[crockpot]

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The Rays just pulled themselves within 20 games of a playoff spot.

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if i wasn't so sure vegas would open the tampa o/u at 68 wins next year, i'd put about half my bankroll on under 20 here.

i'm too old for childish back-and-forth arguments on 2+2, but here goes anyway: teams with near-.500 talent make the playoffs all the time. the diamondbacks and rockies did it this year, tigers and cardinals the year before that. the 2005 white sox won the world series with a .500 team.

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If your goal is to make the playoffs as many times as possible over the next 2-3 years, this deal is a near disaster.

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basically, what i'm getting out of this is that you're completely ignoring the updated projections for delmon young and pretending it's still 2005. when pecota and zips publish their forecasts for delmon's 2008-10, you're going to be very disappointed; i'd be surprised if he projects to be worth one win more than the average right fielder in 2010.