Rays succeed their own way
Buster Olney
ESPN INSIDER
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- As John Landis directed the legendary movie "Animal House," the actors realized that Landis was working to keep two groups separate. During down time, the actors who played characters in the Delta Tau Chi fraternity -- Bluto's fraternity -- stayed away from actors who were tied to the stiff fraternity, a distance which seemed to fuel the distance and resentment in the movie's scenes. The parties held by the Delta Tau actors seemed better, cooler; they seemed to be having more fun than their counterparts.
Which brings us to the Tampa Bay Rays.
I don't know if they have more fun than any other team -- it's very possible they don't -- but they sure as heck like to have fun, and they don't mind feeding the perception that they do. Rays Manager Joe Maddon was asked Thursday about David Price's comments about not wanting to shave his facial hair to play for the Yankees, and he smiled. "Beards, earrings, tattoos, we like it all," Maddon said.
<offer>He went on to explain that he'd rather have players thinking about what to do to get better than about a long set of rules related to dress and facial hair. Now it probably stands to reason that some of the more buttoned-down teams -- the Reds, the Yankees, the Braves -- probably care as much about getting better as the Rays do.
But this is their way. They are baseball's Island of Misfit Toys, because they have to do things differently to keep up -- and, in a lot of years, to stay ahead. They align their defense differently, and more aggressively, than any other team. They structure their lineups and their bullpens differently. They sign their best young players very early, like Evan Longoria, or they trade them eventually, because they have to; Price loves playing here, but he's about to become too expensive for them, as Carl Crawford did.
All of their veterans who were developed in other organizations -- all of them, not one or two -- are guys who have been cast-offs seeking redemption. Last year, it was Fernando Rodney and this year, it is Yunel Escobar, James Loney and Roberto Hernandez (the pitcher formerly known as Fausto Carmona). The Rays are thrilled with what they've seen from Escobar so far this spring; on Thursday, he thrived in a drill that rewards short, powerful swings. Hernandez has impressed with his heavy two-seam fastball. If Hernandez bounces back to be something closer to the pitcher he was for the Indians in 2007, well, he would become only the latest in a long line of Rays reclamation projects.
Tampa Bay even has a one-eyed pitcher, whom Bob Klapisch writes about today and who was recommended by another player, Joel Peralta.
It all works too. If the Rays see improvement from Alex Cobb, Jeremy Hellickson and Matt Moore, they should be able to fill in the gap created when they dealt James Shields to the Royals, in the trade for young power hitter Wil Myers. In a lot of organizations, Myers might already be penciled into the cleanup spot in the big league lineup, but Myers -- who has shown a quick bat in his first days with the Rays and makes a different kind of sound on contact, in the estimation of hitting coach Derek Shelton -- may well spend a lot of 2013 in the minors.
More than any other organization, the Rays fully develop their prospects, maybe to the point of holding some of them in the minors longer than they need, in order to maximize their return when those players reach the big leagues.
It all works. Check out the numbers over the last five seasons in the AL East, which show the amount of payroll dollars spent per win, with postseason appearances in parentheses.
Rays: $623K (3)
Blue Jays: $1.03M (0)
Orioles: $1.05M (1)
Red Sox: $1.74M (2)
Yankees: $2.17M (4)
*Based on data from Cot's Contracts
Each market is different, with different pressures; the Rays don't have a big fan base or revenues like the Yankees and Red Sox do. They also don't have to deal with relentless pressure from their fan base to spend big and win annually. But they have an untenable ballpark situation and an uncertain future, and until that changes, they'll keep running their animal house -- boar's head, earrings and beards included -- as they see fit. And they'll always seem as though they're having more fun than anybody else.
[h=3]PED penalties[/h]
Michael Cuddyer joined the growing chorus of players who want PED cheats treated harshly. From Troy Renck's column:
[h=3]Leadership void in Philly[/h]
Jonathan Papelbon says he hasn't seen any leadership in the Phillies' clubhouse. The context, from Mandy Housenick's story:
The great thing about moving from camp to camp is that you'll inevitably learn something about how a player does his work, and this week, the coolest story I heard was about Victor Martinez and how he controls the pace of the game. As it was described to me: If you see an opposing pitcher throwing well, Martinez will always slow the game down -- by stepping out of the box, calling for timeout, doing everything he can to disrupt the rhythm of that pitcher. Some hitters have routines that they go to between each pitch, but Victor's tactics are related to the pitcher, rather than himself. Anything to disrupt an opponent. If the pitcher is getting knocked around, Martinez's at-bats are streamlined.
Which is pretty cool. Now I can't wait to see Victor hit again.
Martinez's wait to play will end today.
Jim Leyland revealed what may be his Opening Day lineup, and Martinez will likely hit fifth. Last year, the Tigers' No. 5 hitters ranked 29th among 30 teams in OPS. That will change now that Martinez is back.
[h=3]Moves, deals and decisions[/h]
1. In the Brett Gardner and Curtis Granderson flip-flop, the only unknown is how Granderson will react to left field -- a position he has started in only three times in the big leagues. Unless he's absolutely horrendous while coping with a different angle, it's hard to imagine the Yankees' reversing this decision.
The Yankees' front office loves Gardner, writes Joel Sherman.
2. Johnny Cueto decided to stay in camp with the Reds.
3. The Rangers have hired Ivan Rodriguez.
4. Martin Perez wants to be the No. 5 starter for the Rangers.
[h=3]Dings and dents[/h]
1. Alex Rodriguez released a statement about his rehab, as Christian Red writes.
2. David Ortiz is still out.
3. The Royals' Lorenzo Cain is on the mend.
4. Matt Garza is confident he'll be ready for the start of the regular season.
5. Giancarlo Stanton hit in a cage, as mentioned in this Joe Capozzi piece.
[h=3]The fight for jobs[/h]
1. The Orioles have about 10 guys going for one spot in their rotation.
2. The logjam at second base is a plus for the Blue Jays, writes Ken Fidlin.
3. The competition for the Braves' third base job is set to begin.
4. Jobs are at stake in the Giants' camp, writes Henry Schulman.
5. The Mariners' closer isn't assuming he's the closer.
[h=3]Divisional buzz[/h]
NL East
• The Braves' new outfield will be unveiled today.
• Mark Lerner was at the Nationals' spring training site, as Amanda Comak writes. You read this piece and it's pretty apparent they are ready move from Viera, which is the Siberia of spring training sites, in how it's remote from most other places.
• Ross Detwiler is finding his comfort zone.
The Phillies believe in some of their unproven talent, writes David Murphy. Here's the start of David's piece:
NL Central
• Starling Marte is trying to become the type of leadoff hitter that the Pirates need him to be.
• Gerrit Cole and Jameson Taillon are looking to leave their mark.
• Matt Holliday has a chance at a fresh start, as Joe Strauss writes.
• Ty Wigginton is still trying to make the playoffs.
• Zack Cozart says defense is first for him.
• Norichika Aoki is feeling more at ease.
NL West
• Snow buried the Diamondbacks' practice plans.
• Chase Headley is going through some reps.
• Barry Zito looks good. That Zito is still grinding away and trying to get better with the Giants in the final year of his seven-year, $126 million deal speaks well of him. The contract was widely labeled a disaster years ago, and it would have been easy for him just to phone it in.
• Adrian Gonzalez is working with some new hitting coaches.
AL East
• Daniel Bard had a nice first outing, as Scott Lauber writes.
• Kevin Gausman looked good in his first outing of spring.
• This will be a pivotal season for J.P. Arencibia, writes Richard Griffin.
AL Central
• The Indians are coming at Carlos Santana with a new message, writes Paul Hoynes. He is learning from Sandy Alomar, as Mike Peticca writes.
• Kenny Williams is learning how to relax, writes Rick Morrissey.
• The Twins are undergoing another renovation under Terry Ryan, writes Tyler Kepner.
• For the Twins' catchers, spring is anything but fun, writes Tom Powers.
• A couple of Tigers pitchers have been helped by Tommy John surgery.
• Jeff Manto likes what he sees in Dayan Viciedo.
AL West
• Baseball Prospectus is predicting a 13-victory improvement for the Astros. This is fascinating because I know some of the internal team projections that are done throughout MLB have Houston in the range of 50-55 wins. Somebody's projection is going to be very wrong.
• Derek Norris did a makeover in the offseason, writes Susan Slusser.
• An Angels pitcher is coming back from Tommy John surgery, writes Jeff Fletcher.
[h=3]Other stuff[/h]
• Michael Phelps took batting practice, and looked like a swimmer-turned-golfer.
• Jason Varitek is happy in his new role with the Red Sox, writes Peter Abraham.
• Dave Roberts has had his feet cast, for posterity.
• All is good with Evan Longoria's family.
• Mike Schmidt would have no problem with either Barry Bonds or Roger Clemens being voted into the Hall of Fame.
And today will be better than yesterday.
</offer>
Buster Olney
ESPN INSIDER
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- As John Landis directed the legendary movie "Animal House," the actors realized that Landis was working to keep two groups separate. During down time, the actors who played characters in the Delta Tau Chi fraternity -- Bluto's fraternity -- stayed away from actors who were tied to the stiff fraternity, a distance which seemed to fuel the distance and resentment in the movie's scenes. The parties held by the Delta Tau actors seemed better, cooler; they seemed to be having more fun than their counterparts.
Which brings us to the Tampa Bay Rays.
I don't know if they have more fun than any other team -- it's very possible they don't -- but they sure as heck like to have fun, and they don't mind feeding the perception that they do. Rays Manager Joe Maddon was asked Thursday about David Price's comments about not wanting to shave his facial hair to play for the Yankees, and he smiled. "Beards, earrings, tattoos, we like it all," Maddon said.
<offer>He went on to explain that he'd rather have players thinking about what to do to get better than about a long set of rules related to dress and facial hair. Now it probably stands to reason that some of the more buttoned-down teams -- the Reds, the Yankees, the Braves -- probably care as much about getting better as the Rays do.
But this is their way. They are baseball's Island of Misfit Toys, because they have to do things differently to keep up -- and, in a lot of years, to stay ahead. They align their defense differently, and more aggressively, than any other team. They structure their lineups and their bullpens differently. They sign their best young players very early, like Evan Longoria, or they trade them eventually, because they have to; Price loves playing here, but he's about to become too expensive for them, as Carl Crawford did.
All of their veterans who were developed in other organizations -- all of them, not one or two -- are guys who have been cast-offs seeking redemption. Last year, it was Fernando Rodney and this year, it is Yunel Escobar, James Loney and Roberto Hernandez (the pitcher formerly known as Fausto Carmona). The Rays are thrilled with what they've seen from Escobar so far this spring; on Thursday, he thrived in a drill that rewards short, powerful swings. Hernandez has impressed with his heavy two-seam fastball. If Hernandez bounces back to be something closer to the pitcher he was for the Indians in 2007, well, he would become only the latest in a long line of Rays reclamation projects.
Tampa Bay even has a one-eyed pitcher, whom Bob Klapisch writes about today and who was recommended by another player, Joel Peralta.
It all works too. If the Rays see improvement from Alex Cobb, Jeremy Hellickson and Matt Moore, they should be able to fill in the gap created when they dealt James Shields to the Royals, in the trade for young power hitter Wil Myers. In a lot of organizations, Myers might already be penciled into the cleanup spot in the big league lineup, but Myers -- who has shown a quick bat in his first days with the Rays and makes a different kind of sound on contact, in the estimation of hitting coach Derek Shelton -- may well spend a lot of 2013 in the minors.
More than any other organization, the Rays fully develop their prospects, maybe to the point of holding some of them in the minors longer than they need, in order to maximize their return when those players reach the big leagues.
It all works. Check out the numbers over the last five seasons in the AL East, which show the amount of payroll dollars spent per win, with postseason appearances in parentheses.
Rays: $623K (3)
Blue Jays: $1.03M (0)
Orioles: $1.05M (1)
Red Sox: $1.74M (2)
Yankees: $2.17M (4)
*Based on data from Cot's Contracts
Each market is different, with different pressures; the Rays don't have a big fan base or revenues like the Yankees and Red Sox do. They also don't have to deal with relentless pressure from their fan base to spend big and win annually. But they have an untenable ballpark situation and an uncertain future, and until that changes, they'll keep running their animal house -- boar's head, earrings and beards included -- as they see fit. And they'll always seem as though they're having more fun than anybody else.
[h=3]PED penalties[/h]
Michael Cuddyer joined the growing chorus of players who want PED cheats treated harshly. From Troy Renck's column:
- Cuddyer wants a one-year suspension for the first positive test and a lifetime ban for the second.
"I think 100 percent guys would be for it. I can't speak for everybody, but listening to certain guys' comments and talking to certain guys, I think guys would be all for stiffer penalties," said Cuddyer, 33, who is entering his 13th season in the majors, second with the Rockies. "That's a full year's pay and then you can never play again. If that's not a deterrent, I don't know what is."
[h=3]Leadership void in Philly[/h]
Jonathan Papelbon says he hasn't seen any leadership in the Phillies' clubhouse. The context, from Mandy Housenick's story:
- "I think we're capable of greatness," Papelbon told The Morning Call on Wednesday. "I think we're capable of a world championship. I really, truly believe that. But the biggest key for us is that we're going to have to find our identity, and we're going to have to find our identity quick."
[Roy] Halladay helped lead the Phillies to their fourth and fifth consecutive NL East crowns in 2010 and 2011, which included their record-setting 102-win regular season two years ago.
After the way things went last year -- the Phillies were 14 games back at the All-Star break, had their fewest wins (37) at the midway point since 1997 and finished the year in third place -- Halladay has his sights set on a return to glory.
"The big thing for me is when I first came over, we always had such good teams that there wasn't a real sense of urgency because they always felt like it was a matter of time before they took over the division," Halladay told The Morning Call on Wednesday. "Now the division's getting better and I just think there needs to be more of a sense of urgency at the start of the year and especially in spring training. We've got to try and win games in spring training. It's hard to flip the switch. We've had guys that have been talented enough and could always just flip the switch when they had to. That's got to change."
So, too, does the leadership issue. It's something that's been irking Papelbon for a while.
"Since I've been here I haven't seen any leadership," he said.
The great thing about moving from camp to camp is that you'll inevitably learn something about how a player does his work, and this week, the coolest story I heard was about Victor Martinez and how he controls the pace of the game. As it was described to me: If you see an opposing pitcher throwing well, Martinez will always slow the game down -- by stepping out of the box, calling for timeout, doing everything he can to disrupt the rhythm of that pitcher. Some hitters have routines that they go to between each pitch, but Victor's tactics are related to the pitcher, rather than himself. Anything to disrupt an opponent. If the pitcher is getting knocked around, Martinez's at-bats are streamlined.
Which is pretty cool. Now I can't wait to see Victor hit again.
Martinez's wait to play will end today.
Jim Leyland revealed what may be his Opening Day lineup, and Martinez will likely hit fifth. Last year, the Tigers' No. 5 hitters ranked 29th among 30 teams in OPS. That will change now that Martinez is back.
[h=3]Moves, deals and decisions[/h]
1. In the Brett Gardner and Curtis Granderson flip-flop, the only unknown is how Granderson will react to left field -- a position he has started in only three times in the big leagues. Unless he's absolutely horrendous while coping with a different angle, it's hard to imagine the Yankees' reversing this decision.
The Yankees' front office loves Gardner, writes Joel Sherman.
2. Johnny Cueto decided to stay in camp with the Reds.
3. The Rangers have hired Ivan Rodriguez.
4. Martin Perez wants to be the No. 5 starter for the Rangers.
[h=3]Dings and dents[/h]
1. Alex Rodriguez released a statement about his rehab, as Christian Red writes.
2. David Ortiz is still out.
3. The Royals' Lorenzo Cain is on the mend.
4. Matt Garza is confident he'll be ready for the start of the regular season.
5. Giancarlo Stanton hit in a cage, as mentioned in this Joe Capozzi piece.
[h=3]The fight for jobs[/h]
1. The Orioles have about 10 guys going for one spot in their rotation.
2. The logjam at second base is a plus for the Blue Jays, writes Ken Fidlin.
3. The competition for the Braves' third base job is set to begin.
4. Jobs are at stake in the Giants' camp, writes Henry Schulman.
5. The Mariners' closer isn't assuming he's the closer.
[h=3]Divisional buzz[/h]
NL East
• The Braves' new outfield will be unveiled today.
• Mark Lerner was at the Nationals' spring training site, as Amanda Comak writes. You read this piece and it's pretty apparent they are ready move from Viera, which is the Siberia of spring training sites, in how it's remote from most other places.
• Ross Detwiler is finding his comfort zone.
The Phillies believe in some of their unproven talent, writes David Murphy. Here's the start of David's piece:
- We live in a world where a Top 100 list seems to be a prerequisite for any entity that has a halfway-decent Google page rank. This year, most of those lists rank the Phillies near the bottom of the majors in overall talent. Ruben Amaro Jr. has a relatively simple explanation for this.
"It's all a bunch of crap," he said earlier this week.
NL Central
• Starling Marte is trying to become the type of leadoff hitter that the Pirates need him to be.
• Gerrit Cole and Jameson Taillon are looking to leave their mark.
• Matt Holliday has a chance at a fresh start, as Joe Strauss writes.
• Ty Wigginton is still trying to make the playoffs.
• Zack Cozart says defense is first for him.
• Norichika Aoki is feeling more at ease.
NL West
• Snow buried the Diamondbacks' practice plans.
• Chase Headley is going through some reps.
• Barry Zito looks good. That Zito is still grinding away and trying to get better with the Giants in the final year of his seven-year, $126 million deal speaks well of him. The contract was widely labeled a disaster years ago, and it would have been easy for him just to phone it in.
• Adrian Gonzalez is working with some new hitting coaches.
AL East
• Daniel Bard had a nice first outing, as Scott Lauber writes.
• Kevin Gausman looked good in his first outing of spring.
• This will be a pivotal season for J.P. Arencibia, writes Richard Griffin.
AL Central
• The Indians are coming at Carlos Santana with a new message, writes Paul Hoynes. He is learning from Sandy Alomar, as Mike Peticca writes.
• Kenny Williams is learning how to relax, writes Rick Morrissey.
• The Twins are undergoing another renovation under Terry Ryan, writes Tyler Kepner.
• For the Twins' catchers, spring is anything but fun, writes Tom Powers.
• A couple of Tigers pitchers have been helped by Tommy John surgery.
• Jeff Manto likes what he sees in Dayan Viciedo.
AL West
• Baseball Prospectus is predicting a 13-victory improvement for the Astros. This is fascinating because I know some of the internal team projections that are done throughout MLB have Houston in the range of 50-55 wins. Somebody's projection is going to be very wrong.
• Derek Norris did a makeover in the offseason, writes Susan Slusser.
• An Angels pitcher is coming back from Tommy John surgery, writes Jeff Fletcher.
[h=3]Other stuff[/h]
• Michael Phelps took batting practice, and looked like a swimmer-turned-golfer.
• Jason Varitek is happy in his new role with the Red Sox, writes Peter Abraham.
• Dave Roberts has had his feet cast, for posterity.
• All is good with Evan Longoria's family.
• Mike Schmidt would have no problem with either Barry Bonds or Roger Clemens being voted into the Hall of Fame.
And today will be better than yesterday.
</offer>
