Rays ready for Sox finale; Percival unavailable

The Rays and Red Sox are readying for their final game of the showdown series and the regular season, though with the possibility they could meet again in the second round of the playoffs.

The Rays can expand their AL East lead to two games with another win tonight, the Red Sox can pull back into a tie. The Rays can also take another step with a win toward securing a playoff spot, with the possibility of clinching as soon as Friday with a couple victrories over the Twins.

*The Rays will be without the services of closer Troy Percival, who underwent the first of three scheduled epidural injections into his lower back Tuesday. Percival will have to have back surgery after this season, but is confident the treatment will have him ready to go "full throttle" by Thursday's game.

The schedule for the injections is a six-day interval in between, which is why he's unavailable tonight, but is planning to play catch Thursday in hopes to be available for five straight days before another injection.  Depending on how he responds, the club will then decide if he needs a third.

Said Percival: "Anything to finish this out and get back to where I was at earlier in the year."

Facing Boston's knuckleballing nemesis Tim Wakefield tonight, manager Joe Maddon has tinkered with his lineup, using switch-hitter Willy Aybar as the DH and starting Justin Ruggiano in leftfield. Maddon said DH Cliff Floyd, who was hit in the right shin with a pitch Tuesday, is fine and ready, but they just wanted to go with matchups (Floyd is 1-11 vs Wakefield and Rocco Baldelli is 3-for-26).

Also of pre-game interest, Willy Aybar and Dan Johnson are both getting some work in the outfield with coach George Hendrick, which creates some interesting thoughts about the potential postseason roster.

On the Red Sox side, Mike Lowell - bothered by a nagging hip injury - is out of the lineup and is day-to-day. Lowell said he won't leave the team, but the club sent an MRI to a few specialists to figure out the problem.

The full lineup:
Iwamura, 2b
Bartlett, ss
Pena, 1b
Longoria, 3b
Aybar, dh
Navarro, c
Ruggiano, lf
Gross, rf
Perez, cf
Garza, p

RED SOX

Ellsbury, lf
Pedroia, 2b
Ortiz, dh
Youkilis, 3b
Kotsay, rf
Lowrie, SS
Casey, 1b
Crisp, cf
Cash, cf
Wakefield, p

-- JOE SMITH

joesmith@sptimes.com

Comments

[skp]

ana, fans are knee-jerk and view things through a pretty narrow scope, this management is analytical looks at the big picture.

anybody who focused on his contributions across the span of the season instead of the incidents in july\august would see much more accurate picture of BJ: by all accounts he is liked in the clubhouse unlike Dukes and Young; he took his benchings without causing a stir and supported his manager's decisions; he has been playing through injury when anybody would've understood if he chose to shut it down and get surgery; he has saved hits, innings, and games with his glove and his arm; he has been playing in the outfield for only a fraction of the time that Perez has and is already better; he leads the team in OBP and steals....and on top of it all, there's not a thing wrong with him that he can't work himself through...not everyone is evan longoria, and some guys need a few years in the bigs to become the players they'll be remembered as.

he's frustrating at times, but mainly because of his insane potential....you don't give up on guys like that less than 2 seasons into their MLB career (i'm not counting the callup at age 19) unless they are major liabilities to the team, and thank goodness the fans who want his head aren't the ones deciding his future, because letting him go would be an incredible mistake

re: delmon and dukes, there's no comparison. he doesn't have sociopathic or violent tendencies like dukes and he doesn't think he's too good to be coached like delmon, he just lets his head leave the game too often. he's a good teammate and if you watched him when he was benched you'll notice that he didn't sulk, he was supporting his teammates and tuned into the game

your description of perez also fits jonny gomes - do you want him on the roster ahead of upton too, or would you prefer a bigger difference-maker?

[ana lyzer]

For Skip---when your "positive" manager Joe Maddon benches you for cause and your hometown fans boo you for lack of hustle, that has nothing to do with injuries. Do you think they let Young and Dukes go because of injuries? doubt that's why they will do all they can to trade Upton. He was an absolute distraction on this team. Just look back at all the posts on this blog and you see the opinion of Rays fans, overwhelmingly negative in regards to Upton's demeanor. Perez on the other hand, is non-controversial as he plays the game and gives 100%--he may absolutely be lacking the natural god given ability that Upton has but I'll take someone who busts butt just to get close to that "natural ability" who plays the game with obvious indifference.

[skp]

re: Perez vs Upton

Upton is a superior all-around player who has opted out of season ended surgery to play hurt for 3+ months. he will be a franchise player

perez will be an important player for the rays, but not a replacement for upton. it's clear from all of the leg issues upton and CC have had this year that both could use a day or 2 off each week to be fresh for the postseason run every year (how cool to be able to say that with a straight face!).....with perez, gross, and now apparently Aybar getting some training in the OF, we can rotate and make sure each guy can go 100% every day...with a rocco\aybar\floyd platoon at DH, we can get everybody ABs and give the right guys rest at the right time

the outfielders we've parted ways with over the years (dukes, hamilton, and delmon) would form the one of the most dangerous 2-way outfields in baseball for years, we can't just keep trading away at that position....we need 4 or 5 talented guys because injuries do happen and these are human beings who wear out over a 6-7 month season....perez is a keeper, and with him, upton, and CC all healthy we can own the basepaths

[Amanda]

Looking for dates for what now?

[Clone-ella]

SWEET CAROLINE!!!!
Good times never felt so good....

[Bill]

Perez will be on the playoff roster.....no doubt.
Hey Red Sox fans.......how many championships did you win without Manny? That's what I thought.

[Go Rays!!]

Bandwagon Nation has left the building.

[Go Rays!!]

Sure Magraine is goofy, but I'll take him over the Red Sox radio announcers. I was actually listening on XM when the Shield/Crisp fiasco happened. They were about the only people in the nation that proclaimed loudly how much it was Bartlett's fault. If you think Magraine has rose colored glasses, you should listen to Joe Castiglione and Dave O'Brien. They do a great job, but I thought both of them were relatives of Coco Crisp.

How about this? go to www.redsox.com to watch Dwayne and Joe narrating the Rays kicking their butts. We own their website.

[Carl]

Perez is making a case for the playoff roster. He has taken charge in CF and at the plate.

After getting their ears pinned back on Monday, they have looked strong and confident.

Go Rays!!!!

[Kennedy]

Ruggiano now has 4 STRIKEOUTS!!!

Is this game being played in St Pete or Williamsport?

He is so lucky Durham's season is already over

[Tim]

Ruggiano is clueless at the plate tonight... 4 SO's

[Bill]

Perez could be a top of the order guy with his speed and ability to want to bunt...............

[Kennedy]

Frank,
McCarver has no sense of humor. Magrane has that typical off-kilter lefty sense of humor. It seems like you either love him or hate him.

[Kennedy]

can someone explain to me why the rays keep going with Ruggiano??? he makes Gomes look like a contact hitter

[mo]

Laying it down tonight !! Go Rays

[Mel]

Sure wish all these Boston fans would leave the Tampa Bay area, sure would be less obese!

[Tallahassee Mike]

Zeke--I agree, especially tonight, Perez has shown that he's a legit player, and he's certainly a lot more level headed than Upton. After this season, with the discipline AND Upton's decrease in power, I would not be surprised to see Upton go in a Delmon Young style trade, maybe for a big power Right Fielder.

[Paul]

Percival unavailable. Now THAT'S good news.

[zeke]

Wonder how many die-hard Upton fans are out there now. From what this kid Perez has displayed thus far, on both sides of the ball makes Upton's absence meaningless. He can play the field as good as Upton, has shown more power than Upton and as Upton admireres point out, Perez is young. I like the way this kid plays the game and love his disposition, mannerisms, etc. Think he is here to stay!

[Sully]

Sternberg, answer the phone, it's your peeps in Vegas calling

[Johnny]

Please give the radio annoucers a crying towel. Must they complain on every pitch??
Very unprofessional...

[Frank]

how do you guys stand magrane on a daily basis. it's as bad as listening to mccarver.

[Tallahassee Mike]

It sure is nice to see Jason Bay's name missing from that list. I didn't realize how much I hate the Red Sox until I saw first hand how in my mind Jason Bay quickly went from a respectable, solid Pirates outfielder to a hated and pure evil Sox.

[Paul]

Hey SP Times... where do the Rays play??

That's right, in SAINT PETERSBURG!!!! Fix your stinkin butt crossword puzzles for crying out loud!

GO RAYS!!!!!

[McLovin]

To RevJoe about Cowbell Kid...

CK went on 97.1 FM's The Morning X yesterday to announce his "retirement" from doing what he does out there in right field. He said he had been thinking about it for the last two weeks and there was "pressure from above" for him to make the choice. He said that no players or personnel are the reason for this.

Earlier in the year I heard rumors of petitions being made to basically get rid of the Cowbell Kid. "Pressure from above" could mean management making this decision on their own or this decision was influenced by those fans. I don't know which, and I would rather it be the latter.

What I do know is that I will be there in his section (I hope, I still need to get tickets and sneak my way over there...) and I'll be there with my own Latin Percussion cowbell to beat on. I hope I will not be the only one because that would be very awkward...

I think I should hand out some earplugs before the game. If the noise is the problem, McLovin's got your back! er... ears! :D

It seems ironic to me that one day after this whole thing was made public, tonight gets to be cowbell night out of nowhere.

I hope he comes back, because we need all the fan support we can get during the playoffs.

"We are one team!"

Riiiight...

[Tim]

OOPS !! sorry Lori .. didn't mean to leave YOU out... Tres Hotties !!!

GO RAYS !!!!!!!!!!!!

[Tim]

Have you seen any look on Emma's or Amanda's faces ??? Not only priceless but HAWT !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[JB]

Emma and Amanda are just looking for dates!

[Emma]

I hope they keep Aybar on the post season roster. He really helped us get to where we are, and has a good glove and has been hitting from both sides. He deserves it!

HA! Joes knows nothing it looks like!

[bobd]

Actually, if the Rays win tonight they will have a 3 game lead over the Sox. As they will then hold the tie breaker in head to head. The Sox would then need to win the division by at least 1 game to take the division. A tie will do them no good.

joeknowsbaseball is a dumbass

[Lori]

No, I dont think anyone saw the look on Masterson's face when Pena hit his homerun...considering that Masterson was in the bullpen....Pena connected off Beckett. I guess joeknowsbaseball doesnt know too much.
GO RAYS!!

[RevJoe]

Hey Red Sox Nation, those free donuts tasted delicious this morning. Nothing like eating the fruits of victory after a satisfying triumph from the night before. What's the scoop with the Cowbell Kid? I'm sniffing Rays-Cubbies Series, with Sweet Lou suffering more Trop defeats -- but this time at the hands of the Rays! Go Garza and don't go psycho tonight!

[McLovin]

I hear that a makeshift Cowbell Night was created for tonight.

How ironic after Cowbell Kid has already "retired" after "pressure from above."

Something really fishy is going on there, but there's no way you're stopping me from doing my damn thing on Saturday.

[joeknowsbaseball]

Did you see the look on Justin Masterson's face when Pena jacked the game changing HR?

Priceless.

[jeff]

BAIL OUT BOSTON GOVERNMENT!

[Stoaked]

its cool we go with defense and speed as opposed to homerun hitters, interesting against wakefield

[Fishbone Creative]

I'll be there and loving it...GO RAYS!