Like Lieutenant Charles Wilkes setting sail for the uncharted bottom of the world in 1838, I ventured here to see whether the Rays are for real. As it was for Antarctica, you could not be certain of what to make of this strange team, what with the cupcake schedule, the anomaly of guys who never hit home runs suddenly cranking them out at a record pace and some key injuries.
Wilkes and his expedition were gone for four years. Me? I needed only a weekend, and thank goodness without need for so much as an overcoat. Wilkes and I arrived at the same conclusion about our subjects: rock solid. Just as Wilkes determined that Antarctica was a land continent, I can tell you the Rays are for real. They are going to the playoffs.
And just as Wilkes returned with never-before-seen cartography, I return from St. Petersburg, Fla., with discovery of the Rays’ secret sauce: how the 21st-ranked offense in MLB last year suddenly is destroying teams this year. The key ingredient is a new, post-launch-angle buzzword in baseball: “strike probability.”
