Rays hold celebration 10 days after clinching postseason berth - ESPN

BOSTON — Champagne sprayed, cigar smoke wafted through the air and the Tampa Bay Rays passed around a fancy glass decanter of liquor while hip hop music blared from the speakers in the visitor's clubhouse at Fenway Park.

It was time to celebrate.

What they were celebrating wasn't exactly obvious.

The Rays donned ski goggles, covered their lockers with plastic and danced a victory dance for the traditional party that comes when a baseball team clinches a spot in the postseason. There was just one minor quibble: They didn't clinch anything at all by beating the Boston Red Sox 5-0 on Wednesday night.

«I know it's different,» manager Kevin Cash said. «I just told the guys 'We're different. We're the Rays.'»

In fact, the Rays clinched a playoff berth on Sept. 17, when they twice had the Orioles down to their last out before Baltimore won on an 11th-inning sacrifice fly. (It didn't matter, because Texas' loss that day assured Tampa Bay of no worse than a wild-card spot.)

But rather than celebrate after a loss, the Rays made plans to celebrate in Boston on Wednesday — taking advantage of Thursday's off day to sleep it off.

«Not everyone gets the opportunity,» said Tyler Glasnow, who struck out nine in five shutout innings in his final regular-season start. «And I think anytime you're able to win any sort of playoff thing, you've got to celebrate.»

So there the Rays were, whooping it up 10 days after their actual clincher.

«Sunday was challenging,» Cash said. «I think we've got to try to appreciate the mood of the clubhouse a little bit. Right or wrong, we felt like there was going to be a time at some point.»

The Rays won their 97th game, tied for second-most in franchise history, and still have a slim chance at the AL East