By GARY SHELTON, Times Sports Columnist
Published May 16, 2006
This year's rundown of the Ten Toughest Jobs in Tampa Bay sports.
And no, Delmon Young's speechwriter and Dwight Gooden's attorney did not make the cut.
There are days that see you coming. There are days that beat you up.
If you have a job, and most of us do, you know the feeling. There are days when the workplace seems too small and the workload seems too large. There are days when you feel overworked, underappreciated and outnumbered. There are days when the world is on your shoulders, the boss is on your back and the flames are at your feet.
You know, Mondays.
For some people, including some with really, really good jobs, every day is like that. Days when no one else could do your job, days when no one else would want it.
Jay Feaster, who has the most difficult job in Tampa Bay, knows the feeling.
And Mike Butcher, silver medalist.
And Robert McCullum, bronze.
Jeff Lacy, boxer
The last we saw Lacy, he was trying to get part of his face off of Joe Calzaghe's gloves. It wasn't just that Lacy lost a fight in February, he lost a lot of his reputation and most of his momentum. It takes a few left hooks for a boxer to regain that.
For Lacy to leave the impact upon the sport that a lot of us believed he would, he has some work to do. He needs to win a few fights to re-establish himself, and along the way, he needs to learn ring strategy. Also, hitting the other guy more frequently than Lacy hit Calzaghe would be a good thing.
Joe Maddon, Rays manager
As we have learned about Captain Happy, he's an optimistic soul, and already, that's driving the pessimists crazy. He looks at a bad bullpen and sees rainbows, he looks at a hitting slump and sees lollipops.
Remember the old days, when it was Tony Dungy's ever-present calm that seemed to fray everyone else's nerves? These days, it's Maddon's unshakable good mood.
That's okay. Eventually, he'll teach the Rays to smile, or they'll teach him to frown.
Chris Simms, Bucs quarterback
This year, the offense belongs to the kid. Just like that, everything changes.
Yes, Simms had a promising season last year. He showed enough arm, enough charisma, enough flair in the fourth quarter to allow fans to hope he will take up where he left off. Still, running a team from the start of the season is a little different, especially when you consider the youth of the huddle and the difficulty of the schedule.
The Unknown Lightning Goaltender
Darn him, whoever he is.
Last season, it wasn't surprising that most of the criticism about the Lighting fell to John Grahame, the inconsistent goaltender. No other position in sports sets the tone for his teammates, forgives their shortcomings, and supplies them with confidence as much as the goalie.
That said, there were a lot of problems with the Lightning in other areas, too. The offense faded in and out, the defense was lousy and the team lost its ability to rise to the occasion.
Bringing in a better goaltender is a start. Unless the Lightning do more, however, it won't be enough.
Jon Gruden, Bucs coach
The difficulty of Gruden's job fluctuates depending on the season his team has just completed. Let's face it, Gruden was fairly impressive last year, squeezing an NFC South title out of a young quarterback, a rookie running back and a rebuilt offensive line.
This year, it gets tougher. The Bucs are playing with a pat hand, while the rest of the division seems to have improved dramatically.
So how do the Bucs stay on top? It starts with Gruden, who has to know how often to run Cadillac Williams, how much to trust Simms and how to restart Michael Clayton.
Andrew Friedman, Rays vice president
Glance at the empty seats, and it's easy to say that owner Stuart Sternberg has a lot of work to do. But no matter how else the Rays market, the most important task is Friedman's. The Rays' minor leagues are a mess. The pitching staff is thin. And the Rays remain the only Tampa Bay franchise where the team payroll is a problem.
All of that comes down to Friedman, who found the trading block harder to move around than he thought last winter. He has to move the right players (for pitchers), streamline the minors (to grow pitchers) and be more aggressive in free agency (to buy pitchers) with whatever nickels he has.
Either that, or he needs to learn to throw a slider.
Monte Kiffin, Bucs defensive coordinator
With the Bucs, it always comes down to defense. With the defense, it always comes back to Kiffin.
For Mad Monte, the stress factor of the year ahead is considerable. For one thing, Kiffin has two new position coaches on his staff. The last time that happened, in 2001 when the Bucs hired Mike Tomlin and Joe Barry, the Bucs got off to a slow start.
Then there is the suddenly potent NFC South. The Falcons still have Michael Vick and Warrick Dunn, the Panthers have Steve Smith and Keyshawn Johnson, and the Saints have added Drew Brees and Reggie Bush. All of which makes you wonder if Derrick Brooks and Ronde Barber shouldn't be on this list, too.
Robert McCullum, USF basketball coach
The Big East remains as tradition-rich as any basketball conference in the country; USF remains as tradition poor. Which accounts for the load on McCullum's shovel.
His is as difficult as any job in the country, and to be honest, if USF basketball mattered a little more, he'd probably be on top of this list (or at the bottom, depending upon your viewpoint) again. But the question remains: If a tree fell in the forest, would it land on his point guard's foot?
Mike Butcher, Rays pitching coach
Here's the job: You have to take these arms, and you have to teach a way to get the ball past those bats.
For years, the Rays have failed to grow their own pitchers. These days, that job falls to Butcher, who has to harden and polish the new emphasis on young arms. Put it this way: Even if Scott Kazmir does turn out to be an ace, the Rays are going to need a lot more cards before they have a straight.
Jay Feaster, Lightning general manager
He needs a goaltender. He needs two defensemen. He needs to re-sign Brad Richards. And he only has so much money to spend.
More than that, however, Feaster needs to figure out why his overachievers turned into underachievers. Perhaps that means making a hard decision or a big trade. Either way, he needs to reintroduce urgency to the locker room. Otherwise, Feaster might head this list next year, too.
[Last modified May 16, 2006, 12:01:21]
[Times photo: Dirk Shadd]
Lightning general manager Jay Feaster has so many pressing needs and so little money to spend.
