Those Pesky Former Devils

The Tampa Bay Rays.

That's all I really need to say here, isn't it? Don't those words alone inspire disbelief and awe in the same breath? Baseball's long-running sad story of futility has been turned on its head this season, and is showing no signs of letting up. Here's a team that no one expected to climb out of the cellar they've grown so accustomed to living in, shooting up the ranks in what has to be the toughest division in baseball to claim first place for a majority of the season. First frickin' place! And they've done it without any semblance of a superstar or grisly veteran to show them the way. Nope, just a great collection of young talent playing as a team. They're the anti-Yankees.

To top it off, despite their historic turnaround, everyone still expected them to falter as the season wore on, especially after they dropped seven games in a row heading into the All Star break. But what did they do after that lull? How about a 24-11 record that turned a half-game deficit into a 4.5 game lead over Boston.

And you can't root against these guys, either. No hot-heads on the squad, no showboaters, no troublemakers (well, maybe Cantu after those cheap shots on Crisp, but a brawl is a brawl). Ownership didn't go out and buy a winning team (which, as the Yankees have shown time and time again, doesn't always work), they stuck with the farm system, brought up good, young talent, made some key acquisitions along the way, and suddenly have a team to be reckoned with.

Even with the recent rash of injuries to key players, they're still winning. Joe Maddon has done an incredible job of coaching the squad and keeping them focused throughout the season. It would be easy for a team of young players like this to let their successes go to their heads, the pressure bog them down, or turn flat when injuries spring up. But they haven't succombed to any such mental ailments, and most of that credit has to go to the skipper. Manger of the year, hands down.

As expected, I'm very torn here. I mean, of COURSE I want the Red Sox to win the division, glide through the playoffs and sweep the World Series for the third time in five years (no, I didn't buy furniture from Jordan's, but I know some that did). But I have to admit, its been alot of fun to see a city at the top of the AL East this late in the season that isn't from New York or Boston. After how many years of those two juggernauts battling it out for the top spot, seeing new, young blood going toe-to-toe with dynasties, and winning, has been one of the best things for baseball since Cal Ripken saved the sport after that devistating strike.

(Did I just admit I'm happy Boston isn't in first place AND praise Cal Ripken in the same paragraph? Someone slap me.)

So, I encourage all baseball fans to sit back and enjoy what's left of the 2008 season, paying particular attention to these Tampa Bay Rays. No matter how far they go in the playoffs, and trust me, it'll be farther than you think, they're fun to watch.

And to think all it took was severing their ties to the Devil.

Side note: The Rays and my Red Sox have an awesome hate-hate relationship going. Started back in 2000 by, who else, Pedro Martinez when he drilled the first batter of the game (Gerald Williams) and started the first of many bench-clearing brawls, the Sox and Rays have had many skirmishes and beanball battles over the years. And its been awesome.

I'm sure its a bit condescending on my part, but the bad blood between these two squads is infinitely different than that the Sox have with the Yankees. Maybe its because the Rays have been the whipping boys of the league for so long and we never really had to take them seriously, or maybe its just because they haven't been around long enough (or, more to the point, been meaningful long enough) to take notice. Whatever the reason, I always get a kick out of these incidents moreso than when the Yankees start something up.

This season had a great brawl early on between Crisp and, well, the entire Rays bench. Crisp had gotten beaned by Shields in retaliation for an incident earlier in the season, and Crisp had enough. He charged the mound, dodged a wicked wild right hook from Shields, and landed a glancing blow before getting tackled and pummeled by the rest of the Rays team. Several great pictures emerged from that brawl, the best of which is seen here.

Despite what it looks like, Crisp actually dodged that punch with some Matrix-esque like moves. One of the best brawls I've seen.