Kiss 'Em Goodbye: Tampa Bay Rays
Why the Rays didn't shine in 2009, and what's next
Insider's series on MLB teams that have fallen out of the playoff race opens with the rapid demise of the Tampa Bay Rays, who enter Monday on an 11-game losing streak -- tied for the longest in history for a defending league champ.
Baseball Prospectus' preseason PECOTA projection: 94-68, third place
Current record: 72-71, third place
Third place seems safely correct, but the record? Not so much.
To see Buster Olney's take on what went wrong for the Rays and what's next, plus items from the rumor mill, number-crunching analysis from Baseball Prospectus, a draft recap and whom to watch in spring training, you must be an ESPN Insider.To continue reading this article you must be an Insider
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Kiss 'Em Goodbye on ESPN Insider
Insider and Baseball Prospectus now ask: What went wrong for each MLB team, and what may the future hold? We'll be covering the playoff teams as they're eliminated, and finish off with what the World Series champs need to do to improve (hey, there's always something).![]()
The Champions
The Playoff Teams (as eliminated)
- Detroit Tigers
- St. Louis Cardinals
- Boston Red Sox
- Minnesota Twins
- Colorado Rockies
- Los Angeles Dodgers
- Anaheim Angels
- Philadelphia Phillies
Week of Sept. 14
- Sept. 14: Tampa Bay Rays
- Sept. 15: Chicago Cubs
- Sept. 16: New York Mets
- Sept. 17: Milwaukee Brewers
- Sept. 18: Baltimore Orioles
- Sept. 19: Washington Nationals
- Sept. 20: Kansas City Royals
Week of Sept. 21
- Sept. 21: Pittsburgh Pirates
- Sept. 22: Cleveland Indians
- Sept. 23: Houston Astros
- Sept. 24: Oakland A's
- Sept. 25: Seattle Mariners
- Sept. 26: Arizona Diamondbacks
- Sept. 27: San Diego Padres
Week of Sept. 28
- Sept. 28: Texas Rangers
- Sept. 29: Toronto Blue Jays
- Sept. 30: Chicago White Sox
- Oct. 1: Florida Marlins
- Oct. 2: San Francisco Giants
- Oct. 3: Cincinnati Reds
- Oct. 4: Atlanta Braves
- MLB Draft: NL Central targets
- Olney: Scanning the bullpen market
- Szymborski: Best in-house upgrades
- Cameron: Lackey's first-pitch success
- Law: Diagnosing Hosmer, Moustakas' woes
