Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Thursday, October 2, 2008
Rays rookie pitcher David Price examines a ball in front of a new sight at Tropicana Field: a postseason logo imprinted on the rightfield wall near the 322-foot mark.
There is so much that can be different about the postseason, the way the game can seem faster, additionally intense and more pressure-packed.
But as the Rays prepare for today's first playoff game in team history, their biggest goal, and their best chance, is to keep things as much the same as possible.
"We just want to do the things we did this whole year that made us successful," third baseman Evan Longoria said, "and try not to stray too far away from that."
Certainly in their approach, adhering to manager Joe Maddon's just-another-day mantra and pledge to not alter anything about their daily routine.
But also in how they play the game.
The Rays got to this point, with 97 wins and an American League East championship, by playing an aggressive, uptempo, risk-taking (and occasionally mistake-making) game.
The 89-win White Sox, who beat the Twins in a one-game AL Central playoff Tuesday, do not. They lead the majors in home runs (scoring nearly half their runs that way) and tend to play the rest of the game at a trot.
The Sox are the worst team in the majors on turf at 4-16 and don't do much quickly on either side of the ball, a lack of speed the Rays — who had the majors' best turf record at 59-30 — plan to exploit to get off to a fast start with the first two games of the best-of-five series at Tropicana Field.
"It really turns in our favor now that we're not playing the Twins," Longoria said. "(The Sox are) not used to the dome, and it's going to be the way it should be, it's going to be homefield advantage for us. And we really have to take advantage of it."
Specifically, look for the Rays to run freely and easily when they get on base, taking advantage of Sox pitchers, such as Game 1 starter Javier Vazquez, who don't hold runners on well, and catcher A.J. Pierzynski, who is the majors' worst starter in throwing out basestealers, allowing an 89.7 success rate (96 of 107).
"We're real aggressive," Carl Crawford said. "We want to come out, get after you early and just kind of smother you a little bit."
The Rays' smooth defense should also be a plus, against Sox hitters who have hit into more double plays than anyone else in the majors and have the worst stolen-base percentage.
"We're playing the same game you saw all year," Maddon said. "Nothing's changed. … I don't want anybody to be more cautious at all. That's the last thing I want. I want you to go out and play our game the way we've been doing it all year, taking the same kind of risks and providing the same kind of pressure for the other team. Period. Nothing new."
Maddon is keenly aware of the Sox's turf troubles, mentioning them several times in the past week, but he played it coy at Wednesday's official division series press conference, pointing instead to their experience and pointing out how good their pitching and how dangerous their offense are.
"You've got to know what you're doing against them," Maddon said. "They'll get those three points in a hurry."
The Rays pitchers know that, and that it puts a premium on not making a mistake. Similarly, the Sox pitchers have to do the same if they hope to slow down the Rays by keeping them off base.
"I don't think you look for a certain way to offset them, you just play your game and be good," Chicago's Paul Konerko said. "If you do that, it'll hopefully result in a win."
There is some question whether the Sox will be fired up or drained by their extended season. There is no doubt the Rays are rested, and ready to race around the Trop, where they were 54-24 (plus 3-0 at Disney).
"I'm very confident we can win here," reliever Grant Balfour said. "To take two games would be huge, and I feel like we can do that. I believe that."
Brewers at Phillies Game 2, 6, TBS Phillies lead 1-0
Dodgers at Cubs Game 2, 9:30, TBS Dodgers lead 1-0
Dream is real: Nothing can quite match the excitement of postseason baseball, John Romano writes. 1A
Percival off: The closer doesn't make the roster as the Rays keep 10 pitchers. 4C
Special section
A pullout commemorates the Rays' first postseason appearance. Section X Pitching lifts Phils
Cole Hamels and Philadelphia shut down the Brewers 3-1. 6C
L.A. rips Cubs
Three homers lift the Dodgers past the Cubs 7-2. 6C
Red Sox rally
Jason Bay's two-run homer gives Boston the lead in a 4-1 Game 1 win over Angels. 7C
More Rays online
• Brant James blogs throughout the Rays-White Sox game.
• Marc Topkin previews the division series in an audio slide show.
• Marc Topkin answers your Rays questions.
All at rays.tampabay.com
>>fast facts
Today's schedule
Noon: Gates open
Noon-12:45: Rays batting practice
12:45-1:30: Sox batting practice
2:05: Player Introductions
2:24: National anthem (peformed by BK Jackson, 17-year-old saxophonist from Blake High)
2:28: Ceremonial first pitch (Rays senior VP John Higgins, who joined organization as first employee in 1995; accompanied by many of the other 51 Rays employees who have been with organization since inaugural season)
2:37: First pitch
Rays vs. White in 2008
Rays lead season series 6-4, 4-3 at Tropicana Field
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