Are the Rays for Real?

We find ourselves approaching the end of May--the end of two months of baseball. Typically, this means a few things: the Yankees or Red Sox are in first, Tony LaRussa is still crazy, the Pirates are under .500, and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays stink. 2008, however, is a different story, as the Rays sit atop not only the AL East, but atop the entire AL, and second overall only to the Chicago Cubs in overall record. Moreover, Tony LaRussa is--... well, the Pirates are--... okay, so not all that much is different, but the fact is that we've seen 54 games played and the Rays are 32-22. What's going on here? And is this a fluke?

The Rays have reminded me in previous years of the Arizona Cardinals. Every year, they have the tools to potentially be a contender (Edgerrin James, Larry Fitzgerald, etc), and you hear from a few sources that this is their year. They then promptly go 70-92 (or 6-10, as it were) and look forward to next year. This year, though, is a different story. For two months, at least, all of the cogs are actually turning for the Rays.

The big story, of course, is pitching. Their rotation has been their weakness since their entry into the league. I don't even need to mention their atrocious bullpen history. This year, though, their pitching staff has kept it together: Scott Kazmir is 4-1 with a 1.5o ERA. James Shields' ERA is 3.38 through 74.2 innings pitched with 52 Ks. Troy Percival and JP Howell have been surprisingly effective as well, resulting in a stunningly not terrible bullpen.

Their hitting is formidable as well. BJ Upton is hitting .306 with 32 RBI. Carlos Pena has 10 HRs. Carl Crawford has 14 stolen bases. Their secondary producers like Jonny Gomes are also getting it done.

But can the Rays last? Signs don't necessarily point to no. After all, Kazmir was on the DL for a while, and his return only improved the already hot team. Not only that, but looking at their overall offensive trend, they truthfully started off slowly and got their bats hotter as April ended and May went along. Their AL East rivals aren't exactly getting better with the Yankees in an odd period of transition, the Blue Jays apparently stuck in 80-win team mode and the Orioles not fooling anyone (Ignoring the Boston 'every single player is on the all-star team' Red Sox).

Of course, the baseball season is long. We're not even in June yet, after all. Chances are likely that the Rays fall below .500 by the All-Star break--but their rebuilding stage certainly seems to be over, and I wouldn't be surprised to see them take the AL wild card. Either way, it's exciting to see them rise and be legit, if only for a few months. Maybe taking the 'Devil' out of them really did help... but whatever it ultimately is, I know one thing for sure: getting them the hell out of Tropicana Field will only make things better for everyone involved.