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By MARC TOPKIN
© St. Petersburg Times, published September 26, 2000
TORONTO -- Not that it's something the Devil Rays are particularly looking forward to, but there is a pretty good chance the Yankees will clinch the AL East championship at Tropicana Field.
The Yankees come to town tonight with a magic number of two, which means they win the title with any combination of two of their own wins and Toronto losses.
Worse for the Devil Rays, there really isn't much, or perhaps anything, they can do about it. Even in the unlikely event that the Rays sweep the three-game series, the Yankees, who are 12-3 lifetime at the Trop, still could clinch if the Blue Jays were to lose three more. They play Baltimore and Cleveland.
In any circumstance, the last thing the Rays want to see is the Yankees celebrating on their turf.
"You never want to have a team clinch on your field but that may be out of our control too," Rays manager Larry Rothschild said. "It's not something you ever want to see, and you do everything you can to prevent it from happening."
Crowds for the Yankees-Rays games tend to be split or even pro-New York, and the title clinching could turn it into a real Yankees' party.
"They're in Tampa and they have their fans, and we haven't given our fans anything to be proud of yet," Roberto Hernandez said. "They've got tradition and they've been winning."
No team has celebrated a championship at Tropicana Field, but visiting clubhouse manager Guy Gallagher and his staff may be busy with one in the next few nights.
"You don't want to see another team clinch on your home field," catcher John Flaherty said, "but we have other things to worry about. We've got to get things straightened out here."
VAUGHN UPDATE: The Rays will be without leading home run hitter Greg Vaughn through at least Wednesday's game. Vaughn went home to Sacramento, Calif., on Saturday because of a family member's illness. The Rays declined to say who was ill or what the problem was. Vaughn is married with two children.
VINCE SPEAKS -- ON TAPE: In a pregame interview with Fox Sports Net's Todd Kalas, managing general partner Vince Naimoli said team officials will complete their evaluation of Rothschild and the big-league staff within two weeks after the end of the season. Naimoli also said he was "a bit disappointed" in the home attendance. The Rays are averaging 19,189, 26th among big-league teams, and are on pace to draw about 1.6-million.
LONG TIME COMING: It may have seemed like an eternity, but it was 1,465 days between victories for Paul Wilson. That's the most days between wins in a starting assignment since Joe Grahe went 1,539 days from July 6, 1995, with Colorado to Sept. 24, 1999, with Philadelphia.
DISCIPLINE COMMITTEE: Gerald Williams returned from his three-game suspension and started in centerfield. Dave Eiland served the second game of his two-game suspension on Monday, completing the Rays' punishment stemming from the Aug. 29 brawl-marred game with Boston.
HOME COOKING: The Rays open the final homestand of the season with a 31-43 home record. That puts them percentage points behind Philadelphia for the worst home record in the majors. ... They finished their road schedule at 33-48.
SMILE PRETTY: The Rays staged the traditional rookie hazing Monday night, as nine of the first-time major-leaguers found their clothes replaced by some rather, um, interesting women's wear. Jace Brewer, Kenny Kelly, Toby Hall, Travis Harper, Damian Rolls and Jason Tyner were given Hooters tank tops and short shorts, while Trevor Enders, Tony Fiore and Aubrey Huff had to wear cheerleader outfits. They all looked mah-velous.
RAYS BITS: Roberto Hernandez earned his 100th save as a Devil Ray. He is 31-for-37 this season. ... Esteban Yan extended his club record by allowing his 26th home run.