Despite early playoff exit, future remains bright for Rays
By FRED GOODALL
AP Sports Wroter
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — With three consecutive playoff appearances, back-to-back AL East titles and a trip to the World Series, the Tampa Bay Rays have a lot to feel good about, even if the best regular season in franchise history was followed by a loss to Boston in the AL Division Series. Despite having one of the lowest payrolls in baseball and a roster devoid of household names, the Rays overcame injuries that decimated the pitching staff to win a franchise-best 100 games, finish with the best record in the AL for the second straight year and take the AL East by eight games over Boston and the New York Yankees.