The 2015 Tampa Bay Rays can be summed up in a simple phrase: subtle recovery.
The Rays struggled to make much of an impact in the baseball season after enduring the most disastrous off-season the franchise has ever seen. They lost their gifted GM, and lost someone who can be simply called the best manager in baseball. Joe Maddon’s departure was such a darn shock that the Rays even went after the Cubs to try to coerce a tampering charge. It was a pointless action but was clearly spurned by a scorned and shattered heart. The soul of the Rays, which had become one of the 5 winningest franchises since the new colors, attitude, and name, was stripped away.
But the off-season didn’t end there. It became a fire sale as we moved several of the players that we had locked up for several years. The infield had been signed together for at least four years, only to see them go elsewhere. Longoria remains the last major player from the fateful 2008 season that saw Tampa Bay witness its first trip to the World Series. We lost Myers, who was our Diet Longoria. We lost Yunel Escobar, who was a darn good defensive player with slight batting issues (…who would then enter the Top 5 in batting average in the entire league...).
The fact is, I am sick of writing this year in and year out---totally sick of watching players slip through our fingers and become key players in other teams. I've complained about this for years upon years.
David Price became a bonafide star with the Tigers, and became an even bigger star in Toronto as they finally broke their playoff drought. James Shields may have screwed up by not taking less money and remaining with the Royals, but was a heck of a star in Kansas City during their improbable 2014 run. Scott Kazmir overcame the injuries and is now a reliable starting pitcher out in the American League. And honestly, I can see greatness in Wil Myers if he can squash the injury bug. Sam Fuld is a defensive powerhouse that really could have helped us in 2015. Then there’s Wade Davis, one of the best bullpen arms in the entire league. Similar to the Orlando Magic (another Florida franchise that receives and loses tons of underrated talent), the Tampa Bay Rays has become a revolving door of talent, as we never fight to keep any of these assets, resulting in a nucleus that can never be consistent. Joe Maddon was that consistency, and after he left, dark days became inevitable.
And if anyone questions the quality of Joe Maddon, look at what has happened to the Cubs. The Rays and the Cubs have strong similarities in terms of the average age and experience of their ballplayers in the lineup. Our disappointment isn’t strictly in our young lineup not managing to get past the more experienced squadrons, but instead in witnessing the incredible run of the Chicago Cubs under our ex-manager through very similar circumstances. The Cubs have no place denting the World Series chances of the rising power Pittsburgh Pirates and the powerhouse machine known at the St. Louis Cardinals—yet here they are in the postseason ready to make some noise. Most incredible fact: nearly half their lineup are rookies. 90 wins was not predicted by anybody, not even Maddon.
We lost the consistency, we lost fans, we lost our manager, we lost our general manager, and we lost most of our identity. What on earth is left? To make matters worse, the stadium situation had a lot to do with Maddon’s departure. He loved Tampa Bay, the people, the organization, and the community. There was absolutely no tension in the same-level vicinity. Go higher up the ladder though, and you’ll see a shrinking payroll (which is rather ridiculous considering the depth of talent and surge of money that baseball has happily been receiving), consistent cutting of corners (The David Price Trade comes to mind), and less and less chance of a true future that doesn’t involve the eyesore known as Tropicana Field. And this is a situation that will not be going away.
Across the way we see Montreal practically screaming for their team back. Montreal got baseball-hungry again, Canadians are enjoying baseball more, and the downtown market has become ripe for one. Both 2016 spring training games in Montreal are pretty much sold out already. In the meantime, Tampa Bay has split fandom between the Rays and the Yankees (throw in Phillies, Braves, and Red Sox for good measure), a local government that couldn’t give two craps about the awful stadium situation, and a fanbase growing sick and tired of trying to make the tough drive to the unattractive corner of St. Petersburg---knowing that we have tons of superior options to building a ballpark.
Yes, I have discussed this before as well. But now with the available options shrinking, Pinellas County actually being a target for a Braves Spring Training facility, and even the Commissioner of Major League Baseball quietly announcing his disappointment about the Tropicana Field ridiculousness, time is running out. It’s hard to support a team that changes its lineup every single year. It’s hard to support a team when the stadium is so shoddy and such a hassle to arrive to. It’s hard to support a team when the future remains in constant doubt. This is the ugly circle: few fans means less money which means less star players and less stability to keep a good team intact. But, no good stadium means fewer fans. Something in this vicious cycle has to change. Otherwise, no matter how deep the talent pool is, the Rays will remain one of the least popular teams in baseball (although some can argue that the television ratings say otherwise).
Despite all the grim news and grim outlook, the Rays looked decent and competitive most of the year. We had a strong starting lineup, superb defense, and remained close most of the time. Chris Archer and Matt Moore sometimes looked like the best pitcher in the league, with scattered dominating performances. Longoria is not his 2008-2010 form, but has improved numbers when compared to his disappointing 2014 season (Let’s not forget his consistent superb defense at third base). Kevin Kiermaier doesn’t have much of the offense, but has become arguably the best defensive outfielder in baseball. In July 1st the Rays were just a game back in the division. If the offense and pitching had clicked together as opposed to opposite times, then we’d be looking at a different 2015 season.
The true ugliness happens in the later innings: the Rays up to this point are 2-13 in extra innings, and 25-30 in one-run games. 27-43 in tight games. If the Rays had just won half of those close games then we would be looking at a fight for the Wild Card. If we had won 2/3rds of those games we would be next to the Blue Jays for the division. And the two biggest issues was the bullpen that imploded in the second half, and the lackluster offense. Kevin Cash had a bright idea of never allowing batters to see the starting pitcher a third time, which resulted in surprising success, but ultimately burning out the bullpen when the season went deeper. Boxburger blew several saves and lost 10 games for the Rays, and he personally blamed it on bullpen fatigue, quietly acknowledging and disagreeing with the Cash strategy. Cash also has awkward dependence on certain players; Jake McGee was never used in the 9th inning despite the struggles from the other bullpen players.
(Side Note: The best thing the Rays should do is a 7-starter lineup of pitchers: 6 of them in a rotation and a 7th one hanging out in the bullpen always prepared to go the distance in case the game goes out of control or there is a sudden injury. The Rays organization has a lot of good prospects, and the best way to maintain the young lineup and not overwhelm them is to give them less innings, more rest, and gradually increase the workload. I know, it won’t be easy to just successfully find seven starters, but the Rays have always been a pitch-heavy team, and I think the Mets’ 6-man rotation scheme should be something Tampa Bay should consider.)
Déjà vu: Rays’ offense has always been miserable. Chalk it up to Derek Shelton (every year), chalk it up to not spending on good offensive players, or just chalk it up on the focus being on pitching, the Rays offense has always been lackluster, and once again disappoints this season. With Longoria being the only true known threat, it was easy for AL and NL pitchers to pick apart the lineup with ease. The Cleveland Indians at one point came to Tampa and posted three straight perfect game threats. No MLB lineup should ever be this anemic. We’ve said this for years, it might be time for a new hitting coach.
Ultimately though, the Tampa Bay Rays are an organization with good players, good scouts, and good intentions. But, we can’t rebuild or have a good outlook towards the future until we can establish a firmer fanbase, open up the wallets a little more, actually keep our favorite players, and get that stadium we've been clamoring for since....forever.
We remodeled and retooled the Tampa Bay team back in 2008---it might be time to do it again. We don't have the Joe Maddon magic anymore, and we are still missing that identity that will shape the way the Rays do business, during baseball and outside of baseball. We need the fans to believe again. We need players to actually want to stick around, like Longoria did when he signed his ridiculously long contract extension. We just need a spark, something. 2015 was spent mostly picking up the pieces while simultaneously not simply throw away the pointless season.
Until then, we will be a franchise always barely remaining afloat, but never gunning for the Promised Land of success.
See you boys in 2016.
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