Odd Trop gives Rays distinct home-field advantage (SportingNews.com)

Odd Trop gives Rays distinct home-field advantage (SportingNews.com)
Given the choice, the Tampa Bay Rays would abandon Tropicana Field in a heartbeat.

Dice-K pitches Red Sox over Rays in ALCS opener (AP)

Daisuke Matsuzaka’s brilliant escape act bewildered Tampa Bay and put the Boston Red Sox on top in the AL championship series. Matsuzaka took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning and worked out of trouble all game, pitching the defending World Series champions past the Rays 2-0 Friday night in the ALCS opener.

Griffey relishes time with Sox

CHICAGO a ” Ken Griffey Jr. spoke softly about his future Monday after Tampa Bay eliminated the Sox from the playoffs.

White Sox Team Report (Yahoo! Sports)

Ken Williams doesn’t allow himself time off. As a matter of fact, the aggressive White Sox general manager is already admitting that he has a plan for this offseason.

“I know what I want to do,” Williams responded when asked about what tricks he has up his sleeve this winter. “I’ve known what I’ve wanted to do for three months.”

It will start with speed. And if manager Ozzie Guillen has his way, it will also end with speed.

“We need speed, but they have to have talent,” Guillen said. “I know I would like to see some more speed. But when you talk about speed, you can’t talk about nine rabbits. You can’t.”

Not at U.S. Cellular Field. The ballpark calls for thumpers in the middle of the lineup, so what Guillen has in mind are some changes at the top and the…