We have tough starting pitching with Kazmir Shields Garza Price Sonnanstine That starting pitching can give this Rays team a chance to win with each and every game. Series wins for sure. Our lineup is going to be explosive Aki Iwamura 2B Carl Crawford LF B.J Upton CF Longoria 3B Carlos Pena 1B Dioner Navarro C Matt Joyce RF (We finially have our everyday RF) Jason Bartlett SS All we need is a DH for the 6th hole. Reports are that the Rays are looking @ players such as Giambi and Pat Burrell We also have a really solid bench full of young players with potential and talent such as Shawn Riggans, Willie Aybar, Reid Brignac, Gabe Gross, Fernando Perez, Justin Ruggiano and Ben Zobrist are all players who can come off the bench and contribute...Thats all a team can ask for. Our bullpen should be the key reason why this Rays team stays in the hunt once again in 09. Yankees Red Sox Rays The AL East is by far the toughest in all of baseball.
Nah, he's right in that sense that barring any fluky occurrences, Tampa will at least compete next year. Doesn't mean that he shouldn't go tar-pit snorkeling, though.
wow all of those players are young and exciting. rays 09 for best team ever. ok 2nd best team ever after 08 rays.
tampa will come in 2nd in the east and win the wild card, don't listen to the haters they are for real not a fluke
tampa bay rays? wow. unbelievable. this team is so young and fast, great pitching. wow. cant believe it. this rays team is different. unbelievable. wow. so fast.
Lol at people thinking the Yankees will be better than the Rays. I've heard a bunch of Yankee fans saying that they've added an ace, a 2/3 starter, and a top 1B. What people don't realize is that Mike Mussina won 20 games in 08. Is CC going to win more than 20? No. Burnett is an injury-prone 3 starter at best. Tex is nasty, but the lineup was so inconsistent last year, that bringing in one big bat won't fix their problems. 1-5, the Rays have possibly the best staff in the majors. The lineup is filled with a nice mix of scrappy players and power hitters, and there's no reason to believe that Upton/Longoria won't only get better with more experience. Joyce and Bartlett are the only weak links, but they won't kill a lineup. The Yankees have made improvements, but I don't think their lineup has enough consistency, and having to rely on Bruentt/one of Hughes/Kennedy to make 30 starts is really a tough risk to take. I think the Yankees will win 90-95 games, but the Rays should win around 100.
Its tough to expect 3 of your starters to post under 4 ERA's. The White Sox had a strong 4 in their rotation and they werent the same in 2006, the year after their 05 title. Contreas got ineffective, Garcia began to lose velocity, Garland was inconsistent, and Burhle wasnt as great as he was in 05. Its tough to expect continuing performances from Shields, Kazmir and Garza. Its a young team and they will be fun to watch but again the pitching will bite TB, especially in the pen where Troy Percival's injury concerns can scare any team. Dan Wheeler is decent but isnt someone you'd rely upon as a closer and with Price into the rotation due to the Jackson deal, the pen will be in some trouble I believe. Price will get the Joba effect possibly in a way with the Rays being careful of the amount of innings pitched so it will wear out an already suspect pen to begin with(Which hurt the Yanks in 08) Hitting will be good but still would want to wait for some pop and while this may be said for any team, an injury especially in the OF could be very hurtful for them with no more Baldelli or Gross possibly. I expect a 3rd place finish for TB with 83-84 wins. Nothing awful, just its tough to match up to what was done in 2008. Team wont be flying under the radar any more.
Im sorry, but the Rays are not a better team then the Yankees and will not win as many games as them. CC, Burnett, Wang, Joba spells 100+ wins with ease. get used to it guys, the Yankees are back.
Looking up and down the lineups, i would take the yankees in 7 of 9 everyday spots, cf and left being the only spots i would take the rays players. Pitching staffs are about equal so i think the yanks will be the better team, 100+ wins
Well...Like I said with my first thread, the Rays were in hot pursuit of a solid DH and we landed one with Burrell. This lineup has the potential to lead the AL East in runs scored Aki -2B Crawford- LF Upton- CF Longoria- 3B Burrell- DH Pena- 1B Navarro- C Joyce- RF Bartlett-SS Thats a special lineup right there, but you know what I love the most about this squad? These players actually play amazing Defense. Aki plays the 2B position like a gold glover Crawford has to be the best DEFENSIVE left fielder in the game today Upton has some of the best range that I've seen out of a Center Fielder in years, he's still a little raw @ the position though. Has a CANNON for an arm. Longoria...Wow, thats all I can say. This kid will be a gold glover @ 3rd base for years to come Carlos Pena...One of the best defensive 1st basemen in the game today Navarro...Only had like what? Only two or three errors all of last year and he actually calls a great game. Plays with a fire behind the plate, just ask Garza, lol Joyce is what we needed @ RF because Gomes and Gross were horrid outfielders in 08. Crawford, Upton and Joyce will be one hell of an outfield Bartlett is a REALLY good short stop and as a Rays fan, Im glad we have him. Rays=Best overall team in the AL East.
Im not going to get into if your a front runner because i will never really know, but they are not a 1 year wonder. period. They have tremendous depth throughout the system, they may have the best AAA staff as well with Davis, McGee, Hellickson, and they have brignac, jennings, beckham, prez, jaso all in the wings. They have too much talent and have the confidence now to fall back where they were. The only thing that can prevent this team from having a similar season is injuries. Thats not to say they are guaranteed playoffs because the Yanks and Soxs are fantastic teams but they should be right there with them.
I think Yankees have added too much to finish less than 2nd place, considering the fact they finished 5 or 6 out last yr with an injury riddled roster that at one point had 4 starters on the DL. Boston is loaded, and they added Penny who was pretty overlooked this yr in FA. Tampa did add Burrell but I see them regressing bit time with no surprise factor, momentum, and alot of film out there now on their young arms. I can see the bottom of their rotation gettin shelled.
