It's a Sprint

"The marathon is over. It's not a sprint. It's a good thing we are fast."
-Matt Garza on the Jim Rome Show

45 games to go, the Rays are down 4 in the wild card race to Texas. It's time to sprint and sprint fast. I could list all the cliches in the world such as "forget the past," "what's done is done," or even "it's not over 'til the fat lady sings" and they would all be fitting. Really, there is one thing left to do, win. The pitchers need to make the pitchers, and the hitters need to come up with the clutch hits. The Rays have dug a hole for themselves and now have no margin for error. Execution now is more important than effort. This is a playoff team that's currently on the outside looking in. Opportunities will present themselves over the next few weeks. Sweeping the hapless Orioles and then winning the series against the Rangers will go a long way towards putting the Rays back on the inside track. There are enough games left against the Red Sox and the Rangers that the Rays control their own destiny.

The Rays' fate is in their own hands, it's now time to execute. It doesnt take a rocket scientist to figure this out.

Why The Rays Can Do This Long-Term

Being an armchair general manager is a lot of fun. As a fan, it is very easy to say "we should sell the farm to win now." While in a pennant race, prospects are thought of as trading tools and not future stars.

If you are a fan of a big market franchise, you can afford to live by that philosophy. The Rays' front office is smarter than that, and that is why the Rays will contend for a playoff position for years to come.

Example A: The Rays do not trade Jeff Niemman in a deal for Jason Bay. The Rays make the world series in 2008. The next season, Jeff Niemman leads the team in wins in the middle of August.

Example B: The Rays do not sell the farm for Victor Martinez. Instead, the Rays get a post-deadline deal for Greg Zaun. Zaun and Martinez have comparable stats for their new teams, but Zaun has played in about half the games. Now we can wait and see what Wade Davis will turn into as a Ray.

Finding lower-cost and higher-efficiency trades is the reason the Rays can afford to contend for years to come. The Rays are proving this with smart deals for the second straight season. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this out.