Kuzul

There is a saying that bad news doesn’t get better with time. However, announcing plans to cut payroll while your team is in the middle of a division race can’t be a good idea.

That’s exactly what Tampa Bay Rays owner Stu Sternberg did when he announced that even if the Rays win the World Series payroll will be cut in 2011. The current estimate is that the Rays will cut this year’s $72 million payroll by $15-20 million.

Prior to Tuesday’s game Sternberg said,  “Unfortunately there’s nothing that can happen between now and April that can change that unless Joe Maddon hits the lottery and wants to donate it, or I hit the lottery.”

This is the reality of having one of the best teams on the field coupled with one of the worst attendances. The Rays have done everything to try to boost attendance and revenue including hosting postgame concerts on Saturday’s in the summer. There were even empty seats when the Yankees and Red Sox recently played in Tropicana Field.

With the upcoming reduction in payroll the Rays will be fielding an even younger team. The starting lineup this season has an average age of 26 years old.

Here are four Rays rookies that will be critical in the franchise’s future.

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We interrupt this 2010 AL East Division Chase to bring you this important update:

The Tampa Bay Rays are “All In” in 2010, and have no chips left for 2011.

Can we hit the pause button here?

Instead of focusing on how the Rays are defying logic, gravity, and every law possible by going neck-and-neck with the New York Yankees for 150 games, the attention in this huge final series showdown against New York is this:

The Rays will cut their payroll in 2011 and in turn cut their playoff chances as well.

The New York media swarmed around Rays owner Stu Sternberg, and as always the case, the conversation turned to payroll and attendance.  Sternberg reiterated the payroll will go down.  And with the Rays drawing less than 1.9 million fans for the season, it’s no wonder why.  The outgoing expenses must match the incoming revenues.

Imagine that:  An American living within a budget.

At first glance, it would appear that Sternberg is the one who is saying the Rays playoff hopes end this year.  Nay, nay!  National media such as ESPN’s Buster Olney and local media such as St. Pete Times John Romano have taken Sternberg’s comments about payroll and given the assumption of a step back forthcoming.  They have essentially told fans to enjoy what they have because after this year they won’t have it anymore.  And when these players leave, you should temper expectations of keeping up with the Joneses, or in this case, Boston and New York.

Is it 2008 again?  Have I taken a nap and somehow went back in time instead of forward?  Have I fallen and hit my head? 

The Rays’ Cinderella ’08 season was considered a fluke. One-year wonder.  And national media used the 2009 season as the evidence.  But then a funny thing happened:

The Rays started winning again.

Never mind that this is the Rays’ third consecutive winning season.  Never mind that this is the Rays’ second division crown chase in three years.  Never mind this is the Rays’ second postseason berth in three years.

It cannot be sustained.  The Rays cannot win without Carl Crawford, Rafael Soriano, and Carlos Pena.  The Rays cannot win by trading Matt Garza, B.J. Upton, and Jason Bartlett.  The Rays cannot win by reducing their payroll.

The national pundits sure like to be proven wrong.

Consider them wrong again.

Here are six reasons why the Tampa Bay Rays will contend for their third postseason berth in four years in 2011:

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The Tampa Bay Rays and the New York Yankees play a four-game series this week in the Bronx. This series is pivotal in deciding which team will be the AL East champion and which team will fight the Boston Red Sox for the wild card. Winning the division is important for home field advantage since it is believed that they will meet in the ALCS.

Coming into the series the Yankees have a half-game lead on the Rays. Tampa Bay should be able to hold off the Yankees and win the division.

There are five factors that the Tampa Bay Rays have in their favor over the Yankees in the upcoming series and remainder of the season.

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 Ron Gardenhhire’s Minnesota Twins are well on their way to winning the AL Central.

This would be Gardenhire‘s sixth division title in nine years.

Another division title was within reach, if not for a 1-0 loss in game 163 against the Chicago White Sox in 2008.

Since he took over for Tom Kelly in 2002, Gardenhire‘s record is 792-644, a .551 winning percent.

He has guided the Twins to four ninety-win seasons, and his team is poised for its fifth this season. Compare that to only three for Kelly over 15 seasons. 

Only once have the Twins finished below .500 under Gardenhire‘s leadership.  

Incredibly over the same time span, every other AL Central division team has had their skipper named the AL Manager of the Year, while Gardenhire has finished second five times—twice to a division counterpart.

His .551 winning percentage is better than any of the last 10 AL managers to win the award.

Has his success been held against him?

Here are some interesting statistics for the AL Manager of the Year winner since 2000.

• 2009: Mike Scioscia’s Angels lost three more games than the previous season.
• The average turn around from the previous season is 23.3 more wins. Gardenhire‘s best turnaround has been only 13 wins.
• The average record for the winner was 97-65. Gardenhire‘s best season was 96-66 in 2006.
• 2003: Tony Pena’s Royals improved an incredible 34 games from 2002—and still finished third in the AL Central.
• Four of the 10 winners of the award did not win their division.

Is the fact that Gardenhire took over for a two-time World Series Champion manager being held against him? Kelly, even though he won to World Series Championships, never had to win a divisional round in the playoffs.

Until the team started to increase its payroll, he has managed one of the lowest payrolls every year.

Gardenhire has done more with less than every other manager, with perhaps the exception of Joe Maddon in Tampa Bay, who won the award in 2008. In his first season, while managing the lowest payroll in baseball, Gardenhire had to also deal with the foreboding talk of contraction of the team—a year in which the Twins won 94 games.

There’s talk that Texas Ranger’s manager, Ron Washington, is the leading candidate this season. The Rangers should win the AL West for the first time since 1999. But the division is weak, and the Rangers may not finish with a record any better than last season.

The problem is Gardenhire and the Twins have been a consistent, winning ball club.

The manager of the year is usually recognized for turning around a losing team, something Gardenhire has not had to do.

Perhaps for next year, the Twins should tank it, and strive to lose, so Gardenhire has a chance in 2012.

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When Buck Showalter was named the Orioles’ 17th full time skipper on July 29th, it signaled the completion of the American League East’s stranglehold on the title of Division with the Best Managers.

With Joe Maddon in Tampa Bay, Cito Gaston in Toronto, Joe Girardi in New York, Terry Francona in Boston and Showalter now in Baltimore, the AL East boasts a talented lineup of managers. Between them, they hold five World Series rings as skippers and four Manager of the Year Awards.

Let’s take a look at all their achievements.

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There are fewer than 50 games remaining in the 2010 season.

The New York Yankees looks poised for a return to the World Series.

If the Division Playoffs were to begin today Minnesota would go to New York and Texas would host Tampa Bay.

So who has the best chance of defeating the Yankees and representing the American League in the World Series?

Comparing starting pitching, playoff experience, team defense and a couple other statistics I ranked the Twins, Rangers and Rays (sorry Boston and Chicago fans) based on their ability to defeat the Yankees.

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The Tampa Bay Rays are one of baseball’s most talented teams. They have it all. They have very good defense, very good pitching, pretty good power, and above-average speed. They could very well go all the way. Except for one thing: They sometimes are not very smart.

I watch the Rays three to four times a week. I cannot count how many times I have said during a game, “What was the point of that?” Sometimes it’s Joe Maddon giving a key player the day off while playing the Red Sox or Yankees, with an off day or the Orioles coming up. Really Joe? You couldn’t wait one more day to sit Carl Crawford? Or Carlos Pena?

Sometimes it’s strategy. Like having success with the squeeze bunt in certain situations, and then not using it when that same situation comes up again a week later. Or being 114 games into the season but still not settling on a leadoff hitter or a DH.

But most irritating of all are just the boneheaded plays that seem to go unnoticed. At least the announcers don’t seem to notice. In Wednesday’s game against Detroit, a game that the Rays lost by one run that would have put them back in first place had they won, there were several.

No. 9 hitter Kelly Shoppach drew a walk to load the bases with two outs. Leadoff man Dan Johnson had a 2-0 count, then swung at a high fastball and popped it up. Why swing at that? He’s thrown six straight balls. Take a strike. Unless it’s served up on a tee, let that one go.

Then there was a situation with runners on first and second with one out. The Rays had just tied the game and were finally starting to hit Justin Verlander. Jason Bartlett hit a line drive to right that looked like a sure hit. But the right fielder made a great diving catch. Matt Joyce had already rounded third, so he was easily doubled off. There was only one out. Make sure the ball is going to drop before you take off. This is high school stuff.

But THE most galling play of the day came in the ninth. B.J Upton led off with a walk with the Rays down, 3-1. The tying run came to the plate. And this genius steals. What? Why? Your run is MEANINGLESS! If it’s the eighth inning, that’s a good play. In the ninth, it’s stupid. You should be standing on first base. It’s not worth the risk of getting thrown out and losing a precious out and not having the tying run up.

Oh sure, he would say “I’m trying to stay out of the double play.” Then break it up when that situation comes up. That’s not worth the risk. How would he feel if he got thrown out and then the next pitch got blasted into the upper deck?

Later in the inning, he scored on a groundout. He went into the dugout and everybody is giving him a high-five. Really? You congratulate him for being stupid? A play that dumb should get him chewed out just like loafing after a ball did. He should be fined for that, not congratulated.

Someday, one of your players is going to do something like that it in a postseason game. And it will cost you a game and maybe a title. And the poor guy who does it will be this century’s Fred Merkle. Unless Maddon starts doing something about it now, this will happen. It’s baseball karma. You keep tempting it, it has a way of getting you in the end.

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Rays manager Joe Maddon has been called unorthodox, outspoken, diligent, eccentric, eclectic, sociable, optimistic, passionate and wise. No one thought of him as a spokesman for a new stadium, but he changed that thinking after the Rays’ 8-6 loss to the Twins Thursday afternoon.

Right after the game, Maddon talked about the catwalk’s affect on the game as to why the Rays need a new stadium. Jason Kubel’s popup fell on the A-Ring catwalk of the stadium, which meant it was a hit, and it led the Twins to score the go-ahead run in the ninth inning.

This rule does not make sense, but that’s the way it goes. The Twins will take it after blowing a 6-1 lead in the eighth inning on a grand slam by Jason Bartlett, which tied the game at six. It’s a tough way to lose a game for the Rays.

Funny thing is if it benefit the Rays, Maddon would say nothing and the other manager would complain. It’s rare Maddon would talk about bad luck in games, so he had something in mind.

It came down to Maddon pleasing his bosses in campaigning for a new stadium. It’s no secret the Rays want a new ballpark. They can’t survive as a franchise by not making revenue at Tropicana Field.

Anytime there is an opportunity to promote a new stadium, the Rays will expose the weakness of that place and mention it at ad nauseam. It’s annoying, but it’s the only way the team will get their message across.

Blackmailing or extortion is the name of the game in professional sports. Since Stuart Sternberg brought the Rays, all he has done is talk about the need for a new ballpark. Last month, he threatened to sell the team if he does not get what he wants. The public has to put up with these tactics, and they will continue to do so with no choice.

Minnesotans dealt with this show with the Twins for two decades, and it wasn’t a fun experience for them. In fact, they are already tired about the Vikings dealing with the politicians for a new football stadium.

The Twins threatened to move the team to North Carolina in an attempt to get their new stadium, but the state of Minnesota never fell for it, and the Twins remained in Minnesota in the late nineties.

Then, there was a threat of contraction. Major League Baseball considered contracting two clubs. The Expos were one of them, but there was a mystery team out there.

It was revealed the Twins were that team. The late Twins owner Carl Pohlad wanted to contract the club after years of not getting a stadium.

Pohlad was going to get his wish, but there was just one problem. The Twins had a winning season in 2001, and fans started following them again. When Minnesota found out the Twins were in danger of being contracted, the public reacted with outrage. The Twins eventually were forced to stay at the Metrodome because of their lease.

The team continued to play winning baseball in the next few years with playoff appearances to show for it. This gave Pohlad one more shot of getting a new stadium, and after dealing with contraction, Minnesota funded a new stadium for the Twins in 2006. Today, it’s called Target Field.

It can happen for the Rays. Odds are they will get a new stadium in the St. Petersburg area. Forget this team going to Tampa because of their long lease at Tropicana Field. St. Petersburg will raise a stink with that lease, so the best way to satisfy the government officials is to get a new stadium over there.

Make no mistake. This is going to be a painful process. No new stadiums are formed without controversy or debate. Look for anti-stadium folks and pro-stadium folks to duke it out in court or in the streets for attention purposes.

The fact there has not been a movement of getting a new park is discouraging at this point. Right now, the Rays are just looking at places, but no town is ready to step up and find that land for a new park. It does not help Sternberg wants the public to pay for everything.

The only way a movement can be made is if this team goes to the postseason on a consistent basis, and at least, makes several World Series appearances. The Rays have an opportunity to go to the World Series for the second time in three years, and that can only speed things up.

The Rays talked about how it would be unfair if the division or the wild-card is determined by this game. Who are they kidding? Does anyone think they buy this nonsense?

Maddon and his players know it will come down to how they play the final two months of the season. August 6 will not be the difference maker when one looks at the fact the Rays play the Yankees seven times in September.

It came down to them working up something to get a new park going. It had an effect for at least an hour. During the postgame show, fans called in and ripped the place.

No doubt this made Rays president Matt Silverman and Sternberg giddy at this reaction. Of course, it will simmer down by today. Players will go out and play, and fans will focus on their jobs and paying the bills rather than worrying about funding a park for a billionaire.

The Rays will continue to complain about that place until they get what they want.

They will come up with creative ways to do so. Maybe for their next trick, they can use a postseason series loss to whine about the Trop if bad things happen to the Rays.

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That’s because the young center fielder wasn’t in the starting lineup.

“I just did not want to start him tonight based on a lot of different items that I’m looking at,” Rays’ manager Joe Maddon told MLB.com writer Bill Chastain before Tuesday’s, 8-5, loss.

“Often times, I don’t start somebody. A day off after a day off is part of the reason. I just chose not to start him tonight. But he’s definitely available for the game.”

Before Wednesday’s, 9-4, victory, Maddon said it was a sore right quadriceps that kept Upton from appearing.

Whatever reason Maddon wants to use about not starting Upton, Rays’ fans couldn’t help to think it had something to do with Sunday’s dugout skirmish between two of southwest Florida’s most popular athletes, Upton and Evan Longoria.

Maddon did cover his tracks, Tuesday, in the top of the eighth, entering Upton as a pitch hitter. Upton tripled then took centerfield in the bottom of the ninth.

According to Chastain, Upton told Maddon, Wednesday, that he felt a little sore and did not give reporters details on the injury.

However, Upton’s short appearance didn’t help the stumbling Rays (45-32), which finished 11-14 in June; and are two games behind the AL East leaders, New York Yankees, and one game below Wild Card leader, Boston.

The news gets worse.

Not only is a playoff spot slipping away, the recent events with Upton has put the front office in the spotlight and with the trade deadline looming, the decision on what to do with the center fielder has reached a crossroad.

In 2007, Upton put up All-Star numbers in just 129 games hitting .300 with 24 homers, 82 RBI, 86 runs and 22 stolen bases.

At the time, Upton was 22-years old and it seemed he’d develop into a 30-30 player, who could hit for average and flash the glove—despite coming through the Rays’ system having no idea what type of defensive glove he’d wear.

This hasn’t been the case, at all.

In the 2008 regular season, Upton hit .273 with nine homers, but rebounded in the postseason, smashing seven homers in 16 games.

Upton struggled in 2009, hitting .241 with 11 homers.

In 72 games this season, Upton is batting .262 with seven homers and has put the Rays’ front office on red alert.

“We’ve had a lot of conversations lately,” said, Maddon about Upton before Tuesday’s game. “We had one after the game [Sunday]. We had one yesterday and also today. We had some wonderful conversations — very frank. I just wanted to share with him some of my past experiences as a young man and as a manager today.”

It’s well documented that Upton is a good guy who had a good upbringing by his parents, Manny and Yvonne, documented in this 2007 article by ESPN’s Bomani Jones (below).

So, let’s assume, maybe, attitude isn’t the problem.

Let’s say, Upton’s latest tantrums and lack of hustle doesn’t come from being a bad egg.

Instead, it’s from being a frustrated competitor—Longoria confronting Upton came from frustration, right?

The real question is, what happens if the player’s skills don’t listen?

What then?

When does an organization stop waiting for a player’s talent to come around and parts ways with him?

“At this point, salvaging Upton’s potential is going to be that much harder for the Rays,” wrote Tampa Bay Tribune columnist Gary Shelton on Tuesday. “For a long time, the Rays have had to endure the underachievement and hoped the talent inside Upton will emerge” said, Shelton.

Fact is, at the end of the season, Upton becomes eligible for arbitration and could see a spike in pay; and starting left fielder, Carl Crawford, becomes a free agent.

Ask any Rays fan and they’ll admit, they want Crawford to stay, no matter what the cost.

According to baseball-reference.com , Upton, currently makes $3 million a year. That money could be spent on Crawford, who makes $10 million and will see a pay raise in the $15 millon range.

Last season, the Rays parted ways with a potential superstar prospect, pitcher Scott Kazmir.

Kazmir, picked 15^th overall in the 2002 amateur draft by the New York Mets, was dealt to the Rays in 2004 and was supposed to be the hard-throwing lefty a franchise builds a rotation around.

In five and a half seasons, Kazmir made two All-Star teams, but combined for a 3.92 ERA, 55-44 overall record, and a 2.29 K/walk ratio.

Numbers not good enough for a legitimate ace.

At last season’s trade deadline, the Rays shipped Kazmir to Anaheim for minor leaguers Alex Torres, Matt Sweeney and Sean Rodriguez, who has played in 58 games this season.

As of June 30, Kazmir is 7-6 and carries a 5.92 ERA for the Angels.

The bottom line, baseball is a business and too much attachment to an investment can hinder a team’s progression.

I’ll admit, I like B.J. and once had an attachment to the second-overall pick of 2002.

Back in 2008, I drafted Upton in the third-round of The Super League ’s first baseball draft .

Looking at his 2007 stats, the kid was a five-tool, 5×5 fantasy player and thought it could only get better.

In 2009, the Frontnac Bigg7evens  kept Upton, thinking the kid had a tough season and needed a second chance.

However, after another slow start, Frontnac cut ties with the centerfielder and traded him for Yankee pitcher C.C. Sabathia.

At the time, Upton had fantasy upside and that’s how it was possible to make a deal.

Currently, Upton has real-life upside and now, is the best time to move the 25-year old.

But it’s not easy to let go of an investment, especially one that a franchise has scouted, drafted, and spent time and money developing.

Unfortunately, for the Rays, its time to decide.

Either keep Upton and accept him for the player he is; or deal Upton to another team which is willing to be patient and let him reach that potential we’re all still waiting on.

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Dallas Braden has been all over the media by pitching only the 19^th perfect game in the history of major league baseball on May 9^th, 2010.

The accomplishment rightfully overshadowed a possible code violation, but it should be pointed out.

Braden was in the middle of a perfect game when yet another player disrespected him. In the fifth inning, Oakland was beating the Tampa Bay Rays 4-0. Evan Longoria might have committed a violation of one of baseball’s unwritten rules by attempting to bunt his way onto first thus ending Braden’s perfect game.

Longoria’s accused bush league antic sent him to the dugout. His bunt went foul and forced him to go down swinging. There were plenty of fans who were aware of his attempted breach and let Longoria hear it as he left the plate.

Joe Maddon made the following statement on MLB.com:

“We’re trying to score runs there,” Maddon said. “We’re not just trying to permit him to go into the record books. Our intent is to win the game. And actually if he gets it down, who knows what could have happened. That’s one of those other unwritten rules that I’m not a subscriber to.”

Just because someone doesn’t believe in an unwritten rule doesn’t mean they have the right to violate them.

In Alex Rodriguez’s head Braden wasn’t A-list enough to call him out when he ran across the mound. That doesn’t negate the fact that he knew he was violating the code.

The situation might have been overlooked had it been Ichiro Suzuki with the attempted bunt merely because it’s a common strategy used by the Japanese star. But Longoria is an elite power hitter that never bunts for hits. The fact is the Rays did not want to be the victim of a perfect game.

Longoria stated to the Tampa Tribune:

“I figured I’d try to take the opportunity there, maybe it stays fair and we get a runner on. At that point, you’re really not thinking about the guy’s perfect game or no-hitter; you’re just trying to get back into the game. It was a manageable game. Get somebody on and try and score.”

Critics often question the unwritten rules of baseball often missing the point. Baseball is played with grace and some acts are considered classless. The majority of players adhere to this code of conduct.

The violation would be more clear if it was in the eight or ninth inning. Dallas Braden doesn’t seem to be bothered by it but that might be only due to the fact it did not break up his perfect game.

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