Rays Have Shown That They Belong

BOSTON - The Rays are way past the point of moral victories and positive statements. They came to Boston not merely to break their losing ways at Fenway Park, but to take major steps toward the American League East title.

They're as legitimate as any team out there right now at winning it all and that's their mindset. So as they battled deep into the New England night Wednesday at Fenway Park, it was with the eye of a team that belongs on this stage. If the nation wants to think of them as frisky upstarts, that's a notion they're happy to correct.

"We want to win it, man," Manager Joe Maddon said with just a mild touch of puzzlement when someone asked if, given everything, he'd be content to settle for the wild card.

Why should he? The Rays went out Wednesday and won a game that defied all logic. It took 14 innings and a three-run, opposite-field bomb by Carlos Pena over the top of the Green Monster to bring a satisfactory conclusion to an often frustrating night.

The Rays were 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position before Pena's homer, 1-for-35 in the series. But they won, twice in three games. You can explain their problems at the plate by a simple look at their lineup, which is stocked with fill-ins and journeymen trying to hang in until some of the injured mainstays heal.

With each passing inning, it became clear that the Rays have what it takes to succeed down the stretch of this season and beyond.

But you win in October with pitching, and the Rays showed they have the goods. Andy Sonnanstine was tremendous Wednesday, allowing only an unearned run and four hits in seven innings against a lineup where every hitter makes you go "uh oh."

Edwin Jackson was strong in Monday's loss. Scott Kazmir held the Sox in check on Tuesday. The bullpen work was mostly exemplary, too. It's what they'll need to succeed in the postseason.

On To New York

Now it's on to New York for three this weekend and a scenario that would have seemed unimaginable six months ago - the Yankees as spoilers, Rays as the hunted. Remember as much about all of that as you can. You'll want to tell your kids the story some day about the Summer of '08 when the team with the teensy payroll did all these marvelous things.

(They won't pay attention, of course, but you can tell them anyway.)

It is all setting up nicely for the Rays after this weekend. They'll come home for only the biggest week in team history - three against Boston, four against Minnesota. They could well finish that week with a secured spot in the playoffs before heading to Baltimore and Detroit to finish the regular season.

While all this is going on, Boston has seven games against Toronto. No one wants to play the Blue Jays right now.

Presumably they'll get healthy at some point, although the daily medical briefing brought more bad news Wednesday. Backup catcher Shawn Riggans had surgery to clean out an infection in his right knee and will be lost for at least two weeks, maybe longer.

That's a bad loss. Have you watched starting catcher Dioner Navarro attempt to run to first lately? The man is more than a little beaten up and Riggans was reliable relief.

But it has been that way all season. Guys get hurt and other guys step in.

Now they just need to rediscover their bats.

Weather The Storm

Maddon has spent most of this season preaching about focus. Play the game in front of you; don't worry about yesterday or tomorrow.

It has worked.

This series could have been a disaster. Had they come here and gotten seal-clubbed three games, there would have been a seed of doubt, whether they would want to admit that or not. That's not a problem now.

They belong on this stage, and it's not about coming close anymore. They can do this. They have handled a storm that would have scuttled a lot of teams. If anyone doubted that before the Rays came here, they shouldn't anymore.