Saturday, 4 a.m.
The wobbliest off-season in the history of sports kept on going Saturday. Once again, the Tampa Bay Rays teetered along.
Theirs has been a wild ride throughout the offseason. A hurricane blew their stadium away. Indecision has put a new home in jeopardy. The upcoming season doesn’t look like much.
Given all of that, it figures their exhibition season would start with a 4-0 loss to the New York Yankees.
The Rays uglied their way into trouble Friday. They committed three errors. They walked seven batters. They had one hit with a runner in scoring position. Ouch.
Granted, we’ve seen the Rays overachieve before. This time, it’s tough to ask. The Rays’ offense will get better, but it doesn’t scare anyone. The pitching is better, but how long can it carry anyone?
Funny. Most places look forward to baseball as a sign of hope. Here, it feels as if we’ve used it up.