For so-called small-market teams such as the Rockies and the Rays, molding homegrown talent remains Job One.
The Rockies followed that game plan well, and it produced Rocktober. But oftentimes a team needs to make a brash move.
The Rays understood that. They weren’t afraid to make a leap of faith. Now they’ve gone from worst to first and find themselves favored to win the World Series. The American League champions head into tonight’s Game 1 with a relatively paltry $44 million payroll.
Tampa Bay is, largely, a farm- raised team. But last November, the Rays, a major-league laughingstock without a winning season in their first 10 years of existence, pulled the trigger on a deal that made all the difference. In a move scoffed at by many in the Tampa Bay area, the Rays dealt young outfielder star Delmon Young to the Minnesota Twins for starter Matt Garza and shortstop Jason Bartlett. Young, the runner-up for AL rookie of the year in 2007 when he played in 162 games, was seen by many as the future of the Rays’ franchise.
But without that deal, the Rays would be watching tonight’s game on TV.
Bartlett turned a shaky infield into one of baseball’s best. In fact, members of the Tampa Bay chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America named Bartlett the Rays’ MVP. He hit a team-high .286, stole 20 bases and batted .389 in August when the Rays needed someone to prop them up.
Garza, a 24-year-old flamethrower with a Bob Gibson-like slider, also pitches with Gibson-like chip on his shoulder. Garza was genuinely ticked off when he was pulled in the eighth inning of Game 7 of the ALCS. He went 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA in the ALCS, good enough to garner the MVP trophy.
Sometimes an outside catalyst is needed to help a young team. One can’t help but wonder what the Rockies’ 2008 season would have been like if they had taken a chance and made a move for a decent pitcher during the offseason.
One hopes the Rockies will be willing to roll the dice as baseball nears its winter meeting in Las Vegas this December.
