What must Lou Piniella be thinking right now?

Pete,

How about the job both Garza & Price did. Especially the Rookie Price. Man that kid has incredible poise. The O's veteran starters might want to take note of what throwing strikes can do. Although we really have no one in that class at this time. Heck, who does!

Hats off to Joe Maddon and the Rays, for taking down the Nation!! Damn that was sweet!!!

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Pete's reply: It sure was. No offense to the Red Sox, who are on a great run the past five years, but it's great to have a team come along that you can get all worked up about. Small payroll. Young players. Some good guys. Sweet.

Hey Pete.... Do you need any help climbing back on the Rays bandwagon ?

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Pete's reply: Damn right I do. I think a sprained an ankle jumping of on Thursday.

Congrats to the Rays! They weathered the storm and won one for the doormats of the world. Give the Sox credit for battling back, but more to the Rays for showing composure when they could have folded.

At least now they won't have to face the headlines about how they pulled off the biggest choke jobs in history.

Looking ahead, one thing Orioles fans can enjoy about the World Series is that each team has ex-O's on their team: Tampa Bay with Chad Bradford and Philadelphia with Jamie Moyer. It should be a good Series. Even though the Rays were able to play past Boston's remarkable comeback, which shows their toughness, the Phillies are, if anything, a better rounded team then the Sox and possess a more potent lineup.

One question comes to mind as the 2008 ALCS goes into the books:

Did Boston's getting rid of Manny hurt them in this series? Yes, I know Jason Bay helped them when he came over, but the Sox lineup was still far less intimidating without Ramirez batting cleanup, and in playoffs a team needs every bat it can get. Whatever the front office's perceived need to trade him, losing Manny had big consequences, ones that could carry over to next year. (Of course, who's to say they don't go out and get Mark Teixeira?)

SandyK -- I imagine he has mixed feelings: Elated that the Rays finally amounted to something, but sad that he wasn't there to lead them.

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Pete's reply: I've been thinking about Sandy's question and I don't think the Rays win if Piniella was still the manager. There's something about Maddon that clicked with these players. I don't know if he's the greatest tactical manager, but he is a very smart guy who reads people well and really is able to project his sincerity to players. I think they know he really cares more about them than he does about himself. Lou's a great manager, but I don't think you could say that about him.

Pete-
What was the key to the developmental success of the Rays?
What lessons can McPhail and the Orioles learn from the Rays?
Can we achieve the same level of success in as short a period of time?

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Pete's reply: I think the O's already have learned that lesson. Now they have to follow through with their player development strategy. As for whether they can achieve that much success in a short time. I doubt it. It took the Rays quite awhile. We just didn't have to suffer through it the way we have with the O's.

Hey, you really have to tip your hat to the gutsy calls by Maddon-ie leaving Garza and not being held hostage by the pitch count and by bringing in the rookie Price to close things out.
He left himself wide open to be second guessed by the pundits but I get the impression that Maddon could care less about the so-called experts. He seems to have hte makings of a great manager, who really gets the most out of his players. Maybe Trembley will be that type of manager but first he has to learn to go against the book once in awhile.(oh and having a few more decent players might help too!)

I was hoping the Rays would win, if just to break the lock the Red Sox have had the past few years.

I knew the Rays would win when in the 8th inning, the RS did what they've done all season long -- loaded bases with at least 2 outs left and not being able to do a damn thing.

I agree on Piniella, both that he has mixed emotions and that the Rays don't win with him. I think he's better as the fiery manager who knows how to push the veterans. The Yankees, Reds, and Mariners were all veteran-laden teams when they had success. Maddon got a mohawk as a way of connecting with players, but wasn't a pushover when guys like Upton were dogging it--making it very clear that no one man was above the team. Also, credit to the Rays GM for dealing Delmon Young for Bartlett and Garza. I thought that was a sucker deal last year, but as much as I still think Young will be a great player, that deal made this team. Bartlett was the glue (the O's could use a Bartlett). But more importantly, Garza was great throughout the year and masterful in Game 7. And he'll be around for many years along with Kazmir, Shields, and Sonnanstine (and Price). If they stay healthy, they're contenders for several years without worrying about free agency for a while on a lot of them.

Bridging those ideas to our beloved O's, the importance of young arms isn't lost on Andy MacPhail. As bright as the Rays future is, are the Orioles that far away? The lineup is there (well, not counting September swoon). We just need the young arms to come through in 2010 like the Rays arms finally did. Bergesson. Tillman. Arrieta. Hernandez. Matusz. Erbe. And I'm not even counting the guys on the ML roster this year (Guthrie rocks and I believe Liz will be a right-handed Arthur Rhodes).

I'd be ecstatic if Tex comes to Baltimore, but remember the lesson here. The Rays victory is proof that you don't need tons of $$ to succeed in the AL East. Just good management, loads of talent, and patience. Good luck Andy. We're counting on you.