The 133rd season of Major League Baseball is upon us. Over the next month and half, we will be taking a look at each ball club, leading up to the Expert Predictions of the esteemed staff at Sparty & Friends. We will be previewing each team, from worst to first. Today we head down yonder to my neck of the woods to preview the Tampa Bay Rays.

The American League was hit with a brick last year when the Tampa Bay Rays, a franchise that hadn’t even broken .500 before, took an early lead in the northeast dominated AL East division. They then shocked everyone by offing the Sox in the ALCS. Something the majority of America was hoping to see…until the cowbells came out.

Sure they tripped up in the World Series, but for a franchise that had been losers since their inception, most fans were glad to be able to say the Rays weren’t out of it on April 30^th….

Last Season: 97-65 (Won AL East)

Who’s Gone: RHP Edwin Jackson (trade); OF Rocco Baldelli (via FA); LHP Trever Miller (via FA); DH Cliff Floyd (via FA); OF Jonny Gomes (via FA)
Who’s New: OF/DH Pat Burrell; OF Gabe Kapler; P Jason Isringhausen; OF Matt Joyce; 2B Adam Kennedy; 3B Morgan Ensberg; LHP Brian Shouse

Projected Lineup:
1. Akinori Iwamura (2B)
2. B.J. Upton (CF)
3. Carl Crawford (LF)
4. Carlos Pena (1B)
5. Evan Longoria (3B)
6. Pat Burrell (DH)
7. Dionner Navarro (C)
8. Gabe Gross or Gabe Kapler (DH/RF)
9. Jason Bartlett (SS)

Projected Rotation:
1 RHP James Shields
2 LHP Scott Kazmir
3 RHP Matt Garza
4 RHP Andy Sonnanstine
5 RHP Jason Hammel  or RHP Jeff Niemann (Until the end of May or so…then enter David Price)

CL RHP Troy Percival (When healthy)

Key Bench Players: Adam Kennedy (2B); Morgan Ensberg (UTL); Gabe Kapler/Gabe Gross (OF); OF Matt Joyce

Manager: Joe Maddon

Lineup Outlook – This lineup is till very young, and on top of that, weren’t the most potent in baseball. Their team batting average was in the bottom third of MLB, and nobody hit over .300…but it didn’t matter. It’s the things they did right which made this lineup dangerous. Patience? Had it. Getting on Base? Very Skillful. Running the bases? Great. Making the Sox look like turds doing all of this? Of Course, this was the ANTI-Yankees.

If the Rays players can keep that going things should pan out even better. Look for Longoria to step up another level this year, while Upton and Crawford will hold ‘er steady in the 2 and 3 spots. Pat Burrell will add another big bat to the lineup to keep the pressure off of Pena and Longoria. The bottom of the lineup drops some compared to their divisional rivals, but they were able to work through that, I don’t see it beinga  problem this year either. The bench has some guys who can hit in spots, and Matt Joyce was a nice gift the Tigers in return for flame thrower Edwin Jackson…

Starting Rotation – The Rays rotation was a rock last year last year, and I don’t mean rock like heavy…that would be the Sox rotation. With Shields and Kazmir anchoring the other pieces were outstanding. Andy Sonnanstine came out of nowhere to give the Rays 14 wins and while his pitching stats weren’t the type that would have a fantasy team owner excited, they were enough to keep the back end of the rotation from dropping off too much. Matt Garza showed signs of being the UBER prospect he once was, it’s still too early to tell whether his game will ever fully translate to the majors, his role in the ALCS (where he was the MVP) showed the guy has enough talent to potentially breakout this year. Then, there is Mr. Price. The Rays have been careful to rush this guy up, and for good reason, they don’t need to. Expect Price to be brought up in May, much like Longoria was last year.

Bullpen - Expect a drop here, J.P. Howell, Dan Wheeler and Grant Balfour played out o f their minds at some points…they also pitched a lot of innings. It was pretty clear these guys were slowing down during the playoffs and as a result, I would imagine you’ll see less of them this year. To take some pressure off of those two Brian Shouse was added as a lefty specialist, something they really needed last season (Trever Miller was forced to close and set up a lot more than be the specialist). The Rays also went out and got once dominant closer Jason Isringhausen, hoping he can be a solid setup guy and/or spot close…and why do they need that? Because Troy Percival’s arm is about as reliable as MLJ’s servers (OOOOOHHhhhhh)

Rememeber Random Bar?

Prediction – The Rays are in the toughest division in baseball…but that didn’t matter last year and won’t this year. Their defense is great, their pitching is very good, and their bats have the ability to help them win the AL East. That being said, I think they’ll probably finish 2^nd in the AL East, behind New York, but in front of Boston.

90-95 wins and the wildcard. It gets ya to the playoffs.

Popularity: 4% [?]