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Savor The Tampa Bay Summer Of '08

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By JOE HENDERSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 2, 2008

Updated: 10/01/2008 09:52 pm

ST. PETERSBURG - The Rays knew they'd be better this season, but that was also a relative term. Basically anything remotely positive would have been an improvement over a team that won just 66 games a year ago.

As they assembled for spring training, though, you sensed something really was different from the first day. They carried themselves like veteran winners. They talked like winners. The thought occurred more than once that for a team with such a shabby past, they were sure a cocky bunch. As this season began and later turned magical, though, they backed it up.

People asked if they could handle expectations. They showed they could during a season-defining stretch in late April. They were just 8-11 on April 20 after a 6-0 loss to the White Sox, buried in their customary place at the bottom of the AL East.

They responded in a way no Rays team ever had - winning six in a row and eight of nine to move into first place. You sensed then that this team really might be different, and they spent the rest of the season proving that was true.

"We don't look outside ourselves," first baseman Carlos Pena said. "Everything is within. The outside world to us is unimportant. All that matters is keeping this chemistry intact, keeping this team only focused on ourselves."

So here they are, the focused Rays, in the playoffs for the first time.

Above .500 for the first time.

Rays Staying Focused

Remember when winning 70 games was reason enough for the old Rays to spray champagne? They reached that mark Aug. 9. And as the summer wound on and they just kept winning, skepticism turned to marvel at one of the great stories in baseball history.

Could be, anyway.

For it to rank as a story for the ages, they'll need to win the World Series. Let's not get too far ahead, though. The Rays never have.

"We understand there is a lot more work to do," Manager Joe Maddon said.

But no matter how this ultimately ends, it has been a summer to be savored. Despite a paltry $43 million payroll - second-lowest in the majors - the Rays found a formula of defense, pitching, clutch hitting and, yes, some incredible luck at opportune times.

They also have proven to be one tough bunch. Roll this injury list over your tongue: Scott Kazmir, Pena, Jason Bartlett, Evan Longoria, B.J. Upton, Carl Crawford, Troy Percival and Dioner Navarro. Each one spent time on the disabled list.

But when Longoria went down at third base, Willy Aybar picked him up. Fernando Perez appeared out of the minors to pick up the slack when Crawford went out. Grant Balfour, Dan Wheeler, J.P. Howell and Chad Bradford kept the bullpen afloat.

They also did it the right way. The Rays didn't have a single player voted to the American League All-Star team starting lineup, mostly because individually most weren't having the kind of statistical season to get that kind of attention.

When plays needed to be made, though, they were made. They got clutch hits when they were needed. The bullpen snuffed rallies. The starting pitchers turned out to be solid top to bottom.

"That's why we're here," Navarro said. "Nobody has been having a career year. Everybody has been doing the little things, having the clutch hitting. With the pitching we've been having all season, that helps us win games."

No Real Ace

The Rays don't have a Cy Young candidate. What they do have is a starting staff that gives them a chance to win every night.

"I'm not into the semantics of ace or no ace. I just like the idea that we have a bunch of guys we can count on," Maddon said. "Everybody wants to put the label on people, but we have guys with over 10 wins, we have guys who pick up others when things don't go well.

"I believe we have a bunch of guys who can win a game when we need it. To me, that's the definition of an ace - somebody you can feel good about pitching when you need a victory. We have several guys I feel good about right now."

There's a lot to feel good about this team.

When they've been knocked down, such as a seven-game losing streak before the All-Star break, they responded. When they've needed to make statements, they have - like when they took two of three in a big late-season series at Fenway Park. When they are seemingly dominated by an opposing starter, you still get the sense they're in the game. That never used to happen.

"Our guys believe that if we keep it close, we'll figure out some way to win it late," Maddon said.

You may go many more summers and not see a story like this. The Rays have been the perfect team for the perfect time, and look where it got them. It is October and they're still playing baseball. Yeah, the Rays knew they'd be better, but no one expected this.

So savor it, remember it, and take pictures so you can tell your grandkids one day about the magic summer back in '08. That was the year that losers became winners and invited everybody around here along for the ride.

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