SSN sizes up the opponent as ALCS draws near by Mike Ghika
New attitude and balanced mix have made the Rays a team of destiny

Manager Joe Maddon has been the driving force of the Tampa Bay tour bus all year long. However, Rays GM Andrew Friedman, just 31, deserves much of the credit. The little known Friedman has assembled a near-perfect team down south, with an array of youngsters leading a revamped rotation, complemented ideally by a balanced lineup consisting of young stars and cheap veterans. Sports Illustrated named him the top executive of the year last month, and as the Rays are set to open Game 1 of the ALCS against the Red Sox at the Trop on Friday, baseball is finally relevant in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area.

From the beginning of their first season in the league in 1998, the only chance the Rays had at success was to build via the draft. Josh Hamilton, the 1999 No. 1 overall pick, never panned out (at least not in a Rays’ uniform). Their first round pick in 2000, Rocco Baldelli (No. 6 overall), is still with the organization but hasn’t been a vital piece of the puzzle because of injuries. And although some may beg to differ, my gut feeling is that Dewon Brazelton wasn’t the answer in 2001 (No. 3 overall).

After bad drafts that clearly were not paying dividends, the club finally began finding first round talent, selecting and signing BJ Upton and Delmon Young in 2002 and 2003. 2004 and 2005 were two more down years at the draft-board, but 2006 brought the organization what scouts would call a ‘sure-thing’ in Evan Longoria, and the team’s 2007 first-round selection, David Price, is on the cusp of stardom as well.

Suddenly, after six months of the regular season (nope, that crucial slide in the standings never occurred) and a handily ALDS win over Chicago, the Rays are sitting pretty for the present and future.

Friedman stockpiled a few older veterans last off-season, and players like Eric Hinske, Cliff Floyd, and Troy Percival have been essential elements to the team. With the Daisuke Matsuzaka sweepstakes occurring prior to the 2007 campaign, no one seemed to notice when Friedman plucked Akinori Iwamura from Japan through the posting system. Also credit him with making the deal of the winter, acquiring Matt Garza and Jason Bartlett from Minnesota while pushing Young’s bat-tossing and downer attitude out the door. Both of their performances have been immeasurable, as Bartlett has been their steadiest player all year and Garza, at least in my mind, has the best stuff on the staff.

But Garza wasn’t the only bargain. The Devil was in fact on the Rays’ side at least once in the past, when former Mets GM Steve Phillips agreed in 2004 to send Scott Kazmir to Tampa for the lowly Victor Zambrano. Alongside Garza and Kazmir have been James Shields, (the finally-emerging) Edwin Jackson, and Andy Sonnanstine. None of the five won more than 14 games, but each posted a respectable ERA and the staff as a whole doesn’t walk many hitters. And with Price needing to move to the rotation next spring, Friedman will be able to acquire a bullpen piece in exchange for one of the back starters to help out Grant Balfour, who will most likely become the full-time closer.

Dioneer Navarro, a former Yankees farmhand, has emerged into a potential .300 hitting catcher and appeared in his first All-Star game in July. Detroit, New York, and Boston all kicked the tires on Carlos Pena, but he found a home (and a city where no one hyped him up) in Tampa, and the franchise in return locked him up. Carl Crawford, the lone mainstay from the less-than-substantial clubs over the years, may in fact be the one that leaves the team once free agency arrives for the speedy outfielder.

And so, with the heels of the ALCS upon us, Sox fans and fans across the baseball world will be tuned into what everyone is expecting to be a thrilling seven-game series. Can the Rays take advantage of a banged up Sox club? Will Maddon be able to continue to instill heart and character into his young team at this stage of the season? Will the experience of the Sox overmatch this year’s Cinderella sports story? Can we anticipate the two clubs will fight again, just as they did back in Boston on June 5th?

Only the upcoming series can determine the answers to these questions, when the Boston Red Sox take on, yes, the Tampa Bay Rays. I still can’t believe it either.


Published on October 07, 2008

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