Rays Colored Glasses: “The Extra 2%” is a must read…

As a Tampa Rays fan and blogger I talk about the “brain trust” behind the amazing turnaround of the Rays. As a baseball fan, I can’t wait to get the book “The Extra 2%:How Wall Street Strategies Took a Baseball Team from Worst to First” by Jonah Keri. It’s the buzz among baseball writers and fans right now, and should be a must have for any truly rabid Tampa Bay Rays fan.

Check out the excerpt on ESPN Many Rays fans don’t realize that we could have had Albert Pujols. True story. There was actually a scout, Fernando Arango, who loved him but couldn’t get the organization excited about him. What a shame.

And no, I’m not making a commission or getting paid to write this. As a fan, I’ve been thrilled, awed and amazed at the incredible job Stu Sternberg and Matt Silverman have done in turning the franchise around. They reached out and grabbed a manager who uses statisistics, in a sabermetric fashion, to make lineup decisions. They consistently find the fringe players like Willy Aybar,Grant Balfour, Joaquin Benoit and J.P. Howell and in them find the glue that holds this crazy amalgamation of a baseball team together.

If you are interested, the book, which went on sale yesterday, is available on Amazon.com for $13.85 in hardback edition. You can also by the Kindle version for $12.99. Either way, Rays fan, baseball fan or whatever, it’s a highly recommended read.