"Given the house cleaning, budget cutting and what not, and seeing as Evan Longoria's big bucks haven't kicked in yet, and David Price hasn't been offered one of those deals, B.J. Upton is now the highest paid player on the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Rays have no real choice.

Who else do they have?

I'm not saying there's anything to worry about, seeing as Andy Sonnanstine will be back, but …

The Rays and Upton avoided arbitration and settled on $4.825 million for 2011.

It's a great deal for the Rays if Upton blossoms. Actually, it's a great deal even if he doesn't.

Consider that Pat Burrell was due $9 million his last season with the Rays, a season that ended with him a world champion out in San Francisco.

Anybody still get headaches thinking about The Bat with bubbly in his eyes?

Back to B.J. and blossoming. Will it ever happen? If there was ever a season the Rays could use it, this would be the one.

Carl Crawford is gone.

Desmond Jennings isn't ready.

Can the Rays really rely on Matt Joyce for an entire season?

And, sure, Dan Johnson would be a holy terror if the Rays played the Red Sox and Yankees 150 times.

We keep coming back to B.J.

We keep coming back to his 2010, which was filled with swings and misses, or caught looking.

He hit .237, the worst average of his 6-year career. He teased, as always, with 38 doubles, a career high, and 42 steals, and 10 homers after Aug. 1.

Is that breakout season coming?

Upton is already one of the best center fielders in baseball, and I'm not even sure he completely knows how to play out there. He would be the best if he didn't take off the occasional play.

But in the field, the man is a known quantity. And the Rays need as many known quantities as they can get.

But play time is over. What do you have, Bossman?

You're on the clock."