OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - Expansion Revision: 1998 Devil Rays and beyond

Moriarty9 · 12-08-2008, 03:58 PM

Rays open exhibition season today
First spring training games in club history begin
March 2, 1998

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Tampa Bay Devil Rays will play the first exhibition game in franchise history this afternoon with 33 players in the dugout.

The games will help rookie manager Christian O’Neal figure out his pitching staff, lineup and bench.
“The best thing about coming in here as an expansion team is every guy on this roster is competing for a job,” O’Neal said. “Nobody is inheriting their spot with the team from last year because none of these guys were here last year.”
Some of those spots are easy to figure out – Will Clark at firstbase or Rick Aguilera as closer – while there are a number of battles for starting spots, and , in some cases, roster spots.
Charles Johnson and Dan Wilson will compete for the starting catcher’s job. Johnson, 26, is a strong defensive catcher with some pop (18 home runs in 138 games last year) but does not hit for a high average (.197 last season, .221 career hitter) or get on base a whole lot (.270 OBP in 1997, .302 career OBP). Wilson , a 1996 All Star selection and the reigning Gold Glove winner behind the plate, has a little bit of pop in his own right (15 homers in 142 games last year) and hits for a higher average (.277 last year, .269 in his career).
At second base, Bret Boone is the leading candidate while scrappy Jeff Frye tries to earn a spot of his own. Boone, 28, hit just .235 with nine homers in 112 games last year, and spent 34 games with Cincinnati’s AAA affiliate as well. The oft-injured Frye, 31, can play each infield position and hit .267 with three homers in 150 games with the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers last year.
Kevin Stocker and Royce Clayton will compete at shortstop this spring. The switch-hitting Stocker, 28, is a fine defensive player but has shown little ability at the plate. A career .256 hitter with 15 homers in 524 games, he hit .237 with five round-trippers and 28 RBI in 128 games with the Anaheim Angels last year. Clayton, 28, comes to the American League after seven years in the National League. He hit .259 with six home runs and stole 38 bases in 147 games with the St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Padres last season.
In the outfield, no spots are being taken for granted. Jacob Brumfield, Mike Cameron, Ryan Radmanovich, Damon Buford and DaRond Stovall will each get a fair shake in these exhibition games.
As for the pitching staff, free agent acquisitions Pedro Martinez and Jeff Fassero will top the rotation with Steve Cooke (13-15, 4.55 ERA in 33 starts with Pittsburgh), Livan Hernandez (0.87 ERA in 10 1/3 innings with Florida), Chris Holt (0-2, 7.17 ERA in 7 starts with Cleveland), Terry Mulholland (11-11, 3.99 ERA in 34 starts with the Reds and Cubs), Armando Reynoso (3-9, 5.42 ERA in 32 games, 13 starts, with the Mets), Mark Gubicza (6-13, 5.59 ERA, 27 games, 25 starts, with Anaheim), Mark Petkovsek (8-5, 4.56 ERA in 35 games, 21 starts, with Houston and Anaheim), and Aaron Sele (10-16, 4.61 ERA in 35 games with Boston) duke it out for starting spots, if not for spots on the big league pitching staff.
Lefties Greg Cadaret (2-0, 3.02 ERA in 41 games with Anaheim) and rookie Vic Darensbourg are expected to be in the Devil Rays bullpen while Rich Garces (2-2, 4.82 ERA, 56 games with Boston), Danny Graves (2-0, 4.55 ERA, 15 games with Cleveland in 1996), and Paul Quantrill (4-4, 3.63 ERA, 50 games with Toronto) fight amongst one another and the potential starting pitchers for the final bullpen spots.

12-08-2008, 03:58 PM	#7 (permalink)
Moriarty9 All Star Starter Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 1,855 Thanks: 9 Thanked 3x in 3 posts	Rays open exhibition season today First spring training games in club history begin March 2, 1998 ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Tampa Bay Devil Rays will play the first exhibition game in franchise history this afternoon with 33 players in the dugout. The games will help rookie manager Christian O’Neal figure out his pitching staff, lineup and bench. “The best thing about coming in here as an expansion team is every guy on this roster is competing for a job,” O’Neal said. “Nobody is inheriting their spot with the team from last year because none of these guys were here last year.” Some of those spots are easy to figure out – Will Clark at firstbase or Rick Aguilera as closer – while there are a number of battles for starting spots, and , in some cases, roster spots. Charles Johnson and Dan Wilson will compete for the starting catcher’s job. Johnson, 26, is a strong defensive catcher with some pop (18 home runs in 138 games last year) but does not hit for a high average (.197 last season, .221 career hitter) or get on base a whole lot (.270 OBP in 1997, .302 career OBP). Wilson , a 1996 All Star selection and the reigning Gold Glove winner behind the plate, has a little bit of pop in his own right (15 homers in 142 games last year) and hits for a higher average (.277 last year, .269 in his career). At second base, Bret Boone is the leading candidate while scrappy Jeff Frye tries to earn a spot of his own. Boone, 28, hit just .235 with nine homers in 112 games last year, and spent 34 games with Cincinnati’s AAA affiliate as well. The oft-injured Frye, 31, can play each infield position and hit .267 with three homers in 150 games with the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers last year. Kevin Stocker and Royce Clayton will compete at shortstop this spring. The switch-hitting Stocker, 28, is a fine defensive player but has shown little ability at the plate. A career .256 hitter with 15 homers in 524 games, he hit .237 with five round-trippers and 28 RBI in 128 games with the Anaheim Angels last year. Clayton, 28, comes to the American League after seven years in the National League. He hit .259 with six home runs and stole 38 bases in 147 games with the St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Padres last season. In the outfield, no spots are being taken for granted. Jacob Brumfield, Mike Cameron, Ryan Radmanovich, Damon Buford and DaRond Stovall will each get a fair shake in these exhibition games. As for the pitching staff, free agent acquisitions Pedro Martinez and Jeff Fassero will top the rotation with Steve Cooke (13-15, 4.55 ERA in 33 starts with Pittsburgh), Livan Hernandez (0.87 ERA in 10 1/3 innings with Florida), Chris Holt (0-2, 7.17 ERA in 7 starts with Cleveland), Terry Mulholland (11-11, 3.99 ERA in 34 starts with the Reds and Cubs), Armando Reynoso (3-9, 5.42 ERA in 32 games, 13 starts, with the Mets), Mark Gubicza (6-13, 5.59 ERA, 27 games, 25 starts, with Anaheim), Mark Petkovsek (8-5, 4.56 ERA in 35 games, 21 starts, with Houston and Anaheim), and Aaron Sele (10-16, 4.61 ERA in 35 games with Boston) duke it out for starting spots, if not for spots on the big league pitching staff. Lefties Greg Cadaret (2-0, 3.02 ERA in 41 games with Anaheim) and rookie Vic Darensbourg are expected to be in the Devil Rays bullpen while Rich Garces (2-2, 4.82 ERA, 56 games with Boston), Danny Graves (2-0, 4.55 ERA, 15 games with Cleveland in 1996), and Paul Quantrill (4-4, 3.63 ERA, 50 games with Toronto) fight amongst one another and the potential starting pitchers for the final bullpen spots.