Scott Kazmir, Troy Percival Take in the Rays: Why Tampa Bay Is Now a Contender

The exorcism of the Tampa Bay baseball franchise seems to be complete. After jettisoning Elijah Dukes, Delmon Young and their surname Devil over the past year, the Rays now stand 8 games over .500 for the first time in franchise history.

Since 1998 the franchise has floundered in the basement of the AL East, but now seems poised to be the hot young team of 2008. Manager Joe Maddon has his club performing extremely well in all areas of the game.

Pitching:

Team ERA: 3.69 5th in the AL 

With Scott Kazmir back in the fold, the Rays rotation looks like the second best in the division. James Shields and Edwin Jackson are among AL leaders in strikeouts, and Andy Sonnanstine and Matt Garza continue to post quality starts. Troy Percival has become a team leader on the relatively young staff, while also securing 13 saves. His playoff experience and knowledge of the AL has solidified the bullpen, adding to the growing confidence the starters are gaining.

Batting:

Team Batting Average: .262 6th in AL

Team Runs Scored: 211 4th in AL

Tampa Bay has a solid lineup one through nine, headed by emerging superstars BJ Upton and Carl Crawford. Upton is leading the team with a .291 with 3 HR's and 27 RBI's and a .378 OBP. All-Star Carl Crawford is leading the team with 28 RBI's and seems to be  relishing the experience of his team competing at a high level. Mix in a few veterans with postseason experience (Cliff Floyd, Eric Hinske), proven existing players (Pena, Iwamura) and a hot prospect (Longoria), and you have a recipe of an excellent developing lineup with room to improve.

Speed and Defense:

Stolen Bases: 46 1st in AL

Errors: 21 2nd least in AL

These areas may be what sustains the Rays success. Crawford and Upton continue to cover huge ground in the outfield while both ranking in the top 10 in stolen bases. The running game has been putting pressure on opposing pitchers, and the infield defense and double play frequency has minimized the staff allowing big scoring innings. More than half of the starting nine can run, allowing the manager to play small ball if needed.

Is Tampa Bay for real? It sure looks like it. The front office has followed the successful Mid Market blueprint by locking up their core players to contract extensions. The attendance down in St. Petersburg has been lacking, but the television ratings have been up dramatically over last year. The increased viewership will hopefully add to the proposed new ballpark being built on the grounds of the Rays current spring training site.

With most of the AL reveling around mediocrity, Tampa Bay may finally need to start paying attention to their baseball team for the first time.