The Blue Workhorse

The Blue Workhorse 2009 Outlook:
In 2008, Tampa Bay went for a near complete overhaul. They jettisoned the Devil out of their name and cancers Elijah Dukes and Delmon Young out of their locker room. Combined with making quality moves, and Tampa Bay was a brand new team with a brand new sunny outlook to match their sunny uniforms.

Seems like a huge advertising gimmick, right? Might have in March, but then when the (no longer Devil) Rays came out strong at the beginning of the season, they started to catch people’s eyes. They continued to catch eyes (and fights with perennial AL powerhouses and division rivals Boston and New York) all the way to their first winning season in the club’s history… and then all the way to their first playoff appearance… and then all the way to their first AL East division title… and then all the way to their first playoff series win over the White Sox… and then all the way to their first World Series appearance after a 7-game thrilling series with the Red Sox.

AND…more…including why the Hometown feels…The Tampa Bay Rays WILL win the World Series…

April 15, 1947 - Sixty years after the first African-American player in the major leagues, Moses Fleetwood Walker was unofficially banned from baseball (no, Jackie Robinson was not the first to play baseball in the major leagues), Jackie Robinson takes to the field for his first official game in a #42 Brooklyn Dodgers uniform. He plays first base instead [...]

Last season, the New York Metropolitans collapsed at the end of the season allowing the Philadelphia Phillies to take their first division title since 1993. The Atlanta Braves, the former requisite 1st place team in the NL East, also appear to be back in the running after two consecutive seasons finishing in third. However, each team appears to have some weaknesses whether it is age, pitching, injury issues, or a combination of possible calamities. Then there are the up-and-eventually-coming Washington Nationals and then…the woeful Florida Marlins.