A Heck of a Story

Don't laugh. The Rays have a secret ingredient, an X-factor. It's not their fine rotation of Shields, Andy Sonnanstine (13-8, 4.27), Scott Kazmir (12-7, 3.36), Edwin Jackson (12-11, 4.19) and Matt Garza (11-9, 3.66). Nor is it their superb defense and team speed.

Their special sauce isn't base thief B.J. Upton (42 steals); obscure team MVP Jason Bartlett, a shortstop with just one home run; or slugger Carlos Peña (31 homers, 101 RBI). Their hidden edge isn't even rookie third baseman Evan Longoria (83 RBI in 117 games), who's so good the poor Rays, forced to think outside the box, signed him to a six-year, $17.5 million contract after he had played six games in the major leagues.

Tampa Bay's trump is the Trop. The Rays love their dimly lit home, its goofy catwalks and its artificial turf and its ground rules from hell. There, they are 16-2 this season against the Angels, Red Sox and Cubs -- the three teams you'd handicap as most likely to stand between them and, well, a world title.

Granted, most teams that surpass their wildest imaginings founder in their first postseason. The Rays may. But it is inspiring to see how they've been built.

"We may accidentally be the first post-steroid team. We have pitching, defense and speed, not big guys swinging for homers," one Rays executive said. "Of course, we never had a steroid team. We just didn't realize everybody else did."

Being awful for so long let them draft high, netting Longoria and pitchers David Price, a 6-foot-6 lefty, and Wade Davis, a 6-5 right-hander, who may make the rotation next year and eventually surpass Shields and Kazmir. But the Rays have also been free agent thieves, netting slick first-sacker Peña, designated hitter Cliff Floyd and second baseman Akinori Iwamura for nickels.

Don't trade with the Rays either. All-star catcher Dioner Navarro, 24, came from the Dodgers for nobody much. Garza and Bartlett arrived from Minnesota for hot prospect Delmon Young. Willy Aybar, after substance rehab, cost a few broken bats. Rays scouts must have had X-ray vision to see that relievers Grant Balfour (1.42 ERA) and J.P. Howell (2.26) could have 172 strikeouts in 146 1/3 innings.

For the Rays, with a tiny $44 million payroll, every penny counts. "We're not a small-market team, but we're still a low-revenue team. It can take a generation to build a fan base in a new town -- unless you give them a winner," Silverman said. "Adding a Chad Bradford would be a round error for some team. For us, it's real money." (Bradford, who was put on waivers this summer by Baltimore, makes $3.2 million.)

If the Rays remain successful, and they are in danger of losing nobody of consequence except veteran free agent Eric Hinske, they'll have done it the old-fashioned, low-budget way -- with high draft picks, top scouting, shrewd trading, cheap signings and luck.

"We're not counting on a few high-paid guys. It's a different hero every day. This is a room full of guys who don't cause many problems off the field and are really grateful for what's happening," Shields said. "In eight years here, I've seen it all. We're embracing every moment of this. We love it."

So does Manager Joe Maddon, 54, who spent 15 years in the minors, including the kind of playing career (five homers in four years) that'll turn you into, "Hello, coach." Like most big league managers, he cooks, gardens, has a degree in economics, studies fine wines, drives a Corvette, takes a bicycle on the road to log 100 miles a week, has two grandchildren, a fiancee, a November wedding date and, since last week, a tragically ugly mohawk.

Oh, and Zimmy vouches for him. So, he's all right.

Like all Rays, Maddon is ecstatic these days and taking bows. "I'm looking for my old high school football coach, Chuck Zink, from Hazleton [Pa.] High," he said, scanning the Camden Yards stands. "This guy actually drove his motorcycle through a brick wall at large miles per hour."

That's the Rays all right. Here they come, riding their crazy scooter straight at the brick wall of the AL East at large miles per hour. Five days left. Magic number two.

Don't bet on the wall.