It has been a fantastic start to the season for the Tampa Bay Rays, who have been one of the best teams not only in the American League but in all of baseball.  So far this year, the Rays have been able to b low away expectations . Coming into the campaign, nobody would have predicted that they would be in first place of the American League East in the middle of May. However, this is a franchise that is no stranger to exceeding expectations, and that is what they are doing so far.  Despite new ownership coming in, Tampa Bay didn’t increase much in terms of spending this offseason, and it has been mostly business as usual for the team. After missing the playoffs for the last couple of seasons, the goal was to end that streak this year, and they are well on their way toward doing that.…