By Tim Kurkjian
ESPN The Magazine
That soft chirping you hear is not coming from Tampa, home of the $195 million
Yankees, but across the bay in St. Pete, home of the $20 million-something
Devil Rays. It is not boastful or presumptuous. It is not a rallying cry. It's
more like, We Won't Be Terrible.
Rocco Baldelli could hit third in the order this season.
The Devil Rays won't be terrible. But in the brutal American League East,
they're probably going to finish in last place for the seventh straight season
no matter what manager Lou Piniella says. Still, there is hope. The D-Rays have
a plan, one built around player development, and around stockpiling really good
athletes who can run and play defense. It is a plan that might never work as
long as they're in a division with the Yankees and Red Sox, but it's a plan
that should avoid most of the awful problems of the past.
"We're going to be better," Piniella says. "We're in a real tough division, but
we can only look at ourselves. I know there's a big difference between our
team this year and last year."
On the surface, the Devil Rays still appear to be living the hell of a few
years ago when they brought in every old, worn-down slugger in hopes of putting
an entertaining product on the field. But the invitations of veterans Fred
McGriff and Fernando Tatis to camp are just that; they are not expected to make
the club (the D-Rays hope that McGriff, who is nine homers shy of 500, can show
enough to find a part-time job with another team).
The Devil Rays roster mostly will be set by March, which is a departure. Geoff
Blum likely will play third base, Rey Sanchez probably will play second. The
lineup won't be bad with Rocco Baldelli (stronger this spring), Aubrey Huff,
Jose Cruz Jr. and Tino Martinez hitting 3-4-5-6. The bullpen will be better
with new closer Danys Baez replacing Lance Carter, who could be a good setup
guy (the Devil Rays have Carter and Mike Williams, who made the All-Star team
last year as closers, but won't close for this team).
Mostly, Piniella will have a good bench, a major change. Last year, the D-Rays
were, at one point, 0-17 in day games. That was partly due to the fact that
bench guys get more of a chance to play in day games after night games, and
Tampa Bay had no bench. This year, Piniella has Robert Fick, Eduardo Perez,
Damian Rolls and Deivi Cruz. Piniella uses more of a National League style of
play -- he runs and hits-and-runs more -- than most teams. And he plays his
entire roster. This season, he might have an entire roster.
There also is help on the way from the minor leagues with shortstop B.J. Upton
and outfielder Delmon Young, ages 19 and 18, respectively. One year of pro ball
has turned Upton from painfully quiet to talkative, another sign that the big
leagues might call as early as September. Young seems bored in camp, a sign
that he plans on playing one year in the minors, then will be a major leaguer
for good. With his talent, he might be right.
"We have position players coming," Piniella said. "What we have to do with
Part 3 of this plan is to find some starting pitchers the next offseason
through free agency or trades."
The Devil Rays rotation should keep them in last place in 2004. It is uncertain
after Victor Zambrano and Jeremi Gonzalez (not like they are guarantees,
either). From Mark Hendrickson, Doug Waechter, Damian Moss, Paul Abbott and
several others, 3-4-5 starters must be found. That's not a good situation in a
division with Boston and the Yankees.
If the Devil Rays can sign, trade for or develop starting pitching, they might
someday be both entertaining and good with Upton, Young, Baldelli, Huff and
speedy Joey Gathright igniting the offense. But that's a few years off. In the
meantime, they're going to struggle in the East, they likely won't finish out
of last place even though Piniella predicted they would on the first stop of
a caravan tour this winter. This week, he laughed and said "I told everyone if
we have a few more luncheons, I would say that we're going to win our division,
then go to the World Series. But as a manager, I have to be optimistic. I like
our club."
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