Sorry. Couldn’t resist with the title.

Hard to believe the Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Rays turn 10 this year. Here’s a story by Jonah Keri of ESPN taking a look at the genesis of the two franchises, both of whom seemed poised for greatness.

As Keri illustrates, neither road has been easy. Arizona had several good years under the guidance of GM Joe Garagiola Jr., followed by the worst years in franchise history, before bringing on Josh Byrnes, who has done a tremendous job, particularly on the trade market. But as good as Byrnes is, you can make an argument that Garagiola had as big, if not bigger impact on the current team.

Still, save some acclaim for Garagiola, whose scouting and player development staff drafted and developed the two best players (year-to-date) on the current D-backs squad (Cy Young winner Brandon Webb and likely All-Star Conor Jackson), future MVP candidate Upton and several other key contributors.

The Rays started things with Chuck LaMar, who, as the article says, started things in a hole agreeing to draft Bobby Abreu for the Phillies, trading him for shortstop Kevin Stocker. Co GMs Matthew Silverman and Andrew Friedman have been a big improvement, although it was LaMar who drafted Carl Crawford.

Looking at the current Rays roster, it’s clear that Andrew Friedman and Matthew Silverman have made some of the biggest and most successful changes to any team in the league. Taking over for LaMar during the same 2005-2006 offseason that marked Josh Byrnes’ debut in Arizona, the Rays’ duo is responsible for 17 of the 25 players on the active major league roster, including seven of the lineup’s starting nine players. Also, before we give full credit to the past regime for some of the players on the 2008 club, it’s worth remembering that the Rays drafted in the top five throughout team history, the result of posting 10 straight losing seasons.

Of course the paths they’ve each taken are very different. The DBacks have a championship, several playoff appearances, AND a rabid fanbase to go along with its bright, bright future. The Rays on the other hand have had 10 consecutive losing seasons, which has enabled Tampa to stockpile high draft picks and slowly, slowly build a formidable team.

For my money the DBacks have the better future. It wouldn’t shock me if they were the best team in baseball over the next 10 years. I think Tampa will be good, but I can’t say they’ll be great.