CHICAGO WHITE SOX
VS.
TAMPA BAY RAYS
VS.
TAMPA BAY RAYS
As late as August, I was still holding on to my now foolish prediction that the Rays would finish in fourth place in the AL East. Maybe I had too much faith in the Yankee offense and the Blue Jays' starters. Maybe I refused to give the Rays the credit they deserved. But for whatever reason, I couldn't believe that this team, who had never managed to finish a season with more than 70 wins, could suddenly not only compete in but actually finish first in one of the toughest divisions in baseball. But I also never thought I would see the day that a team's marketing department would go ahead and let the team wear hats adorned with a giant "TB" on them, so shows what I know. (I have been waiting all season to make this joke. And I will tell you right now, it wasn't worth it. I'm a little disappointed).
The Chicago White Sox scored the third-most runs among the eight teams who made the playoffs. However, they also allowed the most. Ironically, they bested rival Minnesota in a pitcher's duel of all things, 1-0, to make it into October ball. That might be a more difficult feat to pull off against the Rays.
Tampa Bay sports a 29-18 record in one-run games this season. How much does that mean? Just ask those other Sox, the ones from Boston. The Red Sox were involved in six one-runs games with the Rays this year, and they lost EVERY time. Combine that with a solid Rays starting rotation / bullpen and a White Sox club that seems to rely almost exclusively on home runs to score, and this could be a very tough match-up for the South-Siders.
Maybe that's why EVERYONE at ESPN is once again united in their pick.
Either that or they're just really dedicated to finding common ground in an otherwise difficult political climate.
RAYS IN 4 (booooooorrrrrinnnnggg).
