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It's Closing Time

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By MARC LANCASTER

mlancaster@tampatrib.com

Published: October 5, 2008

CHICAGO - The playoffs will feel different for the Rays today.

Their climate-controlled home field will give way to the elements, with a chill in the air and showers in the forecast. Their cowbell-clanging supporters will be replaced by 40,000 black-clad, towel-waving White Sox fans who have seen their team through three elimination games in the past week.

When it comes to the nuts and bolts of the series, the pressure clearly will be on the White Sox. Another loss and their season comes to an end.

But the Rays, who are about to take their next giant step in learning what it takes to win in October, were adamant that nothing was being taken for granted as they prepared for a day that could end in their latest champagne celebration.

"To be honest with you, we forgot about the first two games," Rays first baseman Carlos Pena said. "That's over right now. We want to play one game, and that's today. ... We're not going to ride that feeling of saying, 'Hey, we're up two, we're all confident.' No. We're going to play our game like this was the only game we had to play."

It essentially could be for Pena, who has missed all but two innings of the first two games with vision problems in his left eye. He expects to be back in the lineup backing Game 3 starter Matt Garza as the Rays look to close things out and advance to the American League Championship Series.

The White Sox assuredly won't go quietly. Asked Saturday to contrast his team with a Rays squad the questioner described as young and hungry, Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen disagreed.

He said his veteran-laden squad should have more of a sense of urgency, because players like Jim Thome and Ken Griffey Jr. know this could be their final opportunity to win a World Series, whereas Guillen expects the Rays to be in the postseason mix for the foreseeable future.

"Tampa Bay has a chance for a long time," he said. "They're young and they have maybe another 10 shots to be out there. But I don't think they're excited about it. I think they play all year the same way."

If Joe Maddon had been in the room at the time, he undoubtedly would have taken that as a supreme compliment. The Rays' manager has sold the time-worn one-day-at-a-time mantra to his players since spring training, and Pena's comments were indicative of the general mood in the clubhouse.

The Rays know they have an edge in needing to win only one of the next three games, but they have learned not to assume anything.

"Every team has more than likely won three games in a row during the course of a season," Maddon noted. "But we can't be focused on that."

Nor can the White Sox, who know only that they're at home - where they went 54-28 this season - and they're sending out a pitcher in John Danks who dominated in a do-or-die game Tuesday night that put them in the playoffs.

"We've kind of dug ourselves a little bit of a hole," Chicago outfielder Nick Swisher said. "But I think the same thing happened to us when we had to beat the three teams in three days just to get to the playoffs, and we played extremely well in those situations.

"I think our attitude is very similar right now to what it was during those games, which is a good thing. Because I think once you get in that situation, if you get tense and tight, then it's a little tougher to go out there and perform."

The team that does the best job relaxing and playing its normal game tonight could very well end up moving on - whether it be to Game 4 Monday night or to the ALCS.

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