http://www.yardbarker.com/rss/player/740 Recent articles about Dioner Navarro en-us More photos » by Alex Brandon - AP Jesus Flores- The Lone Rule 5 Survivor Browse more photos » In the absence of any big moves, the Rays have two glaring needs to address in the off-season, the catcher position andthe bullpen. Over the next two weeks, we will take a look at some potential Rule 5 diamonds in the rough that could perhaps help out in 2009 be hidden behindthe abundance of versatile d... Thu, 26 Nov 2009 06:00:12 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/Catching_Up_on_Rule_5_Catchers/1635145 http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/Catching_Up_on_Rule_5_Catchers/1635145 http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/Catching_Up_on_Rule_5_Catchers/1635145 http://www.yardbarker.com/media/2/9/295b0249aa3b21959fc3d64c4b4e73ede0d7ee60/small/PicImg_MLB_APR_13_28db.jpg by Jim Prisching - AP I know the Spiderman joke doesn't entirely make sense other than my insistence on saying Kapler plays the field like a spider on acid ... but his arms here seem to support my theory on Kapler's arachnid nature. View full size photo » As hopefully everyone knows, WAR does not account for baserunning. Stolen bases and caught stealing are included, but stuff like advancin... Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:00:11 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/Gabe_Kapler_is_Off_the_Bases_like_the_Spiderman_Logo/1616230 http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/Gabe_Kapler_is_Off_the_Bases_like_the_Spiderman_Logo/1616230 http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/Gabe_Kapler_is_Off_the_Bases_like_the_Spiderman_Logo/1616230 http://www.yardbarker.com/media/b/5/b5e5c7b325af16b39046b9e12f4c7143a46fb666/small/PicImg_MLB_APR_04_4927.jpg More photos » by Gail Burton - AP (AP Photo/Gail Burton) Browse more photos » While writing my piece for last weekend, I spent a lot of time looking at the Fangraph win values of historical players on the Rays.  I'm a huge fan of baseball history and lore, and looking at those old totals sparked an interesting question in my mind: I wonder who's had the worst offensive year ever while on the... Sat, 21 Nov 2009 10:00:13 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/The_Rays_All_Time_Offensive_Leaderboard_The_Sabremetric_Edition/1606702 http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/The_Rays_All_Time_Offensive_Leaderboard_The_Sabremetric_Edition/1606702 http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/The_Rays_All_Time_Offensive_Leaderboard_The_Sabremetric_Edition/1606702 http://www.yardbarker.com/media/9/1/912f677cfb1a5868f1b3133aecb1a064bd9a76f8/small/2e.jpg Throughout the offseson we'll be bringing you interviews with some of today's best and brightest baseball writers.  On this Friday we're lucky enough to be joined once again by Espn.com writer, author, and long suffering Royals fan, Rob Neyer.  You know Rob from his SweetSpot blog on espn and the numerous books he's written on baseball and it's fascinating history  He was gracious enough to take time out of his busy sch... Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:00:41 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/An_Interview_with_Rob_Neyer/1557612 http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/An_Interview_with_Rob_Neyer/1557612 http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/An_Interview_with_Rob_Neyer/1557612 http://www.yardbarker.com/media/f/0/f031ef57b4652250df3b7630c0cb619b68e5a2cf/small/PicImg_MLB_APR_14_cbbe.jpg More photos » by Brian Blanco - AP It was that kind of season from Dioner Navarro. Browse more photos » Please don't get his confused as making an excuse for Dioner Navarro's poor season. No major leaguer should accumulate 410 plate appearances and hit .218/.261/.322, but that's what Dioner Navarro did this past season. His .583 OPS was second worst amongst all Major Leaguers with at least 400... Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:54:52 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/Dioner_Navarros_Unlucky_and_Bad_2009_Possible_Rebound_in_2010/1423119 http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/Dioner_Navarros_Unlucky_and_Bad_2009_Possible_Rebound_in_2010/1423119 http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/Dioner_Navarros_Unlucky_and_Bad_2009_Possible_Rebound_in_2010/1423119 http://www.yardbarker.com/media/f/0/f0751d6e8ad87b17c0d0c37619a93d883c4602ac/small/05.jpg More photos » by Matt Slocum - AP Browse more photos » Acquiring a new catcher is probably the top priority this off-season. Gregg Zaun may not return, Dioner Navarro turned back into a pumpkin, and the other 40-man options are reserves at best. With limited free agent options (read: budget) the Rays are probably getting said new catcher via trade. This means, the catcher likely won't be a heaven-s... Mon, 12 Oct 2009 04:00:57 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/all_sports/article_external/Potential_Buy_Low_Candidate_JR_Towles/1352803 http://www.yardbarker.com/all_sports/article_external/Potential_Buy_Low_Candidate_JR_Towles/1352803 http://www.yardbarker.com/all_sports/article_external/Potential_Buy_Low_Candidate_JR_Towles/1352803 http://www.yardbarker.com/media/f/0/f0751d6e8ad87b17c0d0c37619a93d883c4602ac/small/05.jpg More photos » by Chris O'Meara - AP Browse more photos » The biggest news to come out of the Gregg Zaun acquisition was that we would have ourselves a platoon behind the plate. Gregg Zaun would play against right handed pitchers and Dioner Navarro would play against lefties; and it made sense. As of August 15th, their splits looked like this...   PA BA OBP SLG OPS Z... Fri, 25 Sep 2009 05:00:20 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/Unfair_Platoon_Ranks_A_Look_At_Dioner_Navarro_and_Gregg_Zaun/1241406 http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/Unfair_Platoon_Ranks_A_Look_At_Dioner_Navarro_and_Gregg_Zaun/1241406 http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/Unfair_Platoon_Ranks_A_Look_At_Dioner_Navarro_and_Gregg_Zaun/1241406 http://www.yardbarker.com/media/7/c/7cdea28706c7e0291531532d104cd9640ab26c1f/small/MLB_JUN_14_04fe.jpg by Reinhold Matay - AP So many round objects. View full size photo uploaded September 5, 2009 Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; ... Wed, 09 Sep 2009 04:00:59 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/all_sports/article_external/From_All_Star_to_Non_Tender_Dioner_Navarros_Future/1137404 http://www.yardbarker.com/all_sports/article_external/From_All_Star_to_Non_Tender_Dioner_Navarros_Future/1137404 http://www.yardbarker.com/all_sports/article_external/From_All_Star_to_Non_Tender_Dioner_Navarros_Future/1137404 http://www.yardbarker.com/media/f/0/f0751d6e8ad87b17c0d0c37619a93d883c4602ac/small/05.jpg More photos » by Elaine Thompson - AP This is your bad side. Browse more photos » Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes... Sun, 09 Aug 2009 22:49:59 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/Should_Dioner_Navarro_Stop_Switch_Hitting/960353 http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/Should_Dioner_Navarro_Stop_Switch_Hitting/960353 http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/Should_Dioner_Navarro_Stop_Switch_Hitting/960353 http://www.yardbarker.com/media/f/0/f0751d6e8ad87b17c0d0c37619a93d883c4602ac/small/05.jpg More photos » by Nick Wass - AP Browse more photos » Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-pad... Tue, 04 Aug 2009 13:02:29 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/The_Catcher_Position/932466 http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/The_Catcher_Position/932466 http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/The_Catcher_Position/932466 http://www.yardbarker.com/media/f/0/f0751d6e8ad87b17c0d0c37619a93d883c4602ac/small/05.jpg More photos » by Brian Blanco - AP about 1 hour ago: Tampa Bay Rays catcher Dioner Navarro, center, is helped off the field after being injured in the seventh inning during a baseball game against the Oakland Athletics in St. Petersburg, Fla., Saturday, July 11, 2009. (AP Photo/Brian Blanco) Browse more photos » Marc Lancaster with the scoop: tboraysRays waiting on tests to decide if Navarro to DL... Sat, 11 Jul 2009 21:12:21 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/all_sports/article_external/Dioner_Navarro_Might_Be_Heading_to_the_DL/795278 http://www.yardbarker.com/all_sports/article_external/Dioner_Navarro_Might_Be_Heading_to_the_DL/795278 http://www.yardbarker.com/all_sports/article_external/Dioner_Navarro_Might_Be_Heading_to_the_DL/795278 http://www.yardbarker.com/media/f/0/f0751d6e8ad87b17c0d0c37619a93d883c4602ac/small/05.jpg More photos » by Reinhold Matay - AP Take caution, but Dioner Navarro is starting to hit a little bit. (AP Photo/Reinhold Matay) Browse more photos » Don't look now, but over the past week the Rays best hitter has been Dioner Navarro. I know that best hitter and Dioner Navarro haven't been synonymous this year, but it's true. Ok, let's throw out the small sample size alert; however Navi has... Thu, 09 Jul 2009 08:00:55 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/all_sports/article_external/Dioner_Navarro_Showing_Early_Signs_Of_Rebound/786541 http://www.yardbarker.com/all_sports/article_external/Dioner_Navarro_Showing_Early_Signs_Of_Rebound/786541 http://www.yardbarker.com/all_sports/article_external/Dioner_Navarro_Showing_Early_Signs_Of_Rebound/786541 http://www.yardbarker.com/media/f/0/f0751d6e8ad87b17c0d0c37619a93d883c4602ac/small/05.jpg Dioner Navarro: via brooksbaseball.net Debate the pinpoint accuracy, the borders of normalized strike zones, and whatever else, none of it matters here. Simply put, there is no explanation as to why Dioner Navarro decided to swing at two of those pitches. A lot of people mock Navarro's weight, his affinity for grounding into a double play, and even his defensive efforts. I try to avoid that, and I've said a few times I don't believe he's quite this poor of a player, ... Sun, 05 Jul 2009 22:16:41 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/The_Worst_At_Bat_of_the_Season/773485 http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/The_Worst_At_Bat_of_the_Season/773485 http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/The_Worst_At_Bat_of_the_Season/773485 http://www.yardbarker.com/media/f/0/f0751d6e8ad87b17c0d0c37619a93d883c4602ac/small/05.jpg More photos » by Elaine Thompson - AP Swinging at ball four most likely. Browse more photos » Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-... Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:52:02 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/Looking_Once_More_at_Dioner_Navarro/720835 http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/Looking_Once_More_at_Dioner_Navarro/720835 http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/Looking_Once_More_at_Dioner_Navarro/720835 http://www.yardbarker.com/media/a/7/a79a7d430ce4337628db4060922f9a8ffb5a643f/small/MLB_MAY_17_a966.jpg A Dioner Navarro Bobblehead with A-Rod lips? (Bugs and Cranks)What would I do with $18 million (More Hardball) 10 Questions with Jay Mariotti (RCS) The Bobby Bowden Contract: A mere formality? (Tomahawk Nation) Jay McGwire with Shirt, "No, I'm Not on Steroids..." (Bob's Blitz) Renaissance Aruba ... Thu, 22 Jan 2009 18:14:33 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/HHR_Hugs_it_Out/484120 http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/HHR_Hugs_it_Out/484120