Happy Birthday to Grant Balfour, who is 31 years old today. We are not sure what that is in Australian years since toilets flush backwards down under*. He shares a birthday with arguably the greatest pitcher to ever live, Sandy Koufax, 73, who went 27-9 with a 190 ERA+ in his last season, a year in which he pitched with an arthritic arm.

Unfortunately The Mad Australian also shares a birthday with one of the biggest scumbags in baseball history, AJ Pierzynski, who has now made 32 trips around the sun despite being a jackass. And still the only player that made us go "Zapruder" here at RI.

*actually not true

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA...

• Andrew Friedman says talks with free agents have picked up in the past week but that nothing is close to being finalized. [The Heater]

Executive vice president Andrew Friedman said Monday that talks with several free agents have gotten “more pointed” in the past week, but nothing is “imminent” as they continue to assess their options from a field that includes Jason Giambi, Pat Burrell, Bobby Abreu, Milton Bradley ( rumored to be headed to the Cubs), Adam Dunn and Garret Anderson, and could include Ken Griffey and Moises Alou.

“I still think we’re in good position to end up with an impact bat,” Friedman said. “We’ll continue to monitor the market and figure out the optimal time to make a deal from our standpoint and the player's. ”

• In the same piece, Marc Topkin answers the call and let's us know that the Joe Nelson signing is indeed still waiting for completion of his physical, which should happen today. [The Heater]
  
• The Rays are looking at seven sites, all in Pinellas County, for a new ballpark. It will still be several months before anything is decided. [St. Pete Times]
• Drays Bay takes a look at how Andrew Friedman's acquisitions paid off in 2006. [Drays Bay]
  

Click on above images to be taken to full standings, boxscores or schedule...

We wrote an ALDS preview for the fine folks over at The Hardball Times. As usual, we like to call these guest spots "Rays Index on amphetamines" as they tend to be a little longer than what you would normally find here. It is also a bit more biased than you might expect. Oh well. [The Hardball Times]

And this will either be the coolest thing you will see today...or the most disturbing. [Bugs and Cranks]

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA...

• In case you missed it yesterday afternoon, we ran a bunch of "Webtopia" links in the evening "Happy Hour" feature. [Rays Index]
• Quick reminder: We will bring you a Rays Index Live Blog-A-Baloo this afternoon for Game 1 of the ALDS
• Carl Crawford will bat 5th today, but Joe Maddon did not rule out a return to the 2-hole later in the series. [Tampa Tribune]
• When the teams travel to Chicago, the Rays can expect the dirt around home plate to be very wet as it was for the one-game playoff against the Twins...We suspect that will carry over to the base paths as well. [Chicago Sun-Times]
  
• The White Sox "Ain't S#!t" compared to the Rays. [Bugs and Cranks]
  
• Stuart Sternberg spoke with WFAN's Mike Francessa yesterday. Here is a link to the audio. [WFAN]
• Carlos Quentin will not play in the ALDS against the Rays. [USA Today]
• Not sure we want to see a lot of these, but maybe 20 or 30 right behind the White Sox dugout would be nice. [The Heater]
• Carlos Pena will be blogging during the postseason. [MLBlogs]
  
• Not sure where we have seen this before? [St. Pete Times]
• A Chicago Tribune reporter asked several Rays if there was any bad blood stemming from the incident in Chicago during the season in which AJ Pierzynski duped an umpire into a game-changing call. The Rays downplayed any blame for Piehead. [Chicago Tribune]
• 3 of 5 Chicago Sun-Times writers pick the Sox to win the series...The Sun-Times is the White Sox paper. [Chicago Sun-Times]
• One writer wants to set the national media straight about the Tampa Bay Rays. [Fielder's Choice Baseball Card Blog]
  

Click on above image for a larger version...

It has been close to 20 hours and we feel no better now than when AJ Pierzynski created a phantom interference call supported by Doug Eddings.

OBSTRUCTION (from MLB official rules): Obstruction is the act of a fielder who, while not in possession of the ball and not in the act of fielding the ball, impedes the progress of any runner.

As can be seen in the images above, Willy Aybar is not "in possession of the ball" and he is not "in the act of fielding the ball". So the question then is whether or not Aybar "impedes the progress" of Pierzynski. We needed the still-frame above to even determine if contact had actually occurred.

Clearly Pierzynski is initiating the contact. That should end the discussion, right? Nope. We get this interpretation from umpire Ted Barrett following the game:

"As a runner, you're allowed to (make contact). What Doug ruled at second base was, even though A.J. did kind of stick his arm out to make contact, Aybar was still in his way, so A.J., if he would have turned, he wouldn't have been able to continue on to third. So after making the throw, Aybar is no longer in the act of fielding and he can't obstruct the runner..."

Is there any difference between this play and the time Alex Rodriguez slapped the ball out of Bronson Arroyo's glove in the '04 ALCS? Sure different situations. But ultimately the runner's responsibility is to advance to the next base and should not initiate contact with a fielder unless a fielder is blocking the runner's path to the base.

Where does it stop? Is it OK for a runner rounding first base on a routine single to alter their path by a few steps to initiate contact with the first baseman and be awarded second base? And if not...Why is it, in the words of Barrett, ok for Pierzynski to make contact?

Did Aybar "impede the progress" of Pierzynski? His progress where exactly? Progress from falling backwards on his own fat ass?

And the umpire should not be bailing out a runner that was stupid enough to get himself into the situation in a first place. Aybar did not hinder the runner. Aybar did not impede the runner. Aybar did not cause Pierzynski to be tagged out. This is no different than a basketball player that leaves his feet out of control and creates contact. A referee is not going to bail that player out with a foul call and an umpire should not be bailing a runner out when he gets himself in a pickle.

And to make matters worse, we had to watch this garbage while listening to the White Sox TV announcers. We have never hidden our disdain for the homerisms of Hawk Harrelson and Darrin Jackson (although we like Jackson better than Tom Paciorek). And they were at their homerific best yesterday. While some announcers may watch a play and note that their team "got a break", Harrelson and Co., repeatedly praised Pierzynski for his baseball "instincts". Instincts? This play never happens if Pierzynski does not break a cardinal rule of baseball by trying to advance to third base on a ground ball in front of him.

From the White Sox broadcast:

Jackson: That is third baseman's fault for not veering to the left and getting out of the way...I'm gonna tell ya. AJ's got some of the best baseball instincts that you are going to come across anywhere.

a few moments later after more Pierzynski ass-kissing...

Harrelson: I have had so many enjoyable moments watching him play, since he was a sophomore in high school, that he was doing stuff like that back then.

What is being said around the Blogosphere...

• One White Sox blogger says this is "one more reason to hate A.J," calling the play an "Emmy winning performance." [The Bard's Room]
• Another White Sox blogger says Pierzynski "suckered Eddings with inspiration drawn from desperation," and compared Eddings to a pro wresling referree. [Sox Machine]
• And yet another White Sox blogger says Pierzynski "somehow was able to sell his case to the umpire." [Bugs and Cranks]
• Her Rays wishes she could turn the little weasel into her favorite game of "Whack-A-Mole." [Her Rays]
  
• Outs Per Swing feels the rule is in question and Aybar should not be penalized for not doing something that was impossible to do. [Outs Per Swing]
• "GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH." [DRays Bay]
  

PARENTAL ADVISORY: EXPLICIT LANGUAGE AHEAD. We have our editors bound and gagged in their office, so some explicatives might not get deleted...

THE BAD: Shawn Riggans. This is just one reason why if (and that is a big IF), the Rays make the playoffs, we feel Mike DiFelice should be the Rays' backup catcher. With 2 outs in the 9th and the Rays up 1 run, a single to left was fielded by Ben Zobrist who made a throw to the plate that 2-hopped Riggans, but still beat the runner by 10 feet. Riggans let the ball bounce off his mitt tying the game. Does Dioner Navarro miss that throw? Maybe. Does DiFelice miss that throw? We doubt it.

THE WORSE: BJ Upton. In 9th inning of a 1-run game take nothing for granted. With AJ Pierzynski on first base and no outs in the 10th inning, Upton went back on a flyball and allowed Pierzynski to tag up up and move to second. Before we bash Upton too hard, we noticed earlier in the game that the wind was playing havoc with flyballs, all the more reason for Upton to go back harder and then come in if needed. And Upton claims he was aware there was a chance of the tag-up saying: "Obviously, there was a chance he might tag. I just didn't get my feet under me to get the ball in…I couldn't get my feet set under me to make a strong throw." We call bullshit. After he catches the ball, he takes two more steps towards the wall before even thinking about throwing it back in. It was just another case where Upton had his head stuck up his ass...And of course the Upton-apologists are at it again. You guys have to stop. And we are not saying that the people who think Upton is somehow responsible for children with cancer are any better. But Upton sometimes makes boneheaded plays. Occasionally...rarely even...he doesn't hustle. To say otherwise is to ignore the obvious and suggests that either you are related to Upton or just aren't watching the games...Not exactly the best timing for this article.

THE WORST: The Grim Reaper, Jason Hammel. We know Hammel has pitched better recently, but we call him the Grim Reaper for a reason. He should only be coming into games when death is imminent. We do not want Hammel within 500 feet of the mound when the game is still undecided. And we know we was hosed a bit but he still allowed AJ Pierzynski to get on base and he still gave up the winning hit.

THE WORSTEST: Doug Eddings. In the history of bullshit made up c***-sucking calls that was the bull-shitiest most made up c***-suckiest off all calls. It was like calling travelling with 3 seconds left or like a pass interference call on a hail Mary. Even if there is contact...and we still aren't sure there was...you swallow the mother-effin whistle unless you are absolutely certain. Really, Doug? An obstruction call in extra-innings? Really? Did you really see that, or did you let AJ Pierzynski make the call for you?

THE MOST WORSTEST: Our first-ever stomach punch game as a Rays fan. It is the next morning and we still feel sick to our damned stomach. And there is no game tonight so we have to deal with this stench another day. We feel like the ump kicked us in the groin and then clubbed a baby seal while we were curled up in fetal position. This is maybe the worst we have felt since the Bert Emmanuel play in the 1999 NFC championship game.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• David Chalk of Bugs and Cranks posted a list of "206 Things We Like About Joe Maddon". One for every victory he has as manager of the Rays and apparently one for each of the two games the Rays won when Maddon took a vacation (and yes, we are still bitter about that). The list includes contributors from throughout the Rays blogosphere, including us...To the list we would add, "Able to recognize importance of Sunday's game and somehow keep his cool enough to not get thrown out." If we were in his shoes, we would have been ejected 3 times and would probably be facing a hefty suspension. [Bugs and Cranks]
• This wasn't the first time that Doug Eddings has made a bone-headed call that cost a Joe Maddon squad against the White Sox. [Tampa Tribune]
• The Rays are now #2 in the Chicago Tribune power rankings. [Chicago Tribune]