Rays of sunshine finally found in Tampa Bay

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Baseball's best story line is being written in a decidedly nontraditional market.It warms the heart to see how the plucky Tampa Bay Rays, who dropped "Devil" from their moniker this winter, are doing it -- with an intriguing roster mix, a nucleus of homegrown talent and a bargain basement payroll. In short, with a devil-may-care attitude.That these 10-year-old upstarts are a pain to the establishment, the insufferable Evil Empire twins that are the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, makes the Rays all the more lovable. Because while Tampa Bay has been a miserable laughingstock that hasn't won more than 70 games, the Rays had the American League's second-best record and trailed the defending champion Red Sox by two games following Wednesday's 9-1 loss to the A's."We understand our tools now," said Rays reliever J.P. Howell. "You fail every way possible, just winning is a good medicine. Even when we were losing, we saw this coming."What's that they say about good things coming to those who wait? The Tampa-St. Petersburg market long had clamored for major-league baseball, striking out on seven previous attempts.First, it whiffed on convincing the Minnesota Twins to relocate in 1983. Two years later, the Oakland A's passed, followed by the Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, the 1993 expansion, the Seattle Mariners and finally, the San Francisco Giants.In their early years, the Rays tried to win with such high-priced "name" players on the downside of their careers as Wade Boggs, Fred McGriff, Jose Canseco and Greg Vaughn. Their 2000 payroll of $64.4 million was baseball's 10th highest.An ensuing youth movement fared no better.Adding insult: the three other teams to have joined MLB since 1993 -- Florida, Colorado and Arizona -- all have played in the World Series, with the Marlins winning two and the Diamondbacks one.The Rays, meanwhile, have had an average record of 65-97 while finishing an average of 34 games back and have finished last in the A.L. East every season but one.Now? "It feels like a different team," Rays ace Scott Kazmir said.Tampa Bay has split 16 games with the Yankees and Red Sox while outscoring the purported Bronx Bombers 45-34."It's a good feeling, starting when you wake up and roll into the ballpark, knowing we have more than a chance," said Rays designated hitter Jonny Gomes. "Everybody has a chance, but every day we have a chance of doing something special."No one expects the Rays to be in contention come September, but if they continue to sting the Red Sox and Yankees, Tampa Bay could well have a say in who plays in the postseason.And with such homegrown youngsters as Gomes, outfielders Carl Crawford and B.J. Upton, third baseman Evan Longoria and starter James Shields and World Series-winning veterans such as designated hitter Cliff Floyd (Marlins, 1997), closer Troy Percival (Angels, 2002) and outfielder Eric Hinske (Red Sox, 2007), the Rays and their $43.8 million payroll, next-to-last in the bigs, are more than interesting. They are an uplifting and charismatic story for which to root."The only way we're going to stay together," Crawford told his teammates earlier this season, "is if we win."Then there's this -- the Rays have the No. 1 pick in the upcoming June draft and plan a move from the monstrosity of a dome that is Tropicana Field into an intimate waterfront park in 2012."We're still not a finished product," Rays manager Joe Maddon said, "but I like the direction we're going."So should fans everywhere, except maybe those in Boston and New York.(Contact Paul Gutierrez at pgutierrez@sacbee.com.)(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)