Place an Ad Calendars Classified Forums Sports Weather

sptimes.com Text-only News sections Arts & Entertainment AP The Wire Business Citrus County Columnists Floridian Hernando County Hillsborough Letters Movies Neighborhood Times News Update North Pinellas North of Tampa Obituaries Opinion Pasco County South Pinellas Sports State Tampa Bay TV Times World & Nation  Find your local news section Weekly sections Brandon Times City Times Homes Outdoors Perspective Personal Tech Taste Travel Weekend Xpress Special Sections Arena football Buccaneers College football Devil Rays Lightning Police reports Schools Seniority Subscriber Services Subscribe Renew Help Advertise Place an ad In print Online Market Info Join Us Internships Scholarships Times Jobs Contact us

Rays tales

By MARC TOPKIN

© St. Petersburg Times,
published October 7, 2001

Five good things

OUT WITH THE OLD . . .: Once the Rays decided to go young, they started going places. They went 18-17 during a five-week July-August stretch, and followed a 27-61 first half with a 35-38 performance in the second. Overall, 16 rookies played, nine making their major-league debuts.

YOUNG GUNS: If there is one primary reason to be excited about the future, it is the quality of the young pitchers. Joe Kennedy and Nick Bierbrodt look like legitimate starters, Jesus Colome has been dazzling at times, and Travis Phelps and Victor Zambrano seem to have what it takes to finish games.

RECORD-SETTERS: Fast and crafty, Jason Tyner was a different type of player for the Rays, and it showed. Playing 104 games, Tyner set team records for stolen bases (31), infield hits (35) and bunt singles (14).

ON GUARD: Tanyon Sturtze, named by his father after Three Musketeers wannabe D'Artagnan, made his point, emerging from the bullpen to become the Rays' most dependable starter. He became the third pitcher in franchise history to win 10 games in a season. Better yet, the Rays won 15 of his 27 starts. THE McRAYS: Hal McRae didn't just replace Larry Rothschild as manager, he changed the whole atmosphere around the team. With McRae's experience, patience and laid-back nature, the Rays clubhouse became a more relaxed, successful place.

Five bad things

CLIP AND SAVE: Seven players from the opening-day lineup lost their jobs. Vinny Castilla and Gerald Williams were released, Bobby Smith was sent to the minors, Albie Lopez and Fred McGriff were traded, John Flaherty and Felix Martinez were benched.

NUMBERS GAME: Ben Grieve's team-record 157 strikeouts. Esteban Yan's nine blown saves. Aubrey Huff's team-record 18 double-plays. Ryan Rupe's team-record 30 home runs allowed. Bryan Rekar's 3-13 record.

EXPERT WITNESSES: The Rays know losing. All types. They lost in the first inning, lost on the last pitch, lost by a lot, lost by a run. They lost an AL record 61 times by the All-Star break, and could become the first AL team since the 1996 Tigers, and the second in 10 seasons, to lose 100 games.

CAN YOU SAY DYSFUNCTIONAL?: Let's see -- the manager was fired, the team owners feuded, the managing general partner stepped aside and then back in, the team was put up for sale, the general manager heard rumors he would be fired, the day-to-day operations were turned over to a new chief operating officer and the very existence of the organization was said to be in question.

CHARITY STARTS AT HOME: It was a sad story last season when the Rays paid Wilson Alvarez and Juan Guzman a combined $15-million for 12/3 innings of work. Those were the good old days. The duo made another $15-million this season, and didn't throw one pitch in the big leagues.

Five weird things

OUCH: It wasn't enough that the Rays had 10 players on the disabled list this season. Both Raymond, their furry blue mascot, and MacArthur Church, their dancing groundskeeper, missed games because of injuries.

FOLLOW THE BOUNCING BALL: For two weeks it had a great spot in the dugout, a number (121/2), and a locker next to Wade Boggs. It was Spalding, a volleyball with a painted-on face to resemble Wilson from the movie Cast Away, providing a diversion for the struggling Rays. "We've got to find a way to get off the island," Boggs said, "and hopefully it doesn't take five years."

SIR SPEEDY: When rookie Toby Hall stole two bases in the Sept. 25 game, he matched the total stolen by catchers in the franchise's first 634 games. (John Flaherty and Mike DiFelice each had one).

GO FIGURE: The Rays had one three-game sweep, and it came against the Phillies, who were leading the NL East. They had one four-game sweep, and it came against the Twins, who were leading the AL Central. WARNING, WARNING: The release of Williams was unfortunate, but not unexpected. Plus, it followed form. The MVP from each of the first three seasons has left the organization -- Quinton McCracken was sent to the minors and eventually released, Roberto Hernandez was traded, and Williams was jettisoned.

Five notable things

WHERE'D EVERYBODY GO?: The Rays finished last in the league in attendance, with a decline of about 17 percent. Having drawn fewer than 13,000 just six times in the first three seasons (and never fewer than 12,278), the Rays had 24 dates this season when the announced total of tickets sold was fewer than 12,000 -- and only seven in excess of 25,000. The official yearly totals and average:

WHO'S MISSING WHOM?: The Rays were 33-69 with Fred McGriff, 29-30 without him. The Cubs were 60-43 without McGriff, 29-30 after they got him.

NO-NO MANIA: The Rays are the only team to not have a no-hitter thrown against them, but it may be just a matter of time. Four pitchers -- Boston's Tim Wakefield, Texas' Darren Oliver and Chicago's Mark Buehrle and Dan Wright (two days apart) -- took no-nos into the sixth inning against the Rays this season.

FISCH REPORT: Pitching coach Bill Fischer was in the news twice. Once when Greg Maddux challenged but fell just short of Fisch's record of 841/3 innings without a walk; and again when Fisch responded to his pitchers' challenge and dropped more than 40 pounds by Sept. 1.

STARRY-EYED: The nine Rays on the All-Star ballot received a total of 749,107 votes. That was only about 2.6-million less than Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki.

Five memorable quotes

-- LARRY ROTHSCHILD, then-Rays manager after a 10-0 loss to Boston April 17. He was fired hours later

"This is one of the happier days of my life."

-- VINCE NAIMOLI, announcing April 27 he would step down as managing general partner to become team chairman. Less than a month later, he reclaimed his throne.

"T-ball is like baseball but without the pitching. You know, kind of like Tampa Bay."

-- JAY LENO, NBC talk-show host and sometimes comedian in a June monologue

"I told him not to be in awe of where we were and the team we're facing and all the things that go with the Yankees, the Big Apple and all that stuff. And that the Babe and Joe D are no longer here."

-- HAL McRAE, Rays manager on the advice he gave Bobby Seay before the rookie pitched in Yankee Stadium

"You just can't say never, never, never."

-- FRED McGRIFF, after rejecting the initial trade to the Cubs July 16

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright