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The Rays' New Reputation

Tribune photo by JAY CONNER

Joe Maddon reacts during the game against the Royals at Tropicana FIeld. The Rays lost to the Royals 7-3 in 10 innings.

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By MARC LANCASTER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 8, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - It has been three months since the Rays last visited Yankee Stadium, but it's difficult to grasp how much has changed since then.

When the Rays drop into the Bronx tonight for a quick two-game set that should take fewer than 24 hours to complete, they'll be the team the Yankees are chasing. They'll have the best record in baseball. And they'll take the field knowing they have the complete and undivided attention of their opponents.

By now, the Rays are well past condescending pats on the head from those who have traditionally bullied them. No longer dismissed as a young team with potential on a hot streak, the Rays seem to have convinced the powerhouses around them of their legitimacy.

"It's definitely a different scenario than most people are used to," Yankees first baseman Jason Giambi told the Newark, N.J. Star-Ledger last week. "But we've always said when the Rays start coming of age, start to mature, they've got some young arms that are learning how to pitch ... we always knew they were going to be a tough team to beat. Because they could definitely play the game."

Giambi has played 131 games against the Rays in his career, and he certainly has seen them at their worst. All the Yankees have; Tampa Bay is 60-116 all-time against New York. The last time the teams met, though, the Rays took three of four at Tropicana Field while surrendering just six runs in the series. The impression made then has endured.

"Sometimes you could beat them on mistakes, and they don't make mistakes any more," Giambi said. "They're a good team. They've got a lot of talent. They've done a great job of putting that team together. They stay healthy because they're young. And they come to play every single day."

That last part is what the Rays appreciate the most. Of course nothing builds respect like racking up victories, but Tampa Bay's reputation for being a pushover began to fade with the injection of young, high-end talent during the last couple of years and by now that old reputation has pretty much vaporized.

"It just means we're doing the right things when it comes to winning," Carl Crawford said. "People are starting to take notice."

Does recognition from those who presumably have spent years barely noticing the Rays' existence, let alone considering them a threat, mean anything? It does to Manager Joe Maddon.

"When you get veterans from other teams saying those kinds of things, that, to me, means as much as anything," Maddon said after reading Giambi's words of praise. "I think peer acceptance, peer validation, is the strongest or the one that resonates the loudest. For me, that does mean something and it does matter and we as an organization appreciate those comments."

The change hasn't manifested itself solely in words, either. Rays president Matt Silverman said he has noticed "a little more respect and credibility when you're making that call, whether it's to another team or to the commissioner's office."

Not that the Rays had trouble getting anyone on the phone before, he emphasized. But Tampa Bay is seen in a different light these days.

"It's good for the team and the organization to be recognized," Silverman said. "The Devil Rays have been the butt of jokes for 10 years, and it's nice to see the other side of that. We certainly don't revel in it - we're not even at the All-Star break - but it's certainly more fun on this side."

Of course, the Rays are well aware they have a long way to go before reaching the true proving ground of October, but with each win - particularly those against the teams that have always tormented them - they add another believer.

"I'd be surprised if they're not in the hunt the whole way," Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell told reporters at the Trop last week. "They've got good pitching. Not to take away from their offense but you can't slug every night. Their pitching keeps them in games and they've got a couple of guys in the bullpen doing a really nice job. They're not doing this with smoke and mirrors. They're a talented group."

Reporter Marc Lancaster can be reached at (813) 259-7227 or mlancaster@tampatrib.com.

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