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The Rays’ kids are all right, and this is a great time to show it

 
Mallex Smith, right,  and Jake Bauers (9) helped the Rays to a 3-1 victory over the Yankees Thursday.  (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Mallex Smith, right, and Jake Bauers (9) helped the Rays to a 3-1 victory over the Yankees Thursday. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Published Aug. 17, 2018|Updated Aug. 18, 2018

This baseball season has been filled with Haves and Have Nots. And your entertaining Rays are smack dab in the middle of it.

Kevin Cash's team left New York for Boston on Thursday night and they hardly needed a plane after a 3-1 win and their first series win at Yankee Stadium since 2014.

Of course, they remembered to pack their fingerprints and dental records for Fenway Park and three games with the runaway Red Sox. Reality is never far from the Rays even as they make believers and keep fans following along.

Haves and Have Nots. That's this baseball season. And it's about time the Rays took a hefty chunk out of it. There's three games at Fenway, which started Friday night with a 7-3 loss. Gulp. But starting Monday it's seven games in seven days at the Trop — four against the helpless Royals, followed by three with the Red Sox. Have and Have Nots.

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Have at it, boys.

The series win in New York gave the Rays an 8-7 lead in the season series between the clubs. I don't care that Aaron Judge was on the shelf with an injury. Yankee Stadium is a house of horrors for the Rays in recent years. Any foothold matters, especially against a New York team that has the second-best record in baseball, even though it seems puny next to beating Boston.

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So, take the steam out of the Red Sox. Make a statement next weekend against Mookie Betts and, yes, comeback man David Price, who 10 years ago closed out the Rays' stunning ALCS win over the Sox. It has been a long, long time since that night.

First things first. Take care of the runts. In this case, that would mean the Royals, who have fallen from the mountaintop, where they won the 2015 World Series — as Have as you can get — all the way down to selling players, salary and dreams, the big rebuild, with 36-84 record to prove it. The Royals are breathing down the Orioles' necks — or up them.

Therein lies the riddle with these Rays. They are just good enough not to be a Have Not, but not good enough to be a Have. They lack consistency. Not a crime for this young a bunch, but it manifests itself, allowing ups and downs that keep three games over .500 from turning into 10 games over .500 and a righteous pursuit of even the second AL wild card,

These are the Rays who swept the Yankees earlier this season in St. Petersburg. And these are the Rays who lost three of four to Baltimore and who were swept by the White Sox. They can't always decide whether they want to be a Have or a Have Not.

Next week would be a good week to make a decision, to add some spice to this season. No, they're not bottom dwellers, so play that way, Make the Royals look bad. Then take some of the shine off the Boston Behemoth, if not in the name of this season then for next season and the seasons after.

It's the 2018 Rays. The kids are all right. This would be a great week to play like it.

To Have or Have Not. That is the question. The Rays might think about providing an answer.

Contact Martin Fennelly at mfennelly@tampabay.com or (813) 731-8029.