Tampa Bay: Rays are Turning the Corner

Last year at this time, the the Tampa Bay Devil Rays were 16-22, and on their way to another losing season, finishing 66-96.

This year has been a different story for Tampa Bay, who seemed to have dropped the habit of losing with the dropping of Devil. But why have they been so successful thus far?

First off, their pitching has been great. Last year, their team ERA was 5.55, struggling to even keep their teams in games. Their team WHIP was 1.55, which is not good at all.

This year, they've been much better, with a team ERA of 3.82 and an WHIP of 1.29. Edwin Jackson, Matt Garza, and James Shields have been consistent while Scott Kazmir has been out.

Shields has a 3.14 ERA and hitters are only hitting .240 off of him, going along with a WHIP of 1.14 with 39 Ks and only 12 walks in 51.2 IP. Garza has been good too, posting, in six starts, a 3.86 ERA and only walking 14 hitters. Jackson has a 3.47 ERA and hitters are only hitting .234 off of him through 49.1 innings.

Kazmir has been brilliant in his first two starts of the year, and the bullpen has been great. Troy Percival has been dominant, as has Dan Wheeler, J.P. Howell, and Gary Glover. Those four have combined for a 2.11 ERA over 70.2 innings of work, striking out 71 and walking only 25.

It's clear that the key to their success has been their pitching. When your staff has a .244 BAA, you're doing a great job. They are pitching a 2.97 ERA at home on top of that, and in close, late situations, Tampa Bay has a team ERA of 1.65, second in the AL behind Kansas City's incredible 0.47. 

To be honest, the Ray's only have an average offense, but they've had some bright spots. The emergence of Eric Hinske (7 HR, 18 RBI) has been great, having that utility bat is always a great neccessity. B. J. Upton has been playing well (23 runs, 25 RBI, .381 OBP), and Carl Crawford has bee there as well (.287 BA, 30 runs, 23 RBI, 12 SB).

Akinori Iwamura (.263 BA, .322 OBP, 33 K) and Jonny Gomes (.225 BA, 3 HR) have gotten off to slow starts. Carlos Pena (.210 BA, 8 HR, 19 RBI, 47 K) is struggling at times, and Evan Longoria is going through his rookie struggles (.222 BA, 4 HR, 15 RBI's).

Cliff Floyd was a spark of offense (.364, 2 HR, 7 RBI in 22 AB), but he's on the DL now. If the Rays want to take another step, they either need to improve their offense, or people need to start getting on base.

Though they're contending right now, the Rays could see some trouble in the future with their average offense. Some people questioned the trading of Delmon Young, but you got to hand it to them, they got young pitching in return, realzing that you need pitching not only to contend, but to win.

They have the pieces of a excellently-run young team, making trades to benefit their future and help them win now as well. Joe Madden is a good fit for this team. He's a man that the team respects. For once the Rays are actually contending and winning games.

After tonight's 2-1 win against the Yankee's, they are 17-11 against the AL East. It's been 10 years, but they finally have turned the corner. But the real question is, how long will they be there?