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Welcome to October, Rays fans!
As fate would have it, the Rays are only three games out of the Wild Card race with three games left to play. Tampa Bay robbed three of four from the slumping White Sox this weekend, and now face a three game homestand against Baltimore.
Win and they're in. Lose one game, and the season is over. If you live in the Tampa Bay area, NOW is the time to be at the Trop.
The Rays are offering an incredible three game ticket package called #162Strong, the Rays mantra for the 2012 season. Ticket packages for all three games start at just $25 and include a neon t-shirt. The Rays have been underfire this season for their league-worst attendance, but this is an excellent opportunity for the community to respond and give the team a serious homefield advantage!
It should be noted that the Athletics are the team ahead of Tampa Bay and will play a three game series in Arlington to finish the season. Texas, the only team in the American League that has clinched a playoff birth, could conceed the AL West should they lose out. This week, Rays fans will need to put their rivalry aside and hope the Rangers can stop the Moneyball. Also contending will be the Angels, who are tied with the Rays and host the Mariners for their final series. It's gonna be a crazy ride.
In other news, Cy Young contendor David Price is the first Rays pitcher to reach 20 wins in team history, and Fernando Rodney needs only 1/3 of a scoreless inning to catch Dennis Eckersley for lowest ERA in MLB history. Read that sentence three more times.
Links:
- The City of St. Petersburg saw an incredible stadium proposal at Carillon last Friday that -- if the numbers are correct -- will be hard to argue with.
- In case the layout has left you scratching your head, or if you'd like to know more about the sweet new features at SBNation, Steve put together a guide on how to navigate the new DRaysBay.
- The Orioles were forced to land in Jacksonville last night due to a fire on their charter plane.
- The Red Sox hazed their rookies yesterday afternoon, dressing them in drag and then kicking them off the bus in downtown New York. Nice try, but it's no Call Me Maybe.