After one of the greatest weekends in terms of regular season intensity in its still young history, the Tampa Bay Rays stand just one game behind the New York Yankees after Sunday's 3-0 victory in the American League Eastern Division, with still a third of the marathon regular season to come.
Yesterday's combined pitching gem by Jamie Shields, newly acquired reliever Chad Qualls and Rafael Soriano (getting his league leading 30th save) gave the Rays the series win, though the Yanks didn't have their full arsenal on display, resting third baseman Alex Rodriguez, who did nothing in the series as the pressure amps up each time he approaches the plate in anticipation of his 600th homerun.
The teams still have several series against each other before it's all done, but it was the Yanks who at least outwardly improved themselves for the stretch run, acquiring several big names who are on the downside of their careers at the trading deadline, but could still be difference makers in the drive for a pennant. They picked up Lance Berkman from Houston and Kerry Wood from and Austin Kearns from Cleveland.
The Rays got the aforementioned Chad Qualls.
It should never be a surprise when the Yankees do this. In fact, the great surprise was that they didn't get the two most eligible pitchers that were available and traded earlier this summer, Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt.
But while at Tropicana Field Friday night for the first game of the big series, one couldn't help but be blown away by the sheer star power of the current world championship club; two icons of the game in A-Rod and Derek Jeter on the left side of the infield, the possible AL MVP this season in Robinson Cano at second base, and the $180 million man, first baseman Mark Texeira, just hitting the prime of his career. Add in the most coveted pitcher in free agency a year and a half ago in C.C. Sabithia (who lost yesterday), mix in the greatest reliever ever in Mariano Rivera, and it's a marvel that the Yankees don't ever lose, right?
No, that's why they play the games. And if it was always about payroll, the Yankees would have won every pennant in the past decade- instead, they went 6 years in between even getting to the World Series, and won it all for the first time since 2000 last October.
This year, the Yankees payroll is over $206 million. The Rays? They're at $72 million. Just a small $130 million difference! And yes, the Rays were competitive in 2008 and this year, as the Minnesota Twins have been for much of this decade spending in the Rays range, and earlier last decade, the Oakland A's similarly did much with a relatively puny payroll.
But the difference is is that those smaller payroll teams aren't generally in the mix every year like New York is; Again, nothing new here, but it can be a bit wearying to always have to deal with this. Yankee fans are spoiled rotten, let's face it. Rays fans have heard all season that Stuart Sternberg intends to drop payroll next year, which is why there is the expectation that free agent to be Carl Crawford may be playing his last season under the dome in St. Pete.
All the more to enjoy the 2010 season. There's still lots of time to go, and don't forget that other behemoth in the American League East – the Boston Red Sox and their $160 million roster is starting to get healthier.
This article appears in Jul 29 – Aug 4, 2010.