Underdogs are exceedingly rare in baseball. That is, teams that come as if from out of nowhere and make a serious run at the playoffs. Even rarer are underdogs who get to the very brink of being champions, as the Rays did in 2008. And rarest of all is an underdog who can duplicate such a performance from one season to the next.
It was almost inevitable that the 2009 Rays would backtrack, at least nominally. But let me remind you that finishing in third place, with a winning record, in the AL East is no small accomplishment. The 2009 Rays were fifth in the AL in runs scored and starter’s ERA. With 84 wins and a +49 run differential in the toughest division in baseball, one could make a strong case that the 2009 Rays were one of the top four teams in the American League (trailing the Red Sox, Yankees, and Angels).
Prognosticators have already resumed business as usual, treating the AL East as the two-horse race it has been for most of the last decade (since 1997, only once has a team other than Boston or New York won the division, and only one other time did a team other than Boston or New York finish second). Rest assured, however, neither Terry Francona nor Joe Girardi view the Rays as underdogs any longer, and Tampa Bay is only a few good breaks away from being right back in the race for the AL pennant…
See the Prospectus @ The Sporting Hippeaux
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- Rays Name New Hitting Coach (1.000)
