Rays first baseman Carlos Pena will miss the remainder of the season after fracturing an index and middle finger on Monday. Pena was hitting .228 with 39 home runs in 134 games this season.
This all but ends the Rays' 2009 playoff hopes. ESPN.com's Buster Olney wrote a story about some of the close games that did not go the Rays' way this season.
"Last year we had the list of great Rays wins, and this year, we have a list of games that are the difference between making the playoffs and being seven games out, as they are now -- the games that the 2008 Rays would have won in the manner by which they got beat." - via Mark Simon of ESPNResearch.com.
The Rays need big years from B.J. Upton, Evan Longoria, Carl Crawford, and Pena to have a chance at the division. Assuming that pitching can hold up, and their young pitchers continue to improve, they should have a serious chance at the AL Wild Card next season.