Cowbell Posse

Jason Stark: Deadline Winners and Losers

"It wouldn't surprise us if this team addresses all its bat and bullpen needs in August, and probably at a much more reasonable cost than it was staring at over the last week. It's a franchise run by some of the brightest people we know. And when the bat market collapsed around them, the Rays' fearless leaders were determined not to overpay for guys like Dunn who they believed didn't really fit. But on the other hand, this is a column about July. And this is a big, big year for this franchise -- the year before Carl Crawford departs and the payroll plummets. So given the circumstances, it's tough to applaud the acquisition of only Chad Qualls as any kind of solution. For one thing, they took on all $1.5 million of his salary. For another, he's about the least dependable "quality" bullpen arm alive. "What can I say?" said an official of one rival team. "I'm just not a fan of that guy. He's Mr. Low Pressure. I just can't imagine walking into that Tampa Bay clubhouse and telling those guys, 'Hey, we got you Chad Qualls and his 8.50 ERA (OK, so it's actually 8.27). Now go get 'em.'"