With sights on Series, Rays also gunning for long-term success

BOSTON -- If last week's story was that the Rays were never supposed to be here, this week's story is that they're never going to leave.

If last week the Red Sox were becoming the new Yankees, this week the Rays are becoming the team that will keep both the Red Sox and Yankees down for years to come.

Forget Jeter and Rivera. Forget Ortiz and Varitek.

It's hard not to admire what the young Rays have accomplished this season. (Getty Images)

Hey, things change quickly at playoff time. You've got to be ready to roll with the stories.

The real question, of course, is whether this story will have any longer shelf life than the last one did?

You know what, it might.

"I think about the next decade all the time, I really do," said Joe Maddon, whose Rays can advance to the World Series if they beat the Red Sox again Thursday night. "When this is all being set up, we're not just thinking about 2008. You're thinking about building this for success for many years to come."

Maddon is honest enough to tell you that he didn't expect the Rays to be a win away from the World Series in 2008, any more than you did. But he's also aware enough to look at the young talent on hand, and to realize that this team could be special for a while.

Sure there are obstacles, starting with the money. The Rays have been proactive in signing players to long-term contracts -- they signed Evan Longoria to a six-year deal six games into his big-league career -- but their payroll will always be limited.

The Rays won't say what their season-ticket base is, but they will say that it's either the lowest in baseball or the second-lowest, ahead of the Marlins. They will say that the run to the playoffs hasn't yet generated any run on 2009 season tickets.

It's worth remembering that when the Marlins won the World Series in 1997, they had to tear the team apart that same winter. It's worth remembering that when the Marlins rebuilt well enough to win it all again in 2003, they couldn't keep that team together, either.

Rays ownership has already proven more committed than Florida's, though. Longoria joined Carl Crawford, Scott Kazmir, James Shields and Carlos Pena as key Rays already signed to long-term deals. Payroll went up from $24 million to $43 million last winter, and while that's less than what the Yankees paid for just the left side of their infield, it is an 80 percent increase.