What it will take to get the 2nd Wild Card spot

by Aaron Giddens

Today the Rays playoff chances took a hit, despite the win by the boys in blue. The Yankees and Orioles also won, thus eliminating the Rays from contention for the division crown and the first wild card spot leaving only the second wild card spot in play for our boys. The A's also won, making this final series even more important, if that was even possible. And finally the Angels split a double header with Texas.

For the Rays to claim that second spot, the following MUST happen:

• The Rays will have to sweep the Orioles.
• The A's will have to be swept by Texas.
• The Angels will lose at least 1 to the Mariners.

So while it is possible, it so highly unlikely it's practically over. The Rays September rally will likely come up short. But stranger things have happened with this team so maybe we shouldn't count them out just yet. Baseball is unpredictable after all. So we will have to wait and see. But for now, the Rays BARELY have a pulse.

1 year anniversary of #Game162

by Aaron Giddens

Today is the 1 year anniversary of what is arguably the best day in baseball history. 2 Teams who were counted out at the beginning of September and 2 teams who were considered shoe-ins for the playoffs did the opposite of what commentators said. And of course one of them was our Rays.

The Rays have themselves in a similar bind this year and could be heading to another miracle Game 162 on Oct. 3rd. But for now, enjoy this funny video from September 27th, 2011. It's MLB Network's reaction to the Orioles and Rays walk offs that night.

1 Year ago on BRaysball Talk: #Game162

by Aaron Giddens

Taking a cue from Rays Index, we're look back at one year ago on BRaysball Talk as the Rays completed an improbable rally and made the playoffs.

RAYS WIN!! PLAYOFF BOUND!! — September 28, 2011, BRaysball Talk

Through 148 games, hope is fading, or is it?

by Aaron Giddens

Well we're through 148 games so after some inspiration from Rays Baseball Talk I decided to go back and look at the standings last year at after game 148 and compare it to this year. Below is the result of that:

A look at the 2013 Rays schedule

by Aaron Giddens

Early last week, the Rays 2013 schedule was released. It's preliminary schedule, so things could change, but let's take a look at what we have for now.

Here are some of the things I noticed:

Time is of the essence, guys!

by Aaron Giddens

Rich Thompson caught in a rundown.
Courtesy: Keith Allison/Flickr

Well, another night, another one run loss. I'm sorry, I can't take much more of this. A couple weeks ago I thought our offensive woes were over, the lineup was producing the way it should have been all along and I thought it was inevitable that we'd catch both the Orioles and Yankees and pass them. And then the offense disappeared again. And while I'm trying to stay positive especially because it's still mid-September and there's just under 3 weeks left to play. My patience is running thin.

Sure, last night's loss was only one game, but that's now two games of an incredibly important 3-game series that's been lost. Albeit this isn't your Uncle's Orioles. This year they're actually good, but every time they beat us, especially like tonight, we're one game closer to being eliminated from playoff contention. As we sit now the team is 3 back of both the Yankees and O's for both the wild card and the division lead.

The Rays are in quite a spot.