AP Photo/Bill Kostroun

The Rays blew an eighth-inning lead against the Yankees when Jorge Posada drilled a three-run shot.

By Eric Young, ESPN

Pitching, defense and timely hitting were the keys that got the Tampa Bay Rays to the 2008 World Series. All three have faltered this year.

Let's start with the Rays' bullpen. It just hasn't been able to produce like it did last year in carrying the team to the postseason. Tampa Bay won a lot of one-run games last year (29-18). This year, the Rays are losing them (17-22). On Wednesday, they entered the eighth inning against the Yankees with a 2-1 lead, but a three-run homer by Jorge Posada put an end to that. An easy remedy for their losses would be to pick up a real closer. After losing first baseman Carlos Pena for the rest of the year with a hand injury, and falling into an eight-game skid; their chance of catching the Boston Red Sox has diminished completely. Boston is sitting 9½ games ahead of Tampa Bay as the wild-card leader.

The bullpen has been a problem all year. The Rays haven't been getting the starting pitching they got last year. Now Scott Kazmir is gone, traded off to the Angels. Matt Garza is having an average year. Andy Sonnanstine has been shifted to the bullpen. Tampa Bay has newcomers David Price and Wade Davis. So the pitching staff is totally different than it was last year. Last season, the Rays got a lot of breaks. They caught a not-so-good Yankees team and a good Red Sox team. This season, they're in a division with a good Yankees team and a good Red Sox team. That combination has proved to be too much.

J.P. Howell is leading in saves with 16 in 24 chances. Blowing eight saves is not good. The Rays need to establish a closer. More importantly, they need to establish a bullpen to get it to their closer so that they can be competitive.

This season, the Rays have had two guys who have stood out all year: Jason Bartlett and Evan Longoria. In addition, Carl Crawford is batting .304 and putting up a good effort. As a group, this team is hitting a lot better, so the offense is definitely one of the bright spots. Can you imagine what kind of year the Rays would have had if their offense weren't on point?

Tampa Bay's defense, which was one of the best in the American League last year, has fallen apart completely. Rays manager Joe Maddon took a chance by bringing in seven position players and two pitchers he thought could get it done. Instead, they have struggled on routine plays.

Even though the Rays faltered this year, I think this is a learning experience for these young guys who were so successful last year. Keep in mind that the Rays were the surprise team last year, so a lot of teams were prepared for them and respected them more as a winning team this time around. I have no doubt that this young group will get it together in the offseason and the players will come back a little hungrier than they were this year.

Again, this season came down to pitching. The Rays' one-two punch of Garza and James Shields was off. The two needed to step up this year for the Rays to remain competitive. Last year, Garza was 7-9 with a 3.85 ERA and Shields was 9-10 with a 4.02 ERA. This year, they are under .500 combined. That's not a good sign. The one pitcher over .500 is Kazmir -- and Tampa Bay traded him.

In the end, the Rays believe in their farm system with Price and Davis. That's why they traded Kazmir. Now that these young guys have gained experience this year, they will be ready for next year. This team will rebound, but it ultimately will have to match the production and intensity the Yankees and Red Sox have to compete in the AL East next year.

The window has closed on the Rays for this year, but their future is very bright. As long as they remain hungry, they will be successful next season.

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TOUCH 'EM ALL

Who went deep? Keep track of all the home runs hit each day on "Baseball Tonight" and on the Baseball Tonight Clubhouse page.

For more, check out the Home Run Tracker page.

Home Run Tracker
NAME	HR	OPP	SITUATION
Albert Pujols, STL	47	Narveson	Top 7: 1-1, 2 Outs. None on.
Albert Pujols, STL	46	Suppan	Top 5: 2-0, 1 Out. 1 on.
Adrian Gonzalez, SD	37	Zito	Top 3: 1-2, 1 Out. 1 on.
Cody Ross, FLA	21	Misch	Top 1: 1-1, 2 Outs. 2 on.
Marlon Byrd, TEX	17	Carmona	Top 1: 2-1, 1 Out. 2 on.
Jason Bartlett, TB	14	Chamberlain	Top 1: 2-1, 0 Outs. None on.

The complete list of Wednesday's homers

ON DECK: THURSDAY'S BEST MATCHUPS

Marlins at Mets, 7:10 p.m. ET

The Marlins are trying to hold on to their slim hopes of slipping into the postseason. Sean West is 3-1 in his past five starts, although he was roughed up in a three-inning outing against the Nationals in his most recent start. Bobby Parnell, on the other hand, is 1-4 in his past six appearances.

Braves at Astros, 7:10 p.m. ET

Much like the Marlins, the Braves are trying to remain relevant in the NL wild-card race. Derek Lowe has beaten the Astros once this season, tossing 6 2/3 innings in a 7-2 win on May 1. A day later, on May 2, Roy Oswalt pitched only one inning because of a long rain delay in his only start of the year against the Braves.

Mariners at Angels, 10:05 p.m. ET

John Lackey has strung together a pair of strong starts, tossing a complete game against the Royals for a 2-1 win in his most recent start and eight innings in a 9-1 win against the A's in the outing before that.

For the rest of Thursday's schedule, click here.