After making a promising start to the 2015 Major League Baseball campaign it was imperative that the Tampa Bay Rays kept momentum up into the month of May.

Confidence was high throughout the new look Rays roster and they managed to build on their solid start to the season by recording a record of 14 wins to 15 losses within the month. On paper this doesn’t look impressive but when we look at the standings at the end of May in the American League East the Rays sit tied for first with a record of 26-25!

This is a remarkable achievement given the winter upheaval throughout the club, but I am not sure how much of our success are down to the major underachievement’s from our divisional rivals.

Much had been made about the signings made by the Blue Jays and Red Sox but with both teams struggling it has been the Rays and Yankees who have profited thus far. I do expect both rosters to come good on their potential soon but for now all the Rays can do is keep up the high efforts and just play for themselves.

David De Jesus had a solid month for the Rays batting .368 with 4 home runs and Brandon Guyer also impressed with a .364 average whilst also scoring 11 runs. The Tampa Bay offence has something that has really impressed me this season. There were so many gaps to fill and runs to make up given the lengthy list of departures in the off season but the way in which the new line up has instantly come to the fore is remarkable and is one of the main reasons we sit pretty at the top of the AL East.

The Rays pitching game had always been our strong point and another month has gone by with respectable figures within the rotation. I believe Alex Colome got the best results this month as since returning from injury he has gone 3-1 in May. His ERA was slightly high at 4.55 but put that down to lack of competitive game time.

He is beginning to complement Chris Archer superbly and given the fact that the return of Matt Moore is scheduled for the not so distant future you really get a sense that if everything clicks there is no reason as to why the Rays can’t stay competitive.

As the months go by the season will obviously unveil further but as we enter June it’s fair to say that the Tampa Bay Rays are in a very positive position. The way the team is playing steady baseball is something not to be frowned upon this early in the campaign.

We all know the season pans out to a long and arduous 162 games but for the first 50 or so the Rays are performing well above their expected levels and as a fan long may it continue.

The Tampa Bay Rays kicked off their 2015 season with a somewhat successful month that went relatively under the radar. Kevin Cash went about his business like a man relishing the very opportunity to be a major league skipper and in turn managed to steer the Rays to a winning record of 12-10 and now find themselves one place adrift of the summit of the AL East, trailing the Yankees by just one game.

Tampa Bay ended up playing 19 of their 22 games in April versus fellow AL East rivals and to say there was a mixed bag of results would be an understatement! Woeful against the Yankees with a record of 1-5 yet dominant over the Blue Jays at 6-1 is a total reverse in fortunes to what I had predicted pre-season. What I do know is that with a little more consistency against New York we would be topping the standings after a month. It’s early days on in the season I know but the more times you play the teams in your division the more there should be a will to win. The better we play early on the better the chance to cement the Rays in the race for postseason baseball come October.

Another one of my pre-season worries was how the Rays would cope with the loss of power in the batting line-up but those fears have been somewhat lessened with good Aprils for Kevin Kiermaier batting .306, Logan Forsythe batting .282, and the ever reliable Evan Longoria breaking out with a solid .293 average.

The need for solid at bats has long been an issue within the organization and even though Steven Souza Jr and Tim Beckham have lit up the month with their collective 7 home runs it will be up to the likes of these players to steadily raise their averages, get on base more and then in turn aid the overall production of run scoring.

One area we knew that Tampa Bay weren’t going to struggle was in the pitching department and once again the loss of major players around the camp hasn’t distracted Chris Archer. He has single handedly risen to the role of star pitcher for the Rays and his phenomenal ERA of 0.84 through his 5 starts in the month were exactly what was needed. On paper his 3-2 record isn’t one that jumps out as an ace in the line-up but that’s what he truly is. When he’s tossed the ball for a start there is that immediate sense of control and rhythm and this in turn should now lift the team in order to put the runs on the board to make his record even more favorable for the month of May.

There’s even more encouraging news on the pitching front for the Rays as Drew Smyly and Alex Colome have come through their injuries to retake their places in the rotation and now that leaves only Alex Cobb on the DL with tendinitis in his right pitching arm. An early return to the frame for Cobb could really see the Rays make a move in May and gives all us fans something to cheer about.

So when the dust settles on the first month of the major league season none of the headlines will be about the Tampa Bay Rays and that’s just how they will like to keep it. It’s better to be a sleeping giant and saunter quietly to success than to be widely fancied and having to deal with all the added pressures that accompany such a title. If the Rays can manage to sort out their form against the Yankees and put together a decent amount wins in a row then look for my May review to be just as positive as my April one.

We have another new writer joining BaseballGB for 2015. Mark is a Tampa Bay Rays fan and will be blogging about the team during the season ahead.

The baseball off-season is usually a time of great intrigue and excitement for baseball fans across the globe but for fans of the Tampa Bay Rays this off-season has been dominated by the number of high caliber exits from the set up. The loss of the general manager, manager and a number of exciting starting pitchers and guns with the bat has left a seemingly large hole in the franchise. Already the 2015 season has been dubbed by some as a year of transition for the Rays, but ultimately there is a glimmer of hope that there will be a chance to remain competitive in the AL East.

When we look at the Rays’ not-so-distant past we see overachievement to an extent, culminated by the World Series appearance of 2008. For the franchise to compete so efficiently on such a low budget in seasons gone by has been remarkable but I do fear that this 2015 season may be a return to darker times. However in Kevin Cash the Rays have hired a manager who comes with fresh impetus and has been handed a 5 year deal in order to stamp his authority on the new look Rays and get them moving forward in the right direction in the near future. You have to take this 2015 season with that grain of salt as Cash himself has stated that his main focus for this season is to just try and “win”.

One way we may stay competitive and have a chance of winning is through our now sole franchise player Evan Longoria. In times of strife we often look to one player to be the focal point for the franchise and to play out of their skin in order to drive the team on. With the recent losses of David Price, Matt Joyce, Ben Zobrist and Will Myers, Longoria now is the sole icon for the team. However with the emergence of an up and coming and exciting new starting rotation and plenty of prospects in the farm system, if Longoria and co can keep the team competitive in 2015 I’m sure those joyous times wont be too far away.

We all know that the Rays compete in the notorious AL East, which year after year produces the most ultra competitive baseball and is home to another challenge to the Rays for their transition year. It’s tough to see your team weaken on paper whilst those around you seem to consolidate what they have or in the case of the Red Sox this season burst the bank in order to go all out for October. This challenge is set every season and is nothing new to the manager or the fans, it’s just worth noting that to be the best you have to beat the best so anything above fifth spot in the division this season will be an achievement in my opinion for the Rays.

So when it comes to the 2015 season I think the Rays need to go out and play no fear baseball. For a side who thrived for so many years as being classed as underdogs, this season really seems like a nothing to lose one. Nobody is expecting anything from this side in the near future so anything other than last in the division will be a bonus. I have the opportunity to follow my team this year filled with the excitement of seeing how all these new faces will fit in and combine together to hopefully produce some good times for Rays fans in 2015. I write this piece with opening day being only a few days away and I do hope that by the time my season review is written I can have dispelled some of my trepidations for the upcoming season and be talking of a successful and winning season for the Tampa Bay Rays.