TAMPA BAY RAYS
坦帕灣光芒隊
Length of streak:
10 years of existence, 10 losing seasons
勝率未達五成的時間：
從球隊建立以來的十個球季，勝率都沒有超過五成
General managers:
GMs
Chuck LaMar 1998-2005
Andrew Friedman 2006-
Five bad moves
五個不對的決策
1. Trading Bobby Abreu to the Phillies for Kevin Stocker.
Management showed a keen eye for talent in picking a future
star in Abreu during the 1997 expansion draft. The decision
the same day to trade Abreu for Stocker, a light-hitting
shortstop who lasted just three more years in the majors,
didn't go quite so well. This is probably one of the 25 worst
trades in major league history.
1. 將Bobby Abreu送至費城人隊以獲得Kevin Stocker
從管理階層在1997年擴大選秀會上挑選出明日之星Bobby Abreu，
展現出來他們殷切期盼想要大物的心情。 同一天，一個將Bobby
Abreu交易以獲得一個沒有power的游擊手後來在大聯盟也只再多打了
三年多的Kevin Stocker，就不是可以走的長遠的決策了。 這可能是
大聯盟歷史上前25名最糟糕的交易之一。
2. Paying big bucks for Vinny Castilla and Greg Vaughn.
Rather than wait for their farm system to bear fruit, the
Rays added Castilla and Vaughn to a veteran core that already
included Fred McGriff and Jose Canseco, hoping to replicate
the success the Blake Street Bombers had in Colorado a few
years earlier. One of those Bombers, Castilla, proved to be
a lousy hitter at normal altitude, giving the Rays little return
for their $13.5 million over two years. After hitting 95 homers
the two previous seasons, Vaughn also slowed down considerably
in Tampa, while costing the team more than $24 million over three years.
2. 付大量的錢給Vinny Castilla和Greg Vaughn
光芒隊希望能夠複製如幾年前落磯隊的Blake Street Bombers打線，在
原來已經有了Fred McGriff 和 Jose Canseco經驗豐富老將核心中加入
了Castilla和Vaughn，而不是等待其農場裡的果實成熟。 打線的其中
之一，Castilla，證明了他只是個一般、不好的打者，對於13.5M兩年的
約，給予光芒隊的只有些許的回饋。 在兩季前總和95隻全壘打的紀錄後，
在坦帕灣的Vaughn也展現了些微下降的情況，這個情況之下，仍然花掉了
三年24M的錢。
3. Handing the keys to Chuck LaMar.
Like Thrift in Baltimore, LaMar was respected as a
shrewd talent evaluator for years (with the Braves) but
was over his head as a general manager. Some of the players
drafted and developed during his tenure, including Carl
Crawford and B.J. Upton, look like potential stars. But there
also were far too many misses for a team that constantly drafted
in the top 5. That their expansion cousins in Arizona won three
division titles and a World Series in their first five years of
existence only makes things look worse.
3. 將管理的權力交至Chuck LaMar的手裡
就像在巴爾的摩的Thrift一樣，多年以來LaMar在勇士隊時就是以一個
精明的球員天分評估者受到尊敬，但是當一個GM就已經超越他了理解的
範圍了。 一些球員，包含了Carl Crawford和B.J. Upton，在他接管球
隊的時期，選了進來並加以培育，這些球員看來起像有潛力的明星。
但是雖然經常性地拿到前五名的選秀順位，仍然是有著許多離譜的失誤。
他們在亞利桑那的遠房親戚在成軍的五年內，三年分區冠軍和一次的世界
冠軍，這些表現只是讓光芒隊看起來更糟糕而已。
4. Trading Randy Winn to the Mariners for the right to
negotiate with future manager Lou Piniella.
Sweet Lou had garnered his share of success as a manager,
and pursuing the Tampa native for the job made some sense.
Still, giving up an above-average major league player for
the right to throw millions of dollars at a manager was a
move that typifies the team's existence under LaMar. Piniella
did what he could, but the team still lost 285 games in his
three years in the dugout.
4. 將Randy Winn交易至水手隊以便於獲得可以和未來教頭
Lou Piniella協商的權利
Sweet Lou在當教頭的部分已經獲得了他部分的成功事蹟，並且也
讓光芒隊自然地想提供他工作成為了有點意義的一件事。 仍然，
為了得到可以向教頭丟幾百萬元的權利，放棄掉高於聯盟平均的球員，
是在LaMar接管光芒隊時典型的舉動。 Piniella做了他能做的事，
但是球隊在他執教的三年內仍輸掉了285場的比賽。
5. Signing a 30-year lease for Tropicana Field.
The worst real estate deal since the sale of Manhattan for
24 bucks. The team has been trying to negotiate out of it
and get a new stadium since the moment pen hit paper.
5. 對於Tropicana Field簽下了三十年的租約
這是個自從24塊錢買下曼哈頓後最糟糕的房地產交易。 自從簽下
字的那刻起，球隊一直嘗試協商要逃離合約以便於獲得新的球場。
Lowest moment:
So many to choose from...maybe the time original owner
Vince Naimoli allowed a local furniture store to set up
a showroom at Tropicana Field, complete with dangling price tags.
球隊最低潮的時候：
有這麼多可以選擇…也許就是從原本老闆Vince Naimoli允許當地
一家家具商店在球場建立了一個展示間吧，完結在掛上標價。
Favorite whipping boys:
Vince Naimoli, Chuck LaMar, Greg Vaughn, Vinny Castilla,
Jose Canseco, Ben Grieve, many pitchers too numerous to name.
最該打的小孩們：
Vince Naimoli, Chuck LaMar, Greg Vaughn,
Vinny Castilla, Jose Canseco, Ben Grieve,
太多投手以至於無法一一列出。
Notable quotable:
"I believe it's a good idea. And the reason I believe it's
a good idea is that there are some markets where I just don't
think baseball works."