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New Logo, New Uniforms, New Outlook.

By Gary Armida

For ten years, the Tampa Bay Rays (formerly Devil Rays) have been the doormat of Major League Baseball. Their uniforms were ugly, their stadium was ugly, and most importantly, their play was ugly to the tune of 642 wins against 974 losses. The Rays have never been a .500 team. In contrast, the Diamondbacks, who came in the same season (1998), are 818-802 with one World Series victory to their credit and the 2007 National League West crown. The Rays have tried it a few ways. They tried to bring in sluggers like Jose Canseco, Fred McGriff. They’ve tried to bring in a big time manager in Lou Piniella to “will” them to victory. Nothing worked as there was always a facet ignored-pitching.

For the past couple of seasons the Rays have developed an exciting, young team led by Carl Crawford, B.J. Upton, and 2007’s surprise Carlos Pena. Now, slowly but surely, the Rays are developing the rest of their team. Scott Kazmir is going to have some company on the pitching staff. The future looks bright for the Rays…finally. They have never won more than 70 games in a season. 2008 will be the year they break that barrier.

First, the Rays are now developing a pitching staff correctly. They are starting to building behind lefty Scott Kazmir, who is poised to make that leap to stardom in 2008. James Shields proved to be a solid innings eater until injury beset him late in 2007. The Rays dealt phenom Delmon Young to acquire, among others, starter Matt Garza. Garza projects as a solid number two starter for his career. With a solid starting three, the Rays will hope Edwin Jackson can fulfill some of the potential and that Andy Sonnanstine will pitch against the rest of the league like he did against the Yankees last season. On the farm, the Rays may finally have some more depth with number one pick, LHP Steven Price and former uber-prospect Jeff Neimann.

The bullpen, for 2008 at least, will be comprised of primarily veterans. Surprise closer, Al Reyes will be back along with trade deadline acquisition Dan Wheeler. Both represent, when healthy, dependable relievers which is something this organization has sorely lacked in its brief history. A token lefty and the likes of Gary Glover, Chad Orvella and the cast of suspects will fill out the remaining spots in the pen. The closer role this year is most likely to be filled by Troy Percival. If reports are correct, the Rays have inked Percival to a two year, 8 million dollar deal. Percival, who had a miraculous comeback with the Cardinals last season, will definitely need to limited and will probably not pitch in back-to-back games. Reyes would fill in on those nights. If Percival is used correctly, as in only 1 or 2 run saves, he will perform well. He is the proverbial grizzled, gutty veteran who has been through it all. At the very least, he will be nice trade bait to a contender at the all-star break.

On offense, the Rays will sport one of the most diverse, fast, exciting lineups in baseball. Let’s look at their projected lineup:

While this lineup may lack the patience (2007 leader in team strikeouts) needed to truly make a leap to a winning team, there is a lot of talent as illustrated by their high team slugging percentage and high walk total. This lineup, potentially, will lead the American League in stolen bases, and be towards the top of the pack in power. What makes the Rays lineup more intriguing is that super prospect Evan Longoria may make the team out of spring training which would move Iwamura to second base. At the very least, Longoria will make an impact later in the season. B.J. Upton will improve on his breakout season, Carl Crawford will continue his performance, and newly acquired Jason Bartlett will be an upgrade at short stop. The two keys to the Rays lineup will be Carlos Pena and Johnny Gomes. Pena needs to show that last season was not a fluke, while Gomes needs to get off to a good start so he is not sent down like he has been the past two seasons. The Rays have a nice mix of power and speed.

The Rays also seem to be a team “not quite done yet” as they have multiple trade options. Many teams have reportedly inquired about Rocco Baldelli, the talented and oft-injured outfielder. Additionally, troubled outfielder Elijah Dukes has been mentioned in trade talks as well. If the Rays were able to turn one of them into more pitching help, their offense will have enough left in the tank to become a winning franchise.

With Gerry Hunsicker and Andrew Freeman now making player personnel decisions, the Rays are now quite active. If the players perform, the Rays now make the American League the toughest division in baseball, even with the Orioles as a non-factor. It is good for the game to have the “small market” clubs active and trying to improve. The losing culture in Tampa will take time to dissolve. But, they seem to be following the Milwaukee Brewer’s plan that has taken hold over the past few seasons.  Their offense is maturing and they are adding the pitching as they get closer to true contention. It is possible for them to compete, even on a budget. The 2008 Rays could be, depending upon the rest of the winter’s moves, the surprise team in the American League.

Here’s the bold prediction, based on the rosters of today. The Tampa Rays will win at least 78 games in 2008. If they add one more reliable pitcher, they could be a .500 team. That has never been said in the 10 year history of the organization. The Rays are finally moving in the right direction.