Dan:

Congratulations to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, your 2008 American League East Champions.

Yes, I know it isn’t official yet. But, c’mon, their magic number is one. Even if they don’t win another game, don’t think the Sox are going to sweep the Yanks in the season series finale. Yes, winning the division is important this year (as I’ve said many times). I’m not flip-flopping; just realizing that while it would have been great to win the division, Terry Francona isn’t going to burn out his players when he already has a playoff birth clinched. So, expect him to rest plenty of guys from here on out. And, you can expect the Yankees will take pleasure in trying to sink the Sox, a nice finishing-touch to an otherwise horribly disappointing season for The Bombers.

So congratulations to the Devil Rays. What they’ve accomplished in 2008 has been an amazing feat. For years I’ve wondered who would break the Yankee/Red Sox hold on the top of the division. The Jays squeezed into third twice since 1998, so I thought they had a chance (especially with their payroll). Also, I figured the once-mighty Orioles would eventually return to life. But the Devil Rays? Their talented-team has suddenly vaulted from a decade of futility to become an actual powerhouse in the American League.

So, today I will take the high-road and congratulate the Devil Rays. I will resist pointing out that despite having the most exciting, remarkable team of this baseball season, they can scarcely cobble together 20,000 fans to come see them play. I won’t mention that the hole they call a stadium is by far the worst place to play in baseball, or that it isn’t fit for a Class A franchise. I won’t say that Iwamura, Crawford and Gomes are punks or cheap-shot sissies for throwing haymakers at Coco Crisp while Dionner Navarro held him down. And I won’t even say anything about the weak, bush-league (even Angelsesque) move they made removing “Devil” from their team name. I might even refer to them as their appropriate name, the just Rays . . . . .

Nah.