What Went Wrong: Where's the Offense, Rays?!

In any postseason, it is never good to be the first one eliminated, but someone has to carry that burden. In the case of the 2022 MLB postseason, that unfortunate dishonor went to the Tampa Bay Rays, who were ousted in two games in the best-of-three Wild Card Series by the Cleveland Guardians. For the Rays, this is their second straight postseason appearance since their run to the World Series in 2020. 2021 saw the Rays win a franchise record 100 games and capture the American League East, but they were ousted in the Division Series by the Red Sox. This year, they had a strong campaign that saw them nearly capitalize on the New York Yankees' late-summer skid, but once the Yankees woke back up, the Rays fell off in September, going from the #4 seed (the home Wild Card position) to finishing as the #6 seed, but still qualifying.

The Rays had an interesting group of players who were capable of knocking in runs and hitting home runs. But the thing that went wrong for the Rays? They couldn't score. The entire series was a pitcher's duel, but despite the Rays' effort on the mound, they couldn't do anything on the plate. 24 innings were played in the Wild Card Series, with the Rays scoring a grand total of one run. Jose Siri's solo home run in the sixth inning in Game One served as the Rays' only tally. Even worse, they were outhomered by a Guardians team who ranked 29th (next-to-last) in all of baseball in home runs.

Game One saw the Rays defeated by a Jose Ramirez two-run shot in that same sixth inning. Game Two, however, was a back and forth pitcher's duel that saw the Rays get out of some bad jams. One of them was in the sixth inning; Cleveland had the bases loaded, no outs, and Ramirez at the plate. Ramirez struck out, and a double play followed. The game remained scoreless entering extra innings, yet for some reason, the Rays decided to put in Corey Kluber to finish the 13th inning. Now, there is nothing wrong with having to use a starter in a long game, but said starter should not be Corey Kluber. The reason is simple. There are three pitchers who seemed to have had trouble pitching in the postseason: Clayton Kershaw, David Price, and Corey Kluber.

As a member of the then-named Cleveland Indians, Kluber was knocked around a bit in Game Seven of the 2016 World Series against the Chicago Cubs. The following year was awful; Kluber started Games Two and Five of the ALDS against the Yankees, and was battered in both starts, including giving up two home runs to Didi Gregorius in Game Five. The same thing befell him in 2018, and regarding his appearance in Game Two, Kluber pitched 1 2/3 innings, but in the 15th, he gave up a walk-off HR to Oscar Gonzalez. Kluber is 4-4 in his postseason career, with an ERA of 4.40, and regarding his last three appearances, 0-3 and an ERA of almost 10. Yikes.

The Rays should continue to be an important force in the AL East in 2023. As a Yankees fan, I consider the Rays as the top rival in the division, but their late season skid saw them move behind the Toronto Blue Jays. They may need another piece or two in order to get to that next level, but what about manager Kevin Cash. Putting in Kluber isn't the first time he's made a bad pitching decision. If he was on a leash in 2022, it needs to be shortened for 2023. If I am Rays upper management, anything other than a division title would be deemed unacceptable, and if they actually miss the postseason next year (not saying they will), well, I think it would be time to take the Cash out.

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