ALDS 2010: Fun Season Turns Heartbreak for Rays

Fairy tales in sports are rare. Most times, sports end in horror.

For small-market teams like the Rays, this theory applies. They attempted to show the world they can win a championship with a minuscule payroll, but it is not happening. The Rangers eliminated the Rays last night after a 5-1 victory in Game 5.

This is it for the Rays. There won't be a next time. Not when Stuart Sternberg announced he will break up the team.

For small-market teams, there is only one shot, but if they can't get it done, it will take a long time for them to get a second chance. Just ask the Athletics.

The A's had a talented team with a window of opportunity to win at least one championship in the last decade. It never happened, and now, they are rebuilding with no success so far.

The Rays needed to make this year work out. It's hard to think they are competing for a championship let alone a playoff appearance for the next few years.

Yankees fans will talk about it how it's not hard for small-market teams to win a championship, but if that's the case, how come we have not seen a small-market team win a championship in a long time? Last time a small-market team won a championship was in 2003 when the Marlins won it all.

Point is it's hard for a small-market team to win championships. For a small-market team to win championships, a salary cap must happen.

The Rays thought they could overcome it. They certainly have the players to get it done, but at the end of the day, they will be watching the rest of the playoffs at home instead of facing the Yankees.

What went wrong with the Rays? Simple. They could not afford to make additions at the trade deadline. Unlike the Yankees, they run on a budget. They should too. No owner should go out and lose money.

When the Yankees played the Rays during trade-deadline weekend, the Yankees made moves while the Rays didn’t. Chad Qualls shouldn’t be considered a deadline move. He did nothing.

The Yankees added Lance Berkman and Kerry Wood. Those two serve as vital cog players to the team’s success this season, and now in the postseason. This is how you improve a team.

The Rays could have gone out and gotten Cliff Lee, but they could not afford to do so. It would be stupid to trade Wade Davis, Jeremy Hellickson or a prized prospect for a starter that's going to go sign with the Yankees next year.

It would be bad business to trade young players and have nothing in return. This would set the Rays back for the next 10 years. Is anyone interested in watching the Rays revert to losing years? Didn’t think so.

They should have gotten someone though. They should have given up a prospect for Adam Dunn. Washington was not going to ask a lot for him. One move couldn’t have hurt them.

Still, it shows small-market teams don’t have the advantage that the Yankees and the Red Sox have.

It would have been nice to have Lee. After all, he pitched a complete game by striking out 11 and retiring the final nine batters in the game. He didn't get into a jam once.

He willed the Rangers to victory with his performance in this game. He was great in Game 1.

The Rangers can be commended to have gotten him. They had to. They needed to make the playoffs this year. There was a good chance that team could have a fire sale of their own if they did not get a new owner.

The Rays made the playoffs once. They made it to the World Series. Now, they have to win a championship, but at what cost?

Good for the Rangers for taking a risk, but they did it for the sake of making the playoffs. They haven’t been in the playoffs since 1999. It’s about time they got there.

The Rays never had much pressure. They were going to make the playoffs. Boston was not going to make the playoffs with those injuries they collected.

Small-markets teams need to be smart about how they approach business. It would be nice to win at least one championship, but it’s more important to develop players every year and run a winning program. That’s the position the Rays have to be in.

The window of opportunity is now over for the Rays. They are not going to win the division next year. It’s hard to win when a team is losing Carl Crawford, Rafael Soriano and Carlos Pena to free agency. They could be losing B.J. Upton, Matt Garza, Joaquin Benoit and James Shields to trades.

How long will it take for the Rays to be back in the playoffs? Don’t assume it’s going to be soon. The A’s thought they could rebuild and get back to the playoffs quickly, but it’s been four years since they made the playoffs. Plus, the Yankees and the Red Sox will continue to buy players in this current business model.

This is what makes last night’s loss depressing. It may be a long time until the Rays play another postseason.

Baseball can be so cruel.