Rotation : The gap between what good pitching costs and what the Rays are willing to pay is widening. They never have had a legitimate No. 1 guy, so again they'll just lob a bunch of arms at die wall and see what sticks. The lone pitcher widi ace- type stuff is 21-year-old Scott Kazmir, heisted from the Mets for Victor Zambrano. His durability is open to question and he has control issues, but few batters catch up to his lefty heat. Streaky soft-tosser Mark Hendrickson is the only returning 10-game winner, yet he's a No. 4 or 5 on a good team. Dewon Brazelton had some nice moments, but 80 pitches into a game and four months into a season, he runs out of gas. The Rays think Bell may be a late bloomer. He lacks consistency and a pitch to put away left-handed hitters. Other contenders include smoke-throwing Jorge Sosa (who needs command, an "idea" and a second go-to pitch) and 24-year-olds Doug Waechter (5-7, 6.01) and Seth McClung (coming off Tommy John surgery).
Bullpen :The harvest of Danys Baez out of the 2003 non-tender pool was an astute move; GM Chuck LaMar gambled correctly diat the Cuban defector's failures in Cleveland were more due to lack of experience than nerve. He doesn't dominate, but he's more than adequate. The set-up corps is the team's deepest unit. Jesus Colome has as much arm strength as anyone and began to hint at command. His year ended early with a bad shoulder. Travis Harper and former closer Lance Carter are rubber-armed strike-throwers. Sosa can be a power set-up man if he doesn't crack the rotation. Angel Garcia, the first pick of § the Rule 5 Draft, could stick. Trever Miller and Bobby Seay are viable situational lefties.
Middle Infield : He strikes out too much and his defense is flighty, but Julio Lugo's speed and pop make him one of the AL's better shortstops. "Lugo is basically our heart and soul," says manager Lou Piniella. Dazzling shortstop prospect BJ. Upton can hit right now, but he'll open the year in Durham mending holes in a glove that's made 100 errors in 273 professional games. Roberto Alomar, a Piniella favorite, was signed to play second base, at least as die left-side platoon with gap-hitting youngster Jorge Cantu. Alomar, however, is 37 and four teams in the last three years couldn't wait to replace him
Corners : Huff is the team's solitary complete hitter. He adjusts to being pitched around, doesn't strike out much and gets runners home. Widi some protection, he'd be almost Pujolsian. He played both corners with dis-cernable improvement last year but, in a perfect world, he'd be the Rays' DH. In '05, Huff
who Piniella wants to be more of a leader
is likely spend most of his time at first. Alex S. Gonzalez was signed for third base, a position at which he's seen nary an inning in a decade. The veteran ex-shortstop "has a chance to give us 20 homers," says Piniella. However, like many Rays, his on-base percentages and srrikeout rates are horrific.
Outfield : Prospects for 2005 took a blow when prized center fielder Rocco Baldelli tore up his knee playing baseball with his young brother. Baldelli had just begun growing into his power, and what could have been a breakout year will be abridged by at least a couple of mondis. Thus, soon-to-be-superstar Catl Crawford will move from left (where Piniella considers him the best in the biz) to center. He is a two-time AL stolen base leader and a possible batting champ who has the physique to hit many more homers. Jose Cruz Jr. returns in right. His .242 batting average ranked 151st of 161 major league qualifiers, and the former Gold Glover's 10 errors were second-most by any AL outfielder. Until Baldelli returns, left field belongs to Danny Bautista, a free agent pickup via Arizona. He's a good glove man, but yet another low-OBP guy without a lot of power. Fleet rookie Joey Gathright could factor in.
Catching : In a mild surprise, the club offered arbitration to Toby Hall, who has started most of the past three seasons. He controls opponents' running games, but he doesn't do pitchers many favors as a game manager, and he has been stubbornly adjustment-proof at the plate despite terrific hand-eye coordination.
DH/Bench : The Rays might as well have let their pitchers hack last year; their DHs batted .222. Enter former Blue Jays/Indians prospect Josh Phelps. He is a one-tool player, but his power is substantial. "We think he's a 25-plus home run guy," says LaMar. Other DH types include Eduardo Perez (whose nearly season-long Achilles injury was a tough loss in 2004), and rookies Matt Diaz and Jonny Gomes (who have little left to prove in Triple- A) .
Mangement : Piniella has been the best thing ever to happen to the Devil Rays, but he is exasperated by the lack of talent and may look for a way out on or before his 2006 contract expiration. With things this bad, it is astonishing that LaMar is baseball's fourth longest-tenured GM. His player personnel approach has been conservative and uncreative. Many peers find him exasperating to deal with, and his farm system has been middle-of the-road — road kill, actually, from a pitching standpoint. Naimoli might be a short-timer. Wall Street investor Stuart Sternberg became majority owner last May and could eventually pull the daily strings. "Things were messy, but I like messy," he said. He'll love the Rays.
Final Analysis : By the time other recent expansion teams reached this point, the Marlins and Diamondbacks boasted world titles, and the Rockies had three winning seasons. What the Devil Rays have is exactly what they had in 1998: a rumor that the team is about to improve. The front office characterizes last year as "progress" because the Rays set a team record for wins and skulked out of the basement for the first time. In reality, they had one more win than their previous best and finished further out of first place than their second team in '99. So there's little motivation to expect a breakthrough. And given the team's track record, fans have been left wondering if tomorrow will ever come.
