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Agreed...it looks grim for them if they get out of the first round. Still, they made it this far by playing solid team ball and believing in themselves...so I wouldn't count them out.
But, I do wish the Jason Bay trade had swung the Rays way.
If I'm Rays fan I wouldn't worry about the first round.
I can't see them however getting by Anaheim or Boston. Experience and firepower alone is against them. Had they been able to swing that trade for Jason bay I would put them ahead of Boston.
Agreed...it looks grim for them if they get out of the first round. Still, they made it this far by playing solid team ball and believing in themselves...so I wouldn't count them out.
But, I do wish the Jason Bay trade had swung the Rays way.
No offense I would count em out, but hey, the Rays have been playing with house money since May. Why not.
The words "firepower" and "Angels" don't belong in the same sentence, unless that sentence reads:
"Since Vlad is the Angels' best hitter, they suffer from a lack of firepower."
Angels' Team Batting Stats: .268 BA, .329 OBP, .412 SLG, .741 OPS
Rays' Team Batting Stats: .260 BA, .340 OBP, .422 SLG, .761 OPS
[sarcasm] Yes, clearly the Rays' are no match for the Angels' "firepower." [/sarcasm]
Very good assessment, though I would agree with TPark about Boston's experience and firepower.
The Angels would be an easier opponent for the second round if the Rays get there for sure.
I won't argue about Boston so much, but people are seriously overestimating the Angels. Tampa should easily dispatch the WhiteSox or Twins. I think it is a foregone conclusion if they draw the WhiteSox.
Tampa v. Boston should be really compe ive:
Tampa Hitting v. Boston Pitching .264 BA, .320 OBP, .466 SLG, .786 OPS
Boston Hitting v. Tampa Pitching .258 BA, .351 OBP, .413 SLG, .764 OPS
If Tampa draws the White Sox, the only thing I'm concerned about is their left-handed pitching....b/c the Rays are weak on RHB. Other than that, it'd be a pretty easy series.
And I agree about a Tampa/Boston matchup....very intriguing.
Remember, most above-average players tend to play at the same level in the postseason, given a reasonable sample size. With a mix of newbs and veterans, I don't think the entire team is going to either shrink and/or press for long enough to make a difference against either Chicago or Minnesota.
Tampa has beaten up on most of the AL for most of the season. This isn't a coincidence. If they have a strong start in the ALDS, I like them to make the WS. They need to win the ALDS decisively, reset their rotation, and make some adjustments. I think Boston will kill them, for example, if they eke their way into the ALCS.
Two come-from-behind wins for the resilient Rays, showing they've got the talent AND the mental for ude to play and win in October.
As they have all year, the bullpen has really stepped up in these first two games. And you have to give credit to both starters for bouncing back from early jitters, not melting down, and giving solid innings.
Another unsung hero has been Willy Aybar, who stepped in for Longoria late in the season and has now played two games for the injured Carlos Pena. He's laying down sac bunts to move players into scoring position and providing good defense at 1B.
But it's really been all about the young rookie 3B Evan Longoria. 3-3 in the first game with 2 solo HRs (one an absolute moonshot) and an RBI single. His second game was less impressive, but still very solid. And throughout, he has played his signature gold-glove calibur defense.
Can't really say enough about this team, and obviously I'm biased....but I've been incredibly impressed with what I've seen thus far. Now they've got to go to the southside of Chicago and hopefully finish them off....no small task with lefty John Danks on the mound.
Looking forward to it...
I would love to see the Rays win it all.
Rays into the ALCS with a win over ChiSox today. BJ Upton belted two solo HRs and they were able to get some timely hitting. Oh yeah, and their bullpen continues to dominate....JP Howell and the Aussie Grant Balfour.
Now they just have to wait and see who they're going to face....BoSox or Angels.
Well I'll be damned....Rays going to the World Series.
Never thought I'd type those words...unbelievable.
David Price looks like Tim Duncan.
BJ Upton probably deserved ALCS MVP over Garza.
Props to the Drays. I am just happy my Sox left it all on the field. It sucks that it wasnt enough but nothing can be done about that. The better team won.
Drays have no reason NOT to win the world series. They have the players, and the mental toughness to get it done. They were dealt adversity and they overcame it.
no
pitchers hardly ever deserve mvp
just because he pitched when lester faced him might he got it
I never thought they would have enough pitching all at once to pull it off with their budget/payroll. However, I really thought they had a chance at this when they continued to play well in the second half. Younger teams tend to revert to their mean, because many of their players aren't used to a 162 game schedule.
The real challenge will be next year. I've noticed that teams that make it to the WS without much playoff experience seem to have a lot of sore arms the next April. It definitely happened to White Sox, Tigers, and Rockies.
Mike Ditka referred to the team as the "Tampa Ray Bays" the other night. I say GO RAY BAYS!!!!!
Congrats to the Phillies for winning it all, but I don't think you can say enough about the season the Rays had.
Their young stars started to come into their own and they developed the confidence to compete everyday in the toughest division in baseball.
I can guarantee the Red Sox and Yankees are going to add at least one major player to their roster before next season, but I think it will be more interesting to see how the Rays adjust.
Given their limited payroll, I'd like to see the Rays leverage some of their young pitching to get an everyday right-fielder.
Guess we'll see...
The moral victory talk is worthless at this point. That only holds any value had they of lost in any series but the world series. They manage to make it that far and they couldnt even finish the ing job. I wanted the team that dethroned mine to be the new champion but they couldnt even do that. It was a wonderful season that ended in failure.
Clearly you're a Red Sox fan that has been blinded by a couple years of recent success.
The Rays had never won 70 games prior to this season. They finished in the basement of the AL East all but one season in their franchise history. They wen't from perennial losers to potential contenders...IN ONE SEASON!
And they're not going anywhere....they have young arms and bats scattered throughout their farm system.
You can say they fell short of the ultimate goal, but when they had SO many franchise "firsts", I don't think you can call that season a failure.
If the Rays hadn't of lost in the world series, I would have called the season a wonderful success. If the roles were reversed between the Rays and Sox in terms of their team history, I'd easily be saying the same exact thing. You made it to the championship round after all of that but you couldn't finish the ing job. It was a fun season but when you manage to make it to the championship round, I don't care how much of a historical turnaround the team had, you better win it all or it will be a season that will end in the worst way possible. Nothing sucks more than losing/failing in the championship round. Losing in any other round or not even making the playoffs hurts a of alot less than to lose in the round that is for all the marbles.
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