The 2009 Tampa Bay Rays - What went right? What went wrong?

October 6, 1:29 AMTampa Bay Rays ExaminerRob Quinn

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Pena ended up tied for the AL lead in homers despite injury AP/Steve Nesius

The Rays finished an up-and-down 2009 season with a 10-2 home loss to the New York Yankees on Sunday, dropping their final record to 84-78. Despite finishing over .500 for only the second time in franchise history, the team failed to defend the American League East title and American League pennant it won in 2008. Now that the season is officially finished, let’s take a look back at five things that went right and five that went wrong.

What went right?

1. Stealing Bases.

The Rays stole 194 bases, leading the American League for the second straight season while posting the highest total in the AL since the 1996 Kansas City Royals stole 195. Carl Crawford stole a career-high and franchise-record 60 bases. Jason Bartlett and Ben Zobrist also set career highs while B.J. Upton stole 42 after swiping 44 in 2008. The running game served as quite the catalyst for a prolific offense during the month of May, when the team averaged over 6 runs per game and stole 53 bases.

2. Tropicana Field.

Once again, the Rays were one of the best in baseball at home, posting a 52-29 record at the Trop. Disappointing attendance did little to affect the team’s play in St. Petersburg. Only the Red Sox (112) have won more home games than the Rays (109) over the past two seasons.

3. Middle Infield.

After the injury to Akinori Iwamura, Ben Zobrist became Zorilla, took over at second base and combined with Jason Bartlett to form one of the most productive DP combos in all of baseball. They both made the All-Star team and finished with career-high numbers in every offensive category, giving Rays’ fans hope for some long term stability and production from the middle infield.

4. Home Runs.

The Rays set a team record with 199 homers this season. Carlos Pena tied Mark Teixeira for the American League lead with 39 despite missing the final 25 games of the season after getting hit on the hand by a C.C. Sabathia pitch. Evan Longoria and Ben Zobrist combined for 60 more homers, and a total of 8 different Rays reached the double-figure mark in long balls.

5. Rookie Starters.

Jeff Niemann will probably miss out on the Rookie of the Year award and David Price didn’t dominate the competition like some people expected, but Rays’ fans have to be optimistic about the future of this rotation, especially when considering the performance of September call-up Wade Davis. Niemann and Price combined for a 23-13 record – not bad for a couple of rookies. Davis threw a complete game shutout in only his third start and looks to have the inside track on a rotation spot in 2010. While the Rays’ starters in general suffered through a pretty tough season, there’s no reason to believe this rotation can’t succeed in the future.

What went wrong?

1. Andrew Friedman.

Ouch. It’s tough calling out the general manager, but his moves did not help the team in 2009. It’s true that Friedman makes decisions with the long-term success of the team first and foremost in his mind, but he can’t be let completely off the hook for the past 11 months. The three starters he traded away – Edwin Jackson, Jason Hammel, and Scott Kazmir – could all go to the postseason. Aside from Lance Cormier and possibly Gregg Zaun, his acquisitions fizzled. Pat Burrell and Gabe Kapler provided little to no offensive punch. His desperate search for relief help also resulted in multiple failures as Jeff Bennett, Brian Shouse, Russ Springer, Joe Nelson, and Jason Isringhausen did nothing to take the load off Cormier, Howell, Balfour, and Wheeler.

2. Homesickness.

The Rays were terrible on the road. The general formula for baseball success is this: Dominate at home, try to go .500 on the road. The Rays solved the first part of the equation, no problem. In 2008, the Rays were 40-41 on the road. They dipped to a dismal 32-49 this season – the same road record as the Kansas City Royals – which is a big reason why the Rays will be playing the same amount of postseason games as the Royals.

3. Clutch Pitching.

Neither the starters nor the relievers seemed to be able to get big outs in 2009. The staff was at its worst in high-leverage situations, allowing an OPS of .785 when it mattered most. It’s unfair to keep comparing the ’09 Rays to the ’08 Rays, but the ’08 American League Champs allowed an OPS of only .665 in those same situations, a huge difference. This very point is what caused fans so much pain this season. After watching the Rays get key outs time after time in 2008, it was frustrating watching the team fail in the clutch in 2009.

4. Strikeouts.

The game has definitely changed and striking out is not seen as a huge problem anymore with sluggers such as Mark Reynolds piling up the K’s at a record pace. Still, the Rays struck out in 19.8% of their plate appearances in 2009, second most in the American League. This is probably the stat that ultimately cost hitting coach Steve Henderson his job on Monday. It’s very difficult for the Rays to gain maximum advantage with their speed without putting the ball in play.

5. The Meltdown.

The Rays battled hard all season to give themselves a chance to make a September run at the playoffs. The Rays were 3 games behind the Red Sox entering play on August 26. Scott Kazmir pitched brilliantly, but J.P. Howell blew the save, the Rays lost, and less than 48 hours later Kaz was on his way to Anaheim. This series of events began a 21-game stretch in which the Rays went 4-17 (including an 11-game losing streak) and played their way straight out of the wild card race. It was three weeks the Rays would like to forget, but the team is young and will return as a strong contender in 2010, so they should take what they can from the September swoon and put the lessons learned to good use next season.

There was a great balance of successes and disappointments from the 2009 Rays. The team played some great baseball, gave the fans everything they had, but fell short of the postseason – which always hurts a little the year after you’ve been there. High expectations caused this season to feel somewhat like a disappointment, but there were a lot of positives to bring into a 2010 season that should prove to be equally as exciting and unpredictable as the past two have been.

What did you take from the Rays’ 2009 season? Hopefully a lot of positive memories . . . let me know in a comment.

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