Encouraging words from Mr. Nate Silver of Baseball prospectus in his kinda recent chat:
Nate Silver: Yes, the Rays are absolutely capable of a 3rd place finish, but I think that says more about some of the other parts they've got coming up through their farm system than the Garza trade itself. In fact, the whole reason they had the luxury to trade Young -- who, even though I'm a little bit down on him, was the best player in that deal -- was because they've got so much talent that they're at a point where they had to think about balancing out a bit.
D-Rays take 3rd place in the AL East next year. Mark my words.
I haven't really delved into the Jays off-season and roster quite yet - although the BTB team previews are coming up, so that solves it, but I'd tend to agree with Silver that the Rays will take third.
Oh and thanks to everyone who downloaded or linked to the book, including most notably Tim Dierkes, Will Leitch, David Pinto, and SBN affiliates Lookout Landing and Purple Row. I know I said my goal was 1,000, but at this moment we're at 530, not too bad at all for a Rays' book, and frankly if it winds up around 600 for the first weekend I can mark it off as a success.