Rays of Hope Disappear for Rothschild

In Tampa Bay, the Devil Rays are now being called the McRays, but it’s doubtful that the appointment of Hal McRae to replace fired manager Larry Rothschild will produce any dramatic changes until outfielder Josh Hamilton, second baseman Brent Abernathy and other top prospects begin arriving.

Until then, McRae may get the Devil Rays playing in his tough, unrelenting mold, but he remains burdened by a predominantly old, slow, pitching-poor team that still has to rely on the sporadic power of Greg Vaughn, Fred McGriff and Vinny Castilla--the latter having asked to be traded after being benched recently by Rothschild on the urging of General Manager Chuck LaMar.

The general manager had summoned Rothschild to his office in September with the intention of firing him then but backed off, suggesting later he could not make Rothschild pay for the failure of a team LaMar had assembled. Fourteen games into the new season, Rothschild paid.

“It was a feeling in my gut,” LaMar said, the Devil Rays having contributed to the ache by losing 12 of their first 16 games. “Am I supposed to sit and wait for the kids to be ready over the next three or four months and not do something to try and make this organization better? I’ve got to fire all my bullets. I fired one today that I hated to fire.”

The clubhouse rap against Rothschild-- LaMar’s choice as the expansion manager-- centered on his lack of major league playing experience (seven games with the Detroit Tigers in the early ‘80s), his lack of managing experience (zero), his previous experience strictly as a pitching coach and questionable communication skills.

“I’m not surprised by too much,” the veteran Vaughn said. “Sometimes I’m surprised by how long things can go before something is done.”

After a season in which there were no managerial firings, it didn’t take long for Rothschild to become the first of what could be several this year. In the shake-up (McRae had been Rothschild’s bench coach), former Angel manager Terry Collins moved from bullpen coach to a more visible role as third base coach.

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For now, it would have to be considered a reach, but Brian Cashman’s contract as New York Yankee general manager is up at the end of the year, as is Manager Joe Torre’s, and, perhaps, there is a feeling they have done everything they can do with the Yankees and are ready, as a tandem, for a new challenge--such as the Dodgers. Torre, believed to be seeking a raise from his current $3 million-a-year deal, has heard nothing from principal owner George Steinbrenner.

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Mike Sirotka, the damaged goods the Toronto Blue Jays received from the Chicago White Sox in the David Wells trade, will have shoulder surgery and is sidelined for the season, a tough loss for the Blue Jays. Longtime minor leaguer Chris Michalak has eased the pain, though. The 30-year-old left-hander is 3-0 and has beaten the Yankees twice, yielding two runs in 10 2/3 innings.

Michalak was in five games with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 1998 but has otherwise spent his eight pro seasons in the minors. Toronto pitching coach Mark Connor, previously with Arizona, convinced the Blue Jays to give Michalak a spring training invitation.

“If Mike Sirotka was healthy, I might not be here,” Michalak said. “It’s all about opportunity.”

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Ichiro Suzuki is proving with the Seattle Mariners that the credentials he brought from Japan are real. For all of his talents, however, there is one thing he can’t do--or won’t do. A Japanese Web site had offered a $2-million bounty for a nude picture of Ichiro, which is why he dresses in a separate room, not the clubhouse. A Japanese photographer, using a small camera hidden in a shoulder bag, got a picture last year of Seattle closer Kazuhiro Sasaki having a drink with teammates in a bar.