Rays are in first now. Will the red sox take first place again?

Question

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Answer 1

There is a chance that when big Papi comes back in the starting lineup,the Red Sox will come close and maybe taking back the lead until that the Red Sox might stay at least 3 games back.

Answer 2

Given the injuries to the sox I would think that they will definitely rebound. Plus everybody is still waiting for the shoe to drop in tampa. Maybe they will sell out a game before the end of the season.

Answer 3

When Big Pappi comes back, sometime in August, things will return to normal and the Red Sox will take over 1st place.

Answer 4

when the red sox are at full strength at the end of the season they will win the division, probably by 6-8 games over the Rays.

that is great though for a team that historically finishes

sub-.500.  

i think it will finish red sox 95 wins, and the rays with 88 and the yanks around 86.

Answer 5

Yeah they will. Once they get healthy they will be back. Its a long, long season

Answer 6

personally i think that it is going to go back and forth all the way into september.  i really don't think i can predict who will finish in first.  but either way i see the first place team having around 98 wins and the second place team having around 96.  either way it will be the rays and the red sox as the division winner and wild card winner.  hopefully the rays will pull out on top though

Answer 7

I feel pity for any of you NL East fans who do not support the Rays. Many of you may have heard my soapbox composition on this subject before, but it is once again relevant: The Rays have enough young talent signed to long term contracts in Tampa and on the farm that their relative market disadvantage to the behemoths of the East has finally been neutralized.

The top third of the order is as electric as any in baseball. Iwamura, Crawford, and Upton are all freakishly athletic sparkplugs that can set the table and then some. Say what you will about Carlos Pena, but when he's hot he is almost impossible to pitch to. But it's not the power potential of Pena, but of two youngters, Evan Longoria and Reid Brignac (the latter of whom is in the minors) that makes the future of this franchise so bright. Add into the mix Tim Beckham, baseball's most recent #1 overall pick, and you have a lineup that can keep pace even with the dangerous NL East offenses we have enjoyed watching for years.

Even if no one on the team can hit a ball off of a T, however, I still believe the Rays will dominate the East for years to come. The big three in Tampa now are Kazmir, Shields, and Garza, all of whom are 26 years of age or younger, signed to long term contract, having great seasons, and will only get better. Sounds good right?

Wait till you hear the rest.

Three of the Rays minor league SP prospects were ranked by minorleaguebaseball.com in the top 20 minor league prospects of 2008 (including former 1st overall pick David Price). Not included in this trio is another early first round pick, Jeff Niemann, who has drawn numerous comparisons to Randy Johson.

I know what you're thinking. The Rays are not going to have a seven man rotation. Exactly. This means some of the hottest pitching prospects in baseball are going to be dealt to further improve an already loaded lineup.

But of course we can't neglect the subtleties of a baseball team. Ask any of the guys at the Baseball Tonight set which major league team has the best clubhouse chemistry and the Rays will be the unanimous response. Additionally, Tim Kurkjain explained the other day that the Rays had been transformed from one of the worst defensive teams in baseball to one of the best.

I will leave you with one final contention: That Tampa has a capable closer (Percival) and is grooming his successor to be dominant. J.P. Howell has a record of 6-0 coming out of the bullpen this year with a low ERA and WHIP and an almost even K/9 ratio. And he is younger than Jonathan Papelbon, making him the final piece to an incontrovertibly championship caliber franchise.

To answer your question, the Rays will not give up first place. Not for the rest of the year, or at any other time in the foreseeable future!

Answer 8

Not this season.  Too many injuries.  And the Rays are this year's version of the team that hangs on until July, but by mid-August they've fallen apart and we wonder how they held on as long as they did.  It's another Yankee World Series: They have the talent, the experience, and... this time, the hunger.