Fixing the Tampa Bay Rays - Pearl Jam style

October 15, 1:24 AMTampa Bay Rays ExaminerRob Quinn

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If you don't own this album, go get it - now. Stop reading.

As the Rays prepare to sit and watch the Yankees and Angels duke it out for their American League pennant, there can only be one thought going through the minds of Rays’ players, fans, and management – How do we become American League Champions again? The Rays were not necessarily "broken" in 2009, but they were certainly not operating on all cylinders, but there is some good news.

We all know that there is no problem in the world that cannot be solved by absorbing some Pearl Jam and their new album Backspacer has given us just what we need to solve the Rays’ problems – the first single "The Fixer." All we need to do to fix the Rays is break down the Pearl Jam song and apply it to the team.

"When something’s broke, let me put a bit of fixin’ on it . . ."

2010 ALCS, here we come.

JP should return to middle relief AP/Brian Blanco

"When something’s dark, let me shed a little light on it . . . "

Obviously, Eddie had the Rays’ closer situation in mind here. J.P. Howell broke down at the end of the season as the closer, and he is one of the most effective middle relievers in the game, so it would be a waste of his talent to put him back into the closer role where he has obviously struggled. Early indications from Andrew Friedman make it seem that a committee approach will likely be used in 2010.

If this doesn’t sicken you as a Rays’ fan, it should. Another season of bullpen failure similar to 2009 will drive even the most patient fan crazy. What are the alternatives?

The free agent market is loaded with options, but the cash-strapped Rays are not likely to be players for any of the reliable options as free-agent closers. Almost all of the available closers who are worth a darn are also Type A free agents, which would require the Rays to sacrifice a first-round draft pick to sign them, making a push for a free-agent closer even more unlikely. Still, there are some attractive options out there – Rafael Soriano and Mike Gonzalez of the Braves are the two best. If the Rays wait until after the non-tender deadline passes, more names could be available including Jeremy Accardo of the Blue Jays, who is just two years removed from an outstanding season as Toronto’s closer.

The other option is to go in-house. The problem for the Rays is this: all of their best minor league arms are starting pitchers. They have been loathe to the idea of converting one of these promising starters into a closer as some teams have had success doing (see: Papelbon, Jonathan). David Price closed effectively in the ’08 playoffs, but he is absolutely not an option as the Rays are committed to him as a long-term starter. Are Wade Davis or Jeremy Hellickson options? Probably not.

This situation is obviously a mess and Rays’ fans could be in the dark when it comes to knowing the team’s closer well into the 2010 season.

Balfour needs more zip on his heater AP/Charles Krupa

"When something’s cold, let me put a little fire on it . . ."

Dioner Navarro, Eddie Vedder is talking to you. After an ice cold ’09, Navarro (if he’s kept around) needs to regain at least some of the form that took him to the ’08 All-Star game. He was just uncomfortable at the plate all season. His bat looked slow and this led to all kinds of problems. I am not a professional scout, but it looked as though Navarro was trying to cheat on fastballs because he knew his bat speed was down, which led to a lot of guess-hitting and bad pitch selection. The worst thing about Navarro’s 2009 season was that he allowed his offensive woes to impact the rest of his game, which is an absolute no-no for a catcher. The pitching staff did not perform up to its potential and Navarro is partially responsible. No matter how he’s struggling at the plate, he needs to be headstrong and confident when calling the game. If Navarro can fire himself back up to his ’08 level, the Rays should be much improved next year.

"When something’s old, I wanna put a bit of shine on it . . ."

Pat Burrell is only 32, but he looked about 10 years older as he floundered at the plate this season. Like it or not, he’ll be back in 2010 because no team is likely to touch his $9 million salary. He can complain about not playing the field all he wants, but he’s just so inferior defensively to the Rays’ other outfield options that it’s impossible for Joe Maddon to send him out there. So Pat needs to shine up his bat and look young again or he will continue to face the boo-birds and remain in the doghouse of Rays’ fans.

"If something’s low, I wanna put a little high on it . . ."

How about the velocity of fastballs coming from Rays’ relief pitchers? Grant Balfour is the hardest thrower out there, and his fastball dropped from 94.6 mph in 2008 to 93.3 in ’09. Here is the rest of the bullpen’s average fastball:

• Springer – 91.3
• Howell – 85.6
• Cormier – 88.8
• Wheeler – 88.3
• Nelson – 87.0
• Bennett – 92.5
• Thayer – 92.6
• Shouse – 80.1
• Bradford – 78.3
• Choate – 87.2

Obviously when it comes to pitching, velocity isn’t everything, and I’m not saying bring back Jorge Sosa and Jesus Colome, but the Rays need to bring in at least one hard thrower to get some variety in the bullpen. This is the Major Leagues. Get someone that can run it up there at 95 please.

If the Rays fix all of these problems, they will find themselves contenders again in 2010. But there is one last line of the song to keep in mind when looking ahead to next season and it sums up the attitude the Rays must have. This is the best baseball league in the world and winning it is not easy – the reward is seeing the required hard work and effort put in on the journey to the Championship pay off and bring you what comes only with a World Series ring – Immortality (sorry, couldn’t resist).

"When something’s lost, I wanna fight to get it back again . . ."

In six short months we’ll see how fixed the Rays are and how much fight they have.

How would you fix the Rays? Let me know in a comment.

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Have a great Rays' story idea for me? How about them USF Bulls? Will they come through against Cincinnati Thursday night? E-mail me at raysexaminer@live.com