Cliff Floyd was one of my personal favorites when he was on the Mets, and he really has been a leader this year on the Tampa Bay club. He is one of the few veterans on the club that is full of young talent that still needs to be shaped and developed into superstar ability. The Rays are going to make the playoffs, but the question is now whether or not they are going to go in as Division Champions or Wild Card winners, and it would be a shame at this point to be the latter after such an amazing year.
Floyd called a players only meeting yesterday to get the team back on track, to get them to do the small things and to get them to win the Division. They didn't win yesterday, and now their lead is only a half game. I love how Floyd is the leader on that team, and I have a good feeling he will be able to help that team back on the Division Champion path. Let's hope the Rays can continue to win, and prevent for the first in a long time, the Red Sox or Yankees from winning the AL East. (I believe the last time another team besides them won the division was in 1997 when the Orioles won the division).
Other things to watch tonight besides this AL East showdown is the Angels can clinch the division tonight and the NL Wild Card race is heating up. While the NL East lead is down to 1.5, the Wild Card lead is down to 3 and the Astros have snuck into the race with their great streak. Septmeber baseball just keeps getting better, and more heart wrenching.
