Isringhausen rehabbing

Jason Isringhausen is on a rehab stint, and the first outing went well. Isringhausen will contribute to a crowded Rays bullpen upon his arrival in Tampa. Troy Percival, the current closer, is under pressure from setup men Grant Balfour and Dan Wheeler. All four pitchers can end up earning saves.

Fantasy Impact: When he gets back to the majors, Isringhausen will be a setup man at best. He certainly maintains upside as a possible closer down the road but is best left on the waiver wire for now.

We got next

John Shea with The San Francisco Chronicle digs up a little blurb on something I've been thinking about for the past week or so: which MLB team has the best chance of becoming this year's Tampa Bay Rays? Along with the obvious Cincinnati Reds pick, Shea also goes with the Kansas City Royals and the Baltimore Orioles. I like his KC pick best.

Royals: They're optimistic after an 18-6 September, their best month since July 1994. They improved their win total three straight years. Starter Kyle Davies, 25, was 4-1 with a 2.27 ERA in the final month, closer Joakim Soria, 24, earned 42 saves (more than anyone in the AL except Francisco Rodriguez) with a 1.60 ERA and third baseman Alex Gordon, 25, and DH-first baseman Billy Butler, 22, may be ready to break out.

I'm in complete agreement with that assessment, but I think the key for the Royals will be a healthy and productive Gil Meche.

I do not, however, agree with his Orioles pick. Baltimore not only has no shot at the postseason, they also have no chance to finish higher than fourth in the AL East.

Tampa at the brink

According to Tampa Bay principal owner Stuart Sternberg, the Rays pushed their payroll to the absolute limit this offseason in fine-tuning the 2009 roster.

"We, quite frankly, can't really afford what we've got on the field this year. But at least we were able to spend the money on a lot of value, we think, and pieces that will give us the opportunity to grow the franchise over the long haul and give us the best opportunity for success this year."

The number of season tickets sold and the Rays' attendance as a whole this season could impact the ultimate decision on that front.

Sternberg said season-ticket sales are up from last year (single-game tickets go on sale this week), but the Rays expect only one major-league team - the Marlins - to sell fewer season tickets this season.

The Marlins happen to be the only team to also underspend the Rays on their roster last year. Tampa spent $43,820,597 on personnel in 2008. Florida's players cost $21,811,500.

Making just one major signing in Pat Burrell this offseason, the Rays will have to hope the Yankees and Red Sox aren't that improved. If the World Series runner up struggles to get competitive in ticket sales and payroll, how long can they stay at the top? Tampa's relative youth would seem to offset any precipitous downfall, but downward trends are certainly more likely the harder it is to compete financially.

Crawford clawing back

Rays left fielder Carl Crawford, who was hampered by a hamstring injury last season, is apparently back to full health again. Crawford is expecting bigger things in 2009.

''I changed my offseason workouts and focused on the hamstring,'' Crawford said. ``I still worked out, I just addressed the hamstring more than in the past.''

Instead of going to Phoenix where he always did his offseason regimen, Crawford stayed at home in Houston, ran on grass instead of artificial turf to aid his hamstring and worked out with a local Houston trainer.

The hope is to play in more games and bring the numbers back to normal. Last season was the first time Crawford's batting average dipped. He had hit over .300 for three consecutive seasons before batting .273 last year. The hamstring issues cost him on the bases, too. Crawford stole only 25 bases last season.

He averaged 51 steals over the previous five seasons, and in 2007 he became just the eighth player in history to reach 250 stolen bases and 1,000 hits before his 27th birthday. Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said he believed Crawford was even more focused and ready for a big year.

Crawford could get turned loose this season as the Rays need to max out in order to win the improved AL East.

Fantasy Impact: Crawford typically went in the second round of most fantasy drafts, but not this year. I saw him slide to he fourth or fifth round in some mock drafts after his subpar season. I think the former is too early for his abilities, and the latter is too low. Crawford is a solid late third or early fourth round pick. He'll deliver in at least three categories, and with an improved team around him for a full season, he could mark consistently in four.

A tough call in Tampa

Jason Isringhausen's signing by the Tampa Bay Rays is going to make this spring bullpen-watch for fantasy owners. Isringhausen will directly compete with Troy Percival for closing duties with the Rays.

Tampa Bay is banking on Isringhausen's 2008 season being an aberration. His body of work allows that having him in camp is a risk worth taking.

"Gosh, I hear nothing but good things about this fella," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "We're looking forward to seeing him out there."

Isringhausen has compiled 293 career saves, sixth highest among active players and 22nd on the all-time list. Since 2000, his 284 saves rank tied for third (with Billy Wagner) among Major League pitchers, trailing only Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman. He is also the all-time Cardinals leader with 217 saves.

Isringhausen was selected to the National League All-Star team in 2005 and the American League squad in '00. He has pitched in five postseasons with St. Louis and Oakland and reached the World Series in '04. In 23 career postseason appearances, he is 4-5 with 11 saves and a 2.36 ERA; he saved a career-high 47 games in 2004, tied for the NL lead.

Count incumbent closer Troy Percival among Isringhausen's biggest fans after watching him pitch from the opposing dugout in the AL and being teammates with Isringhausen with St. Louis.

Yes, but dont' forget Grant Balfour, who'd appear to have a great makeup for a closer. The Rays also have David Price, who certainly could end up in the rotation. He's also got an impressive makeup for closing out baseball games. Whomever wins the job, they could easily tally 40 saves for a young contender.

Pat "The Bat" in Tampa

Pat Burrell's addition in Tampa Bay will greatly help the young and improving Rays hit left-handed pitching. Burrell, however, is a better hitter than given credit for, and should play a constant role in the middle of Tampa's order.

He'll provide the righty bat to Carlos Pena's lefty bat, and while the two are streaky hitters around Evan Longoria, they should provide enough pop to keep the Rays dangerous. Burrell will also DH, leaving him with few or no fielding concerns.

Phils take two

With two wins over the weekend in Philadelphia, the Phillies are on the doorstep of their first world championship in 28 years. I'm going to spare you the details since you already know what happened, but Tampa's magical season looks like it will end up just short of the goal.

One other note: this call had nothing to do with the final outcome of game four. The Phillies manhandled the Rays all night long.

Rays win game two, 4-2.

The Phillies continue to leave valuable runners on base, and the Rays found ways to scratch out runs, as Tampa grinds out a 4-2 win in game two.

The Rays scored on two ground outs, a single and a safety squeeze, putting four on the board before Eric Bruntlett homered for the Phils in the eighth. Philly pushed across one more on an Evan Longoria error in the 9th, but it was too late for a comeback.

Good pitching from "Big Game" James Shields. While he wasn't as dominant as Cole Hamels in game one, Shields struck out four and scatted seven hits over 5 2/3 innings. He threw 104 pitches in less than six innings, but didn't allow a run.

Mark Grace called this a "must win" for the Rays before the game. It certainly looked that way going in, and now with Matt Garza scheduled to face Jamie Moyer in game three this series could go either direction.

Update: For more on Charlie Manuel's selection of Moyer as game three starter, Baseball Musings breaks it down.

Raysing the stadium issue

I'm not calling this piece great journalism, because it certainly isn't that, but it does bring up a good question: can the Rays postseason run help their chances at a new stadium.

A new stadium proposal fell through earlier this year, but that doesn't mean a new one can't surface.

Baseball leaders say Tropicana Field in the long run just won't produce enough revenue to keep the team competitive.

The Rays temporarily suspended their public push for a downtown St. Petersburg waterfront stadium earlier this year.

Still, a group of community and civic leaders have continued meeting twice a month to discuss the issue. The group hopes to have a new stadium plan within the next two years.

Higher education

The Phillies and Rays are made up of a total of 22 players who played college baseball. It's split right down the middle, 11 and 11. That means nearly half their rosters did their thing with aluminum before heading to the minors.

The guy with the least likely path to the majors? The Rays' Ben Zobrist, who played his college ball at Dallas Baptist.

Taking Tampa

Just a hunch, but based on everything I've seen and heard, I'm taking the Rays to win the World Series in seven games.

Rays flash in the pan?

Are the Rays the next Florida Marlins, a good young team that wins a World Series but can't afford to keep its players?

For every projection of a Rays dynasty, the specter of the Marlins lurks. The Marlins, reminiscent of the old Montreal Expos, represent everything the Rays should fear: talent-rich, economically challenged, the team that develops winning ballplayers but is unable to keep them. Despite having won as many championships as the Red Sox over the past 12 years, the Marlins do not have any more solid a hold on their future. They are struggling with local politicians for a new ballpark and are flirting with that exotic baseball location -- San Antonio -- if negotiations crumble. A massive, publicly financed stadium during a national financial collapse is not an endeavor voters are likely to view enthusiastically.

It's not out of the realm of possibility, but the Rays were smart to lock up Evan Longoria this year. They have at least one piece to build around if, that is, they can afford to pay Longoria, too.

BoSox survive

The battle of solo homers is won with the help of two non-home run scoring plays as Boston beats Tampa Bay 4-2 to force a seventh game in the series.

Justin Upton smoked a solo homer in the first off of Josh Beckett, but then Kevin Youkilis ripped his own in the top of the second for a 1-1 tie. After Youkilis knocked in the go-ahead run on a ground out, Jason Bartlett tied things up with a solo homer in the bottom of the 5th. The very next inning, Jason Varitek sent out his solo shot, giving Boston the lead for good. David Ortiz singled home an insurance run later in the inning.

Boston lives to fight another day, and on paper earns the advantage in the pitching matchup with Jon Lester facing Matt Garza in game seven.

Gross in the lineup

Apparently Joe Maddon doesn't believe in momentum like our previous MLB story on the Red Sox lineup. Maddon put Gabe Gross in the lineup tonight, who not only hasn't hit in the postseason (1-15), Gross has also struggled against the Red Sox (.204 this year), although he did hit three of his 13 homers against Boston and went 2-4 against tonight's Red Sox starter Josh Beckett.

ALCS - game six going Rays way

Forget a Rays collapse. I'm picking Tampa Bay over Boston tonight. The reason is two-fold. James Shields dominates at home (9-2, 2.59 ERA at the Trop in the regular season; 1-0, 3.29 ERA in the postseason), and Josh Beckett hasn't been his dominant self since September 16th (11.57 ERA, .400 BAA in the postseason).

There are, however, a couple of caveats in this prediction. Beckett's last dominant start came at Tampa Bay, going eight innings with seven strike outs and one earned run in a no-decision. Beckett went 2-1 with a 2.09 ERA against the Rays this season. Shields struggled twice against the BoSox in Boston this year (5.85 ERA), but pitched well against the Sox the two times he faced them at home (15.1 IP, 2 ER, 2 W). Don't forget his solid performance in game one of the ALCS (7.1 IP, 2 ER), when he was simply outperformed by Daisuke Matsuzaka in a 2-0 Boston win.

Sticking with Shields, I think. Yes, Shields and the Rays it is.

Update: Daisuke can pitch tonight if needed. This is going to be a great night of baseball.

BoSox on the bubble: ALCS game five preview

One of the most misleading stats in baseball comes to the forefront tonight as the Rays and Red Sox fight for the final time at Fenway this year. That stat? Team wins in a pitcher's start.

Scott Kazmir tosses for the Rays in game five, with Tampa Bay on the verge of clinching the A.L. pennant. He got shelled in game two, giving up five runs in less than five innings in a 9-8 Rays victory. Long have pitchers been revered for keeping their teams in games even if they don't win. In this case, however, Kazmir kept a pulse and little else as Boston hit him all over the field, including three home runs. Kazmir's team won, but he lost his battle badly.

The reason Kazmir is starting tonight at Fenway has little to do with the Rays feeling confident that they beat Boston in Kazmir's latest start. Kazmir is much worse on the road (4.10 ERA vs. 2.90 at home), and with the right-handed hulks in Boston's lineup, the BoSox should be taking aim at the green monster. The reason Kazmir is pitching is so James Shields doesn't have to. The Tampa right hander carries a 2.59 ERA at Tropicana Field and just a 4.82 mark on the road. Getting him back to the Trop might be the death knell for the Red Sox. Pitching a serviceable Kazmir tonight gives Tampa a better opportunity if the series returns home.

Pick Boston tonight. Daisuke Matsuzaka has pitched brilliantly in the postseason, and the Rays are gearing up for a one- or two-game fight back home. Sure, they'd take the win tonight, but sometimes stockpiling an arsenal means losing a battle to get ready.

Phils clinch, 5-1

Congratulations to the Phillies, who did everything right in clinching the National League pennant with a 5-1 win over the Dodgers. The Dodgers did nothing right. For the second straight outing, Chad Billingsley failed to pitch into the third inning. Rafael Furcal made three errors, and only Manny Ramirez brought the offense, knocking his 28th career October homer out to right field when the game was already out of reach. 5-1, the Phils win game five and win the series, 4-1 behind another stellar outing from Cole Hamels.

Now the Rays need to hurry up and beat Boston if they want equal rest in time for the World Series.

True sellouts

The Rays will finally have some true sellouts at Tropicana Field. They're removing the blue tarps over the nosebleed seats in the highest recesses of their home park, giving 5,762 more people the chance to experience a postseason game.

The reason those seats weren't open in the first place?

The upper-deck seats were covered in part because they're not exactly the best seats in the house. Tropicana Field's infamous catwalks block the view of the field for a number of those seats.

"Some are obstructed-view, some don't have seatbacks, and they're pretty high up," Silverman said, according to the Tribune. "But you're in the ballpark and you're there making a difference to the team."

That's got to be the worst ballpark in baseball, but hopefully this means the Rays are gaining some long-term support in Florida.