Cliff of despair

Unh.

Lefty Cliff Lee pitched the Texas Rangers past the Tampa Bay Rays last night, allowing just one run in a 5-1 victory.

The Rays performance in the playoffs encapsulated their season in some ways.  The team played well in spurts and the offense underperformed.  In the fifth game the Rays made defensive mistakes that were rare during the regular season.  And of course the big difference was the Rays experienced regular season success to the tune of the AL East title and the best record in the AL while playing in baseball's toughest division.

All in all it was a disappointing end to the season, but not the type of end that should surprise Rays fans who often had to watch the offense sputter.

Of course a substantial amount of credit for the Rays' troubles goes to the Texas Rangers, who played with alacrity and enthusiasm.  Plus they had ace-for-hire Cliff Lee, who deserves the MVP award for the series in light of his two wins in two games with only two runs allowed.

Best of luck to the Rangers.  May they disappoint the World Series hopes of the well-hated New York Yankees.

***

Next year:  The Rays will again play in baseball's toughest division.  The Baltimore Orioles and the Toronto Blue Jays are both on the upswing.  The Red Sox figure to have a better year with fewer injuries, and the Yankees have the dough to finish the season with a good team no matter what they start out with.  And they'll start out with a good team.  The Rays could experience a slight drop-off and fail to make the postseason.  That's probably what will happen as the team will say adios to Carl Crawford and a handful of other key players perhaps including pitchers James Shields and Matt Garza, 1B Carlos Pena, SS Jason Bartlett and closer Rafael Soriano. 

The team will continue to compete for a playoff spot if it fills almost every hole with a comparable replacement.  Only time will tell.  Desmond Jennings has a huge upside and may be able to replace Carl Crawford adequately.  Reid Brignac plays shortstop well but needs to learn to handle the high fastball.  Dan Johnson may be the solution at first base, though Pena's defensive skills will certainly be missed.

Hopefully J. P. Howell will make a successful return from injury.