Carl Crawford

April baseball rarely provides a clear window into the state of the game by October.

Teams that struggle to find their way early on suddenly become high-powered contenders late in the season, and those who lead their respective divisions in the first month rarely sustain that dominance into the sixth.

However, while 20 or so games may not be enough time to accurately predict a team's path through the season, it is plenty of time to notice trends.

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are trending poorly.

With all of the movement in the AL West—big trades, free agent signings, and the los

What I’m Reading

• The Rays might be built for 2010, but what about beyond that? Carlos Pena and Carl Crawford might be skipping town after the season is over.

You just got that buzz again, didn't you, Rays fans?

The thought crossed your mind the instant that Carl Crawford's walkoff two-run single sliced into right field and the Rays got a dramatic opening night come-from-behind victory against the Baltimore Orioles.

Just like old times.

James Shields put together a fine outing, only he put up three beach balls that Oriole hitters deposited into the Tampa Bay stands.

As the outs and opportunities clicked off, things began to look pretty bleak for the home team.

Now that the rosters are set, we’ll take a look at what should be a very prolific Rays offense in 2010.

Manager Joe Maddon likes to shift his lineup around more than most, but this is a good guess as to what the typical batting order will look like. The first six spots are more sure-things, while the bottom three will be moved around more as everyone in those bench spots should see significant time.

1. Jason Bartlett – SS

2. Carl Crawford – LF

Over the last few years, the Tampa Bay Rays have converted from an also-ran into a contender. Last year at this time, they were the defending American League champions. In my 2009 preview article, I posed a question: will they be able to win now that it is expected from them?

The answer was mixed: yes, they won…but just not enough.

For the Tampa Bay Rays, there is no tomorrow. The Rays head into the 2010 season having put together a terrific spring, winning a club record 20 grapefruit league games. Their winning percentage was best in the majors at .750 and they won seven of eight to enter the season with some momentum.

All that Spring success doesn't mean a hill of beans now, though, because in a few days, the bullets fly for real and the team embarks on a 162 game escapade to ruin Boston or New York's hopes of a ticker tape parade.

The Tampa Bay Rays are coming back from a disappointing 2009 campaign after a World Series run in 2008. The Rays have a long list of youngsters that are ready to break free and bust open the door.

The only real acquisition of a position player came in the form of C Kelly Shoppach, who was sent over from Cleveland. He will be platooning at the catcher spot with Dioner Navarro.

No surprise here given the economics of the situation:

So says owner Stuart Sternberg: The team will do everything they can to keep free-agents-to-be Carl Crawford and also Carlos Pena for as long as they can. On Crawford specifically he said: "He's been a face of this organization, he's been a great Ray, he was a great Devil Ray, he's an extraordinary player and teammate, for the community and a face of this team. We're going to do everything we can to make sure he stays here longer.''

There are several interesting player comparisons we can look at in the first few rounds of 2010 fantasy drafts.  This season seems more muddled then normal, with very few clear-cut selections for fantasy owners to make due to injuries or epic struggles in 2009.  One of the interesting debates right now comes in the second, with David Wright (ADP 14.40) currently going a selection before Carl Crawford (ADP 15.17), on average.