Rays One Loss Away From Irrelevance
Thursday afternoon’s loss was as ugly as it gets for the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 2 of the ALDS. For the 2nd straight day, they couldn’t touch Texas Rangers pitching and now look like a shell of the team which led the American League in wins this year.
Barring a historic comeback, Tampa’s postseason will soon come to an anticlimactic close. But the ramifications of one more Rays loss will extend far beyond 2010, and they may be closer to relative obscurity than a World Series title…
If you’re a Rays fan, Thursday’s 6-0 loss at Tropicana Field had to be both frustrating and depressing.
The artist formerly known as “Big Game” James Shields looked more like “Wild Thing” Vaughn from Major League, Joe Maddon got ejected in the 5th inning for arguing a Michael Young check swing, and the Rays were shutout on just 2 hits by C.J. Wilson and two relievers.
The Rays now trail the Rangers 2-0 in the best of 5 series as the teams head to Arlington for games 3 and 4. Only one other team in baseball history has won a division series after losing the first 2 games at home: The 2001 New York Yankees.
In my opinion, the Rays are too good of a team to get swept in this series, but in terms of advancing to the ALCS, the odds are clearly against them at this point.
If and when Tampa gets eliminated, it will end the franchise’s 3-year window of unprecedented success. That’s the harsh reality for teams like the Rays which can’t compete financially with their division rivals in Boston and New York.
Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, and Rafael Soriano are all eligible for free agency this winter, and the Rays will be unable to match the offers that those players receive on the open market. Arbitration may warrant significant raises for Matt Garza and B.J. Upton as well.
Most clubs with payrolls north of $100 million would be challenged to replace a 5-tool outfielder, power-hitting first baseman, and shut down closer. For Tampa and its $73 million payroll (easily the highest in club history), it will be nearly impossible.
Sure the Rays have some outstanding young pitching in the form of David Price, Garza, Jeff Niemann, and Jeremy Hellickson. They have a deep farm system and may also have a future MVP in Evan Longoria. But losing those three key pieces will leave the Rays in a helpless position.
They’ve had 5 true sellouts all season long and were forced to give away 20,000 free tickets to their home finale. They have no way to create revenue without a new stadium in a new location, perhaps a different city. Competing for a division title next year and beyond would appear to be a pipe dream.
So it may be now or never for Tampa. Win three games in a row against Texas, or rebuild in one of the worst markets in the Majors. Unfair, but very much a reality.
That’s what the Rays face after two dreadful losses against the AL West champs. One more loss, and this might be the latest they play meaningful baseball for a long time.
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[...] fans have now decided to pile on. Fellow network blogger Alistair Ingram for the Fenway Faithful has posted his comments about how the Tampa Bay Rays will simply pass into obscurity after they are swept by the Texas [...]
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Guess what team in the AL East is NOT one win away from irrelevance? I wonder where the Sox players are vacating this off-season.