The Flappy Boys: The Rays (1998-

[tallywood]

The Flappy Boys
Currently: March 1998

Table of Contents:

Chapter 1 - The Beginning
A. Introduction
1. The Year Before the Rays: 1997
2. The Inaugural Draft
3. The Calm Before the Storm
4. The Inaugural Season - 1998



***

On the horizon comes a franchise from the Tampa Bay area of Florida. Finally, after getting the "ok" in 1995, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays are looking ahead to getting professional ballplayers to don the newest uniforms of the American League. (The Arizona Diamondbacks will be the newest expansion team of the National League, entering the MLB as well in 1998)

At the helm of this new franchise that enters arguably the most daunting division in baseball is me, the first hire of team-owner Vince Naimoli.

I will be managing the life of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays franchise from their inception until the MLB takes my license as a GM/Manager away.

I have the task of starting from scratch with only the help of an inaugural draft, initial budget of practically nothing, and beneficial draft picks.



Housekeeping:

• The save starts in 1997 where I will be unemployed in order to be able to take part in the inaugural draft once I the Devil Rays job becomes available.
• MLB will naturally expand, but I am controlling the Devil Rays with no influence from what happened in real life Rays history (like rosters, players, team decisions)
  
• Potential Ratings will be based on Peak Seasons of Career
• Player Dev. Budget is disabled
• No Stars displayed for ratings
• Injury Frequency: Low
• Ratings 20-80 scale
• Player evaluation is 40/30/20/10
• Trade difficulty is HARD with NEUTRAL preference
• Scouting Accuracy is NORMAL

My Style:

• I set lineups and rotation, but my manager will handle in-game decisions
• Realism > everything.
• I handle promotions/demotions, but I handle those in May unless special circumstances arise
• I try to play a little every day, but I am a law student with not as much free time as I'd like.
• I love writing about baseball, and this will keep me more engaged than just hitting "Finish Day" over and over
  

[tallywood]

The Final Season Without the Devil Rays: 1997

I sat on the sidelines, interviewing potential managers, coaches, trainers, and scouts all year. It was an exciting year of baseball as the Mariners finally got their World Series. (With a roster that stacked, no wonder it would happen this decade.)

Today, October 28th, 1997, I move into my office at Tropicana Field and get ready to start putting together the big board for the first roster in Devil Rays history!

As for 1997, here it is summed up:




Accomplishments:

• Hit for the Cycle:
  • Jeff King (Royals)
  • Craig Biggio (Astros)
  • Roger Cedeno (Dodgers)
    
• 3 HR in One Game
  • Edgar Martinez (Mariners)
    
  • Chipper Jones (Braves)
    
  • Matt Williams (Indians)
    
  • Jeff Bagwell (Astros)
    
• 6 Hits in One Game
  • Omar Vizquel (Indians)
    
• 15 Ks in One Game
  • Curt Schilling (Phillies)
  • Jeff Juden (Expos)
    

Milestones:

• HR #300
  • Chili Davis (Royals)
  • Cecil Fielder (Yankees)
• RBI #1000
  • Ryne Sandberg (Cubs)
  • Barry Bonds (Giants)
  • Gary Gaetti (Cardinals)
  • Will Clark (Rangers)
  • Andres Galarraga (Rockies)
  • Bobby Bonilla (Red Sox)
  • Mark McGwire (A's)
• Win #200
  • Roger Clemens (Blue Jays)
• Save #300
  • Randy Myers (Orioles)
• Hit #2500
  • Harold Baines (White Sox)
  • Rickey Henderson (Cubs)
  • Tim Raines Sr (Mets)
• Hit #2000
  • Gary Gaetti (Cardinals)
  • Joe Carter (Blue Jays)

Big Moves:

• David Justice was traded from Indians to Blue Jays for Juan Guzman and Casey Blake
• Rickey Henderson was traded from A's to Cubs for Scott Servais and Franklin Font

AL All Stars: NL All Stars:



End of Regular Season Standings & Leaders:


Playoffs:

• Gold Glove
  • AL
    • Mike Mussina (2), Pudge Rodriguez (6), Darin Erstad (1), Chuck Knoblauch (1), Robin Ventura (5), Alex Gonzalez (1), Garret Anderson (1), Marquis Grissom (5), Orlando Merced (1)
    NL
    • Greg Maddux (8), Charles Johnson (3), Mark Grace (5), Mark Lemke (1), Gary Gaetti (5), Barry Larkin (4), Barry Bonds (7), Rondell White (1), Andruw Jones (1)

• Reliever of the Year
  • AL
    • Randy Myers (3)
  • NL
    • Robb Nen (1)
• Silver Slugger
  • AL
    • Jorge Posada (1), Mark McGwire (3), Roberto Alomar (3), Edgar Martinez (3), Nomar Garciaparra (1), Jason Giambi (1), Bernie Williams (1), Brady Anderson (1)
  • NL
    • Scott Karl (1), Jason Kendall (1), Andres Galarraga (3), Fernando Vina (1), Vinny Castilla (2), Barry Larkin (8), Ellis Burks (3), Quinton McCracken (1), Glenallen Hill (1)
• Rookie of the Year
  • AL
    • Jorge Posada (.300, 19 HR, 66 RBI)
  • NL
    • Lance Berkman (.254, 20 HR, 106 RBI)
• Manager of the Year
  • AL
    • Lou Piniella
  • NL
    • Bobby Cox
• Cy Young
  • AL
    • Roger Clemens, 4th Cy Young (2.48, 13-7, 275 Ks, 1.11 WHIP)
  • NL
    • Greg Maddux, 5th Cy Young (2.22, 19-8, 206 Ks, 1.03 WHIP)
• MVP
  • AL
    • Mark McGwire, 1st MVP (.298, 59 HR, 144 RBI)
  • NL
    • Greg Maddux, 1st MVP (2.22, 19-8, 206 Ks, 1.03 WHIP)

[tallywood]

The Inaugural Draft:

November 15th, 1997:
The draft pool information was released and, I have to say, the prospects look good. I think we got really lucky coming into the league in 1998 with just how juicy the draft pool looks.


As for strategy, I have to think a little bigger than just winning. I have to build a fan-base. I need to find some guys that people want to invest their time, energy, and umm... money into.



Personally, I love contact + defense guys, so I really think we will work on building something around a scrappy team that doesn't strike out too often. I strongly believe that an elite defense can make up for an average rotation. So, to put it simply, I am valuing defense, contact, eye, and bullpen arms highly.


There's a kid named JD Drew from Florida State that I really like. Our owner says I have $6.5 Million to work with for free agents, but Drew wants $6 million a year... do I really want to invest all that into a 21 year old? I mean... he looks like a kid this franchise could build around though...



As for the draft pool:

My first thoughts are we have to look more into:

• Pat Burrell (1B): kid does not strike out and our scout says he's got an average glove. I don't know if that's a #1 pick... but he's good.
• Rick Ankiel (SP): Kid throws one of the nastiest curves I have ever seen. Scout thinks he's going to be expensive though.
• Adam Dunn (LF): This 18 year old is a giant... dude is 6'6 285lb. However, I'm not sure if he is going to get on base as much as we want.
• Matt Holliday (LF): I really like this kid. He does everything and could be a solid outfielder. I'm not sure if we want to build around this kid in the future, but he's 17 with a lot of promise.
• Michael Cuddyer (3B): I love the way he swings the bat, he has a strong arm from third... but he doesn't want to go to college at all. I'm not sure if that worries me yet.
• Juan Pierre (CF): Dude is fast. Dude slaps the ball like a softball player. AND he flies around the outfield. I like!
• CC Sabathia (SP): Another monster kid. Dude is 17 and he's already 6'7 285 lb. If he can get his sinker and slider under control, he could be good. I'm not sure about the stamina with that build, though.

I can't stop thinking about that JD Drew kid... my owner just came back and said we have $7.8 million to sign some free agents. Man... I'm going to have to sleep on this, but I'll throw out a feeler to make sure he knows we are looking at him.


November 29th, 1997
We got in touch with JD Drew's agent and he's definitely interested in becoming the first Devil Ray. We managed to get him interested in a 6 year deal where his first few years are around $5 million to help the team build up something competitive early. The money jumps up to around $7 million his last few years to let him know we want him. I also threw in some hefty awards if he makes all-star teams or, jesus, gets an MVP award.

I really think he could be our dude.

As for the league, I'd love to be going after Randy Johnson, Bernie Williams, Mike Piazza, or Craig Biggio, but that's just not our game at the moment. I know it's going to be tough, and throwing the money at those guys probably isn't smart. Hell, I'm even second guessing the $5 million I just offered JD.


December 1st, 1997
JD Drew's agent got back to me and said he wants more money. Something tells me other teams are going after him which is going to drive the price up. I'm really trying to sell the fact that he could make even more money by being the face of the new franchise. I mean, he'd CLEARLY be the guy considering he'd be the only guy on our roster for like three weeks until the drafts.

We worked on a new 5 year deal where we start at $5 million and go up to $9 million. I threw in some player options, which I really didn't want to do. If he doesn't like this one, I think we move on...

OH! In other news, Craig Counsell just got traded to the Angels for Troy Percival and Jarrod Washburn... so at least we don't have to face Percival this year.


December 15th, 1997
Well, it looks like the JD Drew talks will have to pause. We have the first-year player draft to take part in! We drew the #2 pick behind the other new team, the Arizona Diamondbacks. My scout and I both really like Troy Glaus right now. He has everything we are looking for: A strong arm from 3B, great hands, great eyes, and he has a college education (which, right now, is important for our team)

The D-Backs took CC Sabathia with the first pick in the 1998 Draft. Which, thankfully, leaves us to taking Troy Glaus with the second pick... however he just told us he is going to want around $2 million as a signing bonus... ugh.

Notes from the first round: Matt Holliday to the Padres, Orlando Hernandez to the Reds, Pat Burrell to the A's, Adam Dunn to the Royals, Aubrey Huff to the Cubs, Juan Pierre to the Pirates, Carlos Pena to the Phillies, Michael Cuddyer to the White Sox, Ryan Vogelsong to the Rockies, Jeff Weaver to the Twins, Carlos Zambrano to the Mets, Eric Hinske to the Red Sox.

As for the rest of the draft, the highlights are:

• Troy Glaus (3B)
• Rick Ankiel (SP)
• Ryan Anderson (SP)
• Charley Carter (1B)
• Jon Cook (CF)
• Danny Solano (SS)
• Brian McMillan (CF)
• Jorjanis Chourio (LF)

We took a chance on a kid named Matt Riley out of high school. Kid throws straight junk, but I'm willing to take a shot. He wants at least $1 million as a signing bonus, so I think we will throw out $1.5 and see if it is enough.

I can't complain about the draft as we are taking guys that will be our future... starting in 3 years. But hey, our minor league teams need some people in the seats too. The inaugural draft is where we are going to see what we are going to put on the field at Tropicana this year.


December 16th, 1997
We're at the Expansion draft and the protection lists have just come out. No shockers really, but it is crazy to see guys like Mark Clark and Sandy Alomar Jr. available. Both of those guys will be either DBacks or Devil Rays this evening.



December 17th, 1997
With the first pick, we took a starting pitcher from the Yankees, Mark Clark. This was a decision made for a couple reasons: The dude had a 2.9 ERA in 97, and a 3.4 ERA in 96. He plays for the Yankees, so that's a guy they don't have anymore (remember we are both in the AL East so this was a nice little steal). AND his personality test came back as "adaptable," and that's what you need when starting a whole new franchise.

The DBacks took a SP as well in Darryl Kile from the Astros, and Roberto Petagine from the Mets (who I didn't really like because our scout says he's lazy).

With our second pick, we decided on Todd Pratt, the Mets' catcher. I know he doesn't have the best stats from last year with a .197 average, but I think that's an anomaly. He hit almost .400 in AAA the year before last. Let's hope I'm right.

Our third pick goes to Jose Hernandez, a 3B from the Royals that is going to transition to CF for us. He's a young guy with strong hands, but just needs to see the ball in the air and not the ground.


Here is the aftermath of the Inaugural Draft, and...



THE FIRST ROSTER OF THE TAMPA BAY DEVIL RAYS!!!

[tallywood]

The Calm Before the Storm of 1998:

December 21st, 1997
Just got word that Matt Riley will not sign with us. Not a terrible loss as we took a gamble on him late in the draft. He wanted over $1 million, but $1.5 was not enough I guess.

Other than that, we got everyone else from the draft.


News broke early this morning that Barry Larkin has signed with the Florida Marlins.... I'm not too happy about that since we are fighting for Florida fans at the moment..



Other than that, here are some Free Agency signings that are surprising:

• Craig Biggio to the Rangers
• Mike Piazza to the Cardinals

December 31st, 1997
IT HAPPENED!!




We got our own Florida boy! This helps combat that Barry Larkin signing the Marlins pulled off. I'm hoping the Tallahassee native and FSU LEGEND, JD Drew, is our dude for a long time... and brings in as many Florida fans as possible!


January 4th, 1998
News just broke that Mike Mussina heads out to Colorado, and Randy Johnson heads to Philadelphia. They are chasing the money, but who can blame them? Randy brought the World Series to Seattle and is now getting rewarded by the Phillies. I will say that I am pretty happy both of those guys are headed to the NL...

BUT, 36-year-old Andres Galarraga just signed with the Yankees for his final contract. Let's hope he stops hitting .300 every year


January 21st, 1998
Three new Hall of Famers have been voted in: Don Sutton, Bert Blyleven, and Phil Niekro. (I'm sad that Ken Griffey Sr. got dropped from the ballot in his first year, but I'm not shocked)


February 1st, 1998
Looks like the Phillies are making a push. They just signed Fred McGriff as their 1B and three-hole-hitter. Their rotation consists of Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling (For some reason I feel some sort of deja-vu...)

As for the updates from Mr. McNicholas, our President of operations. His goals for us are to :

• "Not suck completely"
  • I laughed when he told me, but at least there aren't any real expectations yet...
• Upgrade 2B
  • I guess he doesn't like Bret Boone... I won't be telling Bret about this...
• Find a Top Prospect
  • He brought me into his office when we signed JD Drew and told me he loved the idea. I think we're good on this one
• Build a top farm system
  • ESPN has us as the #6 farm system right now... I'll say that's pretty damn good
• Make the playoffs by 2000
  • I have hopes that we will, but I really think we are going to fight an uphill battle for a while with the big-spenders we share a division with.

February 20th, 1998
More free agents are being signed for crazy deals. I'm a little envious of their cash, but I know we just have to sit and watch for now. Bernie Williams signed a 7 year, $77 million deal with the Reds (good, get out of the AL East).


March 30th, 1998
TOMORROW IS OPENING DAY and the first day of REAL Tampa Bay Devil Rays history. I can't believe it is finally here.

This great feeling comes with some terrible news. We got word from our medical staff that our #2 pitcher, Sterling Hitchcock, tore a muscle in his back... just terrible luck. This might mean we see Rick Ankiel a little sooner than we thought, but for now, I'm excited to get started.

I have a press conference in the morning that will announce the first 25 man roster in Tampa Bay Devil Rays history! See you then.

[tallywood]

The Inaugural Season - 1998


March 31st, 1998
This morning I announced at the press conference that our rotations and lineups will be as follows. (And I added ESPN's top Devil Rays prospects for fun)