Posted on
3/11/2008 5:04:10 PM
2008 MLB Betting Preview - Tampa Bay Rays
By Dave Golokhov
The Tampa Bay Rays made a key acquisition this off-season when they traded away Delmon Young to the Minnesota Twins: they acquired Matt Garza. With Scott Kazmir, James Shields and Matt Garza, the Rays have three good front line starters who fit nicely in the one, two and three spots in the rotation.
The last two spots are – for intents and purposes – vacant. Andy Sonanstine and Edwin Jackson were batting practice for many opponents and both return at the back end of the rotation.
Jason Hammel and Jeff Niemann serve as the young arms who will be in the mix competing.
Relief Pitching:
The Rays had one of the worst bullpens in the Majors last year and when Troy Percival is the solution, the problem is still a very real one.
Percival has eight saves over the last two years and a combination of injuries and age have diminished his skill.
The hop is that Percival can handle the closing duties and bump everyone else down a notch. Al Reyes and Dan Wheeler are decent; Gary Glover and Trevor Miller would like to be decent. If Percival doesn’t pan out, this bullpen will again be horrible.
Hitting:
The Rays top four hitters return in the same order, which gives them a solid top of the order. Akinori Iwamura, Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena and B.J. Upton hold down the top four spots, which produced quality results last year.
Crawford is a steady All-Star but Upton and Iwamura have to avoid the sophomore slump.
Again – just like the starting rotation – depth will be the key. If Rocco Baldelli is healthy enough for daily action and Evan Longoria can make the team and contribute, the lineup should be improved.
Cliff Floyd, Willy Aybar, Dioner Navarro and Jason Bartlett don’t inspire a lot of optimism.
Regular Season Win Total: 75.5
The Tampa Bay Devil Rays are finally interested in winning. They upped their payroll from $24 M to $40 M and inherently added a few veteran pieces.
But as their club optimism grew, so did their expectations in Vegas. The Rays are expected to be a scrappy group that pulls its pants up to 76 wins.
One key will be the performance of the bullpen and Percival in particular, but asking the Rays to get to 76 win might be a tall task given their division. With the Red Sox, Yankees and Jays, the AL East might have three 90-win teams.
Tampa is improving but I don’t see a 10-game improvement here.
Free Pick: Under 75.5 wins
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