PORT CHARLOTTE (620 WDAE) -- The basis for the success of the Tampa Bay Rays through the last eight seasons has come from the success of the starting rotation, but Chris Archer feels that relying on starting pitching alone hasn't worked over the last couple of seasons, and is once again the case for 2017.
"It's more than just starting pitching," Archer said about improving on 2016's 68-94 record. "People are going to have to step up in the bullpen. We're going to have to score more runs than we did last year, because when we pitched well, we still struggled to win games."
Archer pointed out that successful teams have been able to get all facets of their game going at the same time.
"I think it's time for us to shift away from relying solely on starting pitching because you look at teams that win championships and they're well-rounded," Archer explained. "They can do everything. They can move the ball on offense. They drive in runs. Every bullpen is unreal, and their starting pitching pitches really well too."
"To win a championship, you've got to have everything clicking. And I think it's time as an organization for us to say 'You know what? We're a good team. We're not just a good starting five. We don't just have a good closer, but we have a good bullpen, we play good defense, we score runs, and we pitch.'"
Listen to the entire conversation below!
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