NEW YORK — The Red Sox and Yankees will continue to get the ink and the primetime TV slots and the packed houses. However, as the two old rivals settled into Yankee Stadium for their first meeting in the Bronx this year on Friday night, there was plenty of talk surrounding that third American League East powerhouse.
The Tampa Bay Rays, left for dead by some after undergoing a roster overhaul this offseason and then opening 2011 with a 1-8 record, took over sole possession of first place for the first time this year on Thursday night. They have gone 21-7 during their hot streak, which began with a 16-5 pasting of the Red Sox in Fenway Park on April 11.
While the turnaround has been remarkable, it has not shocked any of those trying to chase down the Rays, including the two teams meeting in Yankee Stadium.
"I'm not really surprised," said Yankees manager Joe Girardi. "Their starting pitching has been excellent, they're fundamentally sound … I'm not surprised and I don't think any of us should be surprised. Since 2008, it's been like this."
Lest we forget, Tampa Bay has won two of the last three division crowns, with New York picking up the other. One guy who was part of both of the Rays' AL East titles — and just about every other big moment in their history — is Carl Crawford, who knows what it is like to be thriving in the shadow of the game's biggest rivalry.
"With the Rays we just went about our business when I was there," said Crawford, who will be playing his first game in Yankee Stadium as a member of the Red Sox. "We understood that the Red Sox and Yankees got all the attention, so we just kind of used it to our advantage to go under the radar."
Crawford echoed Girardi in stressing the quality of Tampa Bay's starting pitching, which entered Friday ranked second in the AL in ERA (3.25). He also wondered why anyone would bury a team that's become accustomed to success in the division.
"I don't know who's sleeping on them," he said.
Very few are anymore, as evidenced by the fact that the Rays were the topic of discussion in the hours before the Red Sox and Yankees met in New York.
