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Roger Mooney

Roger Mooney covers the Tampa Bay Rays for The Tampa Tribune, TBO.com and News Channel 8. He has covered the Rays since their first season in 1998, including 11 years for the Bradenton Herald. Roger has also covered Florida, South Florida and Florida State football, the Bucs and the Lightning.

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Strap in, it’s Rays-Yankees with major subplots

Posted Jul 30, 2010 by Tribune Sports

Updated Jul 30, 2010 at 11:41 AM

By TONY FABRIZIO

ST. PETERSBURG – Two years ago, the Rays showed area baseball fans what it was like to follow a team through a pennant race.

Tonight may well usher in a sequel to that rollercoaster ride of euphoria and letdown, of late-night TV watching and next-morning rehashing. Of hanging on every pitch.

It’s only the second-to-last day of July, and the Rays could still fade out of the playoff picture well before October. But with 61 games to play and first-place within sight, a three-game series with the defending world champion Yankees at sold-out Tropicana Field will hardly feel like ordinary summer baseball.

Carl Crawford doesn’t think it’s too early for pennant-race intensity to kick in.

“After the all-star break, every game is a big deal,” Crawford said. “I’m pretty sure it’s going to be real loud. It should be exciting for the fans, and hopefully we can win the series and keep everybody excited.”

The Rays (63-38), after a dreary June that revealed all of the team’s flaws, carry as much momentum into tonight’s 7:10 p.m. series opener as they’ve had all year. They are 18-6 in July, already owning their most wins ever for the month, and they’ve won six in a row.

They’re two games behind the Yankees, the only team in the majors with a better record.

While finishing in front of the Yankees isn’t only way into the postseason – Tampa Bay has 5 1/2-game lead over the Red Sox in the American League wildcard standings – the Rays aren’t about to concede the division title to New York.

“Oh, not at all,” right fielder Ben Zobrist said. “We want to win the division. We’ve worked as hard as anybody, we feel like. Part of our job is to win the division, and then the World Series. That’s our goal.”

Maddon, as always, vowed that his team won’t give the Yankees games any more weight than next week’s games against the Twins and Blue Jays. And first baseman Carlos Pena, while welcoming the electric atmosphere the weekend should bring, insisted the Rays won’t change their approach.

“It’s nice to have this momentum,” he said. “We’re excited about it. I feel we’re prepared, we’re poised. At the same time, we always talk about not having an on-and-off switch. It doesn’t’ matter who we’re playing. We don’t try to turn it on, because it’s already on.”

As if the games themselves aren’t important enough, the series carries two major subplots.

There’s Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez still stuck on career home run No. 599 and having the opportunity to reach the 600-homer milestone over the weekend.

Rays rookie right-hander Wade Davis, who’ll start tonight, was merely being matter-of-fact when he said Tampa Bay’s pitchers don’t feel pressured.

“It’s more of a challenge for him than it is for us,’ he said. “It’s a lot easier to get somebody out than for somebody to hit a home run.”

There’s also the non-waiver trade deadline of 4 p.m. Saturday and the prospect of either the Rays or Yankees or both bolstering adding a key piece for the stretch run.

While the Rays have indicated they won’t make a move that in dilutes their defense, there’s fresh speculation on ESPN that the club is in the mix for Nationals slugger Adam Dunn, an average first baseman who has indicated he doesn’t want to DH.

The Rays’ greatest need may well be a right-handed hitter who can spot start, and Dunn hits left-handed.

There are some concerns for the Rays heading into the weekend. Center fielder B.J. Upton is coming off a mild ankle sprain, and Zobrist missed Thursday game with low-back stiffness.

And the Yankees have their rotation set up better. Davis (8-9) takes on Phil Hughs (12-3), Matt Garza (11-5) matches up with Javier Vazquez (9-7) on Saturday and James Shields (9-9) takes on ace CC Sabathia (13-4) Sunday.

“I know we’re all going to be excited about playing the games,” Maddon said. “It’s going to be a nice weekend series at the end of July (and) the beginning of August. I think it’ll be entertaining baseball.”