As I write this, the deficit between the Rays, who began the season by winning 13 straight games, and the Orioles, who have been their steady #2 for the majority of the year, has been cut to only 1 game. It happens during a tough week for both teams. The Rays are playing the Rangers right now, as the Orioles fend off the Dodgers. Whatever either side will have recouped, they'll have to put it to the test on Friday, as they must play each other and potentially solidify a divisional lead.
Now...because one of these teams has been notoriously pesky the last few years and the other has undergone an insanely likable development process over the past few years, I have my favorites. I love pretty much everybody on the Orioles, they have such an amazing story and have so many great players. Meanwhile, the Rays have become great simply because of the organizational voodoo that Kevin Cash has laid down, and it's a more evil variation on the moneyball concept by taking great players that other teams don't want for cheap and then booting them when it comes time to pay.
This is also a team that's had so many villains, or players I just plain do not like. The Rays have been behind an array of pissants-for those not in the know, Thorzul coined that term for a player that hits .200 against the rest of the league and .400 against your team. Carlos Pena used to be the big one, there was the one season where he got all his homers in against the Yanks pretty much. Then Mike Zunino, who was just a statistical trashfire of a player who still managed to get decent WAR on account of his defense. The current iteration of that is Taylor Walls, who is the single least spectacular MLB player in some time. I cannot name a single thing I've seen him do well. He hits .200 or less every year, maybe steals some bases and just refuses to do anything noteworthy, and leaves with like a 2 or 3 WAR. My guess is the guy who invented Wins Above Replacement is his dad. That'd be the only logical explanation.
And there's all the relievers, but the funny thing is a lot of them just aren't doing very well this year. Ryan Thompson and Jalen Beeks are both down in the minors right now, as they haven't gotten it together at all this year. Jason Adam has 5 blown saves in addition to his 11 notched ones. Jeffrey Springs, as reported upon, had the single best mound success of his career and all the money in the world to enjoy it with only to immediately be out for what seems like the rest of the season. It's been nice.
With all the things that infuriate me about the Rays, they still have Harold Ramirez, who's not only a really fun contact hitter, but the dude's an autism parent and he loves his kid, and you have to respect that. Dyes his hair blue to support his son. I dunno if it's the full branded 'light it up blue' thing the corporations like or if he just likes the color. It's really awesome to see. Ramirez himself is hitting .286 with 36 RBIs and 9 homers. Ever since he came up with the Marlins I just wanted him to find success somewhere, and even if it took a few different teams it's happened with Tampa. Even if I don't like the Rays, I like that he's doing well for them.
The Rays, admittedly, are a bit less infuriating than usual lately, and still have Shane McClanahan, Wander Franco, Yandy Diaz and Randy Arozarena playing really well. The O's may be extremely tough for them to fend off, but I know they're gonna do some incredible things before the fight in them's gone out.
Coming Tonight: A third baseman for a team that a lot of people seem to think is cheating right now.
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