Young and Dangerous
You heard it here first: Tampa Bay is going to win the World Series. Eventually.
But they are off to a blazing start, compiling a 7-2 record and jumping to the top of the Grapefruit League standings.
Everyone knows that Spring Training doesn’t count. Eventual World Series champs, the Red Sox, were wedged uncomfortably in sixth place by the end of Grapefruit League play last year. And Detroit, a team which dominated the preseason circuit a year ago, completed the regular season eight games behind division rival Cleveland.
But they still play the games. Managers and GMs still make critical decisions based on what they see during these tune-up events. Fans still attend the contests and hound stars and up-and-comers alike for autographs.
So I pay attention too. And I like what I see coming out of Tampa Bay. After an infusion of young and very young pitching talent, the team is finally making its presence felt among its peers. Scott Kazmir and James Shields are now receiving the assistance of truly talented peers like Matt Garza and explosive favorite David Price (who struck out three batters in his first inning of work yesterday). I think it’s a safe assumption that the ’08 Rays will not be last in the league in most major pitching stats, as they were in 2007. And the effect of that circumstance alone cannot be underestimated.
The team as a whole is fourth in Grapefruit League play in runs allowed per game. This has enabled them to have the third-highest run differential in the Florida-based league. If this trend can be carried into the regular season you can expect a significant improvement out of Tampa this season.
Not enough to overwhelm the Yanks or Sox (yet) but enough to make their presence felt.
Kudos to those scrappy Rays for showing their new—and, many in that Tampa/St. Pete region hope, true—colors.
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