Pride or Die

by R.J. Anderson on Jul 22, 2007 8:50 PM EDT

I'm not going to rehash the scores or the plays of the past 48 hours, nobody cares to relive the series, and the words that come to mind aren't as family friendly as we'd like to keep the site, but it was nasty, and with Baltimore coming up, it could get even worse. The Orioles always give the Rays fits, call it the curse of Tony Saunders, or perhaps Delino DeSheilds; sure he never played for the Rays, but what an awesome name to have a curse named after.

The team needs a wakeup call, to put it gently, but more so than not we need the egos of B.J. Upton, Delmon Young, Carl Crawford, Scott Kazmir, and James Shields to kick in. We know they have them, all youngsters do; actually most players really, ego and pride, the factors that drive a high school ballplayer to ascend above the competition. I'm paging those egos, we need you.

To put it simply, you just got your asses beat. Yes you're part of a franchise with no history of success, and minus Fred McGriff no `heroes' of the past, but you know, that's no an excuse. I'm not about to compare the importance of the founding fathers to that of a baseball team, but guess what guys, other than Thomas Locke's writing, Washington, Jefferson and company didn't have `veterans' to look upon. You're the pioneers of this land, the ship builders. This franchise lives an dies off what the five of you accomplish.

I'm not blaming what happened on only these five, and we all know the axis of desecration on this youth's progress has been the bullpen. Help may or may not be on the way, if the team trades Ty Wigginton for Scott Proctor, Kyle Farnsworth, maybe the corpse of Walter Johnson, it's not going to change much. Sure both are going to band-aid the laceration that guys like Shawn Camp, Casey Fossum, and Jay Witasick have caused, but it doesn't end there.

Upton is immune to this discussion because simply he's done it all, I'm not going to appoint him leader simply because I'm not sure what goes on behind closed doors, but if the tale of him asking Delmon "What the hell did you just do?" after the `batman' incident is true, I'd say he's on his way to becoming a voice of the players.

In fact throw the other four into the immune category as well, the only reason I'm calling their pride and ego into session to not accept losing, that's where you need to separate yourself from young teams of the past. Do not embrace the idea that you're here to "put in your six then bolt." Does the front office need to do something this off-season to make your jobs easier? Yes, but for the moment being at most there's a pen arm or two on the way, otherwise it's the core 20 players.

You just got your asses kicked guys, the only way to answer back is as 25 go to Baltimore and stomp them into the ground on their grass. There's less than 70 games to get your acts together and overtake the birds; don't waste the next three chances to show them what's coming.

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I agree

And I don't think it should be limited to the players. Maddon needs to take a stand with management. He needs to get an explanation of why the team is content to shell out $2.8 million for Fossum, but they won't spend beans to sign a proven pitcher for the bullpen.

The offense deserves better than the pitching staff has been giving them, and Maddon and the entire teams and all of the fans deserve better than what management is giving us.

And I think Management needs to call out the city fathers (and city mothers.) Tampa-St.Pete is the home of the Devil Rays. But there are tons of signs talking about "Yankee Pride" and "Legends Field." How about suggesting to the Yankees that they are no longer welcome in the home of the Devil Rays, and they can simply take a hike. There will be plenty of people willing to direct traffic to get the moving vans in place to send the Yankees and their arrogance somewhere else.

by Fox 71 on Jul 22, 2007 9:21 PM EDT reply actions

Re: I agree

If we could move the yankees out. I would gladly drive the drunk and burn down Legends Field on the way out.

I want this team to get a swagger growing of young kids who don't care what anyone thinks and want to shut up all the haters.

by Flabull on Jul 22, 2007 9:30 PM EDT up reply actions

A couple of movies come to mind

One is Network, where the hero says "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any more." But to get the team and management and the fans to say that, I think Maddon has to grab a handful of bats like the manager in Bull Durham and throw them into the showers with all the players.

Once a fire gets lit under Maddon, maybe he can start one under his players and then they can all lay seige to the front office. Can you see all our guys (I guess minus the bull pen) doing a sit-in outside the GM's office and saying that he won't be allowed out until the Rays get some authentic pitchers?

And in the long run, wouldn't it be more profitable for the owners to have team capable of drawing big crowds and getting bigger TV ratings? If that's so, they should spend the money now to create the team that can do that before everyone and his brother becomes eligible for arbitration. We need lots of guys nailed down to long term contracts. The extra revenue from a full ball park could do that. But the park will never fill unless and until there's come hope on the part of the fans.

by Fox 71 on Jul 22, 2007 10:57 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: A couple of movies come to mind

Why would the players lay siege to management offices? What are they going to say? "Hey, why did you sign a bunch of losers like us? You should spend money and replace us!"

If I were to choose the players to keep on this team going forward in the future, it would be:

Crawford, Upton, Iwamura, Shields, Kazmir, Sonnanstine, and Young.

That is 7 players out of a 25 man roster, which is supposedly laden with future talent. Harris and Pena might prove to be either keepers, or capable role players too. We have players coming through the minors, but frankly Hammel and Howell haven't shown me anything this year nor last. Niemann has fought injury problems, and still has control issues. Everyone else is AA or lower and quite unproven. Price is unsigned.

This franchise is still a mess. But this is what you get for $20 odd million. The fans should be outraged, I know I am.

by RayFanNY on Jul 23, 2007 6:37 PM EDT up reply actions

Money

How much do the Rays get from the "Luxury Tax" money that the Yankees have to pay? Are they actually putting that money into salaries to put on the field?

One more money comment - Although I certainly like the idea of free parking, I would be willing to pay the $5.00 to park if the parking money would be put into the payroll package. (Unfortunately, with the crowds the way they are, that would only buy a couple of catcher's mitts, but no catchers.)

by Fox 71 on Jul 23, 2007 11:46 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: A couple of movies come to mind

I see it differently. In my view, the Rays could go from worst to serious contender very quickly. I think the pieces are in place and it is just a matter of it all coming together. That is why Matt Sammons comments on Maddon's clubhouse give me pause.

But consider, the Rays have a legitimate major leaguer at every position except catcher (and I have not given up on Navarro yet) and second base (with Upton in center, although even there it is reasonable to project an Iwamura/Longoria combination very soon at 2nd and 3rd as major league quality.) Among them I count at least 3 actual or potential stars and possibly more if Pena is fulfilling the potential anticipated for him when he was drafted. In addition, with Wigginton and Wilson there is the foundation for a solid bench as well. And finally, I think 3/5 of a major league rotation is in place, and if Jackson's recent outings are a sign, perhaps even 4/5 with at least 1 or even 2 legitimate #1 or 2 starters. And behind them are exceptional talents just about ready to arrive.

Every regular is just entering his prime, and every one has a chance to be a significant contributor. Add one starter, fix the bullpen, let the young players develop and this is a terrific team-and possibly very quickly.

by bobr on Jul 24, 2007 12:31 AM EDT up reply actions