Those waiting for the Rays to come back to the pack and have their magical carpet ride end may still get their wish ... but it'll wait until October to come true. It's official today as the Tampa Bay Rays, a 150-1 shot to win the World Series back before the season started, have officially clinched a playoff spot with their 7-2 win over the Twins on Saturday.
What's eternally impressive about this year's Rays, especially considering this is a franchise who never rose above 70 wins in their history, is that every time this year's version faced questions about their ability to stay in the hunt they've answered the bell. In their last two series against the A.L. East's yardstick Boston Red Sox, they lost the first game of each series. Lesser teams would have taken that opportunity to be satisfied with what they had done so far this season and taken their toys and gone home. The young Rays, however, won each of the final two games of each series. (They're 10-8 against the Sox this season despite a run differential of -20.) There had been countless other "tests" the Rays have had, and they've passed them all.
The latest test has Tampa aiming for the division title rather than the wild card, which would probably mean hosting a first round series against Chicago rather than going on the road to face Anaheim. Seemingly, this is huge since despite sparse crowds at the Trop, the Rays are a ridiculous 56-23 there. The Rays are 6-3 against the Angels this season, but they've only faced ace John Lackey once and lost to him in Anaheim. So while the Rays could be extremely proud of what they've done, don't expect them to be satisfied this final week, where they're on the road to face Baltimore and Detroit while the Red Sox are at home against the Indians and Yankees.
Now the only question is this: Will Rays fans start showing up in October? It would be a shame to have to give away Cliff Floyd bobbleheads to sell the joint out.
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
First of all I would like to congratulate the Tampa Bay Rays on this years success and their first ever post-season appearance. If there was ever an example of team unity and playing as a team, not individuals, than the Rays have to be that team. Let's hope the dream continues ...
Now, for all you knuckleheads out there that keep insisting that this is Tampa's team and insist on making it sound like the team plays in Tampa I have only one thing to say ... ST. PETERSBURG.
For all of you that write and report on the Rays, act like you have enough sense to realize where this team plays. The Rays finally deserve some credit and accolades even if they don't get further than the first round, but the city of St. Petersburg deserves some recognition also. Get it right ...
i agree 100 % w/ what mr copeland had to say. if ever there was a shining example of teamwork, this is it! and lastly, but not leastly, THERE IS NO CITY IN FLORIDA NAMED TAMPA BAY! i know on the home shopping chanel the anouncer says, "live from tampa bay, fl" but trust me, no such city exists. the tampa bay buccaners play @ raymond james stadium in tampa, but , , , , THE RAYS PLAY @ TROPICANNA FIELD IN BEAUTIFUL DOWNTOWN ST.PETERSBURG, FL! GO RAYS!