High Hopes in Spring
Port Charlotte, FL – The Tampa Bay Rays are back on the job, eager to make amends for a disappointing season.
Manager Joe Maddon welcomed pitchers and catchers to spring training Friday and is confident the club has what it takes to compete for a playoff berth after finishing third in the AL East in 2009.
Sixteen months removed from the franchise’s first World Series appearance, the budget-conscious Rays again find themselves chasing the big-spending New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox in baseball’s toughest division.
Maddon envisions a lineup led by five All-Stars and a young, talented pitching rotation closing the gap sooner rather than later by doing the “little things” that make the difference between winning and losing.
Posted: 2/19/10 8:01PM ET