Crawford Eager To Return

Carl Crawford may be oversimplifying things, but you can't fault his enthusiasm.

After hitting some balls off the tee in what he termed his first "official" swings since undergoing hand surgery six weeks ago, Crawford said he hoped to return to action for the first round of the playoffs.

"If you can hit off the tee, you can hit in the game," Crawford said.

"I want to play next week," he said. "Whether they're going to let me play, that's a different story, but definitely, in my mind, I want to be in the lineup by next week. If I'm able to go out and do the stuff I did today, then I should be able to get in the lineup."

Crawford hasn't played since injuring a tendon in his right middle finger on a swing Aug. 9, and he acknowledged the need to ensure that his hitting stroke is back in order before he plays. But he considered what he did Tuesday a "huge" step in that he was able to make contact with a ball with no pain.

"I'd probably be a little nervous to swing hard at first, but that's normal," Crawford said. "The quicker we get it going, the quicker we know what I can do, but I understand the trainers want to take it slow and I'm cool with that. I'm just trying to make the lineup for the playoffs. The only way I can do that is if I go ahead and go full-speed like I normally would."

Rays manager Joe Maddon said he didn't have an update from the team's trainers on Crawford's timetable for returning but was pleased to hear his left fielder was so excited.

"I'm glad he feels great," Maddon said. "It's good for him, good for us."

Crawford said he plans to take some more swings off the tee today and hopes to ramp it up to regular batting practice this weekend in Detroit.

DECISION TIME?: RHP Troy Percival is expected to rejoin the team today after getting a second round of epidural injections in his back Tuesday. Maddon acknowledged that the closer will have to demonstrate that his body can handle regular work before he is placed on the Division Series roster.

"We'll just have to make sure that he is healthy," Maddon said. "The big thing with the role that he would play would be that he would be able to come back on back-to-back days, and he and I have already talked about that."

The manager also said he and Percival already have had a heart-to-heart discussion about the pitcher's status and Percival is well aware of the situation.

"If he doesn't feel he can help us, he'll be the first guy to tell you that," Maddon said. "He'll be the first one to say, 'Listen, I am not ready to do this - we need to do something different.' And conversely, I believe it's at the point now where if he legitimately believes he can help us, he would tell me so and I would believe him."

BIG HOUSE: The Rays will comply with MLB's request to remove the tarps from the upper sections of Tropicana Field if they make the World Series, freeing up about 6,000 more seats.

"It's a decision that was made with Major League Baseball, and especially during the World Series they control the ballpark and the aspects of the game," Rays president Matt Silverman said. "There's great demand, and it was their choice to have the tarps removed."

The Rays downsized the Trop's seating capacity because they don't believe the seats at the far reaches of the upper deck offer a "compelling" view, as Silverman put it. Bringing them back in play will increase capacity to around 42,000.

DOUBLING UP: Three Rays started both games of the doubleheader: Evan Longoria, Ben Zobrist and Fernando Perez. The switch-hitting Zobrist and Perez also started both games of the Rays' last doubleheader, Sept. 13 at New York.