Yes, maybe they will be better. The Rays' starting rotation, led by steady James Shields, could be superior to last year's -- should be, actually -- assuming Matt Garza makes another leap (he will) and David Price fulfills some of his promise (he will, too). Pat Burrell gives them a much-needed righthanded-hitting power/OBP guy in the middle of the order. Evan Longoria is a franchise pillar in his first full year. B.J. Upton should only get better. Underrated Matt Joyce will bring more pop from the outfield. And on it goes.

If they have a major weakness entering the season, it's their bullpen. I refuse to believe Grant Balfour is going to come close to repeating last season's ridiculous 1.54 ERA and 0.891 WHIP, and the Isringhausen/Percival closer experiment is going to end with one midseason retirement, maybe two. But J.P. Howell is legit, the Rays have several promising young arms who rate a notch or two below Price, and it's not a stretch to imagine a kid like Jeff Niemann or Wade Davis making a meaningful contribution before the summer is through.

Maybe Mazz was onto something yesterday, picking the Rays to win the division. I'm not ready to agree . . . yet. My head is still with the Sox, and my heart knows to fear the Yankees. I'm sticking with Tampa in third.

So: Think they'll make me regret it?