ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The American League East might be the deepest division in baseball, but the still-fledgling Tampa Bay Devil Rays don't have to worry about that yet.
The New York Yankees get Roger Clemens? Not a problem.
The Orioles sign Albert Belle? Whatever.
The Devil Rays are not laboring under the illusion that they will be competing for a playoff berth this year, so the highly publicized off-season machinations of the other clubs in the division did not cause any competitive angst in the front office. This is still an organization under construction, so the focus is on year-to-year improvement rather than divisional empowerment.
"I'm thinking in terms of what this team has to do to play up to its capabilities and surpass that," said manager Larry Rothschild. "But that will always be the case, whether we're a second-year expansion team or a 10-year-old franchise with better athletes than anybody else. We have to worry about what we do. You can't worry about what other teams do -- though it makes for an interesting winter. You have to set your sights on more inherent goals."
The Rays won 63 games last year, so there's plenty of room for improvement. They added slugger Jose Canseco to a group of returning veterans who did not perform up to their career numbers, which leaves open the possibility of a dramatic offensive upturn. It also creates the specter of further age-related decline in marquee vets Fred McGriff and Wade Boggs, but Rothschild is looking at the upside potential.
"I think we're going to be better," he said, "not only because we added Canseco, but because a lot of veteran players are going to get better, because of the work they put in over the winter. I expect us to be better and I expect our fans to expect us to be better."
They almost have to be. The Devil Rays scored just 620 runs in 1998, the lowest total in the major leagues and 94 fewer than the next-lowest scoring club in the American League (Kansas City Royals).
McGriff, who was acquired from the Atlanta Braves to provide left-handed power, hit just 19 home runs. Boggs, a perennial .300-plus hitter, batted just .280 with seven homers and 52 RBIs. In a year when big offensive performances were as common as penny stock, the Rays did not have a single hitter with legitimate All-Star numbers.
If Canseco performs the way he did last year, they can't help but be a more exciting club. He hit 46 home runs in the spacious SkyDome, so it's anybody's guess how many balls will be rattling off the catwalks at Tropicana Field.
"I think our offense is a lot better this year," said veteran outfielder Dave Martinez. "There are five or six of us who had bad years last year. We all know that, and with the addition of Jose Canseco, we've got a good chance to score a lot of runs. The goal is to get him on the field every day. If we do that -- keep him healthy -- the sky is the limit for Jose."
If nothing else, Devil Rays fans can look forward to the franchise's first historic milestones. Canseco needs just three home runs to reach 400 and Boggs needs 78 hits to join the more exclusive 3,000-hit club.
The focus may be on the offense, but the fortunes of the second-year expansion club may still depend on the pitching staff, which does include some good young arms and one potential marquee starter.
Left-hander Wilson Alvarez struggled with shoulder soreness and finished with a disappointing 6-14 record last year after signing a five-year, $35 million contract in 1997, but hopes that a healthy arm and a new forkball will propel him back into the upper echelon of major-league starters. The Devil Rays' slim chances of stepping up in the AL East standings depend on it.
"I think a pitcher like Wilson would be a key for any club, not just us," Rothschild said. "But for a second-year expansion team, he's going to make a bigger difference."
The Devil Rays' rotation also features Rolando Arrojo and Baltimore native Tony Saunders, as well as likely fourth starter Terrell Wade. The list of candidates for the final spot in the rotation starts with erratic major-league veteran Bobby Witt and reads like a who-isn't-who of American League prospects and suspects, but that could be said about most major-league clubs.
"The organization has brought a lot of competition into camp this year," Alvarez said. "Arrojo and Tony Saunders are real good, and we've got Terrell Wade and brought in Bobby Witt and Norm Charlton. The bullpen did real good last year. I think we're going to be a lot better this year."
"Everything depends on the pitching. If the pitchers don't do the job, you're not going to win games."
Though the club has little hope of rising above fourth place, the franchise's sophomore season still has tremendous organizational significance. The Devil Rays drew about 2.5 million during their inaugural season, which was considered a respectable showing, but they'll have to work harder to draw fans as the novelty of the new team wears off.
That's why owner Vince Naimoli hired flamboyant minor-league executive Mike Veeck to upgrade the team's promotional schedule this season and instituted a new marketing program to reach out to prospective fans.
The Rays have scheduled 70 promotional nights, including a 20th anniversary tribute to the Veecks' infamous "Disco Demolition Night" at Comiskey Park, but Veeck knows that gimmickry only goes so far.
"The best marketing strategy is winning," he said.
Though the Devil Rays could do more of that in 1999, they still have some growing to do to become a serious contender in the American League East.
Devil Rays at a glance
1998 record: 63-99
1998 finish: fifth
Team batting average: .261
Team ERA: 4.35
Regular-season schedule vs. Orioles: April 5 and 7-8, Aug. 31-Sept. 2 at Camden Yards; April 20-22, Aug. 9-11 at Tampa Bay. Pub Date: 3/11/99