Tampa Bay Rays Team Update 1.2. -- Cliff Floyd

We hear the derogatory term used for many older sports players. William Shatner dedicated a song about it himself. Yes, the has-been. The Rays have taken a "has-been" in hope of him surprising the entire AL East. After all, you can never count anyone out in the sport of baseball...Want proof?
Satchell Paige's playing career went for 45 years..
Don Sutton, with gray hair, still won 15 games a year with an E.R.A. only around 3.75...
The same went for Phil Niekro.
But, the thing about this "has-been", is that he's not even that old.
Nope, Cliff Floyd is just 35 years old. Why the branding you ask?

My answer: It's not fair. The only thing that people complain about was his last two years. In the past two years Floyd hit just 20 homers, and 89 RBIS -- not enough for 3 million a year--everyone complains. But guess what, he only received 614 at bats in those two years- how much a normal good starter would receive. So if you think about it--thats really not that bad. For 6 million dollars, he hit 20 Homers and 89 RBIs, with an AVG of .261. That's really not that bad! Lets compare him with Bobby Abreu. He got paid around 16 million dollars this season-hit just 16 Homers, 101 RBIS, and hit only .283. He stats should practically double Floyd's and yet...he came up short. And in 2005, where Floyd got his full AB's (550) he nailed 35 homers and 98 RBIs. The point is, when you give him a chance (injuries don't help either), he does well.

And now, at spring training, he's healthy and ready to go.

He also has his head down and ready to go. He says that he knows his "limitations" and that he won't try to be "superman" on the team. He says that's Carl Crawford's job...

"In terms of health, in terms of my feet, in terms of my knees -- everything -- I feel great," Floyd says. "One thing you learn about your body, sometimes too much is too much. I understand everybody has their own regimen in the offseason. You work out and do what you have to do. You find out what your body needs, whether it needs stretching, or I need this. And that's what you find out more and more as you keep going. And this year I was really focused on stretching -- focused on doing things that my body needs to do."

What do we see here. Floyd has learned from the past and is ready for the future.
Oh, and he's only getting 2.75 million this year. What a grab...

My line:

.270 BA, 65 Runs, 120 Hits, 24 doubles, 23 home runs, 76 RBIs....not bad for 2.75, eh? And the Rays certainly could use him.


-Felix