It has now been over a week since the Rays hasty departure from the 2010 MLB Playoffs.
This time has given my emotions a chance to settle.
However, throughout the week, and really throughout most of the season, no matter how many thoughts and opinions I had about the Rays, one position I take has remained a constant; Tampa Bay fans are ridiculously harsh and judgmental.
Message boards everywhere have been filled with rage from fans over the 2010 Rays campaign.
Whether it be regarding the offense, the pitching, the defense or even the attendance, somehow the blame all seems to come back to Joe Maddon.
Some are going as far as to call for his immediate firing. I even saw a comment online from a fan who was asking if Lou Pinella was looking to get back into managing.
Rays fans clearly want change. But, the notion that anybody has even suggested Joe Maddon be fired is completely absurd to me.
Maddon and the Rays improbably made it to the 2008 World Series with a minuscule payroll that was second lowest in the league.
While they did lose in five games to the Phillies, how soon we forget they won the A.L. East that year with 97 wins, and beat down the Red Sox in the ALCS, which was basically like a world series in its own right.
Then, in 2009, the Rays payroll increased to around 63 million and led to a third place division finish with a record just over .500.
While that 2009 campaign was clearly a step down despite a greater payroll, the Rays still proved to critics across America that 2008 was no fluke. For a majority of the season, the Rays were in the middle of the playoff hunt.
It is no secret that winning in the A.L. on a consistent basis is nearly impossible unless your team is based out of New York or Boston, but the Rays showed that it can in fact be done, regardless of payroll.
This season began with extremely high expectations.
Coming off a solid two seasons, payroll was raised once again to nearly 72 million, which still was only 21st in the league. The only team in the MLB with a lower opening day payroll that made the playoffs was Texas.
The Rays did fall short of their world series hopes this year, though they won the A.L. East again, notching 96 victories, second best in all of baseball.
My point is that look what Joe Maddon has done with the limited amount of resources at his disposal. The Rays manager has a .499 winning percentage in his five years with the club, not including the postseason.
Considering the fact that one year the Rays posted 100 losses under Maddon, I would say that a borderline .500 winning percentage is fantastic.
The turnaround for the Rays organization can’t lay squarely on Maddon’s shoulders, as the new ownership has done a wonderful job as well.
But, Maddon has certainly done a respectable job as the skipper of the Rays. Calling for a change at this junction is much too premature, and quite frankly, immature.
I understand that basically every sport is a “what have you done for me lately” game, but even that argument does not apply to Maddon. What has he done lately? Taken a team that was inept at offense to the playoffs.
People can complain about his lineup changes and ticky tack managing style, but when you don’t have a solid nine guys who are everyday starters, then you have to do the best with what you have.
Besides Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria, who on the roster had impressive offensive numbers in 2010? The Rays roster is filled with a number of role players who can play a variety of positions in the field. Maddon turned these utility role players into division champions.
Maddon was criticized the entire season for making unconventional moves, like switching around the lineup based on matchup or putting in a relief pitcher purely based on matchup. Needless to say, not all of his decisions work. Then again, all managers make decisions that end up looking like bone-headed mistakes.
Hindsight is 20-20. As fans, it is so easy to judge and point fingers when someone does something wrong. It seems difficult, though, to give credit where credit is due.
Matt Joyce hit a grandslam off the Minnesota Twins mid-season to propel the Rays to a big win.
Joyce was brought in as a pinch-hitter. Maddon could have called on any other player on his bench to take the at bat, but called on Joyce instead.
Reid Brignac hit a walk-off homerun in extras against the Yankees in a pivotal game late in the season. Brignac had taken the place of Carl Crawford, who had been ejected earlier in the game.
Maddon could have subbed in a number of different players to play the outfield for Crawford, but instead decided to rearrange the defense and go with Brignac.
Did Maddon get any of the credit for these moves? No, the players did, and that’s just the way it goes. Managers get scrutinized all the time for their choices, but it’s as if Rays fans have a special kind of hatred reserved for Maddon and his methods.
Speaking of methods, the approach at the plate for the Rays was complained about throughout most of the season.
Maddon and hitting coach Derek Shelton took a stern philosophy of taking pitches and drawing walks in 2010, which the Rays excelled in.
Tampa Bay led the A.L. in both walks and strikeouts, meaning they barely would even make contact with the ball.
While Maddon’s hitting philosophy worked a portion of the season, there were times when the Rays really struggled to score runs. Thus, fans were jumping off the proverbial Joe Maddon bandwagon, claiming Rays sluggers needed to swing the bat more often.
Well, that argument really proved to be asinine come playoff team versus the Rangers. Against Cliff Lee and C.J. Wilson, walks were tough to come by for the Rays, and they were forced to swing the bat.
Once the walks were taken out of their game, they looked completely dumbfounded at the plate, only scoring one run in the first two ALDS games.
Maddon clearly knows his players better than the casual fans do, or else he wouldn’t be coaching. What he may have seen was a group of guys who really weren’t too good at making contact with the ball, therefore leading him to suggest they take pitches and try to get on base via the walk.
With the hatred for Maddon, naturally there is pessimism for the future. Rays’ Principal Owner Stuart Sternberg has made it known that payroll will cut next year somewhere to 50 million or lower.
This statement left Rays fans with a sense of urgency for winning it all in 2010, making it even more difficult to cope with the early exit from the playoffs.
Key contributors like Carl Crawford, Rafael Soriano and Carlos Pena will likely not be on the Tampa Bay roster come 2011, leading people to believe that the Rays will drop back to the basement of the A.L. East.
Despite popular belief, the Rays will still be a respectable team in 2011.
Hold me to this statement if you’d like. Tampa Bay won’t necessarily make the playoffs or even be in the race until the bitter end, but that doesn’t mean they won’t have a winning record and be relevant.
Carl Crawford may be leaving, but despite popular belief, he actually is mortal, as seen by his 0-4 performance in game five of the ALDS.
Evan Longoria will still be a cog in the middle of the lineup, and most of the role players will be returning and, at the very least, will have another year under their belt.
Ben Zobrist will likely not have as bad of a season as he did in 2010, and the same goes for Jason Bartlett if he returns.
By the way, the starting rotation will most likely stay intact, while adding Jeremy Hellickson into the mix. Wade Davis, Jeff Niemann and David Price now have plenty of experience in the big leagues to reak havoc for opposing lineups. With a rotation like the projected one for the Rays in ’11, your team is never out of contention.
Let’s stop giving up on the Rays chances next year before they’ve even played a spring training game.
Call me overly optimistic and naïve, but I truly believe Joe Maddon when he says the Rays will be back next year.
I may be bogged down with cheerful nostalgia of the 2008 season, but at least my argument has more backing to it than the one that reads “Joe Maddon should be fired, and the Rays suck.”
Daniel Feingold can be reached at minaret.sports@gmail.com.