Does his name rhyme with Rogi Herrera and did he know a player whose name rhymes with Wimmer?

I think we have the same friend....It's Ian isn't it? or is it Ron

I talked to a friend last night who is a scout with the Reds to shoot the bull about the Rays.

1. James Shields: Some interest but only lukewarm by most clubs. Still could be moved
2. Fernando Rodney: If the Rays are willing to deal many clubs would love to have Rodney
3. Ben Zobrist: The Reds like Ben a lot because he can play OF and INF.
4. Luke Scott: Couldn't believe how badly Luke has struggled in 1st half. Reds always liked Luke Scott
5. Kyle Farnsworth: Nope...
6. David Price: The Reds have Price rated the best starter in baseball and covet him badly...

A TV sports guy and the "in" crowd, has to be Dave Wirth....He's the only knowledgable sports guy on TV, the rest on the other stations are a joke and know very little!

Ron or Ian?????? ROFLMAO at that.....Talk about two clueless guys when it comes to sports!

Not even close.

Cincy, its not as if we don't have enough LHDH batters here. I say deal for Scott. That would be about the extent of it though unless Farnsworth teamed up with scott for someone would improve the situation.

Isn't Rodney on a one year deal? Hard to keep a closer for half a year. Depends on what Rays record looks like closer to the trade deadline whether we keep Rodney or not. We could trade one Upton for the other Upton. JK

skimp

I think Justin always outperformed his brother plus doesn't have the headcase problems either. A trade sounds good to me!

Farnsworth looked terrible in that game Joe brought him in and left him (too long IMO) only to walk in the tyin run in Cleveland? It may take him the second half of the season to get his act together if he's not washed up already. Then all we've got left is Rodney anyways!

I do not beleive Rodney will make it past the trade deadline if Rays fall out of wild card contention. I do beleive Rodney could stay with the Rays the rest of the year if we stay in contention though. I do not beleive Rodney will be back next year. He could ask for quite alot of salary. He is by far our biggest trade pawn. Mcgee is a good choice for closer next year. Rays are always pulling rabbits from their caps too. I wouldn't mind seeing Ichiro suit up for the Rays.

skimp, ya know Ichiro turns 40 next year. Seattle had a monopoly on him here the whole time since he came over from Japan. AS far as trustin Andy to "pull another rabbit out of the hat" that ole trick's goin el foldo some day, then were gonna need more than Jake to bail us out at closin time.

I don't think the Reds and Rays will do a deal this season. Walt Jocketty had offered the Rays what he eventually sent to the Padres (Grandal and Alonso) for James Shields but the Rays wanted to offer Jeff Neimann or Wade Davis. The Reds thought they had a good chance to acquire Shields but the Rays kept upping the asking price everytime Walt came calling...

cincy, Shields is into his 30's now so Stu's not gonna be able to up the ante forever. One of these days if he gets a good to decent offer, he better take it.

I like Niemann and Davis even though Niemann seems tokeep havin back problems and other injuries and Wade looks steady as usual. I think I'd hold oto Niemann for at least another year and keep Wade up close to the vest. He got plenty of uses now that hes goin through the Bull Pen and he may be able to close before long with his 95 mph speeder. He ain't no 'one trick pony' here!

Rodney ain't going nowhere. We have a $2.5million dollar option on him for next year, and he's the best closer in baseball. Right now, his stuff is as good as I've ever seen for a closer (100mph fastball and 83mph changeup, both with a ton of movement, and he throws them for strikes).

Ya Jack and would put Farnsworth as the odd man out, Barrin injury that is.

The thing about James is he is a team leader for the Rays. Everybody loves James Shields. Joe Maddon thinks the world of James Shields. And Rays fans love the heart. The passion. The competitive spirit James Shields brings every 5 days to the mound. I'm not saying James is going to get traded or if the Rays are even entertaining offers on Shields. But I would say his value peaked last season. I think the Rays will pay him all the way thru every option year.

Pssst, Cincy, I don't "love" James Shields.*grin* Way I see it, he's been much more lucky than good the past couple of months. Things being equal, he'd probably have about 8 losses now. But, I digress...discussing possible Rays trade bait on Baseball Tonight a couple of days ago, Tim Kurkjian mentioned Shields, Melvin, and...Joyce!!! If Upton stays in SP, I wonder if Joyce as a platoon player, and odd-man-out outfielder can accept that role indefinitely.

its amazing how this team can have have great pitching and even an excess of it. 7 pitchers who can start on most other teams and the rays still have no hitting. get some bats

My guess is it's Shields...He is struggling with the Rays badly. If it isn't him, it should be him. I believe he may be near his end as a good competitive pitcher. It would be good for the Rays now, moneywise and gamewise with Shields gone. I believe the change for Shields would be a mini jump start for him, before no other team wants him. If he can do well elsewhere, good luck to him, but I believe his days of glory with the Rays is over. I believe every player that left the Rays, is doing better with other teams. Shields overall is a good athlete and a good person, but it may be time to pack it in with the Rays. We now have younger and hungry pitchers that seem to be coming along well.

Every player who left the Rays is doing better????....Oh yeah moneybags Crawford is doing spectacular in Boston!!!! LOL

As for Shields, he is the veteran of the staff and wityh a young rotation you need that veteran presence, the guy they look up to.......Watch the dugout when he isn't pitching, Cobb, Moore, Hellickson are right by him all game asking, learning........Shields still has plenty in the tank and while he may be a good trade chip, it would be a mistake to let him go now......As for his record thus far, because of the lousy hitting and defense, every starter would have 2-3 more wins if the Rays scored some runs and had the defense they had in 2011..........The Rays are only a game out in the WC and if they get off to a good start in the 2nd half, James will be invaluable.......

I've said it before and will again.....Andrew needs to get a deal going with San Diego for 3B Chase Headley!.....I love Cobb, but we are pitching rich and a package of Cobb and a couple of mid level prospects could get the deal done......The Archer can take over Cobb's spot in the rotation and we lose nothing, but gain a solid bat and a solid defender!

Players who have moved on to other teams are doin better. Moneywise that is!

Art, what advantage do you see keeping "the Archer" over 'CornCobb'? I don't have no particular
horse in this race so keepin either is fine with me but experiencewise Cobb has more Major time in. Only thing I can see is where Cobb usually falters is that it takes him an inning or so before he settles down and gets his pitches to go where intended after that he seems good to go.

Archer seems to have a steadier arm from the get-go and has a good range of pitches and good speed on the fastball.

When and if Niemann returns the Rays are gonna have one doozy of a log jam in the SP roles. So I can't see lettin some of these guys sit around collectin dust. So maybe if a trade is in the making it will involve one or more pitchers. Whatever team gets hold of these pitchers will be doin themselves 'just fine'. Courtesy of the TB Rays!