You've lost that lovin' feelin'

Not to break out in a Cruise-esque rendition of The Righteous Brother's song, but the scribes in Tampa/St. Pete are busting out the excuses:

Headline: Rays have lost fighting spirit

Understand, there is no shame in being caught from behind by the Red Sox.

Boston has the bigger payroll and the greater pedigree, and most of the world has probably assumed the defending World Series champions would eventually end up on top of the American League East.
.....
Trust me, this is not a question of semantics. It matters whether the Red Sox take the division, or the Rays surrender it. And, as of this morning, the white flag is halfway up the pole.

Way to show that fighting spirit, guys. You haven't yet lost the first place position and already you've given up. Is this team owned by France? And we should take this team/fanbase seriously?

C'mon, your team has been flat out awesome for over 5 months and at the first hint of adversity, you start whining about the Sox's big payroll and pedigree? You don't seem to mind the Yanks payroll that needs a telecope to check out your ever-tightening sphincter. You're living down to your pedigree. Time to change the mentality and get fighting.