Endangered Species: Should The Rays Stay in Tampa?

Over the past 8 years I've had the chance to go to St. Petersburg three times to see the Rays play. Eight years ago on my honeymoon I saw the, then Devil Rays, just starting out with their young up and coming core of players. Led by rookie, Rocco Baldelli, they were perennial AL East doormats, stockpiled with young talent. The stands were half full at best, with the Yankees in town to boot. Last year again I went to a game to see the new Rays, now an unlikely AL East power, against all odds led by all-world 3B Evan Longoria. They were an exciting team loaded with young, incredibly talented players competing against (and beating) teams with 4 times their payroll. A real compelling story. Again, fans in the stands were sparse. This year I had the chance to take in a game in late April, fresh off the Manny Ramirez fallout. The Rays had been playing poorly, Manny was gone, Longo was on the DL, but still they were a pretty decent team with some exciting new players (Sam Fuld anyone?). Again the fans in the stands were sparse.

CTOD: Baltimore Orioles

For the first time in years, possibly a decade, there is tempered enthusiasm in Baltimore. The enthusiasm stems from an amazing finish under new manager Buck Showalter last season, a solid group of young players, and an active offseason that filled some large holes in the roster. Temperance for the enthusiasm comes from the mountain of a challenge that is involved in climbing the AL East, where all four teams in the division won more than 85 games last year.

CTOD: New York Yankees

Although the expectation is for a World Series championship every year, it is hard to see 2010 as anything by a success for the Yanks. They lead the league in scoring and received enough pitching to post the best run differential in baseball on their way to the second best record in the AL.

All in all, 2010 was a year of pleasant surprises for the Yanks. Offsetting the declining performance of their aging premier players - A-Rod, Jeter, Teixeira, and Posada - was the emergence of Robinson Cano, Brett Gardner, Nick Swisher, and Curtis Granderson. All four of whom posted WARs of 3.6 or higher and thus ranking them in the top 5 in the Yankees lineup. The rotation struggled, both Javier Vazquez and A.J. Burnett posted ERAs north of 5.00, but the American League's third best bullpen was able to pick up the slack.

CTOD: Boston Red Sox

Last year was a difficult one for Red Sox fans (myself included) as an injury plagued campaign had them finish the season in third place, behind the still surprising Rays and the always tough Yankees. Without key players like Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, Josh Beckett and Kevin Youkilis for much of the year, new additions Victor Martinez and Adrian Beltre picked up much of the slack but it wasn't enough to reach October. This year those two players are lost to free agency, but that long list of walking wounded has returned - alongside a few marquee additions.

CTOD: Tampa Bay Rays

They will always be the Devil Rays to me. Although I have no emotional attachment to the Tampa Bay area the Rays have been one of my favorite teams over the past few years because of their collection of young talent. Unfortunately for the Rays, despite an incredibly successful season for the franchise, there still exists little to no fanbase for them in Florida. This lack of fan attachment may have made it easier on management to revamp their roster to meet payroll demands and thus the 2011 Rays look much different than last years.