guy like Johnny Damon on their team. He sure can hit, but in the field he's a defensive liability with that weak arm. Nearly every other left fielder in the league would have thrown out Ryan Howard at the plate last night.

This manuevering of players and contracts is a reality for the Rays.

I'm telling you, Zobrist can play second on a daily basis. He is good enough at fielding.

I wouldn't be surprised to see the Rays go in that (Zobrist's) direction.

My opinion is that Zobrist is a big guy, and doesn't have the quick feet in the pivot that Aki has. Zo can field the ball just fine, but I think Aki's range is better too. I think the Rays like what Aki brings to the table, both in the field and at the plate.

Eh, we'll see, but like I said I wouldn't be surprised if you turn out to be right.

Rodriguez is a downgrade at the plate. Strikes out too much. Way too much. There is enough of that going on in the line up now without adding him to the mix.

We'll have to wait to see what happens in ST but I would not trade Aki thinking Sean can just step in. He needs to prove himself first.

Hmmm, I'm definitely not listening to your theory since it's completely wrong. You should have done some research before you made your comment.

Aki's numbers(averages):

AB's- 1349
AVG- .281
RBI- 104(RBI every 13 AB's)
HR- 14(HR every 96.4 AB's)
2B- 67(2B every 20.1 AB's)
3B- 21(3B every 64.2 AB's)
BB- 152(BB every 8.9 AB's)
SO- 289(SO every 4.7 AB's)
OPS- .747
SB- 29(9.7 SB's/year)

Rodriguez's numbers(averages):

AB's- 2748
AVG- .281
RBI- 451(RBI every 6.1 AB's)
HR- 127(HR every 21.6 AB's)
2B- 162(2B every 17.0 AB's)
3B- 30(3B every 92 AB's)
BB- 357(BB every 7.7 AB's)
SO- 681(SO every 4.0 AB's)
OPS- .881
SB- 104(14.9 SB's/year)

So tell me again how Rodriguez is a downgrade at the plate?

Well to start with you are comparing apples to oranges. Aki plays with the Big Boys. Sean plays in the minors. Not exactly the same caliber of pitching. He isn't facing CC, Doc, Beckett, Lester etc.

Secondly, according to his numbers for 2009, in AAA he had 385 at bats, 55 BB and struck out 122 times, which a strike out rate a bit higher than your numbers. Striking out one out of every 3.1 at bats and walking one of avery 7 at bats. Quite a bit different than the SO of one of every 4.7 and BB of 8.9 at bats for Aki. And again, this is in the minors for Rodriguez. Majors for Aki.

The Rays have enough guys striking out too often. Give him some time to get that straightened out before he gets a plumb job in the majors. Hopefully the Durham pitching coach can help him because the new pitching coach for the Rays has nothing on his resume to indicate that he will be a great help to him.

His numbers for the limited time spent in the majors are not anything that would make you think he has it all figured out.

Aki, like JB and CC, is not and never will be a power guy. These guys are the on base guys. You need those on the team. The problem last year was getting guys home when in scoring position. Getting guys home from 3rd with less than 2 outs. You need contact guys for that.

That is why I thnk he is a downgrade at the plate.

Face it, you're argument was wrong and you're trying to grasp at anything possible to try and make your point. I don't care what his numbers are for the limited time spent in the majors because he hasn't played a full season where he is an every day player. Nice try trying to use his 2009 stats only to make your argument, keep trying to spin it however you want though.

Why would I NOT use his 2009 stats??? That would be a statistically large enough sample to reflect his most recent skills at the plate. Do you want to use his stats goig back to little league to make your case??

The guy strikes out way too much. He needs to fix that because it is not going to get any easier when he faces the big boy pitchers, not the minor leaguers he has been facing.

I don't have to do "anything possible" to make my case. Rodriguez made it for me.

Why would you not use the 2009 stats? Simple, because it's stupid to use one seasons stats to try and reflect a persons career, especially when the person you're comparing him to played less than half a season. Would you in turn take Griffey's last year and say "Well this is his most recent season and it reflects the player he is"? Of course not, because that would be stupid and that's why you look at the OVERALL picture.

Your initial comment was that Rodriguez struck out too much, this in turn means you think Aki strikes out too much since their SO numbers were pretty much equal.

How did Rodriguez make your case, because you used his 2009 stats only? Last year Aki struck out 131 times, and 114 the year before that. If you ask me, Aki's striking out way too much for a guy who doesn't hit for power and you claim is a contact hitter. A power hitter is usually always going to have more K's than contact hitters, but that isn't the case with Aki. Let me see you try to spin why a contact hitter in Aki is striking out as much as a guy that is going to hit for power.

Like I said before, you're grasping for anything right now and the stats and argument I put forth is far superior to anything you have provided. Based on the numbers I provided, you have no basis or proof that Rodriguez is a downgrade at the plate.

I could go on and on making my point, but I'm going to bed. However, I'm happy you think striking out 122 times is too much, yet Aki striking out 131 times last year is apparently just fine. There's absolutely no contradiction in your statement(sarcasm).

Aki struck out 131 times in 2008....in 627 at bats. One out of 4.7 at bats. You forgot to mention the total number of at bats there. Again a bit different than the 122 K's times in 385 at bats for a strike out rate of one for every 3.1 at bats. Thank you for those stats that support my point.

Dude you have your opinion and I have mine. Neither is "wrong". Using his latest stats gives you an idea of how he fares NOW, not how he was hitting 3 years ago. The sample size is large enough for it to be statistically valid.

Rodriguez is not in the Bigs. As noted his limited action is not impressive. There is no guareentee his numbers will be as good in the bigs as he was in AAA. The road is littered with guys who hit the wall at AAA level ball. We KNOW how well Aki performs in the big show, we DO NOT know how Rodriguez will do there.

I have nothing against this guy, I am simply looking at his numbers objectively. Strike outs are HUGE problem for the Rays. The last thing they need is another guys striking out one out 3 times or 3.5 times they come to the plate. In that sense he is a downgrade from Aki. Aki can at least put wood on the ball.

You might want to avoid refering to other posters as "stupid" and "wrong". If you want respect you need to give it as well, not to mention it is juvenile to name call. This board is for an exchange of ideas and posters will not always agree. It doesn't mean either party is right or wrong. It is just different ways of looking at things.

Fine, let's look at your original statement only then "Rodriguez strikes out too much".

When I presented stats from multiple seasons it showed that they struck out aroud the same amount of times per AB. Now if you want to discount those stats fine, but how can you say he strikes out too much when Aki is striking out at the same rate, for a non power guy? The reason I used multiple seasons is because it gives you a better sample. I could use one season of stats to try and make my point, but that isn't objective, that's an agenda.

I realize that one set of stats is from the minors while the other is from the majors, but a strike out ratio is a strike out ratio. If one guy is striking out 1 of every 4.7 AB's while the other is striking out 1 of every 4.0 AB's, how can you say the one guy K's too much?

If you wanted to use his latest stats, you should have used the last few seasons instead of just one(2009). If you take his last 3 seasons he is striking out 1 out of every 5.7 AB's.

I'll apologize for using the word stupid, but when there is more than one season of stats, it's better to use multiple seasons, not just one.