Carl Crawford remains one of the few bright spots in the Tampa Bay region.

What Went Right?

When using the word “offensive” in regards to the Tampa Bay Rays, it is usually a derogatory term. In 2007, the word that followed was often “prowess.” Posting the fifth-highest team OPS in the American League, the perennial doormat raised the bar of expectations and gave their fans plenty to look forward to in the future. Led, unsurprisingly, by Carl Crawford (.315/.355/.466), the Rays’ offense featured several bona fide threats including Comeback Player of the Year, Carlos Pena. Pena mashed 46 home runs, second to only Alex Rodriguez in the American League, en route to a 1.037 OPS.

B.J. Upton and Delmon Young began to cash in on their potential during the 2007 season as well. At 23 and 22, respectively, the two combined for 37 home runs, 175 runs batted in, 32 stolen bases and 151 runs scored in 1119 at-bats. Upton carried the bulk of that load with 24 home runs 82 runs batted in despite playing just 129 games. He continued to strike out at an alarming rate, but improved his strikeout-to-walk ratio from 3.0 in the past two seasons to 2.4 in 2007.

Rookie import Akinori Iwamura did not have quite the power displayed in Japan, but he certainly did not disappoint, either. He posted a solid .285 batting average in 123 games, good for tenth among all qualifying third basemen in baseball. He was sharp with the glove as well netting the top fielding percentage among third basemen. Manning the left side of the infield with Iwamura was Brendan Harris. Harris excelled in his first full-time gig after playing very sparingly with four teams since 2004. He hit .286/.343/.434 with 12 home runs in 521 at-bats.

This portion of Tampa Bay’s YiR has been decidedly offense driven for good reason. The simple fact is because outside of Scott Kazmir, there simply is not much to write home about. Thankfully in 2007, Kazmir’s running mate for a 1-2 punch emerged in the form of James Shields. Shields was absolutely brilliant in April and May before hitting a bit of a wall in June and July, but closed with a remarkable two-month stretch in August and September. His final line was a 12-8 record, 3.85 earned run average, 1.11 WHIP, 184 strikeouts and 36 walks (5.1 K:BB ratio).

What Went Wrong?

Now we are in the section where we can talk about the rest of the Rays’ pitching. For awhile it looked like the Rays had found a diamond-in-the-rough with closer Al Reyes, but he ended the season with a 4.90 earned run average. As a unit, their bullpen had a 21-34 record, a 6.16 earned run average and a .303 batting average against. Only Scott Dohmann (3.31) and Juan Salas (3.72) were below a 4.89 earned run average and they only combined for 69 innings of work.

Former top prospect of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Edwin Jackson, continued to be a colossal disappointment going 5-15 with a 5.76 earned run average. From September 26 2005 to June 23 2007, Jackson was winless. The streak spanned 35 appearances and 98 and 2/3 innings. Those hoping that the June 24th outing that resulted in a win against his former team for which he was so heralded would be a turning point held onto to that hope at least until the calendar turned. His first outing in July was the same ol’ Edwin: a five inning, seven run stinker that raised his earned run average to 7.26. The most frightening part of Jackson’s season is that he was allowed to start 31 games!

Wait, that wasn’t the most frightening part. The fact that Jackson was Tampa Bay’s third “best” starting pitcher should strike more fear into the hearts of those paying attention that the potential of a Rosie O’Donnell spread in Maxim magazine. Casey Fossum, J.P. Howell, and Jae Seo each started 10 games for the Rays in 2007. Those 30 starts netted 152 and 1/3 innings (just over five per start) of 7.86 earned run average. Amazingly, they went 7-15 so one can only imagine that Crawford, Pena, Upton, and Young powered the way during those victories.

The Moves They Made

Their absolute best move was easily the free agent signing of Carlos Pena on February 1. His first full season since 2004 with the Detroit Tigers was by far his best and most complete. The power displayed was not shocking by any stretch as he was once a top prospect with the Texas Rangers (drafted 10th overall in 1998) and the Oakland A’s after being traded to the Bay area in 2002.

During the season, their best move occurred on August 11 when they finally cut ties with Casey Fossum. Keeping Delmon Young in the lineup despite a poor start in April and May paid dividends as he gained valuable experience and ended up having a very solid debut season. They traded from surplus when they shipped Ty Wigginton to the Houston Astros to re-acquire Dan Wheeler, whom they originally drafted back in 1999. Unfortunately, he was awful while Wigginton continued to be a producer for offense-starved Astros. Despite the poor returns upfront, Wheeler will be just 30 once the 2008 season starts and his presence addresses their primary need in the bullpen.
Jorge Cantu broke out in 2005 with 28 home runs and 117 runs batted in before coming back to Earth in 2006 with 14 and 62. In 2007, he played just 25 games for the Rays in which he hit .207/.277/.224 with 0 home runs and four runs batted in. Three days before the deadline, he was traded with minor-leaguer Shaun Cumberland and cash to the Cincinnati Reds for Brian Shackleford, Calvin Medlock, and future considerations. Who know what caused Cantu’s precipitous drop with the Rays, but he seemed to be re-energized with the Reds playing nearly the same amount of time he had with the Rays and posting a .298/.382/.491 line.

The Moves They Did Not Make (But Should Have)

At the All-Star Break, Al Reyes, despite being 37, likely had some legitimate value to the contenders because he had a 1.03 WHIP and 17 saves. He was not moved and the league seriously caught up to him in the second half as he posted a 5.86 earned run average and 1.30 WHIP.

The only list that Rocco Baldelli appears on as often as the disabled list is the trading block. He has played fewer games each year since his 156-game rookie campaign in 2003, bottoming out last year with just 35 games played. Given how much his stock continues to fall, it was likely prudent for the Rays to stand pat on him right now and make their move during this current off-season. His season was done after one at-bat on May 15.

Where Now?

As evidenced by their improvements on offense, this team is moving forward. It is very difficult to compete in the American League East, so they will need to make vast improvements to their pitching staff, but No.1 overall pick, David Price, is the first step in that direction. Jeff Niemann and Mitch Talbot were solid, if unspectacular in Triple-A Durham giving hope for the future of that maligned rotation. Of course Howell and Andy Sonnanstine also pitched pretty well in Durham before being blown up in the majors, so how well their Triple-A success translates moving forward remains to be seen.

In addition to their youthful, excellent core already in the majors, the Rays have top prospects Reid Brignac and Evan Longoria waiting in the wings. Thankfully, many of their top 10 prospects outside of those two are live arms such as Niemann, Price, Talbot, Jacob McGee, Wade Davis, and Jeremy Hellickson. They will need to continue to develop pitching and even purchase/trade for some if they hope to be legitimate competitors anytime in the near future.