The Rays are one win from the ALCS after a 5-2 victory over the Yankees in front of a second straight Tropicana Field sellout, and Rick calls it an "infomercial" for why Tampa Bay won the AL East: Yankee chaos on the bases (four errors, maybe five, three in the first inning alone), patient at-bats that chased Cam Schlittler after two strikeouts, and a four-run fifth capped by Richie Palacios' eight-pitch, two-run single off a lefty. Steve has the stat of the night: Ben Rice, Cody Bellinger, and Wells are a combined 5-for-20 in the series while the rest of the Yankees lineup is 0-for-38. Rick and Steve also salute Freddy Peralta, a "tremendous" Ian Seymour (nine outs), and a bullpen that's fully rested for Game 3 at Yankee Stadium, note that teams up 2-0 in a best-of-five series have won roughly nine times out of ten, and look ahead to a possible ALCS against a surprising White Sox team, with the Brewers lurking in the National League and a looming lockout debate over competitive balance. The Lightning also improved to 2-1 with another home win, this one over the Flyers, outshooting Philadelphia 36-14.
Then the Bucs news turns grim: Antoine Winfield Jr. has a cracked rib and will miss two to four weeks, just as the team heads to Dallas on a short week to face a Cowboys offense averaging 30.5 points per game with Jalen Daniels making his second start in four days. Rick runs through the injury report and explains why the receivers can't get open (Emeka Egbuka and Chris Godwin are both slot types without a true outside threat like Mike Evans), compares it to other teams' number ones getting 14-plus targets every week, and notes the Bucs have played 10 straight one-score games and are 2-8 in them. From there, Rick takes a hard look at Jason Licht's recent draft classes round by round and wonders aloud if the roster is simply "not that talented," whether the Glazers knew it, and what the Todd Bowles hot seat looks like if the Bucs fall to 0-5. They also debate when a mid-season firing would even happen, why interim coaches are a bad idea, and what history says about teams that start 0-4 (only the 1992 Chargers recovered to make the playoffs).
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