Feb 24
The Tampa Bay Rays may be able to keep somebody from firing up FireJoeMaddon.com but they can’t stop me from tracking Joe Maddon’s chances of being the Rays manager in 2009.
Last year the Tampa Bay Rays picked up Joe Maddon’s two-year option. In reality it was a one-year deal as few teams are willing to enter a season with a manager that only has one year left on his contract. Make no mistake, a decision regarding Maddon’s future will be made following the 2008 season. Depending on how the Rays perform on the field and how management feels Maddon performed in the dugout and in the clubhouse, they will either grant Maddon an extension following the 2008 season or the will fire him.
In Maddon’s first two years at the helm of the Rays, we have seen glimpses of what we had heard from the Angels organization. That is, Joe Maddon is an excellent talent evaluator and great developer of young talent. What we still don’t know is if Joe Maddon can be a winning major league manager.
While the emphasis in his first two seasons has been on player development, there has been a noticeable lack of W’s in the standings. In each of Maddon’s first two seasons, his Rays have finished with the worst record in baseball becoming the first team to have the top pick of the June amateur draft two years in a row (until recently, the top pick alternated leagues each year).
Is Joe Maddon the right guy to lead the Rays out of the cellar and into the playoffs? Stuart Sternberg and Andrew Friedman will make the decision following the season and I will track Maddon’s progress during the season.
My first inclination was to start at about 30%, but I am going to give Maddon the benefit of the doubt. At this point he has the backing of the front office. Still the chances of Maddon returning for 2009 are 50-50 right now. There is a clear indication that the team needs to start winning more games. He doesn’t need to make the playoffs for an extension, and i am not ready to put a number on how many wins he needs, but he does need to show considerable improvement.
This feature will run weekly from now until the end of the season. We may change the exact day of the week, but for now it is a Sunday feature.
Feb 24
Carl Crawford, David Price, Dioner Navarro, Edwin Jackson, James Shields, Jason Bartlett, Joe Maddon, Joel Guzman, Juan Salas, Matt Garza, Scott Kazmir, Willy Aybar admin
Tampa Bay Devil Dogs (36 days until opening day)
DRG here again to get you through the weekend…
Rays Anatomy interviewed David Price. It is a solid interview with good questions.
However…And this is not a jab at RA because we have seen plenty of other Q&As with Price…but when the hell is somebody going to ask him if the team is going to give him a start in Spring Training? This is the single most pressing and important question.
Has this question been asked and we have just missed it? I have asked three people and nobody remembers having seen this question asked by anybody, including the Rays beat reporters or columnists.
If the Rays even think it is possible that Price will pitch for the Rays in 2008 then they will want to see him pitch against major league batters in the Spring. And not just a few cursory batters in the 8th inning of a Spring game in which the batters are all wearing numbers north of 70. If Andrew Friedman and Joe Maddon think Price is close to being ready they will want him to start at least one Spring game and throw him to the wolves, and see how he handles the pressure. If there are no intentions to have Price in the majors in 2008 then he will most likely be reassigned to minor league camp very early.
Maybe Price won’t answer the question. But I would love it if somebody would at least ask. And I don’t want anybody to tell me that this decision has yet to be made. This has been discussed.
Rays Anatomy And The MLB Source Interview David Price [Rays Anatomy]
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- Delmon Young is keeping quiet after the challenge from Carl Crawford. Certainly Twins brass strongly suggested he do so. And certainly, it is killing Young to not be able to say something. It must be eating him alive and I think that is funny. [Tampa Tribune]
- Three players (Willy Aybar, Joel Guzman and Juan Salas) remain stuck in the Dominican Republic without Visas. Joe Maddon spoke to the issue and said that Salas is the one that stands to be hurt the most by his absence as he is fighting for the last spot in the bullpen. [St. Pete Times]
“The longer Salas is out,” Maddon said, “the more difficult it’s going to be for him.”
- Willy Aybar and Joel Guzman are expected in camp on Wednesday. Juan Salas is not. It is believed that his Visa issues are due to his drug suspension last year. [Tampa Tribune]
- Edwin Jackson will pitch the Grapefruit League opener on Friday. He will be followed by Scott Kazmir on Saturday and James Shields on Sunday. Kid K’s start on Saturday would have him on pace to start the season opener in Baltimore. [The Heater]
- Joe Maddon said that the decision to start Edwin Jackson has no bearing on who will make the rotation in the final two spots of the rotation. [Tampa Tribune]
- Dioner Navarro didn’t exactly change his diet. He still loves himself some fried chicken. However, he did change when he eats it (not as late at night), and apparently he looks slimmer this Spring. [Tampa Bay Rays]
- The Bradenton Herald takes a look at the other player in the Delmon Young-Matt Garza swap…Jason Bartlett. [Bradenton Herald]
- Matt Garza almost quit baseball in college. [Tampa Tribune]
- Am I the only one that is confused by this? Just askin’. [DRays Bay]
