Tampa Bay Rays Mid-Season Review...Up's and Down's

On June 25th of last year, the Tampa Bay Rays had a record of 46-31 and were only one game behind Boston in arguably the toughest division in the majors. As the All-Star break approaches this season, the Rays are 38-35, and in fourth place in the AL East, which has been the highest they've reached in the division race so far this season. 

So what has changed?  What's gone wrong?  Has anything gone right?  Can the Rays return to championship form this year?

One thing that changed for the Rays this season was expectations. Expectations by the fans, the media, and even themselves. For the first time in franchise history, the Rays entered the season as a contender.

With high expectations comes a new type of pressure the team will have to live with.  But let's delve a little deeper into those fantastic statistics that we can't get enough of and find out exactly what's going on.

The good news for the Rays is they can steal bases! Again, the Rays are leading the league in this category, led by Carl Crawford (36) and B.J. Upton (26), who can almost swipe a bag at will.

The team is also continuing with a trend from last year by pounding the ball. In 2008, the Rays were eight in the American League in team Batting Average (.260) heading into the All-Star Break. 

Today, they are third at (.275). The large increase was due to Jason Bartlett batting a whopping .370. Not to mention Evan Longoria and Carl Crawford, each batting over .300.

The bad news is the Rays team ERA as of right now is 4.25, which is seventh in the league and down from the 3.82 team ERA they had before last year's midsummer classic.

Starting pitchers James Shields and Matt Garza both slightly improved their paced ERA from last season. However, this was not enough to counterbalance Andy Sonnanstine and Scott Kazmir. Sonnanstine last year had a 10-4 record and a 4.58 ERA at this time. 

This year, he is only 5-7 with a 6.65 ERA. Ouch! Also, Scott Kazmir, before his injury and minor league stint, struggled heavily with command and posted a 4-4 record with a 7.69 ERA. Double Ouch! 

All stats aside, the Rays do have a winning record, and with that, they are within striking distance of the Wild Card spot, if not the AL East Division crown. They need to do what they did better than any team last year; find a way to win close games, and continually capitalize on opportunities. 

The Rays have four potential All Stars on their roster in Evan Longoria, Carl Crawford, Jason Bartlett, and Big Ben Zobrist. So Tampa Fans, get out and vote. Stick with these Rays and remember, they are still a winning team.

We have not been able to use that line many seasons.