These Baseball Previews Go To 11 - Tampa Bay Devil Rays

Most of your baseball previews are playing their hearts out but they stop at 10. Where can these other blokes go? We like to push things over the cliff at The Feed though so you know what we do? That's right. We turn it up to 11. Three things to like, three things to worry about, three questions to answer, one kid on the farm and one predicted finish. That adds up to the most powerful preview you can find. Because it goes to 11 and there’s none more louder, really, than 11.

3 Things To Like

1. The Delmon Young Era begins in earnest. After last year’s bat throwing at AAA Durham made some worry about his make up, Young came to the majors for 126 at-bats that showed he’s the favorite for AL Rookie of the Year. He gives the Rays an excellent outfield with Carl Crawford and Rocco Baldelli.
2. Akinori Iwamura was the third biggest Japanese import of the offseason but he may provide more bang for the buck than either of the other big names in the division. He also gives them some security if Jorge Cantu doesn’t bounce back from a terrible 2006 season. If Cantu does rebound, he, Iwamura and Ty Wigginton will join with the outfield to provide a lot of offense.
3. Scott Kazmir, when he’s healthy, is as good a starting pitcher as there is in baseball.

3 Things To Worry About

1. Kazmir missed the last six weeks of the season with a sore shoulder. Other than him the team doesn’t have a single reliable starting pitcher. Jae Seo was the only pitcher to throw more than 150 innings in the majors last year and that’s the only good thing to say about him while Casey Fossum is a left-handed Seo, only without the durability. Jeff Niemann, first rounder in 2004, is on the near horizon but has only one half-season of full healthy under his belt.
2. The bullpen is worse than the rotation.
3. Dioner Navarro hasn’t done much to make good on the prospect status that got him traded for Randy Johnson. The team’s got prospects at every other position and on the mound but if Navarro doesn’t develop there’s no one else in the organization.

3 Questions To Answer

1. Where is B.J. Upton going to play? He’s a terrible defensive shortstop and hasn’t shown an affinity for any other position either. His hitting has suffered the last two years as he’s tried to find a regular spot on the field. There’s some talk that he’ll play a Chone Figgins-esque utility role but he needs to settle into a role for his development to continue.
2. Can they count on Cantu or Jonny Gomes? Gomes was second on the team with 20 homers but had a debilitating shoulder injury that cost him 45 games and was totally one-dimensional at the plate. Cantu played just 107 games and produced at a rate far below his breakout 2005. Both players had OPS drops of more than 100 points and if they can regain their losses the Rays will be an offensive beast and in position to trade for pitching.
3. At what point do you stop planning for the future? The Rays have done an excellent job of stocking the larder but they still can’t put together a decent meal. The new management team is still new enough to get a break for the crimes of the Vince Naimoli-Chuck LaMar era but the wait for tomorrow act is in its 10th season and not because it pleases the crowd like Les Miz.

1 Kid On The Farm (For Now)

Elijah Dukes. On and off-field incidents have combined to hold Dukes back but the 6’2”, 220 pound outfielder has made scouts drool at every level. A 30-game suspension hurt him last year but he pounded AAA pitching while he was in the lineup. He’ll be back there to start the year, most likely, but could step in if Gomes struggles again or could force the trade of Crawford or Baldelli for some much needed pitching help. Either way he’ll be in the Show before the year is out. 

1 Prediction About Their Finish

The thing about the Rays is that even if they win 10 more games than a year ago they will finish 20-plus games out of first place in the East. Are they better than last year? Because of the bats, they probably are but the pitching is still so bad that it seems unlikely that they will even challenge Baltimore for fourth place. Another hundred losses seems all too likely.