Like how Kleenex has branded tissues, the Tampa Bay Rays have branded surprise success stories in baseball. The teams I'm thinking about mainly are the Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays, Seattle Mariners, Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Dodgers, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, and San Francisco Giants.
(above, Marlon Byrd celebretes his April 9 home run with Andruw Jones and Nelson Cruz)
-TEX: The offensive beast learned how to pitch. Thanks to Kevin Millwood (2.93 ERA), Frank Francisco (9-for-9 in saves without yet allowing an earned run), and Matt Harrison (4-2 record), these Rangers have won seven in a row and have a big lead in the AL West. I'd like to see them make the playoffs for the first time in a long time this year.
-TOR: Picked by most to be 4th or 5th in the tough AL East, the team sits up at first. Huge surprise Aaron Hill leads the offense, and Adam Lind drives him in. Roy Halladay is the best pitcher in baseball now, and Brian Tallet has got talent. People have counted out this team for the entire decade due to the Red Sox, Yankees, and now the Rays, so I'm glad to see them fight back.
-SEA: The abbrevation, 'SEA' means 'See Ya!' as in a homer for Russell Branyan. Although a recent slump has put them back at 18-20, the Mariners lost 100 games last year and saw no reason to get better this year. Felix Hernandez (53 K's in 51 innings), and Erik Bedard (2.53 ERA) lead the surprising pitching staff in suddenly sunny Seattle.
-CIN: Much like the Rangers, they couldn't pitch. For a while, they couldn't hit. Edinson Volquez and Jonny Cueto, hardthrowing young arms, are leading the pitching staff. I like this team although they will fall short of the playoffs.
-LAD: Although they're not really a surprise, it is surprising that they are the NL's best team even without Manny Ramirez. I like how Andre Ethier is having a breakout season. In 2006 and 2007, there was much debate about whether to play the young guys coming up like Ethier, Matt Kemp, Chad Billingsley. There's no debate now.
-DET: I actually love the Tigers and the best part of the deal is that Justin Verlander is back (finally). After some mediocre starts, he's dominating while getting run support from Miguel Cabrera, Curtis Granderson, and Brandon Inge. Pretty sweet! They should win the division if they can stay healthy.
-KC: This is the best story in the big leagues. Zach Greinke is dominating. Alberto Callaspo is hitting. Joakim Soria is shutting it down. They've got the winning formula in Missouri, so expect them to make a run at the wild card.
-SF: Bengie Molina is hitting the ball hard and now Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum, and Barry Zito can pitch without worrying about run support. It could be tough to keep it going due to the spotty offensive streaks, but keep an eye on them.
Although some of these won't really come too close to making the playoffs, keep an eye on them this year and in future years for what they bring in their division. I could see the Dodgers, Tigers, and Rangers making the playoffs this season. Maybe the Reds, but they would need some help from the rest of the NL teams to take the Wild Card, because I don't think there is a chance that they win the whole NL Central.
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