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'Don't Count Us Out,' Rays Say

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By MARC LANCASTER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 13, 2008

OAKLAND, Calif. - Those inclined to consider the loss of Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria a death blow to the Rays' playoff hopes should think again, according to those in Tampa Bay's clubhouse.

"Oh, no, not at all," Eric Hinske said, as if taken aback by the mere suggestion. "We don't feel that way at all."

Hinske and Cliff Floyd, two of the Rays' most experienced players, said they can't recall a team they have been involved with losing two key cogs at such a juncture. Piling that disadvantage on top of a road-heavy finishing schedule for a team that lacks anything resembling a playoff pedigree certainly doesn't bode well.

"That's an out for us," Floyd said "We can go, 'OK, we lost our two best players, it's been a great run, thank you, and hopefully we'll get those guys back and go on a great run next year.'"

The danger, said Floyd, is the players remaining putting too much pressure on themselves to fill the void and thus getting away from their usual game.

"I just hope we don't all try to jump on that ship and go, 'It's me - let me be the man to take over,'" said Floyd. "No. Let's just stay within ourselves like we are and just keep it chill on the field. ...

"We all know how important those guys were. I mean, hell, you ain't going to replace them, no matter who you bring up or who you get, unless you go out and get one of the best players of the game. And you're still not replacing them because those guys are part of this team."

The Rays' experience in fighting through injuries to frontline players this season should serve them well, though the stakes are higher now than they were when the likes of Dioner Navarro and Carlos Pena were absent early in the season.

"It's been happening all year," Hinske said. "We've gone through a lot of injuries. There's a lot of guys itching to get a chance on this ballclub, too, so maybe it's a good opportunity for some other guys."

The bottom line to all involved is there's nothing the Rays can do at the moment but keep playing.

"We're missing two All-Star players and that's never easy, but that's not going to help us at all to worry about that or be concerned about that," Manager Joe Maddon said. "When we get these other guys back, it'll be wonderful. But in the meantime, my faith is in this group."

STILL WAITING: The Rays had said they hoped Jason Bartlett would be able to play shortstop by Tuesday. He got the start at DH instead, and it doesn't sound like he will ready until this weekend.

"If I was a betting man, I'd say Texas, probably," Maddon said.

Bartlett hasn't played in the field since being hit by a pitch in the right index finger Aug. 3, but his three starts as the DH since then and continued improvement make him an "unlikely" candidate for the disabled list, executive vice president Andrew Friedman said.

QUIET TIME: Renowned chatterbox Brian Anderson knows his biggest challenge in stepping into Joe Magrane's analyst's chair on Rays TV for the rest of the road trip will be trying to keep quiet.

"That will be my biggest thing, because I like to tell stories and I like to be descriptive and I like to talk," Anderson said Tuesday.

The former pitcher and current assistant to the pitching coach for the Rays will make his debut alongside Dewayne Staats tonight. He did TV work last season for the Indians, but this will be his first assignment as the lone analyst.

"It'll be kind of a feeling-out process, what Dewayne's going to do and how can I accent that and keep it short and not be an over-talker," Anderson said

BIG WEEK: In addition to getting called back to the majors, Justin Ruggiano had another reason to celebrate over the past couple of days.

The 26-year-old got engaged Saturday.

HOMETOWN HEROES: Beginning Monday, selected Rays games will be broadcast on WAZL-AM in Maddon's hometown of Hazleton, Pa.

"It's really neat, and when I heard that, it made me smile," Maddon said. "It's very cool and I know how into us they are right now."

AND FINALLY: The Rays' Aug. 24 game at the White Sox has been picked up for a national broadcast on TBS. That means most of the country will be able to see both of their games in Chicago that weekend, as the Aug. 23 game already has been picked up by Fox.

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