Rays' Bullpen Woes Equal Another Long Summer in Tampa Bay

In the past week, Tampa Bay Devil Rays fans have been subjected to two of the most horrendous pitching performances of the modern baseball era. A six-run ninth inning on June 5th against the Toronto Blue Jays was trumped when the team's relief pitchers allowed 8 runs in 2 innings on the 8th against the Florida Marlins. The main theme to both of these debacles was that the Devil Rays' relievers simply could not throw strikes. 5 walks against the Blue Jays in that lone inning. Another 7 walks against the Marlins. Things got so bad that, in the game against Florida, manager Joe Maddon went to Josh Wilson - a utility infielder - to throw an inning of relief to mercifully end the game.

Many will say that this is just much of the same from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays - the Arizona Cardinals of Major League Baseball. In the team's decade of existence, there's been little to cheer for on the left coast of Florida. Poor ownership and poor management led to a situation in which players, coaches, and fans grew complacent and expectant of defeat. A decade of mediocrity has filled Tropicana Field with fans of opposing teams more often than not; when the Boston Red Sox or New York Yankees come to town, there's some doubt as to who the "home" team truly is.

The 2007 is one in which the team and its fans had some reason to hope. Thanks to a new management structure and a cunning draft strategy over the past few years, the young Devil Rays have a formidable offense capable of scoring runs off of any pitcher in the league (see their performance against Roy Halladay in the aforementioned Toronto debacle if you don't believe me). Moreover, they finally have a few starting pitchers that can actually compete at a high level against some of the top guns in the league. With that kind of talent, the team should be right in the thick of the Major League Baseball playoff race.

Alas, Devil Rays management overlooked one very important thing - there are still 9 outs in the last 3 innings of a baseball game that someone needs to be able to get, and unfortunately, stud closer Al Reyes can't get all of those outs by himself. The bullpen has been put together with a number of pitchers who likely wouldn't even sniff the Major Leagues on other clubs, yet Devil Rays management continues to trot them out of the bullpen every single night, while fans on blogs and message boards moan in disgust.

Should fans really be subjected to this type of torture anymore? Of course not! Fans that have been loyal to the franchise since day one - fans that have suffered through seasons in which there was absolutely no hope - should not have to endure this kind of torture in a season in which there should be some hope. Andrew Friedman, the team's General Manager, needs to answer to these fans and to the players who go out and play hard every single day. He'll likely give some company line like "this is a work in progress" or "we're not going to sacrifice our future," yet if he expects Devil Rays fans to sit back and wait while the numbskullery of the currently assembled bullpen continues, he's not likely to have a fan-base to support the club and pay the salaries of the highly-talented bunch going forward. Moreover, if he truly believes that the currently assembled bullpen is the "future" of this club, he will be in for a rude awakening. Tim Corcoran, Brian Stokes, Chad Orvella, Casey Fossum, and Shawn Camp are not good pitchers, and they never have been. Not a single one of them is going to wake up one morning,have the ultimate epiphany, and suddenly become Lee Smith or Dennis Eckersley.

The time is now for a change in the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Fans, players, coaches - all of them - deserve much better from the front office. They've had to endure 9 losing seasons. Is it really fair to expect them to endure another one?