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Confident Rays ready to face Red Sox

Apr 7, 2009 - 1:13 AM Tampa Bay at Boston, 4:05 p.m. EDT

BOSTON (AP) - The Tampa Bay Rays played their first 10 openers with low expectations, and for good reason: They lost early and often in their first decade in the majors, never finishing better than next-to-last or even approaching a winning record.

When the Rays line up along the third-base line at Fenway Park for the traditional opening day introductions on Tuesday, though, they'll do so as the defending AL East champions and not the laughingstocks who finished an average of 34 games out of first place before winning their first pennant in 2008.

"It's that feeling of believing; that you belong in the race; that you're worthy of the expectations," manager Joe Maddon said in the visitor's dugout during his team's off-day workout on Sunday. "Pressure and expectations - I want us to embrace those words. It's great that people attach pressure and expectations to us."

The Rays and the Red Sox had been scheduled to open the 2009 season at Fenway on Monday afternoon, but rain pushed Game 1 back to Tuesday - originally an off day. Josh Beckett is making his fourth opening day start and first for Boston; he's expected to face James Shields, the same matchup from Game 6 of last year's AL championship series.

"It's a good series to start the season with," Shields said. "We get a reminder of the ALCS, which is nice."

The Red Sox have reportedly asked Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, who was diagnosed with brain cancer last fall, to throw out the first pitch. Red Sox owner Tom Werner declined comment, referring questions to Kennedy. Messages left at the Massachusetts Democrat's Washington and Boston offices were not immediately returned on Sunday.

It will be the just the second time since 1996 that the season opens at home for the Red Sox, who traveled to Tokyo last year and had a 3-4 record by the time they got to Fenway. But it was worth the wait: For the second time in four years, the team had a pregame ceremony to hand out its World Series rings and raise a championship banner over center field.

There will be no such ceremony Tuesday for the AL wild-card winners, who beat the Los Angeles Angels in the first round of the playoffs and then lost to the Rays in seven games. After earning its first AL pennant, Tampa Bay lost to the Philadelphia Phillies in five games.

"Teams aren't taking us too lightly any more," Shields said. "There's a long of teams around the league that have a lot more respect for us. Teams aren't coming in thinking they're going to beat us every time. I think I saw that starting the second half of last season."

Maddon said he's noticed bigger crowds in spring training, and more of a fuss when the team plays on the road. Although the Rays always believed in themselves, he said, they have now earned the respect of their opponents.

"No one is going to take the Tampa Rays for granted," said Red Sox outfielder Rocco Baldelli, who played the first five years of his career in Tampa Bay. "It's really a top-notch team. Everyone is prepared for them to be in it the entire season."

Red Sox pitcher John Smoltz, who was on the Atlanta Braves in 1991, when they went to the World Series a year after finishing in last place with a 65-97 record, said Tampa Bay showed last year "it was the real deal."

"It's rare that you have a club go from where they were to where they're an elite club," said Smoltz, who spent his first 20 years in Atlanta before coming to the AL as a free agent. "In this division and this league, that's going to be harder to do."

Although Smoltz will start the season on the disabled list to recover from right shoulder surgery, he's looking forward to the traditional introductions and his first taste of playing for the Red Sox.

"I'm sure this opening day is going to be different than years past," he said. "Right now my head is swimming so fast. I've got so many things to learn and do. Hopefully they're 12-15 games up by the time I come back."