(Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)

With only two and a half weeks until the All-Star break, it is safe to wonder where the Rays magic from last season has gone. 

Has it subsided for just the first half of the season? Will it come back, or were the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays a one-time thing?  Being 37-35 and fourth in the Al East leaves the question of whether this team can pull it back together.

One can only assume, but if we look at the clubs strengths and weaknesses it may just give us the answer to the question that we have all been wandering.

First, lets take a good look at what this club does well. 

The Rays have a great manager in Joe Maddon, who has proven to have the ability to improve this ball club in a steadfast manner.  Taking once arguably the worst team in baseball, and tuning them into 2008 AL champs is one of the rarest of feats that one will see in their time. 

Maddon is a true leader in that locker room and is a manager who his players respect and follow.  Not only does he care about his players, but he cares about his players characters and the morale of his ball club.  So definitely look for a push from Maddon to get his players back on track very soon.

On the field you have a nice mix of young leaders in Evan Longoria and B.J. Upton, along with veteran leaders in Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena. 

Longoria is a special player who can change the outcome of a game. He hits for average, he hits for power, he can play defense and all in all, he is a five-tool player.  Being only his second season in the MLB, his first full first-half season of baseball has been exactly what the Rays knew he could do.  

He is hitting .304 with 16 home runs, and is second in the American League with 61 RBI, only trailing the Boston Red Sox' Jason Bay.  Look for big things from Longo for the rest of the season.

B.J. Upton is another one of those special players. Although he has really struggled over the majority of the season so far, he is now really starting to turn it on. B.J. is hitting .400 over his last 10 games with 2 home runs and 9 RBI.  Perhaps the most important stat out of those 10 games are his stolen bases, which stands at 8. 

Even though Upton is only hitting .243 for the season, look for his average to steadily increase before the season's end.  He will be a big factor for this team now that he is back healthy hitting, running, throwing and playing his normal tremendous defense.

Perhaps the biggest surprises out of the Rays offense has been Jason Bartlett and Ben Zobrist. Bartlett, who is known way more for his great defensive play than his bat, is having a career season. 

He is tearing the cover off the ball hitting .372, a career-high seven homeruns with 32 RBI.  Bartlett was sidelined for 19 games from the end of May to the middle of June due to a sprained ankle, but has come back right where he left off.  In his last seven games since coming off the DL, he has hit .370.  Hopefully Bartlett will be able to keep producing, and if he does, he will come up big many times for this club down the stretch. 

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