One of the teams I think will be interesting to watch this year are the Tampa Bay Rays. For the first time in team history they have a realistic shot at a winning season, if things break right for them. Other people have noticed, too. As Mike Bauman says on mlb.com:
There are exciting young players here. There are young pitchers with
real talent who are good right now and might well be much better than
that later on. There have been some additions of veterans who have
brought a positive presence. And after recent seasons in which the Rays
were forced to be essentially a player development operation at the
Major League level, they are poised for nothing less than a
corner-turning campaign.
With the outfield consisting of two bona fide stars (Carl Crawford and BJ Upton) plus one “could be a star if he stays healthy” (Rocco Baldelli), Carlos Pena coming off a breakout season at first base, highly-touted rookie Evan Longoria at third, and respectable players manning the “up the middle” defense (Navarro behind the plate, Iwamura and Bartlett around the keystone, and the aforementioned Upton in center field), the lineup looks to be quite competitive. Add a rotation anchored by two potential aces (Scott Kazmir and James Shields) and you have a team that is ready to compete this season. Not championship-caliber yet, perhaps, but a winning record is not just a pipe dream.
Young teams generally are fun to watch and I think this year’s Rays could be a lot of fun.