Come to Think of it...Major League Baseball in Florida is Back

As we enter the quarter-mile mark in sport's longest race, the MLB season, it is no longer too early to recognize that baseball is being played in Florida. Played very well, thank you.

I don't know how long this will last, but as I looked up from my morning coffee, I noticed two things. First, the Florida Marlins sit atop the NL East with the best record in baseball at 23-14. And the Tampa Bay Rays (post-Lucifer edition) are only 1.5 games behind the BoSox in the AL East, at 21-16.

That's fun in the sun, folks. 1,654 games have been played by the Rays in their history and this is the first time they have been over .500.  The Marlins, as we know, have been there, done that, before. In fact, they have won two World Series trophies in their relatively brief existence.

But this year wasn't supposed to be the year that the Marlins competed. After all, they had just traded Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis in the trade heard 'round the world this past offseason. A funny thing has happened, however. While the Tigers, the supposed benefactors of the deal, sit in last place in the AL Central, the Marlins have won seven straight games.

Good karma was generated this past week, too, as the Marlins locked up their talented young shortstop, Hanley Ramirez, with a long-term deal. In fact, their double play team of Ramirez and Dan Uggla has already hit 19 home runs, and their offense has scored in double figures more than any other team. That's impressive.

And the Rays have been equally impressive thus far. For the first time, they have pitching to go along with a talented core of young position players. Their rotation has 20 quality starts, second only to Boston. Their bullpen ERA is also second in the league.

Not that either team is without their faults. The Marlins, in particular, have a high rotation ERA of almost 5.00, and they have committed the most errors in the league. The Rays, as we know, have no history to fall back on. But as the season goes on, I'm sure they are gathering the confidence they will need to continue to battle the likes of major market clubs which you may have heard of, the Yanks and the BoSox.    

How about a Cubs-Rays World Series? Or Marlins-Twins? Now that would surprise the pundits, wouldn't it?

It's good to have baseball back in the swamp. Because a day without baseball is like a day without sunshine. Come to think of it, a day without sunshine is like night.