The Lineup

Well, speaking of optimism - the remainder of the Rays team is scheduled to return to training camp on February 18th, and there are many reasons to feel hopeful about the Rays bats, and you don't have to go much further than the top of the order:

Akinori Iwamura - an excellent talent - maybe not the greatest leadoff hitter in baseball, but he is very consistent at being on base; what more could you ask for in a number one?

Carl Crawford - might have had a down year last season, but is very capable and has tremendous speed - look for a rebound of sorts for Crawford this year.

B.J. Upton - if his shoulder is full healed - and all the reports seem to be that it is - look for a monster year out of Upton - much like the Rays had expected from him last season.

Carlos Pena - what can you really say about him? He'll strike out, yes, but he is efficient when he has to be, and he can hit the baseball, probably harder than any other Ray.

Evan Longoria - I try not to get too high on Evan, but it's hard not to. He is a tremendous talent and should only be able to improve from here. Yes, pitchers may have learned how to pitch to him after the playoffs - but honestly, pitching in the league as a whole is thin, and he will have plenty of chances to crush the many mistakes he'll see this season - the future is bright here.

Top 5 hitters have tremendous talent. Look for batters 3 through 5 to push the 30 home run mark each - if not more. I was one of the biggest proponents of "get Upton out of the lineup" last season, but wow, come playoff time, was I ever happy to have him in there. I think Maddon knows what he is doing, and I think that shoulder really affected the way Upton approached his game; this year could be a break out season for Bossman Junior.

But okay, 5 batters a lineup does not make, so what about the rest?

Pat Burrell - he has been quite consistent in his approach to the game (averaging almost 28 homeruns over the course of his 9 year career). He may not be the fastest player to grace the baseball diamond, but if he can also approach or surpass the 30 dinger mark, his speed won't be much of a factor (he could also simply knock in the runners before him, and have a tremendous season with never scoring a run himself).

Dioner Navarro - back to back extremely slow batters probably isn't the best idea, but better to bat these two side by side before getting back to the speed at the top of the order. The speed won't be a liability here either, since Navarro is such a great talent in other areas of the game.

Matt Joyce/Gabe Kapler - I don't know who the starting right fielder will be yet, or if they will platoon or not, but I think these two men can handle the role and handle it well. I look for Joyce to "win the job" and play about 2/3 of the games in this role. I look for him to push his home run total into the 20-25 range - which would easily bat in those two slow runners before him. Kapler will prove to be a very capable reserve here.

Jason Bartlett - he proved last year that he is a capable hitter - he actually would have led the Rays in batting average (.286) if he had the minimum number of plate appearances - which would have been quite the task for a man bringing up the rear more often than not, but what that did, was provide a spark for the top of the order. Bartlett also brings some speed to the table, so look for him to swipe about 20-30 bases - perhaps he can steal another taco for America as he did in the World Series?

Overall, the lineup looks solid. Now, if only the Rays can avoid the major injuries, this has a chance to be another promising season - and of course, all assuming the pitching doesn't melt down (i.e. the bullpen late in games). So time will tell, but on paper, anyway, I can't wait to watch this lineup do some damage to opposing pitchers.

This season, certainly could bring as much magic as last, but to say the least, the ride should at least be a fun one.

*** Note: I did not forget Fernando Perez as potential to win the job in right field because I think Perez will be used more often in spot duty to relieve fatigued players and/or late in games as a pinch runner/batter. I think he will thrive in this position and add another dimension to the overall productivity of the Rays. ***