The Rays have struggled. So have the KC Royals. So… that’s not a ton of fun to go into this series. Let’s find some hatred.
The Rays. Oh, but for a shining moment, under Joe Maddon and a cast of young, exciting players, you had your moment in the sun. You finished dead last in nine of your first 10 years of existence, then rolled to a surprise AL pennant. You had James Shields, Matt Garza, Scott Kazmir and David Price to anchor the rotation and a core of Evan Longoria, Carl Crawford, Melvin Upton and Ben Zobrist.