Marc Topkin answered your questions

As the Rays prepare to open defense of their American League Championship, Times beat reporter Marc Topkin answered your questions for more than an hour during a live chat this afternoon.

Live chat with Marc Topkin

Times Rays beat reporter Marc Topkin took your Rays questions during a live chat from noon to 1 p.m. today. Here's a transcript of the questions and answers:

MT: Greetings from midtown Manhattan. It's cloudy and overcast here, with a chance of evening showers, so it could be a long night at Yankee Stadium. Interesting dynamic in the New York papers today, as they've pretty much written off the rest of the Yankees' season as the farewell to the stadium. The Daily News backpage headline: THE LONG GOODBYE With 10 home games left, end if near for Stadium and sorry Yanks.

On to the questions ....

Q: Rays fans have to know!!! When is Longoria back in the lineup and please tell me that Wednesday night was the final nail in the coffin for Percival. I don't ever want to see him pitching in a Rays uniform again!!! --Fred

MT: Starting at the top, with the Longoria question, the best we can say at this point is soon. Obviously this has taken longer than Longoria was hoping, but the Rays are being cautious, as they should. He sounded Wednesday, after taking swings against trainer Ron Porterfield, that he was ready to go, hoping to take BP tonight with the team. Assuming that goes well, I'd guess the Rays still give him another day or two and hold off until Saturday or Sunday (since he likely wouldn't play the day game after the night game anyway.)

Q; You've been with the team since before Day 1....how does covering this year compare/contrast with your previous 10 years? Give us some ups and downs... -- Karen

MT: Karen asked about the difference in covering the team this season than the previous 10, and there are a couple of big things:
One is that the Rays are still the dominant story on our pages, both in print and on the web, whereas in past years the Bucs and college football would be the big deals and the Rays' coverage would be played down. Another has been the remarkable increase in national interest in the team, based on the number of national media calling for info on the team and even the number of radio and TV interview requests I have gotten. Plus, there's increased interest in our own office and in a lot of departments in the papers so the Rays are a popular topic of conversation there too.

Highlights from chat with Marc Topkin

Times beat writer Marc Topkin answered your Rays' questions for more than an hour this afternoon during a live chat on tampabay.com. Here are some of the highlights:

Q: Isn't it time for someone in the Rays' organization to nail Carl Crawford to the bench and let Gabe Gross play? What is Crawford anyway, 4 for 40 ? Yeah, that'll play huge in the playoffs !! Crawford's a dinosaur and we can't wait for him to "find his groove". Bench him. (Mike Robinson)

A: Be real. Crawford is not only one of the Rays' most dynamic players, but in all of the majors. He's going to have his slumps like anyone, but he is an impact player on both sides of the ball. And Gross' contributions are as much the result of being used in the right situations as anything, and not being overexposed.

Thanks for chatting with Marc Topkin

The Rays are off today, but Times beat writer Marc Topkin talked baseball in a live chat from noon-1 p.m.

So what now?

The Rays just completed a stunning sweep of the Red Sox, winning three consecutive tense games before rollicking crowds at the Trop, and have improved to a major-league best 52-32. The 20 games over .500 is a franchise high, and so is the size of their lead -- 3-1/2 games, with the Sox opening a four-game series in New York tonight. By the way, the 3-1/2 games the Sox are out of first place is their largest deficit since the end of the 2006 season.

The Rays -- in theory -- should have it easier for a while, with eight of their 10 games before the All-Star break against the struggling Royals and Indians (and two against the Yankees). And after the break, they play 10 of their first 13 against the Royals and Blue Jays, then their next 10 against the Tigers, Indians and Mariners. Point being that after playing what may have been the toughest schedule in the majors thus far, they now play what appears - and that's important - to be an easier slate.

To participate: Come to 'The Heater' at or after noon and look for a new post with the headline, "The chat is OPEN." Click on the "Comments" link of that item and you'll be taken to a page with everything that's been said in the chat so far, and a place at the bottom of the page for you to add your own comment or question. Just keep refreshing the comments page to see the latest.

-- MARC TOPKIN, Times staff writer.

(Pictured: Rays fans cheer and Red Sox supporters wince as the Rays complete a sweep of their three-game series at Tropicana Field. Times photo -- James Borchuck. Click to enlarge.)