Look Out, Kids: Here Come The Devil Rays

For the first time in franchise history, the Devil Rays are five games over .500. They've won four in a row, and they have the opportunity to make a huge splash with a four-game set at home against the Yankees this week. (Before heading to Busch for three with our Cards; the Cardinals vs. the Rays will never look right to us.) Can they really pull this off?

Baseball Prospectus was raving about the Rays at the beginning of the season, but you got the sense even they didn't quite believe it. We must salute those long-time Rays bloggers who have been dutifully documenting this team and, maybe, perhaps, who knows, could actually be rewarded this year. Predictably, they're trotting out the Bad News Bears references.

Five games over .500 is uncharted waters for the Rays, but why stop there? The earth isn't flat and we're not going to fall off if we surpass 5 games over. Let's hope that our team plays with chips on their shoulders, rather than listen to ESPN/Fox or any other fairweather media outlet who have started to toot Tampa Bay horns because the Rays have a better record than the Yankees. (Ed. Note: We haven't the slightest idea what you're referring to!) Last time out, when we had our 3-game sweep of the Red Sox, we had a day off and my only guess is that the team listened to all the BBTN positive remarks and they were quickly brought back down to earth on the Tuesday game. I know a few posters here were alive when the original "Bad News Bears" movie was out in theatres, or was played on TV, and Walter Mathau's character was reading the schedule of the games up ahead. Next up is the Yankees, what does it mean for the Yankees?? Bad news for the Yankees!!!

We can't help but cheer for the Rays all week. Not just because they're playing the Yankees, of course. This sort of optimism is so rare in Tampa that it would be devastating, we think to see it extinguished so quickly.

The Bad News Rays [Drays Bay]