Texas Rangers v. Tampa Bay Rays: An ALDS Preview

Be careful what you ask for.

For the most part, seems like baseball fans in our parts feared the New York Yankees. Household names like Jeter and A-Rod and Pettite and Rivera and the 27 World Series have a way of intimidating opponents. Oh yeah, and the 1-9 playoff history against the Bronx Bombers didn't help.

Fine. Point taken. But, like I've said before, the Tampa Bay Rays are a different team than New York and, to me, a better team.

They'll pitch a Cy Young-ish lefty (David Price) in the opener, and they have a closer (Rafael Soriano) with 45 saves. Their home joint -- Tropicana Field -- is no Yankee Stadium, but Tampa is a 96-win team that did go 49-32 at home (they won a league-high 47 road games) despite half-full crowds more nights than not.

The problem the Rays present is their unique offense. They have just one regular (Carl Crawford at .307) hitting over .300; as a team they batted only .247 (27th in baseball); and they sport no one with 30 homers.

Read Richie's full Sportatorium blog at DallasObserver.com.