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Maddon Won't Let Fundamentals Slide

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 13, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - The Rays will open spring training about a month from now with what appears to be the strongest team of Joe Maddon's tenure in Tampa Bay, if not the history of the franchise.

The blend of talent and experience has the manager talking about a .500 season as "a reasonable goal," but it won't deter him from taking a back-to-basics approach to spring training. In fact, the potential to crack the 70-win barrier for the first time in Rays history might only serve to reinforce Maddon's determination to avoid giving away so many winnable games by committing fundamental mistakes.

"I'm going to apply a lot of pressure to the coaches and myself this spring training to make sure we get these fundamentals down appropriately," Maddon said. "We've talked about them for two years; I believe this group is ready to put them into play. I believe this group is ready to take what we're talking about and execute them. I believe this group will accept constructive criticism well and be accountable for their actions.

"That's why I'm so excited about working with these guys."

The personality makeover in the clubhouse could help smooth the way for Maddon, as the overall level of professionalism should be higher. It would seem to follow that improved work ethic and attention to detail would go hand-in-hand with additions such as Troy Percival and Cliff Floyd.

Also helping toward overall fundamental improvement will be an infield defense that should be better across the board, assuming Akinori Iwamura makes the transition from third base to second without too much trouble. Jason Bartlett will be a significant upgrade at shortstop, and Evan Longoria is considered above average, at least, with the glove.

Perhaps the biggest question mark will come at the plate. The Rays posted some impressive offensive numbers last season, scoring a club-record 782 runs and finishing third in the American League in homers (187) and steals (131).

But they could have done so much more.

The Rays hit .265 with runners in scoring position (.231 with two outs) and drove home only 466 of 2,032 men in scoring position. It didn't help that Rays batters struck out 1,314 times last season, obliterating the American League record of 1,268 set by Detroit in 1996.

"Last year we were in the upper part of the league in everything but run production because of how bad we were at converting runners from third base with less than two outs," Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman said. "Some of that's because of how much we struck out and didn't put the ball in play; there's a lot of different factors that go into it. I know that's priority 1A for hitting coach Steve Henderson and I feel like it's something that we're going to be able to improve upon from last year and therefore score more runs."

FAMILY FIRST: Friedman said he didn't know if Durham manager Charlie Montoyo would be with the team for spring training. Montoyo's son, Alexander, has been hospitalized with a rare heart defect since his birth in October.

The Rays could have one of the coaches slated to work at short-season Princeton or Hudson Valley to fill in for Montoyo or slide one of their roving minor-league instructors into the spot.

"We've got a lot of flexibility to cover Charlie's situation," Friedman said. "Dealing with his family is paramount, and we'll adjust accordingly."

NOTEWORTHY: Maddon said the Rays plan to have 1B/3B Joel Guzman do some work in the outfield during spring training. ... The backup catching job is "wide open," according to Maddon. Shawn Riggans and Mike DiFelice will be the top contenders. ... Only one of the Rays' 30 Grapefruit League games will be played at night - a 7:15 start on March 21 against the Yankees at Legends Field.

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