Tampa Bay Rays 2008 Preview

Now that the Devil has been exorcised from the team’s name, what to do about that unholy alliance of malevolent moundsmanship and demonic defense? Is there a fresh attitude tucked away in the pockets of those new uniforms? These are just some of the questions facing the Rays. Although the team lost more games in the last three years than in its first three, its optimism seems defensible. Tampa Bay is easing its enviable young pitchers into the equation and added even more by shipping Delmon Young to Minnesota for Matt Garza. So while there is still not enough depth to bedevil the Sox and Yanks, the Rays finally seem to have a hell of a future.

Rotation 
Finally, the team can give opponents the old 1-2. Make that the young 1-2. Ace and AL strikeout champ Scott Kazmir is 24, and riding shotgun is James Shields, 26. The former, who throws as hard as any lefty out there, is progressing nicely towards his Cy Young Award ceiling. His strained elbow that will cost him a start or two is not considered serious. Shields uses uncanny command of a swing-and-miss changeup. The key will be developing Nos. 3-4-5, since in games not started by that pair, the Rays went 31–66. That’s where Garza fits so cozily. The recent Twins No. 1 prospect puts a lot of men on base at this point, but manager Joe Maddon calls him “a scout’s dream” with “plus stuff.” Ditto for untamed Edwin Jackson. Stylistically, Andy Sonnanstine is a Shields wannabe — so far without the results. But for once, the guys on the margins have a short leash. Jason Hammel will start in Kazmir’s place if necessary. A pair of live arms ready to challenge in the future includes Jeff Niemann and Mitch Talbot, and by late summer, even better ones could show up: David Price, Jake McGee, Wade Davis and Chris Mason.

Statistician
0	Bunt singles in 2007 by AL stolen base champ Carl Crawford.
4	Number of Rays among baseball’s top 10 overall prospects (Evan Longoria, second; Jake McGee, fourth; David Price, eighth; Wade Davis, 10th), according to John Sickels, author of the Baseball Prospect Book series.
15	Times a 2007 opponent scored the winning run in the ninth inning or later.
17	More career saves by Troy Percival alone than by all pitchers combined in the history of the franchise.

Bullpen 
High on the to-do list has been the repair of a bullpen whose ERA (6.16) was baseball’s highest in at least the last half-century. Renovations commenced at the trading deadline with the acquisition of Dan Wheeler, continued in winter with the disposal of five pitchers who made at least 20 appearances, and culminated with the signing of Troy Percival to close. While Percival’s numbers (40 innings, 34 base runners) in his ’07 comeback with St. Louis were strong, his value also extends to the clubhouse, where his intensity will set a tone for an impossibly young staff. Al Reyes, who did a respectable job miscast as a closer, will share setup duties with Wheeler, whose shaky ’07 was probably an aberration.

Middle Infield 
Once again, the team has been forced to get creative. Akinori Iwamura, last year’s third baseman, is expected to move to second. His bat will play better there, but it’s a shame to lose his glove at the hot corner, where he set an AL rookie record for fielding percentage. Iwamura might hit .300 with double-digit homers and steals. The newest new shortstop is ex-Twin Jason Bartlett, whose range — but not his reliability (AL-high 26 errors) or his bat — is a cosmic upgrade over Brendan Harris.

Corners 
The addition of Carlos Peña has given the Rays an anchor in the batting order, in the clubhouse and in the community. A non-roster invitee, the upbeat first baseman was the first ever to hit 40 home runs the year after being released by a different organization (Boston). His 46 cranks and 121 RBIs were team records. Whether he can do it again is a critical question. The long-term replacement for Iwamura at third is Evan Longoria. Many scouts regarded his as the best bat in the high minors last year. The Rays didn’t feel he was ready at the end of spring training, so he will open the season at Triple-A Durham. Willy Aybar will keep the position warm until Longoria is deemed ready for big league action.

Outfield 
Tampa Bay’s potential “dream outfield” of Delmon Young in right, Rocco Baldelli in center and Carl Crawford in left has undergone modifications, but it’s still good enough to give opponents nightmares. The bold trade of Young means Jonny Gomes will take over in right field. Gomes has been written off numerous times, but the spirited overachiever continues to exhibit the one tool everybody wants most: power. His swing produces all (58 homers the last three years despite fewer than 400 at-bats in each) or nothing (355 strikeouts). The glove of B.J. Upton, a former uber-prospect as a shortstop, turned from iron to gold after his conversion to outfielder. He also was the team’s first-ever 20-20 man, with 30-30 imminent. The only thing standing between Crawford and superstardom is an approach that has prevented him from ever jacking 20 homers or drawing 40 walks. He has, since 2004, hit .304 with more triples and steals than anyone in the AL.

Catching 
Dioner Navarro is a toss-up. He’s only 24; he switch-hits; he lights it up in batting practice; and he throws pretty well. He also goes on multi-month clueless stretches at the plate, and he led AL catchers with a dozen throwing errors. The Rays would like to think he finally figured things out when he swatted .306 with considerable pop over his last 47 games.

DH/Bench 
If Rocco Baldelli can recover from fatigue that overtook him after two spring training at-bats, he will be an intrical part of the outfield mix. At 26, he has time to mine ability that a scout once compared to Joe DiMaggio. Cliff Floyd, signed to face two or three righthanders per week, is still dangerous, but he isn’t expected to be able to contribute every day. With an injury to Ben Zobrist, the switch-hitting Elliot Johnson will be the primary infield option in a pinch.

Statline Most No-Decisions, 0-1 ERs Allowed in Start, Last 3 Years
1t.	Scott Kazmir	15
1t.	Chris Young	15
1t.	Roger Clemens	15
4.	Jake Peavy	14
5t.	Andy Pettitte	12
5t.	Brad Penny	12

Management 
In 2005, Forbes magazine called this “the most horrific franchise of the modern era” and the “worst managed” organization in baseball. That assessment was correct, and the toll was grave — but no longer. The new ownership that took the helm three years ago has recovered the team’s credibility with the community, and though progress on the field has been negligible, there is a coherent (if excruciatingly deliberate) plan. Maddon provides at least one head-scratcher a week with his unorthodox decision-making and/or loopy discourse, but the players like him and he appears to be the right guy to usher the team into its first, belated era of respectability.

Final Analysis 
The team is close to having a winning ballplayer at each position, but ultimately its fate falls squarely on the shoulders of the young pitchers, several of whom aren’t quite ready. So the 2008 Rays are all about the c-word: competitive. Maddon terms the year “kind of an over-the-hump situation.” For a team that’s finished last in its division in nine of its 10 seasons, it’s a daunting hump, one defined as something close to .500. And if all goes as designed, the other c-word — contention — will worm its way into the conversation in a year or two.

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Difference Maker

A year ago this time, the Rays literally couldn’t buy a save. The likes of David Riske and Octavio Dotel wouldn’t take their money, and Troy Percival was helping coach his son’s Little League team. Now Percival, fresh off an encouraging comeback with the Cardinals following two years away from the game, has chosen Tampa Bay’s offer over at least a half-dozen others. If his fragile arm holds up, the domino effect of having him at the back end and shifting 2007 closer Al Reyes to setup will legitimize the bullpen.

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Beyond the Box Score

R.I.P. The Trop?
In November, the Rays undraped plans for a striking new waterfront stadium in St. Petersburg, flanked by a vast residential and retail district. The timeline calls for a 34,000-seat facility to open in 2012. Included in the blueprint is a nautically themed, translucent “umbrella” that could be unfurled over the park during bad weather.

K-Ville
One in every five batters in 2007 Rays games struck out. Their own hitters fanned an AL-record 1,324 times, and their pitchers punched out 1,194 — the sixth-highest total ever in the league. The staff, in fact, was the first ever to lead the circuit in strikeouts yet post its highest ERA (5.53)

Balanced meal
The Rays hope to kick their exasperating habit of not hitting on days they pitch well and vice verse. Getting your “biscuits and gravy a little convoluted” is how manager Joe Maddon terms it. “We’ll develop the proper recipe at some point, and we’ll use the correct seasoning, and eventually we’ll have the culinary answer to this dilemma,” he told the St. Petersburg Times.

Southern exposure
Indicating they’re getting serious about competing in alternative markets, the Rays opened a Venezuelan academy last year. They already had a strong scouting presence there, and now should be able to seal more deals. The club’s special assistant of baseball operations, Andres Reiner, established a similar facility in that country for the Astros, who used it to sign Johan Santana, Bobby Abreu, Carlos Guillen and others.

Blogging for bucks
One of the Rays’ key acquisitions in 2007 was Erik Kombol. Who? Kombol is a blogger who put his services up for auction to raise money for AIDS awareness. The winning bidder was team president Matt Silverman who, like Kombol, has lost a family member to the disease. For $535, Kombol (whose pen name is Manny Stiles) wrote about the Rays at devilraysuniverse.blogspot.com.

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