Soaking up Rays: Tampa Bay takes time to bask, hang out with Obama day after winning AL pennant

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — They dropped their gloves, tossed their caps, ran in from the outfield and flung themselves into a pile near the pitcher's mound as if this were the start of the 100-meter butterfly.

The Tampa Bay Rays, exuberant and champagne-soaked, now have to leave the partying behind and concentrate on baseball.

Manager Joe Maddon gave his newly crowned AL champions the day off Monday to allow them to recuperate from their fourth celebration in the past month and begin to turn their attention to the Philadelphia Phillies and Game 1 of the World Series.

"This is a good day for recovery. Time to get the emotional drain out, take a day off and let it all sink in," said Matt Garza, who pitched the Rays past Boston in Game 7 of the AL championship series Sunday night. "Tomorrow we'll come back and get to work."

Rookie left-hander David Price, who got the last four outs of the ALCS, spent part of the day at Legends Field in nearby Tampa, where he introduced Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

"It's been a whirlwind," Price said, adding he got about four hours of sleep. "It took a while to wind down."

The young Rays celebrated at home after clinching the first postseason berth in franchise history and on the road after winning the AL East title and eliminating the Chicago White Sox in the first round of the playoffs.

"It's getting a little more real. But it's very surreal for all of us," Rays executive vice president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said.

"It's difficult when you're mired in it to really appreciate it. I'm sure after we play our last game we'll be able to step back and really reflect on the season. Right now, we have a lot of work to do."

The Phillies, who wrapped up the NL pennant last Wednesday, had to wait four days to find out who they would face next.

They're impressed with what they've seen of the Rays.

"I look at it, I see they're young and very talented," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "They're good athletes. They can run, they can throw and they have power. I like their pitching. It's going to be a real good series.

"I look at it as we've got to play good baseball, bring our 'A' game, and that's what we're planning on doing."

It took about five hours to clean up the mess left behind after the Rays' clinching 3-1 victory over the Red Sox.

The grounds crew, meanwhile, worked diligently to remove ALCS logos from the field before the Phillies arrived for an evening workout at Tropicana Field.

"We left around 5 a.m.," equipment and home clubhouse manager Chris Westmoreland said, adding that there were 15 to 20 workers on standby to scrub and vacuum the carpet and remove plastic covering lockers after the celebration spilled over to early Monday.

By mid-afternoon, the AL championship trophy was sitting on a countertop in the middle of the clubhouse and there were no signs of the chaos that filled the room and spilled out onto the field where players sprayed champagne on fans the night before.

"I want to get used to it," Westmoreland said. "I want to have one more here."