Rays seek return to October baseball

By Bud L. Ellis

This time last fall, they were the darlings of the sports world.

And while a team’s first trip to the World Series doesn’t fade away overnight — whether you win or lose the Fall Classic — it does seem like more than 12 months ago since the Tampa Bay Rays were representing the American League on baseball’s grandest stage.

The Rays returned to earth — if not quite to the depths the franchise has frequented far too many years — in 2009, finishing 19 games behind their eventual AL-pennant winning successors, the New York Yankees.

Still, an 84-win season gives baseball fans along Florida’s West Coast reason to believe even though the AL East will be tough as ever in 2010, Tampa Bay figures to be right there with the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox in the fight for a berth in the October party.

The team’s core remains intact, even with the late August trade of Scott Kazmir to the Angels. Players like Carl Crawford, B.J. Upton, Evan Longoria, James Shields and David Price show a good foundation is in place. With the ever-likable and savvy Joe Maddon calling the shots from the dugout, the Rays look to take a step back up the ladder next season.

This time last year, Tampa Bay was on the biggest stage of all. In thinking about the teams who could make a mark in October 2010, the list has to include the Rays. Getting a taste of October last fall only whetted the appetite for a good young team whose best days appear to be ahead of it.

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Wednesday, October 28, 2009 at 9:37 pm by bud

Tags: B.J. Upton, Boston Red Sox, Carl Crawford, David Price, Evan Longoria, James Shields, Joe Maddon, Los Angeles Angels, Major League Baseball, New York Yankees, Scott Kazmir, Tampa Bay Rays