Playoffs the payoff for Crawford

Carl Crawford can swing the bat again, so he'll make his playoff debut - along with the rest of the Rays. (Chris O'Meara/Associated Press)

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Carlos Peña sought out Carl Crawford during the Rays' American League East victory celebration last week. At 27, Crawford is the longest-running show in Tampa, and until early this week when he took some swings in the Instructional League, it was uncertain whether the man who had endured the most frustration during the lean years would be able to play again in the glory days.

"I remember we were celebrating and I gave him a big hug and I told him, 'Man, this is for you,' " said Peña. " 'You've been working so hard and now you're here. You're going to be healthy and you're going to play in the postseason. So embrace this.' And he was thrilled. He's so excited to be able to play and he's going to be a great boost to our lineup."

If there was a clock ticking inside Crawford's head, it went off the moment Joe Maddon called him into his office two days ago to tell him he'd made the postseason roster. Don't think Crawford, who had surgery to repair a subluxation of the extensor tendon in his right middle finger in mid-August, didn't have some angst over this. He missed six weeks after surgery, raising doubts as to whether he could make it back in time.

Anything but a roster spot and a start in left field would have been blasphemy. Crawford has been a Devil Ray and now a Ray for parts of seven seasons - 925 games - more than any player in team history.

For so long, he watched the Red Sox and Yankees laugh as they swept into Tropicana Field and blew away the lowly Rays, who had decent young positional talent like Crawford, but never had the pitching to back it up until now. He sometimes vented his frustration publicly, wondering whether the Rays would ever be good. He endured the Lou Piniella regime, which was often volatile, but when it looked as if he might play out his contract and head elsewhere, he signed an extension and will remain here at least through 2011.

"We like this change," Crawford said yesterday, the eve of the Rays' first postseason game, against the Chicago White Sox in the opener of their American League Division Series. "We're just enjoying the moment right now. You wanted this all the time. As time went on, we saw changes being made. In the past, it was tough and we kept looking forward to the day when it would turn around. And it was frustrating for a lot of years because you really had no idea whether it was going to happen. You hoped it would, but until you saw some of the players that came up here, you didn't know."

So while he's the elder statesman, he will experience his first playoffs - just like rookie Evan Longoria, representing the new generation.

"I think we all feel good for Carl," said Longoria. "I have no idea what it was like to be on losing teams, so I know it was tough for Carl, but you feel so good for someone who's been through the losing seasons. He also gives us a new dimension in our lineup. His speed, being able to track balls down in the outfield. That's going to be huge for us."

While Crawford loves being back, he was a bit quizzical about why he would now hit fifth when he's always batted second. Maddon explained.

"First of all, he hasn't played in a while," the manager said. "I know some guys do that and they get thrown back in, but he had surgery on top of it. It was kind of a concern there."

Maddon said he didn't want to break up Akinori Iwamura and B.J. Upton in the 1-2 spots because they've done "a nice job feeding it to Peña and Longoria. Carl, again, he's got a whole bunch of different strengths. Everybody just looks at his speed. But Carl to me is able to drive in runs.

"He hits in big moments for me. My point is, hitting behind Carlos and Longo, I think he's going to be able to drive in an important run. Furthermore, when he gets on base, he's going to be hitting in front of [Cliff] Floyd, which I like. I'd like to see Cliff get a fastball now and then."

Crawford feels he can get up to speed quickly on defense and running the bases, but he believes his hitting is closer to spring training form. He thinks the hand is healed - no pain, no restrictions. So he doesn't feel it will take long to get into the flow.

"I'm curious about everything because I've never been here. I just can't wait to see how it's going to be," he said. "We had so many guys doing so well. It made it so I didn't even feel I was here for half the season."

Recalling 48 hours before when he walked into Maddon's office, Crawford said, "I didn't know what he was going to tell me. I kept my fingers crossed and he told me I was going to be in. I took a deep breath and I'm happy about it and getting ready to play and do my best."

What frustrated Crawford was that there was no way he could rush back. All along, the timetable was based on when he would be pain-free and could swing the bat without problems. That time, that point, came right down to the wire.

"I knew there was no chance for me to play if I had pain in my hand," said Crawford, "so as soon as the pain went away, I was ready to swing the bat. And at that point, I knew I was ready. At that point, I knew I was going to be on the roster, at least in my own mind, so I just wondered what Joe wanted when he called me in. I was relieved he said I was on, but I figured I passed the tests so I should be on."

Reaching this pinnacle, he could only look back at how those bad teams built character and paved the way for this edition. For so long, Crawford knew he was on the worst team in the AL East.

This season, the Yankees missed the playoffs. The Red Sox finished second to the Rays. Crawford could do a little dance on the Yankees' grave or gloat about beating out the Sox, but he took the high road.

"Those are the good teams, and you kind of get used to seeing them now," he said. "You always used to look across the way and wished you could be having fun like those guys."

So, is he laughing at the Yankees?

"No, because they'll be back next year," Crawford said. "You don't want to add any more fuel. They'll have another good team and we'll be battling it out again, so you definitely don't want to tease nobody right now."

Great restraint by Crawford, who for years as the face of the Rays took the teasing and swallowed hard. Now he will play in the Rays' first playoff game. It's a day he once believed would never come.

Nick Cafardo can be reached at cafardo@globe.com.