BALTIMORE — More than anything, more than the breakout performances, the unorthodox strategies, the roster shuffling, the historical and odd accomplishments, and all the other things the most interesting team in the majors does, this Rays season is going to be defined by the pain.
Either the Rays are going to overcome the seemingly endless stream of bad injury news to get at least into the playoffs if not go deep. Or they are going to be eventually overwhelmed by the reality of having 28 entries on the injured list involving 23 players, including more than a dozen front-liners.