Day 30: Tampa Bay Devil Rays

The entire schedule of when team recaps will be.

Team: Tampa Bay Devil Rays

2007 Regular Season Record: 66-96

Cost per Win: $24,123,500 / 66 = $365,507 per win

2007 Season Recap: Tampa Bay has had a team since 1998 and haven’t really had any success in that period. In all but one of those seasons they have finished in last place in the AL East and they finished second to last the other year. Their best record in their 10 year history was 70-91 in 2004. In 2007 they finished with 66 wins and showed some progress on offense, it was more the pitching that held them back. They ranked 8th in the AL in both team batting average and runs scored with a .268 average and 782 runs scored. Pitching however ranked last in the AL in every major statistical pitching category including a 5.53 ERA as a staff.

One of the biggest standouts for the Devil Rays in 2007 was Carlos Pena. Pena led the team with 46 home runs, 121 RBIs, and 99 runs. This was Pena’s first year with the Devil Rays and also his best of his 7 year career. Pena’s performance earned him the award for AL Comeback Player of the Year and he also gained attention for the MVP award. Another player that had a great season for the Devil Rays was Carl Crawford who achieved a .315 batting average to lead the team and also he added 93 runs and 80 RBIs to make the offense very productive. Other strong contributors on offense were B.J. Upton, Akinori Iwamura, and Ty Wigginton.

The Devil Rays had 2 really good starting ptichers in 2007 but after those 2 guys things fell off suddenly. One of the good pitchers was Scott Kazmir who recorded a 13-9 record and a 3.48 ERA. Their 2nd good starter was James Shields who had a record of 12-8 in 2007 with a 3.85 ERA. A third thing the Devil Rays had was a solid closer in Al Reyes. He finished the season with 26 saves and only 4 blown saves. The majority of the rest of the bullpen didn’t fair nearly as well, 8 of their relievers who threw in more than 23 innings had an ERA over 7 which will easily make a good offensive performance be in vain no matter how many runs are scored.

Just an additional note is that this off-season the team in Tampa Bay has undergone a name change. They are now called the Tampa Bay Rays instead of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The minor name change means a change to the logo, colors, and uniform. I don’t think the change was all that necessary but their front office staff apparently thought it would be beneficial to the team.

Key Free Agents: C Raul Casanova, C Josh Paul, 3 RPs; The Rays don’t really have free agent issues this off-season. They lose 2 catchers and 3 relief pitchers but none of them contributed all that much to the team in 2007 so they won’t be missed that much. Relief pitcher Troy Percival signed a 2 year contract and outfielder Cliff Floyd signed a 1 year contract. In addition the option on closer Al Reyes was exercised so he is with the team for another year.

Offseason Needs: The Rays main problem is in the bullpen where they need to pick up a couple more consistent arms to patch the hole they had in 2007. They also could use a catcher and a utility infielder to add some depth if any injuries occur during the season.

Prediction for the 2008 season: I actually like the Rays going into 2008. They do however play in a tough division and I don’t think they have the talent or salary to compete with the Yankees, Red Sox, or Blue Jays. They might be able to put some pressure on the Orioles for the 4th place spot. They do have to do something to improve their bullpen but the addition of Percival is a great step in that direction and I don’t think the guys that they have in the bullpen now can perform that bad 2 years in a row. I definitely think the Rays will at least improve their record in 2008 and will probably set the team record for wins, meaning they will win more than 70 games.