Rays confident in playoffs

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Playoff novices or not, the Tampa Bay Rays see no reason they can’t keep winning.

“When you believe, and you have the talent to do it,” veteran designated hitter Cliff Floyd said, “anything can happen.”

The surprising A.L. East champions won 97 games, 31 more than a year ago when they were the team formerly known as the perennial last-place Devil Rays, and finished with the worst record in the majors.

The Rays, who’ve done little in spectacular fashion other than win at an amazingly consistent rate to become baseball’s feel-good story of the year, begin their first postseason Thursday against either the Minnesota Twins or Chicago White Sox.

“Believe it or not, I kept on saying last year we had something special,” first baseman Carlos Pena said.

“Even though we were in last place and had a record we weren’t really happy with, I could just see in this clubhouse something special. … I’m sure people thought I was just saying that. But look at this.”

The Rays began the season with a meager payroll of about $43 million and beat the odds by finishing ahead of the big-budget Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees by embracing manager Joe Maddon’s mantra of “98” – nine players playing hard for nine innings equals one of eight teams in the playoffs.

They’ve done it without a collection of high-priced stars, although rookie Evan Longoria and other talented young players such as Carl Crawford, Scott Kazmir and B.J. Upton seem well on their way to stardom.

Whether it was regrouping following a season-worst, seven-game losing streak that dropped them a half game behind Boston at the All-Star break or finding a way to hang on to first place while Longoria, Crawford and closer Troy Percival were on the disabled list, the Rays answered every challenge.

Twice in the last three weeks, they pulled away when the Red Sox appeared on the verge of taking control of the division, winning four of six meetings between the teams over 10 days.

That, the Rays feel, is the mark of a club capable of making a deep run in the playoffs.

“Nobody ever thought we’d be here, but I’ll tell you what – we came together as a team, as a unit, as a family,” Floyd said.

“We should serve as a model for teams that think they can purchase a championship,” rookie Fernando Perez said.

Although pitching, solid defense and a knack for generating just enough offense have carried the team all season, the players believe closeness in the clubhouse is just as important.

“Everyone is genuinely happy for each other. … You just don’t see that,” pitcher James Shields said. “It’s half the reason we’re where we are.”