Hope springs eternal and all that other sports cliche bullshit. Look, I'm not an idiot; the Yankees could buy Warren Buffett and Bill Gates if they wanted (and something tells me they've considered it), and the Red Sox are nearly as wealthy thanks to the plethora of "longtime" fans who've dumped tons of money into the team's coffers since 2004. So, realistically, do I think my beloved Rays are going to win the AL East? Not really. Is it possible? Sure. The Yankees' rotation looks fairly solid, but we all know A.J. Burnett could underachieve, as could C.C. "Michelin Man" Sabathia. That leaves Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, Andy Pettite, Javier Vazquez, and Chan Ho Park to carry them into October.
Now, as for Boston, they've got Beckett and his child-bearing hips, Jon Lester, John Lackey, Dice-K, and Wakefield. I'd go with Boston's starting rotation over New York's, but the Rays have had pretty good success against Boston pitching (except Wakefield who's made us his bitch quite often for the last seven seasons (even if his ERA has been above 4.0 since 2003 and he is 43 years old, which is close to being an artifact in baseball years).
So, who do the Rays have? Well, we've got Jimmy Shields, who should improve over last year; Neimann, who continues to impress; Garza, who could be a lights-out ace, David Price, who's only getting better, and the prospect of Wade Davis. If Rafael Soriano delivers saves the way we hope, the Rays could have the dominant pitching staff in the East. Couple that with a stellar infield of Carlos Pena at 1B, Zobrist at 2B, Longoria at 3B, and Bartlett at SS, and an outfield of Crawford, Upton, and [insert utility guy here], we're a pretty freaking solid team.
Here are the keys: Upton HAS to hit better. Pena has to hit more consistently. The bullpen cannot blow leads, and the starters cannot have 38-pitch first innings (but that's less of a concern with Scott Kazmir in Anaheim).
Despite my optimism, I'm still predicting 97-65 and a Wild Card berth. Then, it's anybody's post-season to win.
GO RAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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