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gonets said 06/21, 02:15 PM
There is no doubt that the best story so far is the emergence of the Tampa Bay Rays into a force to be reckoned with in the AL East. Perennial cellar-dwellers ever since their inception in 1997, Tampa is finally starting to get it together. They picked up some nice off-season acquistions in J.P. Howell, Troy Percival, and Cliff Floyd, and got the star-studded rookie Evan Longoria (no relation to Tony Parker's wife).

The Rays are currently 43-30 and second in the AL East, 1.5 games behind the defending champs. That 43-30 record is good enough to have Tampa be the Wild Card leader (yes its early, but since when have they EVER been this good?), and they show no signs of slowing down.

They have gotten excellent pitching (for a change). The ERAs are high, for all except Kazmir, but the hitting has been more spectacular, as they have found ways to give their pitching run support despite the high ERAs. Howell is the best stopper in baseball period out of the pen (5-0, ERA a touch over 3.00).

No one expected the Rays to be THIS good. No one. Not even me. And it is awesome watching their run. It is good to see a different team winning for a change.

gonets said 06/22, 12:12 PM
Here is the thing about the Cubs though. On PAPER, they are the frontrunners for the World Series. However, since 2002, a Wild Card team has not ceased to be in the World Series (except for 2006), so having the best record in baseball means JACK. It is what you do with that record. The Cubs are beatable. Tampa swept the Cubs this past week. And Tampa would be considered a Wild Card team in both the AL and NL.. So records are meaningless.

Yes it would be nice to see the Cubs finally win after 100 years, but Tampa has NEVER won, has NEVER even BEEN in the playoffs. The Cubs also did well last year and were frontrunners to win the NL Central this year. So that is NOT the best story. What did anyone expect of the Rays? Nothing. Yet they are right there in their division and are running away with the AL Wild Card (4 games ahead of Oakland).

Tampa is most certainly the BEST story of the MLB this year, with maybe the exception of the resurgence of Josh Hamilton.

The Cubs are a feel good story, but not the best.

gonets said 06/22, 08:40 PM
10 years or 100 years, doesnt matter, BOTH can be eventually. However, lets look at the past 10 seasons for the Cubs and Rays shall we? The Cubs have 5 winning seasons with 3 playoff appearances. The Rays have ZERO winning seaosns and ZERO playoff appearances. They are NOT overachieving. Overachieving means at some point they wil slack off. The Rays are FOR REAL. And the Rays were NOT predicted to do well, the Cubs WERE. Why would you even THINK the Rays were predicted to do well when prior to the season the AL East was speculated to be about the Red Sox, Yankees, and maybe Blue Jays. Oh how the Rays proved EVERYONE wrong.

The Rays are also showing they can make a bid at the World Series. ANY team in playoff positioning at this point sitll has a BID at the World Series.

As I pointed out earlier, the Cubs have had 5 winning seasons in the past 10 years, so you said it took them 100 years to win? A World Series yes. But to just win? My friend, you are mistaken.

The Cubs were EXPECTED to have a winning record this year. The Rays were NOT. THAT makes the Rays the best story in the MLB so far. NOT the Cubs.