2010 Rays in 2011

There is a growing sentiment among some Rays fans that the 2011 version of the Tampa Bay Rays were doomed from the onset, thanks to the losses of quite few of our key contributors from the 2010 squad.  These people are bozos.

Let's take a look at what our lineup could look like (fingers crossed!!!):

Stats are batting average/on-base/slugging.  Bold indicates the departed Rays.

1.  SS - Jason Bartlett   .148/.233/.148
2.  LF - Carl Crawford   .132/.175/.132
3.  CF - B.J. Upton   .290/.371/.548
4.  1B - Carlos Pena   .190/.333/.238
5.  RF - Ben Zobrist   .147/.237/.294
6.  DH - Dan Johnson   .088/.139/.206
7.  C - Kelly Shoppach   .200/.250/200
8.  3B - Willy Aybar   He's still a free agent.
9.  2B - Sean Rodriguez   .250/.294/.625

Ok, upset that I actually set a lineup with just eight guys. Here:

1.  SS - Jason Bartlett   .148/.233/.148

2.  LF - Carl Crawford   .132/.175/.132

3.  CF - B.J. Upton   .290/.371/.548

4.  1B - Carlos Pena   .190/.333/.238

5.  RF - Ben Zobrist   .147/.237/.294

6.  DH - Dan Johnson   .088/.139/.206

7.  C - Kelly Shoppach   .200/.250/200

8.  2B - Reid Brignac   .176/.263/.176

9.  3B - Sean Rodriguez   .250/.294/.625

Happy now?

I didn't cherry pick here.  Matt Joyce (.130/.259/.217) and John Jaso (.067/.125/.067) would not be good enough to crack my "optimal" lineup.  The Rays are hitting a combined line of .163/.232/.284.  If we had the Bartlett/Crawford/Pena-trio back in the Bay, we'd actually be doing worse.

Here's the rotation.

1.  David Price   0-2, 4.85 ERA in 13.0 innings

2.  Matt Garza   0-1, 5.68 ERA in 12.2 innings

3.  James Shields   0-1, 4.73 ERA in 13.1 innings

4.  Jeff Niemann   0-2, 8.31 ERA in 8.2 innings

5.  Wade Davis   0-2, 4.38 ERA in 12.1 innings

And the bullpen...

Rafael Soriano   9.82 ERA, 3 K in 4 appearances

Joaquin Benoit   0.00 ERA, 2 K in 4 appearances

Grant Balfour   5.40 ERA, 3 K in 4 appearances

Dan Wheeler   11.57 ERA, 1 K in 3 appearances

Andy Sonnanstine   2.70 ERA, 2 K in 3 appearances

Jake McGee   6.75 ERA, 2 K in 5 appearances

Ladies and gentlemen, there's your 2010 Tampa Bay Rays (in 2011)!

Let's not forget to subtract players added via trades:

Sam Fuld (.130/.320/.318)

Cesar Ramos (3.86 ERA, 1 K in 4 appearances)

Adam Russell (2.70 ERA, 2 K in 5 appearances)

Fuld's triple slash doesn't include his 5-for-5 in steal attempts or the three runs he saved with that insane catch Saturday.  With Garza in the rotation, we wouldn't have gotten to see Jeremy Hellickson in the rotation or his 10-strikeout game last Thursday.

Of the seven big names we lost over the offseason, just Benoit has delivered anywhere in the realm of his 2010 numbers, with the other six being just as crumby as the current Rays' current cast.  

Do I really think Crawford isn't going to get it together?  Do I think Pena won't hit some homers?  Do I think Soriano won't find his rhythm?  

No, of course they will.  And our 2011 Rays will get their hits and make their pitches.  It's way too early to start getting worried, there's 153 games left on the schedule, and all teams go through rough patches over the course of the Summer.  Our's just came in the Spring.  It's not time to to get down on the boys, it's time to get your ass to the Trop and scream and yell and support these guys.