A three game sweep from the Philadelphia Phillies?? That's what I'm talking about! Ladies and gentlemen, you are not gonna have to worry about the Rays this postseason! Savor the moment, the one team that constantly refuses to pay people [except if they're bigoted or committing felonies] won't be taking home the gold this year! And looking around at this team, they don't really deserve to either.
Now I want to just make something clear, because I'm pretty sure I've been spiteful towards the Rays all season, and it's been thanks to the same few bullet points, that they trade people away instead of paying them, and a bunch of their relievers boycotted pride month, and they're always good despite not actually building a team the way they're supposed to, and they always have a top 5 farm system for some reason. And I'm aware of this. I don't like consistently bagging on a team like this, and I try not to unless they deserve it. But it's the Astros and Rays that just really test me sometimes, and just consistently do things I don't like.
Now, are there good things about this Rays team? Of course. Actually getting to see Taj Bradley, Ryan Pepiot, Shane Baz and Zach Littell perform well at the MLB level has been great. I kinda wish they'd all be healthy at the same time but that seems to be the issue league wide this year. I think both Yandy Diaz and Jose Caballero are really entertaining players, and add a lot to the league. And I genuinely think this team has something with both Christopher Morel and Junior Caminero, even if it hasn't hit immediately. Plus, once they get their new stadium in St. Petersburg, I'm gonna try to go. I bet it'll be a really nice place to watch a game.
So, yes, there are some good things about the Rays. Several even. And I try to emphasize that. But when a reliever that hasn't given up many runs at all this year gives up a bunch, then retaliates by plunking the next hitter up at back and expecting it to just go fine, then I get mad. Why would anybody do that? Edwin Uceta was doing GREAT. He was having a phenomenal year. He has one bad night, and instead of actually rising above it and moving on, he hits Nick Castellanos and gets Bryce Harper within seconds of punching him out. This is what I mean! The Rays just owe themselves to this kind of energy. They could be a decent, decidedly watchable sort of underdog team, but instead several of their players make conscious decisions to piss me off, and go beyond any sort of moral reasoning. It happened with Springs, it happened with Franco, it's happened now.
And it makes it so much harder when somebody decent like Josh Lowe hits his stride. Lowe took a while to become healthy this year but he has 30 RBIs and 9 homers in 91 games. Jonny Deluca is similarly having a rise in productivity as a bench bat. But like...for every guy like that there's someone like Taylor Walls, who's great defensively but can't hit, or Ben Rortvedt, who's an efficient player with no pop. It's both dull and infuriating sometimes. They'll have a big win over a good team and they'll get it by having a nobody do something incredible, and that's just the plan.
The Rays, with several changes, could become likable again to me. I just don't feel like they really want to. And so we'll keep doing this dance, I suppose.
Coming Tonight (?): The second truly great starter the Nationals called up this year.
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