In 2005, Forbes named the Tampa Bay Rays as the "most horrific" sports franchise of the modern era and the "worst-managed organization" in Major League Baseball.

A little over three years later, the Rays are in the World Series, which begins tonight in Tampa. This Tim Marchman article explains how the Rays did it, including how several Houstonians made key contributions to turning the club into a winner.

Rays General Manager Andrew Friedman, who orchestrated the turnaround over the past several seasons, is a native Houstonian and the son of long-time Houston attorney Kent Friedman. Rays’ P Scott Kazmir and LF Carl Crawford played their high school baseball in Houston, while P Dan Wheeler was a stalwart reliever on the Stros playoff teams in 2004-05. Finally, a couple of years ago, Friedman had the good sense to hire as an assistant GM Gerry Hunsicker, who remains the best general manager that the Stros have ever had.

Interestingly, it was the Rays’ years of futility that actually fueled their success this season. All those last-place finishes provided the Rays with numerous high draft choices and the club eventually started selecting good prospects.

Inasmuch as most of their key players are young and homegrown, the Rays are playing with Major League Baseball’s second lowest payroll and have given long-term contracts given to their core of talented young players. The deals will allow the team to keep its top players for several more seasons so that the Rays are quite likely to become a dominant force in the American League for years to come.

Finally, what is most remarkable about all this is that the Rays have been able to achieve all this while operating under the worst financial circumstances in MLB.

So, what are the Rays’ chances in the World Series against the Phillies?

Well, the Rays’ pitching staff had a salty runs-saved-against-average ("RSAA") of 89 for the 2008 season, which was 3rd in the American League, but behind the Red Sox RSAA of 92. Similarly, the Rays’ decent runs-created-against-average ("RCAA") of 37 for the season paled in comparison to the Red Sox 103 RCAA. How on earth did the Rays beat the Red Sox in the American League Championship Series?

Answer: A red hot pitching staff. Remember, in a relatively small series of games, good pitching is often enough for a club to win a series over an opponent that likely would be superior over a larger segment of games. Thus, don’t be surprised if the Rays ride that hot pitching staff to what would be the most improbable World Series championship of this generation.