Inside the AL | Rays of light: Tampa Bay clings to a tenuous AL East lead

    Despite the doubters, the naysayers and the analysts who all said that the Tampa Bay Rays would tank midway through the second half of the season, their rise to power continues to be the dominating story in the American League.
    Tampa Bay, who has yet to play a single playoff game in its franchise history, is in unfamiliar territory. But that past has not made the Rays shy away from the limelight this year, as they hold the second-best record in baseball behind the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
    After a four-game losing streak, the Rays turned things around last night with a dramatic 5-4 comeback against Jonathan Papelbon and the Boston Red Sox, giving themselves a little more breathing room — one-and-a-half games — in the standings.
    Tonight's finale will prove crucial for the Rays, as it will be the difference between a relatively comfortable two-and-a-half- and a nearly invisible half-game lead, heading into the third week of September.
    After this series concludes tonight, the Sox still have games against the Toronto Blue Jays, winners of ten straight; a four-game set against the 70-73 Cleveland Indians; three more against Tampa Bay; and another three against the now fourth-place New York Yankees.
    On the other hand, the Rays have two series against the second-place Minnesota Twins and the 70-75 Detroit Tigers.
    Still, no matter who finishes the season on top of the division, it is almost guaranteed that both the Sox and the Rays will make the playoffs, as the Twins are far in the rear-view mirror at six games back in the Wild Card race.
    In the AL Central, the Chicago White Sox , having lost three straight, hold a tenuous one-game over the Twins — not what they wanted heading into a brutal end-of-the-year schedule. The ChiSox will face each of their four division rivals in three-game sets before the season ends. That said, Chicago sits at 14 games over .500 against its division this season, indicating that it's well within its ability to stay atop the division.
    The Twins, on the other hand, might have a slightly easier road. Nine of their remaining 19 games are against the Kansas City Royals and the Baltimore Orioles, two teams that are a combined 36 games under .500 and are each lingering approximately 20 games out of contention for their respective divisions. In any event, the division winner will likely emerge at the conclusion of the Sept. 23 -25 series in Minnesota between the Sox and the Twins.
    Moving over to the AL West, the Angels are cruising to a division title once again. With the best record in baseball at 87-57, the Angels hold a 17-game lead over the second-place Texas Rangers. The only thing on the minds of the Angels at this point is a plan of attack for the playoffs in October.
    Renowned for their ability to play a smart, efficient "small-ball" style of baseball in order to manufacture runs when they are most needed, the Angels have been a perennial force to be reckoned with in recent years. But their only World Series victory came in 2002, and since then, they have failed to make it back to the Fall Classic. This year, they hope to finish the season strong and head into the playoffs with a full head of steam. Unfortunately for the Angels, the Yankees — a team they blanked in two of their last four winning playoff series — will most certainly not make it to October.
    With two exciting races in the East and Central divisions, sparks are bound to fly as the last few weeks of the season play out.