Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2011Posted: 12:05 a.m.
By Patrick Mooney
CSNChicago.com Cubs InsiderFollow @CSNMooney
The other day, Carlos Pena looked up at the TV screen and stopped in the middle of the clubhouse. He stood there transfixed, watching highlights from the Red Sox-Rays game at Fenway Park.
Pena doesnt seem to have any regrets about coming to Chicago. In fact, hed be very interested if the Cubs offered him another pillow contract. But part of him still belongs in Tampa Bay.
The Rays are at it again, chasing the Yankees and making the Red Sox sweat. They were nine games out of a playoff spot on Sept. 2. They entered the wild-card race on Tuesday one game behind the Red Sox in the loss column.
To see the David and Goliath story unfold and materialize in real life is cool, Pena said. I get a kick out of that, seeing the underdog triumph over the mighty empire. You sit there and you want it to happen. I lived through that. I experienced it. I know how incredible it feels.
How can you not pull for the underdog?
The Rays are doing it with a 41 million payroll thats second-to-last in the majors, according to the USA Today salary database. Thats a fraction of what the superpowers spend in New York (203 million) and Boston (162 million).
MLB
The Cubs will spend around 135 million for another fifth-place finish. Thats why chairman Tom Ricketts is looking for a new general manager and will almost certainly study what the Rays have done.
Everything that were watching right now was laid a brick at a time, Pena said.
Changes are coming. The Cubs announced Tuesday that Gary Hughesa special assistant to fired general manager Jim Hendry and one of Baseball Americas top 10 scouts of the 20th centurywill not return next season.
Andrew Friedman graduated from Tulane University and worked on Wall Street before rising to be the Rays executive vice president of baseball operations. But his front office certainly isnt all about statistical analysis.
The Rays have used a starting pitcher under the age of 30 for 754 straight games, a major-league record. All 153 games this season have been started by a pitcher drafted and developed by the organization.
The Rays rotation began Tuesday with 1000.1 innings pitched, the second-most in the majors. They led the American League with a 3.49 ERA, 780 strikeouts and 15 complete games. They havent missed Matt Garza, who was shipped to the North Side in an eight-player deal last winter.
They harp on pitching and defense, Garza said. Its kind of ridiculous over there. (Its) unbelievable how they just keep funneling through.
Thats the vision Ricketts has laid out as the Cubs try to rebuild.
Speculation has Friedman as a person of interest in this search, though he has such a good relationship with his bosses that he works without a contract. Hes also said to have strong roots in Houston that could make him more interested in one day running the Astros.
Penawhos been suspected of writing inspirational messages on the erase board in the Cubs clubhouseremembers one saying in particular that manager Joe Maddon once put up for the Rays: Fortune favors the bold.
That sums it up, Pena said. This team is so unconventional, so unafraid to be themselves. Theyre not consumed by following rules. (So) Joe will be the guy who will bring six guys in the infield and (its like): What is he doing? And he doesnt care if it doesnt work.
The other day they stole like seven bases. Theres some freedom there.
That could be the major difference between Tampa Bay and Chicago. There wont be a blank canvas at Clark and Addison. The next general manager will inherit several key employees in the front office, as well as the bad contracts already on the books.
When Ricketts looks at an executives track record of success, hell have to take into account the limiting factors and decide how it will translate. It helped that the Rays had so many consecutive years at the top of the draft.
When building a roster, the Rays dont necessarily have to worry about selling tickets, because almost no one goes to their games anyway. The media spotlight isnt nearly as bright in Tampa Bay. A franchise that began play in 1998 doesnt feel the weight of history.
Thats extremely helpful for them because they dont have to deal with that, Pena said. (Absolutely) its a (bigger) challenge to keep that type of attitude and mentality when you have outside influences.
But you look at the end (and) it almost seems like its a bunch of kids going out there playing the game of baseball with absolutely no attachment to it.
Pena means doing it the right way, without being overwhelmed by the pressure. He hopes to change the Cubs culture, where everyone wants to talk about what went wrong in the past and guess whats going to happen in the future.
The Rays lost 96 games in 2007 and went to the World Series the next year. They won 96 games last season. They sharpen their focus because they live in a world where players leave to get rich somewhere else.
Its always live in the moment, Garza said, because next years team is not going to be the same.
Patrick Mooney is CSNChicago.com's Cubs beat writer. Follow Patrick on Twitter @CSNMooney for up-to-the-minute Cubs news and views.