ANAHEIM—On Saturday, Joe Maddon told us Cliff Floyd would be back in the starting lineup Sunday. He wasn’t. On Sunday, Maddon told us Floyd would be back in the lineup tonight. He isn’t.

Considering Floyd’s injury history, the natural assumption is that he’s dealing with some sort of nagging physical problem. Talking to him today, he never asserted that he’s feeling 100 percent right now. But he apparently is good feeling good enough to start at DH, so the conclusion to be drawn is that the lineup decisions the last few days have come down to the fact that Maddon can’t bring himself to take Willy Aybar out of the lineup.

“It may happen again tomorrow and then we’ll look at it after that,” said Maddon. “Things are going pretty nicely right now and we’re just going to stick with it.”

Aybar has hit safely in five straight games, collecting seven hits in 17 at-bats. Floyd is 1-for-12 on the road trip, though he hasn’t played since Friday, when he went 0-for-4 with a walk in Texas.

“They’re going with the hot bat, and I don’t blame them – we’re winning,” said Floyd, who later added: “I’m a realist. I like to win, too. At the end of the day, whoever gives you the best chance to win the game, you play. That’s just life. At the end of the day, that’s how we’re going to ride with it and we’re all going to contribute.”

There is an element of safeguarding involved in this equation, as the Rays already are down a player with Jonny Gomes suspended. If Floyd started a game and was unable to finish it, that would further deplete an already short Rays bench.

“I don’t want to shorthand them,” said Floyd. “I’m feeling good enough, but Willy is a switch-hitter, so you don’t have to do so much with the lineup all the time, and right now everything is just OK, everything is going smoothly. I see myself getting back in there, because I’m supposed to be the DH here and I’m supposed to help this team win, and I look forward to doing it.”

That last bit about how he’s supposed to be the DH was not delivered with any malice whatsoever, by the way. (A minute later, Floyd said “I’ve never been selfish in my life and I never intend to. I just want to win.”) He knows he was brought here to help the team and I think it’s pretty apparent he has been frustrated that he hasn’t been able to produce like he planned to, whether because of injuries or slumps.

Anyway, that’s the news of the day from out here, aside from noting that Troy Percival’s simulated inning went fine. Gomes was the only hitter who bothered to show up and face him, as Percival put it. The closer still expects to come off the DL on Friday. 

Here are the lineups:

Rays
Iwamura 2B
Crawford LF
Upton CF
Hinske DH
Longoria 3B
Aybar 1B
Navarro C
Gross RF
Bartlett SS
Shields P

Angels
Willits RF
Izturis SS
Anderson LF
Guerrero DH
Hunter CF
Kotchman 1B
Kendrick 2B
Mathis C
Wood 3B
Weaver P