Blame the first Monday Night Football game of the season. Blame the Trop. Blame the fact that it was Monday, if you must, but a paltry 26,907 attended last night’s Yankees and Rays, a battle of who will win the AL East, and clearly two dominating teams for the postseason.

This isn’t trying to pile it on more than a wonder as to what is different this year than in 2008 when the Rays came out of nowhere to capture the AL East? The situation is the same, and yet so different: no one really expects the Rays to compete with the big budget behemoths in the Yankees or the Red Sox, but this year, the club can point back to that stellar run in 2008, and ask, “What the…?.”

Consider...

• The match-up last night pitted two outstanding pitchers in C.C. Sabathia and David Price
• On Sept. 15 of 2008, in the midst of the Division chase, the Rays played the Red Sox in front of 29,772 on a Monday
• The next day, the Rays played the Sox in front of 32,079
• Maybe we shouldn’t be all that surprised. After all, when the Rays played the Yankees on Tues. Sept 2 of 2008, the only drew 21,629.

Rays fans, we’re beginning to see a pattern. The cowbells will begin arriving about (checks his watch), Oct. 1, shortly before the playoffs commence. Regular season winning doesn’t seem to bring the fans out for the Rays.

Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey, as well as a contributor to FanGraphs and Forbes SportsMoney. He is available for hire or freelance. Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network.

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