Column: Benoit, the Rays' silent MVP, soldiers on

He turned 33 the other day, but is looking younger every day.

To him, 33 is just a number, like all those numbers on a Rays stat sheet.

Don't talk to the man about numbers.

"I don't look at them," Tampa Bay Rays reliever Joaquin Benoit said.

Everybody else does, and seeing is believing.

"His numbers are ... ridiculous," Rays third baseman Evan Longoria said. "I look at them (on the scoreboard) every time he comes in the game. They're ridiculous."

"If you own a fantasy team, you should be after this man," Rays manager Joe Maddon said.

Longoria broke out of a slump with three hits, including a late two-run homer, as the Rays beat the Tigers at the Trop on Wednesday night for their fifth straight win, putting them 24 games over .500 and keeping them right on the New York Yankees' tail. At the end, closer Rafael Soriano got his 29th save, his best for any season.

But before that, there was the secret weapon, the savior ahead of the saver. There were Benoit numbers, the kind that have made this nine-year veteran the best non-closer closer in baseball, the Rays' secret weapon all season. He has meant as much as any Ray, though he probably won't get many votes from the media or the public for team MVP.

He's the stealth MVP, though

Wednesday, he threw his second 1-2-3 eighth inning in as many nights. Tuesday, he struck out all three batters he faced.

Benoit has lowered his ERA to 0.76, lowest among all American League relievers.

Batters are hitting .120 against him. No major-league reliever has been better.

The guy has pitched 35.1 innings. He has allowed only three runs. He has struck out 51 batters. A good WHIP is anything around or less than 1.00. This man's walks/hits per innings pitched is a mind-boggling 0.57.

A couple of Fridays ago, Benoit gave up a game-tying homer to Yankees outfielder Nick Swisher and New York eventually won the game. Benoit didn't speak to media after the game - then went out did his talking on the mound.

"Things like that home run will happen," he said Wednesday. "It's how you come back."

He has had seven scoreless outings since then.

It's real simple to Longoria.

"He's an All-Star."

Benoit wasn't chosen for the All-Star Game in Anaheim, Calif., but he could have been, especially when you factor in the fact that the Rays' bullpen was a major question mark after J.P. Howell went down with a season-ending shoulder injury.

The bullpen has answered. Grant Balfour has returned to his 2008 form, when he and Howell were key ingredients to the Rays' remarkable worst-to-first pennant win. Soriano, who came over this season, has locked up the ninth.

But it's Benoit, a question mark himself after missing 2009 after rotator cuff surgery then signing a minor-league contract with the Rays before the season, who has been off the charts more than anyone else. He has found a home here. He could become this team's closer next season if the Rays don't re-sign Soriano.

He didn't even start the season with the Rays, joining them in late April.

"We wanted him to get some more strength in his arm after the injury," Maddon said.

Benoit says he understood.

"I wasn't 100 percent at the start of the year," he said. "I feel good now. I feel like I can get stronger."

Considering that he began his season with 13 scoreless innings, or that at one point in May he struck out nine consecutive hitters across three outings, well ...

"You can always improve," Benoit said.

He signed with the Texas Rangers when he was just 16, and Texas was the only home he had ever known until this season. He has made a home in the Bay area. He isn't the first Rays player you think of when you consider that through 100 games the Rays have their best record ever, better than even 2008.

But consider him, oh, consider him.

"This guy has been incredible," Maddon said

"I mean, those numbers," Longoria said.

They don't lie, whether Benoit wants to look at them or not.

"I might see a few of them," Benoit admitted with a smile.

They're hard to ignore.

"It's been good so far. I've been able to help," Benoit said.

Help?

He has only one save this season.

He has saved a lot more than that.