The Rays 2008 Season Appreciation Post

From Lil' Wayne's ESPN Blog:

You know how you can envision a team in the World Series? I don't see [Boston]. I close my eyes and I see the Tampa Bay Rays. I'm a big emotion guy. I'm a heart guy, and I think they all play that way. They have nothing to compare this to. Whether they make it to the World Series or not, we're watching the first winning baseball team Tampa Bay has ever fielded. That right there is always amazing, no matter who the team is.

I can't believe I'm quoting Lil Wayne on sports but he called it before the playoffs even started.

I know I don't follow baseball nearly as closely as I used to as when I was a kid but I can still appreciate the historical perspective of each sport and right now I gotta give props to the Tampa Bay Rays. I haven't watched any of this year's baseball playoffs except for the last 3 innings of the Rays/Sox game 7. I haven't been interested in baseball all season but this was just something that I had to witness as a sports fan in general. And just when I thought the Red Sox were going to end Tampa's Cinderella season in the 8th inning when David Ortiz stood at the plate with 2 players on base, Tampa's bullpen pulled it off shutting out some of the biggest names in baseball in the final two innings. And I gotta give props to David Price who just made his major league debut in late September but he seemed to have ice in his veins as he proceeded to get the 3rd out in the bottom of the 8th with bases loaded and then finished to save the game.

This has to be the equivalent of the Charlotte Bobcats going to the NBA Finals or the Houston Texans going to the Super Bowl. The Rays are just not a franchise that is associated with winning. Maybe only in baseball something like this can happen since each team does develop their own farm system but still... the Devil Rays??... or excuse me "the Rays." Maybe God awarded them for banishing "Devil" from their team name. Nevertheless, they defeated one of the most storied franchises in all of sports. They haven't even played one game of the World Series but I can appreciate what they've pulled off this season already.

Hey if they can do it... why not the Warriors, Giants, or 49ers? Stories like the Rays give fans hope for their favorite teams... unless your quarterback is JT O'Sullivan. I guess there's always next year.

And I hope the Rays beat the Phillies in the World Series.