Rays turn kooky stadium into home-field advantage

[October 01, 2008]  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -- James Shields listens to horror stories about Tropicana Field, shrugs his shoulders and smiles.

"We don't complain," the 26-year-old right-hander said, "because we have to play here."

It has taken years, but the Tampa Bay Rays have finally transformed the wackiest stadium in the major leagues into what manager Joe Maddon affectionately calls "The Pit," a place where some flyballs never come down and opposing teams absolutely hate to visit.

Shields, who will start Game 1 of Tampa Bay's playoff series against either the Minnesota Twins or Chicago White Sox, has developed a deep appreciation for The Trop, and with good reason. He's 9-2 with a 2.59 ERA in 17 home starts compared to 5-6 with a 4.82 ERA in 16 road starts this season.

The Rays have prospered in the domed ballpark as well, fashioning the best home record (57-24) in the majors en route to winning the AL East and earning home-field advantage for the opening round of the playoffs.

"We actually come in here knowing we can beat anybody," Shields said. "We haven't had that before."

Opponents gripe about everything from the artificial turf to the infamous catwalks that support the roof of the 18-year-old stadium. Goofy things can happen when batted balls carom off -- or occasionally became lodged in -- the structures ranging from 59 to 194 feet above the field.

In 11 seasons, 96 fair balls have struck the catwalks -- 11 this season, including nine by players on opposing teams.

That explains why some liken the place, opened in 1990 and considered by many to be obsolete by the time the Rays moved in eight years later, to being a giant pinball machine.

Since baseball began allowing umpires to use video replay to review boundary calls in late August, two of the seven tests of the system have come at Tropicana Field, including the historic first that upheld Alex Rodriguez's catwalk drive on Sept. 4.

But not everyone sold on the idea that it's a tough place to because of some of the quirky features.

"I'll tell you why they win at home," Toronto manager Cito Gaston said earlier this year. "They win because they've got a good team."

Shields agrees.

The pitcher began to notice a difference in the attitude of opposing teams a couple of seasons ago. He said it was directly related to Tampa Bay's young talented lineup, not the stadium.

"I don't think teams came in thinking it's going to be easy. They came in thinking these guys are good, but they don't know how good they are," Shields said.

"We never really took advantage of it. We didn't know how other teams felt until some of the guys started saying, `Man, we really don't like coming in here. We can't believe you guys don't know how good you can be.'"

Tampa Bay lost five series at home all season, including just two of its final 22. The last team in the majors to finish with more home wins was the 1998 New York Yankees, who were 62-19 and went on to win the World Series.

"The record speaks for itself, but you can throw all that out come playoff time because it's a whole different cat," Detroit manager Jim Leyland said.

"In the first round, three out of five, somebody else could hit that catwalk. Tampa is really good no matter where they play and whoever they play is good wherever they play."

The Rays aren't taking anything for granted, but are confident they can keep it rolling in October.

"You come into our establishment, you win here, you've done something real good. That's how we approach this thing," designated hitter Cliff Floyd said.

"We're not going to go and start pressuring ourselves, trying to do something different than we've done the whole season. Play our game, be relaxed and go with the flow."

[Associated Press; By FRED GOODALL]

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