Ray At The End of The Tunnel

My comeback team of the year has to be the Tampa Bay Rays this season. Though I don’t think comeback is the appropriate word because they’ve been in the basement of the A.L. East for the entirety of their existence. This season though I guarantee (providing that the players they have stay healthy) that they will at LEAST be fourth place in the division (the Orioles will take their spot in the cellar). For a few seasons the Yankees and Red Sox, the top two teams in the division, have struggled against these Rays. The reason was because of their obnoxious offense. Tampa Bay has a coveted combination of speed and power that has proven deadly against the juggernauts in the division. Last season, the Rays were in the top 10 of most offensive categories in the American League: eight place in runs, hits, batting average, and RBI, and fifth in both triples and OPS, while netting an impressive third place finish in homers. Those last three statistics speak volumes to their ability to get on, get over, and get home. Their offense has not been the issue- they have stayed in last place all this time, because they lacked any solid pitching. But New York baseball fans will remember the infamous trade that started the Rays on the path towards baseball redemption- Victor Zambrano for Scott Kazmir. The Rays managed to trade a pitcher aging before his time that had little to no bite on any of his pitches for what has turned out to be a bonifide AL ace. Last season Kazmir competed for the Cy Young award leading the Major Leagues with 239 strikeouts and an ERA under four (which, in the A.L. I would call a great ERA). Since then, the Rays have made several brilliant moves towards fielding a good, if not better than average, pitching staff. James Shields came up and pitched to a 12-8 record and an ERA under four with a walk-to-strikeout ratio of 5-1 in his first full season and this offseason acquired pitcher Matt Garza, who had a losing record last year for the slumping Twins, but also had an ERA under four (even though he played in the Central against somewhat weaker offenses, I would still call that impressive). The team also had some troubles in the bullpen, but over the course of the season a solid group of relievers rose to the surface. Led by a resurging Troy Percival (34g .85WHIP 1.80 ERA) the bullpen may still be a weakness, but if there’s one thing the Rays have lots of it’s youth on the farm. If the young starting pitchers can get them deep enough into games, the bullpen might not even be much of an issue. The Rays also went out and picked up free agent Cliff Floyd and Japanese veteran Akinori Iwamura if they both have a solid season the Rays have a shot to have a great deal of impact on the young team. Now I’m not saying they’re going to beat the Yankees or Red Sox and win the series this season, but they’re headed in the right direction that could put them in the playoffs a few years down the road.