Rays Loss is Bittersweet

When the Texas Rangers finally recorded the final out of the game on Tuesday afternoon, ending the ALDS series with the series with the Tampa Bay Rays, one couldn’t deny the bittersweet emotion.

It was those same pesky Rays that one week ago had surmounted a late game comeback against the Yankees and stole the Wild Card from under the Boston Red Sox on the final day of the regular season.  They appeared to be a team of destiny as though nothing could stop them on their way to being crowned the best in baseball.  Which is why watching the Rays bow out of the postseason in four games to the Rangers didn’t ruin any Red Sox fans’ parties.

In fact, it was pleasant to see the Rays lose out so early and they did it because they couldn’t hit the Rangers pitching.  Seeing the Rays struggle to plate some runs is nothing new for this team.  The Rays finished in second last in the AL in batting average at .244, only higher than the Seattle Mariners.  The Rays were 8th out of 14 teams in runs scored with 707. Boston, New York, Texas and Detroit were the top four.  The Rays also had the third highest amount of strikeouts in the AL with 1,193, only behind Cleveland and Seattle.

So it was no surprise seeing the Rays struggle against the Rangers pitching.  Aside from the 9-run explosion in game one of the series, the Rays would only score 12 runs over the next 3 games.  Clearly it wasn’t enough against the potent offense of the Rangers.

In fact, it was the Rays pitching that got them to October in the first place.  That and throw in the collapse of the Red Sox in September, the Rays didn’t so much as win the Wild Card as the Red Sox lost it.

But the bittersweet feeling is two fold.  Sure it’s sweet to see Tampa Bay lose out in the first round.  But it’s a little bitter knowing how well the Red Sox batters had hit the Rangers pitching during the regular season.  More than once the Red Sox offense was able to get to the Rangers starter and bullpen and put up many crooked numbers en route to a thrashing win.  So it’s difficult to think about what could have been, had the Sox not choked down the stretch.

At last, it wasn’t meant to be for the Red Sox.  They collapsed and in all likelyhood, wouldn’t have had the pitching to shut down the Rangers offense had they gotten into the playoffs.  Thankfully, the Rays won’t be crownd champions either, making the past few weeks seem like its a distant memory now.  One that can stay tucked away in our minds in hopes it never has to resurface in comparison to a futuristic moment.

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