Rays vs. BoSux

The hyperbolic comments about the upcoming series against Boston have become incrementally loud over the course of the last week to the fever pitch that we are now graced with. The local sports talk radio hosts, bloggers, and newspaper columnists certainly did nothing to quell or downplay the importance of the next three games. Rather they fanned those flames even more. Yet, I’d be a fool to acknowledge that these comments are fully warranted and indeed apropos.

What the hell am I talking about, and what’s at stake? Well duh, only the Rays entire post season aspirations. So why is this series any more or less important than any other series that the Rays have or will play this season?

The reason is simple really: There are only 20 games left in the Rays season and they  find themselves in a similar place to where they were in 2009 after their first playoff berth, 6.5 games out in the wildcard race. In a nutshell, it’s a do or die situation. The gauntlet part two if you will.

At this point the Rays have by and far exceeded most people’s expectations. I think it’d be safe to say that even the most die-hard fan hoped that our boys would win 85 and perform well. Little did we know then that the good guys would be in the proverbial fight of their lives at this point in the season. And how could we? Lest I remind you all of the beginning of the season when the Rays dropped seven of their first eight games. You know, when most of our hopes of an 85 win season started to fade. I’m sure many a few Red Sox fans felt the same way when their team got off to an equally shitty start, but that’s beside the point. But then something happened: the scrappy Rays with the feel of a 4A team started to show up and play well. Our heroes became Sam Fuld and Casey Kotchman when Manny decided to be a dick, and Evan was hurt. The bats woke up, the pitching was dominant, and the Frankenpen actually looked decent. Oh, and the Rays found themselves in first place.

From that point on our hopes have risen and fallen like the ebb and flow of the tide, but the Rays even with all of their misgivings (attendance, a large number of unknown players many of which were rookies, etc) have stayed competitive.

To be honest, I don’t think they have the look of a post season team, but then again neither did the 2008 Rays. And even when the Rays looked like they could go all of the way, they fell short…cough 2010. What am I getting at? Weirder things have happened. Keep in mind though, the road ahead is going to be tough…very tough. I think the Gin Blossoms lyric, “If you don’t expect to much from me (the Rays in this case) you might not be let down,” sums things up nicely.

14 of the next 20 games will be played against the Yankees and Red Sox, including a double-header on the 21st. And though the Red Sox have lost seven of their last 10 and find themselves in a vulnerable position due to injuries, they still remain a formidable opponent. I am happy that Youkilis isn’t in the lineup at the moment, but I’m getting ahead of myself. Though many internet sports outlets find the Red Sox as the underdog in this series, it’s still incumbant on the Rays to play very close to .700 baseball over the stretch, and they’ll need to sweep the Sox in the short-term. In essence, the Rays need to go into every series from here on out with a must win mentality because there isn’t the cushion that there once was. Not to mention that the Yankees and Red Sox need to do their part by losing a good chunk of games.

Would it be reasonable to assume that the Rays have a fighting chance at getting into the post season? In all honesty, no. But again, weirder things have happened. I’d be content with a solid finish and re-signing the essential players that have shown to be wonderful additions to this years lineup.  In any case, if the Rays are going to have a legitimate chance of making it to the post season, their valiant efforts in doing so have to start tonight, first pitch at 7:10. As always, go Rays! The starting lineups are below.

Tampa Bay Rays, 78-64

Jennings LF
Upton CF
Longoria 3B
Zobrist 2B
Damon DH
Joyce RF
Kotchman 1B
Jaso C
Brignac SS
Davis (9-8, 4.50 ERA)

Boston Red Sox, 85-58
Ellsbury CF
Scutaro SS
Gonzalez 1B
Pedroia 2B
Oritz DH
Crawford LF
Lowrie 3B
Reddick RF
Saltalamacchia C
Lackey (12-11, 6.11 ERA)