The Tampa Bay Rays finally got on the board on Tuesday night to avoid a sweep in the World Series at the hands of the Milwaukee Brewers. They’ll aim to make it a 3-2 series and take the series back to Milwaukee tonight in Game 5, all the while Cleveland Guardians fans watch objectively, thinking about what could have been.
The Guardians fell to these same Rays in six games in the ALCS just weeks ago and extended the sport’s longest active World Series drought. The Brewers look borderline unstoppable at this point, but it’s tough not to wonder if the Guardians could have put up more of a fight than the Rays have in the Fall Classic thus far.
The wound is clearly still fresh for team insider Jim Berdysz, who let it be known Wednesday that he still believes it should be Cleveland playing in the World Series. In response to a clip of the leadoff error in the bottom of the 12th inning in Game 4, he let the world know what the real error is.
“The error is having the Rays represent the American League over the Cleveland Guardians,” Berdysz said.
The error is having the #Rays represent the American League over the Cleveland #Guardians https://t.co/lzHYNeK8f0
— Jim Berdysz (@BirdmanCLE) October 28, 2026
These kinds of remarks are allowed when you’re dealing with the pain of a devastating playoff loss. He likely wouldn’t say something like this a few months from now.
The reality is that the Guardians had a 2-1 lead on the Rays and blew it. They lost three in a row to lose the ALCS and scored only 11 runs combined in the final five games of the series, proving once again that the offense simply wasn’t consistent enough to get over the hump. It was the same issue that has plagued this team for years and is something that the front office will once again need to address in the offseason.
No one likes sour grapes, but we’re going to let Berdysz have this one. This fan base has been through a lot, and it’s natural to let the frustration out once in a while.
NEXT: 2 Guardians Players Who Need To Prove Themselves In 2027
