2008 Tampa Bay Rays Predictions & Season Preview

The Tampa Bay Rays may appear desperate by removing the term "devil" from their mascot name, but can you blame them after losing more games over the last 3 seasons than they did in their first 3 years of existence? Tampa Bay needs a complete makeover to get this thing turned around. There is optimism that this youth and inexperience may finally pan out this season with another year under their belts. Delmon Young was shipped to Minnesota for even more youth in Matt Garza during the off season. There is still not enough depth in the pitching staff for the Rays to bedevil the Sox and Yanks, but Tampa finally seems to have one hell of a future in store.

Starting Rotation:

The Rays finally have solidified the 1-2 punch needed for any team to be a force in this league. This comes with young Ace and AL strikeout champ in 24-year-old Scott Kazmir along with 26-year-old James Shields. Kazmir throws as hard as any lefty out there and appears to be in Cy Young contention this season. Shields has a change-up to die for that ranks up there with that of Johan Santana. Whether the Rays can compete through a 162-game year will all lie in the hands of the 3-4-5 guys in the starting rotation. Newly-acquired Garza should fit in nicely to the 3 spot. Andy Sonnanstine is a Shields' wannabe stylistically, but he is lacking the same results in the win/loss and ERA columns. Live arms are finally ready to challenge which gives the back end of this staff a very short leash for once. Jason Hammel, Jeff Niemann and Mitch Talbot are the names you will be hearing. By late summer, even better prospects could show up in David Price, Jake McGee, Wade Davis and Chris Mason.

Bullpen:

The main concern for the Rays, which is no small concern by any means, is there atrocious bullpen that gave up a 6.16 ERA last season. This was baseball's highest in at least the last half-century. Now that's saying something. Dan Wheeler and Troy Percival were signed within the last 6 months to give this 'pen some needed experience. Percival allowed just 34 base runners in 40 innings for the Cardinals, but it's his intensity in the clubhouse that will set a tone for this young staff. Al Reyes did a respectable job last season as the Rays' closer and will share setup duties with Wheeler. These 3 guys will have to carry the load of the innings in the bullpen, but it won't be easy against the best hitters in all of baseball that the AL East offers.

Line-Up:

Akinori Iwamura is an on-base machine at the lead-off spot for Tampa Bay in 2008. He reached base safely in 108 of 122 starts in his first season in the U.S. B.J. Upton mans the CF spot and the 2-hitter role. He is the fifth-youngest player in history to hit .300 and go 20-20. So things are looking very bright at the top of this line-up. LF Carl Crawford is one of the best 3-hitters in baseball and is the only player in MLB history to improve his average in each of his first six seasons (250-plus ABs). Carlos Pena is a huge bat in the 4th spot after becoming the 11th player in history to record 45 HRs/120 RBIs/100 Walks in a single season. These numbers earned Pena the Comeback Player of the Year award. Now the Rays just have to get him signed to the long-term contract he deserves. Jonny Gomes will likely DH in the 5th spot, but his uncanny ability to hit better when he is in the field (.279) than when he is a DH (.216) is a major concern. Rocco Baldelli is a solid RF hitting 6th and has averaged 19 HRs, 85 RBIs, 22 SBs per 162 career games. Evan Longoria as the 2007 Double-A Southern League Player of the Year and hopes to be able to translate this success to the big leagues at the 3rd base position and the 7-hole for Tampa. Dioner Navaro had the 3rd best slugging percentage at .475 among all big league catchers after the All-Star break. He'll need to get off to a much faster start in 2008. Jason Bartlett is streaky and has hit below .250 or above .315 in 14 of 16 months as a player. He'll man the 9th spot in this line-up because of his inconsistency. Gomes has been written off numerous times, but he still has the one tool that every team wants: power. His swing has produced 58 HR's despite less than 400 ABs in each of the last 3 years. But along with those HRs has come 355 strikeouts, which is the sole reason he is on shaky ground right now. Heavy-hitting Cliff Floyd was signed in the offseason and will play a key role off the bench when facing 2 or 3 righthanders per week. They Rays are lacking depth on the bench so look for them to make a couple more moves before this is all said and done.

Rays 2008 Predictions:

The Rays are close to having a great player in every position, but their fate still falls on this young pitching staff in 2008. Anything near a .500 season would be a success considering Tampa has finished last in their division in 9 out of their last 10 seasons. The Rays will be competitive, but that word is far from the word "contention" that they are looking for in a couple years. Tampa will overtake Baltimore this season for the 4th spot in the AL East, while delivering the Yanks and Sox a few headaches along the way. With a 1-2 punch in the starting staff, a proven closer, and much talent up and down this line-up, the Rays will improve mightily on their 66-96 showing last season.

Larry Cook finished with the #5 World Ranking with his baseball picks in 2007 last year. Hard work with research, analysis and starting pitcher breakdowns gives Larry the edge over your sportsbooks and bookies. You won't believe the kind of profits you can make by signing up for any of Larry's long-term packages. By doing so, you will get in on all of his winning baseball betting action this season. Larry will guide you to profits you have never seen before once he makes his move up to the #1 spot in 2008.

2008 Tampa Bay Rays Odds:

Odds to win AL East: 30/1
Odds to win 2008 AL Pennant: 60/1
Odds to win 2008 World Series: 150/1