Thoughts on the new AL East powerhouse, the Devil Rays

I have come here to declare that the DRays look like a contender. It starts with pitching and they have some young studs in that rotation and pen that can really hurl the pill. Hector is very happy about his Rays. He's suffered through enough losing seasons (though he's also a Tribe and Cleveland Browns fan - ouch).

So yes people, while we will always hate the Skankees (you can never count them out) the DRays are now the hated rival in the east. I must admit, I haven't been bleeding Red Sox colors recently because I'm still swooning from the Celtics 17th World Championship and very interested in what they are going to do in free agency (SIGN JAMES POSEY) and in the draft.

Regardless, it's cool to see a team like Tampa put together a young, competitive team that's pretty much farm-built, i.e. like the Sox have done over recent years (Youk, Pedrioa, Ellsbury - and even going back to Nomar and Trot Nixon). It's also cool to have what will appear to be a three legged race to the finish of the AL East between the Sox, DRays and the Skankees. In the past 10 or so years, we've yet to see any formidable opponent in the division (with the exception of Toronto who has their ups and downs).

So, go DRays. Keep winning. Keep it competitive. If we lose to them in the playoffs, I'll root for 'em. Gotta love an underdog. They remind me of the 2004 team a bit. You remember that right? Down 0-2 to Oakland. Down 0-3 to the Skankees. Sweeping the Cards. It was stuff legends are made from.

Let's just hope the writers for the DRays have to wait to finish their 2008 Season book with a loss to the oh so powerful and now hated Red Sox in the playoffs or maybe even a September crushing-under-pressure slide to second or third place. Let's give them props now, but the road is long.