These Rays Pack Some Sting

It may or may not come as a surprise to you, but the Tampa Bay Rays, as of tonight, are the best team in baseball.

At least, they're the hottest team right now.

After completing an impressive four-game sweep of the Red Sox in Boston over the weekend, the Rays hold baseball's best record at 10-3. Two of their losses have come at the hands of the Yankees, who happen to hold baseball's second best record at 9-3. Newcomer Rafael Soriano has been a big part of the Rays' success early on, already posting a win and four saves. Starter Matt Garza has been spectacular in three starts, going 3-0 with a 0.75 ERA in wins over the Orioles and Red Sox. And with young stars Evan Longoria, Carl Crawford, and B.J. Upton pacing the Rays' lineup, their balance makes them one of the most complete teams in the league.

The Rays' hot start can hardly be perceived as illegitimate. Competing in what many note to be the toughest division in baseball, the Rays have taken five out of six from Baltimore, and, of course, just finished sweeping the Red Sox in Fenway. Despite losing two out of three to the Yankees during the first weekend of the season, the Rays have left no doubt that they are for real. They rank 6th in baseball with a 3.62 team ERA through thirteen games, and I would not expect that number to fluctuate much over the course of the season.

With all the talent and balance this team has, it baffles me that more people don't talk about them. The Rays are merely an afterthought to most because they reside in the same division as the Yankees and Red Sox. And even though the Yankees are off to a good start as well, the Red Sox are now 4-9 after the sweep and have lost five in a row. All of the Rays wins have come within this well-heralded division...so where's all their publicity? I get it, they are a small-market team. But they might be the most exciting small-market team this era of baseball has seen. Props to the Rays for their accomplishments thus far.

Two other surprises, briefly: the openness of the AL West is staggering. Anyone can win that division this year. I don't see the champion of it being decided until the last week of the season. The Angels' dominance is no more.

And who would have thought both the Nationals and Padres would be over .500 going into Week 3? The Padres find themselves in second place in the NL West, one game back of the Giants, while the Nationals are locked in a tight and competitive NL East race. The standings indicate that the NL East is the best division in baseball at the moment, with four teams (including the Nationals) within a game-and-a-half of each other. We'll see if this holds up until the end of the month, but for now it makes for some interesting and exciting baseball. With no overly dominant teams emerging just yet in either league, there's no need for fans to abandon their teams this early on (is there ever a need for that?). Unless you're a fan of the 2-12 Baltimore Orioles. Then you might be justified. It'll be a quiet summer at Camden Yards.

But not in Tampa Bay.