Somewhere along the way, and I’ll admit I didn’t notice it, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays changed their name to the Tampa Bay Rays.
Well, it must have worked because the Devil Rays are headed to the post-season for the first time in franchise history:
DETROIT — Anticlimactic, maybe, but take nothing away from the Rays — the 2008 American League East champions.
After taking a 6-4 loss to the Tigers on Friday night in front of a crowd of 39,617 at Comerica Park, the Rays were crowned division champs early Saturday morning after the Yankees defeated the Red Sox with a lopsided win at Fenway Park.
“[It] would have been nice to have won it on the field,” Cliff Floyd said. “But any way you get in, you get in. You don’t back in with 96 wins. We’re here. Nobody wants to play us in the playoffs.”
Few could have expected this outcome, which has seen the team go from worst to first. The highest finish the Rays had prior to this season came in 2004, when they won 70 games during a fourth-place campaign.
Tampa Bay turned in its green uniforms and changed its name from “Devil Rays” to “Rays” prior to the 2008 season. And ultimately, it changed the face of the franchise by being cast in the winner’s circle.
The Rays’ Division Series playoff opponent will shake out in the final weekend of the season. Winning the AL East assured the Rays they will begin the playoffs at home against the winner of the AL Central — either the Twins or the White Sox — while Boston, the Wild Card winner, will head to Anaheim to play the Angels, who will finish with the AL’s best record. The Angels chose Wednesday to begin their series against the Red Sox, meaning the Rays will open on Thursday.
Congratulations
