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And we're rolling... - 03.27.2007
It's almost that time of year again, baseball season. When even teams like my Rays, the Pirates, Royals, and Mariners seem like they have a chance at becoming a dark horse underdog team. With this being the 10th season under the Rays belt, and not a thing to show for it except 9 losing seasons, expectations are high for me to see the crop of rookies and young prospects called up last year to follow up on their performances and to get more "big league" attitude to get through games better.
Starting Pitchers:
1. Scott Kazmir
2. James Shields
3. Jae Seo
4. Casey Fossum
5. Edwin Jackson or J.P. Howell
On paper, this starting rotation looks pretty bad. Kazmir is the only "known" superstar, and he'a coming off an injury. Sheilds posted a 6-8 record last season, but ate innings, which saves time to blow games thanks to our bullpen. Jae Seo had respectable starts, but with a 2.9 run support, there's no surprise he went 1-8 with the Rays. Fossum is a good #4 pitcher, and Jackson can be a pretty good starter if he can hit his spots on a consistant basis.
Bullpen:
CP: Seth McClung
RP: Shawn Camp, Ruddy Lugo, Dan Miceli, Chad Orvella, Tim Corcoran
Easily the weakest part of the roster. McClung is a disasterous starter, and this spring he's done nothing to give hope for his new role as a closer. Shawn Camp had a good 2006 season, leading the team in appearences and winning 7 games in relief. Ruddy Lugo (the younger brother of Julio Lugo) suffered through ups and downs, but has shown signs of consistancy. Miceli is old, but they need that veteran in the dugout, Orvella is another unproven rookie, and Corcoran is the odd man out for the rotation, and will probably handle long relief, thanks to falling behind in the count more often than not.
Lineup:
LF - Carl Crawford
CF - Rocco Baldelli
RF - Delmon Young
2B - Jorge Cantu
1B - Ty Wigginton
DH - Jonny Gomes
3B - Akinori Iwamura
C - Dioner Navarro
SS - Ben Zobrist
A lot of potential here, and a lot of question marks. Going into this week, the lineups have had considerable change, but this is what I feel is the ideal lineup. The top of the order is probably the best outfield combination in baseball today. Crawford is a 5-tool player, Delmon has the potential to be, as does Rocco, if he could stay healthy for an entire season. Cantu suffered through a bad 2006, but hopefully that was linked to various injuries. Wigginton's 2006 performance proves even he is more clutch than A-Rod, tying or putting the Rays ahead with 15 of his 24 home runs. Jonny Gomes suffers from the Cantu fate: a serious shoulder injury pretty much ruined his season after April, dropping his AVG. to .216. He still finished with 20 HR's, though. Iwamura has great numbers in Japan and a great glove, but the numbers on offense will obviously go down. Navarro has a good glove and a decent bat, but nothing impressive. Same goes for Zobrist, but he has the potential to stea 20 bases.
Bench:
C - Josh Paul
1B/OF - Greg Norton
3B - Brendan Harris
IF/OF - B.J. Upton
OF - Elijah Dukes
The only names on this list that matter are Dukes and Upton. Dukes has the potential to be great, but has attitude problems to adjust, and he needs to prove himself at the major league level. Upton will be a Super Utility Man, like Chone Figgins in Anahiem, thanks to disappointing numbers, both offensively and defensively. Josh Paul will likely start when Kazmir pitches, and I'm sure he caught another starter regularly, but who cares.
Final Thoughts: There's a lot of potential here, but potential only gets you so far. If everyone holds up in the health department, and provides the numbers they are capable of, the Rays could surprise a lot of teams. |
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