The Tampa Bay Rays finished off a three-game sweep of the New York Yankees on Wednesday night, clinching the third trip to the American League Championship Series in franchise history. And now they just get to kick back and wait to see who will be flying south to Florida for Game 1 of the ALCS, which is set for Monday night. They get to be just like they rest of us: They just get to watch.
Will that opponent be the Guardians or the White Sox? Here are three key questions for their AL Division Series Game 4 matchup on Thursday night.
Guardians at White Sox (CWS ahead 2-1)
8 p.m. ET, TBS/HBO Max
SP: Parker Messick (CLE) vs. Hagen Smith (CWS)
Hey, is José Ramírez back?
As pleasant as this season has been for the Guardians -- and don’t forget this is the No. 2 seed in the American League that won its third consecutive AL Central title -- it has been mostly a year to forget for Ramírez. The likely future Hall of Famer and Guardians legend, a guy who will have a statue outside Progressive Field if he can win a title with this team, and honestly maybe even if he doesn’t, has struggled with injuries all season and has not looked like himself since having left hamate surgery in June. (It is...