The Rays 2008 Turnaround

Major League Baseball is back!! After the outrageous season the Rays had in 08, I couldn't be more excited for whats to come. This level of anticipation is a first for many. Before the inaugural "Rays" season, nobody really cared. Nobody talked about them, unless it was the Sports radio guys in the morning reiterating how dismal the season was. After 10 years of being a losing franchise the "Devil Rays" made some key moves that changed everything in this bay area football town. In order to move from a shit hole of a team into a somewhat competitive team, there needed to be a lot of changes.


The first step was to give the team a face lift. They started at the very beginning it the organization, the name. The Devil Rays became the Rays. Then came the new look. The Rays went from looking like a collage team to looking like an actual major league squad. If you look like crap you play like crap. Look good, feel good, play good. Those uniforms needed to be filled with actual ball players and not some horrible impersonations of players. The Rays made some great personnel changes during the off season. In order to create a good clubhouse atmosphere the trading of Duke and Young were necessary. After clearing out the trash, the Rays brought in some great talent.

Since the old Devil Rays were usually the worst team in all of baseball, they received the No.1 draft pick several times. Add that with the outstanding farm team the Rays have and there is great potential to develop young all-star quality plays. Take Evan Longoria and David Price for example. Longoria spent some time in the farm systems and proved that he could become one of the greatest players ever. He is the future of the Rays. Like Jeter is for the Yankees, Longoria will be the core of the Rays organization. There might have been some doubt about that at first, but winning Rookie of year, being named an all-star, and almost taking the American League MVP shut up all the nay-sayers. Longoria was clutch for the Rays turnaround. As for Price, he just pitched a couple times during the playoffs and closed out game 7 against Boston in the ALCS to put the Rays in the World Series for the first time ever. No biggie. He will eventually be the ace of the starting pitching rotation. Lets not forget that they are both under the age of 24 and have a long future with the Rays.

New name, check. New look, check. New players, check. There is just one thing missing (other than fan support), a new philosophy. This is where Joe Madden comes in. The head coach of the Rays is a genius. He has a great approach to his coaching style. He can be compared to the retired football coach Tony Dunge. With hard work and dedication to his craft, Madden changed the mindset of the whole team. He convinced the team that if they believe in them selves, they can compete with anybody. Madden was the driving force that kept the team focused throughout the high and low moments of the 08 season.

After reconstructing the Devil Rays into the Rays, Tampa had the pleasure of hosting The World Series. A feat that nobody would have predicted. Somewhere, someone is laying back on the beach sipping on mojitos laughing his ass of because he was stupid enough to put a bet down in Vegas saying that the Rays would win the AL and end up in the World Series. Up to 2007 the Devil Rays were the laughing stock of MLB, now the Rays are the Hottest team in all of baseball. A lot changes when you go from losing 100 games to winning 100 games in one season.