The Rays Pen

After last night’s 2-1 win over the Yankees, Tampa Bay has now won six games in a row, stands at 23-16, and are in sole possession of first place on May 14th. It’s been a long, hard road for Rays fans, waiting for the organization to finally figure it out and put a competitive team on the field. They finally have, and it’s paying off, as the Rays continue to show that they’re the most improved team in baseball this year, nothing like the 66-96 team that finished last in the AL East in 2007.

There have been two significant improvements that account for almost the entirety of the Rays improve; the defense and the bullpen. Last year, the Rays were historically terrible defensively, letting balls fall in left and right, but they’re a bit above average so far this year. The defense has made a huge impact on the team’s run prevention, but it’s not the only place Tampa has taken a dramatic step forward. Take a look the bullpen’s performances from the last two years.

2007: 497 IP, 4.52 BB/9, 7.15 K/9, 1.39 HR/9, 6.16 ERA, -8.40 WPA, -106.32 BRAA
2008: 116 IP, 3.72 BB/9, 6.82 K/9, 0.54 HR/9, 3.19 ERA, 2.34 WPA, 23.26 BRAA

Thanks to a huge decrease in home run rate, the Achilles heel of the Rays team last year has been the group that carried this Tampa team to first place in 2008. Adding Troy Percival to the closer role and getting terrific performances from Dan Wheeler and J.P. Howell have given the Rays weapons at the end of games and allowed them to compete in games where the outcome isn’t decided until the 8th or 9th inning.

The young core that get most of the attention in Tampa are an impressive group, but don’t overlook the bullpen – the real reason the Rays are contenders this year.