Rays Chew Up A Pair

Yowza. The Rays offense stuffed a sock in Boston again last night. When it was ovah, The Monsta said "TB 13. BOSTON 4".

Carl Crawford and Willy Aybar feasted on Wakefield whiffleballs and Boston relievers. Crawford set a Post Season record with his 5 for 5 performance that included everything but a dinger. Aybar's 5 RBIs once again demonstrated the Rays incredible depth. Tampa Bay wasted no time establishing the momentum with one out in the top of the first. A four pitch walk to speedy BJ Upton of a knuckleball pitcher guarantees a stolen base. Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria followed with back to back home runs. From there it just seemed easy.

Sonny was superb again, going 8+ and giving up his first three earned runs to Boston of the entire 2008 season.  Jackson closed it out setting the radar gun on fire with a slew of 95 mph plus heaters. He may just become the Rays 2009 closer

The Rays broke several post season records last night. It's tempting to get swept up in the hoopla, but here's a sobering fact. 15 teams have trailed 3-1 in a League Championship Series. 4 have come back to win in seven games. 3 times, it was The Boston Red Sox. 1 year ago, Boston trailed Cleveland three games to one and you remember the rest. But the 2008 Sox don't have Manny or Mike Lowell producing buckets of runs.

It's killin' me, but today it will be Humble Pie.  The tasty Boston Creme(d) Pie can wait a few more days.

Rays Playoff Roster - The Latest...

The unofficial official Tampa Bay Rays ALDS roster is becoming clearer.

Marc Topkin (St. Pete Times) reports:

• Carl Crawford will start in LF following Instructional League game appearances Monday and Tuesday. He was 0-4 Monday and 2-3 with a triple Tuesday. He will not bat in his usual #2 spot, however.
• The Rays will go with a 4 man rotation for the first series with Shields getting the start Thursday, Kazmir Friday, Garza in game 3 and Sonnanstine in game 4. Edwin Jackson said he's not on the playoff roster. Tough call, but he's just not a reliever.
• Though not official until tomorrow morning, it looks like the Rays have opted for Price over Percival. Thank God.

More on Topkin's blog.

Rays Magic Number Is 4

Things to do, places to go, people to see today so let's keep it short and sweet:

• Rays plucked the Orioles in Baltimore 4-2. The Rays did that with only 3 hits. That's a rather paltry bit of offense guys.
• So there should be plenty of pop left in the bats for today's doubleheader. How 'bout a barrage of hits today. Thank you. Game one at 2:05 PTown time.
• David Price was Brandon Morrow-esque in his first major league start last night, taking a no hitter into the 5th inning. No decision, but an awesome effort. Happy to have him on board. Not sure I agree he should bump Sonny or EJax from the rotation in the playoffs though.
• The Tribe topped the Red Sox last night. Thank you v-e-r-y much. Sox are 2.5 back with 7 to go. The mohawks have far reaching mojo.
• MLB Player of the Week Honors for Senor Pena. He hit .318 (7-for-22) with three homers and 12 RBIs in his last eight games, and notched his 100th RBI on a bases-loaded walk last night. Two consecutive 100 RBI seasons. Cheers Carlos!
• AB's for Jonny today? Baltimore is throwing a lefty in game one today. Could happen.
• The Rays could clinch as soon as tomorrow with two wins today. Shields is going for his career best 14th win. Time to ice the bubbly.
• No bubbly for Longo. Evan had the post-bubbly bobbles last night. He's had two months worth of errors in about a week. I'm sending a case of Martinelli Sparkling Cider especially for him.
• Crawford starts swinging today. Gonna make it harder to find a post season spot for Jonny if Carl cruises back.
• 7 games left. 3 more in Baltimore then 4 in Detroit. GO RAYS!

PRays The Lord And Pass The Advil!

The Rays deserved a celebraytion.

And they got one. Which might explain why the B Team took the field in the final game of the Twin series yesterday at The Trop. Sonny pitched another great game but didn't have the customary and ultra reliable infield to back him up. Longo was the only regular infielder and his aim was a bit off yesterday. At the end of the day in front of another sell-out crowd, the Rays came up short in a 1-4 loss to Minnesota. No action for the hometown boy. That swing is sure gonna be rusty if he ever gets a chance to air it out. The Magic Number clicker is still stuck on 6 with a Red Sox win yesterday.

Photo Steve Nesius (AP)

The drive for the AL East begins today as the Magic Bus rolls to Baltimore.

The last week of the regular season will feature rookie starters on the mound. David Price gets the ball tonight. Mitch Talbott tomorrow night. Garza, who threw on a quick turnaround last week, gets a rest until Saturday. Meanwhile, Percy's back is still in knots and he'll have a second set of epidural injections Tuesday and be available to pitch on Thursday. If things go well. He pitched an inning in relief on back to back days this weekend and wiggled through them with only a slight bit of drama. Joe's got some mighty heavy closer dice to roll in about a week. Percy better level with him to keep the 9=8 equation in balance. If the math on the t-shirts is new to you, it's been Joe Maddon's mantra all season. That's 9 players playing hard for 9 months = 8 teams that play on. Hey, it's worked so far :-)

Post-Season Roster Prognostications.

Carl Crawford's hand is still not cleared to swing a bat. He may be available this week as a defensive replacement or to pinch run. A reinjured tendon could be career ending. He didn't have a career year and may not be able to pick up where he left off. Rocco Baldelli is a great story and we love him, but he seems to need several days between partial games to recover. When this roster is whittled back down to 25 players for the playoff run it will be a tough call between two guys who could be out for the season, or worse, with one wrong move... or a few healthy guys who can be personally credited with the single game or two that will probably decide the AL East. Ruggiano, Perez, Gomes, Johnson, Baldelli, and Crawford. Oohhh-eee. Tough call.