The last time the Rays were here in Chicago, they were celebrating their AL Division Series victory over the White Sox.

Now they're getting ready to open a tough four-game series that will impact the AL East and AL Central races.

The Sox made a roster move, activating OF Carlos Quentin, who had been out since May with a foot injury. He is in the lineup tonight, batting sixth. OF Brian Anderson was sent down to make room, depriving the Rays TV crew of the Brian Anderson/Brian Anderson comparisons.

The Sox see the Rays as a test, though manager Ozzie Guillen had an interesting revisionist take on the division series based on quotes in the Chicago Tribune.

"I don't want to take anything away from them -- that's one of my favorite teams and favorite managers -- but we were beat up when we faced them," he said. "Pitching-wise and mentally. They were playing well, they had confidence. That's part of the game ... when you get beat and you get beat the right way."

Sox 1B Paul Konerko, in the same piece, said: "It's a little easier to digest because they were the better team. Everybody was proud of what we accomplished and I think everybody felt we accomplished as much as we could. It's tougher to let go when you feel like you have a team to do it. That team did exactly as much as we could do and it was easier to swallow."

As for this week's matchup?

"They're not fun to play," Paul Konerko said. "They have a lot of speed, a lot of good arms in the rotation. Even when you beat them, it's an effort because they manufacture runs well."