GasHouse34 Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 [align=center] Tampa Bay Rays A Change in the Bay History 2008 will mark the 10th year that the Tampa Rays have been in Major League Baseball. A decade ago, when the then Devil Rays just started, they acquired a few star players to start the franchises career. Before the 1998 season, Wade Boggs and Fred McGriff joined Tampa Bay. Those two players weren't able to help the Devil Rays to a playoff appearance. A year later, the Devil Rays would pick up José Canseco and Greg Vaughn. Although they were hyped as the "Hit Show", the Devil Rays wouldn't amount to anything again. With all these players past their prime, it was time for a change. A change for the organization was started with the hiring of famous manager, Lou Piniella. Piniella's Devil Rays were a younger team with not much experience. The team was led by players like Rocco Baldelli, Carl Crawford, and Aubrey Huff. The team would later trade for Scott Kazmir, now ace of the Tampa Bay Rays, in 2004. The 2004 team would finish with the best record in team history with 70 wins and 91 losses. But that generation of baseball in Tampa Bay was over when Lou Piniella and the front office agreed on Lou's release. The Devil Rays have changed over the last few years. With the hiring of current manager, Joe Maddon, there were many transactions. In 2006, long-time Devil Ray, Aubrey Huff, was traded away. Tampa Bay also was able to gain current catcher, Dioner Navarro. The Devil Rays finished the 2006 campaign with a winning record at home and the best attendance at Tropicana Field since 2000. With things looking up, the Devil Rays looked to have a good 2007 season. They acquired slugger, Carlos Peña and a Japanese phenom in the form of Akinori Iwamura. The team still finished last place, but showed promise in the future. In the offseason, the team went through some changes. They now have new uniforms and now go by the name the Tampa Bay Rays. With these changes, the Rays look to change their losing ways. 2008 Season The 2008 season looks to be promising, but that has been said a lot in the past about other Tampa Bay teams. This teams expectations are low, but they do have some things going for them. Although they traded some good talent away, including Delmon Young, the Rays have picked up some talent for themselves. In that trade to the Twins involving Young, the Rays acquired pitcher, Matt Garza. Garza looks to add some zest to the starting rotation. Also, the top prospect at the hot corner, Evan Longoria, will be joining the 2008 squad. A fresh face to the team that has a fresh look itself could be a sign for great things. So the real question is: Can the young talent and established veterans mesh to a working team? The Rays have never won a division title, and it doesn't look like they can compete against the juggernauts that are the 2007 World Series champions, the Boston Red Sox, and the perennial playoff team in the New York Yankees. This year should be a challenge for the Rays, but that is the beauty of baseball. An underdog isn't so unfamiliar in Florida, as the Marlins have done it before. With the recent changes to the franchise, it isn't to preposterous to have optimism for this young team. With an emergence of young talent, a new look, and a new name, there is no secret there is...A Change in the Bay.[/align] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GasHouse34 Posted August 10, 2008 Author Share Posted August 10, 2008 [align=center]2008 Tampa Bay Rays Active Roster Catchers C #30 Dioner Navarro .227 BA, 9 HR, 44 RBI 2 Years/$200,000 Per Year Age: 24 -------------------- C #9 Shawn Riggans .100 BA, 0 HR, 2 RBI 2 Years/$200,000 Per Year Age: 27 ---------------------------------------- First Basemen 1B #23 Carlos Peña .282 BA, 46 HR, 121 RBI 4 Years/$7,800,000 Per Year Age: 29 ---------------------------------------- Second Basemen 2B #1 Akinori Iwamura .275 BA, 7 HR, 34 RBI 2 Years/$3,100,000 Per Year Age: 29 ---------------------------------------- Shortstops SS #8 Jason Bartlett .265 BA, 5 HR, 43 RBI 1 Year/$300,000 Per Year Age: 28 ---------------------------------------- Third Basemen 3B #3 Evan Longoria No MLB Stats 6 Years/$2,700,000 Per Year Age: 22 -------------------- 3B #16 Willy Aybar No Stats in 2007 3 Years/$200,000 Per Year Age: 25 ---------------------------------------- Left Fielders LF #13 Carl Crawford .315 BA, 11 HR, 80 RBI 2 Years/$6,500,000 Per Year Age: 26 -------------------- LF #15 Cliff Floyd .284 BA, 9 HR, 45 RBI 1 Year/$2,500,00 Per Year Age: 35 ---------------------------------------- Center Fielders CF #2 B.J. Upton .300 BA, 24 HR, 82 RBI 2 Years/$200,000 Per Year Age: 23 ---------------------------------------- Right Fielders RF #31 Jonny Gomes .244, 17 HR, 49 RBI 1 Year/ $1,100,000 Per Year Age: 27 -------------------- RF #14 Gabe Gross .235, 7 HR, 34 RBI 1 Year/$200,000 Per Year Age: 28 -------------------- RF #12 Eric Hinske .204, 6 HR, 21 RBI 1 Year/$5,400,000 Per Year Age: 30 ---------------------------------------- Starting Rotation SP #19 Scott Kazmir 13-9, 3.48 ERA, 239 SO 4 Years/$6,900,000 Per Year Age: 24 -------------------- SP #33 James Shields 12-8, 3.85 ERA, 184 SO 3 Years/$3,500,000 Per Year Age: 26 -------------------- SP #22 Matt Garza 5-7, 3.69 ERA, 67 SO 3 Years/$200,000 Per Year Age: 24 -------------------- SP #21 Andy Sonnanstine 6-10, 5.86 ERA, 97 SO 3 Years/$200,000 Per Year Age: 25 -------------------- SP #36 Edwin Jackson 5-15, 5.76 ERA, 128 SO 2 Years/$200,000 Per Year Age: 24 ---------------------------------------- Long Relievers RP #49 Jason Hammel 3-5, 6.14 ERA, 64 SO 3 Years/$200,000 Per Year Age: 25 -------------------- RP #39 J.P. Howell 1-6, 7.59 ERA, 49 SO 2 Years/$200,000 Per Year Age: 24 ---------------------------------------- Middle Relievers RP #57 Trever Miller 0-0, 4.86 ERA, 46 SO 1 Year/$200,000 Per Year Age: 34 -------------------- RP #47 Gary Glover 6-5, 4.89 ERA, 51 SO 1 Year/$900,000 Per Year Age: 31 -------------------- RP #35 Dan Wheeler 1-9, 5.30 ERA, 82 So 3 Years/$3,300,000 Per Year Age: 30 ---------------------------------------- Setup Men RP #28 Al Reyes 2-4, 4.90 ERA, 26 SV, 70 SO 1 Year/$2,100,000 Per Year Age: 36 ---------------------------------------- Closers RP #40 Troy Percival 3-0, 1.80 ERA, 0 SV, 36 SO 2 Years/$3,800,000 Per Year Age: 38 [/align] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GasHouse34 Posted August 11, 2008 Author Share Posted August 11, 2008 [align=center]Series Preview Tampa Bay Rays (0-0) @ Baltimore Orioles (0-0) The 2008 season for the Tampa Bay Rays will start out with a AL East series against the Baltimore Orioles. This three game set will take place at Oriole Park at Camden Yards and will be the beginning of a road trip for the Rays that will last for seven games. These two teams finished in the cellar of the AL East last year. The Orioles finished a few games ahead of the Rays in the standings, but that isn't saying much. Both of these teams are looking to improve vastly this year. Both teams are looking to start a quick advantage in the division, also. This series will be key to set the tempo in the division, but this is only the first series of the year. The Baltimore Orioles are coming off a bad year, but are trying to rebound with a young team. The Orioles shipped off Erik Bedard for Adam Jones and George Sherrill in the offseason. Also, Miguel Tejada isn't playing in Baltimore, taking a huge bat out of the lineup. The Orioles are now relying on players like Nick Markakis and Brian Roberts to lead the team. With a weak hitting lineup and not the best pitching in the world, it will be pretty hard for the Orioles to surprise anyone this year. The same could be said for the newly-named Tampa Bay Rays. The Tampa Bay Rays are coming into this year with a chip on their shoulder. They finished in the AL East with the worst record in 2007. The Rays have made some improvements in the offseason that could help the team. The Rays made a trade with the Minnesota Twins that sent Delmon Young and others to the AL Central in return for pitcher Matt Garza, shortstop Jason Bartlett, and a minor league player. Garza and Bartlett are planned to be big parts of the team this year. The Rays also signed a veteran outfielder by the name of Cliff Floyd. Floyd has had some success in the past when it comes to swinging the bat. Also, the emergence of young third baseman, Evan Longoria, will add some youth and intensity to the team. Combine all of that with Carl Crawford, Scott Kazmir, and newly signed closer, Troy Percival, and you've got a respectful team. April 2nd will be the first game for both of these teams and they will be looking to prove that they can contend with the two big teams atop the AL East, the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. These teams play each other more times in the year, and this can be a measuring stick of how they stack up to one another. The pitcher taking the mound for the Tampa Bay Rays will be the ace, Scott Kazmir. His opponent, on the rubber for Baltimore, is Jeremy Guthrie. Kazmir is an experienced and proven starter but Guthrie is young and doesn't have near as much experience, although he did have a decent 2007. We will see what each of these teams have when they take each other on in this series of three at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. [/align] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GasHouse34 Posted August 11, 2008 Author Share Posted August 11, 2008 [align=center]Game Summary Tampa Bay Rays (0-0) @ Baltimore Orioles (0-0) The first game of 2008 for the Tampa Bay Rays was sloppy, but effective. The Rays rode out a very close game that didn't highlight much hitting. For Tampa Bay, the bats were quite, but luckily for them, so were Baltimore's. The Rays only pieced together five hits in the whole game, but that didn't matter. The Orioles doubled the opponent's hit total, but were only able to get one run out of it. It wasn't a secret that these two teams aren't exactly stacked when it comes to hitting. Pitching was a key to the outcome of this game. For the Tampa Bay Rays, Scott Kazmir was effected for his first six innings, but then he started to go sour. The ace started to miss his spots, so the manager, Joe Maddon, thought it was necessary to bring him out of the game. The relief was good, only allowing one run in two innings. Percival was able to earn his first save of the season and his first as a Ray. The Orioles pitching was sluggish, but didn't give up many hits. The starter, Jeremy Guthrie, went a strong six innings. Guthrie looked good from the start, but once he gave up a 3-run homerun to Akinori Iwamura, he was done. All the damage had been done on the four runs Guthrie let up. The breakdown on Tampa Bay is that their big hitters need to get the bats working. The meat of the order didn't get much of anything done. The grunt of the offense was off the bat of Akinori Iwamura, who bats first. Carl Crawford didn't reach base, and every time he reaches base it is a guaranteed runner in scoring position. The wrap on the Orioles is that they didn't capitalize on their opportunities. Baltimore had men in scoring position a few times, but it never amounted to anything. Whoever is able to fix their problem first will get the advantage for the next two games of this series. Two days from now, on the 4th, these two teams will be taking the field again. This time taking the mound for Tampa Bay is James Shields, who is coming off a great year. Going for the Baltimore Orioles is Daniel Cabrera, a so-so pitcher looking to breakout. We will see if Tampa's bats can answer or if the Orioles can make the most of their own situations. Whatever happens, it should be a good game of baseball. Player of the Game Akinori Iwamura 1-3, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 2 R John Kruk's Analysis If either the Orioles or the Rays want to be a contender in the AL East, they better piece together all the things that make a playoff contender. These teams haven't showed that they can in the past, but they do have pieces that just need to be fit together. These teams have the potential to take down the giants that have dominated the AL East in the past. The thing that divides the Red Sox or Yankees with the rest of the AL East is their ability to win on a regular basis. Quote of the Game "Iwamura knocks it deep to right...THAT ONE LANDS IN EUTAW STREET!" - Rays TV announcer, Dewayne Staats, calls Iwamura's 3-run homerun. [/align] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgex Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 Looks great, i'll be following! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
venn177 Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 Dewayne Staats is one of the most bias announcers in baseball. Ugh. Other than that I like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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