The positive energy oozing from Tropicana Field these days can only be described as unprecedented. The Rays’ are a franchise record five games over the .500 mark. They are alone in second place in the AL East (1.5 games behind Boston) , not to mention they have the third best record in all of the AL. The last two series they have played at home they’ve swept two division leaders ( Boston and LAA Angels). The “future is bright” has been the creed seemingly pitched for a decade by this team and reinforced this off-season and spring by the front office and ownership. They have locked-up the players the team views as important to its success in the future by rewarding the youngsters with lengthy contracts. All those years of suffering by the fans, as year after year of watching terrible baseball being played under the dome (and the subsequent high 1st round draft picks that come with it) has finally paid off. They can see that the future is finally on the horizon and the Rays are competitive on a daily basis. The Rays’ haven’t been just competitive, they’ve been pretty darn good. Gone are the days that you’d look at the starting lineups before a game and wonder aloud how they had a chance to let alone win the game but if they even belonged on the same field as their opponents that or any other day. With this early success has come optimism that in the near future this team will make the playoffs. Well fans, that future could be closer than you think. Successful Major league teams usually rely on three things: Pitching, Timely Hitting and playing strong defense. The Rays are 5th in the AL in ERA, not to mention they have a league high 5 shutouts, to go along with a bullpen that has arguably been one of the best in all of baseball this season. Their starting rotation has only one pitcher over the age of 25, James Shields is 26, and they have the talent in the minors, Jason Hammell and David Price, that an injury to one the starters( we have already seen what pitching depth can do this year) won’t be devastating. The Bullpen has been held together by veterans and gone are the days of sending Camp, Lugo, Orvella etc.. out to the mound to turn a Rays’ lead into a deficit in a matter of a few pitches. They have shored up their defense and it shows. The team has improved to 4th in fielding in the AL and it seems the fielding mistakes of the past have been exorcised along with the “Devil” in their name. They have an athletic middle infield( SS Jason Bartlett and 2B Aki Iwamura) that has smothered grounders this season that in past years have skirted infielders gloves and added an extra base runner or two. The pitching and defensive changes have been major improvements from just a season ago, but if not for some timely hitting lately their might be less to get excited about. In a span of less than twenty-four hours this week they hit a go-ahead 13th inning grand slam and the next night were celebrating a walk-off 2-run homer. Two games, two situations that in season’s past would have meant sure defeat for the Rays. But just like we’ve witnessed so far this season, these aren’t your “Same old Rays” that we’ve watched in past seasons, this is the Rays of the Future and the future maybe now.
