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Oct 21, 2008 10:54 am US/Central
Rays Take Day Off Before Preparing For Phillies
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) ―
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Akinori Iwamura #1 and Jason Bartlett #8 of the Tampa Bay Rays celebrate over Jason Bay #44 after defeating the Boston Red Sox in game seven of the American League Championship Series during the 2008 MLB playoffs on Oct. 19, 2008, at Tropicana Field.
Christian Petersen/Getty Images
They dropped their gloves, tossed their caps, ran in from the outfield and flung themselves into a pile near the pitcher's mound as if this were the start of the 100-meter butterfly.
The Tampa Bay Rays, exuberant and champagne-soaked, now have to leave the partying behind and concentrate on baseball.
Manager Joe Maddon gave his newly crowned AL champions the day off Monday to allow them to recuperate from their fourth celebration in the past month and begin to turn their attention to the Philadelphia Phillies and Game 1 of the World Series on Wednesday night.
"This is a good day for recovery. Time to get the emotional drain out, take a day off and let it all sink in," said Matt Garza, who pitched the Rays past Boston in Game 7 of the AL championship series Sunday night. "Tomorrow we'll come back and get to work."
Rookie left-hander David Price, who got the last four outs of the ALCS, spent part of the day at Legends Field in nearby Tampa, where he introduced Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.
"It's been a whirlwind," Price said, adding he got about four hours of sleep. "It took a while to wind down."
The young Rays celebrated at home after clinching the first postseason berth in franchise history and on the road after winning the AL East title and eliminating the Chicago White Sox in the first round of the playoffs.
"It's getting a little more real. But it's very surreal for all of us," Rays executive vice president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said.
"It's difficult when you're mired in it to really appreciate it. I'm sure after we play our last game we'll be able to step back and really reflect on the season. Right now, we have a lot of work to do."
The Phillies, who wrapped up the NL pennant last Wednesday, had to wait four days to find out who they would face next.
"It takes a lot of the wonder away. Are you going to Boston? Are you going to play Tampa?" slugger Ryan Howard said.
Learning the destination helped Jimmy Rollins decide what to pack for the trip.
"I had a couple jackets in the cleaners. If we go to Boston I'm going to need them," Rollins said, smiling. "Tampa, I definitely won't be needing a jacket."
Joking aside, the Phillies are impressed with the Rays.
"I look at it, I see they're young and very talented. They're good athletes. They can run, they can throw and they have power. I like their pitching. It's going to be a real good series," manager Charlie Manuel said. "I look at it as we've got to play good baseball, bring our 'A' game, and that's what we're planning on doing."
Philadelphia's Matt Stairs agreed.
"They had the second-best record in the American League. They have an excellent team. They play the game right. ... Their pitching staff's been healthy the whole year," Stairs said. "I think the biggest thing, and you tip your hat, is when guys have been hurt, guys have stepped in and helped the team."
It took about five hours to clean up the mess left behind after the Rays' clinching 3-1 victory over the Red Sox.
The grounds crew, meanwhile, worked diligently to remove ALCS logos from the field before the Phillies arrived for an evening workout at Tropicana Field.
"We left around 5 a.m.," equipment and home clubhouse manager Chris Westmoreland said, adding that there were 15 to 20 workers on standby to scrub and vacuum the carpet and remove plastic covering lockers after the celebration carried over into early Monday.
By mid-afternoon, the AL championship trophy was sitting on a countertop in the middle of the clubhouse and there were no signs of the chaos that filled the room and spilled onto the field where players sprayed champagne on fans the night before.
"I want to get used to it," Westmoreland said. "I want to have one more here."
Maddon held court in his office, answering questions about the Rays' amazing season and what the future could hold for such a young, talented team. Also discussed was whether Tampa Bay will have an advantage in the World Series because the ALCS went the distance and the Phillies have been off nearly a week since winning the NL pennant.
"Would I have liked the rest and clinch it a couple of day ago? Absolutely," the manager said.
"Doing it the way that we did it, I still think we're going to be rested. I feel pretty beat up today, but by tomorrow everybody will come out nice for the workout."
Maddon said it might be more difficult to get ready for Game 1 if Tampa Bay were opening on the road.
"It's just getting your rest in a different bed again. Getting tickets together, making sure your family's OK, all these other things are factors. They really are," Maddon said. "I've been thinking about that more than the pitching rotation, to be honest with you."
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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