Since coming back from a left oblique strain that landed him on the DL, Longoria has hit .310/.429/.655 in 9 May games. Tampa Bay has gone 7-2 since his return.

2011 has been a story of resiliency for the Tampa Bay Rays thus far. They opened the season losing 6 straight games and dropping their first three series (BAL, LAA, CHW). To compound the defeats, they also lost their star third baseman, Evan Longoria, who went down with an injury in the second game of the year. Longoria was lost for virtually the entire month of April (in fact made his return to the lineup exactly one month after he was placed on the disabled list) going 1-4 in his return to the lineup on May 3^rd with two strikeouts.

During the month-long stint that the Rays were without their main offensive spark plug, things didn’t get any easier.  Through the first two series (Orioles and Angels), the two “key” offensive free agent replacements brought for Carl Crawford – Manny Ramirez and Johnny Damon – had combined for just two hits in 22 at-bats. In the second game of the series against the Angels, Damon went 0-4 with a strikeout while Ramirez popped out pinch-hitting in the 8th inning. That would be Manny’s final swing as a Tampa Bay Ray – as he abruptly left the team the next day for a “personal matter.” Ramirez announced his retirement two days later on April 8^thamid rumors of PED usage that would have shelved him for the season.

Manny Ramirez, facing a 100-game suspension for another failed drug test, elected instead to retire from baseball altogether. He leaves the Rays after playing in 5 games and collecting just one hit in 17 at-bats.

Now, to a Rays fan this might seem like too much going wrong all at once but April 8^th turned out to be quite an interesting day in retrospect. Despite missing their best offensive weapon due to injury and losing their primary free agent offensive acquisition to retirement, the players in the clubhouse must have decided it was time to embrace the idea of change.

Without a doubt, this 2011 Rays roster looks worlds different than the team that won 96 games in 2010 and sported one of the more potent offenses and bullpens in the league. The key pieces of the 2010 puzzle that were lost during the off-season included an emerging, promising young starter (Garza), lock-down closer (Soriano) and set-up men (Balfour, Benoit, Wheeler, Qualls), first baseman (Pena), shortstop (Bartlett), and left fielder (Crawford). That’s not even the entire list, but those are the marquee names…and quite a few in case you lost count! Few teams have the ability to lose so much of their core without also suffering in the standings. Before the season started and indeed quickly after the season began it would have been difficult to carry lofty expectations for this season going forward. Losing Longoria and early seasons bad luck simply increased those odds.

Flashbacks aside, let’s come back to April 8^th and talk about what this day had in store for the Rays. Here’s the irony of it all – even without Longoria, and with Ramirez gone, they managed to win their first game of the 2011 season with style and dramatic flair, scoring 9 runs in the process (which alone surpassed the total number of runs they had scored previously). Trailing 7-4 to the White Sox in the 9^th inning, the Rays put together an improbable comeback – one in which many new faces took part. Newcomer Sam Fuld (journeyman OF who arrived in the Matt Garza trade from the Cubs) batted in a run to begin the rally. Fuld was later singled in by B. J. Upton, after Johnny Damon had reached base on an error by Juan Pierre in left field. The Rays then trailed by one run, 7-6, when Dan Johnson (Pena’s replacement at 1B) came up to bat. Johnson promptly took Chicago’s then-closer Matt Thornton deep with a three-run shot for the Rays their first lead of the game. This proved to be the deciding factor in the Rays first victory of the season. Kyle Farnsworth (another off-season acquisition brought in to replace Rafael Soriano as the team’s closer) successfully navigated the bottom half of the inning without incident to secure the 9-7 Tampa Bay win.

Dan Johnson's 3-Run HR capped a 5-Run 9th inning to complete the 9-7 comeback victory over the White Sox

A few things about that game provide some solid indications as to how we can characterize this revamped Tampa Bay Rays group:

Resiliency. Even though he surrendered 5 earned runs, starter James Shields managed to fight through 6 IP and save the bullpen some work. Rays offense began finding chinks in the White Sox’ armor, scoring twice in the top half of the 6th inning, once more the 7^th, and then finished off the comeback with a monster 9^th inning explosion. When the Chicago defense made two errors in the 9^th inning, the Rays took full advantage and converted both into runs. The team never gave up, despite trailing until the final inning of a  still winless on the season. Doing this in a hostile setting and against odds has quickly become a trademark of the new (and improved?) Tampa Bay Rays.

With all that to say about the team after just looking at the first few games of the season, now let’s take a look and see exactly how 2011 is stacking up against 2010 for Tampa Bay.

Roster/Lineup Changes:
C—(‘10) Jason Jaso—–(‘11) Jason Jaso
1B—(’10) Carlos Pena—–(’11) Casey Kotchman/Dan Johnson
2B—(’10) Sean Rodriguez—–(’11) Ben Zobrist
3B—(’10) Evan Longoria—–(’11) Evan Longoria
SS—(’10) Jason Bartlett—–(’11) Reid Brignac
LF—(’10) Carl Crawford—–(’11) Sam Fuld
CF—(’10) B. J. Upton—–(’11) B. J. Upton
RF—(’10) Ben Zobrist—–(’11) Matt Joyce
DH—(’10) Pat Burrell—–(’11) Johnny Damon

Rotation Changes:
Ace—(’10) James Shields—–(’11) David Price
Two—(’10) Matt Garza—–(’11) James Shields
Three—(’10) David Price—–(’11) Wade Davis*
Four—(’10) Jeff Niemann—–(’11) Jeremy Hellickson*
Five—(’10) Wade Davis—–(’11) Andy Sonnanstine*
[*Due to an injury to Jeff Niemann, Davis and Hellickson both moved up one spot, with Andy Sonnanstine occupying the fifth spot in the rotation until Niemann’s return from the disabled list.]

Bullpen:
Closer—(’10) Rafael Soriano—–(’11) Kyle Farnsworth
Setup—(’10) Joaquin Benoit—–(’11) Joel Peralta
Notable(s)—(’10) G. Balfour/D. Wheeler/R. Choate/C. Qualls—–(’11) A. Russell/J. Cruz/C. Ramos**
[**J. P. Howell is currently on rehab assignment coming back from the disabled list, but he will resume his prominent role within the Rays’ bullpen upon his return to health.]

Through the first 37 games of last season, the Rays’ record stood at 26-11 – which would be four games better than they’ve done so far this year (22-15). Given the adversity this 2011 team has already dealt with, being just a few games off of a 96-win pace is a solid effort. Combine that with the early season struggles of the Red Sox and the erratic play of the Yankees and there certainly is hope.

This year’s squad has done an extremely admirable job answering most, if not all of these questions surrounding it due to the roster attrition they suffered. The bullpen was probably hardest hit losing a premier closer and top notch setup guys. Kyle Farnsworth was brought in with the hope that he could recapture some of the form he’d flashed in recent years, and so far he’s been great at the end of games, converting on 7 of 8 save opportunities and sporting an ERA of 1.35. The bullpen as a unit has converted 78% of its save chances, which is actually slightly better than their conversion rate last year (76%). In addition to the bullpen, a lot of the team’s success has come from its starters. The front three of the rotation – Price, Shields, and Davis – have combined for 13 wins, 17 quality starts, and ERA’s all below 3.13. Altogether, the Tampa Bay Rays sports the league’s 6^th best ERA (3.25), 4^th best WHIP (1.20), and 3^rd best BAA (.233).

SP James Shields currently leads the Rays with a 0.96 WHIP (good for 9th in the majors among qualified starters). He is 4-1 with a 2.08 ERA in 8 starts this year.

While this may not be the most potent lineup penciled in on a daily basis in recent years, the defense and pitching have both been huge contributing factors in the success that has them atop the AL East as we approach the middle of May. And the offense hasn’t been as bad as people probably thought it would be, especially after missing Longoria for a month and losing Manny Ramirez for good. There were quite a few holes to fill, but the surprising play of journeyman-newcomer Sam Fuld, a (monster) bounce-back year from Ben Zobrist, and the emergence of Matt Joyce have done more than enough to provide offensive sparks when needed. Early on the offense struggled to produce, but since then it’s picked up to a pace that ranks 8^th best in the league at 4.88 runs per game. Behind good hitting, great pitching, and an even more superb defense behind it all (that’s committed the second fewest errors so far), this is looking more and more like the kind of team we all got used to watching as they rolled to 96 wins last year.

Fasten your seat belts and keep your belongings close – this might be a bumpy ride – but I think that the genius of Joe Maddon remains more than capable of turning water into wine, let alone this Rays squad into another post-season contender and a force to be reckoned with the American League East.

When asked about the impact of the loss of his versatile senior and leading rebounder D. J. Kennedy, Red Storm head coach Steve Lavin didn’t try to sugarcoat it, saying it’s without a doubt “a devastating blow” to the team.

There is no question that Kennedy was a leader on this senior laden team, and one if its most important and skilled players who played the frontline all season with a determination that has been the calling card of this St. John’s team all season. And when you look at the Gonzaga roster and see its 9 players listed at 6-5 and above, you begin to wonder who the real favorite is in tonight’s 6 v. 11 matchup. In fact, if you ignore the intangibles and look at the major statistical breakdown, it might even be hard to look at the Red Storm as the higher seed.

The picture looks pretty bleak from that standpoint. It’s as if the Johnnies have the steepest of hills to climb against an already battle and tournament tested Zags squad. But let’s not forget that there are other factors at play besides numbers, especially when it comes to March Madness.

The Red Storm has been a team all year that has defined itself not by doing the obvious things outstandingly, such as scoring, rebounding, and shooting. Instead, they relied on grit, teamwork, and determination to win games, and they did a fine job of that on the whole as they knocked off a number of highly ranked opponents. They posted the best turnover differential in an extremely competitive Big East conference that sent a record 11 teams to the Dance this year. They’ve also proven that they don’t need star power to win games, although they’ve gotten some big performances from Dwight Hardy when they needed them most. The senior guard put up nearly 25 points per game in wins against Georgetown, Duke, UConn, and Pittsburgh.

But perhaps the biggest advantage that St. John’s still has in its pocket against perennial NCAA Tournament Cinderella Gonzaga is its head coach, Steve Lavin. His resume includes a 12-4 record in games that make it to overtime, which proves that he can keep his team on track when the nerves start to get tested – something that the loss of Kennedy is sure to bring to the table. He also led his UCLA Bruins squad to six consecutive NCAA Tournaments from 1997-2003, including reaching the Sweet 16 five of those seasons. That last part is something only he and Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski have accomplished. He also ranks second to only Dean Smith in winning percentage in the opening two rounds of the tournament, at 90.9 (10-1) all-time.

In summary, while it may seem on the surface that St. John’s is somehow the underdog in this matchup despite having the higher seed, it still has some keys that lie in its favor which give the team a fantastic shot at advancing past the opening round for the first time since 2000. Don’t count them out just yet.

If there is a harder place for visiting teams to win in the country this year, the Connecticut men’s basketball team wants to know where. So does Duke.

The win this past Thursday improves the Johnnies’ record to 12-3 at home and brought them even with AP #9 ranked Connecticut at 6-5 in Big East play. St. John’s dispatched its second Top 10 team at Madison Square Garden in under two weeks in impressive fashion once again as it defeated fellow Big East rival Connecticut by a score of 89-72. Playing a team that had beaten it 9 straight times, the Red Storm have now sent UConn home losers in their past two meetings. That’s really the story of how this season turned out for first year coach Steve Lavin, who is trying to take his team to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2002.

This season has become one about senior leadership and finding a new identity. After Coach Jarvis left the job in 2003, the program has been through the occasional up but mostly seasons filled with downs, adversity, and disappointment. They had their NIT championship vacated for infractions, and ever since it has been a steep uphill battle, one that more than a couple coaches succumbed to. But Steve Lavin has this mature team on the right path, finally, and maybe the future (or at least the immediate one) looks brighter than some expected it would. The seniors on this team are doing everything they can to right a ship that has consistently been filling up with water for the past eight years, and they showed their spirit and determination again this Thursday when they led St. John’s to a huge conference victory over Connecticut in front of an electric home crowd of 13,652.

Just 11 days after he scored 26 in a 15-point trouncing of #3 Duke, senior Dwight Hardy was back in front, leading the Red Storm to victory again as he poured in a career-high 33 points, including 5-8 from 3-point range and going a perfect 8-8 at the charity stripe. He was joined in the scoring by fellow senior standout D.J. Kennedy, who contributed a double-double with 20 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists. The big nights from Kennedy and Hardy made it alright for only one other St. John’s player to score in double figures (Paris Horne, who finished with 12).

However, while St. John’s was putting on a spectacular display of shooting (48.4% from the field, 9-17 from 3, 20-22 from the free throw line), perhaps the more impressive feat was the defensive tenacity they showed, especially in harassing the tandem in Connecticut’s backcourt that averages almost 35 points a game.

Connecticut’s starting backcourt of Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lamb, the team’s leading and third leading scorers respectively, were hounded into shooting a paltry 9-32 from the field and 4-8 from the line, combining for just 28 points. This was nothing new recently for the struggling Walker, who despite averaging 23.2 PPG on the season has not eclipsed the 20-point mark since a 24 point game against Villanova on the 17th of January. He has barely shot over 30% since that game (32-105, 30.5%), while his team has dropped 3 of its last 6, including all three losses in-conference.

Connecticut had a chance to regain some control late in the first half as Roscoe Smith, who finished with a team-high 16, scored 5 during a 10-point run by the Huskies where they took their second and final lead of the game before St. John’s rattled off two late 3-pointers to close the half. The first came from Hardy and the other was made by Malik Boothe (who finished with 9 points) as time expired. The buzzer-beater was argued over by UConn coach Jim Calhoun, who was given a technical that proved to be a critical momentum shifter in the game for St. John’s. Including the two late 3′s from the first half, St. John’s got to begin the 2nd half with two technical free throws, both of which were made by Dwight Hardy, and then they were given possession. D.J. Kennedy made a layup to push the lead to 8. The next three Connecticut possessions were fruitless and resulted in the Red Storm once again stretching their lead to double figures, going up 43-31 on a D.J. Kennedy dunk before UConn finally broke the scoreless streak with an Alex Oriakhi three-point play – 3 of his 12 for the game. UConn could never recover, however, and a few minutes later Dwight Hardy led a big run by scoring 12 straight points as St. John’s extended its lead to 18 points at 60-42 with 12:55 left in the game.

Connecticut scoring was rounded out by Shabazz Napier (8), Niels Giffey (5), and Jamal Coombs-McDaniel (3), while St. John’s got its remaining contributions on the offensive end from Sean Evans (7), Justin Brownlee (5), Dwayne Polee Jr. (2), and Justin Burrell (1).

St. John’s turned the ball over 10 times to 8 from UConn, but out-rebounded the Huskies by a count of 41-31. Assists were also 21-16 in favor of the home team. St. John’s converted on 20-22 from the free-throw line, 9-17 from beyond the arc, and 30-62 from the field, while Connecticut struggled in shooting 13-22 from the line, 11-27 from 3, and 24-65 from the field.

St. John’s continues Big East action at Cincinnati (ESPN3) this Sunday at noon, then faces Marquette (ESPNU) away next Tuesday at 9PM ET before returning home to play #4 Pittsburgh (ESPN/ESPN3) at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, February 19th at 12PM ET.

See game highlights at ESPN.