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Spring Training is a great opportunity for teams to find out what type of talent they’ll have on their side as they prepare to embark on a 162-game journey.

Players are excited to get back into the swing of things, and the slates are wiped clean as every team is in preparation mode.

It’s hard to look too deeply into statistics during spring training, as this time is more often used to fine tune habits and learn how to work with new teammates.

That said, here are a few players whose slow starts this spring won’t likely be an indicator to their regular season successes.

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Tampa Bay Rays fans shouldn’t pin their hopes upon the dual offseason signings of veterans Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez. 

The addition of the pair of former World Series-winning heroes is merely papering over the cracks of Tampa Bay‘s unconvincing roster.

Early signs out of Rays camp seem encouraging, as the former Boston Red Sox teammates each have shown a willingness to prove themselves coming off subpar seasons.

Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon is confident that both can be positive influences on his young roster.

Maddon appreciates the effect Damon can have inside major league clubhouses. 

“I’ve been watching it from a distance and I know what he’s doing and I can see it. You read about him every place he’s been he’s done it in those clubhouses, so I’m just watching it because I know he’s going to have a great impact,” he explained.

He also commented on Ramirez’s renewed focus: “I love the idea that he feels as though he needs to go out there or wants to go out there and prove something. It’s going to benefit him and us.”

Ramirez missed a significant portion of 2010 and only took part in 90 games in combined duty between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox. He was able to hit .290 overall, but his power numbers took a sharp decline as he only managed nine home runs and 42 RBI in more than a half-season of play. 

It remains questionable whether Manny will be able to regain the power stroke that once made him one of the most feared hitters in baseball, but he has come to spring training 12 pounds lighter and is eager to prove himself once again.

Damon’s numbers at the plate also took a dip last season, but his lack of production as a member of the Detroit Tigers could be partially attributed to hitting at Comerica Park.

The spacious ballpark shaved 16 home runs and 31 RBI from Damon’s 2009 totals, but that season was spent at Yankee Stadium, which is very friendly to left-handed hitters.

His 2010 average of .271 makes for a more alarming statistic, but could be boosted by Tropicana Field’s turf known to help grounders get past infielders.

In a “best-case” scenario in 2011, Damon could pick up his power numbers and raise his average closer to his career mark of .287. Meanwhile, a resurgent Ramirez could team with superstar Evan Longoria for an imposing middle-lineup for opposing pitchers to get around. 

Even in that case, Tampa Bay is still lacking what is needed to defend their 2010 AL East Division Title.

The free agent departures of Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena and Rafael Soriano will greatly hinder the Rays’ playoff chances in 2011. Soriano and Crawford will especially hurt the Rays after joining their AL East divisional rivals, the New York Yankees and Red Sox, respectively. 

Crawford’s athleticism, raw tools and energetic presence now will be providing a spark for Boston’s lineup while Soriano will form a dynamic one-two punch with closer Mariano Rivera in late games for the Yankees. 

Pena’s massive power will be missed, as will his Gold Glove-caliber defense at first base after joining the Chicago Cubs.

Losing Crawford and Pena’s production will be difficult even with the additions of Damon and Ramirez.

If rookie Desmond Jennings is given a full-time role in the majors, he could actually match Crawford’s 2010 stole base total of 47, but it is unlikely he could come anywhere near Crawford’s plate-production.

Tampa Bay’s projected starting lineup lacks a solid supporting cast; outside of Longoria, their entire infield is made up of unproven and weak hitters. 

In the outfield, both B.J Upton and Ben Zobrist need to prove that their respective career-years of 2007 and 2009 weren’t a fluke. It would be very unlikely for the Rays to match their 160 home runs that was sixth-best in the AL last season.

Finding a reliable closer will be an even harder task without Soriano who led the American League with 45 saves and posted a sparking 1.73 ERA in 2010.

J.P. Howell—who is recovering from shoulder surgery—could return in May but it remains to be been seen whether he can match his successful stint as the Rays closer in 2009.

If Howell has a setback, do the options of Kyle Farnsworth, Joel Peralta or Andy Sonnanstine sound like capable backup plans? I didn’t think so.

Tampa Bay’s saving grace is their talented rotation. 

David Price is a strong candidate for the 2011 AL Cy Young and is joined by a blossoming group of young starters. Wade Davis and Jeff Niemann have proven to be reliable hurlers at the big-league level—though James Shields needs to rediscover his early career form after suffering a miserable 2010.

The highly-touted Jeremy Hellickson has the ability to become a future ace like Price, but Rays fans shouldn’t expect brilliance right away.

His sharp command and excellent Triple-A numbers might suggest otherwise but placing such demands on a young starter wouldn’t be fair. The Rays are taking a patient approach with Hellickson.

Judging by the assembled team for the upcoming season, Tampa Bay’s roster has the look of a club built for the future rather than one that can actually compete for a postseason spot in 2011. 

It wouldn’t be shocking if the Rays fell out of contention by the trade deadline and would be willing to move both Ramirez and Damon to secure more promising talent for the future.

What do your team’s chances, Rays fans? Join in the discussion below or send me a tweet at http://twitter.com/HartyLFC.

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This year’s American League East is going to be a very hotly contested division. With all five teams easily capable of putting together .500 or above seasons, the order of finish could be dictated by just a few games.

For the Tampa Bay Rays, the new look of the franchise gives them a new set of advantages and disadvantages over their division rivals. While the other teams within the division spent big bucks this offseason, the Rays were able to cut their payroll from over $70 million to approximately $42 million without sacrificing a tremendous amount of production.

While this is a great feat in terms of business, the results on the field will determine how smart the Rays really are. Here are some of the big matchup advantages and disadvantages the Rays have going into the 2011 season.

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The Rays’ journey to becoming a constant playoff-contender took awhile, but came all of sudden when it finally happened.

Contending with the power-house teams of the AL East—the Yankees and Red Sox—is the toughest thing to do for any team to have to do. It’s makes it even tougher when you can’t spend half the money of the those two teams.

But the Rays haven’t used any excuses, rather using lower-risk, high-reward pickups and their minor league system to create a nucleus for a championship-caliber squad.

Two division championships and an American League pennant in three years is good for any team (except maybe if your from the Bronx), but under the circumstances of being a small-market club, it’s amazing what the Rays have been able to accomplish.

Here’s a list of five things you may or may not expect, but have kept the Rays at, or near the top of the tough AL East.

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Some of the former big names of baseball still linger in the sport today, even if it is just some time in the minor leagues. Some people say that these players should hang up their spurs, because those players do not know when to walk away.

Some of the players who took the biggest contracts in baseball, or at least had an extremely expensive market price, are now contracted to play for mere fractions of the contracts that they were once signed to. This has allowed some players to get good play time for teams who are in desperate need of a rebuild. It also reunited Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez, but some other players are making chump change playing for a minor league team, at least in comparison to what they once made.

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The minute the final out was made in Game 5 of the ALDS at the Trop, Rays fans knew they had a long offseason ahead of them.

Some, like me, held out hope that they would be able to retain Carl Crawford or somebody, but that never happened; they even got rid of great players that they didn’t have to.

But how did the Rays actually do this offseason? I have factored in the Rays financial situation into this. If money was no object, this offseason would be mass catastrophe, but since the Rays cannot afford seven years and $142 million, I have graded them differently.

First, let’s take a look at the contracts the Rays signed this offseason.

All in all, the Rays retained three players from last season: Those three were JP Howell, who was non-tendered only to be signed a couple weeks later, RJ Swindle and Richard de los Santos.

The Rays lost 14 MAJOR LEAGUE players via trade, signings or retirement. That’s not including Fernando Perez, who spent some time in the MLB in recent years.

The 14 that the Rays lost:

• OF Rocco Baldelli (retired, still with Rays organization)
• RHP Grant Balfour (signed with A’s)
• SS Jason Bartlett (traded to Padres)
• RHP Joaquin Benoit (signed with Tigers)
• LHP Randy Choate (signed with Marlins)
• LF Carl Crawford (signed with Red Sox)
• RHP Matt Garza (traded to Cubs)
• 1B/OF Brad Hawpe (signed with Padres)
• OF Gabe Kapler (signed minor-league deal with Dodgers)
• C Dioner Navarro (signed with Dodgers)
• 1B Carlos Peña (signed with Cubs)
• RHP Chad Qualls (signed with Padres)
• RHP Rafael Soriano (signed with Yankees)
• RHP Dan Wheeler (signed with Red Sox)

Willy Aybar and Lance Cormier are still out there, so we will see where they land, if anywhere.

Outside of Gape Kapler and Dioner Navarro, every single one of those players contributed to the Rays playoff run last season—some more than others, like Carl Crawford, Matt Garza and Rafael Soriano, but all were important. 

In the beginning of the offseason, we watched these players get signed away and the Rays did not do anything. The Winter Meetings passed and still nothing of note from the Rays front office.

Just when Rays fans, again, like myself, began to panic is when the Rays front office, led by Andrew Friedman, kicked it into high gear. Here is who the Rays signed this offseason:

• RHP Juan Cruz (minor-league free agent with Spring Training invite)
• LF Johnny Damon (free agent, one year $5.5 million)
• RHP Kyle Farnsworth (free agent, one year $3.25 million with 2012 option)
• 1B Casey Kotchman (minor-league free agent with Spring Training invite)
• INF Felipe Lopez (minor-league free agent with Spring Training invite)
• RHP Joel Peralta (free agent, one year $900K)
• DH Manny Ramirez (free agent, one year $2 million)
• RHP Adam Russell (Jason Bartlett trade)
• RHP Chris Archer (Matt Garza trade)
• LHP Cesar Cabral (Rule 5 draft from Red Sox)
• C Robinson Chirinos (Matt Garza trade)
• RHP Rob Delaney (waivers)
• OF Sam Fuld (Matt Garza trade)
• LHP Cesar Ramos (Jason Bartlett trade)
• RHP Cory Wade (minor-league free agent)
• RHP Chris Bootcheck (minor-league free agent with Spring Training invite)

The Rays did pretty well this offseason, considering the circumstances, but only Manny Ramirez, Johnny Damon, Kyle Farnsworth and Joel Peralta have a chance to make an immediate impact.

The rest are fighting for their spots on the roster this spring. 

The Rays could still sign a guy or two to minor league deals, but the Rays are pretty much done when it comes to big signings, unless they have something up their sleeve that nobody knows about.

What grade do I give the Rays offseason? I give Andrew Friedman and company a B for the offseason.

They did a good job finding cheap signings who can boost the team this season. They also did a great job getting a loaded package from the Cubs for Matt Garza, with prospects who will help the Rays for years.

I also applaud them for going out and getting Manny Ramirez and Johnny Damon, even though they don’t fit the Rays mold as young prospects or veterans who they are taking a flyer on. They got two proven veterans who we know will have an impact on the Rays this season.

 
New and old player info from the St. Petersburg Times.

For more Rays news and opinions, check out my blog, Rays the Roof. 

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If there’s one time of the sports year that everyone watches like a hawk, it’s MLB free agency.  From November until late January (sometimes longer), fans lose sleep over which teams top free agent players will sign with.

Some of these decisions pay great dividends, like C.C. Sabathia when he signed with the New York Yankees.  Other times, players regret locking themselves into long-term deals, like when Adrian Beltre signed with the Mariners.

Thus, let’s take a look at this past season’s free agency class.  Specifically, the players that picked the wrong teams.

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The biggest off-season talk so far in the AL East has clearly been about the Red Sox big moves. Around the division, beyond Boston, the Yankees have made little improvement from last year, losing out on Cliff Lee, and signing Rafael Soriano, all while waiting on Andy Pettitte.

As of recent, the Yankees have been most active, in signing veteran pitchers Mark Prior, Bartolo Colon, and Freddy Garcia, all to minor league deals. According to sources, Pettitte has a $12M offer waiting for him, if he decides to return for another year.

The Rays have now countered their mostly young roster, by adding veterans Johnny Damon, and Manny Ramirez. Damon last played for Detroit in 2010, and Ramirez split the season between Los Angeles and Chicago. They both played in Boston, and as most remember, were apart of the historic 2004 team.

Clearly, this piece is not to discuss the moves of the AL East, but to preview the 2011 Tampa Bay Rays, from player projections, to possible impact rookies, and overall record and division finish.

To see my complete preview and projections for all the AL East teams, feel free to become a fan as they’ll all be written soon

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Being a baseball general manager is a thankless job. Every move that you make is second-guessed, critiqued and analyzed to death before a new player even steps out onto the field. Then there’s the separate issue of what to do with your hometown players, some of whom have evolved into local legends or fan favorites.

Every player has to become a free agent eventually, but the gut-wrenching question facing every general manager is when is the right time to let those players go? In the case of these 15 players, their GM’s let them go too soon.

For the sake of this list we’ll eliminate players who had no chance of resigning with their former teams (Jayson Werth, Carl Crawford) and players that teams made an effort to sign but were outbid (Cliff Lee).

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I knew the Tampa Bay Rays were interested in both Manny Ramirez and Johnny Damon, but I was stunned upon learning that the team signed the duo for a combined $7.25 million. Ramirez, 38, played with Damon, 37, on the Boston Red Sox from 2002 to 2005. Now the stars meet up again on another American League East power.

These one-year contracts may be the last deals these two sign, so they can’t be expected to produce as they did in their prime, but the Rays certainly need their presence. This offseason has been a tough one for Tampa Bay.

The team won the American League East in 2010, winning 96 games before falling to the Texas Rangers in the American League Championship Series, but that success could not keep them from losing star outfielder Carl Crawford and closer Rafael Soriano through free agency to division rivals Boston and New York, while watching slugger Carlos Pena sign with the Chicago Cubs.

They also traded one of their top starting pitchers, Matt Garza, to the Cubs, receiving prospects in return.

Losing four key players who brought different skill sets to the table hurts. Those three “sprinted out of Tropicana Field for the nearest ATM,” as bitter St. Petersburg Times columnist John Romano put it, but they have found short-term solutions for both Crawford and Pena.

There’s no mistaking that, despite their old age, Damon and Ramirez can still rake. Their signings at least give Tampa Bay some confidence that they can compete with the Red Sox and New York Yankees.

Damon, a borderline Hall of Famer who has 2,571 hits to his name and a career .287 batting average, was very productive for the Detroit Tigers last season, hitting eight homers, driving in 51 and mashing 36 doubles while hitting a respectable .271. A slap-hitter from the left side with power to all fields, he should hit his fair share of gap-doubles and line-drive home runs in hitter-friendly Tropicana Field.

Ramirez, who battled injuries but hit .298 and posted a .409 on-base percentage with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox in 2010, should do the same. Given his usage of steroids in the early portion of this past decade writers may be hesitant to vote him into the Hall of Fame, but going solely by the numbers he has put up over the past 17 years he would without question be a first-ballot nomination.

Whether these two will be in Cooperstown is up in the air. For now, they are focused on putting the finishing touches to remarkable careers, to prove to the skeptics that they do have something left in the tank. And the Rays will need them to produce as they are still capable if they want to contend in the division.

Apparently, they were a package deal. Tampa Bay wouldn’t have signed Damon without Ramirez tagging along for the ride, and vice-versa.

Reacting to the deal in a text message sent to the St. Petersburg Times, Damon was excited to be joining another winner: “I am very excited to join an organization that has a very good chance to keep winning. And I love the opportunity to win in my home state, the team I will root for when my playing days are over. My family and I have been hoping for this for a while.”

Reaction was similarly positive throughout the baseball world.

Steve Slowinski of DRaysBay writes: “I’m still in shock. This feels like something out of a dream. This is probably the Rays’ biggest splash on the free agent market, and they managed to pull in two above-average players for less than Derrek Lee is making with the Orioles. This is the definition of a coup.”

Jonah Keri of FanGraphs chimes in: “They’ll win more games than they would have before these two moves. And even in perhaps the most fickle market in all of Major League Baseball, they may well draw more fans with Sideshow Manny in town, even after stripping out the effects of a higher win total. The Rays might still be a third-place team in 2011. But they’ll have plenty to YIPYIPYIP about.”

And finally, given both played for Boston, Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald can’t help but mention when they return: “Mark your calendars: The Rays visit Fenway on April 11-13, Aug. 16-17 and Sept. 15-18.” Tampa Bay certainly hopes the latter series will carry more meaning than just that.

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