* If this season ultimately heads south for the Tampa Bay Rays, it likely would have been jump-started in the off-season. And, no, it has nothing to do with B.J. Upton leaving, but, yes, it has something to do with pitcher James Shields departing, but that couldn’t be helped. The Rays could no longer afford to keep him.
But quite arguably the Rays would be in first place if two key players, starting pitcher David Price and closer Fernando Rodney, hadn’t had such awful starts.
The reason? Consider their off-seasons, which is the time elite professional athletes work on conditioning and preparation for the next year. Price, as the American League’s Cy Young Award winner, spent much more time on the banquet circuit and dealing with national media who kept wondering what his agent will ask for when his contract comes due. He was quoted numerous times as saying that, while he enjoys playing for the Rays, no, there would be no “home-town discount” for the budget-challenged Rays. Arguably, the fete-a-thon was at minimum a major distraction and deviation from his usual off-season focus and workout routine.
As for Rodney, who had probably the greatest season in closer history in 2012, his agent asked if the Rays would consider renegotiating his two-year contract. The Rays, hardly flush, politely declined. Then the Rays indicated that they’d prefer Rodney not risk over-use by playing in the World Baseball Classic this spring. Rodney politely declined and played–and pitched superbly–as his native Dominican Republic won the WBC. Then he went from national hero to his second year with the Rays, one in which he couldn’t capitalize on what he had done–that nobody had ever done–the previous season. And, yes, it’s been noted that his focus seems off.
* Never being more than a Big East also-ran in football had been a source of frustration for USF. But isn’t the bigger disappointment not doing better in baseball? It’s been more than a decade since the Bulls qualified for the NCAA tournament. We’re talking BASEBALL. This is FLORIDA. This should really be unacceptable.