There goes the season.
Unless someone on the Rays is planning a quick trip to Lourdes, there's no saving the team's playoff chances in the wake of 1B Carlos Peña's injury during the first game of a Yankees doubleheader today.
Hit in the hand while swinging at a pitch, he fractured his left index and middle fingers and is out for the season. It's not just the fact that he's been hitting so well lately that makes the loss of Peña so heartbreaking; it's the damage it does to Peña's — and by extension the team's — spirit.
As Peña told MLB.com, he was "crushed" when he heard his season was finished.
This article appears in Sep 2-8, 2009.