Don't study these Rays too closely

JAYS 12, RAYS 6: 102nd loss a lot like rest in final Trop home game for several.

By MARC TOPKIN, Times Staff Writer

© St. Petersburg Times
published September 23, 2002

ST. PETERSBURG -- Having given their jerseys to fans after Sunday's home finale, a lackluster 12-6 loss to Toronto, the Rays walked off the field anonymously. That seemed only appropriate, because when they return to Tropicana Field next spring, the names and faces are likely to be significantly different.

"I sure hope like hell they are," manager Hal McRae said. "We just need to shuffle the deck. Not apply paint; we need to renovate.

"It's been two years with basically the same guys and it ain't going to work with this group. As is, it ain't going to work."

Whether McRae will lose his job as part of that change is not yet known, a decision that managing general partner Vince Naimoli said will be left up to Chuck LaMar, who is likely to decide shortly after the season ends next Sunday in Boston.

Sunday's game certainly seemed to endorse McRae's thoughts. It was a performance seen many times this season: the pitching was bad, the offense was inadequate and the defense made costly mistakes.

"Not a very good ballgame," McRae said.

It was the Rays' major league-leading 102nd loss and 51st at home, most by an American League team in five years.

LaMar said moves will be made, but probably not enough to make much immediate improvement in the team's record. How much money he gets from ownership to spend, and how much it costs to retain the players he wants to keep, are key.

Realistically, it would seem half the team could be different.

Wilson Alvarez and John Flaherty are leaving as free agents, with Chris Gomez to join them if the Rays don't pick up his $2-million option.

The three Rule 5 draft players, Felix Escalona, Steve Kent and Jorge Sosa, should open next season in the minors.

First baseman Steve Cox seems to have been supplanted by Aubrey Huff, suggesting a trade is likely. Deals also will be explored for veterans Ben Grieve and Greg Vaughn, whose salaries make them more of a burden than a bonus.

Outfielder Randy Winn is expected to be retained, but decisions must be made on arbitration-eligible pitchers Paul Wilson, Tanyon Sturtze, Ryan Rupe and Esteban Yan and the healthy raises produced by the process.

"I think there will be a lot of changes," Winn said. "It's not necessarily a bad thing. But until you know which direction ... "

The Rays had a chance to finish their home schedule on a roll, having taken two of three from the Yankees and the first two from Toronto.

But the Jays took an early lead as Wilson had trouble keeping the ball down, and the energy was quickly sapped from the Fan Appreciation Day crowd of 19,625, boosted by $1 ticket specials.

Wilson, whose 192 1/3 innings are the most he has thrown in any pro season, looks tired, but he refused to make excuses for his poor performance. "I'm struggling to get the ball down in the zone, that's all I can say. That's the reason the results are the way they are," he said.

Since beating Baltimore on Aug. 19, Wilson is 0-3 with a 10.36 ERA in five starts, allowing 28 earned runs and 43 hits in 24 1/3 innings.

He was in trouble from the start Sunday, as the first three Toronto batters blistered the ball. He needed 29 pitches to complete a 14-minute first, 86 through his 3 1/3.

"The last five games he's been flat," McRae said. "The most disturbing trend is the pitch count. ... For me that says it all."

Wilson said he wants to make his final start of the season Friday at Boston, but McRae said that is not a certainty.

The Rays trailed 8-1 when they briefly got back in the game with a run in the fourth and three in the fifth on a home run by Grieve, his first three-run homer of the season and 18th overall.

But, going back to McRae's call for change, the bullpen gave it back. Sosa allowed a run in the sixth, and Jesus Colome gave up three in the eighth. By the end, the Rays allowed 19 hits, matching their team record, and a home run for the 17th straight game.

It was a fitting finish because the bullpen is one of the primary reasons the Rays have done worse than their 62-100 last season.

"Naturally I'm disappointed because I thought we would win more baseball games and we didn't," McRae said. "I thought we would improve upon last year and we didn't. We lost 100 games last year but we played much better in the second half and I thought we could win another 10 ballgames, but we didn't do that. So I'm disappointed we didn't play better."