Some Sage Advice for the Tampa Rays and Their Fans from a Grizzled Veteran of Pain and Suffering

Dear Joe Maddon and the Tampa Bay Rays,

You're a great story. I mean, really great. I've never felt that Florida should have professional baseball - that's what spring training is for - and the Florida teams and fanbases have never done much to convince me otherwise. But seeing a Florida team that's built a good, young, team, and is succeeding and could keep it up for years, instead of holding a fire-sale and losing 104 games the year after winning it all (yes, I'm still bitter), well, that's just beautiful. It's just good to see that at least one of the two Florida teams is going about things the right way, and I wish you all the success this year. A lot of people, myself included, are genuinely pulling for you.

But please, be careful, and don't get cocky. Boston has been here before.

Best wishes,

Mr. Trend