D-Rays on the attack, look out AL East

With the steady meltdown by the Yankees one team is finding the will to fight in an intimidating AL East division. Thanks in part to Toronto for saying so long to veteran slugger, Frank Thomas and the Orioles being distracted by the Miguel Tejada 'playing dumb' about his age interview guess who pulled into the driver's seat? The Tampa Bay Devil Rays refuse to be a whooping boy for the AL in 08, quietly gaining ground in their division. Sure the odds are against them with no real high market players on the roster, but usually they're around 10 games under .500 this early in the season. That's right the D-Rays have the 5th best record in the AL at 17-16, currently in second place in the AL East.

Scott Kazmir, the ace in the rotation is back from injury though lost his first start 7-3 against Boston on May 4. I think he's a key guy which will have a big influence on the Ray's success in 2008. Signing Eric Hinske added another clutch hitter to the lineup as he's already totaled 7 homeruns with 16 RBIs. Carl Crawford, the speedy defensive outfielder was another good investment to keep around. He's been pretty potent with the bat in last 2 seasons producing 24 triples, 157 RBIs while batting over .300. The D-Rays already have proven they can beat the Yankees. With rising star B.J. Upton being productive (.824 OBS, 33 runs) overall the offense is there. It's the starting pitching rather that will have to keep them in games.

The franchise struggled since it's expansion debut in 1998. A club record low is losses was set in 2002 at 55-106. Yes, quite a few grim years in Tampa Bay. History is about to change though. Off to a good pace in a intensely, dominated division the biggest threat before them is the Red Sox. They use to come apart by the steams now it's the Yankees. Turmoil, controversy, and injuries does that to a team even the richest in baseball. Oh snap! Watch out New York those D-Rays are on the prowl and ready to attack!