The 5'9" Iwamura brings power, average, a Gold Glove and a strong arm to a lineup that can use it all. Mike Carlson/AP
	FAST FACTS MANAGER JOE MADDON second season with Devil Rays Team Page | 2007 Schedule THE NUMBERS       LIE | DON'T LIE 49.6 Percentage of games last year in which the Devil Rays held a lead and then lost the game. The actual count was an AL-record 60 losses in that situation, 15 more than the next worst team in squandering leads (the White Sox). Had Tampa Bay won just 10 of those games, it would have finished a franchise-best 71-91. CONSIDER THIS Al Reyes isn't a household name, but he came close to being one two years ago. The well-traveled righthander (seven major league stops in 12 years) was the best pitcher in the Cardinals' bullpen in 2005, when the team won the NL Central. Virtually unhittable for most of the season (only 38 hits allowed in 62 2/3 innings), he had the misfortune of blowing out his elbow in October and missed the playoffs. His absence was a big factor in St. Louis's losing the NLCS to the Astros in six games. Following Tommy John surgery, Reyes, who missed all of last season, is trying to win a job in the Devil Rays' pen. With a 3.60 career ERA and nearly a strikeout per inning (333 K's in 345 1/3), he could turn out to be their best and most accomplished reliever by far. He should win a job -- and be seriously considered for the closer role. BATTING ORDER POS. PLAYER B-T PVR BA HR RBI SB CF ROCCO BALDELLI R 78 .302 16 57 10 LF CARL CRAWFORD L 5 .305 18 77 58 RF DELMON YOUNG (R) R 66 .317 3 10 2 1B TY WIGGINTON R 84 .275 24 79 4 2B JORGE CANTU R 187 .249 14 62 1 DH JONNY GOMES R 180 .216 20 59 1 3B AKINORI IWAMURA (R) L-R 127 .311 32 77 8 C DIONER NAVARRO S-R 274 .254 6 28 2 SS BEN ZOBRIST S-R 271 .224 2 18 2 BENCH POS. PLAYER B-T PVR BA HR RBI SB INF-OF B.J. UPTON R 101 .246 1 10 11 INF-OF GREG NORTON S-R 169 .296 17 45 1 ROTATION THROWS PITCHER PVR W L K WHIP ERA LH SCOTT KAZMIR 71 10 8 163 1.27 3.24 RH JAMES SHIELDS 220 6 8 104 1.44 4.84 RH JAE SEO 277 3 12 88 1.61 5.33 LH CASEY FOSSUM 255 6 6 88 1.53 5.33 LH J.P. HOWELL (R) 267 1 3 33 1.56 5.10 BULLPEN THROWS PITCHER PVR W L S WHIP ERA RH SETH MCCLUNG 124 6 12 6 1.83 6.29 RH SHAWN CAMP 166 7 4 4 1.49 4.68 RH RUDDY LUGO 293 2 4 0 1.32 3.81

The Devil Rays made sure that Japanese third baseman Akinori Iwamura wouldn't get lost or be late during his first spring training in the U.S. They placed him in a hotel across the street from the team's camp in St. Petersburg, and hired an interpreter to guarantee that he got to the right place at the right time. Now the club hopes the five-time Japanese Central League All-Star can help Tampa Bay find its way out of the AL East cellar.

Though he is not a seasoned major leaguer, the 28-year-old Iwamura is a baseball Yoda in a lineup that has only one other position player older than 25 (first baseman Ty Wiggington, who's 29). In nine seasons in Japan the 5'9", 176-pound Iwamura hit .300 with 188 home runs and 570 RBIs. His consistency at the plate is the most valuable asset he brings to a team that, with outfielders Rocco Baldelli, Carl Crawford and highly regarded rookie Delmon Young, is already loaded with power and speed -- only 11 teams in major league history have surpassed the Devils Rays' 2006 totals of 190 home runs and 134 steals in the same season.

As an added bonus Iwamura, known as Top Gun back home because of his arm strength, was a six-time Gold Glove winner in Japan who will upgrade the left side of an infield that committed a league-leading 55 errors last year.

Reaching across the Pacific for talent -- Tampa Bay signed Iwamura to a three-year, $7.7 million contract after paying the Yakult Swallows $4.55 million for his negotiating rights -- is the latest strategy in the club's bid to crack .500. In each of the franchise's 10 years, it has finished with a losing record. In 2006 the Devil Rays ranked last in the majors in winning percentage (.377, with a 61-101 record), runs (689), batting average with runners in scoring position (.240) and on-base percentage (.314).

Yet the team's biggest weakness is the pitching staff, which surrendered the second-most hits (1,600) and had the fourth-worst ERA (4.96) in the majors. Lefthander Scott Kazmir won 10 of 24 starts, and the rest of the rotation won 26 of 138. At least lefthander Casey Fossum looks healthy coming off shoulder surgery last September, and 25-year-old righthander James Shields shows promise. Tampa Bay relievers had the league's third-highest ERA (4.94) and the highest batting average against (.295) last year. The bullpen was one area "we'd hoped to address this winter," says executive vice president Andrew Friedman, "but it didn't quite work out."

But second-year manager Joe Maddon says he already sees progress being made in Tampa Bay, which became the first team in major league history to have a winning record at home (41-40) and still lose more than 100 games. "The biggest difference is a higher level of confidence and calmness," says Maddon, who is the person most responsible for that change in atmosphere. He has transformed the clubhouse into a classroom, encouraging player-taught workshops -- Crawford, who has led the league in stolen bases for three of the last four seasons has shared his expertise on reading pitchers and taking a lead -- and pounding home the need for players to always be thinking about the game. The manager has ordered T-shirts that read tell me what you think not what you've heard. "Corny becomes popular once you start winning," Maddon says.

Last week, feeling more comfortable in his new surroundings, Iwamura moved out of the hotel and into a town house that's 15 minutes away from Tampa Bay's spring training complex. Now the question is, Are the Devil Rays ready to move on too? -- Melissa Segura

Issue date: March 26, 2007