Baseball can be a cruel sport. A team can only control the 162 games they play over 180 days. They can do what's necessary to stay competitive and improve in order to stay in contention, but sometimes it just doesn't work out.

The 2018 Tampa Bay Rays did everything they could to continue their season in the American League Wild Card game. It didn't start out pretty -- the Rays won the season opener and then proceeded to lose the next eight. They closed out the second half of the month of May winning 12 of 14 to fight their way back over .500. They would bottom out at 29-35 before winning 12 of 18 to get back at .500 with a record of 41-41.

And then, they wouldn't look. By the All-Star Break they were 49-47 with a bonafide young ace in Blake Snell. Buoyed by the young starter and an assortment of talented relievers that served as "openers," the Rays went 35-19 from August 1st to finish the season with an unexpected 90 wins. Snell, who led the American League in wins (21) and ERA (1.88), is almost certain to win the organization's second Cy Young Award (joining David Price in 2012). Manager Kevin Cash, who looked like he could be in trouble after the slow start, is a favorite to be named AL Manager of the Year after piecing together competitive lineups every night and getting his pitching staff to buy into the "opener" concept.

"We're short of what we're trying to reach but you've got to be proud of what the product is in that clubhouse and the way they've carried themselves for the bulk of the year," Cash said after the Rays were officially eliminated from the postseason with a 4-1 loss to the New York Yankees on Sept. 24. "We can hand pick plenty of losses or series that impacted us negatively but all in all I think our guys should be pretty proud of the way they performed and the way they have really turned it on in the second half."

Normally 90 wins would put a team in the Wild Card game if nothing else. Heck the Rays had just one fewer win than the Cleveland Indians, and the Tribe won the AL Central by 13 games! But this was a weird year in baseball, especially in the American League. The good teams were especially good with Boston, Houston and the Yankees all winning more than 100 games. Oakland (97) was the only other team besides the Rays and Indians to win over 90. On the flip side the Orioles were historically bad, going 47-115 while the Royals (58-104) and the White Sox (62-100) joined them as 100 games losers. The Tigers (64-98) and the Rangers (67-95) just missed out. If the really bad teams weren't SO bad, than the really good teams at the top probably would have had their win totals diminished by at 5-7 games, and maybe the Rays could have slipped through.

Oh well, and outside of the Lightning that's sports in Tampa as of late, and now the Rays can look forward to the 2019 season. There's a lot of young talent like Mallex Smith, who improved greatly in his second year with the club and hit over .290; Joey Wendle is going to finish in the top-three for AL Rookie of the Year, and trade deadline acquisition Tommy Pham reached base safely in the final 32 games of the season. These guys have speed, tenacity and even a little pop in the bats. The pitchers, like Ryan Stanek and Jose Alvarado, throw absolute gas. And there are some interesting stories on the farm, where MLB.com says the Rays have the fourth-best prospect system in baseball. Infielder Willy Adames, acquired in the David Price trade, is trending toward a full-time job next season. Outfielder Austin Meadows, acquired in the Chris Archer trade, is 23 with a four/five-tool potential and the team's top arm, Brent Honeywell, continues to recover from Tommy John surgery and could be a nice addition to the roster late next season.

The 2018 Rays came to play every day. They made teams work to beat them and they often worked harder to get the win. They didn't settle for mediocrity and the record shows that. More than anything, however, the 2018 Rays were damn fun. They played with energy and excitement. They looked like they were happy to be at the ballpark everyday and the fans that showed up were often treated to a fun night of baseball. So how about more of you show up next year ok? Good. 

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Picture from author.