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Ready Or Not, It's Time To Play Ball

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By MARC LANCASTER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 8, 2009

ST. PETERSBURG - The offseason has been short for the Tampa Bay Rays and long for many a free agent, but it's about time to turn away from the business of baseball and get back to matters on the field.

Pitchers and catchers report to camp this week, with all 30 major-league teams set to be up and rolling by next Sunday. With nearly 100 free agents still unsigned, last-minute roster additions could be more prevalent this year than most, but the American League East is fairly well set when it comes to big moves.

Nothing happened this winter to diminish the AL East's reputation as the game's toughest division, though a complete absence of movement by Toronto could jeopardize the Blue Jays' status as a dangerous team that can't quite get over the hump.

Obviously, the talk of the division - and the sport - was the Yankees' otherworldly spending spree. But the two teams that finished ahead of New York last season, Tampa Bay and Boston, appear to have at the very least held serve when it comes to roster machinations.

In the coming weeks we'll begin to get a feel for what it all means. And even though the ultimate judgment obviously is months away, you've got to start somewhere.

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