Tomorrow is Friday, the second of May here in 2008. The Tampa Bay Rays are in first place of the American League East. Re-read that. Again, cherish it, our little team is graduating high school, now onto the real world. Although hopefully a small victory in our next few months there's something mind blowing about this team being in first place after a little more than a month of play.
Scott Kazmir hasn't taken the mound and Carl Crawford hasn't been good, but the bullpen is the best in the league (ERA wise at least) and the rotation features a shockingly healthy battle between three -- at worst -- league average starters with an upcoming decision not based on who would add value by being dropped, but rather which offers the least positive value at this point.
More and more Rays gear is being worn and bought around town and by all indications the doubters are starting to go to the park in order to question Joe Maddon's philosophies instead of staying home. So why does this all feel a tad bittersweet? I guess the truth was always that some locals would change colors quicker than a chameleon once the franchise reached that point, but are we at that point?
This team is no longer our little secret, no matter what happens from here, whether this weekend ends our first place hopes or not, we've learned something. This organization is legitimate, and it's proving that in the only remaining way it can: winning.