For now, the Rays stand alone.  And no, I’m not talking about that stingray on steroids that killed a poor women when it leapt out of the water and landed on her boat.

What I’m talking about aren’t stingrays, devil rays, or ultraviolet rays.  Just plain Rays.  Check that – Champion Rays.

Because while everyone was focusing on Japan and patting themselves on the back for thinking of the headline “Dice-K’s outing is dicey,” life in the Grapefruit League went on.  So even though there are plenty of Asian-related things to talk about, let’s step out of Red Sox hysteria for a minute.  (I just have to say that my favorite part about the opening series was not Manny’s slugging or the comeback victory – but the news clip of Jerry Remy walking around Tokyo and forcing frightened girls to join Red Sox Nation.)

In case you missed it, the Rays finished first in the Grapefruit League and were the most dominant team of the spring.  Do I expect this to translate into the same kind of regular-season success?  Of course not.  By the middle of April, games are getting snowed out, Florida tans are fading away, and nobody remembers who the best team of March was.  But the Red Sox get to celebrate a little bit when they win their silly spring tournament with the Minnesota Twins, so let Tampa Bay enjoy their moment at the top.

But what if that moment lasts longer than people think?  When I first started my spring previews project, I figured that predicting how the teams would finish in each division would be easier than cracking a joke about Rays third baseman Evan Longoria’s name.  Yet every couple of days, I find myself looking back at my AL East preview.

And you know what I’ve figured out?  I really have no idea what the division will look like at the end of the year.

Baltimore finishing in the basement is a given, no matter what Kevin Millar will try to tell you.  But I can honestly say that the other four spots are up for grabs.

I picked the Rays to finish third, which at that time I thought would be very respectable and maybe even a stretch for such a young team.  Yet the more I think about, the closer I come to a very scary thought – that Tampa Bay might have the best pitching staff in the AL East.

The most surprising thing I learned by looking at every team’s current status is that no ballclub has a complete rotation with five proven guys who can be counted on.  A few come close, but there’s always one or two rotation spots that are either up for grabs or being trusted to a youngster.

This revelation made me rethink a couple things, one of which was my harshness towards the Red Sox pitching approach.  I couldn’t believe that after 2007, when Jonathan Paplebon decided to scamper back to the bullpen and leave Julian Tavarez as the fifth starter, that Boston would come into this year without putting together a group of five or even six solid starters – especially after the news about Schilling’s shoulder came out.  With Schilling on the DL and Josh Beckett hurting, I saw the Red Sox stuck with Dice-K, Jon Lester, Tim Wakefield, and two giant question marks.  I didn’t like what I saw at all.

That is, until I looked at the rest of the league – because when you do, you realize the sad truth that there just isn’t as much good starting pitching in major league baseball as you would think.  This should make the trading deadline rather amusing to observe, but it could also play a big role in the beginning of the season.

Perhaps the Red Sox won’t be as hindered by their meek rotation as I originally thought, but think about what this could mean for the Rays.  If Scott Kazmir is able to join the team by the second or third week of April, then I don’t see any reason why Tampa Bay can’t continue with their spring-winning ways.  Kazmir is unhittable at times, James Shields should emerge as a superstar this year, and it sounds like the potential of young Matt Garza is sky-high.

But I don’t even care about those things – because I think the place where the Rays will be able to steal a bunch of wins is within those final two rotation spots, where other teams are desperately looking for help and Tampa Bay has almost too many arms to count.  Edwin Jackson suffered through a painful 15-loss season in 2007, but his talent shined through at times.  And after a highly impressive spring, he’s earned the fourth spot in the rotation and will turn a lot of heads.  Jason Hammel will begin the season as the fifth starter, but the Rays will have the luxury of calling up a guy like Andy Sonnanstine (1.35 WHIIP, 3.73 K/BB) if anyone in the rotation starts to struggle.

Yeah yeah, go ahead and say what they always say about the Rays.  They’re young, they’re athletic, and they’ve got potential.  But guess what – they’re also deep.  And they can pitch.

So whether you are sunbathing on a boat or just rooting for another AL East team – this impartial fan is telling you to watch out for the Rays.