Tampa Bay Preview: Getting Better All the Time
I have to admit that I have a soft spot in my usually cold heart for the Devil Rays and their fans. Last summer, we spent our family vacation in beautiful Clearwater, and took in a Devil Rays game while we were there.
Tropicana Field is a dump, but the few thousand fans that were there cheered their heroes to victory. I was glad to see that Devil Ray Fan did exist. Having had some experience with fruitless fandom, I felt a sort of bond with them.
This year, Tampa is my last spring training preview. That alone is enough to make them one of my favorite teams.
1. Why should I pay attention to what the Devil Rays do this year?
The Rays have basically been a punch line for their entire existence. That's what finishing last seven out of eight years will get you.
But the times are changing down in St. Pete. Incompetent managing partner Vince Naimoli is out, and new owner Stuart Sternberg is in. Sternberg took the first step to prove that he is competent by immediately canning incompetent GM Chuck LaMar. Now running the show are GM Andrew Freidman (another one of those young guys the Moneyball-haters hate) and (in an advisory role) former Astro GM Gerry Hunsicker.
That in and of itself should be enough to give Devil Rays Fan hope. But this team boasts some of the best young talent around. And for that, we should give credit where it's due, because this talent was drafted or otherwise acquired under the old, incompetent regime.
Carl Crawford is already a star. Rocco Baldelli showed flashes of brilliance in 2004, and if he's healthy can only improve on that performance. Jorge Cantu was a surprise at second base (28 HR, .497 SLG). I'm not really sold on Jonny Gomes, but he put up a .906 OPS last year, and just turned 26 (coincidentally, we share a birthday, although I am a year or two older), and might be carve out a decent Major League career for himself. Aubrey Huff and Julio Lugo are old men in this lineup.
The real good news comes from the other young guys on the roster. Delmon Young won the Southern League MVP last year, and topped a lot of prospects lists this winter. He should win the right field job this spring, and might just be the best player in D-Ray history.
B.J. Upton is the other uber-prospect right now. He's blocked at short by Lugo, but Lugo is a guy that Freidman should be looking to flip for some prospects sometime this year. Upton might not be ready this instant, but it won't be too long.
And then there's other guys like Elijah Dukes Wes Bankston, Jeff Neimann, Jason Hammel and John Jaso. They're pretty much unknown right now, but they are among the best prospects in the system and reason for Devil Ray Fan to hope.
2. OK, there's lots of prospects. So what's the downside?
The lineup will feature some terrific young players. Unfortunately, the pitching staff is very much a work in progress.
Scott Kazmir is the ace, but he needs to improve his command a little before he becomes an Ace. The rest of the rotation is iffy at best -- Casey Fossum, Seth McClung, Mark Hendrickson, and Doug Waechter won't make anyone tremble in fear.
There is no such thing as a pitching prospect, but the Rays system has a few who might make something of themselves. Besides the aforementioned Neimann and Hammel, there's Andrew Sonnanstine and Jacob McGee. Picking up Edwin Jackson from the Dodgers was a worthwhile gamble, too.
3. What's Tampa's best-case this year?
With the questions surrounding the pitching, fourth is about as good as gets this year. But take heart, Rays Fan -- better times are coming.
That game I mentioned before? It was an exciting Brewer-Devil Ray interleague matchup (Prince Fielder's Major League debut, to be exact). Jim told me that it could be a preview of the 2008 World Series.
I believe it. The Devil Rays are still "Under Construction" (as their marketing slogan says), but they have a bright future. Hop on the bandwagon now.
Tropicana Field is a dump, but the few thousand fans that were there cheered their heroes to victory. I was glad to see that Devil Ray Fan did exist. Having had some experience with fruitless fandom, I felt a sort of bond with them.
This year, Tampa is my last spring training preview. That alone is enough to make them one of my favorite teams.
1. Why should I pay attention to what the Devil Rays do this year?
The Rays have basically been a punch line for their entire existence. That's what finishing last seven out of eight years will get you.
But the times are changing down in St. Pete. Incompetent managing partner Vince Naimoli is out, and new owner Stuart Sternberg is in. Sternberg took the first step to prove that he is competent by immediately canning incompetent GM Chuck LaMar. Now running the show are GM Andrew Freidman (another one of those young guys the Moneyball-haters hate) and (in an advisory role) former Astro GM Gerry Hunsicker.
That in and of itself should be enough to give Devil Rays Fan hope. But this team boasts some of the best young talent around. And for that, we should give credit where it's due, because this talent was drafted or otherwise acquired under the old, incompetent regime.
Carl Crawford is already a star. Rocco Baldelli showed flashes of brilliance in 2004, and if he's healthy can only improve on that performance. Jorge Cantu was a surprise at second base (28 HR, .497 SLG). I'm not really sold on Jonny Gomes, but he put up a .906 OPS last year, and just turned 26 (coincidentally, we share a birthday, although I am a year or two older), and might be carve out a decent Major League career for himself. Aubrey Huff and Julio Lugo are old men in this lineup.
The real good news comes from the other young guys on the roster. Delmon Young won the Southern League MVP last year, and topped a lot of prospects lists this winter. He should win the right field job this spring, and might just be the best player in D-Ray history.
B.J. Upton is the other uber-prospect right now. He's blocked at short by Lugo, but Lugo is a guy that Freidman should be looking to flip for some prospects sometime this year. Upton might not be ready this instant, but it won't be too long.
And then there's other guys like Elijah Dukes Wes Bankston, Jeff Neimann, Jason Hammel and John Jaso. They're pretty much unknown right now, but they are among the best prospects in the system and reason for Devil Ray Fan to hope.
2. OK, there's lots of prospects. So what's the downside?
The lineup will feature some terrific young players. Unfortunately, the pitching staff is very much a work in progress.
Scott Kazmir is the ace, but he needs to improve his command a little before he becomes an Ace. The rest of the rotation is iffy at best -- Casey Fossum, Seth McClung, Mark Hendrickson, and Doug Waechter won't make anyone tremble in fear.
There is no such thing as a pitching prospect, but the Rays system has a few who might make something of themselves. Besides the aforementioned Neimann and Hammel, there's Andrew Sonnanstine and Jacob McGee. Picking up Edwin Jackson from the Dodgers was a worthwhile gamble, too.
3. What's Tampa's best-case this year?
With the questions surrounding the pitching, fourth is about as good as gets this year. But take heart, Rays Fan -- better times are coming.
That game I mentioned before? It was an exciting Brewer-Devil Ray interleague matchup (Prince Fielder's Major League debut, to be exact). Jim told me that it could be a preview of the 2008 World Series.
I believe it. The Devil Rays are still "Under Construction" (as their marketing slogan says), but they have a bright future. Hop on the bandwagon now.
posted by Bob at
9:31 PM
2 Comments:
Playing Devil Rays advocate...
We had lots of fun over the years lambasting Chuck (that's Hedley) LaMar, and most of it was well-earned. It's not easy to compile as bad a record as his teams have.
But on the one hand, we've called him completely incompetent, and on the other, we're singing the praises of the tremendous young talent on the Tampa Bay roster. Talent that was drafted and developed under Chuck LaMar.
I think that LaMar was simply someone cast in a role that was out of his depth. I think that anyone looking for a farm director or a director of player development and scouting should take a look at his resume.
By
Jim, at 7:28 PM
For all the mocking of Hedley that I've done over the years, I do have to give him credit for all the young studs he brought into the system. And I did in this piece, too. Credit where it's due and all that.
You're right that he's probably better suited to development rather than running the whole show. Hell, his Bobby Abreu for Kevin Stocker trade was grounds for firing by itself. One shudders to think what other magic beans he would have traded for had he been left in office...
By
Bob, at 8:55 PM
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