Above image is of Stuart Sternberg arriving for the wedding of Florida Governor Charlie Crist (image from FragMob)

Lots o' goodies today from Marc Topkin, so we are giving him his first-ever Topkintopia (the regular webtopia is below)...

• We reported last week that it appeared Gerry Hunsicker, "Teller" to Andrew Friedman's "Penn" (or "Silent Bob" to Friedman's "Jay" for the younger crowd), was staying with the Rays despite reports that other teams were interested in his services. Topkin is now confirming that Hunsicker has signed an extension to stay with the Rays saying "I'm happy here. I like what I'm doing."
• Many think the Rays will slow-play the free agent market and take whatever is left over. Topkin warns that there is a risk as some teams could enter the market later if they lose out on their higher-priced targets.
• Topkin places odds on who will be the opening day DH for the Rays, declaring Jason Giambi the favorite at 3:1, with Milton Bradley right behind at 5:1. Willy Aybar is the highest ranked player currently in the organization at 10:1 (6th on list).
• Jonah Keri, author of "Baseball Between the Numbers", has announced that he will write a book about the Rays and their Wall Street approach to baseball. Not surprisingly, Topkin says the Rays, who prefer to keep things close to the vest, are "neither cooperating with the project nor particularly enthused."...Keri was interviewed recently about the book on Rays Digest.
  
• Matt Garza had minor foot surgery to correct an old break in his foot. The surgery makes Garza ineligible for the World Baseball Classic. There were some rumblings that Garza was being considered for the Mexican team.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• Rays Prospects projects the starting rotation for the Rays and each of their minor league affiliates. [Rays Prospects]
• If you are going to write in to the local newspaper and bitch about errors seen in their coverage of the Rays and other sports (in this case the Charlotte Sun) please make sure you don't have your own error in the very first sentence. [Charlotte Sun]
• Behold! "The Longorious". [Waivers and Sharks]
• Sometimes, while constructing this list, certain headlines make us do a double-take. [Harnesslink]
• Former Rays pitcher Scott Dohmann, who made 12 appearances with the Rays and 33 appearances with the Durham Bulls in 2008, is expected to sign with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of the Central League in Japan. [Sponichi; Translated]
  
• Rays Digest takes a look back at the Rays busy week in Las Vegas. [Winter Meetings Rewind]
  
• Former Rays catcher Josh Paul will manage the Staten Island Yankees of the short-season New York-Penn League...We will always have a soft-spot for Paul because of his official team photo. Paul appeared in 93 games for the Rays in 2006 and 2007. [NY Baseball Digest]
  
• Despite the additions of CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett, Richard Justice says the Yankees are still just the third best team in the AL East. [Yahoo! Sports]
• Drays Bay puts together a "Bullpen Matrix" for the Rays relievers...We assume Grant Balfour is Neo and Troy Percival is Morpheus, but who is Trinity? [Drays Bay]
  
• Mets Fever would like to see the Mets sign Jonny Gomes. [Mets Fever]
• Tyler Hissey spoke with Dayn Perry of FoxSports.com about the Rays. [Rays Digest]
  
• Nothing new here, but Ken Rosenthal says the Cubs and the Rays are the two teams pursuing Milton Bradley the hardest. Rosenthal says the Rays are a better fit (patient manager, ability to DH) but wonders if the Rays will meet Bradley's asking price...The better question is: How far down from his asking price would Bradley be willing to go to sign with the Rays? [Fox Sports]
  
• Rays Prospects has the winter stats updated through Friday for players in the Rays organization. [Rays Prospects]
• Tampa Bay Sports Blog explains why recent moves show that the Rays are smarter than the Yankees. [Tampa Bay Sports Blog]
• David Chalk of Bugs and Cranks keeps chugging along with his Devil Rays Advent Calendar and the all-time greatest Devil Rays. [Bugs and Cranks]
  

Almost exactly one year after being traded together from the Twins to the Rays, and a couple of weeks after Joe Maddon did the same, Matt Garza and Jason Bartlett got married...Not to each other, that would be illegal in most states.

Bartlett married Kelly Chevez on November 15 (picture of the couple below). This came a little more than one year after Bartlett proposed to Kelly while missing a week of the Twins season with "an injury".

Garza married Serina Ortiz on November 29. Here is video of Garza talking about the wedding. When asked if he was as nervous during game 7 of the ALCS, Garza responded "hell nah!" Matt and Serina have dated since high school and have two children together.

In the same video we learn that Garza is conducting a baseball clinic later this month with some former Fresno State teammates. We hope this doesn't violate Jim Hickey's orders that the pitchers are not to touch a baseball until January.

On a side note, Garza's dad, Rudy Garza, is a member of the Army National Guard and will be deployed to Kuwait in January.

Cangratulations to Matt and Jason, and a heart-felt 'thank you' to Rudy.

KELLY CHEVEZ & JASON BARTLETT [TheKnot.com]
Being Prepared Is Jason Bartlett's Motto [Rays Index]
Up Close and Personal with Matt Garza [ABC30]
Rays pitchers told to take it easy this offseason [ESPN]
Success hasn't spoiled Garzas [Fresno Bee]

Yesterday, Jayson Stark wrote that a source was saying the Rays would "never" take Delmon Young back.

Not so fast. Today Stark is saying the talks are very much alive and might involve a third team.

Stuff can change fast at the winter meetings. Contrary to what I reported Monday morning on this very blog, there were indications Monday night that Tampa Bay was still talking to the Twins about a deal that would bring outfielder Delmon Young back to the Rays.

Tampa Bay likely would deal away either Andy Sonnanstine or Edwin Jackson. But the trade could also involve a third team, because the Twins aren't looking to add starting pitching.

Stark speculates that the Rockies could get involved considering their interest in acquiring starting pitching and the Twins interest in Garrett Atkins.

The Rays just traded Young away (along with Jason Pridie and Brendan Harris) last season for Matt Garza and Jason Bartlett (and Eddie Morlan). If we are reading this right, and we would like to think we are, this latest move would essentially make the original trade Sonnanstine or Jackson for Garza and Bartlett. Seems fair.

That sound you hear? That is Twins fans throwing up.

Jayson Stark: Rays Will Only Trade Bartlett In 'Major Deal' [Rays Index]
Rays might re-acquire Young [ESPN]

According to Danny Knobler of CBS Sportline, a baseball official says the Rays talked to the Twins about reacquiring Delmon Young.

...the Rays have also discussed trying to reacquire Delmon Young, the outfielder who they traded to the Twins last winter to get Bartlett and Matt Garza...It doesn't appear that the Young talks got very far, and neither did Tampa Bay's efforts to acquire Denard Span, another Twins outfielder.

It makes sense that the Rays would inquire about Young, as the Twins have an abundance of outfielders and have been rumored to be willing to move Young. However, a deal with the Rays seems unlikely as it would be an indictment of Twins' general manager Bill Smith. Trading Matt Garza and Jason Bartlett for Young was Smith's first major move as GM.

Knobler also notes that the Rays may be willing to include Bartlett in a deal this winter. This does not come as a surprise as Bartlett is arbitration-eligible for the first time and is in line for a large bump in salary. With Reid Brignac waiting in the wings, the Rays have a player who was voted the top defensive shortstop in the International League in 2008 and offers a higher upside than Bartlett with the bat at a much lower cost.

And if Brignac is not ready to handle an everyday job in the big leagues, the Rays could conceivably move rookie of the year Evan Longoria to shortstop and start Willy Aybar at third base. This last scenario offers the Rays a vast improvement offensively with only a slight downgrade defensively.

[CBS Sportsline]

Remember those high-end, SoHo t-shirts that Joe Maddon had all the players wearing towards the end of the season? They were "Ed Hardy" t-shirts and run about $200 a pop.

Well, apparently "Ed Hardy" makes more than t-shirts. The fashion clothier recently debuted their new line of lingerie with a fashion show (NSFW?).

Not sure if these are really our bag, but we do know that Matt Garza would have looked much better in this, than dressed as a chalupa, as he was during this year's hazing. Then again, these outfits have Jeff Niemann written all over them. Do they come in "giraffe" size?

Maddon has Rays facing a Hardy challenge [Yahoo! Sports]
The Ed Hardy lingerie show was good too [on 205th magazine]
Hot Topic [Her Rays]
Separated At Birth? [Rays Index]

This morning we linked to a story in which we learned that Jim Hickey has ordered the pitching staff to not even touch a baseball until January. Buster Olney references a number of recent teams that made deep October playoff runs and then suffered from a breakdown of the pitching staff the following year. The main concern is a sudden and drastic increase in innings pitched from one season to the next, especially on the arms of young pitchers.

Hickey and Joe Maddon have always been cautious with their pitchers so we decided to take a closer look at how much stress was put on the Rays' arms this year due to the extra games in October...

A few notes on the above table...

• The above table only includes pitchers that were significant contributors to the 2008 Rays and figure to be a part of the 2009 roster. All totals include any innings thrown while in the minor leagues or college.
  
• The above group increased their total innings pitched by 2.6% from 2007. If JP Howell is removed from the table (used as starting pitcher in '07), the increase jumps to 8.2%
• "Stress" is a statistical look at how much stress is put on the arm of a pitcher. The stress is based on the number of pitches thrown during a season after a pitcher has reached 110 pitches in a start. For example, if James Shields throws 115 pitches in a start, 5 pitches are considered stressful. Here is a list of the pitchers with the highest Stress levels in 2008. Nine pitchers had a stress level above 20 during the regular season, and Tim Lincecum led baseball with a 49 Stress level (what the hell the Giants are thinking is beyond us).
  
• Only Matt Garza saw an increase in Stress as a result of the postseason. Garza's Stress increased from 7 to 15 after postseason starts with 116 and 118 pitches. Scott Kazmir was the only other pitcher with a start in the postseason with greater than 110 pitches (111).
  

As can be seen in the table, the pitcher that should cause the biggest concern for 2009 is Matt Garza with James Shields and Edwin Jackson to a lesser extent. We are not sure how to judge Grant Balfour's sharp increase as a relief pitcher, but it should not be ignored.

Garza's Stress level, especially in the postseason, is worrisome. However, he does have a history of high inning totals. In 2005 and 2006, Garza posted innings pitched of 184 and 185.2 respectively. His 213.1 innings this season marks only a 14.9% increase over his previous career high. Shields had the exact same number of innings pitched in the regular season as he did in 2007, so his increase is due completely to the postseason.

As can be seen in the table, a starting pitcher's Stress shows a strong correlation to the number of starts with at least 110 pitches. We looked back at each of the starting pitcher's Stress from 2007. As we can see, Garza's Stress jumped considerably in 2008, from 2 to 15. At the other end of the spectrum, Kazmir's stress was much higher in 2007. That could explain the struggles that Kazmir experienced most of the season and could lead to a rebound in 2009.

Shields and Andy Sonnanstine were able to post relatively low Stress totals despite an increase in innings pitched. This bodes well for both pitchers moving forward.

The final factor to consider, that is difficult to measure, is the stress of pitching in the postseason. Scott Kazmir (520), Shields (412) and Garza (431) each added at least 400 pitches to their arm in the postseason. Sonnanstine threw an additional 261 pitches. It could be argued that a pitch in the postseason is more taxing on the arm than a pitch during the regular season. In addition to the stress of the postseason, there is also the factor that arms are tired after pitching for 7 months (including spring training). But how much more stressful is an October pitch? Certainly this varies from pitcher to pitcher, but is something that cannot be ignored.

Ultimately, we have to trust that Hickey and Maddon will take all the extra cautions needed this offseason as the pitchers get ready for 2009. But in the end, there are some serious concerns about how effective Garza and Balfour, as well as some of the other pitchers, will be in the coming season.

Rays pitchers told to take it easy this offseason [ESPN]

The St. Pete Times is reporting that Major League Baseball has already postponed tonight's continuation of game 5. According to the press release from MLB, the game is tentatively scheduled for 8:37pm tomorrow (Wednesday). Don't think Fox TV's desire to keep "House M.D." from being postponed was not a factor in this decision.

As for the Rays, this postponement means very little for the pitching staff. Joe Maddon will still go with Grant Balfour (or David Price) to start the final three and a half innings of game 5. Maddon will also likely stay with James Shields and Matt Garza as his games 6 and 7 starters.

One change could be the availability of the other starters in a potential game 7. If game 5 is completed tomorrow, games 6 and 7 would be held on Thursday and Friday (Halloween). Andy Sonnanstine would certainly be available on Friday (4 days rest) but conceivably he could also throw on Thursday in game 6 out of the bullpen. Also, Scott Kazmir could be available out of the bullpen in a potential game 7 (not that we would recommend that).

As for the Phillies, Charlie Manuel could choose to bring Cole Hamels back on three days rest to start a potential game 7. Hamels only threw 75 pitches last night.

Game 5 postponed ... again [St. Pete Times]

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

THE GOOD: Tough lefty? Carl Crawford is 9-19 (.474) in his career against Jamie Moyer. Carlos Pena is 10-20 (.500) with 3 doubles and 2 home runs. Matt Stairs (1-10) is the only Phillie that has ever faced Matt Garza, but is unlikely to face him tonight.

THE BAD: Having to explain to people that we will be late to a Halloween party because of the World Series even though they promise to have the game on. Don't care. We need to focus. This is too important.

THE TELLING: Forecast is now saying that the rain should have already passed by game time, with rain up until about 6pm and only 20% chance of rain during the game. You can get hourly updates here...The Rays were 6-3 in NL ballparks this season.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA...

• The Delaware News-Journal (Phillies country) compares the long-suffering fans of the Rays and Phillies and what this World Series means to each. The story includes some quotes from some Rays fans including some bloke named Cork Gaines. Wonder where they found that guy? [Delaware News-Journal]
• Peter Gammons compares the Rays and Phillies bullpens. Joe Maddon says the key to building a bullpen without a top-notch closer is to find 4-5 guys that are not afraid of pitching in the 9th inning and 4-5 guys that are capable of coming into a game, finishing an inning and then going back out to at least start the next inning. Interestingly, Maddon says he can see Jake McGee filling those needs once he comes back from Tommy John surgery. [ESPN]

Price obviously is going into the Tampa Bay rotation next season, but look for the Rays to take a big, hard-throwing lefty like Jake McGee -- who is coming off Tommy John surgery -- to try that role. Maddon says McGee throws harder than Price, and he sees McGee being used in important roles out of the pen once he learns how to pitch, sit and pitch again.

• Ahhh Phillies Fans. [Big League Stew-Video]
  
• Joe Maddon admits that the game is more difficult to manage without a DH. Bill Chastain also mentions that while Andy Sonnanstine and Scott Kazmir can handle a bat well, Matt Garza is a very poor hitter. [MLB]
  
• Paul White of USA Today says the ballpark is not nearly as important as the pitching matchups and the Rays have the advantage. [USA Today]
• The Rays relievers are going to have to deal with a raucous crowd near the bullpen. [LA Times]
• Ronald Blum takes a look at the Rays bullpen and notes that unlike most teams, the Rays' relievers do not have defined roles. [SI.com]
• Not a single Tampa Bay Ray was named to the Sporting News' American League All-Star team. [Halos Happenings]
  
• Carlos Pena calls Akinori Iwamura "one of the best players we've ever seen." High praise indeed. [Chicago Tribune]
  
• Piper Castillo takes a look at what is on Fernando Perez' nightstand. [St. Pete Times]
  
• Dueling Couches is none too happy that the media are talking about David Price so much. We are assuming they were just as hard on the media with Joba Chamberlain last year and Francisco Rodriguez back in 2002. Because apparently it is not impressive to record the final 4 outs of an ALCS game 7 win against the Red Sox and then record the final 7 outs of a World Series win. All after having started the year in single-A. [Dueling Couches]
• Despite solid game 1 numbers, game 2 received the second-lowest ratings ever for a World Series game. [Awful Announcing]
  
• Bob Verdi of the Chicago Tribune says this World Series is worth watching and that nobody need feel sorry for the fat cats running the television industry. [Chicago Tribune]
• A tour of Joe Maddon's office...Love the quote of about the wine and Joey Gathright. [VIDEO]
  
• Some pics of game 2 from a fan in the seats. [The Serious Tip]
• The success of the Rays has even boosted the local cigar industry. [Cigar Review]
  

Earlier today we discussed how a rainout in game 3 will leave the Rays and Phillies scrambling for a starter in a potential game 7. Now we want to hear your opinion...

Online Surveys & Market Research

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA...

• Some curious photos from game 2. The "Blue Man" Grandma is either very disturbing or very cool. [Side Salad]
• Tom Verducci of SI.com says Ryan Howard has been neutralized late in games by left-handers and the numbers suggest it has been that way all season, hitting .139 in the 7th inning or later. Verducci also has a quote from David Price in which the rookie says that now that he has his first World Series game under his belt he will "be better next time". Scary considering he wasn't really that bad in his first appearance. [SI.com]
• Tracy Ringolsby of Fox Sports thinks the Rays are getting lucky considering they chose not to send two top prospects to the Rockies for Brian Fuentes. Ringolsby feels that the emergence of David Price in the absence of Troy Percival is the equivalent of "the magic coach they have been riding" which could turn into a pumpkin. [Fox Sports]
  

Depending on who you talk to, there is either a 70% or a 90% chance of rain during game 3 of the World Series. If game 3 is postponed, all three of the games in Philadelphia will be moved back a day. MLB will then eliminate the off-day between games 5 and 6. The final two games (if necessary) will still be held on their originally scheduled days (Wednesday, Thursday).

The biggest impact of the rainout would be on how the managers will shuffle the rotations. If game 3 is moved to Sunday, the teams could potentially play five games in five days. This means that either the teams will have to use a 5th starter in game 7 or they will have to bring back their game 3 starters on 3-days rest.

For the Rays it would mean a game 7 start for Matt Garza on three days rest or using 5th starter Edwin Jackson as a starter for the first time in the postseason.

The situation is more dire for the Phillies. They would have to choose between bringing 45-year old Jamie Moyer back on three days rest or starting a relief pitcher. The Phillies 5th starter, Kyle Kendrick is not on the postseason roster. [Ed. note: The Phillies could bring Cole Hamels back for game 3 on three days rest and then have him available again for game 7 on three days rest.]

Here is how the Rays rotation sets up without a rainout...


If game 3 is postponed, here is how the rotation sets up if Joe Maddon chooses not to make any changes...


As you can see both Scott Kazmir and James Shields will be on an extra day of rest. But the downside is Garza would only be on three days rest.

If game 3 is postponed, Maddon could choose to move Kazmir and Shields up a day to pitch on normal rest...


This scenario seems more likely if the Rays are trailing 2 games to 1 heading into game 4.

Of course Garza would still be on three days rest. The only other option seems to be starting Jackson in game 7. Jackson has not started a game since September 24. Maddon could also choose to start Garza on short rest and have David Price ready to go in the 4th/5th inning. This could all hinge on how many pitches Garza throws in game 3. If the Rays jump out to an early lead in game 3, Maddon may decide to go to the bullpen a little earlier than normal with an eye towards a potential game 7.

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

THE GOOD: It was a perfect game for the Phillies. They had their best pitcher on the mound against the Rays #3 starter. They got a number of breaks during the game, including a safe-call on a pickoff attempt in the 2nd inning that showed the runner was out. In the 5th inning Pat Burrell was safe at first on an error when it appeared that he was clearly inside the base line. The Phillies had several excuse-me swings and bloop basehits. With the bases loaded and only 1 out in the 3rd, BJ Upton hit a ball about as hard as it could be hit, but the ball went right to Pedro Feliz at third base, who turned a double-play. And the biggest break may have been a non-balk call in which Cole Hammels picked Carlos Pena off first base with no outs in the 6th of a 1-run game. All of those breaks, with their ace on the mound and the Rays still only lost 3-2 and had several opportunities to win the game. If there is such a thing as a "good" loss in the World Series. This was it. With pitching matchup advantages in the next 3 games, the Rays are far from out of this...The DH is a big advantage for the Rays. Chris Coste was the Phillies DH and he didn't even look like a major league hitter...The Rays "double" lead-off combination of Jason Bartlett and Akinori Iwamura reached base each of their first 5 plate appearances...Lefties in the lineup went 4 for their first 7 with a home run and 2 RBI against Cole Hamels.

THE BAD: Scott Kazmir once again couldn't get out of his own way in the first inning giving up a 2-run home run. And even though Kazmir was a bit unlucky with some bloop hits after the first inning, he still allowed 11 base runners in the first 6 innings. If the Phillies didn't go 0-9 with runners in scoring position in those 6 innings, the game wouldn't have been so close...Phillies lead-off hitters were on base 4 times...With 2 outs in the 5th and a runner on second, BJ Upton fouled out to Ryan Howard who reached into the stands for the grab. Absolutely awful job by the crowd in that section. We have no idea how they can let an opposing player make that play...The Rays 2-4 batters went a combined 0-12 with 5 Ks....Why the hell is the "free taco" such a big story? Did people think there was a chance nobody would steal a base in the entire World Series? Taco Bell is giving away free Tacos. Good for them. We understand Fox TV making a big deal. It is a corporate sponsorship. But why are there so many news stories on the topic?

THE TELLING: Joe Maddon chose to start Ben Zobrist in right field with Gabe Gross struggling and preferring to keep Fernando Perez on the bench as a late-inning weapon. It was Zobrist's second start in right field in his career...10 of the last 11 World Series winners won game 1. Then again 5 of those were sweeps and another 2 were 4-1. Anybody think the Rays are getting swept? Didn't think so...There is about an 80% chance of rain in St. Pete tonight. Too bad the Rays don't play in a dome. Oh. Wait. Never mind...According to CoolStandings.com the chances of the Rays winning the World Series is now only 36.1%.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA...

• In a strange story, Daisuke Matsuzaka apparently accused (in the Japanese media) the Rays of moving the pitching rubber to benefit James Shields. MLB checked the mound and found nothing wrong. [St. Pete Times]
  
• Big League Stew debates the non-balk call. [Big League Stew]
  
• In a classic case of "hindsight is 20-20", Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports says the Rays were "too cool" in game 1 and didn't play the game with urgency...Of course in game 1 of the ALCS everybody was saying the Rays played too uptight. [Yahoo! Sports]
• Gerry Fraley of Fox Sports says the game 1 win cannot hide the problems the Phillies have. [Fox Sports]
• Jerry Crasnick of ESPN says Joe Maddon gives his players 30 minutes after every game to either celebrate the win or stew about the loss. After 30 minutes, that game is done and it is time to focus on the next game. [ESPN]
  
• We always wonder what makes one team in a championship contest a "team of destiny" and the other is not. The Press of Atlantic City thinks the Phillies are destiny's darlings this year. [Press of Atlantic City]
  
• Philly, we'll make you a deal. We'll stop ringing the cowbells if you promise that the Phillies fans in games 3,4,5 will not yell any ignorant insults. Deal? Didn't think so. [Philadelphia Inquirer]
• Peter Mucha of the Philadelphia Inquirer says a rainout on Saturday would move Cole Hamels up from game 5 to game 4. This will not change Hamel's availability for game 7. If game 4 is moved to Monday, game 7 will not change. There just won't be an off-day between games 5 and 6. Which means game 7 will be next Thursday regardless of when game 4 is played. So unless Hamels comes back on 2 days rest, Hamels is not pitching game 7. [Philadelphia Inquirer]
  
• Scott Kazmir just wishes he could get the one pitch back from the first inning. [MLB]
  
• Mark Newman gives us "Ten things to love about The Trop." [MLB]
• Sean McAdam of the Boston Herald says that the emergence of the Rays changes the landscape in the AL East and the Yankees and Red Sox should get used to it. [Boston Herald]
• BJ Upton's bat from the ALDS and ALCS was sent to the Hall of Fame. [Baseball Prospectus]
  
• Bud Selig sure doesn't seem upset about the Rays in the World Series when he says, "I just can't tell you how important this is...I'm really lucky I was able to see this." [USA Today]
  
• Troy Percival is still at home with his family in California...Joe Maddon says he would be with the team if he was on the roster. [Tampa Tribune]
• The Tigers new pitching coach has ties to Matt Garza. [Detroit Free-Press]
• Todd Kalas joined his dad in the radio booth during the 4th inning. [MLB]
• While the Rays were celebrating after game 7 of the ALCS, Trever Miller's 4-year old daughter nearly died in the stands. It does sound as if Miller's wife had the situation under control, as this is a condition that is not new. [MLB]

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]

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

THE GOOD: Matt Garza. Only fitting that we start with the ALCS MVP. 7 innings, 2 hits, 1 run and 1 huge pair of cajones. And Joe Maddon had the guts to stick with Garza in the 7th inning, despite 99 pitches heading into the inning. And even more guts to stick with Garza after 2 batters reached base with only 1 out. Garza would get Mark Kotsay to fly out to right and then struck out Jason Varitek...Evan Longoria. The Rays didn't have a single base runner in the first 3 innings and it was beginning to look as if Jon Lester was back to his unbeatable ways. But with 2 outs and Carlos Pena on first, Evan Longoria stroked a double down the right field line. Pena is slow, but he was just fast enough to beat the relay throw and get the Rays on the board...The Strike 'em out-Throw 'em out. With 1 out in the 6th and Dustin Pedroia on first and David Ortiz at the plate, Matt Garza gets Big Papi swinging. As our house erupted in cheers, I was screaming that Pedroia was running. Dioner Navarro made an absolutely perfect throw to beat Pedroia by 5 feet...Willy Aybar. His home run was the biggest hit of the game. You could almost feel the pressure lift a little off of the players once that ball left the bat giving the Rays a 2-run lead...David Price. Only fitting that we end with King David. The favored son appeared late in the battle and slayed Goliath to lead the Rays past the Philistines Red Sox. Seriously? A guy that started the year in single-A, earns his first career save-a 4-out save-in game 7 of the ALCS against the Boston Red Sox. Think King David might see some similar situations in the World Series?

THE BAD: Getting lucky in the 4th inning. When Evan Longoria flipped the double down the right field line, it nearly bounced over the short wall in foul territory near the foul pole, hitting the wall about 6 inches from the top. If that ball goes over, Carlos Pena would have been forced to stop at third base on the ground-rule double...Getting lucky in the 8th inning. With runners on first and second and David Ortiz coming up, Joe Maddon went to JP Howell. Howell got Ortiz to ground slowly to Aki Iwamura. Rather than take the sure out at first, Aki went to second. Coco Crisp would have been safe if he slid for the bag. Instead, he chose to slide at Bartlett to break up the double-play and never touched the bag and was forced out...Joe Maddon went with Gabe Gross as a late-inning defensive replacement in right field. Gross is a good right fielder. Fernando Perez is better.

THE TELLING: When David Price came back out for the 9th inning, our first reaction was to shit our pants. But strangely, once we changed our diaper, we weren't worried. The kid is that good...David Ortiz came to the plate with runners on base three times. He was 0-3 with 2 strike outs and a force out...Anybody from Red Sox Nation care to explain once again how winning the division didn't mean anything? Any chance the Red Sox would have preferred to play game 7 at home?...Winning the ALCS in 5 games would have been sweet, but giving Red Sox Nation false hope and then crushing it with a 700-pound fat lady singing at the top of her lungs, made it all the more sweet...According to CoolStandings.com, the Rays now have a 100% chance of winning the ALCS. We think they are underestimating the magic of the Red Sox. The Rays have a 53.5% chance of winning the World Series which is basically the home field advantage...Look for Scott Kazmir to take the ball for game 1 on Wednesday against Cole Hammels, with James Shields coming back on normal rest for game 2 and Matt Garza in game 3.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA...

• Transcript of Joe Maddon's post-game press conference. [MLB]
• Transcript of Matt Garza's post-game press conference. [MLB]
• Don Zimmer threw out the first pitch. [Tampa Tribune]
• Troy Percival was expected to rejoin the Rays prior to game 7, but chose to stay in California to tend to a "family matter". [Fox Sports]
• "The thousands of you that left Game Five in Fenway early can feel justified now, since the team wasn't up to your standards" [Epic Carnival]
  
• We don't think BJ Upton was ever really in the doghouse for more than a day or two, but after this postseason, it is safe to say Upton is definitely back in the good graces of his manager. [SI.com]
• We will try to get to some more links this afternoon.
  

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

THE GOOD: According to CoolStandings.com the Rays now have a 88.5% chance of winning the ALDS. The Red Sox have a 90.6% chance of winning their series. The Red Sox have the best chance to win the World Series at 27.7% and the Rays are second at 23.9%. The Dodgers are only 20.7% to win it all even though they have already advanced to the second round. No matter who wins the ALCS and NLCS, the AL team will be a heavy favorite.

THE BAD: Dome teams are 11-27 all-time in outdoor postseason games.

THE TELLING: Game time temperatures should be around 64 with a 50% chance of showers. The good news about the weather is that there is 15 mph wind blowing in from left field which could help negate the Sox power.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA...

• Carlos Pena is expected back in the lineup today. [Tampa Tribune]
  
• We brought this up before, but expect the White Sox to try and slow the Rays down today and tomorrow with a wet track. [St. Pete Times]
• Brittany Ghiroli takes a look at how the Rays speed is giving them an advantage over the White Sox. [MLB]
  
• The New York Times has a nice feature story on Fernando Perez. [New York Times]
  
• Rob Quinn breaks down 5 areas that are key to the Rays winning in Chicago. [The Examiner]
• Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune breaks down what the White Sox need to do to win 3 in a row. [Chicago Tribune]
  
• According to at least one oddsmaker in Vegas, the Rays are now the favorites to win the World Series at 2-1. Not bad considering it was 100-1 in Spring Training (thanks John).
• From the 4-letter that until recently thought blogging was akin to taking a dump in the middle of the street, ESPN now has celebrity "bloggers". Of those, is Lil' Wayne and his prediction for World Series champs? The Rays. (Thanks Rex) [ESPN]
• Marc Lancaster spoke with Cliff Floyd. [Tampa Tribune]
  
• John Romano says, don't forget about Carl Crawford. [St. Pete Times]
• Tony Fabrizio takes a look back at the turning point in Matt Garza's season when he and Dioner Navarro came to blows in the dugout. [Tampa Tribune]
• Brant James takes a look at the controlled chaos that is Ozzie Guillen. [St. Pete Times]
  

[Update: 8:24pm] The White Sox put away the Tigers 8-2. The Rays post-season opponent will now be determined tomorrow at 7:30 ET in a 1-game playoff.

[Update: 7:26pm] Gary Glover's first pitch was a grand slam for Chicago. About right. 6-2 White Sox.

[Update: 7:24pm] White Sox have tied the game at 2-2 and Detroit just brought in Gary Glover with the bases loaded, which should just about a guarantee a White Sox win and a 1-game playoff tomorrow with the Twins.

[Update: 6:08pm] Game announcers just said the Twins are in Minneapolis with a charter ready to bring them to Chicago.

The White Sox and Tigers are currently in the 4th inning with the White Sox leading 1-0. A Chicago win will force a 1-game playoff tomorrow at home against the Twins...Interesting question: Are the Twins in Chicago today? Today's game was delayed by rain for 3 hours. Would the Twins wait until after the game to travel? Can't imagine they would fly in tomorrow morning.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA...

• Carl Crawford went 0-4 in 5 plate appearances during an Instructional League game today. He reported no pain and indicated he was playing at 100%. Crawford also says his hamstrings "feel good", no doubt benefiting from the time off. [Rays Report]
  
• Reid Brignac is healthy and playing in the Fall Instructional League. Andrew Friedman said he would not hesitate to put Brignac on the postseason roster should an injury necessitate the addition of a middle infielder...Marc Lancaster also reports that Jeff Niemann, Mitch Talbot and Juan Salas have been told they will not be on the postseason roster. [Rays Report]
• Ben Zobrist was named co-player of the week. He is the 4th Ray to win the award this season. [Rays Report]
  
• Outs Per Swing has a nice list of the Rays' top 10 pitching performances this season. A testament to this year's squad, all 5 of the Rays' starters make the list at least once. However, 7 of the outings came via Matt Garza (4) or James Shields (3) with the other 3 starters each appearing once. Our only argument might come with #1. We probably would have gone with Garza's 1-hit, 10-K performance against the Marlins (#2 on the list). That was the most dominating performance we have ever seen by a Rays' pitcher. Still, 1-hit shutout by Shields is hard to argue against. [Outs Per Swing]
  
• Sorry we missed this one yesterday...Baseball Digest Daily spoke with Buster Olney of ESPN.com during their weekly podcast. Among the topics covered were the Rays. You can catch the Rays segment at about the 35 min mark. [Baseball Digest Daily]
• The Angels "Ain't S#!t" compared to the Rays. [Bugs and Cranks]
• The first pitches for games 1 and 2 will be thrown out by senior VP John Higgins, the Rays' first-ever employee and Paul Azinger, the captain of the recent US Ryder Cup team, and Bradenton resident. [The Heater]

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

THE GOOD: Even though the lead in the East is down to 1.5, the Rays are still very much in the driver's seat. The lead in the loss column is 2 and the Rays hold the tie-breaker. In order for the Rays to lose the division, they need to lose 3 more games than the Red Sox this week and their last 3 games are at home against the Yankees. In other words, if the Rays go 4-4, the Red Sox have to go 6-1. And don't think the Yankees won't enjoy playing spoiler against the Sox...The odds of the Rays winning the Division according to Baseball Prospectus is now 72.3%...The Yankees Tragic number is 1.

THE BAD: We sure hope the Rays don't lose the division by 1 game as the Rays just gave away a game yesterday. We thought the afternoon clinching game on Saturday would help a little. Let the Rays celebrate for a few hours and they could still get a decent night's sleep prior to getaway day. After all, there is still a division to win with only a week to play. Every game is important. But apparently they went too far as the team played as if they were hungover yesterday, managing only 5 hits and committing 2 errors. And keep in mind the difference between winning the division and being the Wild Card. The Wild Card team starts on the road and likely has to beat both the Angels and the Red Sox without home field advatage in order to get to the World Series. Also, the Rays finish the season this week with 8 games in 7 days on the road. If they are the Wild Card, they will come home next Sunday and have to fly out to Anaheim the next morning...The Red Sox magic number to clinch at least a wild card is 1.

THE TELLING: The Rays finished the regular season with an attendance of 1,811,986, second only to the inaugural season in 1998 (2.5 million). Over the course of the season the Rays had 8 sellouts (including Sunday), matching the total number of sellouts from the first 10 years.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA...

• Oops. We all know the Tampa Tribune is in bed with the Yankees and barely knew the Rays existed prior to this season. But if Joe Henderson is going to write a piece on how the success of the team starts with Andrew Friedman, then they probably should make sure that the picture running with the story is actually of Friedman, and not Matt Silverman (that is Silverman on the left in the photo, not Friedman). [Update: The picture has since been removed. Here is the picture] [Tampa Tribune]
  
• We are going to try and get in a Live Blog-A-Baloo for David Price's first major league start tonight. No promises as the calendar is pretty full. But by 7:00 we will probably need a drink or 10 anyhow. So be sure to check back. [Rays Index Live Blog-A-Baloo Of The Week]
• Et tu, Chalk? Yes! David Chalk of Bugs and Cranks goes Mohawk, with video! We love that he does this while decked out in Devil Rays gear at a Supercuts. [Bugs and Cranks]
• David Price will make his first major league start on today in Baltimore and Mitch Talbot will make his first start tomorrow in the second game of the double-header. Matt Garza will be skipped in the rotation this time through to give his arm some extra rest. He will next pitch on Saturday. [Rays Report]
• Troy Percival will not be available tonight or tomorrow after receiving another shot for his back. [St. Pete Times]
  
• David Price hopes tonight's start will convince the Rays to include him on the postseason roster. [Lakeland Ledger]
  
• Covering All The Bases isn't ready to sing the Rays praises just yet, saying that "enough is enough." Then again, she might just be taking out her frustration of losing Nomah to Mia. [Covering the Bases]
• The Big Lead, after poo-pooing the Rays all season, has finally decided that they will "officially exclude [himself] from the people that continue to doubt this team." [The Big Lead]
• Joe Torre sent Joe Maddon a fax congratulating him on "winning a tough division." [Tampa Tribune]
• The Sports Frappe gives their "Sports Douche of the Week" award to Tampa Bay Rays fans, slamming their lack of support, saying: "Their soft fans showed their excitement for this year's Cinderella season by attending in lackluster numbers, somewhere around 13,000 per game."...Of course the Rays actually drew more 22,000 per game. But hey, who wants to be bothered by actual facts. The only thing Douchy about that post is the background color on the The Sports Frappe. [The Sports Frappe]
  

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

THE GOOD: Evan Longoria. There has been some recent talk that his extended stint on the DL would cost Dirtbag the Rookie of the Year award. 3 home runs last night. What about now? That's what we thought.

THE BAD: Joe Maddon. With 1 out and men on first and second in the 9th with the score tied Maddon brought Trever Miller in to face the lefty Jason Kubel. Ron Gardenhire countered by pitch-hitting with the righty-hitting Adam Everett. Maddon has 86 pitchers in the bullpen now, so it would have been fine to go back to the bullpen and bring in a righty. Instead Papa Joe leaves Miller in to face the righty, the same pitcher that has a .642/.800 OPS split against lefties and righties. For all the good moves this season, the one move he continues to make that leaves us dumbfounded is having Miller face righties. Earlier this season there were situations, because of injuries, where it was necesaary. But with the expanded roster, it should never happen [Ed. note: Prof suffered a brain-fart this morning. A pitcher must face at least one batter when brought into a game as noted in the comments. As the commenter notes, that does not change the point that Miller should not have been brought in to the game anyway if it is just one lefty batter in a bunting situation]... Bizarro Bullpen. There is a problem when the two relievers that we have the least amount of confidence in are the two guys that the Rays depend on to close out games. If the Rays continue to go to Dan Wheeler and Troy Percival in the 8th and 9th inning, we will see more games like last night.

THE TELLING: As we suspected, Troy Percival was eased back into live action, as he was called upon to work the 8th inning last night. With his recent back and leg problems, Joe Maddon wants to make sure Percy is ready to dominate before handing him the closing duties. Percival does say that his back feels better than it has all season.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA...

• Apparently there is still a scenario under which the Rays could clinch a playoff spot tonight. According to Marc Lancaster, if the Rays win AND the White Sox, Blue Jays and Yankees all lose, the Rays clinch at least a wild card. We can only guess that this has something to do with head-to-head matchups among those teams. We will take Lancaster's word for it, as just typing that sentence hurt our brain. [Rays Report]
• A situation we have speculated on since Spring Training could come to fruition in the next few days. We have long thought BJ Upton would make a great right fielder with his strong arm as long as Fernando Perez was in center. With Upton's legs still not 100% we might see that exact lineup as early as Saturday or Sunday according to Joe Maddon. [MLB]
  
• Brittany Ghiroli reports that Carl Crawford will not be back during the regular season, as he is still a ways away from even being able to swing a bat. If he plays in the first round of the playoffs, he will be limited to pinch-running and late-inning defensive substitution roles. [MLB]
• The second starter in Tuesday's double-header in Baltimore looks to either be Mitch Talbot or David Price. The availability of Price will depend on whether Joe Maddon needs King David out of the bullpen in the next couple of days. [Tampa Tribune]
  
• Shawn Riggans was officially placed on the DL and it now appears that he is done for the season...Although there is no official word, the backup catcher in the playoffs will likely be Michel Hernandez who had 5 career games under his belt prior to September. [Rays Report]
• "Little-name trade"? Seriously Scott Miller? Anybody that thinks the Matt Garza-Jason Bartlett-Delmon Young trade was a trade of "little names" is somebody that does not follow baseball. Young was a former #1 overall pick. Garza was the Twins top prospect. Bartlett's glove was not a mystery among baseball fans. This was a blockbuster, and anything but a "little name trade". [CBS Sportsline]
  
• The guys at one of our favorite new blogs, Joe Bucs Fan are worried that the Bucs will start playing second fiddle to the Rays. [Joe Bucs Fan]
• Speaking of the Bucs...We are not sure what bothers us more...the fact that Jerramy "King of Turds" Stevens has now been activated or that some day when Stevens is facing a felony charge, the press will refer to Stevens as "Former Bucs Tight End". Seriously. Is this creep going to be the difference between being a playoff team and being home for the holidays? Is the reputation of the entire franchise worth the risk? If the Rays ever signed a nutcase like Stevens we would become a Red Sox blogger in about 0.4 seconds. [Joe Bucs Fan]
  
• Al Reyes was released by the Mets without making an appearance for the ballclub. [New York Post]
  
• Former Rays Delmon Young and Brendan Harris commented on the Rays success. [MLB]
  
• Jayson Stark says it was the Rays that "played as if it had been there, done this pennant-race stuff a thousand times. And it was the Red Sox who did the mumbling, the stumbling and the fumbling." [ESPN]
• Chad Finn of the Boston Globe updates his list of "those subpar, non-descript and just plain lousy ballplayers who have tormented the Sox in recent years." The latest incarnation of the list includes several Rays. [Boston Globe]
  
• DRays Bay shows one benefit of having Andy Sonnanstine in the rotation. He faced the Red Sox twice in a week and the Red Sox basically saw two different pitchers...Although one problem we have run into in the past with Sonnanstine's Pitchf/x data, is that he throws so many different pitches from different arm angles, that it is difficult to classify exactly which pitch he is throwing sometimes. [DRays Bay]
• The Serious Tip shows that there are indeed Rays fans at the Trop and attempts to classify them. [The Serious Tip]
• Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. [San Diego Union-Tribune]