Rays Prove They Have The Mettle

Earlier this week the Tampa Bay Rays were hearing the same doubts they've heard since their inception. They had lost their last two series and Boston had climbed to within a game and a half of the AL East lead that has been Tampa's for the majority of the season.

After the first game, the grumbling seemed to get a little louder. Boston pulled out a win and was within a half game of retaking the lead in the division. People began to doubt the Rays offense, saying they left too many runners on base. They claimed that the starting pitching behind Kazmir and Shields wasn't as good as people had made it out too be. Most of all, people were mumbling that the Rays were too young. That they were bound to show their youth and collapse. But a funny thing happened on the way to certain demise, the Rays proved they belong.

By winning the final two games of the series against the Red Sox, both of which included late rallies against Boston's bullpen, the Rays proved they have no thoughts of giving in. It's taken most of America all season to buy into the Rays success, but if they didn't believe before, they do now. The collapse that was in the back of everybody's mind seems incomprehensible after watching the Rays scratch and claw with the defending champs, gutting out two critical victories in games that Tampa would have never won before, let alone have been a part of.

The truth is, the starting pitching is that good. Edwin Jackson has always had loads of potential and it is finally beginning to come to fruition. Andy Sonnanstine battled Beckett pitch-for-pitch and actually leads the team with 13 wins. Then there is Matt Garza, the guy most famous for being traded for Delmon Young. Quietly, Garza leads the team with a 3.55 ERA. Yes, Shields is their oldest starter at the graying age of 26, but sometimes experience doesn't come into play in the postseason. Boston's Jon Lester pitched Game 4 of the World Series in his first ever playoffs. Heck, almost the entire Rockies team last year were first-timers and they made it all the way to the end. Sometimes talent takes hold, and the Rays staff has that in spades.

Yes, the offense is still a question mark, but a lot of the playoff teams have questions. Tampa has nobody hitting over .280 (that qualifies with enough ABs). Carlos Pena has 28 HRs and 88 RBIs, but he's hitting just .247 and strikes outs way too much (148 times). Carl Crawford may come back from his injury, but how ready will he be when October rolls around? With Longoria hurt and ever-fragile Rocco Baldelli also in the lineup, the Rays may be a game away from losing a good portion of their already under-performing offense.

But as I said, there are question marks abound. The Red Sox proved that their offense can be hit or miss as well. They had scoring opportunities in every single extra inning in their 14 inning loss to the Rays, but couldn't get a big hit. Plus, there's Terry Francona's narrow minded insistence to stick with his slumping, aging veterans. Why Varitek is still up in bunting situations late in the game is questionable. Why Mike Timlin and his 6 ERA are brought in the 14th inning of a huge game is just insane.

It's not just the Red Sox. The White Sox have questions about starting pitching depth and the injury to Carlos Quentin is concerning, since he's had wrist problems before. The Twins have had an up and down offense all season and have struggled to fill Santana's void. Although the Angels seem to be the most complete team, they have shown lapses at times as well. Plus, the Rays handled them pretty easily just a few weeks ago.

The MLB playoffs has always been a place for unknown to shine and new teams to rise up. The Rockies took advantage last year, the Astros came out of nowhere a few years ago and the Marlins won the whole thing in 2003 when nobody expected them to even be involved. Anything can happen and the Rays are counting on that.

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