The Rays have five players that are arbitration-eligible: Dioner Navarro, Jason Bartlett, Gabe Gross, Grant Balfour, Willy Aybar. The Rays will have until January 19 to reach an agreement with each of these players prior to filing arbitration numbers. The Rays have a strict "file-and-go" policy. Once arbitration numbers have been filed, they will no longer negotiate with a player.

The Rays have an excellent track record for getting these deals done prior to the deadline, so look for each of these players to have a new contract in the next two weeks.

Typically, players that avoid arbitration sign one-year deals. Of the above players, the Rays seem most likely to give long-term deals to Navarro and Balfour with Bartlett as a possibility.

Balfour already hinted that his participation in the World Baseball Classic could be contingent on the deal offered by the Rays.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA...

• A very thorough biography for Patrick B. Burrell. His idol was George Brett.[JockBio]
  
• Ken Rosenthal reports that the Rays have kicked the tires on Gabe Kapler as a potential right fielder. Kapler played 96 games for the Brewers last season hitting .301/.340/.498. The Rays interest in Kapler further suggests that Matt Joyce will begin the season in the minor leagues. In theory, Kapler would be used as part of a platoon with Gabe Gross in right field until Joyce is deemed ready to be the everyday guy. Kapler posted a 1.001 OPS against lefties in 87 plate appearances in 2008 and has an .828 career OPS versus lefties. [Fox Sports]
• Buster Olney takes a look at how much the Rays lineup may improve in 2009 with the addition on Pat Burrell and healthy seasons from the returning position players. [ESPN]
• The Rays Party of America takes the MLB Network and Harold Reynolds to task for their portrayal of the Rays' success in 2008...Speaking of which, yesterday afternoon was a treat as the MLB Network broadcast game 2 of the World Series. You know, the good game. [The Rays Party of America]
  
• The Rays announced a couple more signings of former major leaguers to minor league deals. This time it is a pair of pitchers. Randy Choate is a lefty who has spent parts of 8 seasons with the Yankees and D-Backs. Last year he spent the year at triple-A in the Brewers organization posting a 5.08 ERA with 31 Ks and 20 walks in 39 innings. Julio DePaula is a righty that appeared in 16 games for the Twins in 2007. Last year he was at triple-A and posted a 5.70 ERA with 65 Ks and 41 walks in 77.1 innings. [The Heater]
  

How good is it to be Evan Longoria these days? Las Vegas Weekly reminds us...

Tampa Bay Devil Rays third baseman Evan Longoria took Hugh Hefner’s VIP table at the Playboy Club with his eight friends for two hours atop the Palms and enjoyed several games of blackjack in between his dance floor duties with fans.

Of course, by "fans" they mean random Vegas hotties. And by "dance floor duties" they mean being a lucky son of a biscuit.

Dirtbag. He puts his pants on just like us, one leg at a time. Of course, after he puts his pants on, he gets to sit at Hugh Hefner's VIP table and dance with "fans".

For those suffering from baseball withdrawal as we are, following the links we present video of Willy Aybar hitting a home run for Licey in the Dominican Winter League.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA...

• Rays pitching prospect Jino Gonzalez was arrested at Tampa International Airport after an unloaded gun was discovered in his carry-on bag. Gonzalez made 37 appearances (11 starts) for double-A Montgomery in 2008, posting a 5.44 ERA with 68 strike outs and 57 walks in 87.2 innings. The left-hander was originally drafted in the 46th round of the 2002 draft. [Fox Sports]
  
• The Rays resigned Michel Hernandez to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training. The spring invite is simply due to the need for extra catchers in camp with so many pitchers needing work each day. During the season, Hernandez is likely to serve as the Rays' "break glass only in case of emergency" catcher down at Durham. [The Heater]
  
• The Providence Journal caught up with Rhode Island native Dan Wheeler and spoke to him about his unusual rise to the big leagues. [Providence Journal]
  
• As usual Her Rays doesn't disappoint with the imagery. This time it is her "New Years Rays-o-lutions" and an attempt to stay pure and stop reading so much smut. [Her Rays]
• Last night was Joe Maddon's private dinner at the White House with President George Bush. [St. Pete Times]
  
• If you are interested, here is a news video clip featuring Joe Maddon's recent effort to help raise money for his former high school. At this rate, we have a feeling Papa Joe is going to still be wearing that Rays Santa cap in the dugout next season. [YouTube]
• The King of Lists is back and this time he has outdone himself. David Chalk is now counting down the top 177 Devil Rays of all-time, starting with Kevin Witt...Witt was like the backup quarterback. For a while he was the most popular guy in the organization, but proved to be a four-A player. Since then he went to Japan was never heard from again. We assume he joined the Yakuza. [Bugs and Cranks]
  
• Just speculation on his part, but Buster Olney sees Pat Burrell landing with the Rays. [MLB Trade Rumors]
• No surprise that the Rays are involved, but Jon Heyman is reporting that four other teams have expressed interest in Ken Griffey Jr. While Griffey may prefer to play close to his Orlando home, he is clearly just one name on the Rays' Plan B list for DH. [SI.com]
• The Examiner previews Carl Crawford. [Examiner]
  
• Peter Gammons has an interesting write up on baseball teams going young. [ESPN]
• ESPN includes BJ Upton on their list of players to watch in 2009. [ESPN]
  

Not the best video in the world, but if you fast-forward to the 2:22 mark, you will see Willy Aybar making a nice grab while playing third base for Licey in the Dominican Winter League. Not sure how updated these numbers are, but Aybar was hitting .286-0-9 with a .712 OPS in 15 games for Licey.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA...

• JP Howell was the 118th player to appear in both the College World Series and the Major League World Series. [bNet]
• Joe Maddon is back in his hometown of Hazleton, PA to visit family and help raise funds to renovate the auditorium of his former high school. [Times-Leader]
• Rays Party of America shows that the Rays' bullpen had the second slowest average velocity in baseball. [Rays Party of America]
  
• The Rays made the Joe Nelson signing official yesterday. [The Heater]
  
• The Rays resigned Jon Weber to a minor league deal. Weber is nice to have around considering he has been on a playoff team eight straight seasons and in six of those seasons his team won a championship. The Rays also signed three other minor leaguers including Ray Olmedo, a shortstop who has played parts of five big league seasons with the Reds and Jays. He will likely serve as the Rays glass case middle infielder. You know. Break only in case of emergency. Ray Sadler is an outfielder, who played 3 games with the Pirates in 2005 and spent last year at double-A and triple-A in the Astros' organization hitting 25 home runs in 126 games. Finally there is Doug Salinas, a right-handed pitcher. Salinas posted a 5.53 ERA in low-A last year in the Mariners' organization. That was actually good, considering it was 5.91 the year before in the same league. Another 5 years or so, and he might be ready for double-A. [Baseball America]
• Rob Quinn of Examiner.com has some New Year's resolutions for the Rays. [Examiner.com]
  
• Rays Prospects takes a look at how some Rays performed in the lower-level Venezuelan Winter League. Rays prospects in this league come from the Rays' Venezuelan Summer League team, the Princeton Rays and recent international signings. [Rays Prospects]
  

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]
  

Marc Topkin is reporting that Jonny Gomes has been non-tendered by the Rays and is now a free agent. The Rays did offer arbitration to the remaining five players that were arbitration-eligible (Willy Aybar, Grant Balfour, Jason Bartlett, Gabe Gross, Dioner Navarro).

With the Rays offering Gross arbitration, it suggests that there is at least a possibility that Matt Joyce will begin the season in triple-A as both players offer a similar skill set.

And so it is. Jonny Gomes' career with the Rays has now come to an end...and yes, the 2009 season will indeed be less Jonny-Terrific.

Gomes non-tendered, now a free agent [The Heater]

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]

The Rays, not surprisingly, are off to a slow start in the Hot Stove. What do we do when things are slow? We of course turn to YouTube. As a wise man once said, if you can't find anything interesting on YouTube, you just aren't trying.

Here is a somewhat mesmerizing video of several Rays getting mohawks prior to game 5 of the World Series. The players include Carl Crawford, Aki Iwamura, Willy Aybar and Grant Balfour. The barber in question is apparently a "barber for the baseball stars". He even has his own website!

A couple of notes...

• Japanese for Mohawk is apparently "Mo-hee-can", which we guess makes sense.
• Aki's English has gotten much better than we realized.
• Balfour will never win an Academy Award.
• If Balfour ever tries to high-five Tiger Woods, the universe might implode.
  

Online Surveys & Market Research

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA...

• Another day, another feature piece on the Rays in the New York Times. This time they take a look at the staying power of the team in the AL East, noting that core of the team could be unchanged in 2009 and beyond. However, Gerry Hunsicker reiterated that due to financial limitations, the team is always "trying to trade people a year too soon than a year too late.". The piece also speculates that Scott Kazmir could be traded along with one or more of the arbitration-eligible players (Edwin Jackson?)...In the piece it is indicated that the Rays likely turned a profit for the first time under Stuart Sternberg thanks to reaching the World Series. [New York Times]
• Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald says the Rays have "started - and are winning - a war for supremacy with the Red Sox" in the AL East and that the rivalry between the Sox and Yankees has been put on ice for now. Silverman says the Rays are good for baseball and refreshing for the Red Sox. [Boston Herald]
  
• Eric Hinske gets to face Brad Lidge again. They are in a Fantasy Football league together. Seriously. [Fanhouse]
  
• There is a rally tentatively scheduled for 4:30pm on Friday at Straub Park in St. Pete. [MLB]
  
• We wish we could have muted Tim McCarver and Joe Buck and instead listened to Sully's wife. She had more insight...Speaking of which, did any of you watching on TV know that Jason Bartlett ran through a stop sign in the 7th inning? Us neither. We listened to Dave Wills call during the Rays' radio broadcast and indicates that Bartlett indeed ran through a stop sign. Of course we never saw replay from FOX TV and McCarver and Buck never even bring the issue up. [Sully Baseball]
  
• Jerry Crasnick of ESPN takes a look at what the World Series means for the Rays moving forward and how this is a team that could be better next year. [ESPN]
• Jon Heyman says there was no disappointment, anger or bitterness in the Rays locker room following their game 5 loss...There is a part of us that wished the Rays had taken the World Series loss a little tougher. But then again, this is what has been great about the Rays all season. They are able to get over losses very quickly and move forward. [SI.com]
  
• Jordi over at The Serious Tip opens up about what the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays meant to him. [The Serious Tip]
• Will never happen. NEV-er. [Chicago Tribune]
  
• A Joe Maddon pumpkin? Wow. That's all we got. Wow. [The Heater]
• Mike Wlodarczyk is blogging from the Arizona Fall League. [Rays Prospects]
  

Cliff Floyd was removed from the World Series roster with a suspected tear of the labrum in his right shoulder. Now Floyd says the injury could end his career.

"If I have any more surgeries, my career's a wrap," Floyd said. "If it's something I can rehab from, we'll see what happens."

Floyd hinted early in the season that 2008 could be his last. Then, in September, Floyd said he was having second-thoughts, noting that this Rays squad had made baseball "so fun." However, even then, Floyd admitted that "going through all the surgeries...has taken it's toll."

The Rays have a 2009 team option on Floyd that would pay him $2.75 million. The buyout is only $250K.

The Rays, who could already be in the market for a right-handed hitting right fielder, may now also need a left-handed hitting DH. Willy Aybar, a switch-hitter, could take over as the most-days DH. However, Joe Maddon may prefer another player in the role as he will likely continue to use Aybar as a backup at several positions.

In addition, we have stated previously that it would not surprise us if Troy Percival retires after the season. The numerous trips to the DL, as well as his decision to not be with the team during the playoffs leave us wondering if Percy still has a desire to play.

Floyd only appeared in 80 games this season hitting .268/.349/.455 with 11 home runs.

Maddon skeptical of explanation of Blanton's cap stain [St. Pete Times]
Floyd To Retire After Season; Griffey To The Rays? [Rays Index]
Floyd Has Mixed Feelings About Retirement [Tampa Tribune]

Because the best cure for a bad "Hangover" is a good "Happy Hour".

That cute little Rayhawked, bespectacled fella is part of the new logo over "The Heater", Marc Topkin's blog at the St. Pete Times.

He sure is cute. But he looks a little familiar. Hmmm? Where have we seen him before? What could it be? Is it that he has a more famous cousin?

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA...

• Rocco Baldelli will start in right field tonight, while Cliff Floyd will be back at his customary DH slot. [Rays Report]
  
• Badsnap wonders if Derryl Cousins would be working the World Series if Boston had won the ALCS, noting that Cousins collarbone is only bruised and not broken. [Badsnap]
  
• Joe Maddon was named the Manager of the Year by the Sporting News. [The Heater]
  
• Some quotes from the Phillies suggest that Scott Kazmir was tipping his pickoff move. [Yahoo! Sports] [via Fanhouse]
  

“We saw some things...We can put some pressure on teams if they give us something to key off of." Davey Lopes

“I don’t want to say too much because we have games left...I will say with Davey, we’re an aggressive baserunning team.” Jayson Werth

• On a side note: For the younger crowd that are not familiar with Davey Lopes, just look at his career numbers to get a clear indication as to how differently the game is played these days on the basepaths. The dude once stole 77 bases and was 47 of 51 at the age of 40! Amazing. And having watched Lopes (at least towards the end of his career) he was not that fast. [Baseball-Reference]
  
• Jon Heyman: "But for one night, in the biggest game of their lives, the 97-win Rays reverted to their previously sour history in their 3-2 Game 1 defeat to the Phillies." Huh-wha?!? Jon does know this is baseball right? Sometimes, even good teams lose a game. Or is this going to be the Heyman's mantra for the rest of time. Anytime the Rays lose a game, they will have "reverted to their previously sour history". Jesus Jon! They lost by 1 run to a one of the best lefties in baseball. The old Devil Rays would have lost that game 10-1. (thanks Charles) [SI.com]
• It seems a bit strange to use alcohol as the vehicle to celebrate the success of any athlete, but it is even more strange when the New York Times uses champagne and beer as a vehicle in a story about Willy Aybar, who once spent three months in alcohol rehabilitation. [New York Times]

Four drained bottles of booze in the locker of a recovering alcoholic would be cause for concern in most workplaces. In the Tampa Bay Rays clubhouse, the empty Champagne and wine containers in Willy Aybar’s cubicle are considered 100 percent proof of a rebirth, not a relapse.

• Ratings from game 1 were down 14% from last year but are comparable to the 2005 World Series between the White Sox and Astros. [Bloomberg]
  
• Hidden behind the "Insider" curtain, Buster Olney looks closer at Evan Longoria's at bats last night to see how Cole Hamels was able to dominate the Rays. [ESPN]

The first pitch that Evan Longoria saw from Cole Hamels, in Longoria's first at-bat of the World Series, was a changeup. And with a 1-1 count, Longoria saw another changeup, and then another, and he struck out swinging. Three changeups among the first four pitches, but what Longoria could not have known, as he walked back to the dugout, was that he would not see a changeup thrown by Hamels in his next at-bat at all.

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.
  

The Red Sox Nation rallying cry is "we have been here before." You would think Red Sox fans wanted to lose 3 of the first 4 games. Anybody with a pink hat on today will be quick to point to the 2004 ALCS against the Yankees and the 2007 ALCS against the Indians.

Funny how these fans also forget facing elimination in the 2005 ALDS against the White Sox. Down 2 games to none with game 3 at home. The Red Sox lost. And then there was the 2003 ALCS with the Red Sox losing an elimination game against the Yankees. And the 1999 ALCS against the Yankees. In a scenario similar to this year's ALCS, the Red Sox trailed 3 games to 1 with game 5 in Fenway. The Red Sox lost.

Oh yeah. The Red Sox have been here before.

And this just in...The '07 Indians aren't even in the same league as the Rays. Well, you know what we mean.

Bonus pic after the links (Thanks Brian)

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA...

• Scott Kazmir will indeed start game 5. Buster Olney reported this morning that this move was made at least in part because of the tumultuous history between Kazmir and umpire Derryl Cousins, who is scheduled to be the home plate umpire in game 6. [The Heater]
• One writer at Bugs and Cranks says Joe Maddon is waiving the white flag in game 5 by starting Scott Kazmir in place of James Shields...Of course they don't take into account the history between Kazmir and umpire Derryl Cousins, or Kazmir's history in Fenway or Shields' home/road splits or the off-day after game 5. Other than those reasons, then yeah, Papa Joe wants to lose game 5. [Bugs and Cranks]
• David Chalk of Bugs and Cranks says Joe Maddon's decision is "genius" because he is infallible. [Bugs and Cranks]
• Some are starting to notice that this Rays team is not a flash in the pan. [The Big Lead]
• We think we figured out where Willy Aybar's home run ball landed. The Citgo sign behind the green monster spontaneously caught fire today. [WMUR]
  
• Gerry Fraley points out that there is no Curt Schilling to bail out the Red Sox this year. [Sporting News]
• One Pirates fan wishes he was a Rays fan...To which we say: Why aren't you? Do it. Don't be afraid. Jump on board. You can keep the Buccos on the side. We don't mind. The RAYSHEAD Army is growing, and we are welcoming new members with open arms. And we don't even mind if you think Scott Kazmir's first name is "Eric". We can work on the details later. We would have trouble with the first name of any of the Pirates starting pitchers. [Fanhouse]
  
• 8 reasons why the Red Sox are losing...One thing we haven't mentioned today: Many are looking at the triple last night as a "coming alive" moment for David Ortiz. Why is nobody mentioning that even though he hit that ball well it still came well short of leaving the park? It seems that the triple just made it even more clear that Big Papi's swing is not well right now. [RBI Magazine]
  
• Anthony Rieber thinks the Rays are only good because of a "lot of luck."...Anthony, research is a writer's best friend. Try it some time. [Newsday]
• Hidden behind ESPN's "Insider" wall, Buster Olney breaks down the 4 things the Red Sox need to do in order to come back in this series. Really it is 3 reasons as one is based on Scott Kazmir pitching game 6. [ESPN]
• Really? One writer wonders if the Rays will sell out any potential World Series games. Never mind that the Rays sold out all the ALDS and ALCS games in less than an hour. This is the World Series we are talking about...Our IQ went down having read that post. [yoonewverse]
  
• The Hardball Times tries to project BJ Upton's '09 season based on his '08 stats, including his postseason performance to date. Of course, they don't take into account the shoulder injury that Upton battled most of the season. [The Hardball Times]

THE GOOD: Matt Garza was never dominating, but he was never in real trouble. Despite allowing at least 1 baserunner in each of the first 6 innings and a runner on at least 2nd base with less than 2 outs in each of the first 3 innings, Garza was able to work out of each situation...Hitters 2-5 in the lineup. BJ Upton, Carlos Pena, Evan Longoria and Carl Crawford went a combined 2-13 with 3 walks and 5 Ks in the first game. In games 2 and 3 the group went 14-38 with 12 RBI...Upton now has 5 home runs in the postseason after hitting 9 all season. Kinda nice to imagine how good he is going to be next season once his shoulder is repaired...All 9 starters got a basehit...Leadoff hitters were on base in 6 innings, going 5-8 with a walk...Edwin Jackson. The game was out of reach, but it was nice to see Nuke come in and pitch a perfect 9th inning in his first postseason appearance. He threw 14 pitches, all fastballs, 8 for strikes, hitting 99 mph on one pitch. But before we start screaming about what a great relief pitcher he would be, let's keep in mind that he does seem a little too much like Kyle Farnsworth out of the 'pen. Not even relief pitchers can live on straight fastballs, even if they approach triple digits on the radar gun...P.S. What happened to Jon Lester the Invincible?

THE BAD: JP Howell may not be available tonight. Despite opening up an 8-1 lead in the top of the 8th, Joe Maddon kept Howell in the game in the bottom of the 8th for a second inning of work. Howell worked at least 2 innings in 25 appearances this season. Not once did he pitch the next day. Of course, the double play to end the 7th inning helped keep his pitch count down, and he only needed 20 pitches to complete the 2 innings of work, including 4 to get the three outs in the 7th...BJ Upton did something wacky on the basepaths again. Ohhh Melvin.

THE TELLING: The last time the Rays faced Tim Wakefield, both Willy Aybar and Fernando Perez started and batted right-handed. Both homered in their only plate appearance against Wakefield as he was chased after 2.1 innings. Of course Gabe Gross also homered in that game against Wakefield. The knuckleballer was 0-2 with a 5.87 ERA in 3 starts versus the Rays this season...Evan Longoria tied the record for most home runs by a rookie in a single postseason, with 4...Road teams that win game 3 are 8-2 in LCS...The Red Sox would have to win 3 of the final 4 games in order to advance to the World Series. According to CoolStandings.com the Rays now have a 68.5% chance of winning the ALCS.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA...

• We will be back tonight with another Rays Index Live Blog-A-Baloo (Lite).
• As mentioned yesterday Joe Maddon may be leaning towards pitching Scott Kazmir in game 5 on normal rest and holding back James Shields until game 6 at home where he is more effective. Kazmir has a history of big starts in Fenway and the off-day after game 5 could come in handy should Kazmir need much bullpen support. We also wonder if the atmosphere at Fenway can be distracting to Kazmir in a positive way as his problems right now seem to be mental. The crowd intensity may actually help Kazmir focus and keep his mind off his mechanics. Yesterday all Maddon would say is they are "supposed to" pitch Shields in game 5. [St. Pete Times]
  
• Ken Rosenthal of Fox TV reported during the NLCS game last night that a scout for an opposing team told him that he believes Scott Kazmir "has some sort of arm issue."...Keep in mind that this is just speculation on the scout's part.
  
• A great article about Joe Maddon by Howard Bryant of ESPN.com as he tries to get into the mind of the Rays' manager. Joe Maddon does not consider himself a new-age manager. Rather he feels as though he is trying to get the Rays play 1920s baseball, by keeping the game simple.
  
• A Rays fan caught the Evan Longoria home run ball while sitting in the seats above the Green Monster. [Tampa Bay Rays Prospects]
• A few members of The RAYSHEAD Army made their way to Fenway Park including the guy that caught Evan Longoria's home run ball...We love this quote: “I’ve been suffering with this team since Day 1...I was at Red Sox games down at the Trop in ’98 and ’99 when there were 7,000 people. There was no Red Sox Nation. Now all of a sudden, everybody down there is from South Boston.” [New York Times]
  
• It is hard for us to think the St. Pete Times is objective when they shill for the Rays. Sometimes it is hard to tell. This one is pretty obvious. [St. Pete Times]
• "It was almost as if Red Sox Nation had already marked down a Game 3 victory with Lester on the mound."...We are pretty sure they did mark it down as a victory. As they also did with a potential game 7 matchup with Lester. [Fox Sports]
• Tom Van Riper of Forbes.com tries to predict the 10 sports franchises most likely to move. The biggest factor according to Van Riper is poor stadium conditions. The top 2 teams on the list are the Florida Marlins and the Tampa Bay Rays. Only a couple of problems. The Marlins have a new stadium set to open in 2011 (never mentioned by Van Riper) and the Rays are in the works for a new stadium with the only apparent roadblock being location (also never mentioned by Van Riper). The other problem which is mentioned by Van Riper is that only 1 baseball franchise has moved in the last 30 years and that team (Montreal Expos) had to first be purchased by MLB. It just doesn't happen except under extreme circumstances. And yet basketball and hockey teams move all the time and NFL teams move occasionally. (Thanks Zenny) [Yahoo! Sports]
  
• Joe Maddon once put himself in as a pinch-hitter for Joe Carter. Yes. That Joe Carter. [SI.com]
• Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com takes a look at how the Rays are wining in the postseason. [ESPN]
  
• Josh Kalk of The Hardball Times takes a look at David Price. [The Hardball Times]
  
• Jacoby Ellsbury has yet to reach base for the Red Sox in the first 3 games. [Boston Herald]
  
• Jeff Pearlman of ESPN.com does not understand a world in which the Rays are a good ballclub. [ESPN]
  
• Rake Blog has a mancrush on Evan Longoria, calling him "as close to a sure thing as a young athlete can be on this side of Justin Upton or Lebron James," and insisting he is headed to the hall of fame. [Rake Blog]
  
• First it was the mascots. Now the managers are chatting it up in "The Dugout" and Scott Kazmir has an identity crisis. [Fanhouse]
• Transcript from Joe Maddon's post-game press conference. [MLB]
• Transcript from Matt Garza and Rocco Baldelli's post-game press conference. [MLB]
  

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

Best and most telling quote we have read yet about the Rays first playoff game comes from Her Rays:

You know what was really refreshing about this game. It was the playoffs and the Rays still looked the same to me.

Perfect. That is exactly what Papa Joe would want.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA...

• As will probably be the norm for the rest of the playoffs, we had the game recap and several "Webtopia" links in last night's "Happy Hour" feature. [Rays Index]
• Times for games 3, 4, and 5 have been updated above.
  
• As we mentioned last night Evan Longoria hit 2 home runs and he did not have a mohawk. He was sporting a freshly buzzed dome. Just sayin'.
  
• Joe Maddon still hasn't decided who will start in RF and DH tonight. It will either be Rocco Baldelli in RF and Willy Aybar at DH or Fernando Perez in RF and Rocco at DH. [St. Pete Times]
  
• Carlos Pena is wearing a clear contact lens and using antibiotics to speed up the healing of his scratch cornea...David Price will be saved for long relief, working only in games in which a starter gets knocked out early or if a game goes extra innings...Jason Hammel and Edwin Jackson will pitch today in the Instructional League with Troy Percival throwing tomorrow. [Tampa Tribune]
• John Romano tries to recap the 7th inning confrontation between Grant Balfour and Orlando Cabrera. Romano does the best he can considering the language involved. [St. Pete Times]
  
• Phil Rogers of Chicago Tribune says the Rays acted like they have been there before. [Chicago Tribune]
  
• Here is transcripts from the postgame press conference with James Shields and Evan Longoria. [MLB]
• Transcript from Joe Maddon's postgame press conference. [MLB]
  
• Transcript from Scott Kazmir's workout day press conference. [MLB]
• Sully Baseball tries to find a team for New York baseball fans to root for in October. [Sully Baseball]
• The White Sox will send their Ace to the mound tonight in a must-win game. [Chicago Sun-Times]
• According to CoolStandings.com the Rays now have a 74.2% chance of winning the ALDS, with the most likely outcome being a sweep (27.4%). [CoolStandings]
  

THE GOOD: Scott Kazmir. Yes he walked 5 batters. Yes he only worked 6 innings. But he did pitch 6, 1-hit shutout innings against a $100 million lineup. Not bad. All over the country last night, Mets fans cried just a little. How much fun would it be to see Kid K shutting down the Mets in the World Series?...Willy Aybar. After making a couple of bad plays at third base, Aybar responded with a big diving stop and throw to first and backed that up with 3 RBI including his 9th home run.

THE BAD: We have pointed this out before but it is worth repeating. The Rays' rotation is setup so they will not have James Shields or Matt Garza in the Red Sox series. The Rays are going to the playoffs, but it is still better if the Rays win the division so they can face the Central champ in the first round.

THE TELLING: With the Rays win and the Twins loss, the magic number to clinch at least a Wild Card spot is now 15(!)*, with 24 games to go. We know this will trouble some of you, but read our fingertips THE RAYS ARE GOING TO THE PLAYOFFS! Even if the Rays finished 10-14, the Twins would have to go 18-4 just to tie. If the Rays split their final 24 (12-12) the Twins would have to win 20 of 22 to force a 1-game playoff. Not going to happen.

* The White Sox and Twins play each other 3 more times, so the second place team in the Central cannot win more than 98 games. So technically the Rays' magic number is 14. We could choose to knock off the loss now, or we can choose to knock it off when it actually happens. We choose the latter.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• Evan Longoria plans to take swings with a broomstick on Saturday and if all goes well he may try swinging a bat. Still no word when he may take on live batting practice. [Tampa Tribune]
• But when you got a Willy Aybar, who needs a Dirtbag? [St. Pete Times]
  

THE GOOD: Jason Bartlett's first home run with the Rays. We honestly wondered if he would ever hit an over-the-fence home run with the Rays. We have seen players with "warning track power" and Jason doesn't even have that. And we wonder if Bartlett actually enjoyed getting plunked his next time up. How many times in his career will he get plunked after hitting a home run? That is a sign of respect not usually bestowed upon little people in baseball...And if there was any question whether Joe Maddon's emphasis on running hard has had any affect on the Rays, you need look no further than Aki Iwamura's at bat in with the 7th inning with 2 outs and the Rays already up 8-1. Aki hit a routine ground ball to first base. Normally an easy out and would have been very easy to lollygag there. Kevin Millar bobbled the ball and with Aki busting his butt the whole way, he beat the pitcher to the bag scoring the 9th run of the game. Meaningless run? Yep. But those are the sort of things that become habit-forming and are contagious. It also shows everybody that a play is not an out until it is an out.

THE BAD: BJ Upton was benched for not hustling to first base after being hit by a pitch. Wait. *rechecks notes* What? Oh. Apparently he was not benched. Instead he was removed for precationary reasons. He is apparently fine.

THE TELLING: The Rays magic number to clinch a playoff spot is now 19...There was a lot of talk last week about the Rays low attendance figures. The Rays averaged 29,541 for the 3-game set with the Orioles. Not bad for a series against a last-place club. Will we see any stories this week about how strong the attendance was this weekend? Not likely...How many people watched Rocco Baldelli's walk-off hit on Saturday and after the team mobbed Carlos Pena at home, and turned to go after Rocco, thought "Oh Shit, please go easy on Rocco!"

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• We covered the September call-ups yesterday. [Rays Index]
  
• Dioner Navarro was out of the lineup again on Sunday with sore hamstrings. He will also sit the opening game of the Yankees series. [Rays Report]
  
• The Rays had been hoping Evan Longoria would be ready to come off the DL for the Yankees series that begins on Tuesday. Now Joe Maddon says that is not likely. Dirtbag has yet to take live batting practice and Papa Joe would like to see Longoria take BP for 2 or 3 days before being activated...With the solid play of Willy Aybar and the comfortable lead in the standings, the Rays are most likely just erring on the side of caution. [The Heater]
• Troy Percival will be activated on Tuesday. [MLB]
• Tom Jones has several issues with the broadcast put on by Fox during their coverage of the Rays game on Saturday. Jones also agreed with Dewayne Staats and Joe Magrane that the Rays needed to retaliate to protect Jason Bartlett after the shortstop was intentionally hit by a pitch...We disagree. If this was May or June? Yes. But the Rays are already shorthanded with injuries and are in the middle of a pennant race. The last thing Papa Joe needs right now is to get into a pissing contest and have players suspended. [St. Pete Times]
  
• JP Howell has made only 4 appearances in the past 2 weeks. Brittany Ghiroli says the Rays are just scaling back Howell's workload so that he will be well-rested down the stretch. [MLB]
• ESPN will feature David Price on their Tuesday episode of "E:60". [BaseballdeWorld]
  
• Buster Olney uses Edwin Jackson as an example of a pitcher that took a while to learn how to pitch, but the Rays' patience is now paying off. Olney speculates that with more emphasis placed on protecting young arms, it may have the undesired affect of slowing the learning curve for pitchers like Jackson. [ESPN]\

"Learning to deal with struggles is a big part in today's game," Jackson said. "There are going to be times when you are going to fail. It's not all smiles and giggles."...Young and talented starting pitchers are typically throwing only four to six innings as they come up through the minors, which means that they have fewer chances to pitch into and out of jams, fewer chances to learn how to pitch when they are tired and not working with their best stuff, fewer chances to take a deep breath and try to slow down the game. Thirty years ago, young pitchers were left in games to throw 115 to 130 pitches, in all likelihood -- so by comparison, the chance for acquired experience these days is quite literally 20 to 35 percent less... In most cases, the opportunity for failure is needed -- the opportunity to face a crisis and take a deep breath and slow the game down. The Rays were able to give that chance to Jackson last season, when he was horrendous in the first half but gradually began to gain traction in his career, finishing at 5-15 with a 5.76 ERA. "Last year was obviously my worst year," Jackson said. "But it was the best year as far as learning." Now Jackson and the Rays have been rewarded, as he has matured into a solid starter who will likely be a weapon in the postseason.

• The Ghosts of Tropicana Field take a closer look at the season BJ Upton is having. [The Ghosts of Tropicana Field]
  

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]