Yankeeist.com posted a preview article today entitled “Know Your Enemy – The Tampa Bay Rays. 

It’s the typical preview piece, but fails to take into consideration any of the moves the Rays made in the off-season.  I guess that shouldn’t be surprising coming from a Yankees blog, considering the Rays rarely do anything as dramatic as the Yankees or Red Sox.

Specifically, the starting catcher is listed as Dioner Navarro.  Could be, but it will probably look more like a platoon with off-season acqusition Kelly Shoppach.  The starting right fielder is listed as the non-tendered Gabe Gross.  Andy Sonnanstine is shown as the fifth starter, as if Wade Davis didn’t pitch his way into the rotation.  Oh, and no mention of closer Rafael Soriano.

When someone does a preview like this, it does have a tendency to make me a little more optimistic about the upcoming season.  It’s easy to identify the changes the Rays have made, when you look at what the team would look like without them.