In May, Sports Illustrated featured an animated cover with a Tampa Bay Rays player proudly hoisting Derek Jeter in the air , declaring 2008 as "Bizzaro Baseball".
Flash forward five months and the Rays have done the improbable. They took on the entire American League, and won. Sure, they nearly pulled off the biggest choke job since the Pats couldn't finish off the best season in NFL history. But the upstart Rays pulled out the 3-1 Game 7 win, securing a trip to the World Series.
Just ten years ago, the Rays (née Devil Rays), featured a roster with all-time greats like Jerome Walton (1989 Topps All Star Rookie), the aptly named Bubba Trammell and 1998 All-Star, Rolando Arrojo.
With a core lineup featuring Carl Crawford, Evan Longoria and B.J. Upton, and a starting rotation boasting Scott Kazmir, James Shields, Matt Garza and David Price (2009 AL ROY, heard it here first), the Rays are built to win on a consistent basis for at least the next five years. They have one of the best managers in baseball, a phenomenal GM in Andrew Friedman and the funkiest dome since the King.
The Rays completely wasted their first five years in the league. Bad drafts (how good would they be if Josh Hamilton didn't fall off the wagon?), reckless free agent signings (Greg Vaughn, Jose Canseco, Juan Guzman) and a dysfunctional front office guaranteed 90-plus losses annually.
But their 2004 trade for Kazmir (Mets fans torture themselves with that one every September), followed by Friedman's hiring after the 2005 season, and the Rays established the building blocks for their current success.
Let this be a lesson for the Royals, Pirates and Mariners fans. For as bad as things seem, they can change in a few short seasons.
This is clearly the Rays year. They've come this far and it will end in a World Series title.
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