Rays' Nickelodeon set is the reason to care

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By GARY SHELTON

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 22, 2001

It was late morning when the kid stepped into the cage, and it is fair to say that time did not stand still.

It did, however, wink.

Josh Hamilton, the kid with the large feet and larger future, stood at the plate and stared ahead, the sun turning his profile into a silhouette. He took one practice swing, another, then waited for the batting practice pitch from Billy Hatcher. Then the ball came, and then it went, soaring high into the distance and toward the future. And before the ball landed, already you were thinking of what lies ahead.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why you buy a ticket.

That's the question, isn't it? After a relatively quiet off-season, not to mention a relatively quiet existence, the Rays will hold their first full-squad scrimmage today, and why should you care? What about this team is going to make you pay attention, not to mention pay for a box seat?

Maybe this:

Because the kids are coming.

Because Josh Hamilton is knocking at the door, and Jesus Colome is pounding at the gate, and Brent Abernathy is climbing through the window. Because Matt White might be ripe, and Bobby Seay needs just a few more minutes and Jason Standridge only a little more baking time. Because Aubrey Huff is barking at Vinny's heels, and Steve Cox is looking at Fred's position. Because of Carl Crawford and Travis Harper and the rest of the Nickelodeon set.

For years we have been told that this is the best part of the Rays. Even in the first year, when everything was brand new -- even last year, when the Hit Show experiment fizzled -- we were told to hang on and wait for the youngsters.

Now they are invading. They are swarming. They are everywhere.

Finally, we get to see how good they are going to be.

This is the best reason to look forward to this season. When a team seems short-handed for the present, and when it lacks much of a past, the excitement comes from the future. By now we have established that if the Rays are to be successful, it will not be by outspending other teams or by picking others' pockets with wily trades. It will be because the farm system is fruitful. This year we finally start to see what this team is bringing to market.

Let's be honest. When it comes to the Rays, the Yankees are not exactly looking in the rearview mirror and shaking. For one thing, the Rays are among the many teams that have been mathematically eliminated by the salary structure. The latest standings have them $55-million behind the Yankees with 162 to play.

Unlike last year, no one is fooling themselves that this is a playoff contender. Tampa Bay won 69 games last year, and it made only one significant addition (Ben Grieve) in the off-season. The starting pitchers spent most of last year grabbing one arm or the other in pain, and the bullpen is short on resumes, and Vinny Castilla has to show he can hit in the flatlands. It's a lot to ask all at once.

So why get excited? Why should Tampa Bay fans interrupt their debate of who will throw the ball for the Bucs long enough to discuss who might throw it for the Rays?

Because of the kids.

Because if things are ever going to change, it will be the kids' doing.

There is something natural, something pure, about young, eager players who have never worn the colors of another team. New faces, new hope. That sort of thing. Players, by and large, are like pets; to truly love them, you have to buy them when they are young.

And so it goes with the Rays, where every question eventually comes back to the kids.

Question: Can either Esteban Yan or Tanyon Sturtze be a closer to replace Roberto Hernandez? Answer: They'd better, because when Colome throws, scouts leave drool on the ground. Soon enough he's going to lay claim to the job.

Question: Can Juan Guzman and Wilson Alvarez stay healthy? Answer: Did you get a look at the way Paul Wilson is throwing? Not to mention White.

Question: Is Grieve the best hitter the Rays have had? Answer: Yeah, but Hamilton could change that.

Question: Can Castilla be the comeback player of the year? Answer: If not, Huff will be your third baseman.

And so it goes. Look for Hamilton, Abernathy, White and Colome to make a run at this club in spring training. By midway through the season, Seay could join them. Halfway through next year, it could be Crawford and Standridge.

It's enough to make a veteran nervous. Which, of course, it should. General manager Chuck LaMar says that if the Rays are successful out of the gate, they could add veterans by the all-star break. History tell us that if they are not, the team could go the other way and move as many veterans as possible for what return it can get.

If that's serving notice, so be it.

Faced with a struggling today, how many of us wouldn't prefer to see a promising tomorrow?

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