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The Tampa Bay Rays brought major league baseball to the Tampa in the summer in 1998. The area was a hotbed for baseball during spring training, but every March the teams would leave.
The Rays quickly built teams around aging veterans like Wade Boggs, Jose Conseco, Vinny Castilla, Greg Vaughn, and Fred McGriff. The roster was impressive, but passed their prime. The Rays finished those early years in last place in the American League East, at times being the worst team in baseball.The team shifted its strategy in 2004 to try and develop young players instead. Aubrey Huff, Carl Crawford, and Rocco Baldelli made their bats felt and Scott Kazmar quickly established himself as one of the best young pitchers in baseball. The team, although young and exciting, still finished well below .500.
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The American League East’s perennial last place team, the Tamp Bay Rays, hope to make some progress after last season. The team picked up some new pitching prospects, Matt Garza and Eduardo Morlan, and has a talented outfield with Carl Crawford, Delmon Young, and B.J. Upton. The pitching rotation is young, but may see power pitcher Scott Kazmir lead the league in strikeouts. The rest of the rotation includes James Shields, who looks to repeat his performance throwing over 200 innings last season, and Matt Garza, the prospect from the Twins. The savior of the bullpen has to be Troy Percival because the rest of the bullpen posted a 6.16 ERA last season.
Offensively, the team will rely on the young group in the outfield and first baseman Carlos Pena, who hit 46 home runs last season. Carl Crawford is expected to compete for the stolen base crown again and bat over .300. Center fielder B.J. Upton, who was converted from a shortstop, was the Rays first 20-20 player last season and hopes to play again with the combination of speed and power that made him so good last year.
All this young talent gives the Tampa Bay Rays a ball club that can snap the 90-loss season streak at nine. The club also hopes that the hitter friendly Tropicana Field does not hurt their pitchers too much and will continued to aid the soft hitting club. The future looks bright as the organization waits for prospects like 6-foot-9 pitcher Jeff Niemann to join the ranks of the majors. The Rays can only hope the season and the schedule will be kind to them.
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