Location: St. Petersburg, Fla. | Ballpark: Tropicana Field (36,048) | Spring Training: Port Charlotte, Fla. (inaugural season)
Owner: Stuart Sternberg | GM: Andrew Friedman | Manager: Joe Maddon | World Championships: 0
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POWER RANKINGS
Power Rankings
Date
Ranking
Previous
07/07/2009
6
3
I remain a big-time believer in the talent on hand, but there are some bad signs here -- the baserunners getting doubled off, the dropsies in the field, the starters making each half-inning feel like a half-marathon. Take away the thrashing they administered during interleague play (13-5) and they're a sub-.500 team... On a more whimsical note, the Hudson Valley Renegades, the team's Class A affiliate, is planning a "Ball-Less Baseball" promotion tonight in which men won't be able to enter the park until the sixth inning and all team employees will don women's clothing. And yet if the team chose instead to run with, say, "T*ts-Free Tuesday," the National Organization of Women would be protesting within the hour. I call sexism! Sexy sexism!
06/30/2009
3
3
They've reached the 100 HRs/100 steals mark faster than any team in baseball history, which means they're either enormously, relentlessly athletic or a genetically engineered race of human machinebots. After having watched them run laps around the league during the last few weeks, I'm leaning towards the latter explanation ... Between the base thievery and the plate discipline, they're just an exhausting team to play. Gabe Gross -- no superstar, he -- saw a whopping 30 pitches in four plate appearances on Saturday. There are marriages that don't last as long as many of Tampa's at-bats ... Some days (last Tuesday against the Phillies), David Price looks confused. Other days (Sunday against the Marlins), he looks bat-bendingly canny. In conclusion, he is a young pitcher.
06/23/2009
3
8
Here's why I rank the Rays above [insert name of team that has a superior win-lost record here], beyond the fact that I'm totally biased against [insert pejorative nickname for team here] and because I hate them and because one of their players refused to autograph my sister's bosom: An awful lot has gone wrong for the Rays this year, in terms of health and performance, and here they are at the end of June, three games over .500 and outscoring their opponents by a greater margin than any team except the Dodgers ... Related: B.J. Upton woke up 10 days ago and Scott Kazmir reportedly looked dominant in Monday's rehab start. Fear them, because they haven't warmed up yet.
06/16/2009
8
11
... with the caveat, of course, that they've been fattening up on the likes of the Nationals and Royals ... Ben Zobrist's career OPS before 2009: .650. Ben Zobrist's OPS this season: 1.091. La la la la la I can't hear you la la la la ... David Price couldn't throw strikes in the minors this year, either. His stuff is ungodly -- he has no fewer than two pitches for which we've yet to invent names -- but Price isn't going to make it into the sixth inning too often pitching as uneconomically as he has. And once opponents get into the Tampa 'pen, games get out of hand quite quickly.
06/09/2009
11
16
They're a better team than their record indicates, having outscored opponents by 47 runs, the best differential in the AL East and the second best in baseball. The AL East's five teams are collectively 16 games over .500; the AL West and NL Central are the only other divisions whose teams have won more than they've lost. ... Last year the bullpen was brilliant, this year its denizens just walk everybody. Once again, we see the folly in attempting to construct The Perfect 'Pen. Just fill it with a bunch of kids who throw strikes and hope for the best.
06/02/2009
16
13
It's getting increasingly difficult to defend the Rays, but I'll still try: Pat Burrell was supposed to offer power. B.J. Upton was supposed to take "the next step." The middle infielders weren't supposed to bite the dust in late May. Last year they came out on top of every close game and this year they've been on the receiving end. The world isn't as random and quixotic a place as we're led to believe; luck evens out over time.
05/26/2009
13
14
Between David Price's lack of control, the news that Akinori Iwamura will miss the rest of the season with a busted knee, and the blow-a-seven-run-lead-in-the-ninth-inning-to-a-team-that's-actively-trying-to-get-its-manager-fired thing, Monday was not among the better days in recent Rays history ... The Iwamura injury isn't terrible because the Rays lack a capable player to replace him; it's terrible because making that player (Ben Zobrist) a full-timer erodes the depth that makes the Rays' lineup unnavigable for opposing hurlers ... Evan Longoria is listed as a "not" on my Fantasy-league hot/not page, because he's "only" scored six runs and driven in five over the last 14 days. Perhaps everybody ought to take a deep breath here.
05/19/2009
14
13
Sure, it was against the if-it-weren't-for-bad-luck-they'd-have-no-luck-at-all Indians, but the Rays started looking like their 2008 selves over the weekend. A comeback from seven runs down tends to put a skip in a team's step. ... We are totally in the tank for Joe Maddon. If any other skipper screwed up the lineup card the way he did on Sunday -- he listed two third basemen and no designated hitter, which meant that the pitcher had to hit in the DH spot -- we'd jump down his throat, righteous in our indignation about how teams who play in the AL East can't afford to bumble away a precious, precious game. Instead, we responded with "We forgive you, Joe, and we love your fashion-forward eyewear! Can you tell us about the time you saw The Hold Steady at a small club in Barcelona? That must've been awesome!!"
05/12/2009
13
17
My math may be a little off, but I've calculated that Evan Longoria is on pace to drive in 682 runs ... It doesn't get much better than last week's photo op featuring Matt Garza and Bristol Palin. Now that they've singlehandedly ended the scourge of teen pregnancy, let's sic them on crime-infested urban areas and the Disaster Movie franchise ... Not to get all "championship teams have selfless players who selflessly self-sacrifice themselves" on y'all, but every playoff front-runner needs a guy like Ben Zobrist. He's the game's preeminent utility guy/spare part about now.
05/05/2009
17
17
They'd lost six straight series and tied the Indians for the AL lead in April losses, but they still looked brisk and bouncy against the Red Sox. Go figure ... Evan Longoria is on pace to notch the first five-digit OPS in baseball history ... They lead the majors in steals with 41 -- Carl Crawford's six thefts on Sunday bested the Braves' total for 2009 by two -- and barely ever get caught, but I'd still preach caution and let the hitters behind them do their job.
Preseason Power Rankings
Date
Ranking
Previous
02/16/2009
3
-
Kids -- they grow up so fast... Some might wonder how the Rays will handle the expectations that have surged in the wake of the franchise's first non-miserable season, but come on: They're a bunch of dudes playing baseball. Let's not complicate things any more than that. ... Gotta love their bench, which is filled with useful parts like Gabe Gross, Gabe Kapler and Willy Aybar. ... I don't know nuthin' 'bout biomechanics, exercise physiology or anything that involves sustained motion outside the confines of an armchair. That said, teams with young staffs that go deep into the playoffs tend to suffer a rash of arm injuries the next season.
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