Update: With a 2-0 seris lead on the White Sox, the Rays are looking more and more like the real deal. They have solid pitching and just seem to play hard all the time. I'm very interested to see this team continue in the playoffs.
8/8/2008: The old review was 2 stars, but its time to bump up the Rays to a playoff spot. It looks like my fellow reviewers also gave them respect for improving, but nobody saw them playing as well as they have this year. Even if they don't win the AL East, I think they will still make the playoffs. In addition to their onfield play, I give the Rays a lot of credit for signing Evan Longoria, possibly their best player as just a rookie, to a contract that can keep him in Tampa Bay until 2016 with less than 50 million spent.
3/31/2008 - ** The Rays young players are maturing and about to enter their prime years. Carl Crawford is a star, and the rest of the lineup is better than previous Rays teams. Their pitching staff is still young, but James Shields looks to be a decent starter and Scott Kazmir appears to be living up to his hype as a staff ace. Unfortunately the Rays still have to deal with the rest of the AL East, but they should finish above the O's and be fairly close to third this season.
