The club hopes Upton, who homered seven times in 16 postseason games, will be back as soon as April 13, the Rays' home opener. But the injury serves notice that this is, indeed, a new season with new obstacles to overcome.
There are also the familiar and formidable hurdles: specifically, the Boston Red Sox, the club the Rays beat in seven games in the AL Championship Series, and the rebuilt New York Yankees.
Surpassing those two in 2008, however, provided invaluable experience to a group that was accustomed to looking up at the AL East behemoths.
"You don't wonder if you can take down the Red Sox or Yankees to win this division. We know we took them down," outfielder Gabe Gross said. "We know what it took last year, so we've got a little better idea what it's going to take this year. That will give us a good amount of confidence."
The Rays won't be sneaking up on anyone this year. But with their abundance of talent, they don't believe they'll have to.
Baltimore Sun reporters Peter Schmuck and Jeff Zrebiec contributed to this article.
TAMPA BAY RAYS
Manager: Joe Maddon
2008 record: 97-65
Estimated payroll: $61 million
Dan Connolly's predicted finish in the AL East: Third place
Projected 2009 lineup
1. B.J. Upton*, CF
2. Carl Crawford, LF
3. Evan Longoria, 3B
4. Carlos Pena, 1B
5. Pat Burrell, DH
6. Gabe Gross/Gabe Kapler, RF
7. Dioner Navarro, C
8. Akinori Iwamura, 2B
9. Jason Bartlett, SS
* Injured, might miss a week or more.
Projected 2009 rotation
RHP James Shields
LHP Scott Kazmir
RHP Matt Garza
RHP Andy Sonnanstine
RHP Jason Hammel
or RHP Jeff Niemann
Projected closer: RHP Troy Percival
COMING UP
Wednesday: The Red Sox just missed the 2008 World Series and now seem to have perfected the mix between youth and established veterans.
Thursday: The Yankees are baseball's most expensive and talented team, but how all the stars mesh will go a long way to determine whether they return to the playoffs.
Friday: Manager Cito Gaston and the talented Blue Jays are hoping to stay under the radar and surprise the other top teams in the division.
Sunday: 2009 baseball preview section includes a story on the growing relationship between the Orioles' Nick Markakis and Brian Roberts, an analysis of the Orioles' pitching staff, a look at the national baseball picture and more.
