Earlier today we linked to a video of several Rays receiving their Mohawks during the World Series from a stylist named LMontro.

While looking around LMontro's website, we came across another Rays-related item. On Montro99's website is this photo of Carlos Pena wearing a "Montro 99" wristband.

According to this Boston Globe piece, Pena wore the wristband because he considered LMontro a "lucky charm" (Here is a close-up of the wristband). A quick look around YouTube shows that LMontro is the "stylist for the baseball stars."

While Pena may consider the wristband lucky, we wonder if Major League Baseball might consider it illegal. Wouldn't the wristband be considered a form of advertising for the stylist? Unless the teams are playing in Japan, advertising on baseball uniforms is forbidden.

Here is Manny Ramirez wearing a similar wristband.

According to the above Boston Globe article, this is why Manny wore #99 while playing for the Dodgers.

Sounds like a case for Paul Lukas at UniWatch.

Montro99 is Carlos Peña’s “lucky charm” [Montro 99]

Just the links this morning. We should have more later.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA...

• Just in case you missed all the links in our "Happy Hour" edition yesterday afternoon, here is the link. [Rays Index]
• Joe Maddon still hasn't announced the rotation for the World Series, but look for Scott Kazmir to get the game 1 start followed by James Shields and Matt Garza. [MLB]
• Charlie Manuel first tough decision in picking a DH for game 1, which could affect the postseason roster. [Beerleaguer]
  
• The RAYSHEAD Army is growing and we couldn't be more proud. [Newsday]
  
• ALCS game 7 was the most watched baseball game ever to be shown on a cable network. [Awful Announcing]
• Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe tries desperately to find a silver lining for Red Sox fans. Ryan wants Red Sox fans to realize that the team overcame a lot just to get to game 7 of the ALCS...That is all fine and dandy, but that means nothing right now. it might mean something in a few months, but not now. The truth is, the Red Sox were in game 7 and they lost. End of story. It doesn't matter how they got there. The Red Sox had one shot at glory and flushed it down the toilet. [Boston Globe]
• Sox and Pinstripes takes a fairly even-handed look back at the ALCS. [Sox and Pinstripes]
• The Hardball Times looks at why the Rays beat the Red Sox. [The Hardball Times]
  
• Cliff Corcoran of SI.com takes a look at 4 things we learned about the Rays in the ALCS. [SI.com]
• Marc Lancaster says there is a sense in Philadelphia that the Phillies caught a break when the Red Sox lost. [Tampa Tribune]
• John Romano puts the Rays season in a historical context. [St. Pete Times]
  
• One Red Sox writer lost a bet on the ALCS and is now sporting a beautiful Rayhawk. [Bugs and Cranks]
• Gary Shelton says it had to be the Phillies. It is only fitting that the Rays go for their first World Series title against a team from Philadelphia. [St. Pete Times]
  
• The Joe Maddon song of the week, should be song of the year. [the somewhat manly nerd]
• Last week one Red Sox site tried to compare the Red Sox to Rocky. That one was lost on us. This week David Chalk compares members of the Phillies to characters from Rocky movies. This one makes more sense. [Bugs and Cranks]
  
• Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune joins the growing wave of national media that recognizes the Rays are not going to be a one-hit wonder. [Chicago Tribune]
• Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel also looks at the future and says Evan Longoria was a big part of the "master plan". [Orlando Sentinel]
  
• Several members of the Rays chat it up in "The Dugout" after winning the ALCS. [Fanhouse]
• SI.com wonders if the economy can have a positive impact on the World Series ratings. [SI.com]
• The Boston Herald talks about David Price's role in the ALCS and preparing for the World Series. [Boston Herald]
• One of the writers from Oh, It's THOSE Girls guest posts at Bugs and Cranks on the struggle of rooting for two of her former Twinkies, Jason Bartlett and Matt Garza...Speaking of which. Not sure where we first heard this, but shouldn't Garza's sports psychologist have been named the ALCS MVP? Maybe he/she deserves a playoff share? [Bugs and Cranks]
  
• Another article trying to convince baseball fans that Phillies and Rays is a good series including "The Greatest Team Turnaround Story in the History of Modern Sports." [ESPN]
• After losing to Tampa Bay squads twice before in quest for championships, a Phillies fan is hoping the third time is a charm...Or as we like to say, three is a pattern. [Bugs and Cranks]
  
• One Cleveland Indians fan is jumping on the Rays Bandwagon. [Kanka's Sports Page]
  
• The Rays have released Jorge Velandia from the Durham Bulls. Velandia appeared in 14 games for the Devil Rays in 2007. [Baseball America]
• Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe says the Red Sox may have gone to the World Series with Manny Ramirez, but that trading him was the right thing to do for the "greater good"...If by "greater good" he means bringing the Pink Hat Nation back down a peg, then we completely agree. [Boston Globe]

THE GOOD: After all that has happened in the past 3 days the Rays still lead the Red Sox by 4 games in the loss column with the hapless O's coming to town next and the Red Sox still have 2 more games in Yankee Stadium and then have to face the White Sox...And thanks to 4 straight losses by the Twins, the Rays magic number to clinch at least a wild card spot is now 26 with a 7-game lead over Minnesota in the loss column.

THE BAD: For a few fleeting moments on Sunday it looked like the Rays had a very good chance to stretch their lead on Boston to 6.5 games. A dropped-throw from the outfield, a horrific call by an umpire, Roy Halladay, an extra-inning win by Boston and a blowout of the Yankees later, the Rays lead is down to 3.5.

THE TELLING: We are suddenly reminded why football is so much more painful than baseball. If the Bucs have a bad loss: a) that game represents 1/16th of their season and; b) we have to wait an entire week with that loss and all the missed plays swirling in our head. A bad Bucs loss messes us up for an entire week. A bad Rays loss and there is hope for redemption the next day.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• Dioner Navarro took himself out of last night's game in the 6th inning with cramps in both hamstrings. He is calling it a "day-to-day thing"...If he is shelved for more than a day or two, the Rays will need to call up a catcher. The first choice would have to be Mike DiFelice, but somebody would need to be removed from the 40-man roster. John Jaso is already on the 40-man and is hitting well at Durham, but the consensus seems to be that he is not ready to catch at the major league level. [The Heater]
  
• Evan Longoria had x-rays on his broken wrist and everything looked good. Longoria is still aiming for a Sept. 1 return from the DL...The plan is for Longoria to start taking batting practice later this week. [MLB]
• Brittany Ghiroli reports Troy Percival threw about 30 pitches from a mound yesterday and expects to be activated on Saturday. [MLB]
  
• Instant Replay will be in place for Friday's home game against the Orioles. Replay will only be used to determine whether home runs cleared a fence or whether it was fair or foul. [The Heater]
  
• Buster Olney says Carlos Pena got his best hitting advice from Manny Ramirez and Steve Henderson reminded Pena when Evan Longoria and Carl Crawford were injured to just "see the ball" and not try to over think things as a hitter. [ESPN]
• Marc Topkin has his list of "5 things to watch in Rays' stretch run." One great point he brings up is facing the Yankees. Our instincts tell us to fear the Yankees, but if they continue to fall off the pace, will their veteran players be motivated to play hard? [St. Pete Times]
  

THE GOOD: Playing the game the right way. The Rays did everything right in the last two games. Coocoo Crisp did everything wrong. If Crisp walks to first base the situation is over.

THE BAD: Giving Coocoo Crisp an opportunity to win the game by getting James Shields ejected in the second inning. We really thought Crisp had something coming but we assumed it would wait until later in the game to find a less meaningful moment or a time when losing Shields would mean less. Still, there was little reason to expect CooCoo to charge the mound. And we can't fault Shields for sticking up for his teammates. Shields had to throw at CooCoo for the bushleague slide on Wednesday and Shields handled the situation perfectly. The ball was at CooCoo's leg. Not his head. If that pitch cost the Rays one win for the sake of playing the game the right way and for a little extra team unity, we are all for it...The umpires letting Jon Lester get away with several inside pitches and never even issuing a warning. At least one of those pitches was intentional...Pitching to Manny Ramirez in the first inning with 1 out, first base open and Mike Lowell on deck. The worst-case scenario if Joe Maddon walks ManRam is a 2-run wall-ball double. The best-case scenario is a double-play waiting to happen. Instead, Papa Joe chose to pitch to Manny Being Manny and Manny Was Manny, hitting a 3-run home run.

THE TELLING: The Rays have a 2 game lead over Oakland and a 4 games lead over Toronto and Minnesota in the wild card race.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• The best news we heard all day yesterday? The Bucs original "Bucco Bruce" helmet was named the "2nd Coolest Helmet in History". [Shutdown Corner]
  
• Don't forget to VOTE for Carl Crawford to start the all-star game. If you haven't voted yet today, go NOW! [MLB All-Star Voting]
• Bugs and Cranks has their weekly power rankings up and the Rays are #1 again...These posts say they are written by the "B&C Staff" but we have a funny feeling that Chalk is stuffing the ballot box. [Bugs and Cranks]
• Joe Maddon met with his hitters before last night's game and emphasized the need to cut down on the strikeouts. After striking out 19 times in the first two games of the series, the Rays struck out 9 times last night. [MLB]
  

Red Sox 2, Devil Rays 1.
Let that be a lesson to you kids out there. Don't anger the baseball gods.

Let's all bow down and honor the best team of 2008. Let's pay homage the greatest team in the history of baseball. Let's sacrifice a decapitated cat to Ted Williams and pledge our allegiance to the Red Sox nation. For they are all-powerful.

Yes. The Red Sox have proven their greatness. They have proven that they cannot be stopped. They are a juggernaut. They might as well cancel the playoffs and the World Series, because when it is all said and done, the Red Sox will walk through October to the tune of Three-Fo-Fo. And when they are done licking their chops and scattering the bones, 612,000 drunk fans named "Sully" will scream the greatness that is two championships in the past 89 years.

Yes folks, the Red Sox have scored FIVE runs in two games against a team that has the worst record in baseball and a pitching staff that has an ERA of 5.78. Apparently that is the formula for "righting the ship".

Does any of this make us feel better. No. No it doesn't. Sometimes The Hangover truly is a hangover. And this morning? We can't eat. Doonesbury is not even remotely funny. We yelled at our dog and our loved ones are wondering why we get so upset about a team that is on pace to lose 105 games.

I just shake my head and say "You wouldn't understand," when the reality is, I don't understand.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• Something happened last night in Boston and Marc Topkin tries to get to the bottom of it. We know there are limits to what a newspaper's "Blog" can do. They have to work within the confines of a professional organization, while sites like ours rarely have to answer to anybody. But if the papers are going to try and jump on the information superhighway bandwagon (late as usual) then this post by Topkin is exactly what they should try to provide on a daily basis. A bunch of quick thoughts, facts and rumblings on the game and the team mixed in with the access that the rest of us don't care to have. [tampabay.com]
• Want to know why Scott Kazmir has always pitched well against the Red Sox? After last night's game Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz are a combined 10-72 (.139) against Kid K.
  
• The Yankees get their butts whooped by the Orioles 12-0, and apparently it is Al Reyes fault that they lost a game in the standings. [River Ave. Blues]
• Amazing how teams always seem to get healthy when they play the Rays. [Sully Baseball]
  
• Scott Kazmir now has the 10th most strikeouts all-time for a pitcher before the age of 24. [SI.com]
• Still no news to report on David Price. [TBO]
• Tonight's starter Andy Sonnanstine is struggling for the first time in his professional career and has yet to show that he will be able to overcome it. Tonight's crowd at Fenway is not going to make things any easier. [Devil Rays]

"He's been successful everywhere he's been," Maddon said. "I think maybe this is the first time he's really been challenged this way. And to have your first real challenge happen at the Major League level makes it a little more difficult to straighten yourself out. But he's been successful everywhere he's been, and I think he's got very good makeup. And because of that, I think he'll be able to work through it."

• Carl Crawford has an amazing ability to stay focused and continue to pile up enormous numbers despite the dire surroundings that he is usually faced with. [TheLedger.com]

This isn't to feel sorry for Crawford. This is to admire him. Who in sports plays a better game with a worse hand?

• I don't know what is more disturbing...that there is a blog called Pink Hat Nation or that the blog Pink Hat Nationis commenting on Raymond the Seadog. [Pink Hat Nation]