I think it’s necessary in this instance to put “dream” in perspective. If money was no object or this team needed a lot of pieces to be a serious contender, the Rays offseason would be mediocre at best. That being said, this is a team that shaved payroll by nearly a third just last offseason. Look back to last season. The team was dead in the water according to the sports writing world. Everyone liked the young talent, but agreed it would take at least a few years to bounce back. Making matters worse, attendance and ratings both went down which drew more attention in the media than the fact that everyone was wrong about us. I don’t need to remind anyone of the historic run. I will tell the story of that night, the one that ended with a Longoria bomb, for as long as I live. It was the most magic night of baseball, if not all of sports, that I have experienced in my life. Now fast forward to today.

No one expected this team to increase payroll, in any way shape or fashion. It was said by the talking heads of the baseball world that we would regress due to losses at first base and DH. If somehow we just had a couple bats this young team may be the best in baseball, but we just don’t have the money to become serious contenders. Speculation began that our beloved GM may be heading west, and this franchise was on thin ice. The big names in free agency slowly began falling into place. I, like most fans probably, figured the Rays would wait until everyone was gone. Then we would try to beg Damon to take a hometown discount, and be left with whoever we could afford at first. We would again be a team kept in every game by pitching talent alone, but with no one to protect Longoria in the lineup or threaten with the deep ball. But something happened, that has the fans here excited again. It became obvious that Andrew wasn’t going anywhere. Then came the Luke Scott signing. Is Luke Scott elite? No, but he does have the potential to be the best DH the Rays have ever had. Carlos Pena signs, speaking of unfinished business in the bay area. Is Carlos the equal of Prince Fielder or Pujols? No, but Carlos brings with him a bat. Yes he strikes out a lot, but he can hit the long ball. More than that he brings experience, leadership, and the kind of attitude that brings a clubhouse closer together. Before you know it, the Rays are spenders. We aren’t trading pitching for prospects, we aren’t rolling over and accepting our inevitable demise. Again we were here to spit in the face of the conventional baseball model, and show everyone that a well managed small market team can achieve great things. Stu has taken a risk here, just as he did in 2010. This may not be a dream for the Red Sox and Yankees. It’s not a dream for the Rangers, Angels, or those Marlins that suddenly have deep pockets. This is OUR dream. This roller coaster is on the uptick again, and if we surprised everyone in 2011 than I can’t wait to see what we can do in 2012. They are doing their best to hold up their end of the deal, now it’s up to everyone in the Bay area to show them we care! This is our dream, and I for one am ready to ride it to wherever it may take us! LET’S GO RAYS!