I like Bob Melvin, but he has shit for brains when it comes to managing for the wild card. Let's ignore the fact that they should have gone with Fiers (second year in a row he's blown that part). He should pulled Manea after the second inning and put in Luzardo.

And as bad as Manea and the coaching decisions were, the hitting was just as bad. Eights hits, three walks, one run. They REALLY let the Rays off the hook in the first inning, and never recovered. Profar swing for the fence with the bases loaded was dumb. Khris Davis looked horrible and damn near timid at the plate all night. No change to our approach after not being able to hit with runners in scoring position for the last week.

The only positive from the game was how good Luzardo looked. He'll be great once he's in the rotation next year.

All that said, while I'm annoyed at losing, I'm not annoying losing to the Rays specifically. This isn't as bad as the Royals loss five years ago.

I know nothing is guaranteed, but I'm hopeful for the future. The rotation has the potential for greatness next season (Fiers, Manea, Luzardo, Puk, and Montas). All the hitters will be back. And we should be able to make bullpen adjustments. Probably still finish five behind the Astros anyway.