Pat Burrel ~ DH [R]

[Lets Go Rays]

Burrell thanks Philly fans

New Rays DH Pat Burrell thanked his former Phillies team and fans Friday, taking out half-page ads in the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News.

Burrell, who played nine years for the Phillies before being allowed to leave as a free agent, thanked the fans for their support, and said he hoped they could meet again in October - in a World Series rematch.

Burrell thanked the Phillies organization for allowing him to fulfill his dream to be a pro ball player and the fans for their support through "good times and bad.''

[Lets Go Rays]

DH Pat Burrell got the Rays on the board with an RBI single in the third, scoring Carlos Pena.

Rays 1, Yankees 0

[love_that_reefer]

Burrell has had a good spring so far and he will be huge for the Rays. What a great signing! Only drawback is how streaky he is.

[Lets Go Rays]

I think the addition of him is better than the addition of Joyce.

[love_that_reefer]

In a way. Burrell came at a good price and will provide the thump along with Pena and Longoria but trading Jackson for Joyce was a steal for the Rays. Both were fantastic moves.

[Lets Go Rays]

Why? Is Joyce really that good?

[love_that_reefer]

I think he can be. Definitely can be a lot better player than Jackson. He had 12 HRs in like 90 games last year in limited playing time. Good outfielder as well.

[missionhockey21]

I was very jealous of the Burrell signing Lets Go Rays. Burrell isn't exactly a player who will produce a "pretty" statline, but he is what he is and that is not a bad thing. For the cost he was signed at too, that production is coming at a value price.

I have to imagine Rays fans such as yourself are so excited to have a guy like Friedman acting as GM. The moves he has made while working in a limited market in the toughest division of baseball have been great on the whole. He is the kind of GM who I can see being around for many years to come. I don't know if he sensed the market being that low or what, but the Burrell signing really set a bar for most other contracts to come for the players who weren't considered the top elite of the free agent class. I know Burrell took a discount to come down to Tampa Bay, but it was still a great move.

[Kiluckzle]

I cut out the page from the Philadelphia Inquirer of Burrell thanking Philadelphia and put it on my wall next to my picture of Brad Lidge and Carlos Ruiz celebrating the World Series, and Cole Hamels putting his deformed thumb up when receiving the MVP. Haha. Good collection.
Anyway, Burrell can obviously carry a team when he's hot (early 2008 for example) and can completely disappear later (mid 2008 for example). But I guess you gotta take the good and the bad with him.