Hello once again everybody! It's time to head south, as today's report card will be issued to the Tampa Bay Rays.
Tampa Bay Rays:
Record: 84-78 (Third place in the AL East, 19 games behind New York).
Batting Leaders:
Batting Average: Jason Bartlett (.320)
Home Runs: Carlos Pena (39)
RBIs: Evan Longoria (113)
On-base Percentage: Ben Zobrist (.405)
Pitching Leaders:
Wins: Jeff Niemann (13)
ERA: Jeff Niemann (3.94). Bullpen- J.P. Howell (2.84).
Strikeouts: Matt Garza (189)
Innings Pitched: James Shields (219.2)
WHIP: Matt Garza (1.26)
Saves: J.P. Howell (17)
Highlight of the Season: Carl Crawford's record-tying six stolen bases against Boston on May 3. He joined Eric Young (1996), Otis Nixon (1991) and Hall of Famer Eddie Collins (twice in 1912) as the only ones to turn the trick. Tampa Bay won the game, 5-3.
Lowlight of the Season: An 11-game losing streak from September 3-13 that took the team out of contention.
The Lowdown:
With the dawn of the 2009 season came high expectations for this young franchise that experienced glory for the first time in 2008. Their pennant run that year could easily rank as one of the most improbable stories in baseball history, as they shocked the world by winning the AL East and by taking care of the White Sox and Red Sox to win their first-ever American League Pennant. Even though the Cinderella season would end abruptly at the hands of the Phillies, things had to be looking up for this team as 2009 began. With the Yankees beefing themselves up by adding more big name free agents, and with the Red Sox determined to avenge their ALCS loss, the AL East was shaping up to be a battle of epic proportions.
The Rays stumbled out of the gate in 2009 though, as they went 9-14 in the month of April. In a division that is as unforgiving as the AL East, this is unacceptable if you want to win it. They made up for this slow start by going 35-21 in May and June to get back into contention. They were still hovering around contention in July and August, going 27-24 before crumbling in September with a dismal 11-17 record. Adding insult to injury, first baseman Carlos Pena broke two of his fingers after getting drilled by a pitch against the Yankees on September 7. With their best hitter down to injury and with the Yankees and Red Sox running on cruise control once again, Tampa Bay's season was over.
Offense:
The recipe to the Rays offense had a little bit of everything in it. They featured heaping doses of power (Evan Longoria, Carlos Pena and Ben Zobrist) and speed (Carl Crawford, B.J. Upton and Jason Bartlett), to go along with a substantial amount of contact hitting (four of their regulars hit .280 or better). As a whole, this team scored 803 runs, which was good enough for seventh in MLB. This was thanks in large part to the overall versatility in the lineup, which was mentioned earlier. Having that much diversity in your lineup means that you can beat teams in several different ways, instead of being one-dimensional like many other lineups in baseball. They are practically the 1980s St. Louis Cardinals reincarnated, with more power.
Listing all of the standout performers in the Rays' lineup will take a substantial amount of time, so I'll just narrow it down to the two most vital players in their lineup. In my opinion, those two important figures are Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria. Even though some of you who may be reading this are thinking "why not Carl Crawford," I truly believe that this lineup would be substantially weaker without the presence of those two. Pena, despite his low batting average of .227, put together another fine season of power at the plate, drilling 39 home runs and driving in 100, all while missing most of the final month of the season. Longoria, on the other hand, put together a fine sophomore season of his own at the plate, going deep 33 times while driving in 113, to go along with a solid .281 batting average. While Tampa Bay's lineup features good contact hitting and a lot of speed, the power is what makes the engines really churn. Put all of that together, and you have a lethal lineup that pitchers cannot relax against during any point of the order, one through nine.
In addition to finishing seventh in total runs scored, the Rays also finished sixth in MLB in homers (199), tied for 11th in batting average (.263), and tied for sixth in on-base percentage (.343). As far as overall completeness goes, this is arguably one of the five best lineups in baseball. Makes Mark Buehrle's perfect game against them all the more impressive, does it not?
Final Grade: A+
Pitching:
Alas, we have reached the Achilles' heel of Tampa Bay in 2009, and that was their pitching. The key to their success in 2008 was the progression of the young starters, to go along with a vastly improved bullpen. However, this year's rotation regressed a bit, probably due in part to overall fatigue from the amount of innings they threw last year. Their staff ERA, as a whole, fell from third in 2008 (3.82) to 14th (4.33), and the total amount of runs they gave up increased to 754, up from 671 last year. The two biggest drop-offs in the starting rotation were Andy Sonnanstine and Scott Kazmir, who each saw their ERAs balloon to over five. In Kazmir's case, his regression was probably a deciding factor in him getting traded to the Angels on August 28, in one of the more puzzling moves during the season.
Despite the regression of their staff as a whole, one pitcher in their rotation only got better, and that was rookie Jeff Niemann. He was part of their rotation from day one, starting in 30 games and compiling a 13-6 record with a decent 3.94 ERA. His performance was good enough for him to receive Rookie of the Year consideration, and it was certainly good enough to ensure him of a spot in the rotation for 2010.
Their bullpen was still pretty solid, as J.P. Howell and Dan Wheeler led the way this past season. They each made 69 appearances, while recording ERAs of 2.84 and 3.28, respectively. While the blown saves were conspicuously high for Howell (he had a whopping eight of them), this also came from a guy who is ordinarily not a closer. The lack of a true "lights-out" guy to close out games in their 'pen is just another thing that hurt their pitching last year.
Another thing that hurt their 'pen last year was the regression of hard-throwing righty Grant Balfour. In 2008, he was one of the best relievers in baseball, putting together a 1.54 ERA in 58.1 innings. This year, he was significantly worse, as he recorded a 4.81 ERA in 67.1 innings. If there is any evidence as to how relievers can be unpredictable from one year to the next, this certainly has to be it.
Overall, Tampa Bay's pitching staff was not bad by any means. In fact, I wouldn't even call them mediocre, because they were still pretty solid as a unit. However, they play in the AL East, which is very unforgiving. If there is any tiny slip-up in any part of your team, chances are you will be on the outside looking in once the postseason starts.
Final Grade: B-
Wild Card: Team Speed
Playing a game against Tampa Bay is like coming out for a track meet. They led the majors in stolen bases this year with 194, a staggering 45 more than the next-fastest team, the Texas Rangers. Also, once they steal, they don't get caught much either, as their 76 percent success rate tied for fourth in MLB, too. Left fielder Carl Crawford led the team with 60 steals, followed by center fielder B.J. Upton's 42. Shortstop Jason Bartlett even got in on the act, stealing 30 of his own. Having this much team speed can certainly get into the head of just about any pitcher in baseball.
Final Grade: A+
Overall:
Don't let this team fool you by their final record; this is a really good team. Their pitching might have slipped a bit, but their lineup was still fantastic this past season. If their pitching bounces back, expect this team to be right in the thick of things next year. They are not going anywhere.
Final Grade: B
Check back tomorrow for the report card on the Seattle Mariners!
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