EVENTS
 Sportsman of the Year
 Heisman Trophy
 Swimsuit 2001

5. Tampa Bay Devil Rays

With off-season acquisitions, they'll at least be more fun to watch than last year

By Jeff Pearlman

Offense Defense Starting Pitching Bullpen Manager 1999 Record 84-78 (third in AL East) Batting Order CF Gerald Williams 2B Miguel Cairo DH Jose Canseco 1B Fred McGriff LF Greg Vaughn 3B Vinny Castilla RF Dave Martinez C John Flaherty SS Kevin Stocker Bench OF Quinton McCracken IF Steve Cox C Mike DiFelice IF Tony Graffanino Starters LH Wilson Alvarez RH Juan Guzman RH Ryan Rupe RH Steve Trachsel RH Esteban Yan Bullpen RH Roberto Hernandez RH Jim Mecir RH Rick White RH Albie Lopez LH Norm Charlton RH Bryan Rekar Next Up... When he arrived at the Devil Rays' spring training camp last year, wearing a goofy smile and uniform number 78, righthander Ryan Rupe's expectations were minimal: Get a tan, throw well, have fun. "I wasn't thinking of making the team," he says. "I just wanted them to remember my name." Then Rupe found his groove. His fastball buzzed. His changeup dazzled. After spending 1998 in Class A, he began last season at Double A Orlando. On May 3 he was called up by the Devil Rays. "When they called to tell me I was being promoted," says Rupe, "I thought, Great! I'm going to Triple A!" Two days later he made his big league debut against the Royals and was tagged for four home runs in 4 2/3 innings. Three weeks later he one-hit the Angels. "He has the physical maturity and the makeup to be an All-Star," says general manager Chuck LaMar of his No. 3 starter. "It's just a matter of time." The Book An opposing team's scout sizes up the Devil Rays: "Pitching remains a big question mark for Tampa Bay -- the bullpen might be better than the starters. A lot depends on whether Wilson Alvarez is sound, but I'm not sure he's fully healthy.... Steve Trachsel couldn't win in the National League, so I don't expect much from him. Juan Guzman can win 10 to 12 games. Ryan Rupe could wind up being the star of this staff.... In the bullpen Jim Mecir and Rick White do the job getting to Roberto Hernandez. I like Bryan Rekar's stuff. He or Esteban Yan will be No. 5 in the rotation, with the other pitching out of the pen. Albie Lopez has damn good stuff, but I don't know if he'll ever get his head on straight. I question his makeup.... Four guys will hit a lot of home runs: Vinny Castilla, Greg Vaughn, Fred McGriff and Jose Canseco. The Devil Rays still lack speed and aren't very good defensively, though in some cases they're better than last year.... They're weak up the middle with second baseman Miguel Cairo and shortstop Kevin Stocker, who isn't a very good offensive player and is only adequate defensively."

Devil Rays general manager Chuck LaMar is a man who sees the bright side. In the midst of an earthquake, he would compile a list of 10,001 neat things to do with rubble. Totaled your car? Nothing beats a nice long walk! Broken arm? Well, heck, here's your chance to become a southpaw! That said, even LaMar admits that last year the Devil Rays were a bit dull. Watching a 41-year-old singles hitter and his turtle-paced march to 3,000 hits -- under a dome, for a 69-93 club -- was less than enthralling. "Were we the most fun team in baseball?" asks LaMar. "I'd say probably ... no."

So here's what LaMar saw on the Devil Rays' first day of spring training:

Fans waiting for more than two hours to greet 18-year-old outfielder Josh Hamilton, the No. 1 pick in last June's draft.

Newcomers Castilla (left) and Vaughn join Canseco and McGriff, setting up Devil Rays fans for a slugfest.Chuck Solomon

None of this signals an automatic rise to playoff contention for Tampa Bay, but some other, off-season developments could mean the Devil Rays' two-year run of mind-numbing baseball is over. Last fall Naimoli gave LaMar permission to increase the payroll -- it's up $25 million over last year's, to $62 million -- and LaMar appears to have spent wisely in signing free-agent outfielders Greg Vaughn and Gerald Williams and starting pitchers Juan Guzman and Steve Trachsel. A man who seldom makes trades, LaMar even put together a formidable deal, acquiring third baseman Vinny Castilla from Colorado for disappointing righthander Rolando Arrojo and infielder Aaron Ledesma. "Our first two seasons we may have had an excess of players, but nobody would say we had an excess of talent," says LaMar. "Now, in some categories, I think we do."

Category One: Sluggers with dentures. The middle of the Tampa Bay lineup is stacked with a quartet of old-yet-lethal boppers who will either take the Devil Rays to a new level or, should age win out, collapse faster than Pac Man in a Mortal Kombat world. First baseman Fred McGriff, given up for dead before last season's 32-homer rebound, is 36. Designated hitter Jose Canseco, who hit 34 dingers despite missing 49 games, turns 36 in July. Vaughn, who has 95 homers and 237 RBIs over the past two seasons, turns 35 in July. Castilla is only 32, but his .275 average with the Rockies last year was 23 points off his career mark. Those four, along with Williams and his 17 homers, combined for 161 home runs in 1999, 16 more than Tampa Bay hit as a team. "Last year we didn't always know where the runs would come from," says manager Larry Rothschild. "This year it's no secret -- we live and die by the home run." Adds Castilla, "We can contend for the playoffs. All we need is everyone to stay healthy."

Ah, health. If only it were so simple. Last season, as Wade Boggs trekked toward 3,000, the Devil Rays were bogged down by 10 players -- including Canseco, centerfielder Quinton McCracken and No. 1 starter Wilson Alvarez -- doing hard time on the disabled list. The injury bug hurt most in two places: atop the order where, with the speedy McCracken playing only 40 games, Tampa Bay leadoff hitters had a mediocre .338 on-base percentage; and in the rotation, where 13 pitchers made starts.

While righthanders Guzman and Trachsel are hardly Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine, both are dependable workhorses. Trachsel is one of just nine pitchers to make more than 30 starts and throw more than 200 innings each of the past four seasons. "Steve has a chance to be the surprise of the season," says Rothschild. "You look at his numbers last season, and, well, it looked pretty bad. But I know that's not who he really is." The Devil Rays better hope not. Trachsel, who was the Opening Day starter for the Cubs, nearly became the first man in 19 years to lose 20 games. He is something of an enigma -- an All-Star in '96, 15 victories in '98 and then pffft. "There was nothing specific, nothing mechanical," says Trachsel. "I just sucked. I didn't make good pitches."

If Trachsel rebounds, Guzman (6-3, 3.03 ERA in his 12 late-season games with the Reds) and Alvarez (7-4 after June 20) hold form, and 25-year-old righty Ryan Rupe improves on last season's encouraging rookie showing, Tampa will have a decent, if not above-average, rotation.

Does this all add up to playoffs for the Devil Rays? No. How about a .500 record? Probably not. But Tampa Bay will have something to boast of besides Hawaiian T-shirt Day and Wade Boggs Night. Finally, the Devil Rays will be interesting.

Issue date: March 27, 2000

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