Last year, I had some good things to say about Aubrey Huff, a young third baseman in the Devil Rays' organization who had been a hitting machine in the minors. I wanted to see if they would put Huff in the lineup, or waste another year with Vinny Castilla in the lineup.

As it turned out, they traded Castilla early in the season, and Huff got about 400 at bats. He struggled, hitting only .250 without much power; it's not what you would have hoped for, but it's also not the worst rookie season I've seen. And like I said, this guy has been terrific in the minors.

Aubrey Huff probably isn't going to be the next George Brett, but he should be a .300 hitter with line drive power. My question is: what the heck is he doing playing at Durham? He hasn't played a single game for Tampa Bay this year - a team that, for the record, is currently 12-27. The third base job in Tampa has been shared by Russ Johnson, Jared Sandberg and the now-released Bobby Smith.

Trying to understand the motives of the Devil Rays is like trying to find both sides of a Mobius strip. But why would a team do that? You've got a young kid, 25 years old, who you know can hit - and you give up on him after 400 at bats? And it's not as if this is a powerhouse lineup that he's trying to crack; this is Tampa Bay (and it should be pointed out that even a championship team like the Yankees will put young players like Alfonso Soriano and Nick Johnson in the lineup, and stick with them through their troubles).

As far as I can tell, there are two answers to the above question, both disheartening for Devil Ray fans.

1. Tampa management has consistently proven that it has no interest in putting its best players on the field, and
2. Hal McRae doesn't trust any player who's under 30 years old

McRae drove the fans in Kansas City nuts, putting old guys like Hubie Brooks and Kevin McReynolds in the lineup while trading away Jeff Conine. It should also be noted that Greg Vaughn now has 129 at bats, is hitting .109 with zero home runs. You're telling me that Aubrey Huff can't do better than that?

Huff will get into the lineup eventually, but it's too late; he's lost six weeks of his career. He's not learning at Durham, he's just spinning his wheels; unless he gets some at bats against major league pitching, he won't amount to anything.

Up here in Toronto, we've had some great teams and some bad ones; things aren't looking too good right now. But holy smokes, that is some kind of awful organization that they have in Tampa Bay; fans in the Sunshine State deserve a lot better.