Tampa Bay Rays: Wishing for Some October Magic or a Miracle

While the end of the MLB season and the start of October rapidly approaches, the Tampa Bay Rays have found themselves in a position where it seems more and more probable that a playoff berth might just not be in their immediate future.

As baseball fans remember, the Rays were in a similar predicament last season and against all odds, took down the New York Yankees in extra innings on the last day of the season to secure a playoff spot and beat out the Boston Red Sox in dramatic fashion.

But things have changed. The addition of a second wild-card spot greatly widens the possibility of Tampa Bay making a last-minute charge. And it seems that they have already started.

Currently on a five-game winning streak, the Rays are looking at their remaining nine games earnestly. Sitting 3.5 games back in the Wild Card and 5.5 back in the AL East, it has become imperative that the club turn things around in this last week.

While the Oakland Athletics have a six-game date with the Texas Rangers over the final weeks of the season, Tampa Bay will see the Red Sox, the White Sox and the pesky Baltimore Orioles, who seem as if they might just break into the postseason.

Tampa Bay is certainly no stranger to this scenario. But at this point in the season, it will take all hands on deck if they intend to do the unthinkable and return to the playoffs in dramatic fashion.

There is a reason why they call it Magic October.