| Craig Castille. 30th June, 2008 - 5:03 pm
 The 2008 season began with much promise for the Rays.
A strong start in the exhibition season led to expectations of the Rays' finishing with their first winning season ever. Not many had expected that carryover effect to be this long nor as this engaging.
Now, at the halfway point in the season, the Rays' record stands at 48-32, and proudly standing one half game up on the mighty Boston Red Sox. A decade full of management incompetence, bad luck, and bad baseball are quickly diminishing memories from the minds of most.
The Rays are contenders.
Hell must have frozen over, gas is less than two bucks a gallon, and the Rays are contenders.
In the AL East no less.
Consistency
The Rays have yet to lose more than 3 games in a row. Much of this can be attributed to the rebuilt middle defense and the solid efforts of a complete pitching staff.
The Rays have committed the fewest errors by any Major League team. The team ERA is 3.71, and the outstanding defense has much to do with keeping a young pitching staff both confident and efficient.
The bullpen has a mid season ERA of 3.19 while allowing opposing hitters just a paltry .211 batting average. The bullpen ERA is a three run per game improvement over 2007's dismal 6.16. Opposing hitters batted at a .303 clip last year, as well.
Starting Pitching
This may be the most promising attribute of the Rays as they continue their ascending path towards a playoff run. Balance, style of approach, and innings grinders lay the foundation for this pitching staff to continue to succeed through the summer months.
Matt Garza and Scott Kazmir have, at times, been electric and overpowering while combining for 13 wins despite both players spending a combined 6 weeks on the disabled list.
James Shields has been efficient and steady even without consistent run support. Edwin Jackson has been up and down, but his control is much improved over last year and has been better in working out of big innings.
Andy Sonnastine is 9-3, and may be the weakest link in the starting rotation.
The Bullpen
The improvement can be best described on one word.
Dramatic.
Troy Percival and Dan Wheeler both have provided stability through performances in finishing games. The Rays' are 14-11 in one run games, and their consistency has played a major role. Percival has been successful in 18 of 20 save opportunities.
Others, like JP Howell (a converted starter), Trevor Miller, and Grant Balfour, have been clutch pitchers while serving in a variety of roles. The three run ERA improvement over 2007 speaks volumes as to the depth of the bullpen.
It's not just a couple of guys
Offensively, the Rays' punch has been coming from all through the lineup. Seemingly, it's a different player stepping up when needed in close games.
Gabe Gross, the part time right fielder, leads the way with three walk off game winning hits.
The three hitter BJ Upton has only 5 hr's, while the clean up hitter Carlos Pena has struggled to stay above .220 all year. Rookie Evan Longoria and Dionner Navarro have offset those deficiencies with consistent production. Navarro has hit above .300 all season, and Longoria leads both the Rays and all AL rookies in HR's and RBI's with 15 and 47, respectively.
Eric Hinske and Carl Crawford have been steady, as well, and especially in the clutch.
Schedule
The Rays played maybe the toughest schedule in all of baseball during the first half of the season. Prior to beginning the series with the Houston and Pittsburgh, the Rays' combined opponents winning percentage stood at .571.
Included in this were impressive sweeps of the Angels, Red Sox, and Cubs.
The Rays have played an slightly unbalanced home and away schedule but have been outstanding at either going 30-13 at home and 19-19 on the road. Tropicana Field is gaining a reputation for being a difficult road venue.
Where does this journey end?
Health matters, along with experience.
But so does speed, defense, and pitching.
Right now the Rays have all but the experience.
The first half of 2008 has been magical for the Rays. Seven walk-off wins, dominating complete game shutouts, series sweeps against the best in baseball,and stellar game saving defensive plays have all made many believe that this is a team of destiny.
A serious playoff run is in the making, and watching this dynamic, aggressive team march on is the story of 2008.
The 2008 Tampa Bay Rays are playoff bound. Mark it down.
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