burrell now a ray

In a bit of baseball incest of sorts, Pat Burrell today signed a two-year deal worth $16 million with the Tampa Bay Rays. That's a lot better than his going to the Mets or some other NL East team, which would have been sad. With the Rays, he's part of a good young team which should benefit from his clubhouse leadership. Good luck with the DH'ing. And no, the Phillies could not have signed him to a similar contract. They would have had to offer arbitration and he would probably have received $16 million for one year. Here's to good seasons for both Ibanez and Burrell!