Tampa Bay Rays Wrap Up Winning Year

It wasn't the season everyone had hoped for.

Management hoped for more fans at the gate; fans hoped for higher numbers in the win column. Joe Maddon hoped for better performance from Pat Burrell, B.J. Upton, the Gabe-and-Gabe show, and his pitching staff.

There were many a letdown this year. Still, after taking three of four against the Baltimore Orioles, the Tampa Bay Rays completed back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in franchise history.

The finish for the Rays is something to build on after a terrible 11-game losing skid ended any hope of contending for a wild card spot.

As the Rays face the AL East Champion New York Yankees for the final three-game set of 2009, they can at least take heart in that despite being out of the race, they still fought hard and won some games in the last few weeks of the season.

Not many pundits truly expected Tampa Bay to repeat their amazing feat of last season, but ironically, they could have. So many close games were lost or blown—25 one-run losses, up from 18 last year.

While there were special finds, like utility player Ben Zobrist (.292, 26 HRs, 89 RBI) and the power of Jason Bartlett (career highs: .317 BA, 14 HRs, 69 RBI), there were also the disappointments of Upton (.236, 10 HRs, 49 RBI) and Burrell (.225, 14 HRs, 65 RBI).

Evan Longoria and Carlos Pena finished with strong numbers but had long slumps during the year.

On the pitching staff, starters expected to dominate were quite ordinary. Rookie Jeff Niemann, overshadowed by fellow big name rookie David Price, was the best on the staff in 2009, winning 12 games (he finished 12-6) and posting a 3.94 ERA.

Price was like his ballclub, up and down—inconsistent throughout the year. He finished strong though, getting to nine wins and posting a winning record in his first full season in the majors.

The rest of the staff left a lot to be desired. Scott Kazmir was average before being shipped off to Los Angeles in a momentum-killing trade. Matt Garza, the ace of the team, was a disappointing 8-12 on the year with a 3.95 ERA.

"Big Game" James Shields wasn't so big this season, finishing 11-12 and a 4.14 ERA, although in Shields' defense, he had terrible run support all year. Andy Sonnanstine, who led the team in victories in '08, was so bad he was shipped to Triple-A Durham.

September callups allowed the Rays to get a look at Wade Davis, a promising young right-hander. Davis made five starts in September, posting a 2-1 record and 3.45 ERA.

The Rays bullpen had its good moments and its bad moments in 2009. It started off slowly as middlemen Dan Wheeler and Grant Balfour were hit hard, was solid in the middle of the year, and then let the team down again during the stretch run.

When Troy Percival ended up on the DL for the season, J.P. Howell was forced to abandon his setup role and be the team's closer. He was hot for a while, finishing with 17 saves, but Howell was also third in the Majors with eight blown saves.

Tampa Bay as a team blew 22 saves on the year.

Attendance-wise, the Rays were up in attendance but far from the "middle of the pack" owner Stu Sternberg said the team needed to be in 2009 to sustain their $63 million payroll.

That's bad news for 2010 and guys like Carl Crawford and Jason Bartlett. Crawford has a $10 million club option but wants a long-term deal, while Bartlett is eligible for arbitration. Considering the season numbers he put up, he could be in for a major pay increase.

The Rays have some young players waiting in the wings like outfielder Desmond Jennings and shortstop Reid Brignac, which could make the two All-Stars expendable.

As the Rays put 2009 to bed, the 2009-10 hot stove league may be one of the Rays' most interesting and pivotal in franchise history.