Those Tampa Bay Rays sure are persistent. Despite a low payroll, a young roster and tough competition in the American League East, the Rays are in strong contention for the playoffs at 71-46, four games ahead in the division race at press time. Tampa Bay looks like a steal at 7-1 odds to win the World Series, compared to 6-1 for the Boston Red Sox.

Hold the phone. The Rays have a new obstacle to overcome: Injuries to Evan Longoria (.885 OPS) and Carl Crawford (+17 FRAR) have left the team without two of its best players. Longoria should be back in September. Crawford, on the other hand, is looking at the possibility of season-ending surgery.

If Tampa Bay is going to go all the way, Gabe Gross will have to start cashing in some of that potential. Sure enough, Gross has risen to the occasion with a 1.050 OPS in the month of August. What’s next, Rocco Baldelli?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 13th, 2008 at 3:00 pm and is filed under Baseball Betting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.