Tampa Bay Devil Rays 2002 Season Preview

by Paul Wysard

With all due respect to loyal fans in the Tampa area, it is very difficult to become excited about this franchise in general and its players in particular. In the mid-'90s, we read and heard much about the possibility of the Giants moving across the country to the other Bay Area of Tampa-St. Petersburg. Nothing came of that, but a new club was admitted into the American League, with high hopes as to community support and solid impact by some proven veteran performers.

The eccentric writer Gertrude Stein once "dissed" Oakland as a city of interest by saying, "There's no there there." One really cannot say the same thing about Tampa as a place, but the team invokes similar sentiments.

Management suited up hometown hero Fred McGriff, expensive southpaw Wilson Alvarez, and, a bit later, sluggers Jose Canseco, Vinny Castilla, and Greg Vaughan. . .but nothing exceptional followed. Alvarez is reportedly on the comeback trail(he won 15 games one year) and Vaughan is still a dangerous power hitter when healthy, but the others have left and a youth movement appeared.

Although he's never had more than 350 at-bats, first baseman Steve Cox is a promising hitter. Big League scouts have good things to say about catcher Toby Hall - offensively and defensively. Number one starter Tanyon Sturtze is adequate. Beyond that the roster is either in flux or non-descript. Some of the younger prospects listed in early-Spring previews have already been optioned to AAA, and remaining are the likes of outfielder Ben Grieve and shortstop Chris Gomez. The former was all the rage for the Athletics a couple of years ago, but one wondered why they let him go so easily. Now we know, as he seems to have settled into a journeyman pattern of .270-15-75. Gomez lost his job in San Diego, but did just enough to get it back on this club. Now closer Esteban Yan is being shopped. And so on. Sorry to say it or do it, but... Yawn.

Manager Hal McRae will give it another try in a second year at the helm, but the Rays will lose 100 games again, feasted upon by the sharks higher up in the food chain in their division - the Yankees, Red Sox, and Blue Jays.