Tuesday morning briefing

1) The Tampa Bay Rays just keep on ticking, ticking to the tune of a 22-16 record and a half game behind the Boston Red Sox in the American League East. The Rays pounded the Yankees, 7-1, on Monday evening behind a strong performance from Matt Garza. The win put them six wins over .500 for the first time in club history, and also increased their home winning streak to ten games, another club record.

Garza tossed 7 scoreless innings, surrendering five hits and striking out three batters, lowering his season ERA to 3.86. Garza appears to trending upward as his last three starts have been quality starts, shaking early season inconsistencies. This guy is a special young talent, simply another piece to go along with the horde of great arms that this ballclub is stockpiling.

Many observers still share a hint of skepticism about these Rays, for fear of fully believing, only to be let down after the All-Star break when the team crumbles. That isn't going to happen. These guys are for real, and that is because they have a stable of exciting, young players who are playing like a cohesive unit. I'm not saying that these Rays are playoff-bound, nothing is being guaranteed here.

Would it surprise me if they win the AL East? Yeah, a little bit. Would it surprise me if they win the AL Wildcard? Not at all. It all starts with the pitching. The aforementioned Garza is a great number three guy, and if he continues his trend of strong starts, this rotaton may be headed to greater heights than the one up North-- you know, the one with Josh Beckett and all. James Shields has really emerged as an above-average Major League pitcher-- I don't believe he is a star, or has reached elite status, yet-- and has done a great job of picking up the slack while the Rays were awaiting the return of Scott Kazmir.

Kazmir is back and pitching at the top of the rotation, and he will be great once he gets a few starts under his belt and his arm gets into midseason form. If anything falters, a boost of hope is only a call away in Double-A, as Wade Davis and Jake McGee, two of baseball's top pitching prospects, await. Not to mention, 2007 number one overall selection, David Price, is steam-rolling towards Tampa as well.

The biggest difference, though, is the confidence and attitude that accompanies this ballclub. Derek Jeter admitted on Monday night that he recognized the newfound confidence with this energetic bunch. I wrote in this space in spring training, just after that Yankees-Rays brawl where Johnny Gomes came from nowhere to take out Shelley Duncan, that there was a distinct attitude difference beginning with that spring ballgame.

Most people would believe that it was simply tempers flaring in a game where there isn't much at stake. Well, sure, there may not be much at stake for a powerhouse like the Yankees, a club whose reputation is established and winning is their DNA. But everything was at stake for the Rays, and I absolutely loved the way that they responded. I thought it was critical for them to get in that brawl and let everyone know, hey, we are here to win now, not in five years, and we aren't going to bow down to the teams that are "supposed" to win this division. That fight show me a lot, and I believe that was the foundation for this confidence. The Rays knew they could compete with anybody, but more importantly now, they believe it. That is what you are seeing on the field.


2) Thanks for the starts kid, now run along back to Salt Lake and get some more seasoning on that right arm of yours. That is essentially what the Angels told highly-touted prospect Nick Adenhart Monday evening, after he earned his first big league win in a 10-7 victory over the Chicago White Sox. Vlad Guerrero put the offense on his back as he went 2-for-5 with a homerun, 4 RBIs and 2 runs scored.

Adenhart certainly face his adversity in his first stint in the big leagues, mainly the adversity that comes with that elusive batch of air we like to refer to as the "strike zone". Walks were the only thing that kept Adenhart from breaking spring training with the big club, and those concerns were justified in his three starts with the Angels. But, overall, the kid did a good job. He made two starts at home, one in which he would like to forget, and battled through some adversity on the road in Kansas City.

Was he stellar? No, not close to it. But, for the most part, he gave the Angels a chance to win and, more importantly, it was a great learning experience. Adenhart got the first-time jitters out of the way. He has been to the show, made it to a major league ballpark. Now he can go back down to the minors and not worry about his next promotion-- that will come with the next injury. He has a steady bank of knowledge to draw from, things he can work on in preparation for his next appearance in the big leagues. His efforts in Triple-A are not meaningless, as he knows where he needs to improve so that he will be better next time the Angels really need him to help them out.

But the best news coming from Angel Stadium on Monday evening had nothing to do with Adenhart's pitching or Vlad's bat. John Lackey, it was made official, will be coming off of the DL to make his season debut on Wednesday night. This is a long awaited debut, for Lackey, and for the Angels, who only a month and a half ago, looked a lot less than human as they begun the 2008 season.

Remember, many people thought this division was all but over even before the first pitch had been thrown. The rotation was set up to be baseball's best, and the offense would score runs like it normally would. Then, all of a sudden, Lackey went down with a troublesome triceps and Kelvim Escobar found a tear in his right shoulder, and made it known that his season may be in jeopardy.

Woah, now, this wasn't part of the deal. Funny the way things turn out, Ervin Santana looks like Pedro Martinez ten years ago, and Joe Saunders is looking like-- well, the Joe Saunders we have seen in small doses. Fast forward to May 13, a day before Lackey takes the mound, and the Angels have nestled in a half game behind the Oakland A's for in the AL West, comfortable enough, knowing that their ace is coming back. All things considered, the Angels should really start to make strides in this division and separate themselves from the pack. With Jon Garland's mechanical adjustments-- some hard work has allowed him to regain some of his 2005 form-- Jered Weaver appears to be the fifth-best starter in this Angels rotation. If Weaver is the fifth-best guy in the rotation, that ballclub is going to win a bunch of games.